We held our Third Annual celebration of the birthday of Charles Darwin. We enjoyed the traditional (Darwin) fish dinner at Joe's as we toasted one of our great scientific heroes, Charles Darwin on the 195th anniversary of his birth. An evening of fun and merriment!

Jack Silver is the past President of Or Adam, a Phoenix area Humanistic Jewish congregation (http://www.oradam.org/). His presentation covered the Secular Humanistic Jewish movement, with emphasis on historical background of the movement; the major philosophy and values; an overview of holiday and life-cycle practices; the differences between this and other Jewish cultural/secular movements, both locally and worldwide. Mr. Silver was born into an Orthodox Jewish family, but says "I stumbled into Humanistic Judaism by way of a long term, arms-length affiliation with Conservative Judaism." He has been a member of Or Adam Congregation since 1999 and has served as President of the Congregation, and is currently a Board Member. In his spare time, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Arizona State Hospital. He holds graduate degrees in Social Work (M.S.W-Syracuse University), Public Administration (M.P.A.-University of Rhode Island), and Psychiatric Rehabilitation (CAGS- Boston University), and has worked as a clinician, teacher, policy maker and administrator.

Dr. Phil Williams is Professor of Chinese Literature, Language & Interdisciplinary Humanities at ASU, where he has taught since 1986. He received his M.A.(1981) and Ph.D.(1986) from UCLA, in East Asian Languages. He spent a year as a Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in 1990-91. He teaches courses in Chinese literature, modern and late Imperial; Chinese language, beginning through classical Chinese (fourth-year); Chinese film & civilization and Chinese media studies. He has directed East Asian language and culture programs at ASU; Soka University (a liberal arts college in Orange County), and the University of Vermont. His latest book, due out in autumn 2004 from the University of California Press and co-authored with a UC professor, is entitled "The Great Wall of Confinement: The Chinese Prison Camp through Contemporary Fiction and Reportage." His other publications include numerous articles and essays, and several full-length books, including "Village Echoes: The Fiction of Wu Zuxiang" (Boulder: Westview, 1993); "Critical Essays on Chinese Women and Literature, Volumes 1-2" (Taipei: Daw Shiang, 1999, 2001) and "Chinese the Easy Way" (NY: Barron's Educational Series, 1999).

We met at the home of Doreen and Harold Saferstein, 7435 E. Montebello, Scottsdale, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, January 18th. To kick off our first meeting of the HSGP Book Club, we discussed Carl Sagan's classic about Skepticism, "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark." In this book, Sagan debunks "alien abduction," "channelers," faith-healers" and the "face" on Mars, and offers us his "baloney detection kit."

Dr. Michael Saks received his B.A. and B.S. degrees from Pennsylvania State University, and his M.A. in 1972. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Ohio State University (1975) and an M.S.L. from Yale University (1983). Before joining the College of Law faculty at ASU, Professor Saks taught at Boston College, Georgetown University, and the University of Iowa, where he was the Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law. He has served as editor of Law & Human Behavior, and is co-editor of Modern Scientific Evidence. His research focuses on empirical studies of the legal system, especially decision-making, the behavior of the litigation system, and the law’s use of science. His work has earned several awards and has been cited in a number of judicial opinions, including several by the United States Supreme Court. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the Best Practices Institute of the National Center for State Courts and of the Center for Justice and Democracy.

We celebrated the real "reason for the season" with merriment and song. We also installed our new Board Members for 2004. Following the festivities, we held our Third Annual Auction and Rummage Sale, and generous bidders helped us raise over $500! We bid farewell to 2003 and welcomed the New Year, 2004!

Dr. Elliott Goldstein is Associate Professor of Biology at ASU, where he has taught since 1974. He received his Ph.D.in 1972, from the University of Minnesota. He teaches courses in Genetics and Molecular Biology, with specialization in control of messenger RNA during development of Drosophila, recombinant DNA, and Drosophilia oncogenes' role in learning and memory. Dr. Goldstein is the author is numerous articles and publications in his area of specialization. This was a fascinating and timely talk!

We had an open discussion which focused on the meaning of Humanism. We call ourselves "Humanists," but what does this mean? What are the types of Humanism? What are some definitions, as given in the various Humanist Manifestos? What about Ethics? Many members attended the meeting and joined in the stimulating discussion.

We also elected the slate of officers for 2004.