Political Discussion

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Our Bodies, Our Minds,”** an exploration of the relationship between our biology and our thought processes, with Justin Brooks, M.D., associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and scholar of computational psychophysiology. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at h[ttps://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-bodies-minds](ttps://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-bodies-minds) .] For millennia, humans have wondered how mind and body are connected. Are our thoughts just the electrical murmurs of nerve cells, or is there something more? Are they the result of millions of years of evolution? Explore the mind-body problem through the lens of measurable physiology with Dr. Justin Brooks, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on using mobile and wearable technologies to understand, predict, and influence human behavior and health. He’ll describe how millions of years of evolution shaped the way our minds and bodies speak to each other, with our nervous system being the product of countless adaptations that shape how we react, think, and survive. Reflexes hidden in our physiology, attention, and mental effort reveal a “biotype,” a stable but adaptable signature of how we process the world. The problem is that reflexes honed by a prehistoric world of predators and scarcity now must navigate the strange demands of a modern society. Rather than mirroring who we truly are, our reflexes often are just echoes of ancient survival needs. As a result, many of us live slightly out of sync with our own biology. We think faster than we feel, ignore our body’s quiet warnings, and misread the signals from our bodies that guide balance and well-being. Breakdowns in the conversation between mind and body cause stress to accumulate, performance to falters, and health to erode. In a talk that blends neuroscience, physiology, and philosophy, Dr. Brooks will discuss how our specific biotypes might hold clues for realigning our ancient wiring with the pace of contemporary life to avoid the pitfalls of burnout, chronic stress, and mental fatigue. He’ll explore how measuring the body can illuminate the mind and how both can be brought back into harmony for the world we live in now. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Part of an illustration of the brain in Traité complet de l'anatomie de l'homme, a textbook completed by anatomist Jean-Baptiste Marc Bourgery and artist Nicolas Henri Jacob in 1854.

​This gathering brings together women working in or curious about Bitcoin. We'll share real experiences, career paths, and lessons learned. The focus will be on how women contribute to building, securing, and supporting Bitcoin, from technical roles to adjacent fields. If you're already in tech or just starting to explore, join us to learn, connect, and discover what's possible. **👉 Please RSVP on Luma:** [https://luma.com/kn3txa1n](https://luma.com/kn3txa1n) Panelists will speak candidly about navigating the industry, building a career in emerging tech, and what it's really like to work in Bitcoin-focused organizations. The discussion aims to be approachable and insightful, giving women a clear, real-world view of opportunities, challenges, and growth in Bitcoin and related technologies. ​***Please respect the Bitcoin-only focus: We do not discuss, promote, or entertain conversations about altcoins, tokens, ICOs, NFTs, memecoins, or any other cryptocurrency projects. Nothing shared at this meetup is financial advice. Always do your own research!*** ​***🍺 Tell the bartender you're paying with Bitcoin before you close out your tab and get 21% off!*** ​ **Getting There:** * ​🔵🟠⚪ Federal Triangle + 10 min walk * ​🟢🟡 Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter + 2 min walk * ​🔴 Judiciary Square or Metro Center + 8 min walk * ​There is street parking and several nearby paid garages **👉 Please RSVP on Luma:** [https://luma.com/kn3txa1n](https://luma.com/kn3txa1n)

Weekly Draft night in NW. We currently meet up at Franklin Hall near 14th and Florida. U Street Metro is the closest stop. I'll have packs but feel free to bring packs if you have them. Entry is $17 (you can bring Play Booster packs to lower the cost by $3.50). If it is a special set, it will be more.

Euchre Enthusiast - join us as we head back to **[Stoney's](https://stoneysonp.com/)** for Euchre, smack talking, grilled cheese and/or tots! **Please RSVP to indicate your attendance and HONOR your RSVP.** If your plans change and you are unable to attend please update your RSVP. Regular no-show or late notices may get you dropped from the group. It is important that we are able to provide an accurate count to the bar and that all people who want to AND are able to attend are able to do so. **We ask all attendees to pay $1 to participate in the meetup.** This money helps maintain our meetup membership and cover various meetup costs that arise. You can pay $1 on Venmo @amanda-uherek, via Pay-Pal, or in-person (please choose paying friend/family not a business, good or service). Also please support the business. **REMINDER -** everyone is responsible for their own tabs and should close out before leaving the meetup. If you have questions / comments / suggestions please message us. We will have hand sanitizer and cards on hand. Cheers, Amanda

New faces welcome! Come hang out with the Annapolis Jaycees at our monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 17th at Rams Head at 6:30. First drink and appetizers are on us! Come meet people, learn about our upcoming events, and get involved! See you there!

