Socialism

**SUMMER SOCIAL 🥳** **Hi! If you don’t already know me, I run a local women’s walking group called Walk With Virginia. We usually do 1–2 walks a month around West London — think riverside walks, markets, coffee stops, pub socials and lots of lovely conversation along the way 😊** **I’ve decided to put together a Summer Social this time… so NO walk involved 😂🥂** **It’s basically a chance for current walkers and anyone curious about joining us to come along, have a drink, relax and get to know the community in a really easy, welcoming environment.** **The group is super friendly and inclusive and the age range is generally around 30–65. Some ladies come alone, some come with friends, and lots of people have met through the group and now genuinely socialise outside of the walks too ❤️** **It’s very much about:** **✨ good energy** **✨ connection** **✨ wellness** **✨ friendship** **✨ getting out more** **✨ meeting like-minded women** **So the details are -** **📍 The Weir, Brentford** **📅 Wednesday 17th June** **⏰ 6PM–10PM** **💷 £12 includes a glass of wine, beer, cocktail or soft drink (must be redeemed by 7PM)** **👯 Ladies only** **⚠️ Limited spaces** **The Weir has a gorgeous waterside garden so it should be such a lovely summer evening.** **Pics of previous walks attached so you can see the myself and the walkers!** **Hope to see you! Grab your spot here Cheers 🥂** **Follow me on Eventbrite to find out all future walks and events!** **https://www.eventbrite.com/o/60588117643?aff=ebdsshios** **Also I’m over on IG www.instagram.com/virginia_offiah 🙏🙌**

We meet for informal chat about anything you like. Conversation is free flowing and friendly. We always leave knowing something new! So as to find us easily there will be a GREEN BALL on our table.

**Welcome! 😄** This is a friendly, informal social event to meet new people, have great conversations, and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. There’s no structure or pressure – it’s all about good vibes and building genuine connections. 🥂 \-\-\- **Who is the event for?** People in their 20s & 30s living or working in London who want to meet others and expand their social circle in a natural, low-pressure setting. \~\~\~\~ **Come and join us on Discord** 😊 (link below) We've set up a Discord community space for London Social Circle - 20s & 30s where you can get to know other members before and after events, suggest plans, and stay connected in between. It's organised by topic to help avoid it getting too noisy, and you don't need to share your phone number to join. We'll also be posting more events in there 🥳 👉 https://discord.gg/FCvQnQGyhX See you in there! 🥂 \~\~\~\~ **You’ll meet people who are:** * in their 20s & 30s living or working in London * open to meeting new people and making connections * up for good conversation and a relaxed evening 😊 \-\-\- **Why should you join?** * Meet new people and grow your social circle * Enjoy meaningful, easy-going conversations * Discover new friendships and connections * It’s a great way to spend your evening * It’s a lot of fun! 🚀 \-\-\- **How it works…** **🎟️ 1. RSVP on Meetup** 😊 **2\. Turn up & enjoy** * The tables will be booked under the **"London Social Circle"** so ask the staff to point you to the tables. There should also be a sign on the table so it's easy to find the group. * Expect a friendly, welcoming group and a great atmosphere. The gatherings are generally self hosted with support from the venue. If you have any questions, feel free to email info@okgather.com 🎟️ Tickets help us cover the costs of organising the events so we can continue running more gatherings for the community, while also helping us manage accurate numbers for venue bookings and reserved tables 😊 Please try your best to arrive on time at 7pm - this is important because people will be introducing themselves and getting to know each other at the start. This is to help ensure everyone has a great time! Spots are limited to keep the group a good size. It’s a simple, enjoyable way to meet new people and have a great evening.

