ThinkTank Bradenton

Remember, November 11

thinktankbradenton — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:30:10 +0000

Local Veteran’s Day remembrances:

Bradenton: Parade, 9:30 a.m., starting at Emergency Services Memorial in Rossi Park. Ceremony at Monument Park is at 11 a.m. with massing of colors. U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan will be the guest speaker.

Sarasota: Parade, 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11; starting at Main Street and Osprey Avenue. Col. Richard Bolstad, USAF Ret. and a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than seven years, will be the featured speaker at the ceremony immediately following the parade. The theme of this year’s parade and ceremony is “Land of the Free Because of the Brave.”

Venice: 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 at Patriots Park at the north junction of Business U.S. 41 and Bypass U.S. 41. The guest speaker will be Andy Hooker, vice president of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission.

Sarasota: 2 pm, Meadowland Worship Center; Guest speaker Jim Hawkins, a Marine Corps veteran of World War II and the Korean War. Hawkins was only 16 when he joined the Marines in 1944, and was shipped to the South Pacific, where he fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and the battle of Okinawa.

Nov 11: Motherhood, an Act of God?

thinktankbradenton — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:06:52 +0000

Patrick will be facilitating our discussion on feminism, breastfeeding, happiness, double standards, PTA meetings, religion, and many more issues related to motherhood in the U.S.A. version 233.0. . . . The discussion is sure to be lively this week!

This discussion is open to women and men, mothers and non-mothers, and all who are interested in discussing gender roles, stereotypes and assumptions in light of our current culture.

And remember, we will not be meeting on 11/25, the day before Thanksgiving. We may be planning a social event between now and then, and will let you know the details. . .

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

Join our facebook group and get updated notices of ThinkTank meetings!

Oct 28: The Technological Imperative

thinktankbradenton — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:23:53 +0000

Just because a technology exists, does that mean society should use it?

Kathryn will be facilitating this week’s ThinkTank discussion.

We’ll be discussing concepts related to “technological imperative,” such as what is meant by the idea of the “technological imperative?”
Does the existence of a technology necessarily means society should use that technology? Are there any principles that we can use when deciding whether to adopt a particular technology?

Feel free to bring along a friend!

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

Join our facebook group and get updated notices of ThinkTank meetings!

Oct 14: Classic and Modern Cinema

thinktankbradenton — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:14:25 +0000

Come join us to discuss themes related to classic cinema.

Brian and Emily will be facilitating. Some questions we may be discussing are What makes a film a classic? What modern films will be considered classics? Why do we love movies so much?

Feel free to bring a friend!

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

patmeehan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:23:08 +0000

When is the next ThinkTank?

August 26: The Canon of Literature

thinktankbradenton — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:15:57 +0000

This Wednesday, Crystal will be facilitating a discussion on literature.

Some questions will include, what is the canon of literature? What makes it in, what doesn’t and why do some things remain on the outskirts? What is the importance of literature?

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

“In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” — Mortimer Adler

August 12: What is the Purpose of Education?

thinktankbradenton — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:45:14 +0000

Facilitated by John, our next ThinkTank meeting will be related to education.

Considering how many of our regular members are students, professional educators, or autodidacts — the conversation should be lively and interesting!

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” –Socrates

July 22: History and the Movies

thinktankbradenton — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:33:44 +0000

Come join us for our next ThinkTank discussion night on History the Movies, facilitated by Pat. Some themes we’ll be pursuing are the nature of history, the true objectivity of history, the role of movies in education, and artistic license in movies and other art media.

Come, enjoy the discussion, bring a friend, bring a topic idea for a future meeting. . . We’re continuing to meet the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

July 8: The Essence of American Identity

thinktankbradenton — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:24:34 +0000

What does it mean to be “American”? What exactly is the “American Way”? How does someone become an American? How does the American identity vary from other national identities? What are the implications of growing globalism in relation to the American identity?

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

June 24: ThinkTank Book Share

thinktankbradenton — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:31:28 +0000

On Wednesday, June 24th, we’ll be having a book sharing conversation. This will have three parts, and you can choose to participate (or not) in any or all of the three:

1. Share: Bring two books you’ve really liked — they don’t have to be your favorite or most influential — and spend about five minutes summarizing the books and telling us why we should read them.

2. Select: After we hear about why we should read each of these great books, we’ll corporately choose one book to read and discuss at our July 22nd meeting.

3. Swap: If these two books (or other books you like but don’t bring to talk about) are ones with which you are willing to part, put them into our swap pot — bring a book, take a book. We’ll all leave with something new to read!

ThinkTank Bradenton
2nd and 4th Wednesdays
7:30 pm / Starbucks I 75 & SR 70
thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com

Update:
Some of the books recommended:

“Walk Across America” Peter Jenkins
“War in Heaven, A Novel” Charles Williams
“The Elegance of the Hedgehog” Muriel Barbery
“Conversations with God” Neale Donald Walsch
“Persepolis 1 and 2″ Marjane Satrapi
“Haunted” Chuck Palahniuk
“An Egg Is Quiet” Dianna Hutts Aston, Sylvia Long
“The Celestine Prophecy” James Redfield
“False Assumptions” Henry Cloud and John Townsend
“When Character Was King” Peggy Noonan
“Hawking” ???
“Villette” Charlotte Bronte
First Aid and Emergency Pocket Guide
“Twilight” Stephanie Meyer
“Brain Rules” John Medina

What titles did I forget to list?

