OT: The Thread About Nothing

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JimEIV

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Feb 19, 2003
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I noticed it’s from George Mason. I don’t want to get into specifics but their economics department is biased.
George Mason University has one of the best economics departments in the world... I have no horse in the race but why disparage them?
 

None Shall Pass

Dano moisturizes
Jul 7, 2007
15,442
11,790
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You clearly have no idea just how much colleges pay for a < 2 hour comedy set from a big name comic.

HINT: It's more than some posters here make in a year

As someone who has direct experience in trying to get a big name to perform at a big college, no, it really isn't (Unless you're not making middle class money). You're looking at, maximum, a budget of $25k (Including transportation and board) with an expectation that you won't make nearly as much back in ticket sales.

Super popular current comedian John Mulaney agrees: https://news.avclub.com/john-mulaney-says-the-whole-college-students-are-too-p-1829599567

Speaking at the New Yorker Festival this past weekend, Mulaney responded to a question about whether he’d also bail on college gigs for those reasons. “Can I say something honestly?” he began. “They don’t do colleges because their fees are too high for colleges to afford. I mean, I’d probably say that to their faces. It’s weird for them to attribute it to political correctness. They don’t have to play colleges. Why they phrase it that way, I don’t know. I just found that strange.”

Generally, performers on the upswing of their careers / who are "coming up" do college shows because it's a decent paycheck and they're performing directly to their core demographic. Guys like Chris Rock and Seinfeld can, and do, make much more money headlining a given city's big performance center.

George Mason University has one of the best economics departments in the world... I have no horse in the race but why disparage them?

This is a good reason: George Mason economics department admits it sold hiring control to anonymous, super-rich donors, and there's plenty of reporting on the same issue if you spend enough time researching it.
 

JimEIV

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Feb 19, 2003
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50 million isn't a lot of money in that world...Harvard gets 100+ million dollar donations regularly. The hedge fund manager John Paulson donated $400 million and got the school of engineering named after him...that kind of stuff is the life blood of ALL universities...and if you think for one second that donors don't call the shots you're kidding yourself...

Again, I don't have a horse in the race but it appears to me that is a story more about not liking the politics of the donor than any real substance.
 

tr83

Nope, still embarassed
Oct 14, 2013
14,602
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Jersey Shore
50 million isn't a lot of money in that world...Harvard gets 100+ million dollar donations regularly. The hedge fund manager John Paulson donated $400 million and got the school of engineering named after him...that kind of stuff is the life blood of ALL universities...and if you think for one second that donors don't call the shots you're kidding yourself...

Again, I don't have a horse in the race but it appears to me that is a story more about not liking the politics of the donor than any real substance.

The big issue is that many large donations are now coming with a lot of strings attached. Faculty are being told who to hire, what research will be funded, and the narrative the research should support.

This is common with big DC think tanks, but now it's encroaching on universities, which are supposed to be independent. There are dozens of articles on Insidehighered.com about the topic
 

BenedictGomez

Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
Oct 11, 2007
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I noticed it’s from George Mason. I don’t want to get into specifics but their economics department is biased.

GMU's economics department is literally rated almost on par with the Ivy League. They're probably considered top 3o or 40 or 50 on "earth", not just in America.
 

BenedictGomez

Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
Oct 11, 2007
40,436
7,745
PRNJ
As someone who has direct experience in trying to get a big name to perform at a big college, no, it really isn't (Unless you're not making middle class money). You're looking at, maximum, a budget of $25k

Then you went to a cheapskate school. We got big names like Jon Stewart (in his prime) and Carrot-top (when he was a top act), and we paid several multiples of $25k. And as someone who has direct experience after college in trying to get big names to give corporate speeches, $25k is nothing. Hell, we paid Chris Berman far more than that (he wasn't worth it BTW = BORING). I recall Dennis Miller asked $60k for his routine. I also recall Hillary Clinton also asked $60k (we didnt go with her though, deemed too political) back in 2006, which jumped to $200,000 when she was running for president (though it's generally suspected that higher sum was likely for future "access"). There were a bunch of others we contacted their managers for speeches or comedy routines, but I cant remember the sums they asked.
 

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
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My boss of 16 years job was eliminated today. I can't remember being this upset over work. What a horrible day.
 

BenedictGomez

Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
Oct 11, 2007
40,436
7,745
PRNJ
Is it just me, or is anyone else SICK of the wall-to-wall coverage these storms get on ABC, CNN, NBC, FoxNews, CBS, MSNBC, etc.... ?

Are people really THAT interested in it that they can sit in front of a TV and listen to updates on nothing in particular for hours before a storm hits?

When I was getting ready for work this morning I switched to CNBC, thinking at least they would be ignoring it & I could listen to some stock talk. Nope, they were pontificating about the storm too. Ugh...
 

devilsblood

Registered User
Mar 10, 2010
29,690
11,939
Is it just me, or is anyone else SICK of the wall-to-wall coverage these storms get on ABC, CNN, NBC, FoxNews, CBS, MSNBC, etc.... ?

Are people really THAT interested in it that they can sit in front of a TV and listen to updates on nothing in particular for hours before a storm hits?

When I was getting ready for work this morning I switched to CNBC, thinking at least they would be ignoring it & I could listen to some stock talk. Nope, they were pontificating about the storm too. Ugh...
I enjoy being able to turn on the TV whenever and get information.

But I go to the TWC, which can certainly be criticized for it's hyped up coverage, but at least it's "The Weather" channel, one would expect them to cover a storm like this very intently.

If I was looking for other news? Then I'd be peeved.
 

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
66,298
28,724
Yeah, hopefully people are safe and the, "Ima' gonna' ride it out" idiots are kept to a minimum.



That stinks. With 16 years hopefully he got a nice buyout at least?
He's been my boss for 16 years... he's been with the company for 35 years. He started at 22.
 

RangerDoggo

The Devils have a culture of failure
Feb 3, 2016
3,166
2,592
Brooklyn via NJ, like the Nets
Is it just me, or is anyone else SICK of the wall-to-wall coverage these storms get on ABC, CNN, NBC, FoxNews, CBS, MSNBC, etc.... ?

Are people really THAT interested in it that they can sit in front of a TV and listen to updates on nothing in particular for hours before a storm hits?

When I was getting ready for work this morning I switched to CNBC, thinking at least they would be ignoring it & I could listen to some stock talk. Nope, they were pontificating about the storm too. Ugh...
Cable news is universally sensationalistic nonsense no matter what channel. Every time I pass by a place playing CNN on TV, it makes me glad I don’t have cable TV. Same with ESPN, which is just cable news sensationalism about sports.
 

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
66,298
28,724
Rough. Any reason why?
A reorganization. A lot of people were eliminated. Maybe 2 dozen in my area of about 125. All higher level management.

I have been through a few of these and my team was never touched. I guess it was a matter of time.
 

BenedictGomez

Corsi is GROSSLY overrated
Oct 11, 2007
40,436
7,745
PRNJ
Because he's 57. :thumbd: Unless he suddenly became a bad employee (after 35 years?), I'd say age discrimination might come into play.

Not saying this had anything to do with it, but age discrimination is likely the most common form of discrimination, and sadly it's almost impossible to get caught.

When you lose your job at 57, it's increasingly harder to get a new job due to hiring discrimination from age, but good luck proving that.
 
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