Black Expressions

Casemates is one of Luxembourg's English-speaking Toastmasters clubs - here you’ll find a supportive and friendly environment which will allow you to develop your communication skills, become a confident leader and have fun! Each meeting is clearly structured with three parts: improvised speaking on various topics, prepared speeches by members, and an evaluation part where all the speakers receive feedback. Members are holding the various roles necessary for the organisation - a different one at each meeting. You can come as a guest and see how it works for yourself - we guarantee that you will feel welcomed and will have fun in our learn-by-doing environment!

Dear Club Polyglotte members, Please note that we changed our online meetings from Skype to Teams. An installation of Teams is not necessary (see links at the bottom). The online meetings take place on Tuesdays at 19:00, unless otherwise indicated. CP English Club Polyglotte Luxembourg Community in Microsoft Teams with Pete from London on Tuesdays at 19:00 h: https://teams.live.com/l/community/FEA32nllYOKVkYfQA8?v=g1 CP German Club Polyglotte Luxembourg Community in Microsoft Teams with Margit on Tuesdays at 19:00 h: https://teams.live.com/l/community/FEAPmC0cP2yAknqqAw?v=g1 CP Italian Club Polyglotte Luxembourg Community in Microsoft Teams on Tuesdays at 20:30 h. https://teams.live.com/l/community/FEAgAGRUsyLPKIB8BU?v=g1 CP Spanish Club Polyglotte Luxembourg Community Community in Microsoft Teams on Wednesdays at 19:00 h: https://teams.live.com/l/community/FEA7FZyGJ463yXNOwM?v=g1 CP Luxembourgish Club Polyglotte Luxembourg Community in Microsoft Teams Wednesdays at 19:00 h https://teams.live.com/l/community/FEAyv2RkRJLWFo8vAo?v=g1 CP French Club Polyglotte Luxembourg Community in Microsoft Teams on Fridays at 19:00 h. https://teams.live.com/l/community/FEAHMjICzF_sgKrfgs?v=g1 When you click on the secured https link, you need to connect to Teams and click on the button to join via your browser (no installation needed) Or via the MS Teams App, which is of course also possible. Download from the official website for your desktop: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app For your Android device from Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.teams&pli=1 For your OIS device from Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-teams/id1113153706 Kind regards, Your Club Polyglotte Luxembourg team Email: clubpolyglotte@gmail.com

Welcome to our weekly physical or virtual Club Polyglotte meeting. * As usual, a minimum consumption of one drink or something small to eat is obligatory at Restaurant Quai Steffen at 13, Place de la gare at the Luxembourg railway station. * We start our get together at 19:00 h and finish at 22:00 h. As on every Tuesday, participate at one of the following language tables: 1. English 2. French 3. Luxemburgish 4. German 5. Spanish 6. Italian or languages like Mandarin, Russian, Romanian or Arabic, if needed. We are constantly searching for Buddies who lead the various language tables and for those who would like to participate in the organisation for our club established in 1999. Please message us, if you are interested in managing the Club with us on Facebook / Meta. Membership fees per calendar year: 3 EUR cash (members until and including 24 Y, only 1 EUR) Compulsory consumption applies at Restaurant Le Quai Steffen! Best regards, Your Club Polyglotte Luxembourg team

