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." >