​Join Data Visualization DC for a meetup to learn about the 30 day chart challenge and some tips and tricks for rapid, high volume data visualization practices! Doors 5:30 Presentation starts 6:15 Please RSVP on [Luma ](https://luma.com/wggc3w3p?utm_source=meetup)for headcount purposes! #=#=#=#=#=#=#=# Got Data Viz? Sign up for a viz and tell and share your work for a few minutes. All are welcome! [https://forms.gle/9a3ssbVbwQFjpWdY8](https://forms.gle/9a3ssbVbwQFjpWdY8) Data Viz DC is a member of Data Community DC, a nonprofit dedicated to data education in the nation's capital. Learn more at [www.dc2.org](http://www.dc2.org/)

This is a weekly Commander event, at Nic's place in Alexandria. We are a chill semi regular group, most of us have been playing in the Meetup for over a decade and welcome new and veteran members. **Time**: starts at 6pm but show up any time after. We usually go to 10/11. **Format**: still experimenting with the new brackets. If you haven't updated your decks for brackets, thats okay - just let us know before we start. **House rules:** * 1 free extra mulligan, plus 1 extra for any zero or 6+ land hands (show us) * We use Partial Paris Mulligans beyond your free mulligans * We try to follow the bracket list for game changers and play 2 & 3 bracket mostly, but are happy to do house rules to accommodate something (full list and brackets [HERE](https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/commander-brackets-and-game-changers)) * Mana Crypt is permitted\*\*\* * Un cards and other funny non-legal cards can be rule zero/house ruled before the match starts, if you ask us * Proxies are okay, but must be readable * Alcohol is okay, but must use my cup holders and if you get too drunk or rowdy, you are out * I'll provide snacks and some basic drinks **Note**: Location is provided below, but know that you can easily reach my place via metro (King Street then take bus 31 or walk to my house) or from 395 take King Street exit.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Everyday Supernatural,”** a discussion of how folklorists and anthropologists view our belief in uneasily explained beings, forces, and experiences, with Benjamin Gatling, folklorist, scholar of belief and everyday religion, and associate professor of English at George Mason University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-everyday-supernatural](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-everyday-supernatural) .] Profs and Pints debuts at [Highline RxR](https://www.highlinerxr.com/) bar in Arlington’s Crystal City with a talk that will both teach you and leave you thinking about your relationship with the unknown. Have you ever wondered why people believe in the supernatural? Or where do such beliefs come from and what purposes do they serve? On hand to offer answers will be Benjamin Gatling, who teaches a course on folklore and the supernatural, studies various cultures’ oral traditions, and serves as editor of *Folklorica: the Journal of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Folklore Association.* You’ll gain an understanding of how the supernatural isn’t something strange or extraordinary. It’s part of the everyday lives of most people around the world, and it’s fundamental to virtually all cultural traditions. Here in the United States, three out of four people believe in some aspect of the supernatural such as astrology, telepathy, clairvoyance, or communication with the dead. About half attest to having personally had a mystical experience. In discussing the nature of supernatural beliefs, Dr. Gatling will talk about how our experiences are inexact and ambiguous and how we operate on incomplete information. In many ways belief in the supernatural represents an affirmation that human understanding extends beyond empirical observation and that we live in an imprecise, infinite, irrational, and mysterious world. The goal of folklorists and anthropologists studying such beliefs is not to prove or disprove them, but rather to understand various peoples’ lived experiences and gain insight on how individuals make sense of the uncanny around them. Dr. Gatling will talk about such researchers’ findings in terms of how such beliefs are expressed in dream interpretation or the stories people tell about encounters with ghosts or their relationship with the dead. He’ll talk about visits to haunted places and touch upon subjects such as UFO sightings, encounters with the divine, and magic in our everyday lives. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: A deck of 22 Tarot cards. (Photo by Roberto Viesi / Wikimedia Commons.)

