Found both chapters on the net, If anybody is interested in those topics.

REBELLION

http://literature.sdsu.edu/2004/summer/tattoo/dostoevsky.pdf

THE GRAND INQUISITOR
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pol116/grand.htm

May be on a six month extension basis until I crave Starbucks coffee and the internet again.

i’m game- what u have in mind nyala? I’m reading “notes from the hyena’s belly” right now.

never been in a book club…could be cool.

“what am i doing here” — letimirt new lela minim iyaregin adelem yalenew. thats the one thing that people back home dream about and what i would be dreaming about if i were back there so don’t give up the school thing no matter how lousy you think ur choices, ur grades or anything else is. me too, i really love learning u know? i don’t care about my grades much and that makes life a whole lot harder for me but i don’t care as long as the learning opportunity is not completely closed on me. I just got a truck load of bad news just yesterday where that is concerned and I woke up this morning with such a heavy heart that i could hardly lift myself (and that was before i even remembered why i had the said heavy heart).. just got done talking myself out of the misery but i know i ain’t going to let it get in the way. There is always a way!!! ayzogn!

sara, say no kalmeselesh but don’t feel guilty about it kemeselesh. As somebody who would most definitely would have said no, lemme just say i don’t see anything wrong in giving in if you feel like it (for whatever reason) Just don’t do it iyakmamash (esp with him knowing that u r doing it against your instinct).

nyalasmoke, i am not into desto all that much and I am all about doom and gloom but i am so about doom and gloom that i don’t want desto adding to it. esun ante atnegregnim, i wanna say to him on most things. Need Twain to cheer me up.

My advice to you is to clearly investigate what you want out of this relationship with this guy. If intimacy is not what you are looking for, you have to clearly express your interest to your guy. You must spell it out for this guy because guys aren’t good understanding hints or body language. Sit down and talk to your guy. Tell him that you like him or state facts/personalities that you like about him however, it is so early for you to get physically intimate. Therefore, say I need sometime to get to know and if possible tell that amount of time whether you need three, four, five, six months or more as a matter of fact. You have the right to make him wait until you feel comfortable and if he is okay with your decision. There needs to be a clear communication and understanding between you two at early stage in the relationship start. After you tell him your decision, you must stick to it. Don’t change your mind next day and be all over him. Or guys aren’t like girls where they can start making out and stop at certain point. There is no going back once Mr. Johnson is ready to go. Don’t stay over too late at his house after a date. Do not accept late night invitations over to his house or plan a date to meet him at public place. You should take your own car so you can drive yourself home post a date. This is to give you sometime to get to know him however you must talk to him and make him understand what you are looking for or what you want to do with him. I don’t believe in just making him wait to show him that you are wife material. I just don’t believe in that kinda of BS. If he loves you and if you guys are compatible, then eventually he will marry you. You should use your instinct and pay attention to how this guy treats you and his goals in life or evaluate him on issue that matter to you. Is your long term goals compatible? If he doesn’t want to have kids like Nolawi, are you going to continue to date this guy? Just be open minded and clearly communicate with him about your needs. There is no need to make him wait for so long for sake of getting to know him. Be respectful of his feeling and needs. Just don’t put your sight on becoming his wifey and make him wait forever because there might be a chance that his guy might not want to stick around for so long. I wish you good luck with your relationship and I hope it will work out. There is nothing that makes me happy to see my fellow abesha brother and sister holding hands and walking down the street.

i’m glad to have hopefully reintroduced “DESTO” into your literary life. The book club sounds like a great idea, but you forgot to invite Hidaya…who surely must join at least for the sake of having someone who speaks Queen’s english (and of course amazing insight).

BTW i’m really interested to see how your informal survey goes. Which tittle they read also is important since dostoyevsky’s works are admired by many people for many reasons. I look forward to your results.

Did you attend school in addis? I’ve always wanted to attend Addis abeba university, (mainly because I used to know a guy who was a politics/philosophy major who came out of there crazy, and used to talk to himself He was an incarnate of DESTO’s characters.