Join us for some fun, competitive, but friendly games at our 4-court sports hall. We use Hybrid Kawasaki Kong 500's during the 3-hour session. **PAYMENT** * **Session Fee: £12** * We are cashless, kindly pay the session fee **by midnight** on the night before the session. You are welcome to pay early! You can even pay when you book! See our About page for the full process. * If no payment is received, you will be removed and may even be liable for a late cancellation fee if your spot is not taken. * Please use **“your meetup name + date of event”** as payment reference * **Account name:** Thomas Lam * **Sort code:** 04-00-03 * **Account number:** 7478 8608 **LATE CANCELLATION OR NO-SHOW** * **All** **no-shows or late cancellations** (24 hrs or less) will be charged if your spot is not taken by someone else - you will have a title next to your name with the amount and date owed. * Members with 2 no shows/late cancellations will be removed from the group unless outstanding payment is received * **The late cancellation policy** is set up to discourage last-minute cancellations and therefore applies with or without the presence of a waitlist * **Note:** If you are on the Waitlist and a spot becomes available, you will automatically be bumped onto the On list provided the event has not yet started. It is your responsibility to **remove yourself from the waitlist** if you can no longer make it to avoid being charged a no-show if someone cancels late. **PLAYING** * Please wait to be marked off before entering the hall. * Sessions are to finish promptly on the hour by school requests. * If you finish a match with 5 minutes to go, please start packing up instead of starting a new game. **RACKET HIRE** * Please note that we won't be hiring out rackets, so kindly bring your own racket. **PARKING** * There is parking available, but it is now paid parking. Parking is opposite the entrance. Please check the signs for parking payment instructions. **TRACK & TRACE** * We will collect your phone number on-site. Your phone number will also be used in case of fire to contact you if you have not made it to the fire evacuation areas. You can see maps at the venue. We are excited to see you guys on the court! Team LSBC

This is a smallish-group, quiet-ish meetup for ADHD brains who want to connect with their tribe without their nervous system going, 'Alll riiight, I'm outta here!' Everyone welcome. You don't need a diagnosis, you don't even need ADHD. Just need to be a good egg. We’re meeting at **Picturehouse Central - UPSTAIRS cafe** (Piccadilly) because it’s one of those places where you can actually hear yourself think. Mostly. This is more of a tea/coffee and cake kinda venue. Sorry, booze hounds! **The environment is**: relaxed, validating, welcoming It won't be like whispering to each other at the back of the class, more less sensory Armageddon. **What to expect** A small group (human-scale, not “who are all these people” scale). A quiet-ish venue where you don’t have to shout your personality into existence. Conversation that can be normal (well, probably far from normal 😅. There is no need to worry about trying to fit in, no need to mask. A soft landing. Come late, ease in, do a gentle hello, no one’s timing you. Low-pressure hanging out. If you want to chat, great. If you want to sit and decompress near other people, also great. **The unofficial theme** How to be social without being assaulted by: fluorescent lighting overlapping conversations surprise music that one table doing a full volume podcast recording next to you. **Important Note:** If you cannot make it, please put 'Can't go'. This ensures there's space for others who want to attend 🙂 ‐------------------------------------------------------ Boundaries (quick, clear, important) Yay!-DHD is a consent-led space. Some people are chatty, some are quiet, some are pacing themselves. Please don’t push for personal details, contact info, or continued connection if someone isn’t offering it. This isn’t a dating event. ‐------------------------------------------------------- For you robots out there: ADHD \| Low sensory meetup \| Inclusive \| AUDHD \|

I strongly suspect this recurring event no longer takes place, but I have never received any information about it since I first heard years ago and have never had any enquiry. ======= Blow the cobwebs away and get active at lunch time with a bike ride around Central Park to perk you up for your afternoon's work. Aimed at workers in the area, but all welcome. It may be possible to borrow a bike, by prior arrangement. Contact Nick [dot] Davies [at] lbbd [dot] gov [dot] uk.