**Mark your calendar for every third Friday of the month!** Come hang out with fellow freedom-lovers, get the inside scoop on the Liberty Movement in Northern Virginia, and hear what’s brewing with local festivals and upcoming election support. Whether you’ve been part of the cause for years or are just curious about Libertarian ideas, you’re welcome to drop by for food, fun, and lively conversations that keep the spirit of liberty alive!

Please join us for the February Romance Book Discussion Club! Location is at my apartment in Dupont. Address and details will be provided to attendees closer to the meeting. Also, please update your RSVP by 6pm the day before, if you're unable to come. That will allow people on the waitlist to have enough time to consider coming, as well. Looking forward to discussing romance books with you all! **Information for New Members:** Each month we will vote on a subgenre and trope to guide our reading choices. There will be a voting link shared in the discussion board with 1 week to vote on your top choices. I'll then post the votes for that month and people can share recommendations. These are just for inspiration and as general themes. There is no set book - you're welcome to read whatever you like, although many members find it fun to explore new subgenres or tropes and see what you may like or hate. This is a book club for mood readers :) You're welcome to read whatever you fancy and come discuss it. Hopefully you'll leave with some new recommendations - or books you know are not your cup of tea. Please feel free to post below or message me with any questions.

Details Location: Crimson Whiskey Bar (Downstairs Bar, Not Rooftop) The purpose of Thinkers and Drinkers is to facilitate casual but meaningful and interesting conversations with other people in a face-to-face setting. The topics cover a wide variety of issues and are different for every meeting. While conversations may get heated at times, we ask that all members be respectful of each other and refrain from personal insults. Topic: Trust in Institutions Across much of the world, trust in major institutions, including government, media, corporations, courts, universities, and science, appears to be shifting. Surveys often show declining confidence in public institutions, while at the same time people continue to rely on them for stability, information, and coordination. Recent years have included disputed elections, misinformation concerns, public health crises, economic disruptions, and rapid technological change. These events have raised difficult questions about credibility, legitimacy, and accountability. Some argue that skepticism toward institutions is healthy in a democracy, encouraging transparency and reform. Others worry that widespread distrust can weaken social cohesion and make collective problem solving nearly impossible. Major surveys and studies on institutional trust include: • Pew Research Center, Public Trust in Government: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/30/public-trust-in-government-1958-2024/ • Edelman Trust Barometer (annual global survey): https://www.edelman.com/trust/trust-barometer • Gallup, Confidence in Institutions: https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx • World Values Survey, Trust indicators across countries: https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org Historically, periods of low institutional trust have sometimes preceded major reforms or political realignments, while in other cases they have contributed to instability or authoritarian backlash. Understanding when distrust is justified, and when it becomes dangerous, remains an open question. Questions to Consider • What factors most strongly shape trust in institutions, performance, transparency, shared identity, or something else? • Is declining trust primarily a problem, or can it be a healthy corrective? • Are some institutions, such as courts, science, or local government, more deserving of baseline trust than others? • How should societies respond when large portions of the public lose faith in elections, media, or public health guidance? • Can trust be rebuilt once it is lost, and if so, how? • Does technology, especially social media and AI, strengthen or weaken institutional legitimacy?

D.C.’s healthcare system, like the rest of the U.S., is profit-driven and structurally racist. Black residents—especially those east of the Anacostia River—suffer from higher rates of chronic illness and maternal mortality and life expectancy gaps of over 15 years compared to white residents. On Sunday February 22nd Pan-African Community Action (PACA) will launch a revolutionary survival program to provide practical services while building political power. The **[People’s Pan-African Wellness Front (PPWF)](https://pacapower.org/our-work/programs/ppwf/)** is a community-based grassroots program led by PACA to confront the health disparities impacting African/Black working-class communities in Southeast Washington, D.C. Inspired by revolutionary legacies like the Black Panther Party’s People’s Free Medical Clinics and the Cuban healthcare model, this program seeks to deliver immediate relief while organizing toward long-term self-determination and community control of health. **The PPWF will provide:** * Free high blood pressure screenings * Free glucose tests (diabetes screening) * Free hygiene products and medical supplies, * Free health information and guidance for preventative care As well as political education on community control of health and radical health programs, including the Black Panther Party’s Free Medical Clinics and the Lincoln Detox Center. Medical professionals will also be available to answer health-related questions. Come out February 22nd either to receive services and/or to learn how to come involved with later phases of the program to scale up services, expand into more neighborhoods, and anchor broader campaigns around community control. This effort is part of PACA’s broader strategy to build forums for participatory democracy and build a mass movement for power. *This is more than a health program—it’s a step toward Black self-determination. We welcome healthcare workers, students, community members, and all who are ready to organize, learn, and build power*.

