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What Will We Talk About In
October, 2009?
THE HAUNTED SALON
If you don't have an invitation to a Halloween party this year, (we
don't), our next gathering will make a fine substitute. It's a ghost and
other tales of horror feast! If you have a story about an encounter had by
you or someone you know, (or someone who is known by someone you know,
etc), with The Forces Of The Beyond, please come prepared to TELL ALL. If
you have a short scary story that you'd like to read (please edit it down
to 10 minutes or less), feel free to bring that, instead. If you just want
to sit here and get scared, that's fine, too. It is our intent to work
ourselves up into a shrieking, screeching frenzy. Skeptics will be
tolerated and given occasional opportunities to present short
rebuttals.
Sound interesting? Join us! To find out
how to do that, email us at: basement@elginsalon.org
What Have We Talked About?
The discussion topics we have addressed so far include:
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September, 2009: How
do you think Obama is doing so far? Just
what it sounds like!
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June, 2009: What are the
essential elements of a civilized society? What distinguishes a
civilized society from savagery?
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April, 2009: Inebriate Of
Air Am I, II. Poetry, poetry, poetry! We shared our
own works and favorite pieces by Other People and also produced group
compositions in the moment by the Ransom Note Poetry Process.
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February, 2009: Bring
Your Own Topic! We're did it again! Everyone
brought a short, provocative piece of
writing. We folded them up, put them in a pot, pulled out one,
read it, talked it into the ground, pulled another, etc etc.
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January, 2009: Preventive Medicine For The Soul.
2009 will have barely begun when we gather next. It will be the perfect time to take steps to ensure that this year will be as healthy, happy and fruitful as possible! Come to the salon prepared to share ideas for ways to stave off ennui, depression and despair and to nurture energy, creativity and joy!
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November, 2008: Are We On
The Precipice Of Significant Change? We
met right after the presidential election and shared our hopes and fears
regarding What Happens Next.
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October, 2008: 21. What
have you learned from life so far? What advice do you have for
your 21-year old self? What would you tell a 21-year old person
today?
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June, 2008: Books and
Movies. We engaged in an orgy of book and movie
recommendations and discussed the impact had by such media on society.
May, 2008: The Middle
Class. What is your definition of "middle
class" ? How does the concept of "middle class" affect
politics and the economy in the United States? Is a
large population that self-identifies as middle class a positive,
stabilizing factor in a society? If the concept of middle class was
abandoned, what might take its place?
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March, 2008: Bring
Your Own Topic. Everyone brought a short, provocative piece of
writing. We folded them up, put them in a pot, pulled out one,
read it, talked it into the ground, pulled another, etc etc.
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February,
2008: 2008.
What are your hopes, predictions,
expectations and educated guesses for the world in general and the USA in
particular for the year 2008? We speculated like crazy about What
Happens Next.
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December, 2007: Holidays,
Festivals, Celebrations, Collective Joy! What was/is/would be your ideal holiday
celebration? Could there be a World Party? Etc.
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November, 2007: No
time for a salon; however, we gathered for a "Bad Music
Night." We sat around on the floor and sang songs for several
hours. Who cares if we were off-key? It was a blast!
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October, 2007: MUSIC.
How do you define
"music"? Why do people feel compelled to create music? How
does music figure into your daily routine–do you season your air with
music? Do you have a sound track? Do you have a personal theme song? Do
musicians share certain characteristics? Is dinner with music an insult
to both the cook and the violinist? Do you appreciate street musicians?
Would you prefer silence? Etc. . . .
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September, 2007: People v. Baby
Boomers. Given the
political, economic, environmental and social failures of our time, what,
if anything, good can be said about the Boomer Generation? What are the chances that,
before the movie’s over, the Boomer Generation will redeem itself? How
big of a pain was/is it to have been born post-Boom? Etc.
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June, 2007: Mental Health.
Would you know mental health
if you saw it? If so, what do you think it is? Can someone be both
abnormal and mentally healthy? If you thought you were not mentally
healthy, what would you do about it? What do you think about psychotropic
drug therapy? Does mental illness even exist? Is a modicum of madness
required for creative endeavors? Etc.
