HOME

DIRECTIONS
(See farther down for
Saugerties Senior Center and new Esopus Library)

New Paltz Village Hall
Take Thruway to exit 18.
Exit leads to light.
Turn Left onto Main St.
Go through 3 lights, heading down hill (1.3 miles from Thruway) see Bank of NY on left and Starbucks.
Turn left there onto Plattekill Ave. or Blvd., go up hill a few hundred feet on R see firehouse. Just past see brick village hall building also right side of street.
Enter front door.
If lost ask how to get to Starbucks. Starbucks is on the corner of Plattekill.

Saugerties Sr. Center
Take Thruway to exit 20.
From the south, after toll booth, turn right at light.
From the north, after toll booth, turn left. At next light (Rt. 212, Ulster Ave.) turn left again.
Then, go about 1 mile to light at T in road. Turn left onto Market St. Go 3 blocks to intersection of Market and Robinson Sts. Senior Center is on right.

New Esopus Library
When going south on 9W (from Saugerties, Kingston), go over the bridge, go through first light and then take first left onto Canal St., go down library drive on left. When going north on 9W (from Highland) after first light in Pt. Ewen (Salem St.) pass firehouse, go slow, take right turn onto Canal St., go down library drive on left.

EVENTS
Hudson Valley Humanists
For more information, contact Ed Poll at hudsonvalley@humanists.net
Phone (845) 247-0098

Saturday March 27 '10, 2 pm,  Unitarian farmhouse (320 Sawkill Rd Kingston)
Lets Talk about...
Thorstein Verblein
Dr. Virginia Hlavsa.   Dr. Hlavsa will speak about the life of Thorstein Veblen an American economist and sociologist.  In his 1899 book “Theory of the Leisure Class,” American economist Thorstein Veblen criticized conspicuous consumption as being a wasteful method of seeking social power and prestige.  $4, $3 members, includes refreshments. Call 247-0098.

Tuesday March 16, 7-9 pm, Barnes and Noble in Kingston
HV Humanist Book Club with Ed Poll
A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle
We'll take a look at Tolle the guru of the NOW (certified by Oprah) and his view that a new era is approaching because humans are becoming a conduit for divine consciousness on the planet.  The discussion will explore the "New Age" movements and compare the secular world view to this new version of Eastern philosophy and religion.  Can even a die-hard atheist/agnostic benefit from Tolle's advice to live in The Now, quit thinking, and accept everything that IS?
Book reading is not required.  Join the discussion

PREVIOUS EVENTS  

Sunday February 21 '10, 2 pm,
Unitarian farmhouse (320 Sawkill Rd Kingston)
Matilda Joslyn Gage: Bringing her into History
Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner.   Gage worked with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in organizing the women’s movement in 19th century America.  In 1871, she was one of the first of the hundreds of women who tried to vote, breaking the law under a civil disobedience strategy she devised for the National Woman's Suffrage Association.  Dr. Wagner says Gage was, “A determined activist and one of the most logical, fearless and scientific writers of her day.”
       Dr. Wagner, the executive director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation in Fayetteville, New York, is a nationally recognized lecturer, and author of woman’s rights history.  She founded of one of the country’s first collegiate women’s studies programs.
      This is a Speakers in the Humanities lecture made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Free and open to all, refreshments available, for information call (845) 247-0098.  

Saturday September 26 '09, 7:30pm,
Unitarian farmhouse (302 Sawkill Rd Kingston)
Scientist and inventor, Nikola Tesla
Lecture by Milan Cupurdija. People are still fascinated by Tesla’s work on wireless communication, robotics, and his attempts to bring unlimited electric power to the entire world. According to Cupurdija, “In the last couple of decades, there has been increased interest and many new publications on Tesla. Unfortunately, most of them are just recycled material, misrepresented or incorrect.”
  Cupurdija, like Tesla, is of Serbian descent.  He is a filmmaker and Tesla scholar.  The lecture will cover not only the technical inventions of Tesla, but his unique views on society, ethics and morality.   
  Cupurdija plans to display commemorative posters, slides, a miniature working-model of a Rotary Magnetic Field Motor, and more of Tesla’s machines that galvanized the world.
  Presented by the Hudson Valley Humanists, $4 donation requested, call 247-0098.

7-9 p.m., Monday, June 23 2008, at the Esopus Library
Talk and discussion--Great Dilemmas:
Prosperity–Is it Everything?
An exploration of the social, psychological and environmental consequences of human prosperity, lead by Hudson Valley Humanists' director Ed Poll.  Free and open to all, includes refreshments. For information: (845) 247-0098, or hvhumans@yahoo.com. The library is at 128 Canal St. in Port Ewen.  

Hudson Valley Humanists Lecture Series at SUNY New Paltz
(End of April) Date and Location TBA
Sustainability or Apocalypse?
Mike Ignatowski. In the next few decades humankind is facing a "perfect storm" of challenges including peak oil, global climate change, major resource depletion, the potential for a major economic disruption, and an exponential growth in technology. Depending on how we manage these next few decades we could usher in a long term era of increased prosperity and sustainability - or face an environmental collapse and major social disruption.

HV Humanist Book Club with Michael Strong
Thursday April 17 2008, 7-9 pm, Barnes and Noble in Kingston
"Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman

Sunday April 6, 2 pm, Unitarian farmhouse (302 Sawkill Rd Kingston)
The Great Global Warming Swindle
Neil DeRosa presents a half-hour segment of the video Now for the other side of the debate! as part of his long-term project of questioning mainstream paradigms (and propaganda) in science. The claim is made by several prominent scientists and other leading figures that the present Global Warming may not be what we think it is. The earth may soon be due for a "correction." Discussion afterward.  $4, $3 members

Saturday March 29 2008, 2 pm, Unitarian farmhouse (302 Sawkill Rd Kingston)
Pathways to Humanism
Three people give a 10-15 minute talk which includes a personal bio focused on tracing their evolution into humanist philosophy. $4, $3 members

HV Humanist Book Club with Michael Strong
Thursday March 20 2008, 7-9 pm, Barnes and Noble in Kingston
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte
A highly imaginative novel of passion and hate set on the Yorkshire moors.

February 21, Thursday, 7-9 pm at Barnes and Noble in Kingston
The Next 50 Years
Science in the 21st Century
This 2002 collection of essays by twenty-five well-known scientists was edited by "Edge Foundation" founder John Brockman, who also wrote the introduction.
Sample chapters:
Martin Rees, Cosmological Challenges: Are We Alone, and Where?
Ian Stewart, The Mathematics of 2050
Brian Goodwin, In the Shadow of Culture
Marc D. Hauser, Swappable Minds
Alison Gopnik, What Children Will Teach Scientists
Paul Bloom, Toward a Theory of Moral Development
Geoffrey Miller, The Science of Subtlety
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, The Future of Happiness
Robert M. Sapolsky, Will We Still Be Sad Fifty Years from Now?

Feb 19 2008, Tuesday, 7:30 at Esopus Library, 128 Canal St., Port Ewen*, free
Mike Ignatowski presents:
Charles Darwin
The life, times, and impact of his ideas
Charles Darwin's birthday is Feb 12th. In honor of that event, we will be presenting a presentation of one of history's most influential personalities. Mike's presentation will cover a biography of Darwin, the history and science of evolutionary thought, and a discussion of the social and philosophical implications of his ideas which are still being debated today.