Watch the World Cup and make some memories with new friends! Join us at Big Belly on SouthBank for all **England World Cup Games.** **[THIS WILL SELL OUT TICKETS ESSENTIAL!](https://www.designmynight.com/london/event-space/southbank/big-belly-comedy-club/its-coming-home-england-vs-croatia-fifa-world-cup)** [GET TICKET HERE](https://www.designmynight.com/london/event-space/southbank/big-belly-comedy-club/its-coming-home-england-vs-croatia-fifa-world-cup) 🎟️**Ticket Information:** ***£10 per person, including a welcome drink 🍺*** Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so we recommend arriving early to meet the group, grab a drink, and enjoy the pre-match build-up. 📺 We'll be watching the game live across 10 big screens, with a fantastic atmosphere, great views from every seat, and plenty of opportunities to celebrate (hopefully!) England goals together. **Arrive around 7pm for some pre-game mixing and mingling.** We will have a reserved area for this Meet Up, so be sure to chat with the hosts when you arrive and they can point you in the right direction! **What to expect:** ⚽ England 🇬🇧 vs Croatia 🇭🇷 live from the FIFA World Cup 2026 🍻 Welcome drink included with your ticket 🤝 Meet new people and make new friends 👋 Solo attendees encouraged 📺 10 big screens showing all the action 📍 Big Belly Bar, South Bank, London Need help finding us? Our entrance can be found at what3words: [https://w3w.co/putty.camera.roof](https://w3w.co/putty.camera.roof) **JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITY HERE:** [https://chat.whatsapp.com/CpmuQWTBGJ12dVNCfXdJdQ?mode=gi_t](https://chat.whatsapp.com/CpmuQWTBGJ12dVNCfXdJdQ?mode=gi_t) Whether you're coming for the football, the social atmosphere, or both, we'd love to have you join us. **Come for the match. Stay for the friendships.** ⚽🍻

**Hit, laugh, reset your week.** Join us for a relaxed tennis session followed by a short, low-key park social. * 📍 Location: Park Hill Recreation Ground, Croydon (1-2 courts booked – details shared after approval) * 🕒 Schedule: 10:00am – 12:00pm → Tennis (doubles rotation) * 🎾 Tennis All levels welcome (yes, beginners too). We rotate regularly so everyone plays Focus is fun > competition If you can’t make it, please update early 👉 No-shows without notice may lose priority for future events 🎒 **What to bring** * Tennis racket (we may have 1–2 spares) * Water bottle * Comfortable clothes/trainers * Optional: small blanket or towel for the park Come for the tennis, stay for the people. 🎾 *Pictures and Videos may be taken for marketing purposes.* *All attendees consent to the use of their pictures by The* Second Serve Social 🎾

We all want 2 things from justice. We want the guilty caught and held, so the rest of us are safe. We also want to be sure we never crush someone who did nothing wrong. But we can't have both. Lean toward catching every criminal, and innocent people get swept up. Lean toward protecting the innocent, and some dangerous people slip through. Benjamin Franklin landed on one side: better a hundred guilty go free than one innocent suffer. The trouble starts when those hundred are real, and they're out. What is prison actually for? to punish, to protect us, or to fix people? When a sentence is short, is that mercy or is that punishment of the victim? Which mistake can you live with: jailing the innocent, or freeing the guilty? Can a court really say "innocent until proven guilty" after the public already decided? *Please do your own research and share resources related to this topic in the comments below.* —————————————————————————————— **💛 Support The Examined Life** Enjoying the discussions? Please consider donating, it keeps us running. 👉 Donate here: [https://examinedlife.uk/donation/](https://examinedlife.uk/donation/) —————————————————————————————— **Join our Telegram group chat** Stay connected between sessions: [https://t.me/+o9T9DL5u6AcwMmRk](https://t.me/+o9T9DL5u6AcwMmRk) —————————————————————————————— **About the session** The Examined Life "Let's Discuss…" session is an open, welcoming discussion, no prior reading or expertise required. Format: * **13:15** Free-flowing group discussion on the topic * **14:00 (ish)** We split into smaller groups for deeper conversation on what interests you most * **16:00** Official end of the meetup. Most attendees stay on and keep chatting until around 18:00 —————————————————————————————— **Please RSVP accurately** Please update your RSVP if plans change, it helps us plan and frees up spots for others. —————————————————————————————— **Artwork:** Interrogations in Jail 1720 by Alessandro Magnasco.

