Newest articles and comments on The Sacramento Press written by Stephanie Allen

Movie Night in Mid-Town

2009-01-31T18:26:48Z

   There is no longer any doubt about it, Sacramento is becoming a very cool place to live. Not only do we enjoy great weather, relatively friendly people and fresh locally brewed coffee, now we’ve got a movie night too!
   Every 1st, 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, at a bohemian little dance studio on 9th street called Firehouse 5, locals of all sorts get together to watch movies, eat brownies and talk about life. They pile onto leather coaches and pillows spread all over the floor while a film is projected onto a huge wall in digital format with surround sound and no noise ordinance. It’s truly one of the coolest things you can do on a Tuesday night at 7:00pm!
   The initial inspiration for the Movie Night came from co-owner of the Firehouse 5 Dan Printz and the creator of mid-town’s Philosophy Night, Stuart Campbell who wanted to “give people a chance to get together on a consistent basis, in a cool place, watch awesome movies and talk”.
   One of the neat things about this event is that after the movie is over there is a chance for everyone to share opinions and talk a about what the movies meant to them personally, “It can turn into a bit of a philosophy night of it’s own actually”, says Stuart, “just centered around a film rather than a quote or question”.
   The film viewed last week was Zeitgeist, a political documentary based on the research of a controversial film maker named Peter Joseph, “not everyone agreed with the actual message in the film, of course, which is great because it led to an interesting discussion that everyone seemed to enjoy”.
   Every week attendees bring their own movies and offer them up for selection with the idea in mind that they might be interesting for the group to take in and talk about afterward.
   Movie Night is run on a donation basis only, and is open to absolutely everyone. Firehouse 5 is located on 9th street between U and T, you can check out an online schedule of events at www.thefirehouse5.com. Bring a friend and get settled in at 7:00pm!

-BWOP (bring your own pillow)

Stephanie Allen on "Midtown Philosophy Night"

2008-12-22T20:15:45Z

It certainly can't hurt! There will be no meeting this Thu. because of Christmas, but make sure and come by on the 1st. See you there. btw - check out Stuart's first philosophical posting called The Human Spirit. (You can search under philosophy)

Stephanie Allen on "Midtown Philosophy Night"

2008-12-22T20:10:06Z

Only one way to find out!

Stephanie Allen on "Midtown Philosophy Night"

2008-12-22T20:09:27Z

How True Mona!

Midtown Philosophy Night

2008-12-16T05:55:00Z

      We all know that midtowners are stylish, liberal and artistic, but did you know they were philosophical as well? For the last three months now, midtowners of all sorts have been getting together once a week to talk about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, at midtown’s own Philosophy Night. The philosophy night takes place every Thursday evening at Weatherstone Cafe and offers locals a chance to get together and bounce ideas off one another in the hopes of finding a few kernels of wisdom in the process.
   Hannah Gladstone, one of the weekly gang at philosophy night says, “It’s one of those things in Sac you just stumble upon. It’s comfortable, everyone gets along, and it gives you a chance to share your ideas and consider new ones as well.”
The creator of the event, Sacramento native Stuart Campbell, says of the idea, “If you spend time at cafés and restaurants around town, you’ll overhear all sorts of interesting conversations. People around here are very philosophical by nature, but there was really no venue for us to get together and share ideas”. So he put up flyers and people started to show up, fast. At the second meeting there were twelve seats full on the back patio of Weatherstone. At first, Stuart recalls, “People seemed to be a little intimidated by the word ‘philosophy’. They seemed to think they needed specialized knowledge to pitch in. But philosophy is nothing more than the study of life, and often, the less educated someone is in an academic sense, the more in tune they are with their own experience, which can actually be an advantage”.
   Each Philosophy Night starts with a question or an opinion on some life-related issue. One night, perhaps someone will get the conversation rolling with “what does it mean to be a student of life?” or “ what is the meaning of true friendship?” Another night might begin with an opinion on sex or desire, work life, or fashion.
Wherever the discussion leads, however, the founder is emphatic about one thing, “The subjects we talk about must relate to the way in which we live our lives on a day-to-day basis. We try to keep it practical, and avoid wandering off into intellectual la-la land”.
   After having graduated with his degree in philosophy in 2006 from Arizona State University, Stuart had the opportunity to travel abroad to Thailand, India, and Nepal. When asked about his own philosophy, and how traveling has helped to form it Stuart recalls, “Although it certainly was interesting to see how people live in different places, I wouldn’t say it was anymore inspiring to me philosophically than an average day around here. I actually feel as though I’ve grown far more over the last few months in Sacramento, living a normal life and working in a restaurant, than I did from travel to exotic places.”
   Drop in on Midtown’s weekly Philosophy Night Thursdays at 7:30 pm. All are welcome and if nothing else, it should make for an interesting time.