Leigh M. Johnson

Fun With 20 Questions

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film, Pop Culture/Film/Literature 1 Comment

I had a couple of friends (also philosophers) down to visit this past weekend and, over coffeee one morning, we found ourselves discussing the relative merits and demerits of the popular road-trip game “20 Questions.” (You can play against a computer in an Artificial Intelligence version of the game here.) Since one of my interlocutors…

Read More

Packing ‘Em In The Pokey

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Politics Comments Off on Packing ‘Em In The Pokey

You can stash this little bit in your “Most Grossly Under-Reported Stories” file. Last November, the Justice Department reported that there were a record 7 million people behind bars, on probation or on parole at the end of last year. That means roughly 1 in every 32 adults in the United States is somehow in…

Read More

Our Town

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Memphis, Pop Culture/Film, Pop Culture/Film/Literature Comments Off on Our Town

Robert Gordon (author of one of my favorite books, It Came from Memphis) once said that Memphis “could be easily mistaken for a town of doughnut shops and churches.” So, I’ve decided to apply Gordon’s formulation to the other places I’ve lived. If you cuurently live, or have previously lived, in any of the following…

Read More

Women: Know Your Limits!

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Politics Comments Off on Women: Know Your Limits!

This may be one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen. But, then again, I tend not to know my limits…

Read More

A Knock at the Door

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Memphis, Pop Culture/Film, Pop Culture/Film/Literature 3 Comments

This morning, I had my first evangelists come to the door. Well, not the first in my life, but the first since I’ve been back in Memphis. I have to say that I was feeling a bit neglected, as such visits are pretty much standard fare around these parts, and I didn’t understand how my…

Read More

Must… Have… Siesta

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Uncategorized 6 Comments

It is hotter than hell here right now. Hotter than Georgia asphalt. Hotter than a harlot in church. Hotter than a June bride in a feather bed. Hotter than the devil’s underwear. Hotter than a $2 pistol on the Fourth of July. It’s August in Memphis. It’s hot. And it’s humid, so the heat is…

Read More

Tragedy Averted

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Uncategorized 4 Comments

Meet Sugarlump, my new housemate. For weeks I had been debating whether or not to adopt a cat from the local shelter, but was hesitating because this cat (pictured) started hanging around on my front porch all day and seemed to be a stray looking for a home. Eventually, I began putting out food and…

Read More

Freebird

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Uncategorized 1 Comment

Want to know what that colorful little bundle in the sky is in the picture above? It’s an Oregon man, Ken Couch, in a lawn chair, with 105 large heIium balloons strapped to it. Want to know the best part of the story? His destination: Idaho. Sad to say, poor Ken didn’t make it all…

Read More

La Vie en Rose, or, Women in Pain

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Uncategorized Comments Off on La Vie en Rose, or, Women in Pain

You may wonder to yourself: who could possibly have had a sadder life than Frida Kahlo? Well, I just saw the biopic La Vie en Rose and I’m pretty sure Edith Piaf can give Frida a run for her poverty. I was only introduced to the work of Frida Kahlo about ten years ago. Kahlo’s…

Read More

There’s No Crying in Baseball!

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Sports Comments Off on There’s No Crying in Baseball!

God bless those men and women out there who have been able to remain basbeball fans over the last decade or so. (I’m talking to you, Saint Kyle!) Although there have been a couple of seasons during those years that my generally waning interest was piqued, for the most part I gave up on MLB…

Read More