Pay-me-a-ton cashes in on cliches

[lurker1965]

If it was public funds and If I lived in Oklahoma...
big "ifs."

 

[Mike the Brit]

Ali G spoke at Harvard.

Id actually want to hear what Manning had to say.

Ali G did speak at Harvard. But he wasn't the Commencement speaker -- he was the Class Day speaker (invited by the Senior Class, not the President). You may not want to hear what he has to say, but for my money it's the best speech at Commencement ever.



(If you want to put down Harvard, ask why they invited Oprah ...)

 

[Triumph]

Ali G did speak at Harvard. But he wasn't the Commencement speaker -- he was the Class Day speaker (invited by the Senior Class, not the President). You may not want to hear what he has to say, but for my money it's the best speech at Commencement ever.



(If you want to put down Harvard, ask why they invited Oprah ...)

They could invite Bruno and Borat for future engagements.

Its too bad the 3 Stooges arent still alive.

 

[RayClay]

They could invite Bruno and Borat for future engagements.

Its too bad the 3 Stooges arent still alive.

Actually, way back, there was a big student movement to have Moe Howard as part of the distinguished visitors program and the administration squashed it.

Actually, a real stupid and short sighted move on their part. The Stooges were actually a great part of American entertainment and other history, stretching from vaudeville to modern times and, of course still on TV all over the world. Moe Howard was the first American to mock Adolph Hitler on film, pre WWII. Damn stuck up suits in their ivory tower missed a chance at a real educational contribution for fear of ridicule.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

One of the first things I learned in B-school (and when I bought my first condo) is that a market is a matter of how much someone will pay for specific goods or services. 60 minutes of Peyton's time is worth $100k because someone was willing to pay that amount for that time. So, "it is what it is."

And, BTW, I'm sure that Manning is delighted to have people spending time on Easter Sunday talking about him (in the spirit of "the only bad publicity is no publicity").

Take heart, though, that Peyton can't compare to President Clinton, who now commands around $500k for a speech; his wife gets not too much less than that. I'm betting that Obama will clear a million for his first commercially-motivated speech after he leaves office. So, Manning's small potatoes compared to them.

 

[50-yard-line]

Doing a commencement speech is a lot of work, and it's full of pressure - you don't want to mess up the "big day" for thousands of families. So I'll give the speakers that much...

However, I always find wealthy celebrities going to PUBLIC universities/colleges and taking large speaking fees to be distasteful.

Being able to go and speak to a graduating class is a privilege of station, or should be, and not just a wa y to make a little more money. Does everything always have to be about money?

 

[Joker]

One of the first things I learned in B-school (and when I bought my first condo) is that a market is a matter of how much someone will pay for specific goods or services. 60 minutes of Peyton's time is worth $100k because someone was willing to pay that amount for that time. So, "it is what it is."

This is a perfect time for me, Joe "Whinestein" Kerr, to reveal MY theory of relativity....Peytie's time is relative...in Porkchop Pass, Missazippyki-a he's worth 100 grand an hour...in southern New England, he has to PAY millions of dollars and hour just for the privilege of talking to US, anywhere at any time.

It's all relative

 

[Tunescribe]

I'll never forget from back in my newspaper reporting days, I covered a speaking engagement by Chicago Bears fullback Matt Suhey to a group of high school athletes at an awards dinner. We all know how it's customary to open these monologues with a joke to loosen everyone up. Well, Matt had an incredible brain-fart of a moment where he took the podium and proceeded to tell this long, X-rated joke involving a hooker. When he delivered the punchline you could've heard a pin drop. And he was just beginning. This was an audience of teen-age kids and their parents. One of the most embarrassing public displays I've ever seen.

 

[Danger Zone]

One more thing that Tom is better than Peyton at, motivational speaking!

 

[Ivan]

I'll never forget from back in my newspaper reporting days, I covered a speaking engagement by Chicago Bears fullback Matt Suhey to a group of high school athletes at an awards dinner. We all know how it's customary to open these monologues with a joke to loosen everyone up. Well, Matt had an incredible brain-fart of a moment where he took the podium and proceeded to tell this long, X-rated joke involving a hooker. When he delivered the punchline you could've heard a pin drop. And he was just beginning. This was an audience of teen-age kids and their parents. One of the most embarrassing public displays I've ever seen.

That's awesome.................


Ever see the scene in Ray Donovan where Jon Voight starts telling pedophile jokes at a group meeting for victims of abuse?

 

[TruthSeeker]

However, I always find wealthy celebrities going to PUBLIC universities/colleges and taking large speaking fees to be distasteful.

Being able to go and speak to a graduating class is a privilege of station, or should be, and not just a wa y to make a little more money. Does everything always have to be about money?

It sounds like you think public universities shouldn't have to pay the going rate for a speaker whereas private universities (also non-profit, by the way) should.

If you don't want to pay the market price, then don't buy the product. In this case, the product wasn't worth anywhere near the market price but that's another story.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

This is a perfect time for me, Joe "Whinestein" Kerr, to reveal MY theory of relativity....Peytie's time is relative...in Porkchop Pass, Missazippyki-a he's worth 100 grand an hour...in southern New England, he has to PAY millions of dollars and hour just for the privilege of talking to US, anywhere at any time.