This is the first of several meetings on *Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic*, by Matthew Stewart. For this meeting, please try to read the first three chapters (pages 1-129 in the paperback). **Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy?** America’s founders intended to liberate us not just from one king but from the ghostly tyranny of supernatural religion. Drawing deeply on the study of European philosophy, Matthew Stewart brilliantly tracks the ancient, pagan, and continental ideas from which America’s revolutionaries drew their inspiration. In the writings of Spinoza, Lucretius, and other great philosophers, Stewart recovers the true meanings of “Nature’s God,” “the pursuit of happiness,” and the radical political theory with which the American experiment in self-government began. [LINK](https://a.co/d/bkTWJNb) I hope to see you there! Fred

• What we'll do On https://blackecon101.podbean.com/ Thursdays at 6 pm. discussing the economy....

Let's kick things off with a meeting to introduce ourselves and discuss what we're going to read over the next several months. Bring suggestions and your sweet tooth, because I'm bringing chocolate chip cookies!

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Satanic Panics,”** a look at waves of fear of demonic activity as an American tradition, with Luxx Mishou, cultural historian and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-satanic-panics2](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-satanic-panics2) .] The 1980s found the United States gripped by fear of Satanic cults targeting children. They were believed to be corrupting young ones in daycare centers and tempting teens through subliminal messages on heavy metal albums or through the quiet inclusion of demonic rituals in role-playing games. Satanic serial killers supposedly stalked the suburbs. Doctors helped patients uncover what were claimed to be repressed memories of ritualistic satanic abuse. Parents, police, and politicians were urged to protect impressionable youths from both moral and physical danger. With Satanic cults deemed to be a real and material threat, it was a frightening time for everyone, including those who suddenly came under suspicion for doing evil deeds. Then, suddenly, it all faded from public consciousness, just as surely as did eighties fads such mullet haircuts, leg warmers, and Cabbage Patch Kids. Why did it all start? Why did it stop? And has this happened before or since? Hear such questions tackled by Luxx Mishou, a cultural historian and media specialist who has long researched the devious and villainous in cultural artifacts. She’ll discuss moral panics as a longstanding cultural tradition, with each new one stemming from fear of cultural shifts and shaped by the time and place where it occurred. Among the panics we’ll look into are the Red Scare of the 1950s and the public response to the gruesome 1969 murders committed by the Manson Family. Delving into the 1980s panic, Mishou will describe how it began with the 1980 publication of psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder’s memoir *Michelle Remembers*, detailing the suppressed memories of ritualistic abuse reportedly suffered by a patient. As that book quickly became a best seller, its ideas saturated American culture. A California daycare center became the focus of a three-year investigation, followed by three years of trials, based on allegations that its owner had engaged in secret ritualistic abuse of the children in its care. Mishou will lead you through the media that convinced the public that devil worshipers were among them, and she’ll talk about how reactions to imagined threats can have very real social costs. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Hidden Cleopatra,”** an excavation through myth and slander to uncover the real Egyptian queen, with Jacquelyn Williamson, an Egyptologist and associate professor of archaeology and ancient art at George Mason University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/hidden-cleopatra](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/hidden-cleopatra) .] Depictions of Cleopatra are abundant in popular culture. A long list of painters have depicted her, Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian have posed as her, and Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor famously portrayed her in Hollywood films. At the end of the day, however, what most of us think we know about Cleopatra is wrong, the product of the ancient Rome’s “fake news” and anti-Egypt propaganda. Learn about the real Cleopatra—and how our understanding of her came to be so distorted—with Professor Jacquelyn Williamson, scholar of women and power in ancient Egypt, teacher of courses on ancient Egyptian art and archaeology, and author of *Nefertiti’s Sun Temple: A New Cult Complex at Tell el-Amarna.* Dr. Williamson will walk us through how the first Roman emperor, Octavian, created the distorted image of Cleopatra as seductress that we know today as part of his political scheming to defeat his rival Antony and end the Roman Republic once and for all. Cleopatra has been the subject of debate and controversy ever since. William Shakespeare later relied on ancient Roman sources such as Horace and Plutarch in writing *Antony and Cleopatra*, and his play helped give rise to countless other works offering a distorted picture of her. Professor Williamson argues that “Cleopatra was a human being, like you and I,” and “deserves the dignity of being represented as accurately as possible.” Her efforts to set the record straight have met frustration, however—after being extensively interviewed for the recent Netflix historical docuseries Queen Cleopatra, she concluded that it, too, had missed the mark. You’ll gain a much deeper appreciation of the challenges of researching and accurately depicting the ancient past from Dr. Williamson, who also has taught at Harvard, Brandeis, and the University of California at Berkeley and is involved with an ongoing archaeological investigation of Queen Nefertiti’s sun temple. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Layla Taj portrays Cleopatra VII as part of an Egyptian Cultural Performing Arts Society production. (Photo by Amos Gvili / Wikimedia Commons.)

