A tale of two lecturers, and some mountains, too

It was the brightest of mornings, it was the tiredest of mornings. I overslept and was unfortunately unable to get a cup of coffee before the morning session, however, I was astonishingly able to stay awake through both morning lectures, which were interesting and quite different.

First we heard from Ricky Kirshner, Executive Producer of the Convention. He made it quite clear he didn't know much about politics, so it was an interesting way to kick off the quasi-political summer camp this program seems to be. However, he gave a quite interesting talk of the logistical nightmare that is planning all the technical hardware and software that will be needed to make the DNC go off without a hitch. Kirsher has produced the last four conventions, along with Tony awards and Super Bowl halftime shows. (not the Janet Jackson one, though) I figure being politically apathetic probably allows him to do his job better. He sees the convention as a show that must go on, and is probably more effective at it without worrying about all of the potential political ramifications of everything. He can't control where CNN or Fox News points their cameras once their in the convention hall, so all he can do is make sure everything he's planned goes on as smoothly as possible, and if Bill Clinton is hitting on a student intern in the back row, so be it.

Next we heard from Reverend Leah Daughtry, CEO of the DNC and Faith Outreach Leader. As a preacher, she gave quite a compelling lecture on her life story and the potential importance of religion in the Democratic Party. The voice of progressive religious people in America has been suppressed in America for way too long, and Daughtry seemed quite committed to providing the democratic party with some sort of religous identity. This seems to me to be important since the ever-present "Christian Right" seems to be prepetuating the image that all church going Americans must be republicans. This struck a chord since it was legitimately asked of her by a student how she could be a christian and support a party with a general pro-life and somewhat pro-civil union platform. The articulation of a progressive religous message by democrats could be very important in the elections this November and the more distant future.

After the lectures and lunch we took a bus tour to the Red Rocks amphitheater, which looks like about the coolest place to see a rock concert in the history of the world. The stage is redstong, and the seating is in between two huge pillars of red rock that create a majestic atmosphere. Apparently, the beatles played there in 1964 (A ticket was 6 bucks) along with most other big-name performers of the 70s and 80s. My all-time favorite band, the Grateful Dead, played there several times. There's a slight chance I would sell my soul to go back in time to go to a Dead concert at the Red Rock theatre. It was truly an impressive sight.

Until tomorrow, keep rock alive.