Skip to main content

Posts

Opera: Is it Relevant?

Dialogue for June 25th 7-9 PM Directions below Greetings all- Sorry this is up a bit later than I had hoped, but I have a fair excuse. We did finally get to meet our new baby girl, Jane, who arrived on Sunday June 1st. So there has been little sleep in our world. Ann, Jane and big brother Colin are all doing well. So here are the materials for our discussion on THE RELEVANCE OF OPERA IN THE MODERN AGE. Don't get overwhelmed- I know it looks like a lot, but the articles are short and I hope the viewing/listening will be fun and at least a little compelling. I was originally planning on having a playlist right on the blog, but I decided that since opera is as much a visual medium as it is aural, that it would be better to use the joy of youtube. Here is what I propose we all do to be prepared: 1. Read the articles. Like I said, they are all 1-2 pagers. Shouldn't be a major time drain. 2. Watch the playlist on Youtube. It is comprised of 14 excerpts, about 1'15'' minut...

Nuclear Weapon Proliferation

Topic Host: Shannon Stowell May 28, 2008 "A growing number of diplomats and policy analysts now express satisfaction that earlier predictions of a widely nuclearized world have been proved wrong, but it is largely just the timing that was off. Non-proliferation functionaries would earnestly disagree with such a gloomy assessment, as they must because of the business they are in. It is natural that they cite their successes, and necessary that they struggle on. But despite the occasional collapse of nuclear-weapons programs, and the inconveniencing of programs in place,... over the years few can have harbored illusions about the trend. Proliferation is a ratcheting affair that moves in fits and starts, and often slips backwards, but gradually and incrementally progresses. Diplomatic efforts to suppress it are weakened by national jealousies, UN-style dithering, higher geopolitical priorities, the sheer volume of international trade, and, at the most fundamental level, the inability...

The Intentions of Founders of the United States

Topic Host: Ryan Mendenhall Wednesday, April 30, 2008 I thought it quite backwards if we were going to discuss the original intent of the founding fathers and we didn't go back to hear what THEY had to say. So, the materials that I have grouped together are from them and not modern commentaries on what their intent was. US Constitution Declaration of Independence George Washington's Farewell Address John Adam's Thoughts on Government And, for you overachievers, the supplemental reading is: The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 , about which Ryan says, "The Massachusetts Constitution is very insightful for the personal beliefs of the people of Massachusetts and John Adams himself.

Millenials: What changes do the rising generation bring to the workplace and, by extension, society in general?

Topic Host: Mollee Lamb Prep Materials: The Tethered Generation by Kathryn Tyler HR Magazine May 2007 http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/0507/0507cover.asp Managing Demographic Risk by Rainer Strack, Jens Baier, and Anders FahlanderHarvard Business Review Feb. 1, 2008 (electronic download available for $6.50 at http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ ) optional: The Next 20 Years: How Customer and Workforce Attitudes Will Evolve by Neil Howe and William StraussHarvard Business Review July 1, 2007 (electronic download available for $6.50 at http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ )

Role shifts, mothering, gender, and visual art

Topic Host: Leah Moses Gandhi Prep materials: http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/maternicity/ http://segullah.org/summer2007/nursing/ http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/12/22/on-children-kahlil-gibran/ http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/09/13/a-challenge-whose-proportions-are-heroic/ http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/2007/04/17/riding-the-third-wave/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7829860 http://montagecreative.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html http://mosesgandhi.wordpress.com/thesis/

Election year issues: aging population, race relations, public schools, American values in crisis

Topic Host: Carri Hulet Prep materials: Articles from The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/sotu-opener http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/miller-education http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/aging-boomers http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/jena6 http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/guantanamo-photos