During this day long seminar we will engage with culture critics, artists, writers, and filmmakers to explore the biopolitics that are implicit in depictions of the future, emerging technology and enhanced humanity in literature, film and television. Speakers (in formation) include SF critic Annalee Newitz (io9.com), futurist and SF writer Jamais Cascio, director Matthew Patrick, TV writer PJ Manney, comics expert Jess Nevins, and transhumanist artist Natasha Vita-More. Registration before November 15: $99 (After Nov 15: $150) Venue: Eon Reality, Irvine, California For more information: [http://ieet.org/bpcs09]

For more information: [http://www.humanityplus.org/summit/] Speakers (information) include:

• Aubrey de Grey on life extension
• Ben Goertzel and Peter Voss on artificial intelligence
• Ramez Naam on advanced search
• RU Sirius on h+ Magazine
• Patri Friedman on seasteading
• Todd Huffman, Randal Koene, and Ken Hayworth on Whole Brain Emulation
• Edward Miller and Joseph P Jackson on the open science movement and post-scarcity
• Alex Lightman and Parijata Mackey on open source medicine
• James Hughes and Sonia Arrison on building transhumanism and life extension as a political movement
• Tyson Anderson and Andrew Hessel on DIYbiology
• Bryan Bishop and Ben Lipkowitz on frabratories Venue: Eon Reality, Irvine, California First 50 tickets are $150, but they get more expensive after that so register early: [http://hplus.eventbrite.com]

”Each in Its Own Sphere in Which God Has Placed It: Are Science and Religious Faith Compatible for Latter-day Saints?“ Lecture and discussion with BYU professor emeritus William Bradshaw. 6pm on 10 October at Sunstone office, 343 N. Third West, Salt Lake City.

Hi Fellow Transhumanists,

I just wanted to let you know that the Fall issue of h+ Magazine is appearing on newsstands now. Its official release date is the 28th, but I was just at a Barnes & Noble in Palisades, NY and Paramus, NJ and they had it out already! All 720 Barnes & Noble stores, as well as many Borders, Books-A-Million and about 550 college bookstores will carry it.

The winners of the 2009 LDSTech Awards that were awarded during the LDSTech Talk were:

Yesterday during conference, Elder Scott provided a phenomenological breakdown of revelation that was refreshing. He spoke of feeling a flash of inspiration, trying to convert his inspiration into words, reflecting on those words and then revising them until the Holy Spirit confirms their truth. I enjoyed the talk and almost completely agree with that perspective.

Some more thoughts about conference: WHY is the porn thing such a big issue? I get why porn is a problem and how it can damage individuals and families. What I don't get is church authorities obsession with talking about it, admonishing men over it, basically beating it to death in every conference for the past several years. Not really sure I have an answer to the question, but I guess I am coming to a few half baked ideas. My personal take on this (which may or may not be worth the hard drive space it's saved on) is that the obsession with porn is the result of some deeply embedded contradictory assumptions held within Mormon belief and culture about the nature of masculinity. In D&C 121 Joseph eloquently articulates the conflict perspective on human nature, and specifically male nature:

The Mormon Transhumanist Association provides several news and blog feeds, available for your review and selection on the Content Feeds page. The main feed, "Mormon Transhumanist Association Feeds", aggregates all of the other feeds in order to facilitate the subscription process for those who would like to see everything coming from all MTA feeds. Today, we've added a second main feed, "Mormon Transhumanist Association Feeds without Comments". This new feed aggregates all of the other feeds except the comment feeds, for those who prefer not to see comments directly in the feed stream. Here are the feeds currently included in Mormon Transhumanist Association Feeds:

The second annual LDSTech Talk will be held on 17 September at 6pm MDT. The LDSTech Talk is a streamed event that will update you on what the Church is doing with technology. Register today and mark your calendar. Joel Dehlin, managing director of ICS and CIO of the Church, will host the event. The winners of the 2009 LDSTech Awards will be announced. If you have a question you would like answered during the event, submit it beforehand by using the LDSTech Talk Question form. The latest information about the event will be posted on the 2009 LDSTech Talk page. If you're unable to watch live, we will post it on the site within two weeks after the event. Also you can download the 2008 LDSTech Talk to see how it went last year.

The Singularity Institute is pleased to host the Singularity Summit 2009, a rare gathering of thinkers to explore the rising impact of science and technology on society. The summit has been organized to further the understanding of a controversial idea -- the singularity scenario. The summit will take place 3-4 October 2009 in New York City. You may register online.