June 10: “The 24/7 News Cycle”

thinktankbradenton — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:32:17 +0000

This discussion will be facilitated by Bill, springboarding from a comment a few weeks ago:

“How has the 24/7 news cycle and constant pressure for delivering the fastest news affecting the quality of our news and how does that affect us?”

“This college student faked a quote on wiki to see how quickly it would spread and found many news sources quoted it without checking the unverified source.”

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090512/ap_on_hi_te/eu_ireland_wikipedia_hoaxer

Pat suggested some other lines of inquiry including,

“In terms of the topic for tomorrow night I had one major question. If the newspaper model is dead and bloggers and instant news is the current and future reality, where exactly do we think these new media get their information? Do blogs support research staff and investigators? Do instant news places have foreign bureaus? Do any of the new media conduct interviews with due diligence? I think that there will be a news blowback when the last newspaper goes under and these insta-news sources suddenly have no news to report on.”

And one of our Florida East Coast friends has suggested continuing this conversation again on a Saturday, because he’d like to join in. . . especially considering his background in journalistic field. So stay tuned for possible ThinkTank ancillary meetings!

Join us!

June 10: “The 24/7 News Cycle”
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
7:30pm – 10:30pm
Starbucks on SR 70 near I-75
7386 52nd Pl E
Bradenton, FL

May 27: Biases of Western Civilization

thinktankbradenton — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:44:37 +0000

This Wednesday at ThinkTank we’ll be talking about the “Biases of Western Civilization,” and the discussion will be facilitated by Patrick.

Details:
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
7:30pm – 10:00pm
Starbucks on SR 70 near I-75
Bradenton, FL

If anyone has resources related to the upcoming topic and would like them posted here for others, feel free to leave a comment!

Aesthetics and the Culture, Follow Up

thinktankbradenton — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:35:26 +0000

Great discussion tonight. . . Thanks, Bethany for facilitating!

This isn’t a summary of the discussion, but some things mentioned along the way:

Visting the Ringling together

A turtle which paints

May 13: Aesthetics and the Culture

thinktankbradenton — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:03:59 +0000

Come join us to discuss art, beauty, meaning and culture at our next meeting, Wednesday, May 13th. We will again be meeting at the Starbucks on SR 70 near I-75, from 7:30 – 10:00 pm. This discussion will be facilitated by Bethany.

If you want to read a little on aesthetics before you come, check out wiki or skim the syllabus from the aesthetics course taught by Gideon Strauss.

If you are really ambitious. . .

This is the “recommended reading” on aesthetics from Prof. Strauss:

A Broken Beauty
by Theodore L. Prescott (Editor)

Active Sights: Art as Social Interaction
by Timothy Van Laar, Leonard Diepeveen

Aesthetics
by Susan L. Feagin, Patrick Maynard

Aesthetics: The Classic Readings
by David E. Cooper (Editor), Peter Lamarque (Editor), Crispin Sartwell (Editor)

Artistic Truth: Aesthetics, Discourse, and Imaginative Disclosure
by Lambert Zuidervaart

Enlightened Cherishing: An Essay on Aesthetic Education
by Harry S. Broudy

Everyday aesthetics
by Yuriko Saito

Eyewitness: Reports from an Art World in Crisis
by Jed Perl

Heidegger’s Philosophy of Art
by Julian Young

History of Beauty
by Umberto Eco

In the Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Art
by Linda Weintraub

Intruding upon the Timeless: Meditations on Art, Faith, and Mystery
by Gregory Wolfe

Objects of Grace: Conversations on Creativity and Faith
by James Romaine

On Beauty and Being Just
by Elaine Scarry

Reasons for Knocking at an Empty House: Writings 1973-1994
by Bill Viola (Editor), Robert Violette (Editor)

Relational Aesthetics
by Nicolas Bourriaud

Six Names of Beauty
by Crispin Sartwell

The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa
by Michael Kimmelman

The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy and Painting
by Galen A. Johnson, Michael B. Smith (Editor)

The Next Generation: Contemporary Expressions of Faith
by Patricia C. Pongracz, Wayne Roosa

The Poetics of Space
by Gaston Bachelard

The Relevance of the Beautiful and Other Essays
by Hans-Georg Gadamer

The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness
by Virginia Postrel

Uncontrollable Beauty: Toward a New Aesthetics
by Bill Beckley (Editor), David Shapiro (Editor)

ThinkTank Team Trivia @ Findaddy’s!

thinktankbradenton — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:47:38 +0000

Dave suggested (and we all agreed) that we join up for the Team Trivia at Findaddy’s on the 5th Wednesday of April. (We usually meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. . . what to do with the bonus week in April?)

Come join us. . . instead of philosophizing and solving the world’s problems, we’ll kick butt in a trivia tournament!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
8:00pm – 10:00pm
Findaddy’s
935 Beneva Rd