**🎤 FREE COMEDY SHOW + SATURDAY SOCIAL MIXER 🍻** Looking for a Laugh & to meet new people in London? Join us Saturday for a **FREE comedy show** & social mixer at Big Belly! 🕔 **Arrive from 5:00pm** \- Meet your fellow comedy goers and chat about the show during the 2 intervals\. **[COP A LIMITED FREE TICKET HERE](https://www.universe.com/events/sat-20th-jun-5-30pm-doors-6pm-stand-up-comedy-show-bigbelly-comedy-tickets-G80FMR?unii-trigger-open=G80FMR&unii-access-key=MEETUP)** 🎭 **FREE Comedy Show: 6:00pm–8:00pm** (Show starts 6pm SHARP) **🤝 Social Mixer: From 8:00pm onwards** Laugh together, break the ice naturally, and then stick around to meet even more people at our Saturday Social Mixer. Whether you're **new to London**, looking to **expand your social circle**, or just **fancy a laugh** on a Saturday night, this is the **perfect way to do it.** 🎟️ Free entry, but spaces are limited. **[COP A LIMITED FREE TICKET HERE](https://www.universe.com/events/sat-20th-jun-5-30pm-doors-6pm-stand-up-comedy-show-bigbelly-comedy-tickets-G80FMR?unii-trigger-open=G80FMR&unii-access-key=MEETUP)** **JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITY HERE:** [https://chat.whatsapp.com/CpmuQWTBGJ12dVNCfXdJdQ?mode=gi_t](https://chat.whatsapp.com/CpmuQWTBGJ12dVNCfXdJdQ?mode=gi_t)

June's Book: What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea by Faramerz Dabhoiwala 'Eye-opening, thought-provoking and deeply enjoyable, What is Free Speech? is a work of great profundity and brilliance’ William Dalrymple A fresh and exciting approach to one of the most controversial subjects of our time ‘Free Speech!’ is a clarion call all over the world, yet what it means today is more contested than ever. Many cultures regard it as dangerous: in China, India, and across the Islamic world, unorthodox views about politics, sex, and religion are repressed and people are often punished for expressing them. Even in the western world, where it is held up as a core value, there is widespread discord and disagreement about what freedom of expression means. Amidst perennial imbalances of power, continually evolving cultural taboos, dramatic new technologies and a fast-changing global media landscape, where free speech comes from – and how we might think about it – are critical questions. Through the lens of history, What Is Free Speech? shows us that freedom of speech is not an absolute from which societies and regimes have drifted or dissented at different times, but something more complicated and interesting. Our modern conceptions of press and speech liberty, Dabhoiwala shows, were invented in Britain around 1700. The real history of freedom of expression is a story of countless fascinating men and women whose lives have shaped its principles and practices over the past 300 years – slaves and imperialists, poets and philosophers, plutocrats and revolutionaries. Ranging across Europe, North America and South Asia, and not neglecting other parts of the world, Dabhoiwala rejects celebratory platitudes about the past and present of free expression. Instead, his book explains how to think more deeply about free speech as a global as well as a local question ― by tracing how we got into our current predicaments, showing that history complicates our contemporary presumptions, and suggesting fresh possibilities for the future. The meeting starts at 7:30. Shortly after 7.30, we will break up into small groups. Those familiar with the CLH Book Group meeting know how this works: in each group we take turns introducing ourselves and giving our 1 minute thoughts on the book. It's important not to go over a minute and not to interrupt other people's minute so that everyone gets a chance to participate. After this first round, each group discusses for another 20 minutes or so. We then shuffle the groups so as to talk to as many different people as possible and in the new groups repeat our introductions and 1 minute thoughts. We'll do this a couple of times before coming all together at the end in one last big group. While we are very social and welcoming, the book group's primary focus is on discussing books. Feel free to turn up if you haven't managed to finish this month's book but note that the group works best when we have all read at least half of the book and are prepared to share our opinions. *** £3 per person to attend. If it's your first time, come and try us out for free! Pay at the event with cash or card. We encourage dialogue, debate and sharing of information on our site but ask people to keep their comments cordial. Any views expressed here are those of the individual posting them and may not reflect those of CLH.

