Minutes of the 01/21/2006 MDS Meeting
The voyage continues. Who has the heart to go on? Who has the will to bear the challenge? Who among us can defeat our own White Whale?
In other words, who really has got some balls?
Alas, we may never know.
IN ATTENDANCE
Whet, Matt, Brian, Jenny, Lisa, Irina, Dan, Maggie, Liz and Erin
RESOLUTIONS
- IT IS RESOLVED that that the next MDS meeting shall be on February 11 at 3:30 PM, again in the Ice Cave of the Charleston;
- IT IS RESOLVED that the next reading assignment will be through chapter 66, "The Shark Massacre";
- IT IS RESOLVED that Jenny is the the "commencifier";
- IT IS RESOLVED that it will be someone's responsibility to send out a reminder;
- IT IS RESOLVED that Liz will read up on the Book of Elijah, Erin will research radio tags and/or the secret Northwest Passage that only whales know about, Dan will bring a recent National Geographic Explorer magazine about whaling in the modern day, sort of, and Matt will play har-pool for $0.50;
- IT IS RESOLVED that the TNR article Whet illegally sent to us all shall be called "the Whet article".
WHAT THE SECRETARY CAN REMEMBER HAVING HAPPENED
(aka what he can decipher from his own bad handwriting)
- Jenny (again) tried everyone's patience by delaying the start of serious discussion by reading a passage from THE BOOK; Dan responded by reading a highly informative and relevant critical excerpt from his own - and super-awesome - edition of THE BOOK;
- Why did Melville break into a Shakespeare-esque fantasy of writing? The series of chapters focusing on each Mate, and then the sailors was very much out of Shakespeare. Yes, Melville had just read a lot of Shakespeare, but why was he trying to emulate it here and now? Did he fancy himself as America's answer to Shakespeare? Was he just being novel? Someone brought up Joyce, though I forget in what precise context;
- The Mates are fated to act in certain, specific ways. Does this reflect Melville's Calvinist background? Is he lashing out against this sect, or embracing it for a further use?
- The scene where Ahab nails the doubloon to the mast is like the Eucharist. There's a cross involved, and drinking, and... this is where the Secretary's complete lack of knowledge with all things Christian gets in the way. This seemed REALLY important and relevant, but it flew right over his head. Maybe we should go over this again next time;
- Returning to the Calvinist perspective, is Melville's point instead that nothing matters? This goes beyond our actions today interfering with our pre-determination; rather, it doesn't even matter that we have already been assigned to heaven or hell; there is no heaven or hell to get into -- nothing matters in the least, and so our actions, pre-determined, fated, or whatever you want, are irrelevant;
- Crows nests have chairs, the lazy, spoiled bastards;
- Radiohead is playing on the bar's speakers, which is excellent;
- The ship is a highly contained environment. Everyone on board is at the will of the captain or the elements. it really captures the classic "Man vs. [insert here]" themes all in one neat, tidy package;
- Even though Ahan *totally* started it, when, like, he totally stabbed the White Whale in, like, the eye? He, like, still wants to prove he's, like, got a bigger dick and so, like, even though he's totally just fighting against a mask and sees into the White Whale, like, whatever and everything that he, like sees? He still wants to prove that he's the master of his domain (but not like the Seinfeld episode)?;
- This brings up Grizzly Man, by Herzog - his point seems to be that Nature is not conscious or malevolent. Instead, it is just murder and chaos. In other words, Nature is a bitch;
- Liz's White Whale is a potato, which again reminds us all that she is secretly as racist;
- The chapter "Whiteness of the Whale" is perhaps the most widely written about chapter in American literature. We don't discuss it;
- The painting in chapter three of the whale attacking the ship is like God, but, like, if God were a Dark God;
- SPOILER -- FYI, the ship might sink -- SPOILER
- Maggie demonstrated her craziness factor by saying that Orca is the "best movie ever", though Matt admitted to having watched it before. A lot of attendees remember a series called "Voyage of the Mimi". The Secretary had no clue what they were talking about, and found himself wishing for more beer;
