Well raise my rent, and turn the clocks back.

[sanpaku_backup]

As if by magic, of course the second I post something about the war not going well, the war starts going well. Mmmm, aren't those words tasty. You see, if I say something in such a way that it is on the record, the opposite thing happens. Whereas if I say something to myself, and I don't tell anyone, that's definitely gonna happen.

So, I predict here, right now: George W. Bush is going to win re-election next year in a landslide!

Oh, wait. That's right. Things I predict in public only occur if they also happen to be the opposite of what I want.

Anyway, the point is: I *have* always said that the war is the thing out of all this that will go the best. It's what comes next that was the real reason to hate the whole enterprise. But I'm sure that people won't pay attention to it or will dismiss it as unimportant. Y'know, like how no one "blamed" Reagan for the bombing of the marines in Lebanon. It was just seen as beyond anyone's control, we had the best of intentions, etc.


So, I was in Memphis over the weekend. The convention was a bore, the hotel was a little seedy, and the area around the convention center/hotels was a vast, concrete-lined wasteland offering no discernable amenities whatsoever. I also got to meet my adviser, in the company of two of her other former students who were at Hopkins at the same time as me. One of them just had a crackerjack article appear in the Journal of American History. The other was in town to receive a prize for the best dissertation of last year.

Who, me, bitter? Now what ever would give you that idea?

Anyway, I did get some ideas for my class, my research, and my job, but as usual I have things looming over me that dissipate my desire to work. Passover shopping and cleaning must be finished by early next week, and I have yet another copyediting gig due on the 23rd. Plus, in some bizarre freak of nature, it is actually supposed to snow here today. A lot. So I don't expect my dissipation to lift any time soon.

Comments

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

The convention was a bore, the hotel was a little seedy,

But did you get some SLEEP? :-) That alone should be worth the price of admission.

Re:

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Uh, yes and no. The only real night I could "sleep in" was Thursday, but I ate too much rich restaurant food and had trouble sleeping. Ditto Friday, and then Saturday I had to pack late and get up early for the plane. So between that and having to get up at 6:15 this morning for "my" minyan (me and one other guy), which was 4:15 where I had been before the clock change and the time zone whatnot, I'm about as exhausted as I was before I left...

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

*You* were in Memphis over the weekend? *I* was in Memphis over the weekend![~]

The convention was a bore, the hotel was a little seedy, and the area around the convention center/hotels was a vast, concrete-lined wasteland offering no discernable amenities whatsoever.

It is, and it makes me sad. I grew up there, and it always brings me down to see all the unfulfilled potential in the city. That being said, downtown Memphis is a lot better than it used to be, believe it or not.

[~] For what I assume were totally different reasons. I was there to visit my parents, and for a reunion with the judge I worked for and other former clerks. Though I did see all ya'll historians around and about.

Re:

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Though I did see all ya'll historians around and about.

Yes, we are usually pretty easy to spot -- frumpily dressed, stooped shoulders, air of defeat.

That being said, downtown Memphis is a lot better than it used to be, believe it or not.

I can believe it. It is not worse than a lot of other cities I have been in, from what I could tell. It was just that particular area had not so much as a convenience store. I liked the trolley.

Anyway, I had no idea you were from Memphis. I still don't know much about it. We went to what I presume is the ritual tourist screwing part of town (Beale St.) and sat next to the very loud amplifier of a Crosby, Stills, and Nash cover band. I guess that was supposed to be the authentic Memphis experience. That and the huge plates of catfish and fried green tomatoes everywhere. But I know little of southern culture in general, so it could have nothing to do with Memphis per se, for all I can tell.

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

It was just that particular area had not so much as a convenience store.

Yeah. A lot of it is probably that people drive everywhere.

We went to what I presume is the ritual tourist screwing part of town (Beale St.) and sat next to the very loud amplifier of a Crosby, Stills, and Nash cover band. I guess that was supposed to be the authentic Memphis experience. That and the huge plates of catfish and fried green tomatoes everywhere. But I know little of southern culture in general, so it could have nothing to do with Memphis per se, for all I can tell.

Well, the catfish and the fried green tomatoes are pretty Southern. Barbeque (both wet and dry, but of the pork variety)---*that* would've been not only Southern but very Memphis-Southern. As for the cover band, well, I guess you see that everywhere, but it's very Beale Street, if not actually Southern. Beale Street tries way too hard, in my humble opinion. But sometimes there are some decent music fests around there.

The Civil Rights Museum and the area surrounding it (there are a few galleries and such) is pretty nice and mildly less touristy to visit, as is Midtown.