david byrne is like the anthropologist going in to a foreign culture and offering observations from an outsider perspective.

powerpoint attracts the in-crowd and makes any speaker look really cool- see example:

i found this pic in a google search for a "snappy powerpoint presentation."

byrne has been using powerpoint as an artform and wrote a book, but in the meantime he has by default developed a bit of a reputation as someone who knows something about the medium. perhaps because no one is looking at the medium and asking any questions?

the lecture - devoid of microsoft bashing - presented the medium with it's advantages and disadvantages.

laughter errupted with each powerpoint slide.

the best slides were those that offered in-depth analysis of great cultural moments... such as:

*Daniel Radosh's powerpoint slides of Hamlet's Soliloquy and Lolita

*Peter Norvig's powerpoint slides of the Gettysburg Address

other great slides were from christian organizations that have created slides for pastors: "what is the proper view of the poor?
COMPASSION" (this came across SO vapid in this medium - it was embarrasing!)

and, for the high-tech, high-touch needs of businesses today, we viewed autocontent wizard slides for that ever-pesky: "bad news meeting".

byrne likened powerpoint presentations to a genre of theater - Japanese theater (Bunraku and Nogaku) or Brechtian plays.

the lecture was "a bit less than scintillating" but byrne had some interesting insights and the courage to be the straight guy to the slides.

on another note- i have this habit of hearing the weirdest conversations mid-stream. that night, i overheard a woman saying: "at the wax museum it is impossible to get a good postcard."