On August 28th, I went to a Q&A in SF by Annie Lowrey of The Atlantic and Ezra Klein of the NYT. The Q&A was on Lowrey's new book about the impact of government bureaucratic paperwork on poor people, but what struck me was that they both made several rapid non-sequitur jokes about AI killing everyone, in the middle of talking about policy, political polarization, and 20th century history. Paraphrased very roughly from memory (don't remember who said which):

• It's important to think about the cruelty in TANF’s forced work requirements in the very short period of time before humanity permanently loses control of its own destiny.
• San Francisco is a place that has made certain things— such as building superintelligence that will destroy the world— completely frictionless.

I think the audience reacted much less to the strange throwaway AI jokes than they did to more mundane jokes about Trump or political parties. This was surreal, especially because the jokes read to me more as gallows humor than as mocking the SF discourse.

(This was pre-Jacob Coxon resignation)

Hey! So I'm one of the organizers for the 2025 Bay Area Secular Summer Solstice and we're seeking input from people planning to attend. In particular, Solstice has been at Miller-Knox for the past several years and we'd like to move it somewhere else for this year. 

Rachel Shu, the 2024 organizer, posted about doing Solstice on Angel Island back in June. The basic idea is that Angel Island could be a temporary, alternate world that facilitates a deeper collective experience: Summer Solstice is about agency, freedom, solutionism, physical embodiment, cooperation, and fun — and Angel Island has a mountain peak to climb, crumbling ruins to explore, forests to hike, and beaches to swim from. 

If you are planning to attend the next Bay Area Summer Solstice, does this idea excite you, or would you prefer a different venue, such as the Marin Headlands (the original Secular Summer Solstice venue)? Short survey here, or comments welcome below. We plan to make a decision in the next couple weeks, so now is a great time for input!

Quick pros of Angel Island:

• Logistics are easier than they might seem: we can charter dedicated ferry rides at good times and have a boat on hand to take people back to the mainland if they need to leave in the middle and the regular ferry's intervals aren't enough.
• we visited to suss it out and it's a much more interesting area than Miller-Knox (also, there's a great spot for the sunset).
• higher commitment = greater chance for community and connection.
• shared unique travel experience on boat = (maybe) bonding experience & alternative world feeling.
• Chance for camping.

Quick cons of Angel Island:

• Higher total travel time and more complex than Marin Headlands (~30-50 minutes of driving + 15 minute ferry vs 50 minute drive).
• Would be more expensive (think $30 - 40 / person).
• Seems like the Marin Headlands could also provide a lot of similar benefits.

Would also welcome additional collaborators on Summer Solstice 2025.