It's all relative

Exactly. We don't disagree. That's how markets function. Peyton has done a very good job of branding and positioning himself with "middle america," especially, but not solely, in what are usually referred to as "Red States." He is not going to be as marketable in New England, where the fans' preferences have been conditioned by years of a Brady-Manning rivalry and where their politics tend to be more "Massachusetts" than "Missibama" and would lessen the appeal of a "good old boy" from down-home. I doubt Papa John's or Buick would devote a dollar of their New England regional advertising budgets to Peyton Manning commercials and only reluctantly send them into the region when they have to for national broadcasts. On the other hand, he probably plays really well in the "fly over" states.

 

[Deus Irae]

...
(If you want to put down Harvard, ask why they invited Oprah ...)

In the 2nd most beauty obsessed profession in a beauty obsessed country, where race is still often made an issue, a fat black woman found a way to make it to the pinnacle of the television field, and beyond.

I'm not an Oprah fan, but that sort of journey is impressive, and it certainly makes sense, to me, that she'd be a person in demand for such speeches.

 

[Joker]

In the 2nd most beauty obsessed profession in a beauty obsessed country, where race is still often made an issue, a fat black woman found a way to make it to the pinnacle of the television field, and beyond.

I'm not an Oprah fan, but that sort of journey is impressive, and it certainly makes sense, to me, that she'd be a person in demand for such speeches.

Obviously the work of Satan says this devil's advocate...

 

[Mike the Brit]

In the 2nd most beauty obsessed profession in a beauty obsessed country, where race is still often made an issue, a fat black woman found a way to make it to the pinnacle of the television field, and beyond.

I'm not an Oprah fan, but that sort of journey is impressive, and it certainly makes sense, to me, that she'd be a person in demand for such speeches.

I'd hope that a Harvard Commencement Speaker would have something to contribute to celebrating intellectual values, which is what universities are supposed to be about -- not just material career success (however unlikely Oprah might have been to have such success). Ali G, on the other hand, satirized Harvard's excessive self-regard. Good for him -- and good for them for inviting him to do it!

 

[Joker]

I got accepted to Brown...BUT...they offered me zero student aid, even though I fit the criteria like a glove. Harvard dismissed my application with a terse thank you reply, while accepting a friend I grew up with, Teddy DeMars, on a full scholarship. He played football, I played tennis. I scored mid 700's on my verbal and math SAT's. Boston University accepted me to the School of Engineering on a full academic ride. Boston College also. I chose B.U.

I also applied to Princeton. Denied. Columbia did accept me, but offered minimal aid. I had the distinct impression that if I had attended Classical High School like Ted instead of a Catholic High School like La Salle, I would have been Ivy League bound. My girlfriend worked in development at Brown in 1970 and for the next thirty years. She told me Brown had a quota when it came to LaSalle students right up into the mid 80's when admissions suddenly underwent a quantum shift in policy.

What's it all mean TODAY? I'll tell you, from my ancient perspective, I SHOULD have gone to URI. Would have been free of charge, and I would have done what I so desired to do at that age, party like it's 1999 and take extended spring breaks to Panama City and Lauderdale.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'd hope that a Harvard Commencement Speaker would have something to contribute to celebrating intellectual values, which is what universities are supposed to be about -- not just material career success (however unlikely Oprah might have been to have such success). Ali G, on the other hand, satirized Harvard's excessive self-regard. Good for him -- and good for them for inviting him to do it!

Is it that you don't understand what these speeches are about, that you don't know Oprah's bio, or it is that you've historically ignored who speaks at prestigious universities all over the world (including Oxford, for example)?

 

[Mike the Brit]

Yeah, Joker. I bet lots of people have similar stories.

It's sad but hilarious that journalists and politicians in the UK, who don't know anything about the U.S., are constantly telling British universities that they should be more like the U.S. when it comes to admissions.

But everyone knows that it's a lottery here -- actually, worse than a lottery. There are a ton of hidden factors that no one knows about, so it's only from the outside that it looks like it's completely random. And, of course, human nature being what it is, people who get turned down for no good reason are still bummed about it 40 years later.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Is it that you don't understand what these speeches are about, or it is that you've historically ignored who speaks at prestigious universities all over the world (including Oxford, for example)?

Neither -- and I don't appreciate being addressed as if I were a complete idiot, thanks very much.

 

[Kontradiction]

I got accepted to Brown...BUT...they offered me zero student aid, even though I fit the criteria like a glove. Harvard dismissed my application with a terse thank you reply, while accepting a friend I grew up with, Teddy DeMars, on a full scholarship. He played football, I played tennis. I scored mid 700's on my verbal and math SAT's. Boston University accepted me to the School of Engineering on a full academic ride. Boston College also. I chose B.U.

I also applied to Princeton. Denied. Columbia did accept me, but offered minimal aid. I had the distinct impression that if I had attended Classical High School like Ted instead of a Catholic High School like La Salle, I would have been Ivy League bound. My girlfriend worked in development at Brown in 1970 and for the next thirty years. She told me Brown had a quota when it came to LaSalle students right up into the mid 80's when admissions suddenly underwent a quantum shift in policy.

What's it all mean TODAY? I'll tell you, from my ancient perspective, I SHOULD have gone to URI. Would have been free of charge, and I would have done what I so desired to do at that age, party like it's 1999 and take extended spring breaks to Panama City and Lauderdale.

I'm not sure about back then, but Panama City today is a toilet. Better off going to Lauderdale.