🚀 UPDATE: MEETUP CAPACITY LIMITED (Moving to Luma) RSVPs are limited on Meetup, but we have opened additional spots on our new official platform, Luma. 👉 Secure your priority spot here: https://luma.com/rh62yp2l ℹ️ Why are we moving to Luma? We are progressively moving the Lux Finance Circle to Luma to offer a cleaner, professional experience: 🚫 No Spam: Unlike Meetup, Luma respects your inbox. No marketing clutter or random notifications - just the calendar invite and the event recap. ⚡️ Zero Friction: No app download or account creation required. Register in 10 seconds with just your email. 📊 Exclusive Perks: Get automatic calendar syncing and access to our post-event Recap PDFs (charts & key takeaways). As part of this transition, we are restricting Meetup spots progressively and adding more to the new platform. 👉 Secure your priority spot here: https://luma.com/rh62yp2l 📢 Welcome to our next Lux Finance Circle meetup! Everyone has a number. A savings target. An amount that would mean they never have to worry about money again. The problem is, almost nobody actually knows what their number is. Most people invest without a clear target. They contribute to their brokerage account, pick some ETFs, and hope it works out. But hope is not a strategy. Without knowing how much is enough, you can't know if you're saving too little, taking too much risk, or even if you're on track at all. This session is an open discussion about the math behind financial independence. Not the Instagram version. The real version: how to calculate what you actually need, what assumptions go into that calculation, and what most people get wrong usually, by throwing numbers around. 🧭 Format of the Event This is a casual, discussion-based gathering with no long presentations. We'll sit around the table, and your host Romain will kick things off with a short introduction covering: * Why "save as much as you can" is not a real plan * The key variables that determine whether you'll reach financial independence (and which ones you can actually control) * How small changes in your assumptions can dramatically shift your timeline * The most common mistakes people make when projecting their financial future From there, we open the floor for discussion. Bring your questions, your assumptions, and your curiosity. Recommended Preparation Before the event, think about this: if someone asked you today "how much money do you need to never worry about money again?", could you give a confident answer? And if so, how did you arrive at that number? 👥 Who Can Join? Everyone is welcome. This discussion will be especially valuable if you are: * An investor who contributes regularly but has never calculated a concrete target for financial independence. * Someone who has used online calculators or rules of thumb (like "25x your expenses") but isn't sure those numbers apply to your situation in Luxembourg. * A professional who wants to move from "I hope this is enough" to "I know exactly where I stand." 📌 Practical Info * 🗓️ Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2026 at 18:30 (you can also arrive later). * 🗣️ Language: The event will be in English. * 📍 Location: Hotel Le Place d'Armes (18 Place d'Armes, Luxembourg). The bar is hidden at the back. Ask at reception for directions if you are unsure. * 🍻 Drinks: Drinks are self-paid at the venue bar. * 👥 Limited Seats: Please RSVP so we can manage space.

Feel free to bring games, or suggest some from my collection (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/garryjenkins). Please RSVP so I can select appropriate games for the number of people attending. Food and drinks should be purchased on site. Also to have an idea about what type of games you probably will play, you can take a look at the comments of previous weeks of this weekly meetup. If you have any question, don't hesitate to send me a message, or ask here in comments.

**Um was geht es dieses mal?** Dieses Mal findet das Meetup in Kooperation mit dem **n8n Meetup im Ruhrgebiet** statt und wird wie immer bei uns bei codecentric in Dortmund ausgerichtet. Beim 3. n8n Meetup im Ruhrgebiet geht es wie immer darum, die Möglichkeiten von n8n besser kennenzulernen, Erfahrungen zu teilen, voneinander zu lernen und sich mit anderen auszutauschen. Dieses Mal steht das Meetup zusätzlich im Zeichen von Vibe Coding und schnellem Prototyping. Im Fokus steht, wie sich n8n als Backend für Automatisierungen, Schnittstellen und Logik im Hintergrund mit Vibe Coding für die schnelle Entwicklung von Frontends verbinden lässt, um in kurzer Zeit funktionierende Prototypen, interne Tools und erste MVPs umzusetzen. Anhand konkreter Beispiele und Live-Demos zeigen wir, wie aus einer Idee schnell etwas Nutzbares entsteht. **Hybrides Setup!** Wir freuen uns, euch bei uns in den Räumen der codecentric AG in Dortmund willkommen zu heißen. Vor Ort versorgen wir euch mit Snacks und Getränken und freuen uns gleichzeitig über interessante Diskussionen und einen guten Austausch. Für alle, die es nicht zu uns ins Office schaffen, werden wir das Meetup Hybrid durchführen. Der Stream beginnt ca. 10 Minuten später, damit wir vor Ort ausreichend Möglichkeit für persönliches Kennenlernen haben. Den Live-Stream findet ihr auf dem [YouTube-Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@codecentricAG) der codecentric AG. **Wichtig - Absage bitte rechtzeitig:** Wir bestellen das Essen bereits 3 Tage vor dem Meetup. Falls ihr doch verhindert sein solltet, bitten wir euch um eine rechtzeitige Absage. Das ist wichtig, damit wir nicht unnötig Essen verschwenden müssen. Vielen Dank für euer Verständnis! **Anreise:** Per Zug: Vom Dortmunder HBF sind es ca. 10 Minuten zu Fuß. Mit dem Auto: Rund um das Office gibt es einige Parkflächen, dazu befinden sich in dem Parkhaus der Thier-Galerie weitere Parkplätze.

