Well, I wasn't able to attend the Noam Chomsky lecture last night, though I did hear it. The lecture was given at the Missouri Theater, which seats 1200 people, and it was sold out more than a week before the lecture! Bear in mind that Columbia is a town of not quite 90,000 residents and 25,000 students (a fair bit of overlap there), so this represents an easy 1% of the total population of the town!!! Not bad for lecture given by a biolinguist and 60's style liberal activist. Fortunately the lecture was broadcast live by our local community radio station, so I was able to hear the lecture. 
The short summary is that it was fantastic. To say Chomsky is an ultra-liberal would be to do him an injustice, both in that it's an understatement AND that he's actually quite conservative, especially in the original sense of that political term. I don't always agree with him (though by and large I do), but you really had to admire his presentation.
He has an incredible ability to use the truth to his own advantage. I'm pretty sure everything he said was factual (certainly the specifics I knew about were), but it was presented in such terms, and was so selectively chosen that it gave the appearance of incontrovertable and overwhelming evidence. To believe Professor Chomsky thoroughly, one would have to believe that the American public consists almost entirely of gullible or lazy morons. Granted that doesn't seem too far from the truth much of the time, but I don't think we're all quite THAT bad!
Nevertheless, it was an excellent speech (including the extemporaneous question and answers aftewards) and hopefully did something to foment change (or at least awareness). If you ever get a chance to see this great man, please take it!
The short summary is that it was fantastic. To say Chomsky is an ultra-liberal would be to do him an injustice, both in that it's an understatement AND that he's actually quite conservative, especially in the original sense of that political term. I don't always agree with him (though by and large I do), but you really had to admire his presentation.
He has an incredible ability to use the truth to his own advantage. I'm pretty sure everything he said was factual (certainly the specifics I knew about were), but it was presented in such terms, and was so selectively chosen that it gave the appearance of incontrovertable and overwhelming evidence. To believe Professor Chomsky thoroughly, one would have to believe that the American public consists almost entirely of gullible or lazy morons. Granted that doesn't seem too far from the truth much of the time, but I don't think we're all quite THAT bad!
Nevertheless, it was an excellent speech (including the extemporaneous question and answers aftewards) and hopefully did something to foment change (or at least awareness). If you ever get a chance to see this great man, please take it!
yes, i agree that people should not even own something that costs $200. they are definitely NOT the poor college kids. quite the opposite. which is why they are having a hard time accepting this accident.
and it's funny you mention beer b/c i'm sure none of us want to see that for awhile esp. since that may have been what caused it.
ps. i need to get the 'balls' to do a set. or 'guts' or 'ovaries' or....until then......
Thank you!!! hehe
Yeeah I totally need to show it off
Hope you're doing well these days!