Pop Culture/Film

R.I.P.

August 16, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson Comments Off

As you probably know, today marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s (alleged) death. Some say: The King is Dead. I say: Long live the King!

A Knock at the Door

August 11, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 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…

Our Town

August 5, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson Comments Off

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…

Fun With 20 Questions

July 31, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 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…

A Sad, Sad Day in Memphis

July 25, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 2 Comments

If you’ve heard me talk about Memphis for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about Wild Bill’s (pictured above, Bill standing in the doorway). After Junior Kimbrough’s Place burned down in 2000, Wild Bill’s became one of the last surviving “juke joints” in the Delta. It wasn’t much bigger than a large living…

Help Yourself

July 23, 2007 Dr. J Comments Off

Recently, I’ve begun to notice that several of my friends and acquanitances are secretly adherents to some form of self-actualization philosophy/practice or another. Since most of my friends are over-educated, they tend to be more discreet about these allegiences than your average everyday schmo, but once the topic is breeched, I find that they can…

Celebrating Soulsville, USA

June 22, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 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…

Random Awards

June 18, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 2 Comments

So, I’m giving The Quotable South a break for a bit. This morning, I’ve decided to share with you some random bits that deserve, in their own perverse way, an award. Greatest News Headline This Week on MSN.COM: “Travolta Spurns Daylight” So, apparently John Travolta and his wife are night-owls. And Scientologists, in case you…

the problem with dumb questions

March 22, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 3 Comments

I was eager to read the “10 Questions About the Future of the Humanities in America” posed by Thomas Mallon in the current issue of The American Scholar. Then, alas, I actually read them. If you haven’t already seen them, here they are: ——————- 1. How can American professors learn to write about literature in…

Anatomy of an Illusion

March 16, 2007 Leigh M. Johnson 4 Comments

In the recent film “The Prestige” (based on the Christopher Priest novel of the same name), the narrator explains the structure of a standard magic trick. Every illusion, we are told, has three parts: First, there is the setup, or the “pledge,” in which the magician shows us something that appears ordinary but is probably…

R.I.P.

A Knock at the Door

Our Town

Fun With 20 Questions

A Sad, Sad Day in Memphis

Help Yourself

Celebrating Soulsville, USA

Random Awards

the problem with dumb questions

Anatomy of an Illusion

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