Quotes

Every Friday in February, enjoy BOGO admission when you purchase your tickets at the door AND MENTION BOGO. For $15.95, one paid admission gets one guest into the park FREE. That means two people get a full park visit for the price of one. Simple. Fun. The best BOGO around. BOGO Fridays - Every Friday in February Tickets purchased at the door only $15.95 for two guests - One free guest per paid admission - YOU MUST MENTION BOGO WHEN PURCHASING YOUR TICKET! Grab a friend, bring the kids, or make it a family Friday and enjoy a full day at the park. No advance tickets required or available. Just show up and save.

With 75,000 residents living in Centreville, this community is a gateway for commerce and growth in the region. Come hear from our leaders in government, business and nonprofits and join the conversation shaping Centreville's future. Embrace lessons learned, discover areas for growth and new opportunities. Leading speakers and table top displays for local nonprofits and Fairfax County agencies to answer questions (Parks, Transportation, Library, Economic Development, and more).

Dieser Stammtisch findet jeden Monat am ersten und dritten Freitag statt. Kommen Sie doch mal vorbei, um Deutsch zu sprechen und nette Leute kennenzulernen!

**Meet Alicia Seay** is a social entrepreneur and service design consultant who's spent over a decade working in technology, combining tech, communications, and human potential to help groups and individuals build futures they can believe in. From co-founding idea incubators and alternative economies to building blockchain platforms for engineers, she's been designing systems that put human needs at the center, not as an afterthought. Her work started in a small office in Richmond, VA, took her to stages in LA and San Francisco, and brought her back to open a creative studio in Richmond's Arts District, all while staying grounded in the belief that innovation should create shared value, not just siloed profit. As founder of Brave Intangibles, Alicia works with organizations to design experiences and systems where efficiency and humanity work together, knowing that intangible assets like knowledge, trust, collaboration, empathy, and more are the invisible foundation that makes meaningful outcomes possible. Whether she's leading innovation bootcamps, hosting design sprints, speaking on the future of human connection and technology, or mentoring the next generation of digital entrepreneurs, her focus stays consistent: using communications, creativity, and tech to inspire real change and help people design systems and services for building more intentional futures. **The Discussion.** This series of hybrid events is perfect for budding entrepreneurs, experienced executive mentors cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, early-stage investors, and students exploring innovative product design. At each session, business founders serve as guest speakers share about their career, their firm's business model, as well as the successes and challenges in the product development process. Participants learn from the speakers’ experiences, discuss valuable insights, and connect with other entrepreneurs, students, faculty, and investors. **Logistics.** A light lunch is served, as entrepreneurs connect with one another, learn from peers, and contribute to the conversation: * Friday, February 6, 2026 * 11:30am EST - Coffee & Connection * 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST - Presentation & Discussion No pre-registration is required. Join us: Robins School of Business 102 UR Drive, iLab Room 123 University of Richmond, VA 23173 **Parking.** Free parking is available in the U5 and U6 lots immediately adjacent to the Robins School. Please enter the main foyer, turn to the left and proceed to room 123 (EY Innovation Lab) on the ground floor. Please note that visitors have a two-hour parking window. Please sign in when you enter the room, providing your license plate number. **On Zoom Webinar:** https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89608419334?pwd=am0F9r85xPfh7aBaxtdUDILYsvNAwJ.1

