From: ian glendinning (psybertron@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Jul 17 2005 - 11:54:38 BST
Great to have you back on line David,
I too am looking at how to fund "going back to school" for a PhD.
Like you I think the injection of positive social vibes was very important.
Pity I had to duck out of the Thursday evening.
I also thought your paper, and the emotional connection you made with
Bob, on the Orphic mythology, was the most significant moment in the
conference. I made some remarks about in the blog link earlier in the
thread. (You make even more allusions to the musical / cultural /
Liverpool connections in your post above.)
Can't wait to see your paper published for us all to see.
Ian
On 7/17/05, David Buchanan <DBuchanan@classicalradio.org> wrote:
> Dear MOQers:
>
> My plane touched down here in Denver last Thursday night, but my feet still
> haven't hit the ground. I was thoroughly inspired and I'm still quite stoned
> on joy. Dr. Anthony McWatt is my hero. As I said in my little talk, heros
> show us how to get better. That's exactly what he did for me. I want to do
> what he did. I want to go back to school and try to earn the first AMERICAN
> PhD on the MOQ. If there were a third MOQer Doctor all we'd need then is
> some leather jackets and we'll have ourselves an international metaphysical
> motorcycle gang. Whadya say? Who's with me?
>
> Am I overestimating my own capacities? Am I being a bit too grandiose? Yea,
> probably. In fact, at this point I really don't even know what that would
> mean. I don't even know what it takes to get into such a program, let alone
> get through one successfully. If anyone is familiar such things, Dumbo has
> no ears compared to me.
>
> My wife and I talked about it until two this morning. I asked Sally if she
> thought I was crazy to come back from a philosophy conference wanting to
> change my life. "Isn't it absurd? Isn't it a bit drastic and sudden?" "No",
> she said, "I knew you would".
>
> I was already the self-appointed President of the Anthony McWatt fan club,
> but after the conference we talked for hours and hours and hours. (Guess
> which one of us was the big blabber mouth and which one generously
> listened.) By my calculations the man had to push his way through 22 metric
> tons of bullshit to reach his goal. Please consider this the rhetorical
> equivalent of a standing ovation. I believe we'll be friends from now on.
> And he's not the only new friend either.
>
> I already thought Paul Turner was a philosophical rock star, but now he'll
> always have a place in my heart too. And Horse was amazing. No matter where
> he goes, he's the hippest man in the room. Gav was like some kind of
> Einstein sufer dude with a supermodel hippie chick girlfriend. I love them
> all. Everyone I met was brilliant and fascinating, including the documentary
> makers. I definately got the impression that its in good hands.
>
> It was the most fun I ever had. By far. No contest.
>
> Mark Steven Heyman said:
> Thanks to both of you (Paul and Ian) for offering your thoughts on MOQ
> Conference I - Liverpool. Let's hope it's only the first of many. I'm
> sorry I was unable to attend, but maybe I'll make it to MOQ-Con II. ...Any
> idea if the BBC coverage will make it to air?
>
> dmb says:
> I want everyone to know that we raised our glasses and toasted all the
> absent MOQers more than once. And I want you, Mark, to know that I raised my
> glass in your name while drinking a Cuba Libre with Ant at the cafe Cuba in
> Amsterdam. It was a very beautiful moment. Also, I took your advice and kept
> a kind of journal. Good thinking. Thanks for that.
>
> On 13 July, Paul Turner wrote:
> 1) Bob
> At the conference Robert M. Pirsig, author of one of the most popular
> philosophical novels of all time, became Bob. One of the things he
> said to me was: "Celebrity and Zen are diametrically opposed -
> celebrity pushes the ego up, Zen knocks it down." It is probably not
> surprising then to learn that there is no celebrity with Pirsig.