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April, 2007: Bring
Your Own Topic. We did it again! Everyone brought a short, provocative piece of
writing. We folded them up, put them in a pot, pulled out one,
read it, talked it into the ground, pulled another, etc etc.
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March, 2007: THE IDEAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM.
What purposes are served by an
economic system? What values would the ideal economic system foster and
reward? How should an ideal system address education and employment
opportunities, the environment, public health, aesthetics, laziness,
extraordinary talent and merit? What would economic justice look like?
Does our economic system define us as human beings? Is Capitalism human
nature? Etc.
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February, 2007: MARRIAGE,
Monogamy,and imaginable alternatives thereto, The
Institution Of Marriage: where have we been, where are we now, and where
are we going? Is monogamous marriage a natural state for humans? If
monogamous marriage is a biological dictate, how come so many humans can’t
make it work for them? If it is a social invention, why don’t humans
refine the idea so that it works fantastically well for the vast majority?
What about marriages involving people of the same gender, multiple
spouses, and group marriage? How does the existence of marriage and the
general perception that it is desirable affect the lives of single people?
Etc.
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January, 2007: Bring
Your Own Topic. Everyone brought a short, provocative piece of
writing. We folded them up, put them in a pot, pulled out one,
read it, talked it into the ground, pulled another, etc etc.
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November, 2006: (
Aphrodisiacs
& Pornography
Is there such a thing as a
Genuine, Effective Aphrodisiac? Might an Aphrodisiac in every pot improve
the human condition? Is the notion of an Aphrodisiac relevant only to
sexual endeavors–is "aphrodisiac" an apt metaphor for
inspiration, generally? What are your thoughts about Pornography,
considered in the context of aphrodisiacs, rather than censorship?
Clearly, porn is desired by many people–what do you think it does for
us/them? Etc.
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October, 2006: m THE
NATIONAL ECONOMY, Do you think all is well with the US
economy? How important is the state of the national economy to
your own well being? Is capitalism a good idea? Etc.
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September, 2006: EDucation.
What are the legitimate goals of
education? Do an individual's educational interests differ from those of
society at large? What is the ideal learning environment? How
should education be funded? What is the measure of an educated person?
Are you an educated person? Etc.
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May, 2006: IRAQ
(and war, in general) What are your
thoughts regarding our government’s activities in Iraq? Are
humans inherently self-focused, competitive and violent? Is pacifism
inherently hypocritical and naive?
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April, 2006: Death.
How
do you cope with
your own mortality? (If
you are immortal, how do you know?)
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March, 2006: WHAT IS
ART? Do emotions, aesthetics, the identity of the creator,
her or his intent, politics, myths, symbolism, beauty,
significance, ideals, religion, The Eye Of The Beholder, etc., figure into
that determination? What human needs and desires are met
by Art? Has the Internet, computer
programs, Outsider Art, craft shows, etc., put us in danger of drowning in
a sea of Crap? What is Crap? Etc.
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February, 2006:
LOVE. WHAT
DO YOU KNOW OF GREAT LOVE? Can humans ever agree on a
universal definition of love? If so, what do you think that definition is
(or should be)? Are there such phenomena as love at first sight, chemistry, deja
vu type recognition, an immediate sense of connected fates? Can passion be sustained for decades?
Etc.
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January, 2006: Tangerine
Sky, Minus One Kite . . . Is your life a place of bliss and
delight and peace? If so, can you offer any tips on how to arrive at
that state of being? Etc. . . .
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November,
2005: Virtue & Vice: Are you
virtuous or are you rife with vice? How do virtue and vice relate to
good/evil and right/wrong? Are Millennium virtues and
vices situational? Is virtue inherently boring? Etc.
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October, 2005: Conspiracies
(&
Candy!) If you
don't harbor at least one viable conspiracy theory, you must be a Pinko.
And if you aren't fiercely devoted to at least one kind of candy, you're
obviously a space alien! We spent an unusual evening of passionate debate
on two seemingly unrelated, but actually diabolically, albeit secretly,
connected topics.
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September, 2005: ARE YOU
NORMAL? OR NOT??!? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being Jeffrey
Dahmer, what's
your "normal" rating? What if you just
don't like being normal, regardless of what normal means? Would you
encourage your child to be normal? Is normal something people merely
pretend to be? Could humans come up with a notion of normal that dooms our
species? Etc. . . .
