Month: June 2024

What Makes It “Art”?

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Film, Film Reviews, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive 7 Comments

In the documentary film Man on Wire, about French high-wire walker Philippe Petit (pictured left traversing the space between the World Trade Towers in 1974), Petit remarks several times that his act was more than simply a daredevil stunt, but rather it was a work of art. This evaluation is echoed by his co-conspirators in…

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Here’s My “Top 25 Books” List, Now Build Me A Park

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Dr. J's Lists, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive 6 Comments

Inspired by Brooke Foy’s project for UrbanArt at Brent Ferguson Park, where she is building a maze of huge, concrete books as a public art installation, I tried to figure out which books I would choose for such a project. Here, I’ve listed my Top 25 Books. I don’t think Brooke Foy reads this blog,…

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The Political

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 2 Comments

When I was in graduate school, I had a professor who regularly bemoaned the habit, common among philosophers, of referring to (questions, theories, problems and issues of) “the political” or “the ethical.” His objection, as I understood it, was not to engaging political and ethical questions qua philosophical questions, but rather to the use of…

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Transcribed From My Real Life, And Animated, For Your Amusement

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson RMWMTMBM Archive, Teaching, Women and Gender Issues 7 Comments
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The Mirage

June 9, 2024 Dr. J Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive 3 Comments

Recently, NPR had been hosting a contest that they call the “3 Minute Fiction” contest, in which contestants were challenged to write a short story that could be read in 3 minutes (less than 600 words). A couple of my friends and I said that we were going to try and enter the contest. Ideas…

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Tempest In A Tea Party

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 3 Comments

Rather than simply dismiss the burgeoning Tea Party Movement (like I have done on this blog), some people out there are actually trying to understand it. Fellow-blogger and eminently reasonable political philosopher, Anotherpanacea, recently helped out by trying to put a face on the Tea Party movement. AnPan’s suggestion is that the “meaning” of the…

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Ask Doctor J

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Just Ask, RMWMTMBM Archive 0 Comments

Fellow bloggers Petya and Ideas Man, PhD have turned me on to a great new site called FormSpring, which allows blog-readers to submit questions for their favorite blog-authors to answer and then posts the Q&A’s onto the blog. From time to time I find myself at a loss for exciting new topics to post about…

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The Etiquette of Q & A

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Just Ask, Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive 2 Comments

Anyone who has ever been to an academic conference is surely familiar with that strange, strange thing we so innacurately refer to as the “Q&A” period. “Q&A” is meant to stand for “Question and Answer,” of course, though there is precious little of either in many of these sessions. I mean, I suppose that technically…

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Rainy Days and Sunday

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Dr. J's Lists, Music, RMWMTMBM Archive 4 Comments

Nothing particularly profound to say today, readers. It’s the second day of spring, and after an absolutely beautiful day yesterday, Mother Nature has delivered us a cold and rainy Sunday here in Memphis. So, I thought I’d share my favortie “rainy day” albums. If you click on the album covers, it will take you to…

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Change I Can Believe In

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Obama, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 5 Comments
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