- Ahab is no King Lear;
- Readers can look forward to an evil bird;
- The Harpooners are like Titans of Greek mythology, or snipers in today's context. In retrospect, how do these comparisons reconcile with eachother?;
- Matt describes how whales were killed, and it sounds really, really, really hard;
- Andy shows up and takes Maggie away. Bye Maggie!! ;
- MDS is adjourned momentarily at 5:38 PM for a potty break;
- MDS reconvenes at 6:02 PM (something was decided during the break, but it was off the record and no mention of it shall be made here);
- Liz eats paper;
- Jenny makes an uncommon, unexpected metaphor (but I don't know what it was);
- Meville is gay;
- Where did the Biblical allusions go? Melville began this book heavy with Biblical names and themes. But after a few hundred pages, they seem to have disappeared. Did he forget about them? Was his purpose in using them only to set up the story, and he's now taken over the events and themes and what not?;
- Dan is pronounced a heretic because he can't pronounce the ancient Babylonian city of Nineveh properly. This is totally because he only knows about it from playing a damn computer game, and correct pronunciations kind of got in the way of nuking the Aztec empire, so *whatever*;
- Liz discusses her research into the Book of Jonah:
-- God can't classify animals
-- the Bible is crazy
-- Jonah lived in a booth
-- Jonah rails against an innocent object (i.e. a gourd)
-- watch out for cattle
- A lot of people listen to Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ);
- From Liz, we can gather that Jonah is kind of crazy, and maybe should not be emulated. However, in the chapter "The Sermon", the preacher seems to lift up Jonah as a character to be admired and revered. Why is that? No one has any idea;
- Jenny says, "Don't 'F' with God". Amen? ;
- Is there frustration with Melville for this continued build-up, build-up, build-up, etc etc? When will the tension break? How much atmosphere do we need? ;
- Meville seems to have decided that if he's going to write a novel, he is going to write the fuck out that novel.
ADJOURNED AT 6:52 PM
email me
The voyage continues. Who has the heart to go on? Who has the will to bear the challenge? Who among us can defeat our own White Whale?
In other words, who really has got some balls?
Alas, we may never know.
IN ATTENDANCE
Whet, Matt, Brian, Jenny, Lisa, Irina, Dan, Maggie, Liz and Erin
RESOLUTIONS
- IT IS RESOLVED that that the next MDS meeting shall be on February 11 at 3:30 PM, again in the Ice Cave of the Charleston;
- IT IS RESOLVED that the next reading assignment will be through chapter 66, "The Shark Massacre";
- IT IS RESOLVED that Jenny is the the "commencifier";
- IT IS RESOLVED that it will be someone's responsibility to send out a reminder;
- IT IS RESOLVED that Liz will read up on the Book of Elijah, Erin will research radio tags and/or the secret Northwest Passage that only whales know about, Dan will bring a recent National Geographic Explorer magazine about whaling in the modern day, sort of, and Matt will play har-pool for $0.50;
- IT IS RESOLVED that the TNR article Whet illegally sent to us all shall be called "the Whet article".
WHAT THE SECRETARY CAN REMEMBER HAVING HAPPENED
(aka what he can decipher from his own bad handwriting)
- Jenny (again) tried everyone's patience by delaying the start of serious discussion by reading a passage from THE BOOK; Dan responded by reading a highly informative and relevant critical excerpt from his own - and super-awesome - edition of THE BOOK;
- Why did Melville break into a Shakespeare-esque fantasy of writing? The series of chapters focusing on each Mate, and then the sailors was very much out of Shakespeare. Yes, Melville had just read a lot of Shakespeare, but why was he trying to emulate it here and now? Did he fancy himself as America's answer to Shakespeare? Was he just being novel? Someone brought up Joyce, though I forget in what precise context;
- The Mates are fated to act in certain, specific ways. Does this reflect Melville's Calvinist background? Is he lashing out against this sect, or embracing it for a further use?
