A SLU of ME(A) Pictures

So, here are some pictures from the 2009 annual meeting of the Media Ecology Association, which was hosted by Saint Louis University (aka SLU, pronounced slew) on June 18-21. The pictures are courtesy of Rob Francos, and I've only chosen the ones directly relevant to me this time, not having all that much time to upload everything, and anyway, this blog is an exercise in narcissism, as I stated at the very beginning of this blog, don'tyaknow.

So, for starters, here I am as a respondent to a session about drugs as media (yes, that's what it was about):






















Yeah, I wasn't wearing a tie. My first post-/past-presidential MEA convention, I figured I could loosen up a bit. Plus, the heat and humidity together were all but unbearable. St. Louis in June is far from ideal.

Anyway, here's a shot of John Miles Foley delivering his keynote address, and you can spot me in the audience on the left:






And for a closer view:






And here's a picture from dinner that night, as I chat with Paul Grosswiler and his kids:







And now for some pictures from the Awards Ceremony, which I was the MC for. I put on my tie right before it, and took it off right after!

Janet Sternberg, who took over as MEA President this year had just given her first President's Address, prior to the Awards Ceremony, so when she called me up to do the awards, I gave her a hug:







And here we go:







This part of the program is always good for moral, and an occasion for some levity:












I was mostly on the edge of the photos with the Awards winners, but here's one that's worth including, with Marshall McLuhan Book Award winners Rick Williams and Julianne Newton:







And here's the winner of the Neil Postman Career Award for Outstanding Public Intellectual Activity, Alan Kay:







So, this time around, after all of the awards were presented, Thom Gencarelli came up, and he and Janet did a little tribute for my long service to the MEA (over a decade as president), and they gave me a present.








What is it?












It's a Kindle! That calls for a big thank you!






And more hugs!







And they gave me a standing ovation:










And some mugging for the camera!






So, the next day I eschewed both tie and jacket:











As I introduced computing pioneer Alan Kay:











Later on, Corey Anton and I led a special session about general semantics that introduced the discipline to folks at the conference who were unfamiliar with it, as well as serving as a refresher course for others. Here's Corey, doing his bit:











And here am I doing my part:












The audience was spellbound:







That's Ed Tywoniak and Barry Liss, and the session really was well attended and well received, if I do say so myself.

And here's Corey looking antsy while I'm talking (can't say I blame him), and you can see the Institute of General Semantics website projected onto the screen in the background:












Finally, the library had a special exhibit devoted to Walter Ong set up for the occasion. Ong did his MA at SLU as Marshall McLuhan's student, and went on teach there for many decades, rising to the position of university professor before his retirement. Here's one shot from the exhibit that's worth including, and closing this post with:







Yes, literacy is dead, so just enjoy the pretty pictures, ok?