LInden, VA Forecast: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=38.9229&lon=-78.0881#.YzbHTiUpAlQ Join me on this moderate to moderately strenuous hike that ventures into the G.R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Linden, VA. We will hike on the Appalachian Trail and turn around after a break at the Manassas Gap Shelter. With a steady climb at the beginning of the hike, we'll get a good workout with over 1,000 feet of elevation gain in the first two miles. No WMA access permit is needed because we don't leave the AT. There is an intermittent stream crossing, typically an easy rock hop when water is present. We typically hike about 2 mph. However, we leave no one behind and will move at a pace that is comfortable for all. NOTE: I will be carrying a bag to gather any litter near the shelter and its access trail, which I maintain. Join me if you wish. If there is hiker interest, I can demonstate how to hang a food bag on the shelter’s bear pole and/or answer questions about trail maintenance. **Wear BLAZE ORANGE for hunting season.** **Hike Route:** https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/manassas-gap **Group Size:** 20 hikers **Time to Meet:** Please meet 15-20 minutes before the hike start for introductions and liability waiver sign in. If you can't make the hike, please edit your RSVP by 6 pm the night before to open a spot for anotherr hiker. **Meeting Location/Parking:** The AT trailhead and parking area is located on VA725/Tucker Lane in Linden, VA. GPS: 38.91146, -78.05289 **Facilities:** No restroom is available at the trailhead; however, the Manassas Gap Shelter has an outdoor privy. **Admission:** Free **Contact Information**: Please use the comments feature for comments or questions. The hike leader is Lisa Peterson. **Cancellation**: If the hike needs to be cancelled, hikers will be notified through comments on this posting. Please check Meetup for updates before leaving home. **What to Bring:** Water at least two liters, emergency contact information, personal first aid kit and medications, snacks/meal, sunscreen/protection from weather, insect repellant, trekking poles if you use them (highly recommended for water crossings), sturdy hiking footwear. Please leave pets at home. Thanks! **Notes:** * RSVP to register for this hike. If your plans change, update your RSVP. * To find out more about PATC, [click here](https://www.patc.net/). * Consider becoming a member of PATC. To join, [click here](https://www.patc.net/membership). Attendance is limited at the discretion of our hike leaders. PATC rules do not permit children under 18 years to participate in a hike without a parent or guardian present. **History of Manassas Gap Shelter:** Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps around 1933, just north of Linden, Virginia. Like many shelters along the Trail, the Manassas Gap Shelter resided on private land for many decades. Built from chestnut logs, the shelter is a simple lean-to with three walls. Until the 1980s, there were also bunks across the back of the structure, but these were removed in the 1980s during a restoration of the shelter brought on by a severe infestation of mice and field rats. A spring is just downslope from the shelter.