- The scene where Ahab nails the doubloon to the mast is like the Eucharist. There's a cross involved, and drinking, and... this is where the Secretary's complete lack of knowledge with all things Christian gets in the way. This seemed REALLY important and relevant, but it flew right over his head. Maybe we should go over this again next time;
- Returning to the Calvinist perspective, is Melville's point instead that nothing matters? This goes beyond our actions today interfering with our pre-determination; rather, it doesn't even matter that we have already been assigned to heaven or hell; there is no heaven or hell to get into -- nothing matters in the least, and so our actions, pre-determined, fated, or whatever you want, are irrelevant;
- Crows nests have chairs, the lazy, spoiled bastards;
- Radiohead is playing on the bar's speakers, which is excellent;
- The ship is a highly contained environment. Everyone on board is at the will of the captain or the elements. it really captures the classic "Man vs. [insert here]" themes all in one neat, tidy package;
- Even though Ahan *totally* started it, when, like, he totally stabbed the White Whale in, like, the eye? He, like, still wants to prove he's, like, got a bigger dick and so, like, even though he's totally just fighting against a mask and sees into the White Whale, like, whatever and everything that he, like sees? He still wants to prove that he's the master of his domain (but not like the Seinfeld episode)?;
- This brings up Grizzly Man, by Herzog - his point seems to be that Nature is not conscious or malevolent. Instead, it is just murder and chaos. In other words, Nature is a bitch;
- Liz's White Whale is a potato, which again reminds us all that she is secretly as racist;
- The chapter "Whiteness of the Whale" is perhaps the most widely written about chapter in American literature. We don't discuss it;
- The painting in chapter three of the whale attacking the ship is like God, but, like, if God were a Dark God;
- SPOILER -- FYI, the ship might sink -- SPOILER
- Maggie demonstrated her craziness factor by saying that Orca is the "best movie ever", though Matt admitted to having watched it before. A lot of attendees remember a series called "Voyage of the Mimi". The Secretary had no clue what they were talking about, and found himself wishing for more beer;
- Ahab is no King Lear;
- Readers can look forward to an evil bird;
- The Harpooners are like Titans of Greek mythology, or snipers in today's context. In retrospect, how do these comparisons reconcile with eachother?;
- Matt describes how whales were killed, and it sounds really, really, really hard;
- Andy shows up and takes Maggie away. Bye Maggie!! ;
- MDS is adjourned momentarily at 5:38 PM for a potty break;
- MDS reconvenes at 6:02 PM (something was decided during the break, but it was off the record and no mention of it shall be made here);
- Liz eats paper;
- Jenny makes an uncommon, unexpected metaphor (but I don't know what it was);
- Meville is gay;
- Where did the Biblical allusions go? Melville began this book heavy with Biblical names and themes. But after a few hundred pages, they seem to have disappeared. Did he forget about them? Was his purpose in using them only to set up the story, and he's now taken over the events and themes and what not?;
- Dan is pronounced a heretic because he can't pronounce the ancient Babylonian city of Nineveh properly. This is totally because he only knows about it from playing a damn computer game, and correct pronunciations kind of got in the way of nuking the Aztec empire, so *whatever*;
- Liz discusses her research into the Book of Jonah:
-- God can't classify animals
-- the Bible is crazy
-- Jonah lived in a booth
-- Jonah rails against an innocent object (i.e. a gourd)
-- watch out for cattle
- A lot of people listen to Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ);
- From Liz, we can gather that Jonah is kind of crazy, and maybe should not be emulated. However, in the chapter "The Sermon", the preacher seems to lift up Jonah as a character to be admired and revered. Why is that? No one has any idea;
- Jenny says, "Don't 'F' with God". Amen? ;
- Is there frustration with Melville for this continued build-up, build-up, build-up, etc etc? When will the tension break? How much atmosphere do we need? ;
- Meville seems to have decided that if he's going to write a novel, he is going to write the fuck out that novel.
ADJOURNED AT 6:52 PM
email me
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