Hej Gophers, unser nächstes Treffen wird am Dienstag, 14. April stattfinden. Wir freuen uns, dass [Lukas Nagel](https://github.com/lukasngl/) von [MeKo Manufacturing](http://www.meko.de/) den Abend inhaltlich zum Thema "The Most Native Kubernetes App" gestalten wird. Was wäre, wenn wir nur das Kubernetes-Cluster zur Verfügung hätten? Wir entwicklen eine ToDo-App ausschließlich mit Kubernetes-Bordmitteln, zeigen, warum das keine gute Idee ist, und wie man mit diesen Patterns nützliche Operatoren implementieren kann. Wir treffen uns um 18 Uhr bei [enercity](https://www.enercity.de/). Mit dem Vortrag starten wir um 18:30 Uhr. Danach wollen wir über Technologien und Erfahrungen plaudern, voneinander lernen, Kontakte knüpfen und einfach eine tolle Zeit miteinander verbringen. [enercity](https://www.enercity.de/) sponsert uns die Verpflegung - vielen Dank dafür! Getränke sind reichlich vorhanden und wir planen Pizza zu bestellen. **Für die vor Ort-Teilnahme bitte unbedingt beachten:** * **Anmeldung** zum MeetUp Event muss bis **Montag, 13.04.2026,** **18 Uhr** erfolgt sein. * Für den Zugang ins Gebäude wird der **volle Name** für die Anmeldung beim Pförtner benötigt. Wenn in der Anmeldung nicht bereits angegeben, sende daher unbedingt bis zum Anmeldeschluss deinen vollen Namen an einen der Organisatoren, Anna, Mark oder Sebastian "Mo", in einer privaten Nachricht. Wir freuen uns auf dich! \*\*\*\*\* Hello Gophers! Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday, 14 April. We are delighted to welcome [Lukas Nagel](https://github.com/lukasngl/) from [MeKo Manufacturing](http://www.meko.de/) with the topic "The Most Native Kubernetes App". The talk will be German. What if we only had the Kubernetes cluster at our disposal? We'll develop a ToDo app using only Kubernetes' bulit-in tools, demonstrate why this isn't a good idea, and show how these patterns can be used to implement useful operators. We will meet at 6 pm at [enercity](https://www.enercity.de/). The talk starts at 6:30pm. Afterwards, we want to chat about technologies and experiences, learn from each other, socialise and simply have a great time together. [enercity](https://www.enercity.de/) is sponsoring the catering - thank you very much! There will be plenty of drinks and we plan to order pizza. **Please note for on-site participation:** * **Registration** for the MeetUp event must be completed by **6 pm** on **Monday, 13th April 2026**. * A **full name** is required for entry into the building to register with security. If not already stated in the registration form, please send your full name to one of the organisers, Anna, Mark or Sebastian ‘Mo’, in a private message by the registration deadline. We look forward to seeing you! Lukas, Sebastian "Mo", Mark and Anna \*\*\*\*\* **Agenda** 18:00 Doors Open 18:30 Presentation ... Networking

