Summer in Portland

Thursday at the Thirsters

For the last two Thursdays, I've been attending the Thirsters weekly meetings. Art Harkins first invited me to the Thirsters last week, when he was planning to come down for their weekly meeting. Unsure of what the Thirsters are, I looked them up on Google. It turns out that the top hits for Google on the topic "thirsters" are mostly for role-playing vampire cults. While it's entirely plausible in Portland that such thirsters exist, I didn't really think that my doctoral advisor would be taking me to such a meeting. So, I emailed him my query, and he responded by saying that the Thirsters are "active and retired intellectuals of most impressive credentials, achievements, current projects, and manners." Robert Textor adds that while many Thirsters have extensive international experience, that's not a requirement to attend.

So, I've been to the Thirsters for the last two weeks. I've met a guy who knows the Emperor of Japan, another guy whose had tea with the Dalai Lama, and a number of people who have spent much of their lives in Indonesia. This last week, I shook the hand of Earl Blumenauer, Oregon's Congressional Representative from the 3rd district. He's known for his bow ties (although he wasn't wearing one) and probably being one of the most liberal members of Congress. I'm not much of a schmoozer, but it's been fun hanging out with these folks and talking a bit about the increased urbanization of the world (the most current Thirsters topic).

I should mention that the Thirsters meet every Thursday at McMenamin's Tavern in Northwest Portland. If you can't attend, but want to know what the Thirster are up to, check out the website.