> Partially because of this, and partially because of the intellectual
> vigour of the attendees, although it would have been easy for the
> group to sit and wait for a steady flow of pearls of wisdom to emerge
> from the "Great Author," this didn't occur. The feeling I got was
> that Bob was *part of* the conference, *part of* the discussion, but
> not its centrepiece. And it was clear, and perhaps obvious, that the
> discussion is for us to continue, not Bob. It felt to me as though a
> tremendous intellectual effort that had started so many years ago
> amongst enemies in Chicago had ended quietly amongst friends in
> Liverpool.
>
> dmb says:
> Well said. That was exactly my impression too. I left home thinking of him
> as Robert Pirsig and came back thinking of him as Bob. Maybe its some kind
> of irony that my admiration for him only increased and yet he was so direct,
> warm and generous that I can dare to think of him as a friend. Turns out we
> both have a thing about Orpheus and I walked out of there feeling like we
> had a very cool connection on a philosophical level too, but that whole idea
> that he's some hyper-intellectual with no social skills simply isn't true.
> He seemed to know everyone and seemed genuinely happy to meet the MOQers. He
> and Wendy took care of people very well even in terms of creature comforts.
> (I'm told Wendy deserves much of the credit for the warmth we all found
> there.) And the man definately has a sense of humor.
>
> Paul Turner continued:
> 2) moq.org
> As we began to meet each other, the intellectual patterns we have
> become familiar with over the years were supplemented by the
> biological and social patterns of the individuals who comprise
> moq.org. These patterns quickly formed a new kind of pattern, a new
> social connection which, at this stage at least, may be as important
> as the intellectual patterns which they support. Mati Palm-Leis'
> paper, which will hopefully soon be available to all, has something
> to say about this with respect to overcoming academic resistance to the
> MOQ. ...A small word of caution though, which was discussed amongst a couple
> of attendees over post-conference drinks, is that the social community must
> not be allowed to overwhelm the intellectual development of the moq.org.
>
> dmb adds:
> As you may have guessed by now, I think the infusion of social level
> connections only lit a fire under my ass. It helped to form this new found
> resolve of mine to go back to school. In fact, Paul, I have to say that you
> played no small role in that and would even dare to suggest that you also
> should think about following in Ant's footsteps. You have the chops and I
> imagine you'd be simply fabulous in leather too. As you may have guessed by
> now, I think the social level part of it went very, very well. If I found
> out that anyone had a problem with that or that there was ever any danger
> that it would interfere with the substance of the matter, it would be news
> to me. I think it just made everything real and actual where it was only
> virtual and disembodied before.
>
> Paul said:
> 3) This is how it happens
> A number of times during the three days I spent in Liverpool, the
> phrase "This is how it happens" drifted through my thoughts.
> Intellectual development, evolution, occurs during a wet July in
> Liverpool as much as anywhere else. A modest static latch it may
> have been but I think it may turn out to be a significant one.
>
> dmb says:
> Yea, I don't want to get all new-agey on you here, but I have to say there
> seems to be something about Liverpool. One of the conferees was a local
> artist who just blew my mind. Everything that came out of her mouth was
> something I'd never heard before. In every nook and cranny of her flat there
> was something beautiful and amazing to look at. The city was just elected
> culture capitol of Europe for 2008. There is that equally unlikely football
> championship. Of course there's the Beatles thing too. I was walking through
> the touristy section of the city center, by The Cavern where they used to
> play and all that. And the only pub that remains unchanged has a quote from
> C.G. carved in stone over the door. It says, "Liverpool is the pool of
> life." Add the creation of the world's first MOQ thesis, the conference
> itself and the possibility that the documentary might not only get financed
> and produced, but also widely seen and well loved. Yep. Seemed like the
> center of the world to me.
>
> Paul said:
> 4) Gumption
> The timing of the conference was significant for me personally. The
> energy created by the events has replenished my waning enthusiasm for
> philosophy and for the potential of the Quality idea to facilitate
> change where it is needed most. Certainly, albeit regrettably, the
> coincidence of the conference with the bombings in London (where I
> would have otherwise been working) threw the significance and power
> of values into sharp relief.
>
> dmb says:
> Amen.
>
>
>
>
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