I just can’t seem to get my timing down. I see countless lectures and events that look like they should be interesting, and they’re usually too far away for me to attend. I’ve completely written off things like The Amaz!ng Meeting, not just because of distance but because they chose the most expensive place to stay in the US as their locale (and their event rates aren’t cheap either,) and a significant amount of them take place on the west coast, or in Missouri.
The Reason Rally on March 24th is a godsend, um, stroke of luck, in that it’s being held in Washington DC. Okay, I’d rather it be in a city that’s not a pain in the ass to drive through but at least it’s close to me here in central NC, not even a day’s drive away. I can swing that!
Except, I’m actually scheduled to do a seminar that day. And to make it more frustrating, they just issued discount codes on bus fare to the event, and I would have been able to snag a bus only a short distance away for less than gas would have cost me. Since I’m not feeling too confident of the car doing long trips anymore, this would have been great.
By all means, take advantage of this, and check out the Reason Rally event – there’s a lot of great speakers and music, and you can scare the hell out of all of the religious politicians just by being there in numbers. Even the bus ride should be a hoot, and a chance to network a bit.
From my selfish perspective it’s not all frustrating, though – Rock Beyond Belief is being held the following weekend, Saturday March 31st, right here in the state (meaning Ft Bragg, NC,) and I should be able to attend that one. If you can make it to the Reason Rally, you can make it to Rock Beyond Belief too, most likely (unless you went and scheduled to teach a photography seminar on that date like a fool.) As an added incentive, the success of Rock Beyond Belief is needed to spur events like these throughout the country, and the US military needs a reminder that their mission does not involve pushing christianity, so there’s actually a greater reason to attend. I hope to see you there, and I mean that, since it’d be nice to meet someone who’s actually found this site…
By the way, both of these are free to attend, which makes them a better deal than anything except air. Yet, they took a lot to organize, so even if you can’t attend, send them some appreciation, just for making the effort. And spread the word around too – that’s what social networks are for.