🟤 THE FIRST 10 TICKETS ARE **£4.50 ONLY** 🟢 REMAINING TICKETS ONLINE ARE **£9.50 ONLY** 🟣 TICKETS AT THE DOOR ARE **£15** **Click The Link Below To Buy Tickets**: [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1984712124391](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1984712124391) In this workshop Ryan explains how to reduce hostility in social situations, then how to set boundaries & defend yourself if necessary while minimising the chances of overreacting or that there is a misunderstanding. Including brain training exercises you can practice to be sharper in this area. 🔵 - How to defend yourself if trying to keep things peaceful isn’t working 🟣 - How to set boundaries in a healthy way 🟠 - Being reasonable so that you’re neither having your boundaries broken but also not overreacting potentially ending up becoming the hostile person 🟢 - How to deal with bullying 🔵 - How to manage emotions related to this area ⚫ - Brain training exercises designed to increase sharpness at this area of social skills Ryan has been coaching people social skills full time for over 10 years. As a quiet & shy person he wanted to work on his own social skills & after making huge improvements plus understanding how social situations work & how to improve he developed a process to help others for every area of social skills. He has helped thousands of people over the years to improve & now has a huge following including over 180000 followers on TikTok. More info on Ryan & Social Shortcuts can be found on the website [www.socialshortcuts.com](https://www.socialshortcuts.com) After workshops we spend time hanging out together, a great opportunity to practice the workshop content & make new friends. Plus Ryan is happy to answer any questions you want to ask one to one. 🟢Workshop happening after this: **Persuasion Workshop** Sun, June 28, 2026, 5:45 PM in LONDON **[Click to get a ticket -](https://eventbrite.com/e/1984712137430)**[ eventbrite.com/e/1984712137430](https://eventbrite.com/e/1984712137430) In this workshop Ryan explains how to persuade effectively, ethically & without lying including techniques with brain training exercises designed to increase sharpness in this area with practice bringing this together at the end. 🔵 - The mechanics of how people end up being persuaded 🟣 - How to be ethical while being persuasive 🟠 - Persuasion using only the truth 🟢 - Emotions involved in persuasion & how they function 🔵 - Practical persuasion techniques that are effective, easy to use & unlikely to feel insincere ⚫ - Brain training exercises designed to increase sharpness at this area of social skills 🔴 - A challenge at the end to bring everything from the workshop together In person workshops are at 40 Store St. - Store Street Espresso: London. For any questions feel free to contact Ryan or Gabriel. Please don't contact the other group organisers as they are not involved in running the event & won't be able to provide much help:
 ✉ **Ryan**: info@socialshortcuts.com
 ✉ **Gabriel**: gabrielsocialshortcuts@gmail.com **OTHER EVENTS LINED UP** 🟡 Developing Humor And Quick Thinking In Social Situations
 🟢 Persuasion Workshop
 🟤 How To Manage Emotions Workshop 5 minute documentary on our workshops - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rlbCYdeaws We have a score of 4.9 out 5 on Trustpilot - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/socialshortcuts.com Our WhatsApp chat where we discuss social skill, give updates about our events & you can ask questions - [https://chat.whatsapp.com/H3mLsvkNJwpCcOELRX28nQ](https://chat.whatsapp.com/H3mLsvkNJwpCcOELRX28nQ) For one to one coaching on social skills and also our free trial session - [ http://www.socialshortcuts.com We have over 180000 followers on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@socialshortcuts.com Our video courses - [https://social-shortcuts.teachable.com/p/conversation-course DISCLAIMER
This workshop is intended for educational and or entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any medical condition. **Follow us on the sites below also**:
 http://www.socialshortcuts.com
http://www.youtube.com/c/socialshortcuts
http://www.facebook.com/socialshortcutsofficial
http://www.Instagram.com/socialshortcuts **📜** Ken Robinson **📜** Up to a point you welcome being interrupted because it is only by interacting with others you get anything interesting done

RSVP here - https://www.meetup.com/TheFFM/events/ and look for the next "Fire your boss!" event. If you want to achieve Financial Freedom in a secure safe way and make sure it is quick and effective, Follow the link to Take Action and Make it happen for yourself! RSVP here - https://www.meetup.com/TheFFM/events/ and look for the next "Fire your boss!" event.

