This Friday and Saturday!
May 1st and May 2nd
4455 30th St. E
Bradenton FL 34203
Facebook Info
Featuring:
Janine Hoffman
Nigel and Cheyenne Rudolph
Haitz
Scone Train
James Hawkins
Justin Layman
Brandon Crane
. . . and more.
April 27, 2009
Local Art, Local Music
April 20, 2009
Come Join Us
Our current meeting place is Starbuck’s Coffee, located on SR 70 near Interstate 75. We meet on the firs and third Wednesdays of each month. For more information, please email us at thinktankbradenton@gmail.com
April 10, 2009
April / May Meeting Topics
As discussed at our last meeting, the upcoming themes will be:
April 22: “Seven Pounds” Movie Discussion
May 13: “Aesthetics and the Culture” (facilitated by Bethany)
May 27: “The Biases of Western Civilization” (facilitated by Pat)
If you have resources related to the above topics, please share them in this thread! Or, if there are other themes or movies you’d like to discuss, feel free to suggest them.
April 5, 2009
April 19th Rally: Humanity Working to End Genocide
While this is not a ThinkTank Bradenton sponsored rally, we do want to make our friends and participants aware of this upcoming gathering.
Show your support for the people of Darfur . . . by participating the Rally for Darfur on April 19th, 2009 at the First United Methodist Church, 104 Pineapple Ave, Sarasota, presented by Humanity Working to End Genocide.
After six years of destruction and violence in Darfur, on March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. . . .
The expulsion of humanitarian aid agencies has left about 1.1 million civilians without food aid, 1.5 million without emergency health care and over a million without potable water – threatening starvation and disease on a massive scale. These aid organizations are the last remaining lifeline for 4.7 million Darfuris.
More on Sudan and Darfur:
http://humanityworkingtoendgenocide.com/
http://www.mosaicpeace.org/
March 26, 2009
The religion thread!
During our last meeting, we decided to make “religion” an upcoming discussion topic. Rather than hammering out the details at the meeting, we agreed to work them out here at the blog.
So. . .
What are some of the ways we could approach the subject of religion? What issues would you like to see addressed? It looks like we’ll be splitting into two or more groups next time, so would anyone like to be a discussion facilitator? The ideal discussion topic needs to be concise enough to unpack in 90 minutes. (In theory, we could even do TWO topics, one for each small group.)
Since religion is such a personal and contentious subject, I just want to reiterate again that ThinkTank is a non-partisan, non-sectarian organization. That means two things: 1. Our discussion topic should be as inclusive as possible, and 2. we should feel free to speak openly and forthrightly about our beliefs, while doing so with respect for the opinions of others.
Anyway, just jump into the comments and let us know what you think!
March 22, 2009
Technology / Relationships
How does technology (internet, cell phones, etc…) affect community and relationships?
At our March 25th meeting, we’ll be discussing themes related to the impact of various technologies on relationships. This topic grew out of our discussion of cultural relativism.
I read an article earlier this week somewhat related, How the Kindle Will Change the World (Jacob Weisberg, Slate).
Looking forward to our discussion this week. . .
.
Update:
I really enjoyed the conversation tonight. . . feel free to continue it in the comments here.
A few books were mentioned during the discussion:
Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman
Distracted, Maggie Jackson
Fat, Dumb and Ugly, Peter Strupp
March 22, 2009
Origins ‘09
Origins: Celebrating the Birth and Life of Beginnings
For two weeks in March, the Tallahassee community will have the rare opportunity to see and hear renowned scholars discuss how fundamental discoveries in science, religion, philosophy, history and the arts have shaped our understanding of life, civilization and our grasp of what lies ahead. Please make your plans to join us for this event which was inspired by a global celebration of the extraordinary legacy of Charles Darwin in his 200th birthday year.
The intersections of history, philosophy, religion, science and the arts. . . Those intersections and interactions are what we seek to explore during our ThinkTank meetings.
If only Tallahassee weren’t a five hour drive away, maybe we could have a ThinkTank excursion to the Origins conference. Still, do any of the seminar topics sound like ones we’d like to talk about on a future Wednesday night?
March 15, 2009
Human Trafficking Forum
This forum is not hosted by ThinkTank, but looks like it is very worthwhile for our members to attend.
