Buddhist Atomix
I’m back from a couple of hours at Atomix, working up an outline for my paper in my notebook (I’ve finally finished the one I started at UMSL, and am now working through a big, black 8 1/2 by 11 sized bound, unlined book). I thought the name of the coffee shop was philosophically appropriate, given Buddhist atomism.
Anyway, I’ll be putting up bits and pieces of the paper, as usual, for feedback. Please don’t quote me on your own blog just yet (in the rare chance you’re tempted), since this is a work in progress. As well, I’m waiting for my Amazon.com order of the Engaged Buddhist Reader, which contains Robert Thurman’s essay on Nagarjuna’s social ethic. That and Dallmayr’s work on cross-cultural encounter, Beyond Orientalism. Hopefully this book will fill out my interaction with Welch, so until then I’m relying on some older essays.
Sidenote: the Chicago coffee shop scene is great. I created, while in St. Louis, an "academic’s guide to STL coffee shops" (which is still a Wordpress draft). Without realizing it, my partner and I moved into a "hipster" neighborhood (the Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village area). We just thought, this is a cool place, with people who we might click with. It turns out there’s some kind of hierarchy in the coffee shops in the area. The one I was at today, Atomix, was reviewed on Yelp!, contrasted to Filter (which closed a few weeks ago, actually):
"You see—there are the Atomix hipsters and the Filter hipsters. Atomix attracts the vegans with their skinny, pale, righteous selves. And Filter attracts people that, well, like everyone to know they are hipsters. And apparently, some people in the first group aren’t too fond of the second group. I imagine the hipster version of Westside story, but with more skinny jeans and allusions to obscure music." (so says Paul K.)
Whether I’m a "hipster" or not remains to be seen (I don’t own enough retro second-hand clothing or know enough about indie/emo bands, I don’t think), but if the fault lines in that community are responsible for all the great coffee shops for studying, I’m all for it!
Image from the always-hysterical Toothpaste For Dinner.