Moving to a new city is exciting at first — a fresh start, new opportunities, a new chapter. But once things settle, being new in town can feel lonely. You don’t know anyone yet, you’re unsure where to go to meet people, and everyone else seems to already have their circles. That’s where we come in. Our Fast Friending evenings are designed especially for those who are new in town and ready to build real friendships — creating welcoming spaces where conversations flow naturally and meaningful connections begin. **You will need to buy a ticket for attending -** [https://lux18thapril.eventbrite.co.uk](https://lux18thapril.eventbrite.co.uk) \*You can use any debit or credit card to purchase your ticket at PayPal checkout. It will ask you for your email address but that is only to send you a receipt. You do not need a PayPal account. TICKETS:- Early Bird - €5 / person Regular Ticket - €10 / person Cash at meetup: If you do not purchase a ticket in advance then you can pay Silvia cash of €15 when you attend. **Here’s how your evening will flow:-** **7:00 PM – Welcome** Arrive at 7:00 PM and be welcomed by your host, Silvia, who will guide the evening and help with introductions. Feeling shy? Come a little early and she’ll ease you into small-group conversations. You’re also welcome to bring a lady friend along for free. **7:30 – 8:30 PM \| Fast Friending** Chat with a new attendee every 3 minutes, ensuring you meet a variety of like-minded ladies and gentlemen. **After 8:30 PM \| Open Mingling** Reconnect with those you enjoyed speaking to and continue meaningful conversations at your own pace \- We are not a close knit tight group\. Our evenings are warm and comfortable for members attending for the first time and those coming alone\. You will not feel alone\! \- We have many groups in this city\. Members of our other groups who RSVP are included as guests of the organisers in order to give you an indication of expected people\. \- This evening is for ladies and gents in the 21 to 40 age group\. While some will be at the younger end of this range there will also be others at the other end of the range and lots in\-between\! You will naturally gel with others of your own age range and so you will always find many attendees who fit your range\. \- We are not a dating group\. Our events are not organised to manage your dating life\. Our group is created to help ladies and gents meet other like minded ladies and gents\. Please do not attend our event if a perfect gender balance is important for your enjoyment of our meet\-up\. Why do we have tickets? 1. Cover our costs - Our host is compensated for their time and work. We also pay meetup and have dedicated staff to manage our events, hosts, venues and communication. 2. Group Safety - By securing your ticket we have a record and you contribute to a well organized evening where everyone is more committed and better behaved. 3. Management - Tickets help us better manage attendee group size, book suitable space and activity. ABOUT [fastfriends.co.uk ](https://fastfriends.co.uk/)- We have connected members successfully for the past 10 years in over 30 cities (operating as Expatsclub, MeetConnectDevelop and fastfriends.co.uk). \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- You can contact our founder Dan on +447715705005 with any questions or ideas. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **Here are some videos which will give you some guidance and comfort to make your attendance more productive.** Secrets of socializing at our meetups - [http://bit.ly/secrets-socializing ](http://bit.ly/secrets-socializing) How to make new friends - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6GB0Hc_bSs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6GB0Hc_bSs)

**You’re already getting up on stage. You’re writing. You’re performing. You’re grinding it out at mics.** But if you’re honest… some of those jokes could hit harder. Welcome to **The Tag Lab**, an accelerated, punch-up intensive designed specifically for comics who are past the “how do I hold a mic?” phase and ready to level up their material. This workshop zeroes in on the two things that separate solid jokes from killer bits: **1\. Finding the true kernel of your joke** We’ll strip your material down to its comedic engine, the sharpest, funniest core idea, and rebuild from there. **2\. Writing tags that stack laughs** Because one punchline is nice. Three punchlines? That’s applause breaks. You’ll learn how to: * Identify where your joke is ending too early * Add tags that feel organic, not bolted on * Heighten patterns without losing clarity * Tighten wording so every syllable earns its place This is not a beginner class. It’s for comics who are already performing regularly and want their existing material to punch above its weight. Bring jokes that are “pretty good.” Leave with jokes that consistently hit. If you’re ready to stop hoping for laughs and start engineering them, this workshop is for you. Participation is by advanced registration. Places are limited. [Book your spot here.](https://fienta.com/taglabfestrogen) **Your instructor** Erin Crouch is an American comedian based in Germany. In 2025, she was paid by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tell jokes about Germans. She has been featured in Germany's largest comedy festival, Cologne International Comedy Festival in 2024, Boom Chicago Amsterdam (2021 and July 2024) Utrecht International Comedy Festival (2022) and Summer Comedy Marathon festival in Ohrid, N. Macedonia (2023). She teaches stand-up comedy for teens at the KMC Onstage summer camp in Kaiserslautern, Germany as well as starting stand up and roasting classes for adults with Festrogen for the last five years. Her comedy is neither dirty nor clean but a secret third thing. This event is organised by [Festrogen Festival.](https://festrogenfestival.com/) Have specific needs or questions? We'd love to help make this place as welcoming as possible. Drop an email to [info@festrogenfestival.com](mailto:info@festrogenfestival.com) and tell us how we can do that.

