Friday, April 3, 2015

A Fitting Investment

UMass undergrad Commencement Ceremony, May 8th

If UMass can spend a little over $300,000 on three "artists" for a free musical concert at the Mullins Center to attract students away from a boorish Blarney Blowout style of celebration, I sure don't have a problem with paying Neil deGrasse Tyson $25,000 (plus expenses) for this year's Commencement speech.

As I've mentioned more than once, last year's Blarney Blowout cost the University and Town more than a million in bad PR.  And had this year's event stumbled down the same sorry path, you could have easily doubled that amount.

College graduation is a once in a lifetime event.  Let's hope Mr. Tyson presents a memorable, out of this world, speech.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Won't go. He believes in global warming, and the world is round.

Anonymous said...

Neither is actually true -- the globe is neither warming nor perfectly round -- but what does he have to say to the unemployed graduates of a third-rate state school?

And Larry, that was student money that paid for the so-called "concert."

Larry Kelley said...

I believe it was the University who decided to spend it.

Anonymous said...

I wish I was graduating this year. I would love to hear him speak.

Dr. Ed said...

If it was SATF money, and I heard it was, the university couldn't spend it. No more than the town can spend Community Preservation money -- I heard that Enku bullied the SGA into spending it and that is why there were calls for impeachment.

SATF money is student money and has been so since the 1970's if not earlier.

Anonymous said...

Keene NH refuses to give a license for Pumpkin Fest

Loss of a great tradition

Anonymous said...

Enku's still there. Ed, not so much.

Dr. Ed said...

Enku's still there. Ed, not so much.

Someone's not familiar with the realities of asymmetric conflict in the political sphere.

Give me what I want and I'll go away. Not that I can see what relevance my reporting a fact has to do with anything -- the fact that Enku Geyale bullied the SGA into wasting the spring concert money is independent of me.

Anonymous said...

"Give me what I want and I'll go away."

Somehow I don't think you will ever go away, because you have no life.

Anonymous said...

Facts Ed,facts Ed...
There are those damn facts again.
Ed says- Curses, foiled again!!!

Anonymous said...

Ed, what is your list of demands?

Dr. Ed said...

"Somehow I don't think you will ever go away, because you have no life."

Something was stolen from me, MoFo, and I intend to have it returned to me -- and morally bankrupt schmucks such as yourself will never understand why.

That's why you are afraid of me.

And you should be -- not only is the pen mightier than the sword, but you can have a whole lot more fun with it -- and do a whole lot more damage as well.

I play by the rules Planet UMess taught me -- Larry, about a week or two from now, you'll be running a quite different story about the commencement speaker....

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that's right up there with all your imaginary lawsuits.

Anonymous said...

Life is what you make it, Ed. Maybe someday you will stop blaming others and playing the victim and realize that. But that's doubtful.

Dr. Ed said...

The lawsuits got shelved in favor of a book at the advise of counsel who suggested that if it was vengeance and not money I sought, the book would be the better approach.

Anonymous said...

Really gonna quote Linoge??

Anonymous said...

Just another bitter loser.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Ed, it's sad to see you lingering, returning to this site day after day, week after week, month after month.

Still speaking in cryptic terms and talking about a college you haven't attended in... how many decades?

Move on with your life.

Anonymous said...

Is this what we do? Tell everybody else how to live? F off.

Anonymous said...

Ed, when a lawyer advises against a lawsuit it means you didn't have a chance in hell. Seriously.