Morality without God? I don’t have a problem with accpeting that to a certain extent….It doesn’t take God to understand that morality is in the best interest of society….that may drive some level of morality with a lot grey area…. but Biblical morality is more about heaven than earth…the bible is not just about how to live ur life here…In fact it says…. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” .Biblical morality is about how to live your life with eternal perspective….In fact it is hard to make sense of some of the moral values of the bible unless you have an eternal perspective…

Even though I agree to some level of morality without God, its long term sustainability in a totally godless society is questionable. How was the assertion disproved? esti say a few things on this….

Wud, count me in for BP for sure….I miss BP…

Sarah….keep saying no…he will respect u for that…be firm…guys like girls who are firm at saying no to sex…He will think u r a wife material…:)

There may be a chance that we have Bernos Press back IF we have enough people ‘for’ it…and volunteer moderators. Do I hear Dini??? So, if you want BP back, email me at nidia127@yahoo.com And who knows, we may have BP for the new year.

Sarah, don’t give in to pressures. If he can’t respect your wishes, let him go. Remember, if this doesn’t work, (and you said you met him through family)being intimate so soon is not what you’ll look back at fondly.

I just remember being amazed by the detailed dissection of every minute feeling and emotion of the character in “notes”. After a while, the minutia of inward exploration became too mind numbing for me. Maybe I had a hard time deriving enjoyment out it because I may have a diminished appreciation of self exploration. But then again, u don’t always read for enjoyment alone, aydel? Ok bro, I will take your advice, put aside my apprehension and take that bungee jump with an open mind. Maybe I will continue with this Frank guy but will have you to thank for the initial push. It might also be worthy to look into the Ethio university students phenomena. Esti, I will take an informal survey and report back.

As for the exploration of morality, the one thing I have repeatedly heard, especially in atheist discussions, is the quote “if God doesn’t exist then everything is permitted,” I think it is from “the brother’s Karamzov.” I take this opportunity to send a jab in the general direction of brother Dinich and say that that assertion by Dostoevsky have been disproved again and again. Morality is independent of God.

Anyways bro, always a pleasure reading your post. Maybe we should start an informal book club… what do u say… annox, tse, dinich ..any one else?

tolstoy and W& P are very different form the works of Dostoyevsky. They are two very different authors. I also gave up on W & P, when after reading 100 pages you realize theres 700 more you tend to give up. So the only rusian writer i’ve read is dostoyevsky who is atypical of russian writers anyway.

Both countries are traditionally christian orthodox, had a church state, a monarchy, feudal system, and prior to those pivotal periods I mentioned had experienced an ‘opening up’ to the western world. These periods of national dialog where followed by revolutions, both totalitarian, marxist, and largely led by the second generation of those educated and exposed to western ‘ideas’. (Be lenient, i’m drawing rough parallels of the top of my head, spur of the moment . So I think the world he is exploring is very familiar in relationships, values, and make up.

The second part of his appeal is that incessant self exploration that maybe is lacking in ethio culture. However, I hesitate to say that because it diminish how unique dostoyevsky is across all cultures in the way he approaches and dissects the inner life. Some even thought of it as an unhealthy obsession with the tormented soul.

A third, and to me his most important appeal, is his ability to explore morality, to go beyond the abstract and to examine the real world manifestations of various ‘beliefs’. It is here that he appeals to me most, in a world where competing ideas make compelling cases, he manages to find ‘the hidden lie’, or as the say the devil in that detail. Phew, okay my mind is exhausted i’ve tried to give a worthy account, but an author of this stature deserves better so I refer you to Joseph Frank, who I think writes the best criticisms of the man and his works.

Finally, if I could recommend a work of his to start with, underground man is a good one. Its short, packed with really interesting observations about humanism, rational egoism, and of course self exploration. Joseph Frank also writes a nice essay on it. I hope annox post doesn’t apply to this, reading dostoyevsky is an adventure because he operates in a world of uncertainties, both moral and circumstantial. So look at this more like going bungee jumping for the soul, instead of self flagellation.