An ink painting workshop, an ancient art practiced on rice paper or silk, which combines elegance, tradition, and artistic expression through slow and meditative gestures. You will be guided by Yemin Yin, a recognized artist trained in London and Canton. Her ink paintings are found in collections worldwide. This experience includes: • A guided 2-hour workshop to discover the timeless elegance of ink painting in a small group • With all the materials provided (ink, brushes, rice paper) • A premium floral tea served throughout the session • Chinese pastries (light dim sum style) • Your artwork to take home €49 / person No experience required.

*Style:* Elegant **Editorial Lifestyle Portraits** with a modern fashion aesthetic. Timeless portraits focused on feminine beauty, expressive poses, and stylish details. **Soft natural light, cinematic tones**, and a magazine-inspired look. Men are also welcome! *Price:* 180€ per person *Includes:* • **20-minute personal photoshoot** **• 5 professionally edited photos** **• Guidance with posing** • Selection of the best images after the shoot *Location:* The historic ARBED building in Luxembourg offers elegant architecture and beautiful textures that perfectly complement this sophisticated portrait style. *Recommended outfits:* Elegant dresses, black or neutral tones, minimal patterns, stylish accessories. *Available time slots:* 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 (Only 10 spots available) *Additional photos:* 15€ per photo Delivery time: Photos delivered within 7 days *Booking:* Reservation is confirmed after 50€ deposit. To reserve your spot please send a direct message. Photographer [@nnakoval_photography](https://www.instagram.com/innakoval_photography)

Living in Luxembourg can feel intense — pressure, decisions, sometimes a quiet sense of being stuck. More about me: https://lindaburchi.com This is a small, informal coffee meetup to slow down, reflect, and get a bit more clarity on what’s going on in your life right now.

Hello, fellow car enthusiasts! The first event of the year for the new season will take place on April. Let's meet on the usual spot on 3rd floor (2nd floor if it rains) of the **Parking on the back side of Belle Ettoile.** Location: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/GDA5tbVxiFEMWqM59](https://maps.app.goo.gl/GDA5tbVxiFEMWqM59) Date and time: **Friday 17/04/2026 at 17.00.** Then, if we want, we can go for a coffee in the G.A.N.G. The purpose of this event is to bring together car enthusiasts to talk and show off vehicles, meet people, have a good time, and share tips. What to bring: A car, a friend perhaps and a positive attitude :) 🥤 Soft drinks will be provided Rules: Please be respectful of others and their vehicles. No reckless or dangerous driving will be tolerated. Please also be mindful of the parking rules and regulations.