0700 Buffalo Wing Factory (BWF) Hunter Woods Shopping Center this week only, with the following weeks located at the RCC Hunter Woods meeting rooms 4-5-6-7 with a free medium Ledo's Pizza. This event is for active political party participants engaging in conversation & political discourse. The primary focus of this event is recorded for YouTube Debate Practice Trials beginning at 0704-0705 after Ledo's Pizza from next door. A projector will be used throughout most of the event, especially during the 45-minute-long trial debate sessions. It is open to all 6-7 political divisions and parties & constructive comments & criticisms are welcome. VICTORY SONGS FOR ELECTION CAMPAIGNS WITH TULSI GABBARD RUNNING ON THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET FOR THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION FOR THE WHITE HOUSE WITH EVENING NEWS BRIEFINGS ON THE TOPIC WITH THE FORMALLY ANNOUNCED AND NEWLY ANNOUNCED DEI COMMANDER IN CHIEF THATS YOU TULSI GABBARD $& PLEASE READ THE BELOW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK AND READ MY EMAILED NOTES ABOUT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND RELATED EMAILED NOTES AND SPEECH TOPICS AND RELATED BILLS THAT I SPONSORED WITH TRICRAFT’S FREELY DONATED MONEY FROM KELLY JOPLIN AT NSA HQ BLDG AND ROOM 10 BEFORE HE LEAVES BECAUSE ITS HIS LAST DAY AND YOU CAN GET THE REST FROM CNN BECAUSE I FORWARDED THESE WORDS WITH MY EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION LIKE I DID WITH CODE WORD JAMES DEAN WHICH IS RELATED TO FBI REQUESTS WRITTEN BY YOURS TRULY FOR THE FBI’S JAMES DEAN TO READ BUT NOT ACT ON IT RIGHT AWAY Victory and some democratic Campaign songs in Proper Sequence and some used for Campaign Speeches and used for ***code words*** during the campaign:; [Verse 1] Love spreads her arms, waits there for the nails I forgive you, boy, I will prevail Too much to take, some cross to bear I'm hiding in the trees with a picnic, she's over there, yeah [Interlude] Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah [Verse 2] She didn't scream, she didn't make a sound I forgive you, boy, but don't leave town Cold black skin, naked in the rain Hammer flash in the lightning, they're hurting her again [Chorus] Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen [Post-Chorus] I have a dream, I've seen the light Don't put it out, and she's alright, yeah, she's my sister [Guitar Solo] [Verse 3] She didn't scream, she didn't make a sound I forgive you, boy, but don't leave town Cold black skin, naked in the rain Hammer flash in the lightning, they're hurting her again [Interlude] Oh, oh, oh Yeah, yeah, yeah [Chorus] Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen Let me put you in the picture Let me show you what I mean The messiah is my sister Ain't no king, man, she's my queen [Outro] I've had a dream, I've seen the light Don't put it out and she's alright, yeah, she's my sister I want it all I want it all And I want it now Only just after Aerosmith Walk This Way Talk This Way JUST-BLOW-ME-A-KISS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN May 08 0709 AM SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE JUST BEFORE THE ABOVE

