Month: June 2024

WORKING IN MEMPHIS: A Documentary

At long last, I’ve finally gotten all my (administrative, bureaucratic and legal) ducks in a row and I am now able to share with you the documentary film that my student Sophie Osella and I made several months ago: WORKING IN MEMPHIS. Last summer, I posted periodically about our process of making the film here…

Read More

Memphis on the Downbeat: Loud, Live and Better Than Ever

One of the things that I’ve resolved to do in 2014 is devote more space on this blog to Memphis, THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WHOLE UNITED STATES.  (C’mon, really, pick a fight with me about that claim. You will lose.)  As I’ve said many times before, in private but more often in public, there…

Read More

MEMPHIS ON THE DOWNBEAT: Five Reasons to Support Ghost Town Blues Band in the 2014 IBC

This is the first installment of my series Memphis on the Downbeat, an inside look into Memphis music by a bona fide Memphian and music-lover. This week Memphis hosts the 30th International Blues Challenge (Tuesday through Sunday at venues all over Beale Street), which every year brings leading blues artists and bands from all over…

Read More

Dr. J’s 2013 Year in Politics

It’s time for the next installment of my 2013 Year in Review Lists: the 2013 Year in Politics. Each December that I do this, it gets increasingly difficult to distinguish between the stories that properly belong on this list and those that fit more comfortably on the Year in Pop Culture list, which says something…

Read More

The Problem With Echo Chambers

Here’s one thing I will presume that we can all agree upon: every single one of us likes to have our views, positions, arguments and preferences confirmed by others.  (If you don’t, then those aren’t your views, positions, arguments or preferences in any really defensible sense, are they?)  Of course, because we live in a…

Read More

Grading War Letters to Home, Day 2

These are the letters from the second day of the Grading War.  If you landed here by accident and don’t know what you’re reading, click here for the backstory. 6 December 2013, 10:05amDearest Marcus, I take up my pen this morning to inform you once more of my disconsolate station. Please pardon the poor condition…

Read More

Grading War Letters to Home, Winter 2013 (The Unabridged Collection)

Preliminary note: If you’re here because you’re checking back for updates on the Grading War archive, rest assured that new letters are still being added as they appear.  However, this was getting a bit on the long side for a single post, so I’m breaking up the letters by day now.  Click the following links…

Read More

Grading War Letters to Home, Day 7

These are the letters from the seventh day of the Grading War.  If you landed here by accident and don’t know what you’re reading, click here for the backstory.11 December 2011, 9:09am  Dearest Leigh, I know not whether this missive will find you, but I pray that, if it does, it finds you well. The…

Read More

Philosophy’s Next Generation of Auteurs

Once again this semester, I assigned short-film projects to the students in my Existentialism course.  And once again, the products of that assignment (which I only just finished grading) were amazing.  I’ve employed this assignment in select courses for the last several years and each year the students’ films have gotten more and more impressive. …

Read More

Grading War Letters to Home, Day 3

These are the letters from the third day of the Grading War.  If you landed here by accident and don’t know what you’re reading, click here for the backstory. 7 December 2013, 11:20am Dearest Marcus, Oh Happy Day! This morn found my heart both gladdened and relieved after procuring news that Providence continues to shelter…

Read More