**Do you want to step up to the stage with more confidence, and less self-doubt? Are you looking to be in charge of your** **thoughts, emotions and behaviours? This workshop has just the answer.** Going up on stage and exposing yourself (pun intended) can be very scary. But also very empowering. And also triggering. But also liberating. And can for sure bring on some self-doubt: Am I good enough? Why should anyone listen to me? Doesn't everyone else know more than me? Isn’t everyone else funnier? And when you get of the stage, the questions keep popping in your head: “was it good?”, “I should have said it differently”, “what was I thinking?”, “were those pity laughs?” Your inner critic is always hard at work… A lot of emotions come up when doing stand-up. No matter if you are a beginner or a more experienced comedian, it can still bring about the dread of not being good enough, making a fool of yourself, and confirming your worst fears. But, it can also be a brilliant and almost therapeutic way to overcome self-doubt, self-sabotage, gain confidence and find that sweet spot where masks come off and you find yourself flying! In this workshop, psychologist Alexandra Neves will guide you through the following: * Impostor syndrome: the pattern in which a person doubts their skills, talents and achievements * and is afraid of being unmasked as fraud, an imposter. * Identify and bring into awareness your limiting beliefs and develop practical tools for * overcoming and releasing them. * How you can tame your inner critic, and use it to your advantage, in comedy and in life. * The masks we wear, and why we wear them. * And ultimately how to develop more self-confidence. These are all transferable skills that can positively impact your stage presence, but also your professional and personal life. Participation in this workshop is by advanced registration. Places are limited. [Book your spot here. ](https://fienta.com/mental-health-in-comedy-2026) **About the instructor:** Alexandra is a psychologist and has over 20 years of experience in training, personal development, and coaching. Alexandra specializes on mental health coaching, imposter syndrome, overcoming self- sabotage, and gender equity. A newcomer to the comedy world, she has been doing stand-up for over a year, and discovering the positive effects comedy can have on mental health – and the positive effects mental health can have in comedy! Find out more about [Alexandra here](https://academy-mind-tree-coaching.lu/) **This workshop is part of [Festrogen](http://festrogenfestival.com/), a women-centric, multi-part comedy festival hosted in Luxembourg.** **Have specific needs or questions? We'd love to help make this place as welcoming as possible. Drop an email to [info@festrogenfestival.com](mailto:info@festrogenfestival.com) and tell us how we can do that.**

Private Group. Closed to the Public Knowing ourselves and understanding our abilities is the first step toward wielding our gifts with control and accuracy. In subsequent classes we will verify and hone our talents with activities and discussion. These are hands-on workshops and participation is expected. The goal of our series will be to develop expertise in areas of particular interest such as mediumship, channeling, divination, healing and, etc.. Our ultimate directions will be determined by class members as we evolve. I look forward to sharing and discovering with you. - Cynthia

Communication is everything in life You are only as successful as your ability to communicate. \- What if you could confidently talk to anyone? \- What if you had the ability to calmly control every conversation? \- What if you could close that sale\, ask for that date\, make new friends\, repair problematic relationships\, get that raise\, or effortlessly express any idea with confidence? You can! The secret to success relies on your ability or inability to effectively communicate. Attend a free seminar and gain a better ability to communicate. Hosted by the Church of Scientology of Central Ohio 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215 For more information, contact Rhiannon, the Event Host at 614-221-5024

The topic for April is "Water" Speak Easy: true stories, told live. The idea is simple: an audience, an open microphone, and great stories. Hilarious, gripping, poignant- it's up to you. Audiences are invited to come to listen or come to tell as folks from all corners of Columbus offer their stories live on stage! Held at Wild Goose Creative's warm, intimate space, this night of tales occurs on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Doors open at 6:30 pm, show starts at 7:00 pm. Please arrive early if you want to tell, as we generally only have room for a limited number of tellers, and the sign-up sheet has a tendency to fill up fast. Formed around the idea that people need stories--they're what hold and draw us together--SpeakEasy celebrates the strangeness and commonness of being human. And in a world of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, and more . . . it gives people a real, breathing, in-person way to connect. The night is geared for true stories of all kinds, taking the best tales told around kitchen tables, in darkened pubs, on the street corner, and at late-night parties and giving them an audience. Speak Easy is also a great outlet for performers, writers, and artists looking to share their favorite stories and perfect their skills. We strongly encourage tellers to please tell the story rather than read it so we keep within the spirit of good storytelling and stay engaged with the audience. All are welcome. Hang around after the show for a drink and build community!

