I'm a huge fan of blues -- meaning authentic, 
African-American blues.

The "House of Blues" chain of nightclubs -- which 
originated as a small Cambridge, Mass club that 
actually booked blues -- morphed into a string of 
large nightclubs that booked rock & roll and 
contemporary R&B/funk and not blues.

Some blues fans said "well, it's better to get the 
name 'blues' out there -- younger fans will be 
intrigued and motivated to explore REAL blues."

Simply put, that did not happen.  All that 
happened is that the concept of "blues" was 
watered down.

-Steve Hoffman
Tulip Ave

On 11/23/2015 12:09 PM, Alan Kitty wrote:
> Without the Mark Twain Prize, fewer people might know the author's name. Tho=
> se who never read anything would have no exposure of any kind to him. It mat=
> ters less who benefits from the existence of the award than the fact of Twai=
> n's connection to Humor.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 23, 2015, at 10:40 AM, Terry Ballard <[log in to unmask]> wrote=
> :
>> =20
>> Since somebody asked, I'll state my views one more time. The organizers
>> have passed on the man who came the closest to exemplifying Twain (Kurt
>> Vonnegut) in exchange for giving it, year-by-year to the trendiest cast
>> member of Saturday Night Live. Twain was not shy about explaining the
>> difference between himself and the other humorists of the time, but all of=
>> this is completely lost on the people who honor the comedians who make us
>> laugh and dress up the award with a familiar name from literature.
>> =20
>> I know when Arizona became a state - easy because I grew up in Arizona.
>> When you read things like the War Prayer and Letters from the Earth, it is=
>> easy to see what he is satirizing. Just look around. Then look through the=
>> writings of past award winners and see who comes close.
>> =20
>> On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 10:22 AM, Susan Bailey <[log in to unmask]>=
>> wrote:
>> =20
>>> I believe the Twain prize is a good fund raiser for the Kennedy Center.
>>> That's why it was created and it surely fulfills that purpose.
>>> =20
>>> As far as when New Mexico and Arizona became states, I had to look that
>>> up.  It's like those history test I took in school.  I learned all the
>>> facts for the test, aced it, and then promptly forgot it all the next day=
> .
>>> I haven't used algebra in a while either.
>>> =20
>>> I've read Twain's books since I was a child.  It's only since I learned a=
>>> lot about his childhood and adult life that I could even begin to take a
>>> guess as to what motivated his humor.  I believe the average person in
>>> America may just be trying to get along and, while they surely know Mark
>>> Twain's name and that he was an author, they aren't into deep psychologic=
> al
>>> evaluation of his motives.
>>> =20
>>> That's why this group is such a treasure!
>>> =20
>>> Best regards,
>>> Susan
>>> =20
>>> Susan Bailey
>>> Co author
>>> The Twain Shall Meet
>>> <
>>> http://www.amazon.com/Twain-Shall-Meet-Granddaughter-Gabrilowitsch/dp/149=
> 9799497/ref=3Dsr_1_1/191-7847938-3534132?ie=3DUTF8&qid=3D1415889321&sr=3D8-1=
> &keywords=3Dthe+twain+shall+meet+susan+bailey
>>>> =20
>>> Twain Page <https://www.facebook.com/marktwainsgranddaughter>
>>> www.marktwainonline.com
>>> Greenville, SC
>>> =20
>>>> On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 5:42 AM, DMD1937 <[log in to unmask]> wrote=
> :
>>>> =20
>>>> I'm curious to know how list members view the Twain Prize.
>>>> =20
>>>> Most Americans couldn't tell you when New Mexico and Arizona became =3D
>>>> states, let alone what motivated Twain's humor over many decades.
>>>> =20
>>>> DMD
>>>> =20
>>>> =20
>>>> Denis M. Donovan, M.D., M.Ed., F.A.P.S.
>>>> Director, EOCT Institute
>>>> =20
>>>> Medical Director, 1983 - 2006
>>>> The Children's Center for Developmental Psychiatry
>>>> St. Petersburg, Florida
>>>> =20
>>>> P.O Box 47576
>>>> St. Petersburg, FL 33743-7576
>>>> Phone:  727-641-8905
>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>> =20
>>>> Please reply to: [log in to unmask]
>>>> =20
>>>> - - -
>>>> =3DD0=3D92=3DD1=3D80=3DD0=3DB5=3DD0=3DBC=3DD0=3DB5=3DD0=3DBD=3DD0=3DB0
>>>> =3DD1=3D81=3DD0=3DBB=3DD0=3DBE=3DD0=3DB6=3DD0=3DBD=3DD1=3D
>>>> =3D8B=3DD0=3DB5, =3DD0=3DB4=3DD1=3D83=3DD1=3D80=3DD0=3DB0=3DD0=3DBA=3DD0=
> =3DBE=3DD0=3DB2
>>>> =3DD0=3DBC=3DD0=3DBD=3DD0=3DBE=3DD0=3D
>>>> =3DB3=3DD0=3DBE.
>>>> =3DE2=3D80=3D94  =3DD0=3D90=3DD0=3DBB=3DD0=3DB5=3DD0=3DBA=3DD1=3D81a=3DD=
> 0=3DBD=3DD0=3DB4=3DD1=3D80 =3D
>>>> =3DD0=3DA0=3DD0=3DBE=3DD0=3DBC=3DD0=3DB0=3DD0=3DBD=3DD0=3DBE=3DD0=3DB2=3D=
> D0=3DB8=3DD1=3D87
>>>> =3DD0=3D9B=3DD1=3D83=3DD1=3D80=3DD0=3D
>>>> =3DB8=3DD1=3D8F
>>>> =20
>>>> These are complex times, many fools around.
>>>> =20
>>>> Alexandr Romanovich Luria in:
>>>> Goldberg, Elkhonon (2001). The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the =3D=
>>>> Civilized Mind.
>>>> New York: Oxford University Press, p. 16.
>>>> =20
>>>> Perhaps Goldberg should have listened to Luria . . .
>>>> =20
>>> =20
>> =20
>> =20
>> =20
>> --=20
>> =20
>> =20
>> Terry Ballard
>> Author and Leisure Studies Manager
>> http://www.terryballard.org
>> Author of the book "Google this" http://googlethis.com
>> <http://googlethisforlibraries.com/>
>> =20
>> "My memory has a mind of its own."
>