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June, 2005: The
Inquisition! We didn't discuss The
Inquisition; we experienced it! It's the Salon version of
the Gallup Poll or a Magic 8 Ball. Everyone brought questions geared
to incite a verbal riot to ask
the group. We put them in a pot and pulled them out, one by one. The group
tackled each question, answered it, pulled out another, etc.,
until we were all answered out.
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May, 2005: Inebriate Of
Air Am I. This wasn't really a salon--it was the salon's first POETRY extravaganza! People brought their own work and favorite pieces by others to read to the group. In between, we all participated in the Ransom Note Poetry Project! We spent the evening wallowing in poetry and conversation about the creative process, the value, or lack thereof, of poetry itself, bad English teachers, stuff like that. Many poetry haters were converted. In fact, a salon writers group has spun off the event!
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May, 2005: into the arms .
. .of America. What does "America" mean to you? What do you think it means to everyone else?
Etc.
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April, 2005:
Childhood. What was that all
about, anyhow? What events, if any in your childhood significantly influenced who you are
now? If you could be transformed into a
5-year-old child in the year 2005, would you do it? Etc.
March, 2005: I.
Spirituality. What is the role of the sacred in contemporary and
individual lives? Are Americans becoming more, or less,
spiritual? Etc.
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March, 2005: Truth,
Honesty & Integrity. What is truth? Can absolute
truth ever be known and verified? Alternatively, what is
"true enough," as Wittgenstein put it? Etc.
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February, 2005: I.
Salon on the Salon. The topics, the seating, the lighting,
the snacks, the breaks, the group dynamic, the facilitation (or lack
thereof) the diversity; so what do you think? We
brainstormed all sorts of ideas for future salons, including innovative
ways to address several minor but chronic problems.
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February, 2005: II.
Bring Your Own Topic. People
wrote something worth talking about on a half-sheet of paper. We put 'em
in a pot, pulled one out, talked it into the ground, pulled out another,
etc.
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January, 2005: Human
Sexuality in Millennium America. Calling Dr. Kinsey! We're
confused! Allegedly, the outcome of the 2004 election evidences a
national preference for a conservative approach to sexual conduct.
However, America is crawling with naked navels, sex sells everything,
Desperate Housewives is my mother's favorite show, and so forth.
What are the sexual mores of contemporary America? Etc. . . .
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November, 2004: Home.
The home environment as personality mirror, human conditioner, social movement, art
form, playpen, sanctuary, asylum.
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October, 2004: The
Election. Do you consider yourself an informed
voter? Has the complexity of the issues rendered democracy
unreasonable? Are the candidates addressing the issues you think are
critical? Etc.
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September, 2004: History.
Gore Vidal refers to the USA as the "United States of Amnesia"--does that shoe fit? Can sound humanitarian decisions be made without regard for history? Etc. . . .
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August, 2004: The Psychic Sciences.
The Occult, the Psychic, the Supernatural, The Paranormal, ESP, Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Astral Projection, Hypnotism, Alchemy, Prognostication, Deja Vu, Dreams, Astrology, Intuition, Ghosts, Remote Viewing, Luck, Witchcraft, Positive Mental Attitude, Love . . .
We wallowed in all the stuff that drives scientists nuts!
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June, 2004: Gender. How do
you define gender? How many genders are there? Etc.
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May, 2004: The Generation Gap.
Is there a millennium generation gap? If it's TOO LOUD, are we, in fact,
too old? Etc.
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April, 2004: The Mystery of Me.
When I say, "this is me," what am I referring to? Etc. . .
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March, 2004: Ain't Nobody's Business If I
Do! Personal freedom. What is it? Is absolute freedom
possible or desirable? Etc.
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February, 2004: Bring Your Own Topic. People
wrote something worth talking about on a half-sheet of paper. We put 'em
in a pot, pulled one out, talked it into the ground, pulled out another,
etc.
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January, 2004: Hope, Optimism &
Happiness in a Time of Mad Cow Disease. We mixed our concrete
predictions for the new year with abstract ideas about the experience
and challenge of maintaining happiness, hope and optimism in Interesting
Times.
