Me and Louisa May Alcott

I never met Louisa May Alcott, but I feel like she was a kindred spirt.
The last scene of the PBS biography is sublime and hinted at about a minute into the introduction you can see here

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/louisa-may-alcott/video-scenes-from-the-film/1344/

Other things that happened this year was TV went to analog digital, Sidney Rice and Brett Favre had some good plays, Daniel Day Lewis in first 53 seconds or so of Nine, and my niece Katie got engaged to a fellow who went national on ESPN's Taste of the Town.

Obama was inaugurated and I knew personally five people in the audience.

Was proud of Billy Dean Blanton in difficult days in Gaffney.

I talked to two strong and articulate Calvinists within 12 days of each occasion in two different states.

My nephew got a good ping pong table.

Tezla made a comeback or is on his way.

Pray for Ed Harris that he makes the right decision about another concern and he does so soon.

Robert Duvall may be better in The Road than he was in Slingblade, thought Slingblade was solid.

Go see Lucas Black and Bill Murray and Duvall in Get Low, written by a fellow from Alabama.
I've been to Lucas house twice but never to Murray nor Duvall, though I was considering droppin in Duvall's restaurant in DC area before he sold it.

I did not get voted out of any Baptist churches in 2009.

Had some good conversations with Neil and some with Robert and one on Tim Tebow with a Cracker Barrel waitress.

Some friends went on over to the other side.

Marilynne Robinson was again sublime on Calvin you can easily google up at Harvard Review.

Albert Blackwell on same and Isaac Watts and Jonathan Edwards at Furman mid November.

MRob on Bonhoeffer as well in a 2nd reading in Death of Adam. Saw Valkyrie and had several good conversations about it with knife salesman at Trade Day.

Alabama is Numb Uno in football but as I blogged earlier may distract from what needs to be done in the state and pettifogged by Bingo; least I have to believe Judge Frank Johnson as I told head of NEH in roundabout way, Jim Leach, would agree with me.

That's about all I can think of at the moment on 09.

Oh yeah, I think it was this year, maybe last poet on Elvis Pressley and Emily Dickinson got in touch with Kate Campbell cause he googled up my blog; and a set designer for Norma Rae's (Sally Fields) Brothers and Sisters caught up on Gaffney Football.
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Point being people are reading and my blog makes a difference.

Couple more

JOe Roberts got voted into Southern Tennis Hall of Fame, and I told the sister of his former Secretary at Furman about it. Mary and Judy respectively.

Oh, had couple email exchanges with Kiri Miller which I blogged about 8 back in Harvard examines Collinsville.

And I should say a word about Babs Taylor on The Encounter. Beat the deadline for 09 as I was reading her yesterday in Barnes Noble; The Encounter one of her stronger segments in the book.

The Virgin Mary and the Coen Brothers

Here it is in discussion of the Dude Delivers; Marge Gunderson as the Mother of God.

The chat referenced Flannery O'Connor

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121610159

Friend of mine had the pink eye and needed to borrow two dollars gas today to get to some antibiotics.
I gave him the money and three shirts.
People have been kind to me this year; I read some Bonhoeffer yesterday as interpretted by Marilynne Robinson.
Pray for the souls of the Women who orchestrated my dismissal from Collinsville Baptist Church. I fear for their station in eternity.

Christmas Despair

I thought a couple years ago when somehow the movie Andre Rublev and repeated listenings of Arvo Part's Magnificat almost took me to an ethereal place during the Holidays; I thought I was going to evaporate into the Spirit World.
A good viewing of The Pink Panther and some fun with Steve Martin's press conference early in the flick and some good laughs with my nephew Andrew, who fences with Pace, brought me back to my charisma of the 80's there for a while; a little episodic bon vivant.
Now the funk is on me again and this Village Voice Reading List may not help. I share the link below from a post to my friend and Carson Newman Grad Scott Erwin, now in Knoxville.
That post tells the story.
Have some friends with Habitat who appreciate Padgett Powell. Hopes this brightens their Holidays as they have extended family who will take the humor of Curs to the Next Generation.
The Context is the point. And class, if you can find a better exegesis in American Fiction than Padgett Powell, please let me know.
In the Meantime, Merry Christmas to you.

Knoxville and Padgett Powell
by Stephen Fox » Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:46 pm
Scott:Hoping you will have read Powell's Woman Named Drown for our CBarrel discussion that are bound to occur in 2010, if not January.
http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/view/28961942/9

And the Wells Tower collection by reputation is something.No excuses for not reading Powell. I've had email exchanges with him. Finest anecdote on class ever come my way in Woman Named Drown, toward the end of the book.One to remember me by; and the discussion on Curs is classic.


"I'm the only sane {person} in here." Doyle Hargraves, Slingblade"Midget, Broom; Helluva campaign". Political consultant, "Oh, Brother..."http://www.foxofbama.blogspot.com or google asfoxseesit

Tebow's Bible Verses

I kinda appreciate Tebow long as he doesn't run on a ticket with Sarah Palin for some public office.
If he feels God is calling him to do that; here is a public request that he go to Wake Forest and at least audit a few courses with Charles Kimball, Bill Leonard and Charles Marsh, for prudence sake.
Lot of athaleets have cried like a Baaby before; and the ones that never have are more likely to become serial killers or wife abusers or other felons. So Tim crying on the field after Nick Saban--stay tuned for some later links on the Bear and Wallace and Artur and Saban though I think I mighta already posted Raines on the Bear and Wallace--was okay with me.
He did lose in front of a lot of people. I know I have cried wide open on many occasions and seemed to sleep better after it. My Dad was quite emotional, but he led Brownlow Sams to Jesus so all you Badasses that want to mock Jesus and Tebow, go ahead; it's a free country.
That said I did have a delightful conversation with a Cracker Barrel Waitress at Tebow's expense so I guess I ought to admit that as well.
STrong link. Good exegesis of some of Tebow's favorite verses. I'm kinda partial to his choices in Hebrews and SEC championship night from John 16:33, though I'm with the RD that don't necessarily translate when you have dealings in Alabama.
I have had experiences at the Collinsville, Babdiss church and I know what I'm talking about.
I do wish Tebow well at the next level, and McElroy too. He bout painted his masterpiece Sat night.

I didn't play football. I played Trombone. But I am proud of Danny Parker, Johnny Dawkins, Donnie Ray Littlejohn, Wayne Whiteside and Bob Prevatte, and DR's son Donnie who left it on the field at Gaffney High and Donnie at Furman; and the great Sidney Rice who teams with Brett Favre to make History every Sunday in the NFL.

Row Tide

http://tinyurl.com/ykznrds

Twelve Reasons to Celebrate Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was not the Anti-Christ. that may be Al Mohler or Timothy George, I'm not sure (insert lol emoticon)

Thirteenth reason is next post in link below if you click on the right topic

And the fourteenth reason not name at bl.com is Darwin was cover story for Winter Issue of Furman Alumni Magazine where faith and reason coexist peacably, where the Lion lays down with the Lamb

Dozen Reasons to Celebrate Darwin
by Stephen Fox » Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:26 pm
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfa ... arwin.html
Comliments of Robert Parham:

http://www.ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=15260

All that said and I have to believe if Darwin were alive today and knew me and Rudy Newton he would agree that in context one of the most memorable references to Darwin in modern film is the Tom Waits character Rudy Newton in a scene with Jack Nicholson in Ironweed; hobos talking about gravity and evolution and what not:charles Darwin, the Father of Modern Botany, died in 1936, born of two midwives.And here is an exchange with Desson Thomson, film critic of Wash Post in 2002 ABOUT THE same.Ironweed was recently released on DVD: