"Short Stories For Long Discussions…"Delight in intriguing, thought-provoking conversations about ethics, philosophy, and social issues! After Dinner Conversation is a (501(c)(3) nonprofit that publishes a monthly short fiction literary magazine.Each issue features both established writers and up-and-coming authors who contribute fascinating philosophical insights on controversial topics like marriage equality, assisted suicide, the meaning of death, animal...

In 1975 there was nothing reasonable about the road-trip Dad proposed. Much of it would be on rugged, unpaved tracks where services and spare parts were unavailable. If we had mechanical trouble we would, for the most part, have to deal with it ourselves. Should we have an accident or become ill, medical facilities were few and far between. We would have no way to communicate with family or friends except by letter – and, in many places, mail service was iffy. We would be driving through p...

John wrote the Gospel which bears his name as a supplement to the other 3 Gospel accounts. Though John used simple language, the concepts and ideas he presents are anything but simple. His intent was to explain the significance of what Jesus said and did, that we may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.Beloved Witness is a practical commentary on John's Gospel. It explains the difficult passages and esoteric sayings in John in an infor...

German immigrants created leafy beer gardens here nearly two centuries ago, establishing Bucktown as the heart of entertainment in downtown Davenport for generations. In 1916, the founding of the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra at the Burtis Opera House embodied the neighborhood's reputation for high culture. The numerous saloons and theaters, as well as the forty-two documented brothels that flourished within two blocks, lent a bawdy side to the good times. Varied industries thrived through W...

"After Dinner Conversation" Magazine - August 2022Soul On Sale: The narrator gives his soul to the devil, saying it is "more work than it is worth."The Rapture Module: Tucker makes a mistake at work, gets a promotion, and realizes his life is meaningless.Infrastructure: A woman in her 40's is newly married, and confides in her friend over brunch, they are going to have a baby.

Like any other valued resource, emotions are distributed unequally. Moreover, emotions are a generalized resource because they give people the confidence, or lack of confidence, to secure additional types of resources. Thus, this distribution of emotions roughly corresponds to the shares of others kinds of resources that members of various social classes possess. The level of positive and negative emotional energy evident among members of different social classes has large consequences for...

For decades, evolutionary analysis was overlooked or altogether ignored by sociologists. Fears and biases persisted nearly a century after Auguste Comte gave the discipline its name, as did concerns that its effect would only reduce sociology to another discipline – whether biology, psychology, or economics. Worse, apprehension that the application of evolutionary theory would encourage heightened perceptions of racism, sexism, ethnocentrism and reductionism pervaded.Turner and Mac...

Exodus and Wanderings continues the survey of Old Testament history Mr. Turner began in his book, Beginnings and Patriarchs. The seventeen lesson plans in this volume cover the time-period from the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt to just before their crossing the Jordan river in order to enter the land of Canaan. A few of the topics are: Moses’ call, judgments on Egypt, revolt in the desert, and Balaam’s prophecies.Aside from the “Exodus” from Egypt the defining elem...

The Quad Cities—three hours from both Des Moines and Chicago—is a unique metropolitan area along the mighty Mississippi River, growing in both size and nationwide reputation.This region of 400,000-plus people has all the friendliness, affordability, and short, headache-free commutes of many small towns, but also a staggering variety and quality of things to do. 100 Things to Do in the Quad Cities is an invaluable source to help you track down some of the top places, events...

Few concepts are as central to sociology as institutions. Yet, like so many sociological concepts, institutions remain vaguely defined. This book expands a foundational definition of the institution, one which locates them as the basic building blocks of human societies—as structural and cultural machines for survival that make it possible to pass precious knowledge from one generation to the next, ensuring the survival of our species. The book extends this classic tradition by, first, app...

70 per cent of the planet is covered by water, and 90 per cent of global economic trade is transported by sea. The world's seas and oceans are big business. Based on gross marine product, the ocean can be considered the world's seventh-largest economy, with the total global value of the Blue Economy predicted to rise to $3 trillion by 2030.Grounded in detailed market research, and brought to life through over 250 meticulously researched case studies, ***Technology and the Blue Econ...

Written by leading theorists and empirical researchers, this book presents new ways of addressing the old question: Why did religion first emerge and then continue to evolve in all human societies? The authors of the book—each with a different background across the social sciences and humanities—assimilate conceptual leads and empirical findings from anthropology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary sociology, neurology, primate behavioral studies, explanations of human interaction and grou...