If you’re in Logan, SHAFT is organizing a carpool down to Salt Lake. Meet at 2:30 PM at Aggie Ice Cream (750 N 1200 E).

The documentary is about the LDS Church’s involvement in California’s Proposition 8, an anti-gay marriage ballot measure and constitutional amendment. If you’re not familiar with the movie, watch the trailer:

I was worried that 8: The Mormon Proposition would be unabashedly one-sided and angry. I saw the movie last week, and frankly it was those things. But, to my surprise, that didn’t detract from the movie—not seriously, at least.

I overlooked its bias, because it’s nearly impossible to get Mormon representation in a film. Church leaders and members alike are reticent to defend their beliefs on camera. Bill Maher encountered this problem in his comedy/documentary Religulous. Unfortunately, because of its bias, those who most need to see the movie (Mormons) won’t. The anger in the movie was also forgivable; Proposition 8 profoundly hurt California’s LGBT couples and families. Why shouldn’t they be upset?

Don’t expect that the documentary will be revelatory. If you followed the Proposition 8 controversy, you may not learn anything. Don’t expect the movie to be particularly insightful, either. It trades in stereotypes and simplistic arguments. My hope is that, at dinner, we’ll have the kind of intelligent discussion that the movie lacked.

8: The Mormon Proposition isn’t as polished as, say, Michael Moore’s political documentaries. It’s a low-budget labor of love, and it shows. But it’s an entertaining and deeply affecting film. I promise you won’t regret seeing it.

I look forward to seeing you there!

I am excited for this event. You may remember Dr. Diamond from his Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel.

It is unclear to me whether Diamond himself will make an appearance or if we’ll just watch a documentary of his. Either way, this promises to be a great event. I’ll keep you posted about the details as they become available. In the meantime, please visit the Facebook event page for more info.

All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. So please stop by, enjoy a treat, and contribute to a good cause!

And if you would like to make some stuff for the table (cookies, brownies, etc.), it would be greatly appreciated. Just remember that all goods must be individually wrapped.

This Friday, the College of Science is hosting Dr. Robert Lang, who
will be visiting USU to talk about the connections between
mathematics, science and art through origami folding.  Robert is a graduate of Caltech in engineering and applied physics, and  the recipient of their Distinguished Alumni Award.

While he is here on campus, we’ve arranged for some informal time for students and faculty to visit with Robert and talk about his career and current activities.  It  should be of interest to students and faculty alike.  Please join us:

—> Dr. Robert J. Lang
—> FRIDAY, 2 April 2010
—> 3:00 – 4:30pm
—> College of Science Conference Room, ESLC 245D

Additionally, Robert will be giving the Science Unwrapped Lecture that evening:

—> “Math’s Paper Trail: The Origins of Mathematics and Origami”
—> Dr. Robert J. Lang
—> FRIDAY, 2 April 2010
—> 7:00pm
—> ESLC 130
—> www.usu.edu/science/unwrapped/

You can see some of Robert’s origami creations (some of the most complex ever folded) on his website:  langorigami.com

You can also see a short 20 minute presentation on Math and Origami Robert gave at TED in 2008: www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami.html

Totally go to this, everybody. Make sure to check his site here, it’s amazing. Look out, an Allosaurus!

♦ UofU’s SHIFT is bringing Austin Dacey, a former UN representative for the Center for Inquiry,  to their campus to give a talk! So we thought we’d organize a carpool to go down there and support our fellows while enjoying a good speaker. The event starts promptly at 4pm on February 27, a Saturday. If you can provide rides or just want to tag along (and split gas  ) please comment here or on Facebook with your status as a driver/rider.

♦ Would you like to be a guest blogger for USU SHAFT? Just contact us through Facebook or at info@usu-shaft.com it may take us a while to get back to you, but we’ll get there.

♦ Would you like to be our new webmaster? Please contact us through Facebook or at  info@usu-shaft.com. You must be a member of the club at USU (enrolled student, staff, etc).

♦ There will be a bake sale at the first week of April, so start thinking of delicious recipes. The proceeds will either go toward funding club activities or a charity; we haven’t decided yet.

Thanks for your time!

The event is Wednesday @ 5:00 PM in Old Main 117. Again, it’s our last event, so let’s make it count.

SHAFT is proud to premiere the documentary Collision next Wednesday (Oct. 28th) in Engineering 302 (the new room) at 5:00 PM.

To learn more about this movie, refer to the previous post. In short, it’s a docudrama following the debates between atheist author Christopher Hitchens and pastor Douglas Wilson.

Be sure to bring along your theist friends—it will be fun for people to cheer on their respective camps (atheism, Christianity) in this debate/docudrama.

Snacks will also be provided (but if you can contribute some, please do!).

I’ve ordered a copy of the documentary. If it gets here in time, we may watch it for next week’s social. I think it would make for a great joint event, as well—we could invite FOCUS, the Religious Studies Club, and the Philosophy Club. Yet another reason why this would make a great event is that I’m working on getting Hitchens to speak at USU next semester. This film may gin up some interest in and support for that effort.

Below is the trailer. Let me know what you think.

I (and several other SHAFTers) have attended FOCUS meetings throughout the semester. I think it’s important that we foster a friendship with them, as it furthers a healthy religious dialogue. So try to make it to this event if you can—it should be a really interesting talk.

Thursday, October 1st will be the best of times, because that evening there will be two highly-anticipated lectures. It will also be the worst of times, however—you can only attend one as they each start at 7:00 PM. I’ll advertise them both; go to whichever one most piques your interest.

This year’s Leonard Arrington Mormon History Lecture will be given by Kathleen Flake, professor of American religious history in the Divinity School and Graduate Department at Vanderbilt University. She will be speaking about “The Emotional and Priestly Logic of Plural Marriage.” Having read Flake’s work on polygamy, I expect her presentation to be fascinating. This lecture will take place Thursday, October 1st at the Logan Tabernacle at 7:00 PM.

Another lecture will be held at the same time in the Emert Auditorium (room 130) of the Eccles Science and Learning Center. Dr. Francisco Ayala will be giving a lecture entitled “Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion.” He teaches evolutionary biology at UC Irvine and served as the chief witness in McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education against teaching creationism in public schools.

Our theist friends can attend both—one in body, the other in spirit. But alas, we nonbelievers enjoy no such luxury.

The presentation is on Wednesday, September 16th, at 4:00 PM in Old Main 115.

We hope to see all of you tonight at SHAFT’s Opening Social!