(2024) by Christof Koch, 288 pages [Psychology] • Hardcover • Kindle • Audiobook • Library: https://fcplcat.fairfaxcounty.gov/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&pos=1&cn=613100 Check the How To Find Us section for Zoom Link **(Remember, the Zoom Link is different each month, do not bookmark)** ### Review "A wonderful book."―Sam Harris, Making Sense with Sam Harris “a fun introduction to a number of debates… Mr. Koch’s book provokes questions… and counterarguments, but that’s what gives it life.” ―The Wall Street Journal “Easily the most current, thorough, and helpful exploration of consciousness available. Koch’s light, simple, yet authoritative writing style will appeal to general audiences as well as scientists and researchers. An essential, highly recommended purchase.”―Library Journal “magisterial… charming, sometimes beautiful, and almost always illuminating” ―Science Magazine “an impressive and sometimes exuberant work, showcasing decades of [Koch’s] research”―New Scientist “Koch’s adept use of analogies and entertaining anecdotes — complete with his own near-death experience and psychedelic drug trips — make the book a compelling and surprisingly light read.” ―Science News “undeniably compelling… a smoothly written must-read for anyone interested in a detailed introduction to the relationship between the brain, consciousness, and transformative experiences” ―Ars Technica “Expertly weaving in personal experience with science that few, if any, can speak more authoritatively about, Koch leads us on an amazing journey of consciousness—from birth to death. Deeply personal and infinitely digestible, Then I Am Myself the World is a remarkable must read for anyone interested in knowing their mind.”―Judson Brewer MD, PhD, New York Times–bestselling author of Unwinding Anxiety “Koch’s latest book brilliantly navigates the intricate landscape of our mind and our brain, offering insightful perspectives on the nature of conscious experiences, both ordinary as well as extraordinary ones.”―Hartmut Neven, founder and lead of Google’s quantum AI lab “Then I Am Myself the World is the new record of note for the scientific understanding of consciousness. This is an elegant tableau, a travelogue of subjective experience grounded in the latest neuroscience and philosophy traversing religion, science, and a life dedicated to the biggest questions. Filled with crystalline prose, lucid explanation, and revelatory honesty, this book will continue to be read centuries from now.”―Patrick House, author of Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness “What would happen if a hardcore neuroscientist, with encyclopedic knowledge and four decades of experience in his field, were personally confronted with transformative mystical experiences carrying inevitable metaphysical implications? What would happen if the neuroscientist in question were open-minded, humble, but remained rigorously grounded in reason, evidence, and his hard-earned understanding of how consciousness relates to brain structures and function? What would he, the most preeminent professional of his generation, make of his extraordinary experiences? And what if, in addition, the neuroscientist was a modern renaissance man versed in physics, philosophy, the arts, the classics, and could pluck irresistibly evocative metaphors from the Western literary and artistic canon as if leisurely picking apples in early fall? This is what you will find in this treasured book, a whirlwind ride of insight after insight—so many they can’t possibly be all documented in footnotes—that will surprise and delight you from the get-go. ‘Primacy goes to consciousness, not to the objective world,’ he boldly states already on page two, in a prelude of things to come. ‘Everything else follows from there, including the realist assumption of the existence of objects, out ‘there,’ independent of my experiencing them.’ The book embodies the ever-evolving wisdom of a man whose intellectual prowess is only matched by his intellectual honesty. And this man, in the seventh decade of his scintillatingly productive life, has a lifetime of learning to share with you.”―Bernardo Kastrup, executive director, Essentia Foundation “Koch’s first book was entitled The Quest for Consciousness. And such has been Koch’s life, an adventurer’s pursuit of a distant goal, undeterred by the prevailing winds. The reader will learn where this quest has led and, like the author, will be enriched by it. Koch, one of the most accomplished scientists of our time, a mind singularly open to learning and changing, here opens his soul, revealing his vast, scintillating appreciation of nature in all its forms. It is a touching, profound book. Which is as it should be, since consciousness touches everything and is everything we touch.”―Giulio Tononi, University of Wisconsin-Madison ### About the Author Christof Koch is a neuroscientist at the Allen Institute and at the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, the former president of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and a former professor at the California Institute of Technology. Author of four previous titles, Koch writes regularly for a range of media, including Scientific American. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

**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 lunch and a conversation on ***World’s Diversity on the Table: How Traveling Helps Us Understand Different Worldviews.*** Here’s how it works: For just two hours, a table of people set aside the need to "convince" or "win" and instead focus on sharing, listening, and connecting. Guided by an experienced table host, we'll tell our stories, try to understand each other, and practice being in community with those with different views or backgrounds. In a world of disconnection and surface-level interaction, we'll carve out some time just to be humans together and have a meaningful conversation. We'll be meeting at Wegmans, Upper Level Dining Area - look for your hosts, Albert and Todd. This will be a "bring your own lunch" gathering (or "buy your own", from Wegmans' great self-serve cafe!) BreadBreakers, an initiative by Restoration United Methodist Church in Reston, VA, is a religiously inclusive community where all beliefs, faiths, and stripes are welcomed. Our leadership and volunteer team includes people who attend Restoration and people who don't. **So - why talk about travel? Here's a word from this event's lead host, Albert:** *Travel is more than movement across geography, visiting cities, viewing landscapes and counting distances. Travel is also an inward movement: an encounter with difference that rearranges how we see the world and ourselves.* *When we travel, we are exposed to other ways of organizing life: different assumptions about time and values, family and belonging, work and dignity, authority and trust, hospitality and faith. Even brief encounters can unsettle what we once considered “normal” or self-evident, sometimes gently, sometimes harshly, not too much differently as we may encounter on the other side of our divided country.* *Some of us travel seeking beauty, rest, or novelty. Others travel to escape the noise, to understand, to remember, or simply to feel less confined by familiar routines. And when we return, we often carry more than we expected: stories, questions, discomforts, changed perceptions, or a renewed sense of home. The focus of our discussion is not destinations or expertise. It is about meaning. How encounters with different worldviews leave traces in us—and how those traces shape the way we interpret our own world once we return.* *Each experience is partial, each perspective incomplete, and yet, together, we can see more of the whole. Shared at the table, such diversity becomes something lived rather than abstract.* *This conversation shall prompt us to reflect on two simple questions:* 1. ***What do we look for when we travel to other places and cultures?*** 2. ***And what do we bring back—beyond souvenirs and photographs?*** We look forward to breaking bread and stories with you.

**Applying Dr. King’s Legacy Today** Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision was not only about hope—it was about action. This meetup invites people from all backgrounds to explore how Dr. King’s principles of justice, nonviolence, and the Beloved Community can be lived out in today’s world. Together, we’ll reflect on Dr. King’s teachings, connect them to current challenges, and discuss practical ways to apply his legacy in our daily lives, communities, and institutions. Through respectful dialogue and shared learning, we aim to move beyond remembrance toward meaningful engagement and positive change. Whether you’re new to Dr. King’s work or have long been inspired by it, this gathering offers space to listen, learn, and act—together. **All are welcome.**

Dear all, This meditation session is for folks that have already attended the beginner and intermediate levels. Please confirm with your instructor before joining this session. We are having this mediation from 9-10am. Looking forward to meeting you in person and online https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7551126133?pwd=TmJVc3VnQlUvVU9qUzBPdU1SaWRqUT09 Directions : From Stoneridge on Rt 50 come past Rt 28, turn right on Sullyfield, it is on left past Westmorefield Dr. From Fair Oaks, take left on Sullyfield after crossing Walney and it is on Left after crossing Westmorefield

Hey everyone! 👋 It’s time to celebrate all the amazing people with February birthdays — including me! 🥳 If you have a February birthday or just want to spend the day soaking, relaxing, laughing, and making some great memories together at one of the best spots in town, then this event is for you! ✨ Whether you love relaxing in saunas, soaking in hot baths, or just want to chill with friends, this is the spot to celebrate all February birthdays in style! Welcome to King Spa, the premier Korean day spa in Virginia, offering a unique blend of traditional wellness and modern luxyry. Voted ‘Best Day Spa’ three years running by Northern Virginia Magazine, King Spa provides a sanctuary of healing through detoxifying saunas, signature body scrubs, rejuvenating facials, and more. Each treatment is designed to leave you feeling rejuvenated, refreshed, and truly cared for. 💛 What to Expect: 🎉 Multiple Saunas and Aqua Pools 🧖‍♂️ Access to spa amenities (facials, massages, body scrubs (a la carte pricing) 🥙 Food court 🎂 Cake Cutting 💬 Hangout time with fellow February birthdays + friends 👚Dress code: You will be given a robe and slippers so wear something comfy under the robe (leggings, yoga pants, t-shirt, shorts). Of course , if you plan to swim in the pools and sit in the jacuzzi , then wear your bathing suit 🩳🩱under the robe. 💲 Admission & Details $70 per person for the full day event. You can purchase your ticket online here: https://ticket-virginia.kingspa.com/Admission/AdmissionDetail?Id=ITMMAA17PYLOKZMT The $70 rate is a special they have going on now. not sure how long it will last so book ASAP! RSVP so we know you’re coming! Feel free to invite other February birthday friends 🎈 Can’t wait to celebrate with you all! 🎂💛 *If you need to cancel your RSVP do it 24 hours before the event. No shows and late cancellations may be subject to removal from the group by the organizer. We will be checking everyone in - so we will have a tally of who does and does not come." See you at King Spa! 🧖‍♀️💆‍♂️

