Medallion Hiking, Adventure, and Books

From Amazon
The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.
Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the “complicated” hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this version as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.
Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, Emily Wilson’s Odyssey sings with a voice that echoes Homer’s music; matching the number of lines in the Greek original, the poem sails along at Homer’s swift, smooth pace.
A fascinating, informative introduction explores the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the poem’s major themes, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this is an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of readers.

Location: Pavilion #2 on Wells Drive:
· Meeting time:

• 8:30 AM: We will provide tips on healthy walking.
• 9:00 AM: Start hike (we try to leave on time so you might want to arrive a few minutes early)

· Meeting place: Pavilion #2 on Wells Drive. (see photos for directions)
· Hike length: Again, game day call, but we expect 4 to 6 miles depending on hikers’ preferences
· Hiking duration: Game day call, but shoot for about one and a half hours.
· Surface: We expect to hike on blacktop or dirt paths (also game day call)
· Dress: Layers and good walking shoes
· Food and drink: Bring some water and snacks
· Rest rooms: There are restroom close (but they may not be open this time of year)
· Parking: Should be plenty of free street parking
· Go/No go plans: We plan to hike rain or shine or cold or hot
·Topic of the day: Stay tuned

John P: Organizer. Bourbon Burn.
Message from John P: I plan to join on this ride and invite others to join.
Send me a message on this Meetup site if you have questions or interested in coordinating travel.

The Burn is a three-day, fully-supported bicycle tour of the bourbon distilleries and Thoroughbred horse farms of Kentucky. Choose the two- or three-day option for a fully supported tour of rolling hills in Kentucky Bluegrass country. The price includes camping at the Kentucky Horse park Campground and dinner Friday and Saturday. Glamping and hotel are also options.

Price: Link
Course Link
Location Accommodations Link

Info below from their website ttps://www.bourboncountryburn.com/
"Explore quiet country roads and quaint communities en route to world-famous bourbon distilleries nestled amongst the rolling bluegrass hills. Join our friends from all 50 states (plus Canada & Europe!) as we “cheers” to another round of riding bikes and drinking bourbon in our great home state of Kentucky."

• Join us for an engaging discussion of ideas and experiences.
• No need to have read the book
• But if you have a chance to read, please come with your ideas and thoughts!
• Time: Arrive 5:50 and we will start at 6
• Location: We will meet at the Karaoke lounge 6655 Delmar Blvd, University City, MO 63130 (but we are just using the space - there will not be food or beverages). It is a bit tricky to find, but the entrance is from North side of Delmar Blvd. See photos below that shows a map.
• Bring a beverage and/or snacks if you wish.
• Social: After the book discussion, we plan go to a Delmar loop restaurant for a bite for those interested.
• You can acquire the book and the Info below From Amazon

Have we become beauty-blind? For two decades or more in the humanities, various political arguments have been put forward against beauty: that it distracts us from more important issues; that it is the handmaiden of privilege; and that it masks political interests. In On Beauty and Being Just Elaine Scarry not only defends beauty from the political arguments against it but also argues that beauty does indeed press us toward a greater concern for justice. Taking inspiration from writers and thinkers as diverse as Homer, Plato, Marcel Proust, Simone Weil, and Iris Murdoch as well as her own experiences, Scarry offers up an elegant, passionate manifesto for the revival of beauty in our intellectual work as well as our homes, museums, and classrooms.

Scarry argues that our responses to beauty are perceptual events of profound significance for the individual and for society. Presenting us with a rare and exceptional opportunity to witness fairness, beauty assists us in our attention to justice. The beautiful object renders fairness, an abstract concept, concrete by making it directly available to our sensory perceptions. With its direct appeal to the senses, beauty stops us, transfixes us, fills us with a "surfeit of aliveness." In so doing, it takes the individual away from the center of his or her self-preoccupation and thus prompts a distribution of attention outward toward others and, ultimately, she contends, toward ethical fairness.

Scarry, author of the landmark The Body in Pain and one of our bravest and most creative thinkers, offers us here philosophical critique written with clarity and conviction as well as a passionate plea that we change the way we think about beauty.