| July 11, 2004 Wild Card with Danielle Wilkerson |
| July 18, 2004 Cancelled |
| July 25, 2004 Short Form w/ Virginia-Marie Roure |
| August 1, 2004 Books w/ Ben Marzouk |
| August 8, 2004 Wildcard w/ Arthur Traldi |
| August 15, 2004 Short Form w/ Austin Tice |
| August 22, 2004 Culture w/ Rahul Sinha |
| August 29, 2004 TBD |
| September 5, 2004 Books w/ Kate Mereand |
| September 12, 2004 Wildcard w/ Rahul Sinha |
| September 17, 2004 Short Form w/ TBD |
| September 24, 2004 Culture w/ Danielle Wilkerson (tent) |
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
As may be somewhat obvious, Satori is currently "out of session". With many members having left for college, until more join we are going to place Satori on the self for a bit.
Temporary Halt
In the meantime if the idea was something you liked, please send email to the list with your ideas of how to improve it. Even if you don't have a prescriptive proposal, a descriptive comment on what you did and did not like about it would be appreciated.
Hopefully sometime soon we'll resume.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Notes from the Underground Wins It!
[Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky]
I applaud the willingness to dive into Russian literature with a novel that the great Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufman refers to as one of the "most revolutionary and original works of world literature." "The man whom Dostoevsky has created in this book holds out for what traditional Christianity has called depravity; but he believes neither in original sin nor in God, and for him man's self-will is not depravity: it is only perverse from the point of view of rationalists and others who value neat schemes above the rich texture of individuality."
[From Christian Strange's Dostoevsky Research Station.]
Look for this slim volume, only 126 pages, in either paperback or hardcover, both are easily available. I will provide more information on the text, author, and surrounding criticism as the discussion date drawers nearer.
Be sure to purchase the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation!
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Hey everyone, I know I've been flakester so far, so hopefully this doesn't suck.
Short Form for the 15th
What with Bush in office, terror terror everywhere, and other sundry aspects of life in 2004, it seems to me that we are now at what may well prove to be a uniquely fluid point of American history. So here are the options:
1. Visions for the Democratic Party
Since before Gore lost the Presidency, the question has commonly been heard: besides being against the Republicans, what do Democrats stand for? Last week's convention offered competing answers to that question: a party that houses both Al Sharpton and Barack Obama - that has headline speeches extolling our "One America," and decrying our "Two Americas" - and with a candidate whose positions are still unclear to many Americans - is a party in search of an identity.
What is the future of the Democratic Party? What should it be? To what extent should this identity be influenced by ideals, and to what extent should it be crafted by opinion polls and triangulation?
[Editorial Note: This is what I'm voting for. ;-)]
2. Visions of the Supreme Court
Point of departure here is a recent entry in Rahul's blog, talking about how Congress is trying to do an end-run around SC annulment of DOMA. The Supreme Court seems to me to have thrown off most pretenses of being a nonpartisan, objective institution. November's election results will have a profound effect on the Court and, by extension, on American life.
This discussion would revolve around what SC judges are likely to retire, what judges are likely candidates to replace them, and what that might mean for American society.
3. Visions for Israel
I won't pretend to be a Middle East buff here. Point of departure here is a chapter in Thom Friedman's opus, From Beirut to Jerusalem, in which he discusses the schizophrenic nature of Israeli domestic politics. This seems particularly apt right now given the continuing violence there, implications of the US-led War on Terror for Israeli actions against the Palestinians, and the current legal challenges to the construction of the security fence. This discussion would also touch on the Bush administration's foreign policy vis a vis Israel.
Vote here. Don't vote more than once. Poll closes Friday night. I'll be out of town until Sunday evening, at which point the reading list will be released. I know that's less time than y'all probably would like; it's the soonest I can do it so whatever deal with it. :-)
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Friday, July 30, 2004
The poll for the September 5, 2004 Satori Book Discussion is now open until 12:01 a.m. EST Saturday, August 7, 2004. See details regarding the options below:
Book Options for September 5, 2004
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
"Catch-22 is a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller about the madness of war. Specifically, it follows a fictional World War II US Army Air Corps bombardier, Captain Yossarian, and a number of other American airmen during World War II, based on the island of Pianosa, south of Italy. Its pacing is frenetic, its tenor is intellectual, and its humor is largely absurdist -- but with grisly moments of realism interspersed."(Wikipedia)
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
[Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky]
"Like many of Dostoevsky's novels, Notes from Underground was unpopular with Soviet literary critics due to its explicit rejection of socialist utopianism and its portrait of humans as irrational, uncontrollable, and uncooperative. Many existentialist critics, notably Jean-Paul Sartre, considered the novel to be a forerunner of existentialist thought and an inspiration to their own philosophies."(Wikipedia) Please note: multiple translations of this text exist. The Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky version is considered among the best. If Notes From the Underground is selected as a text, the group will be working from this specific translation.
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
"Midnight's Children is an allegory for the events in India after its independence in 1947. The central character of the story, and also its narrator, is Saleem Sinai, who is born at the exact time that India became independent. Saleem Sinai's life then parallels the changing fortunes of the country after independence. The technique of magical realism finds liberal expression through out the novel and in fact, is crucial to constructing the parallel to the country's history. The novel is also recognised for its remarkably flexible and innovative use of the English language, with a liberal mix of native Indian languages, this being a departure from conventional Indian English writing."(Wikipedia)
After two voting attempts, the wildcard event for 8/8 is Enemies, Foreign and Domestic - the spy museum trip :)
8/8 WildCard Event
Please RSVP so I can reserve tickets in advance, and let's all think about the best way to organize this - I know there's a dim sum place a couple of blocks from there, Charlie Chang's or something, if we want to aim for a buffet first to discuss some readings. Also, any ideas about readings would be nice - I can send out Korematsu, an article or two about terror detainees, etc. if people like, or could go in some other direction. I'd appreciate any feedback you have.
See you all Sunday - where're we gonna be? Oriental?
Thursday, July 29, 2004
So why is it that our political leaders only seem to have daughers these days? Not that is is a bad thing, but doesn't anyone think it a little odd? I suppose the last President who had a son had his son become President, and I didn't like that very much. But this is just weird: Jenna, Barbara, Vanessa, Alexandra, Cate, Chelsea, Karenna and Kristin are the Daughters of Dubya, Kerry, Edwards Clinton, and Gore, respectively.
Girls, Girls, Girls