We all go through times when it feels like the ground is being pulled out from under us. What we relied on as steady and solid may change or even appear to vanish. In this era of global disruption, threats to our individual, social, and planetary safety abound, and at times life can feel overwhelming. Not only are loss and separation painful, but even positive changes can cause great stress. Yet life is full of change: birth, death, marriage, divorce; a new relationship; losing or starting a job; beginning a new phase in life or ending one. Change is stressful, even when it is much desired or anticipated—the unknown can feel scary and threatening. In We Were Made for These Times, the extraordinary mindfulness teacher Kaira Jewel Lingo imparts accessible advice on navigating difficult times of transition, drawing on Buddhist teachings on impermanence to help you establish equanimity and resilience. Classroom 1 and via **[Zoom](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88912244670?pwd=jtR4LLF3bM6YkuFgevZXlJtM9tGZL2.1),** Meeting ID 889 1224 4670, Password 488104

Dulles Code & Coffee is a collaborative community of software and technology enthusiasts seeking to learn, grow, and help each other. All skill levels are welcome. The concept is simple. Bring a laptop and ideas. We’ll provide coffee, tea, and donuts. Thank you to [BTI360](https://www.bti360.com/) for sponsoring this event. ## **Event Format** 1. At 9:15 everyone introduces themselves and briefly describes what brought them out this morning (project, homework, networking, etc.). 2. For the rest of the day folks work in the communal space, socializing and asking/giving help as desired. ## **Location** BTI360’s Office in Herndon The office is across from Worldgate, looking down on the toll road. ## **Address** 12930 Worldgate Dr, Ste 400, Herndon, VA 20170 [[map](https://goo.gl/maps/pF5ZrPUviX1vtmdSA)] ## **Logistics** * **Must be a U.S. Citizen to attend. Real ID verification is required.** * PARKING: Use the surface lot. All spaces marked MIII are open for parking. Please avoid Management spaces, State Farm and SP+ * ARRIVAL: Follow the signs from the front entrance to the freight elevator located in the parking garage on level P2. Take the elevator to Suite 400 (Floor 4). * How to find us video: [https://youtu.be/ohqFzyqiASE](https://youtu.be/ohqFzyqiASE) ## **Community Guidelines** We value the participation of each member of the community and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. To ensure a conducive environment, all participants are required to conform to our [code of conduct](https://github.com/DullesCodeCoffee/.github/blob/main/code-of-conduct.md).

Come connect with founders across the DC startup community at our monthly Startup Grind DC Founders Dinner. This month, we’re spotlighting HealthTech & Wellness founders—but all founders are welcome to join us for complimentary appetizers and great conversation. Quick heads-up: Your ticket includes event access and appetizers. Entrées and drinks will be on individual tabs. We’re also looking for sponsors who want to support the DC founder community. Whether that’s hosting the event, covering food, or contributing financially, sponsors get the opportunity to connect directly with founders, receive shoutouts in our promotions, speak at events, and reach our 10,000+ pre-seed to Series A founders across the DMV. Agenda --- Hosted By Mia Orantes, Chapter Director I'm a dynamic speaker, angel investor, serial entrepreneur, the host of the celebrated Founders Only podcast, and the CEO & founder of the award-winning agency that automates online growth and profitability engines, Creative Analytics. As a lifelong entrepreneur, I am devoted to serving founders by showing them the road map for rapid online growth and helping them navigate that journey. A native Washingtonian, I hold several designations, including a PMI-certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification, an MBA & MS in Information Technology with a concentration in Project Management, and an in-progress certificate in Digital Transformation & AI from Cornell University. --- Global Partner Carta (http://www.carta.com/launch?utm_campaign=20240423-nam-general-smb-startup_grind_partnership&utm_medium=social&utm_source=startup_grind) Carta helps people manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Carta Launch is the only free cap table product, helping new founders get started. The company is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 7,000 funds and SPVs, and over two million equity holders to manage cap tables, compensation, valuations, liquidity, and more. For more information, visit carta.com. Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. We host monthly events in more than 600 cities and 125+ countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Our monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. For more information visit StartupGrind.com or follow us on twitter @StartupGrind. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://www.startupgrind.com/events/details/startup-grind-washington-dc-presents-february-2026-founders-dinner/.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Love and Monsters,”** on the inescapable bond between romance and horror, with Joshua Barton, scholar of horror and lecturer in English at Virginia Commonwealth University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-love-monsters](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-love-monsters) .] Romance and horror might seem like opposite genres, but they share a deep emotional core, and the combination of them has captivated audiences across time and culture. Put even your worst Valentine’s Day in perspective by hearing this strange relationship discussed by Joshua Barton, who has earned a big following among Profs and Pints fans with his past talks on cryptids, American horror, and Christmas ghosts. He’ll explore the undeniable and unsettling intersection of romance and horror and examine how and why love and fear intensify each other and combined to create tension, drive narratives, and explore human vulnerability. We’ll look at works that have blended passion and terror, including Gothic literature like the vampire novella *Carmilla* and modern films like *Spring* and *Crimson Peak*. We’ll study the fine line between obsession and adoration running through Stephen King’s “I Know What You Need,” Adrian Lyne’s *Fatal Attraction*, and the timeless *The Phantom of the Opera.* We’ll discuss the seeds of monstrous love that were planted with *Beauty and the Beast* and *Creature from the Black Lagoon* and bloom ferociously in works like *Twilight* and *The Shape of Water*. Through it all, we’ll find the threads of otherness and the taboo that intertwine horror, love, and reflections on identity. Join us for a journey through storytelling that combines the grotesque and the scintillating as we uncover why romance and horror are a match made in the dark. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: From the original 1954 advertising poster for *Creature from the Black Lagoon* (Artist: Reynold Brown / Public Domain).

