Deipnosophistai

in which a number of wise men sit at a dinner table and discuss a wide range of topics.

purge the gender from this one -- and i've found a greek term for one of my favorite activities...

Utne's salons focus on a similiar idea...

the lets talk america people focus the idea upon how the political sphere might be reshaped if people seriously committed themselves to the power of talk...

...but *good* conversation doesn't draw arbitrary lines around what is *political* and what isn't (as if *anything* was *ever* not political)...in fact good conversation really engages *any* topic as being worthwhile...

...food, time, and engaging people seem to be the most important components...