**IN PERSON SEMINAR - YEATS, RUDOLF STEINER AND REINCARNATION** **with Andrew Welburn** **The great lyric poet W.B. Yeats had a life-long fascination with reincarnation. But strange things started to happen when his young anthroposophist wife brought him Rudolf Steiner's indications for finding your previous life from 1912. It not only inspired his poetry and plays, but put him touch with a long-dead Arab geographer - his own previous self?** ***Andrew Welburn has been an academic in the fields of English Literature and biblical interpretation and history. A life-long Anthroposophist, he has written several books on Steiners’ philosophy, esotericism, and Christianity, and on the prophet Zarathustra.*** All Welcome, No Need to Book, No Charge. This event will not be recorded. DONATIONS There is no charge for online or face to face events, except for Workshops involving extra cost. Voluntary donations towards our overheads are gratefully received and can be made either by Paypal or by Bank Transfer to a Nationwide account held for this purpose: PAYPAL: to SUE PEAT at suejoanpeat@gmail.com BANK TRANSFER: ACCOUNT NAME: ADRIAN HOTTEN ACCOUNT NO: 31466776 SORT CODE: 07-01-16 Many thanks.

BMS-CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind & AmSpirit Towne Centre FIFA World Cup Social from 2pm to 7pm at Jimmy V's in Westerville. Please feel free to stop by for a drink, some food, networking and the US vs Australia FIFA World Cup Group D match. FREE to attend, drinks and food available for purchase. Bring business cards and a friend. 1 S State Street in Westerville.

Sleep in on Sundays. When you've had your fill of pajama-time, roll out and have some tasty brunch with your fellow Humanists!

🎳 **Summer Fun Starts on the Lanes! 20% off for NEW bowlers!** The 6-week summer social bowling league is here - cold drinks, fun times, and new friends await on the lanes! Whether you're looking to meet new people, unwind after work, or just have a fun weekly outing, this league is for everyone. Social vibes, happy hour energy, and plenty of chances to connect with others. No matter your skill level, this league is all about having fun and meeting awesome people. ;) **🗓 Thursday nights \|📍 AMF Sawmill Lanes \| 💵 $74 *(while Early Bird is active)*** **🚨New to the league?** Use discount code (**MUSU26**) for 20% off - $59.20 *during **Early Bird*** **💻 League Info & Registration**: https://bit.ly/ColumbusBowling **Why Join?** 🎉 It’s only 6 weeks - perfect for a low-commitment social plan 🍻 Great mix of people in their 20s, 30s, & 40s, plus post-game hangs at the bar 🎳 Zero pressure - gutter balls totally welcome! 👕 Free league shirt if you sign up early 🧠 Weekly trivia w/ prizes 💬 Super social - join solo or w/ friends! **Want in?** Join our Meetup team Gutter Dusters 👉 **Click here to join** https://tinyurl.com/2d5y52vq Or start a team of your own with a few friends - we’ll all be hanging out either way! 📅 League Dates (Thursday nights): June 25, July 2, July 9, July 16, July 23, July 30 ***(The MeetUp event date is deadline to register for the league.)*** **Cost & What’s Included:** ✔ $74 **Early Bird** registration - **New bowler? Get 20% off w/ code: MUSU26** ✔ 6 weeks of bowling (1–3 games/week) ✔ Shoe rentals & full league setup ✔ Trivia, prizes, and great people 👉 **Sign up now:** 💻League Info & Registration: https://bit.ly/ColumbusBowling 🤑New bowlers use code MUSU26 to save 20% 📸 Follow the fun on Instagram: https://bit.ly/BowlingLeague-IG 📩 Questions? Contact the league: http://bit.ly/2nKHno7 Spots are filling fast – don’t miss out on the fun times!

