May I ask what may be a provocative question?  

Looking over the CD, it seems to include some wonderfully talented folks.  But 
it seems odd to me, especially given what we know about Twain's taste in music, 
that a CD called "Mark Twain:  Words and Music" seems to be composed entirely of 
white musicians and performers.   Some of the names were unfamiliar to me, but 
when I did a quick Google search, they all appear to be white.  Odd.

Just thought I'd ask.  

Sharon




________________________________
From: Cindy Lovell <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Fri, September 23, 2011 10:31:35 AM
Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . .

I'm hoping one of the great satirists
of the day will get it one of these
years - Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart,
or Bill Maher. In the meantime,
we heard from the producers,
and they are including music this
year (at Ferrell's request) and are
interested in using music from our
new CD. Fingers crossed for that kind
of promotion. I hope you'll all
consider buying a copy. The CD came out
this week and is doing well.  It's=20
cheaper on the Museum website
than Amazon. Go figure!

Cindy


Cindy Lovell, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
120 N. Main St., Hannibal MO 63401
Phone: 573-221-9010 ext. 402 | Cell: 386-748-1256 | Fax: 573-221-7975
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://marktwainmuseum.org/

Have your ordered "Mark Twain: Words & Music" yet?  Details here:
http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/index.php/community-projects/mark-twain-cd

"Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker wi=
ll be sorry." ~Mark Twain
________________________________________
From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Harold Bush [bushhk@=
SLU.EDU]
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011 7:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . .

Will Farrell.

not sure if that tidbit has gotten out here on the LIST or not.

personally I think Farrell is really very funny.  he's one of those guys,
like Twain, Steve Martin, etc., who can walk out on a stage, not say a word=
,
and still seem funny.

My wife finds him pretty adolescent, and barely above Adam Sandler, but of
course opinions do vary.  As in years past, the award producers seem pretty
driven by ratings and notoriety, and so as a result the younger crowd gets
honored while the older, lifelong contributors to American humor get
overlooked again and again.

I really do wonder about that -- Farrell could win 20 years from now --
while the likes of Robin Williams, Woody Allen, Dick Van Dyke, David
Letterman, and so many other veterans (___________ fill in your name here)
continue to be ignored.  At least Carl Reiner, Bob Newhart, and Jonathan
Winters got it in the early days of the Award.

As usual I assume some LIST members can now feel free to sound off on the
naming of this year's awardee.

past winners =3D


   - 1998 - Richard Pryor <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pryor>
   - 1999 - Jonathan Winters <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Winters=
>
   - 2000 - Carl Reiner <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Reiner>
   - 2001 - Whoopi Goldberg <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopi_Goldberg>
   - 2002 - Bob Newhart <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart>
   - 2003 - Lily Tomlin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily_Tomlin>
   - 2004 - Lorne Michaels <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorne_Michaels>
   - 2005 - Steve Martin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin>
   - 2006 - Neil Simon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Simon>
   - 2007 - Billy Crystal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Crystal>
   - 2008 - George Carlin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Carlin>
   - 2009 - Bill Cosby <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby>
   - 2010 - Tina Fey <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tina_Fey>
   - 2011 - Will Ferrell <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrell>


--
Harold K. Bush, Ph.D
Professor of English
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO  63108
314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
<www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>