Speaker – Page 74

A Mind of My Own: memoir of recovery from Aphasia

Harrianne Mills

December 2, 2012

A Mind of My Own is a dramatic true story of one woman”s recovery from traumatic brain damage following a motorcycle accident in Greece. Facing far more than broken bones and physical impairments, this classical antiquity professor had lost what was most important to her: her ability to successfully use language. This insightful and moving memoir begins with her awakening from a coma and not recognizing family members and follows her journey of recovery. Using journal entries, medical records, letters, and more, she tells her story from multiple perspectives. In a process reminiscent of the literary ascent in Flowers for Algernon, her journal entries illustrate her remarkable journey and provide an intimate narrative of what it takes to become a whole person again after severe brain damage. Her successful step-by-step struggle to return to a normal life is a reminder of what the human spirit is capable.

Harrianne and her son, Lucas, are active in the Family Program at HCSV. We are very fortunate that she will be sharing her amazing story with us. Her book is also available at the Forum.

Humanist Community Forum (2012-12-02): A Mind of My Own: memoir of recovery from Aphasia (Harrianne Mills) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

We Need A New Paradigm – Punishment Is Not Working

Dorsey E. Nunn

November 18, 2012

Mr. Nunn, Executive Director for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, He is the co-founder of All of Us or None, a civil and human rights organization comprised of formerly incarcerated people, prisoners and their allies. He is also a formerly-incarcerated person. He is a former co-chair of the Standing Committee on Legal Services For Prisoners for the State Bar of California. He is a former co-chair of the Institution and Alternative Section for the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association. He has been on the board of Legal Aid Association of California. He is the former chair of the Criminal Justice Consortium. He is a member of the National Organizing Committee for Critical Resistance and a founding member of Critical Resistance. He is the co-founder of Free at Last, a community based recovery and rehabilitation center. He hosted a radio program (KPFA in San Francisco) on criminal justice related issues. He has spoken extensively on issues relating to prisoners, their children and family members at numerous conferences, workshops and demonstrations, including voter registration and rights.

Mr. Nunn has won numerous awards including, The Human Excellence Award presented by the San Francisco Muslim Community Center, Certificate of Appreciation presented by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition presented by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. He was a 1996-1998 California Wellness Fellow. Most recently Mr. Nunn was awarded the prestigious Fannie Lou Hamer award from the African American Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dorsey Nunn, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, 1540 Market St., Ste. 490, San Francisco, CA 94102
415/255-7036, Ext. 312 or 415/516-9599 (cell phone). (www.prisonerswithchildren.org)

Humanist Community Forum (2012-11-18): We Need A New Paradigm – Punishment Is Not Working (Dorsey E. Nunn) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

The Propositions on the November, 2012 Ballot

Alex Havasy

November 4, 2012

Humanist Community member Alex Havasy will present summaries of the 11 state propositions on the November ballot.

The summary will include the main arguments in favor of and against each proposition, who is financing it, and how various organizations recommend you vote.

This presentation led to a lively and very informative discussion. Glad I waited to fill out my ballot!

Confessions of a Lefty, Godless
Magazine Editor

Jennifer Bardi

October 28, 2012

Now in her sixth year at the helm of the Humanist magazine, Editor Jennifer Bardi has some confessions to make, namely that she never knew Humanists were sexist, gun-toting, anti-abortion, homophobic, sexually inhibited, free-market loving conspiracy theorists. Well, a few of them anyway.

Bardi will speak about hot-button social and political issues on which Humanists differ in their opinions, the history of the AHA’s stance on core issues, and how the AHA continues to advocate for nonbelievers of all stripes.

Humanist Community Forum (2012-10-28): Confessions of a Lefty, Godless Magazine Editor (Jennifer Bardi) from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

Our Home, The Mind – Understanding it better, Enjoying it More, and Using it Well

Martin Squibbs

October 21, 2012

Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Psychology, and the study of Memory and Consciousness are all focusing on understanding the nature, behaviour and living reality of our home; the human mind, living within our human brain. Weighing 3lb, being 6.5″x5.5″x3.5″ in size, having 2% of our body’s weight, consuming 20% of our body’s energy, containing around 100 billion neurons and establishing around 100 trillion connections, the human brain is, or should I say most likely you are, perceiving and reading and interpreting these words within its neural networks right now.

What does this relatively new form of life, this highly self aware and complex human brain, bring to Earth, to our Solar system, and to this Universe as a whole, so far as we know? And how do we find joy within it and do well by it? I intend to share new scientific insights into the structure and processes of our memories in mind, and then offer some of my own thoughts and theories regarding the very nature and form that our human minds take within reality as a whole, and in doing so, seek to propose some answers to these questions.

To see Martin’s excellent slides click here.