DEBATE AT LOLITA BAR: "Does Poetry Still Matter?"

DEBATE: “Does Poetry Still Matter?”
YES: Francis Heaney, author of Holy Tango of Literature
NO: J.R. Taylor, of New York Press
MODERATOR: Richard Ryan, of Verse Theatre Manhattan

DATE/TIME: 8pm, this **Tuesday**, May 3
(NOTE: NOT THE USUAL WEDNESDAY THIS MONTH BUT **TUESDAY**–AND PROMPTLY, SO ONE OF OUR DEBATERS CAN ESCAPE QUICKLY AFTERWARDS)
PLACE: downstairs at Lolita bar, northeast corner of Broome and Allen St. on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, one block south and three west of the Delancey Street stop on the F train (free admission, cash bar)

To bridge the gap between the eras of print and electronic media, I, your host, Jinx Rational Agent Todd Seavey, will also do a reading from three of the Star Wars films’ opening scrolls.

For still more Star Wars, JOIN ME at 6pm on Thur., May 19, outside the Regal Union Square theatre in Manhattan, for the 7pm show of the final Star Wars movie, REVENGE OF THE SITH — tickets are already on sale on Fandango for that date, and I already got mine.

I also just saw an advance screening of the swell Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the story of an ordinary man whose troubles begin when he discovers his best friend is not just a normal person from Guilford but in fact a space alien, so I recommend that, too — and on May 3 will also read aloud the bad poem used to torture the film’s heroes in one memorable scene.

For those who can’t make it, the poem is here:

http://www.englisch.schule.de/wiesmoor/Interpretation%20Vogon%20Poem.htm

(NOTE: The above was sent as a mass e-mail in the days prior to the debate and was posted on this blog retroactively in April 2007. Click here for other Debates at Lolita Bar.)

DEBATE AT LOLITA BAR: "Does the Whole World Need Western-Style Democracy?"

Is democracy spreading in the Middle East and elsewhere (thanks in part to Bush/U.S. efforts) — or has our habit of intervening overseas begun a “countdown to infinite crisis”? Discuss this and related topics at our next event:

DEBATE: Does the Whole World Need Western-Style Democracy?
YES: Alex Jacobson
NO: John Carney
Moderator: Richard Ryan

DATE/TIME: Wed., April 6, 8pm
PLACE: Downstairs at Lolita bar, n.e. corner of Broome and Allen St.s (one block south and three west of the Delancey F stop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side) — free admission, cash bar

P.S. (trying to provide at least some entertainment for those who can’t make it to NYC events): The night of 4/6 also affords a close-enough opportunity, wherever you are, to toast the sixteenth birthday of my parents’ dog, Uber, who entered this world on April Fool’s Day 1989 — just as an earlier wave of democratization began toppling socialism in Eastern Europe. Uber is now blind, deaf, arthritic, and living with five cats, but her sense of smell is uncanny, she still goes for long walks, her mind is no more vegetative than it ever was, and freedom marches on.

(NOTE: The above was sent as a mass e-mail in the days prior to the debate and was posted on this blog retroactively in April 2007. Click here for other Debates at Lolita Bar.)

DEBATE AT LOLITA BAR: "Do Women Naturally Belong in the Home?"

Three items, mainly for New Yorkers this time:
(1) I’ll now host the first-Wednesday-of-each-month http://JinxMagazine.com debates, so join me there monthly (and send me topic suggestions and offers to be a debater or the moderator — and check the site each month to see what the next topic will be):
DEBATE: Do Women Naturally Belong in the Home?
YES: Michel “The Brain” Evanchik, homemaker
NO: Heidi Reich, math teacher
DATE/TIME: Wed., March 2, 8pm
PLACE: Downstairs at Lolita bar, n.e. corner of Broome and Allen St.s (one block south and three west of the Delancey F stop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side) — free admission, unfree drinks
(2) Or watch Heaven war with Hell in CONSTANTINE (based on a comic book character from the DC Comics division my friend Scott Nybakken works for, though if it’s bad it’s not his fault) by meeting me in the lobby by one half-hour before the 2:45pm Sat. 2/26 screening at the Loews at 42nd and 8th (or the closest time to that at that theatre if the times change — and you should probably order your ticket in advance).
(3) And Jinx veteran Michael Malice is casting a new dating-documentary show. Contact the show if you’d like to participate, like so:
>Manhattan has the highest per capita population of single people in the world, yet making a connection can be an exercise in humiliation and heartbreak. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a new documentary series for a major Viacom channel that examines how people find love in the greatest city in the world. We’re looking for interesting New York characters that have trouble fulfilling their romantic desires.
We’ll spend several weeks hanging out and talking about life and love with you. This is not a stupid dating show, but rather a fun and REAL look at people searching for–and sometimes finding–love. We want people you would not normally see on TV.
If you fit these criteria…
1) A great conversationalist
2) Pretty weird
3) Live in Manhattan or Brooklyn (or at least hang out there)
4) Are between the ages of 26 and 37
5) Ready to engage in a transformative journey
6) Having trouble dating in NYC
7) NOT a model/actor type
…we’d love to help.
>Send us your story and a pic to cgadtv[at]yahoo-dot-com
(NOTE: The above was sent as a mass e-mail in the days prior to the debate and was posted on this blog retroactively in April 2007. Click here for other Debates at Lolita Bar.)