TUCSON BOOK FESTIVAL---A WHIRLWIND OF IDEAS

3rd largest in the nation---110,000 book lovers strolling the avenues of Arizona University---
filling its giant lecture halls---waiting in long lines to hear  mental superstars like Astrophysist Alan Lightman and linguist/liberal Noam Chomsky---best selling mystery author J A Jantz--Americas' funniest man, Dave Barry--world famous historians like Hampton Sides and much much more.

What a thrill to mingle with people who love ideas---the DNA of culture---the seed of progress.

Lecture halls jammed full of interested minds---older ones as you can see. (The college was on spring break) This lecture--by a lawyer, frequently before the supreme court, discussed some major mistakes of that court and asked whether we even needed them.  Lectures are an hour and a half---with questions usually allowed. 

This panel of experts discussed major issues of the Obama years.

A major historian (left) Hampton Sides describes the life of  writing narrative history.

Hundreds of these cute 8x10 tents lined several rows.  If you have a book or a cause you wish to push--you can pay $400 and make your case.  (A great idea having standard identical tents--supplied by the festival and tied together for stability)

I had a great day--quizzing all sorts of causes.  These Muslim guys were very anxious to prove that Islam is a religion of peace.

Not many approached their booth so they were happy to have me ask sincere questions.

The Eckankar people were exuberant to demonstrate how exuberant Eckankar followers are.

This friendly lady wrote a book and wants to sell it and her ideas.

Gurdgjieff followers are sure they've found the path to the awakened life.

Here's people who are strongly against bullying. 

That's a very long line---about a quarter mile--of folks who want to hear the most celebrated speaker of them all.  An 87 year old man.

The venue was a giant theatre/auditorium--seating perhaps 3000.  He is obviously controversial because all bags were searched.  

Just one section of the anxiously waiting crowd  Luckily, my friends and companions got tickets for us. (they were free but demand was such that tickets were used to limit crowd size)

When finally the old man entered the room--a standing ovation resounded for a long time. Do you wonder what he has done or said to gain so adoring an audience?

Read about him here

And here he is Noam Chomsky---voted the worlds greatest living intellect.

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  OH SWEET PEOPLE---CAN YOU FEEL IT? CAN YOU SEE IT HERE DEMONSTRATED?  A BETTER WORLD IS ON ITS WAY.  Brilliant and generous people created this event to let us experience-- up close-- brilliant and creative minds.  My companion and I attended 6 lectures. I come away feeling hope for humanity.  Reason and creativity are winning---at an ever increasing rate.  Every one of us--at some level of his being wants to CONTRIBUTE.  And greater and greater globs of us are being focused on progress--in organizations--like Google and Microsoft and Apple and Amazon and Wikipedia.