This is an in-person meeting. At this meeting you will get answers to depression and anxiety. Find out the source of them and how to get rid of them. Did you know that unwanted emotions like anxiety, depression, unhappiness, loneliness, hopelessness, anger, fear, or feelings of irritation don’t just fall on you for no reason. They are not random occurrences that simply happen to people's minds. They are definitely not due to a chemical imbalance in your brain from some nebulous chemical reaction "by chance". Your negative emotions are the symptoms of the painful experiences that you have which are not healed, and which are still affecting you. The effects of these painful experiences are exacerbated by the pressures or difficulties of the other problems in your life. Come to our Meetup, where we can introduce you to some of the knowledge, tools and techniques of the breakthroughs in the field of the mind that we can apply to this ever important area of life. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation of Central Ohio and Church of Scientology of Central Ohio.

This month's prompt concerns the idea of the “warrior philosopher” (seemed appropriate in these times)--that is someone whose understanding of violence, power, and justice is forged through direct experience of war. We are looking at Major General Smedley D. Butler, a highly decorated U.S. Marine raised in a Quaker (pacifist) tradition who later became a prominent critic of American militarism (there is a wonderful biography of Gen. Butler called "Gangsters of Capitalism") Butler's argument in *War Is a Racket* (1935): that many U.S. interventions were driven less by national defense than by corporate and financial interests, with Butler portraying himself as an enforcer for business and Wall Street. We can consider the moral ambiguity of his insider critique—whether complicity strengthens or undermines credibility and also consider some of the concrete reforms he proposed (e.g., “conscript” capital before soldiers, restrict the military to coastal defense, and have only those who fight decide on war). Butler’s life arc clearly changed from pacifist upbringing to warrior to antiwar crusader—and asks whether true understanding of peace requires firsthand knowledge of war, and what that implies about the cost of suffering. So do we need to suffer to understand suffering? Do we have to experience war to appreciate peace? As one more question: in the movie "A Few Good Men" Jack Nicholson's character says that "you have the luxury of not knowing what I know" so do most of us go through life oblivious to real violence and suffering? See you at Drunken Philosophy!

Jimmy V's Grill & Pub in Grandview Heights. You are responsible for your own meal/drinks. We usually don't have any agenda other than eat, drink and talk. :) If the weather is nice we will be on the back patio, otherwise we are in the cigar room. This group has been meeting every Tuesday evening for over a decade. Many attendees do not RSVP on meetup. Please don't let the small number here discourage you. Anyone/everyone is welcome to come. We'd love to have you join us. COTA bus #5 comes to W. 5th and Wyandotte Rd. And it's a minute walk to the restaurant.

A movie this big deserves a big dinner! Join us after MICHAEL for fun and delicious dinner at another CMG-favorite restaurant, CAP CITY FINE DINER! RSVPs are limited for the dinner portion of this event! Here are complete details: CAP CITY FINE DINER: This upscale diner from Cameron Mitchell is known its “retro-cool” atmosphere, modern twists on classic comfort food and their “showstopper” desserts! The menu reimagines nostalgic dishes like meatloaf, beef stroganoff, and pot roast with gourmet twists. The menu also offers vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options with lots of apps, cocktails, salads, sandwiches, burgers (including a black bean veggie burger), the most welcome return of their Veggie Plate (with Hummus) and more. Desserts include their 24K Carrot Cake, Coconut Cake and Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pie. MENU: [https://capcityfinediner.com/locations-menus/gahanna/menus/dinner/](https://capcityfinediner.com/locations-menus/gahanna/menus/dinner/) RSVP: Dinner immediately following the movie at nearby CAP CITY FINE DINER! Please RSVP for here for the dinner portion of this event at Cap City Fine Diner. Since the dinner portion of this event is limited, please only RSVP if you plan to attend. If your plans change, please update your RSVP as early as possible. Please RSVP in both events, if you plan to attend the movie and dinner. Look forward to seeing you there, Dan