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November, 2003: Truth
& Illusion. Is there such a thing as an objective truth, or is truth
inherently subjective? How do media, religion, social conditioning,
cultural factors, preferences and emotional needs affect one's capacity to
perceive truth? Etc . . .
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October, 2003: The Democrats. What, if
anything, can be done about the Democrats? What are they supposed to be?
What are they, really?
Etc.
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September, 2003: What, If Anything, Desirable May
Be Salvaged From The '60s III.
Does anything remain? Is anything worth resuscitating? If not, why not? If so, where/why did it go?
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June, 2003: Illuminations, Epiphanies & Joy!
What makes us feel like life is worth living? By what means is joy awakened and sustained? How can we maximize joy in our lives?
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May, 2003: Bring Your Own Topic.
A topic free-for-all. Everyone brings something that will fit on a
single page--a quote, a paragraph from an article, essay, or novel, song
lyrics or a poem, a recipe, a single word--we put 'em in a cauldron,
pull one out, read it, discuss it into the ground, pull out another, etc.
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April, 2003: Days of War, Nights of Love. Another
round on "Eros" on the one hand, and current events--which
means war and its consequences--on the other. We rattled between the two
quite well; indeed, the cusp of the topics became a third topic!
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March, 2003: Eros. "How does
the heart open to the other?" asks the editor of Parabola
Magazine's 1995 issue on "Eros." We discussed human sexuality,
our personal philosophies, questions and pondering about our crazy,
sex-drenched but nevertheless puritanical millennium American
culture.
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February, 2003: Fear. Are Americans
afraid of the right things? What should we be afraid of? Many of us
watched "Bowling for Columbine" before digging into this
topic. We also did Bad Art Night, the sequel this
month--mucho fun, really BAAAADDDD!
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January, 2003: Time. Do we have a
healthy relation with time? Or does it scare the beans out of us? Is it
possible to waste time? How much future would you need to make time
irrelevant to you? Etc.
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December, 2002: Friendship. What motivates
friendship today among those who do not need connection with others for
basic survival? Is it hard to form deep, meaningful friendships? What are
the essential ingredients of friendship? Etc.
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November, 2002: Make Love, Not War!
Or make war, not love; or make love and war; or make anything but love
and war. An open discussion of all things related to love and war,
including the present political situation, the status of the Peace
Movement, the requirements of Capitalism, etc.
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October, 2002: Work & Humor. We
did two conversation salons. The first was on Work--What is "work"--and what, if anything,
is its opposite? Etc.
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September, 2002: Bring Your Own Topic.
A topic free-for-all. Everyone brings something that will fit on a
single page--a quote, a paragraph from an article, essay, or novel, song
lyrics or a poem, a recipe, a single word--we put 'em in a cauldron,
pull one out, read it, talk it into the ground, pull out another, etc.
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June, 2002: Live Simply. Good
notion or bad? Do labor-saving devices really save us time if we have to
work long hours to pay for them? Etc.
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May, 2002: Montage of Dreams. Do
you have a Big Dream? Is having a dream a minimum requirement for a
satisfying life? Is desire desirable?
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April, 2002: That Which Common Sense
Hesitates To Confront . . . .In the spirit of the games
surrealists play, rather than a Girl Scout campfire circle, we told ourselves stories. We
made up one long story, told in
segments by whoever has an idea for what might happen next.
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March, 2002: Metamorphosis. The
conversation topic is change. Do we prefer change to constancy? Is it desirable
to limit or to maximize change in one's life? Etc.
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February, 2002: The Right Thing. If
you knew how to make an undetectable weapon which could be used both
for self-protection and for terrorist attacks on airplanes, would it be
ethical to manufacture and market it? We discussed this and other questions, many
gleaned from Gregory Stock's Book of Questions.
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January, 2002: Calling All Soothsayers!
Let's prophesize the Mother of all unpredictable years, 2002! Bring your
predictions and divinatory tools!
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November 2001–The Inquisition: The
conversation salon version of the Gallup Poll or a Magic 8 Ball. Bring a question for
the group to answer.
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October 2001–September 11: What really
happened, what's gonna happen now, what SHOULD happen now?
