Greetings! LILASQUAD RESURRECTED/REPURPOSED Last month on the MOQ_focus list, we discussed the first three chapters of *Lila*. This proved to b e a very popular topic, with many wanting to continue the program for the rest of chapters in the b ook. To allow for this continued discussion, I volunteered to moderate a separate discussion list s pecifically set up to accommodate a chapter by chapter reading of Pirsig's works. For this purpose, we have "resurrected" the LilaSquad mailing list. Those of you interested in participating in re-r eading *Lila* chapter by chapter should subscribe to the list. Instructions for doing so are includ ed below. PROGRAM We will start our dialogue May 1 - 12 by simply talking about what we want to accomplish on this li st, hopefully coming to consensus on the ground rules for discussion. I have formulated a basic cha rter for the list that we can use as a starting point in this conversation. After this initial star t-up period, we'll discuss each chapter for two weeks in turn (excepting the first three chapters, which we'll revisit for only one week each since they were already discussed at some length last mo nth). See the Charter, Rules, and Procedures printed below and available on the MOQ.org web site fo r more information. A WORD ON "SLOW READING" I caused something of a stir when I used the phrase "slow reading" to describe our endeavor last mo nth. I took this phrase from Lance Fletcher of the Free Lance Academy, a group of interrelated "slo w reading" lists. Lance, in turn, took the phrase from Nietzsche, who described his work as a philo logist as "slow reading" and his work as a philosopher as "slow writing". The purpose of "slow read ing" is to stay true to authorial intent, to take the work and words on their own, and while becomi ng aware of our own interpretations, letting the author's intent come through. I invite you to read Lance's short essay on "slow reading" at <http://www.freelance-academy.org/slowread.htm>. I don't care whether we call ourselves a "slow reading" list or not, but I believe the concept has somethin g to lend to the definition of our project. SUBSCRIBE TO LILASQUAD to join the LilaSquad send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words: subscribe lilasquad and nothing else in the body of the email. The subject line of your mail will be ignored so you can leave it blank or write anything you want in it. CHARTER, RULES, AND PROCEDURES CHARTER The LilaSquad Reading List group discusses each chapter from Robert M. Pirsig's book, *Lila*, separ ately and in turn. 1. Focusing on one chapter at a time allows us to focus and dig more deeply into the text, producin g a higher quality dialogue than if we were to consider the entire book at one time. 2. Our members can participate meaningfully even if they only have an hour or two a week to follow the list. 3. The clearly defined focus makes it easier for others to join in and follow the discussion. RULES 1. Members must have read *Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance* and read the appropriate chap ter of *Lila* prior to each discussion period. 2. Members may post a maximum of 3 messages every 24 hours. 3. Members must address the content of the current chapter in every post and must not pursue topics that do not arise from the current chapter. Quoting from the current chapter is strongly encourage d. 4. Members must express themselves clearly, concisely and courteously. They should not use HTML ema il nor send attachments. The LilaSquad moderator reserves the right to block any posts that break these rules. PROCEDURES The discussion period for each chapter is two weeks. Members who believe that the next chapter to b e read should have greater or lesser discussion time should submit their vote for the recommended n umber of weeks to the list by 00:00 GMT Saturday at the end of the current discussion period. The m oderator will tally the votes and adjust the length of the discussion period if the majority of the list has voted for a change. On 00:00 GMT Sunday at the end of each discussion period, the moderator will announce the closing o f discussion for the previous chapter and the opening of discussion for the next chapter along with the length of the discussion period. Cheers, Keith ______________________________________________________________________ Keith A. Gillette <http://ninepatch.net/gillette/> ------- End of forwarded message ------- MOQ.org - http://www.moq.org
