Leigh M. Johnson

The Critics Strike Back

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy 2 Comments

A while ago, I noted Eduardo Mendieta’s review of Adams’ Habermas and Theology. Mendieta hit the nail on the head by opening his review with the claim: “Adjoining two nouns in the title of a book is like writing a blank check to ‘cash.’ One better know who is receiving the check and one better…

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Celebrating Soulsville, USA

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

Tonight is the “50 Years of Stax” reuinion concert here in Memphis. As you probably know, Stax Records was a cultural/musical phenomenon rivaled only by Motown, Elvis, and the British Invasion. Stax recording artists included: Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staples Singers, Wilson Pickett, Albert King, Booker T & the MGs, Luther Ingram, Rufus and…

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The Quotable South, Part 1: Keeping Up With The Joneses

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Memphis, The Quotable South Comments Off on The Quotable South, Part 1: Keeping Up With The Joneses

Every Southerner alive, at many, many points in his or her childhood, heard the words, “But what will people think?”–Julia Reed I love this quote by Julia Reed (author of The Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena). I used to say that the structure of the Southerner’s psyche is different from the…

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medical mysteries, part deux

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Uncategorized Comments Off on medical mysteries, part deux

Before you undertake the massive project of writing a dissertation, you should be forewarned of the strange physiological anomalies that will accompany it. Some of them are obvious and expected (loss of sleep, anxiety, depression), but others are…well… mysterious. Fortunately, I haven’t developed anything remarkably strange (like my friend Kyle’s apotemnophiliaphobia), but here’s my own…

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The Folly of Youth

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy, Teaching Comments Off on The Folly of Youth

I’m often amazed at the size of my students’ egos and, to be honest, their cajones. An illustrative anecdote: I recently read several midterm papers by students who lambasted Plato, Aristotle, Kant and other great thinkers of the West for being, variously, “naive”, “idiotic”, “illogical”, and “close-minded.” While seemingly unburdened by the assignment’s requirement that…

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Say it ain’t so, Junior

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Memphis, Politics 1 Comment

Well, I’ve been prompted by my good friend Kyle to comment on the local politics of my hometown, Memphis. What a mess. Unless you’ve had your head stuck in a hole, you no doubt recognize the young Senate-candidate from Tennessee to the right, Harold Ford, Jr. He is one of the up-and-coming stars of the…

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Tangled Up In Clues

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Music, Pop Culture/Film/Literature 2 Comments

In a recent (excellently written) article byScott Warmuth, the issue of Dylan’s alleged penchant for plaigarism has again risen its ugly head. (You can read the article here.) The most recent accusation is that many of the lyrics from Dylan’s new album Modern Times were lifted from Henry Timrod, former Poet Laureate of the U.S….

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Bringing sexy back to Memphis….

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Music, Pop Culture/Film, Pop Culture/Film/Literature Comments Off on Bringing sexy back to Memphis….

In lieu of another blog on the recent controversy surrounding Harld Ford, Jr.’s campaign (which I just can’t bring myself to write about, it’s so awful)… I’ve decided instead to bring some good news from Memphis. I was recently informed by a good friend of mine “inside” the entertainment industry, that Justin Timberlake is re-opening…

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Crackers

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

On my weekly drive to State College, I find that there is about a 100 mile stretch (through central PA) where I can’t find anything interesting on the radio except conservative talk-show programs. Now, I must admit, I actually love listening in to the likes of Rush Linbaugh and Sean Hannity, despite my total disgust…

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The Work of Mourning

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Philosophy 1 Comment

I was recently at a conference for one of the professional philosophical organizations in the U.S., the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP). As a part of the business meeting, SPEP regularly honors its members who have died in the last year. This year, there were four eulogies given at the business meeting, which…

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