Leigh M. Johnson

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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Dirt-Cheap Ideas

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 12 Comments

In his seminal text Fear and Trembling, Soren Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous narrator, Johannes de Silentio, remarks: Not just in commerce but in the world of ideas too our age is putting on a veritable clearance sale. Everything can be had so dirt cheap that one begins to wonder whether in the end anyone will want to…

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Hypocrisy, Hyperbole, Historical Inaccuracy and Hatred

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

I highly recommend Russell King’s “Open Letter to Conservatives,” which lays out a well-argued and well-documented case for how the American Right has gone so terribly, terribly wrong.

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Americana the Beautiful

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Music, RMWMTMBM Archive 1 Comment

Apologies, readers, for the paucity of new material here on the blog of late. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be back with more regularity. In the meantime, however, I have re-added a link (in the column to your right) to the archive site for my now-defunct old Rhodes Radio program “Americana the Beautiful,” which…

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Yes, Mr. Vice-President, This IS A “Big F**king Deal”

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive Comments Off on Yes, Mr. Vice-President, This IS A “Big F**king Deal”

Nobody’s ever going to accuse Joe Biden of mincing words. Sometimes that mouth gets him into trouble… but you gotta love his uncensored enthusiam when introducing the President as he turns to Obama and says: “This is a big f**king deal.” Priceless.

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Omaha (Somewhere in Middle America)

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive 1 Comment

I’ll be giving the keynote address at the 12th Annual Midwest Undergraduate Philosophy Conference next weekend, hosted by Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. (That’s the Creighton campus in the image to the left… or so says Google Image Search, anyway.) You can see the full conference schedule here. The title of my keynote is “Human…

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It’s Something In Our Souls That Makes Us Memphians… And “Miserable” Is Not A Part Of It

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

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton recently released an “Open Letter to Steve Forbes” contesting the ranking of Memphis as the 3rd of America’s “Most Miserable Cities” in Forbes Magazine. I reproduce Wharton’s letter here in its entirety, without comment, because the Truth speaks for itself. I have, however, added links for Mr. Forbes, so that he…

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The Burnin’ Love Band Premiere

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Memphis, Music, RMWMTMBM Archive Comments Off on The Burnin’ Love Band Premiere

I don’t often recommend specific shows to see in Memphis on this blog, but I’m making an exception this time for Brad Birkedahl. For years, Brad was the lead guitarist of The Dempseys, a smoking-hot rockabilly trio, perennially voted one of Memphis’ Best Bands. Even if you’ve never been to Memphis, you’ve probably seen The…

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War Is A Drug

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Film, Film Reviews, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive 5 Comments

Nothing yet has made so crystal clear to me exactly how much I do NOT understand about what is going on in Iraq than this year’s Oscar-nominated film The Hurt Locker. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who has been endlessly (and a little annoyingly) praised for her skill at capturing the hyper-masculine emotional intensity and complexity…

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Sunset for Sundown Signs?

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive Comments Off on Sunset for Sundown Signs?

File this away in the E-for-Effort folder of “Things The New York Times Gets Wrong About The South.” There’s an interesting article in the New York Times today titled “Race in the South in the Age of Obama” about James Fields, a black State Representative from predominently-white Cullman, Alabama. As the author Nicholas Davidoff notes,…

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