**In a time of division and isolation, come be part of the community that's rebuilding the town square, one table at a time.** In BreadBreakers, we use the common space of the dining table to have conversations where neighbors can **hear, be heard, and know one another.** If you're hungry for good discourse and deeper community, join us for a Community Dinner in Reston and help blaze the trail to a healthier, more connected society and democracy. Here’s how it works: For just two hours, multiple tables of people set aside the need to "win" and instead focus on sharing, listening, and connecting. Guided by experienced table hosts, we'll tell our stories, try to understand each other, and practice being in community with those with different views or backgrounds. **At this dinner, participants will get to choose between three different topics, including some current events.** Topics range from the political, to the spiritual, to the philosophical, to the off-the-wall - but no matter which table you choose to sit at, you can be sure it'll be like no dinner conversation you've had before! You can also **suggest a topic** by emailing us at BreadBreakersInfo@gmail.com. Food will be provided for free. For those who wish to provide a donation to help fund BreadBreakers, you can [give here](https://pushpay.com/g/restorationrestonumc?fnd=pO6G-N7oO7FH7Mp1u-x6mA&fndv=Lock&r=No&lang=en&src=pcgl) or at the event. We'll have vegetarian and gluten-free options available. If you have any additional dietary restrictions (Celiac Disease, vegan, etc.) please let us know at BreadBreakersInfo@gmail.com so that we can implement the appropriate food handling procedures. **Join us, invite a friend, and be a part of the movement to mend our fractured society and normalize a better way of talking with one another.** BreadBreakers, an initiative by [Restoration United Methodist Church](https://restorationreston.org/breadbreakers) in Reston, VA, is a religiously inclusive community. All faiths and all stripes are welcomed. Our leadership, volunteer team, and community include people who attend Restoration and people who don't.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Terrors of Irish Fairylore,”** an introduction to Ireland’s strange and unsettling folkloric “Good People,” with Brittany Warman, former instructor at Ohio State University, co-founder of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, and co-author of the new book *Fairylore: A Compendium of the Fae Folk.* [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-irish-fairy-terrors](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-irish-fairy-terrors) .] Today it is common to think of fairies as small, childlike, sparkly creatures with glittering wings and dresses made from flower petals. But the fae of traditional Irish folklore were no such things. Amoral, capricious, even malicious when they chose to be, the too-frequently forgotten fairies of times long past would, more often than not, haunt nightmares. Join Brittany Warman, a folklorist who has earned a devoted following among Profs and Pints fans, as she explores the darker side of Irish fairylore. The figures she'll discuss include: The Leanan-Sidhe, a vampiric fairy who gives artistic inspiration in exchange for your mortal spirit. The Dullahan, a fairy with a human spine for a whip and a habit of hurtling across fields in a death coach made from human skin. The Banshee, a mournful fairy whose cry signals a death in the family to which she's attached herself. Dr. Warman also will examine the surprising impact of fairy folklore on two classics of Irish Gothic literature, Oscar Wilde's *The Picture of Dorian Gray* and Bram Stoker's *Dracula.* It’s a talk that will remind you that the relationship between the Irish and the spooky stretches well beyond Halloween. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: “The Banshee Appears,” an 1862 illustration by Robert Prowse (Wicklow Heritage / Public domain).

**Join the BreadBreakers community for an evening of connection and comradery over the timeless art of boardgaming!** BreadBreakers is a community where people of all different belief systems and backgrounds create community and have meaningful conversation. Usually we do that over the dinner table, but sometimes you've got to change it up a bit! Here's what to expect: * A kind, welcoming atmosphere and community * Several familiar, and several novel boardgames. * Snacks :) * We'll be gathering in Meeting Room 1 at the Reston Regional Library. * Feel free to bring a board game to share if you'd like! **I've never attended a BreadBreakers event before - what is BreadBreakers?** BreadBreakers is a community where neighbors from all different beliefs and backgrounds can **hear, be heard, and know one another.** Most frequently, we do this through the ancient practice of breaking bread around a common dining table. But we're more than just a discussion group - we're a movement to heal our world's broken discourse and forge togetherness in a time of isolation and loneliness. **Through the sacred act of just "being" together, we're working to rebuild the town square, one table (or game night) at a time.** BreadBreakers is a religiously inclusive by Restoration United Methodist Church in Reston, VA. All faiths, beliefs, and stripes are welcomed, and our leadership and community include people who attend Restoration and people who don't.