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September 2001 – Taboos: What is the
present understanding of the concept of taboo?
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July 21st – GET OUT OF JAIL FREE
What crime would you commit if you knew the fix was already in
and you wouldn't be punished for it?
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June 2nd – Marriage
Why get the government involved?
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May 5th (not a conversation salon) Bad Art Night
Putting “Ragged Joy” into action!
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April 21st Ragged Joy – Contemplating The
Possibility Of Reclaiming The Active Experience Of Entertainment!
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March 24th B.Y.O.T (Bring Your Own Topic) (see
November)
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March 10th B.Y.O.T (Bring Your Own Topic) (see
November)
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Feb. 10th La Dolce Vita. (Contemplating
the measure of a life well lived.) What are the essential elements or
the minimum requirements of a good life?
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Jan. 6th Let's discuss something
simple this time: What is God?
A physical entity, a super person, a
designer–one
who designed in the past or one who continuously designs–an intelligence, a
force, a system, energy, a trickster with a lousy sense of humor, etc?
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Nov. 18th B.Y.O.T (Bring Your Own Topic)
We thought it might be interesting and cool to experiment with
this idea pirated from the Nov.-Dec. 2000 Utne Reader. Kind of a
discussion topic
free-for-all–everyone brings a short, provocative piece of writing, we
fold 'em up, put 'em in a pot, pull one out, read it and then talk it
into the ground, pull out another, etc.
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Oct. 7th Political Potency
Can an individual have measurable political effect in our current system? If so, by what means?
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Sept. 9th Drumming Event
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July 29th Drumming Event!
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No man is an Iland, intire of itself .
. . (John Donne)
The discussion topic is a concept for which contemporary English lacks a specific
term–“friend” is as close as we can get.
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Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try;
No hell below us, Above us only sky; Imagine all the people, Living for
today . . . (John Lennon)
Ideals and Idealism. Do ideals enrich or limit
experience?
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I love the smell of napalm in the morning! (Apocalypse
Now)
Is there such a thing as a genuine, effective aphrodisiac?
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“
” [A discussion concerning that for which there are no words–the
limitations of language]
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Wild Eyed Visions [revisited] An imagination collage
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Such terrible food here . . .Yes, and such small portions
. . . (Woody Allen)
Given what environmental activists say we do, what is the argument
for perpetuating homo sapiens?
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What, if anything, desirable can be salvaged from the
“counterculture” of the 60s (slight return)?
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Media . . . and Immedia (mediated and non-mediated experience)
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Religion (identifying experiences that give rise to it, what role has
religion played in culture, what roles might it play in the future)
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Illuminations, Joys and Epiphony (individual sources of joy)
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The Millennium Household (envisioning domestic arrangements for the near
feature)
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The Ideal Political System
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Our Dinner With My Dinner With Andre (a
discussion of the movie, preceded by dinner and the video)
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Money (and its effect, real and imagined, on choices)
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The Ideal Social Gathering
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Wild Eyed Visions (our own, those of others)
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Myth, Metaphor, Poetry & Ritual (the roles of each in contemporary
culture, the possibilities for the future)
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“Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do”–Personal Freedom (the
possibilities, the ethics, what is personal freedom in the first place?)
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. . . And Justice For All (laws and our justice system)
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That Ain't Workin' (What is work & what isn't? The ideal job?)
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I'm Your Puppet–The Role of Roles (Can there
be social structure without roles?)
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“Hope I Die Before I Grow Old!” Bad perms, dorky cars and
boring music–is the Woodstock Nation gonna do that?
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“But I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For . . .” What is
your ideal relationship?
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What, if anything, desirable can be salvaged from the '60s?
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Secrets and Lies ???
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Creativity
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Open (no announced topic)
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Come on, baby, do you do more than dance? . . .(Foreigner)
What does the concept of human sexuality include?
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Envisioning Tribe
What are the advantages and disadvantages of strong group identity and
group-centered lifestyles/value systems?
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Inebriate of air am I, and debauchee of dew . . .
Intoxication, pros and cons
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Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman (a
discussion of the ideas in the book)
If you're interested, leave your name and number on our voicemail, (847)
622-3693, or email us at basement@elginsalon.org
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