Forum on Human Trafficking
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009; TIME: 9 AM to 1 PM
Location: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 508 Riviera Street, Venice, FloridaSt. Mark’s Episcopal Church is hosting an educational forum for the Sarasota County area. The goal is for participants to learn about human trafficking in Southwest Florida and what we as community members can do to combat this serious problem…a problem much larger than most residents in this area realize.
Distinguished panel for this forum includes:
**Jordan Buckley of the Coalition of Immokalee Farm Workers (CIW) and Interfaith Action of Southwest
Florida
**Christine Nolan, District Director of Catholic Charities of Lee, Hendry, and Glades Counties
**Nola Theiss of Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships, Inc.
Representatives of local law enforcement task forceRegister by email to: humantrafficking AT stmarksvenice.com
A continental breakfast and light lunch will be provided.
A donation to cover the cost of food and materials is appreciated. Please register or direct your questions to the email above.
(h/t Venice Buzz)
March 11, 2009
March / April Meeting Topics
3/11: Discussing the movie “Thank You for Smoking”
3/25: How does technology (internet, cell phones, etc…) affect community and relationships?
4/8: Movie discussion, TBA
4/22: TBA
Bring your topic suggestions to the next ThinkTank meeting, or post them here or on Facebook.
We will continue to meet the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month beginning at 7:30 pm at the Starbucks near I75/SR70.
March 2, 2009
Thank You for Smoking
Our next ThinkTank Bradenton discussion is planned for Wednesday, March 11th. (Yup, a reminder. . . we’ve switched to the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, we’re still meeting at Starbucks at SR70/I75.)
It’s our week to discuss a movie. . . Several people suggested Thank You for Smoking. If you haven’t seen it, try getting it from Netflix or leave a message on this thread. A few people in the group own it and have offered to lend it out.
Wanna know more about the movie? Check out Rotten Tomatoes or Wiki.
If you don’t get to watch the movie first, still come. . . and bring a friend.
February 28, 2009
Florida 2009 Pre-Legislative Session Survey
ThinkTank isn’t about politics — or at least, not primarily about politics. Sometimes the Great Conversation does intertwine with politics, and we’ll follow where the conversation leads, respecting one another along the way.
That said, at least some of us do especially value political involvement at the local level and so I’m sharing this opportunity with you to voice your concerns with the upcoming Florida legislative session. This quick yes/no survey is sponsored on an official Florida government website — it’s not run by a PAC or ad company (at least, to my knowledge — and I’ve looked into it.)
The 2009 Legislative Session is upon us and there are many issues which will be decided upon. This message offers the opportunity to go on line and to complete a survey to help your legislator on how to vote during session on these issues. An online version is available for Florida residents at: www.flhouse.us The cut-off date for ensuring your survey response is included in the results tabulation is February 28th, 2009.
February 26, 2009
Upcoming Topics. . .
Tonight’s discussion was interesting. . . went in directions that I wasn’t necessarily expecting. As a group we discussed ideas for the next couple of meetings. Though if you couldn’t make it tonight and you have an idea for an upcoming meeting — either one you’d like to discuss or one you’d like to facilitate, please post it on this thread or email us at thinktankbradenton AT gmail DOT com.
We will continue to meet the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month beginning at 7:30 pm at the Starbucks near I75/SR70.
March 11: Movie discussion, “Thank You for Smoking“
March 25: The Internet and Community (loosely, still defining)
Your ideas?
February 20, 2009
Mark your calendars!
ThinkTank is switching to the second and fourth WEDNESDAY of the month.
We’ll still be meeting at Starbucks on 70/I75, still starting at 7:30 pm.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, February 25th at 7:30. Geoff will be facilitating a discussion on the theme of cultural relativism, and explore such questions as To what extent ARE truth and morality relative? What are the limits to this relativity?
Bring your ideas, bring your friends. . . and if it is chilly again, bring a warm jacket and scarf!
January 29, 2009
New College Library Sale!
Note to bibliophiles –
“The Jane Bancroft-Cook Library will have a used media sale on Monday, March 9 and Tuesday, March 10. There will be a wide variety of vinyl records, audio cassettes, and a selection of fine used books. The sale will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on those days. The book sale will be held inside the library at the New College Campus. For more information, call James Sheridan at (941) 487-4414.”
January 16, 2009
Foucault – Chomsky Debate
I just found the old Foucault vs. Noam Chomsky debate over on Youtube. They’ve helpfully put in English subtitles for the Frenchman, and Dutch subtitles for everyone. A lucky thing, that last.
Part I:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kawGakdNoT0
Part II:
