So, there’s a thing going around on Facebook that asks people to list 25 random things about themselves. I usually delete messages like this immediately, but for whatever reason I actually filled out the list this time. I suppose that the point of this exercise is to show something revelatory about what the author finds…
Read MoreDespite my real and abiding passion for the figure of the antihero (see here and here), I had never seen a single episode of the television program 24 before last week. Everyone– and I mean everyone— told me that I should watch it, that I would love it, and that I was really missing something……
Read MoreThe painting to the left is Akt Elke 2 (Nude Elke 2) by the German artist Georg Baselitz, who is famous for painting figures upside-down. When Baselitz was asked by a reporter recently whether or not he felt any guilt about the “astronomical prices” his works were fetching at auctions, Baselitz took a long drag…
Read MoreA couple of interesting stories that caught my attention this week… and also made me throw up a little in my mouth: First, a book review of Raymond Tallis’ The Kingdom of Infinite Space: An Encounter With Your Head. Tallis– a poet, philosopher and professor of geriatric medicine– considers the relationship between the various operations…
Read MoreOver on KHG’s blog, there’s a really interesting post (Titillating Food) about her experiment with trying to make “caramel sea salt.” Reading it, and amazing at all of the care and thought that went into such a project, got me thinking about that odd-variety of human being that we call the foodie. The foodie differs…
Read MoreI wasn’t surprised to find among the list of “local weirdos” featured in the article “How To Be A Local Character: Five Basic Examples” Memphis’ own Prince Mongo (pictured left). Prince Mongo– né Robert Hodges, changed his name to King Mongo, then Saint Mongo– has been a fixture in Midtown Memphis for as long as…
Read MoreThere’s an article in the current issue of Newsweek by Joshua Alston entitled “Too Much of a Bad Thing” (without a question mark, but I’ll come back to that later) that claims we are all suffering from “Antihero Overload” and bemoans the fact that “no one on TV can be merely good or evil anymore.”…
Read MoreWhile just about everyone else is full of yuletide joy, this is a dreaded time of year for philosophers. It’s Job M**ket time. (The very word conveys so much Sturm und Drang that it feels like a profanity.) I imagine that this year is even more ulcer-inducing than years past because of the depressed economy…
Read MoreMany of you probably read Daniel Drezner’s recent Chronicle of Higher Education article about the decline of public intellectuals (“Public Intellectual 2.0”), in which Drezner wants to contest the presumed Götterdämmerung that many–like Francis Fukuyama, Russell Jacoby and Daniel Bell— believe began in the 1950’s and has yet to abate. Specifically, Drezner takes to task…
Read MoreA friend of a friend who is a student at MCA (Memphis College of Art) made this “promotional” video for our fair city. I love it.
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