**Is it unrealistic or even naive to think that we should try to live a virtuous life in today’s world?** **As children we’re taught to be good, to be kind, to be honest. Yet as we get older, some of these virtues get lost or sacrificed for the sake of expediency or convenience, or a sense that they’re just not compatible with the world today. Even worse, some might think it could allow others who don’t hold to these values to take advantage of us. But what is the impact on a society that no longer values these ideals? What is the impact on us as individuals? Can a spiritual perspective help us to recognize the inherent value of these qualities?** **Come join a different kind of conversation – one that welcomes every perspective in a search for the truths that unite us all – as we discuss the spiritual perspectives offered by the Bahá’í Teachings on the importance of nurturing – and valuing! – good people. Join us for a lively discussion as together we explore how developing qualities like truthfulness, integrity, and kindness can enable the progress and improvement of society as a whole.** **“Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues.” – Bahá’í Teachings** **\*\*\* The event is free and open to all regardless of background or belief. Donations will not be accepted.**

**Looking for a group you can write with *whilst sipping your fave coffee*?** ☕✍️ Then come join **Shut Up & Write!** on **Saturday, February 14th from 1:30pm to 4:00pm** at **Ridgetop Coffee & Tea**! Whether you're cranking out a novel, journaling, looking for new friends, or just trying to get that stubborn paragraph right—we’ve got a cozy seat and a supportive group waiting for you! **No critiques, no peer review, no pressure—just a chill space to get words on the page.** 📝 **What to expect:** 1:30–2:00pm – Grab your coffee or tea, find your seat, and meet your fellow writers. 2:00pm–3:30pm – Silent, focused writing time 3:30–4:00pm – Debrief, celebrate any writing wins, commiserate on any obstacles, and head out feeling accomplished. **RSVP Info:** The room seats only 8 people comfortably! RSVP as soon as possible to secure your spot!! If you are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation **ASAP** so those on the wait list are able to RSVP and attend!!! **Meeting Room:** Enter the coffee shop, walk straight towards the play area and on your left you will see a meeting room just past the bathrooms. The room has a TV, white board, and walls are painted green. **What to Bring:** Whatever helps you focus, and be productive. There is a wall outlet at each end of the room, so you're able to bring your laptop to write. You're welcome to bring headphones if you enjoy listening to music while working. **Parking & Accessibility:** there is a large parking lot out front and it is free! There are no stair cases when entering the coffee shop or when inside. This coffee shop is incredibly spacious with many seating options. If you have any questions, please message me through MeetUp. I'm happy to help. **Dietary Information:** many GF, Vegan, and SF options. Just ask your barista when ordering for specifics! Can’t wait to see you there! 🎉

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

[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.)