We will be marching again this summer at Pride. Come ready to show your Pride and stand-up for every human's right to love, respect, and family! * **Step-off:** 10:30AM * **Route:** High Street from the Capital to Goodale Park Update: We are meeting at Bob Leonhard's house. You can park your car there and we will carpool to the parade. This will eliminate you finding parking in the city and excessive walking. You SHOULD BE AT BOB'S HOUSE BY 8:45 a.m.! We will leave for the parade at 9:15 am sharp! Bob's address: 2858 Thorndale Avenue, Columbus, OH 43207 If you have questions, his number is 614-301-7436

Welcome to Drunken Philosophy, a casual, curious, social discussion club. Come grab a drink and a seat at The Oracle. **Optional topic for this meetup: Where is everybody?** In 1950 the physicist Enrico Fermi was talking about aliens over lunch and asked a question that still has not gone away: if the universe is so vast and so old, and even a fraction of those billions of stars have planets, where is everyone? By the numbers the galaxy should be crowded with civilizations. Instead we look up and hear silence. That gap between "they should be everywhere" and "we see no one" is the Fermi Paradox. One of the most unsettling answers is the idea of a **Great Filter**: somewhere on the road from dead chemistry to a galaxy-spanning civilization, there is at least one step that is almost impossible to get past. Maybe the filter is behind us. Maybe life starting at all, or simple cells becoming complex, or intelligence ever evolving, is the freak accident, and we already cleared the hard part. Or maybe the filter is ahead of us, and advanced civilizations reliably wipe themselves out before they spread. Here is the part that messes with people. If we ever found life somewhere else, even pond scum on Mars, most people would call it the greatest discovery in history. But it might be the worst possible news. It would mean life is common, the early steps are easy, and the hard step is still in front of us. So the eerie silence overhead might actually be the best sign we could ask for. **Questions to wrestle with:** * Is it better to be alone? Would you rather we find alien life and learn we are not special, or find nothing and quietly improve our odds of surviving? * Where do you bet the filter sits, behind us or ahead of us, and why? * If it is ahead of us, what is it? Nuclear war, climate collapse, AI, something we cannot even picture yet? And can we do anything about a filter we cannot see coming? * Does any of this change how you live, or how humanity should be spending its time and money right now? As always the prompt is optional. Come for the conversation, stay for the drinks, and bring your own questions.

Let's mix and boogie! We'll start with social time over dinner/appetizers/drinks from 6:00-8:00pm. Then we'll get down with a live band [Shucking Bubba Deluxe](http://www.shuckingbubba.com/). COVER CHARGE: $10.00 (cash) SBD: A great danceable cover band playing popular genres of music - funk, classic rock, pop & club/dance. [Harry Buffalo](http://www.harrybuffalo.com/locations/westerville/) has a wide selection of quality appetizers and entrees. Harry Buffalo seating is first come/first serve this evening. We need a few folks to be there by 6:00pm or so to secure a table on the patio. DRESS: Late Summer Patio (picnic table friendly) BAD WEATHER CANCEL (usually by 4pm) PARKING: lots near restaurant and down the street. Do not park at Taco Bell.

The Unity of Columbus Resource Group for the Homeless is seeking compassionate volunteers who would like to help serve and uplift members of our homeless community. This group is dedicated to sharing kindness, resources, and support with individuals who may be experiencing difficult circumstances. Anyone with a heart for service is welcome to join us as we work together to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Community members are also invited to contribute by bringing helpful items for those in need. Donations of items can be contributed at the meeting and will be distributed to assist members of the homeless community. Please consider joining us and sharing this opportunity with friends, family, or associates who may also wish to help. Learn more about Unity of Columbus at www.unityofcolumbus.org or call (614) 267-4959. Together we can extend compassion, dignity, and support to our community. 💛