profile picture

50730547

I am here for Friends

About Me

THE GENERAL STUFF: I have degrees in English from Berea College and Eastern Kentucky University. I have been an instructor of composition and literature in the Department of English and Theatre at EKU since 1989. English is my wife but history is my mistress, especially politically incorrect history which presents uncomfortable challenges to what “everyone knows” or assumes to be true. I have spoken before the Kentucky Historical Society and have made appearances at the annual Kentucky Book Fair and the Southern Kentucky Bookfest.THE MORE COLORFUL STUFF: For a while I worked as a night watchman at a funeral home, a job that dovetailed well with my sense of humor (see assorted blogs). I have an identical twin brother, Kyle, but no one ever believes me when I tell them that. I am the author of seven books: "Cassius M. Clay, Freedom's Champion" (Turner Publishing, 2001); "Offbeat Kentuckians" (McClanahan Publishing, 2001); "More Offbeat Kentuckians" (McClanahan Publishing, 2003); "Murder in Old Kentucky" (McClanahan Publishing, 2005); "The Kentucky Book of the Dead" (History Press, 2008); "Cruelly Murdered: The Murder of Mary Magdalene Pitts and Other Kentucky True Crime Stories" (Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2008); and "Forgotten Tales of Kentucky" (History Press, 2008). All are available at Amazon.com or at the publishers' websites. Hurry, buy them! Don't think about it. Just get your credit card and go there! Worth buying for my twin brother Kyle's illustrations alone!In addition, I fall down a lot.

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Jesus Christ, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Charles Dickens, Buster Keaton, Harry Edsel Smith, J. S. Bach, Emily Dickinson (but would she even let me in the house?), Edgar Allan Poe, Salvador Dali, Drs. Johnson and Seuss, William Desmond Taylor, Mabel Normand, Harold Lloyd, Charles Chaplin, Keith Richards, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Groucho Marx (he would insult me but it would be worth it), G. K. Chesterton, Paul McCartney, John Lennon (I admire his music, but don't get me started on his politics), Calvin Coolidge, Ronald Reagan, Gillian Anderson, Ann Coulter, Edmund Pearson, Beethoven, W. C. Fields, Speedy Atkins, Charles Schulz, E. C. Segar, Roger McGuinn, Hans Christian Andersen, Bruce Campbell, Ed Gein, Buddy Holly, Alfred Hitchcock, Ben Eshbach, Kiara Geller, Mel Blanc, Billy West, Tom Kenny, William Blake, Walt Disney, Steve Irwin (R.I.P.), Mick Jones, Stonewall Jackson, C. S. Lewis, Morrissey, Jack the Ripper, Laurel and Hardy, Syd Barrett, Kim Shattuck, Vincent Van Gogh, Cassius M. Clay, Johnny Ramone, Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Pete Townshend, Lewis Carroll, Tobe Hooper, Jimmy Stewart, Curly Howard, Christopher Lloyd, Father Damien, Larry the Cable Guy, Mike Judge, Ronnie Spector, Orson Welles, Tony Shalhoub, John Linnell, e e cummings, A. A. Milne, The MythBusters, the blonde chick in ABBA (please, God!), Jackie Chan, Chris Elliott, Rivers Cuomo, Johnny Cash, Le Petomane, Charles Addams, L. Frank Baum, Pee-wee Herman, Cyndi Lauper, Robert Pollard, Denise James. (More to be added as I think of them. Hey, you know what would be really interesting? A list of people we hope we NEVER meet!)PEOPLE I ACTUALLY HAVE MET: Lynn Hightower, famous mystery novelist; Eleanor Keaton, Buster's widow; Richard Kiel, who played the villain "Jaws" in the James Bond films; Joe King, a/k/a Joe Queer, leader of the great punk band The Queers; James "The Amazing" Randi, magician; Bernard Goldberg, former CBS correspondent and author of the bestseller "Bias," which blew the lid on liberal bias in the media--we got along famously; Chuck Barris, host of numerous 1970s game shows, particularly "The Gong Show."

My Blog

WHATS IN MY CRIB, HOMIES

Imagine no possessions. --John LennonNO!!!! Me.          Actually, I have enough trouble imagining John Lennon with no possessions. But while Im on the topic of possessions (hows that for a seg...
Posted by on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:31:00 GMT

ARE YOU NERVOUS YET? (Warning: political content!)

I found a recent column by Mr. Buchanan worth contemplating, so I include it in its entirety:***************************************Obama's Choice: FDR or ReaganBarack Obama, it is said, will inherit ...
Posted by on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:45:00 GMT

ON CORNWELL’S JACK THE RIPPER THEORY

Not long ago I was talking about famous unsolved murder cases with an acquaintance. I mentioned the granddaddy case of them all, Jack the Ripper. "Oh, that case was solved a few years ago!" said my a...
Posted by on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:59:00 GMT

QUOTATIONS FROM CHAIRMAN SHORT ROUND

"You call him Doctor Jones, doll!" "You cheat, Doctor Jones!" "Indy, cover your heart!" "Ha ha ha ha!" "Hey, Doctor Jones, no time for love! We got company!" "Maybe he like older women." "H...
Posted by on Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:27:00 GMT

MY GAY DAY: A POEM

In order to demonstrate how much language has changed in the last one hundred years or so, I present the following children's poem from around 1870, which I just made up: MY GAY DAY Today I'm feelin...
Posted by on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:09:00 GMT

WAS JACK THE RIPPER A DOCTOR?

Ever since Jack the Ripper committed his murder spree in 1888, it has been conjectured that he was a doctor. Having spent some time recently in a doctor's office, I can think of at least three compell...
Posted by on Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:16:00 GMT

MY ADVENTURE AT THE NUDIST COLONY!

Sorry, I just wanted to get your attention. I've never actually been to a nudist colony. I don't think I'd be comfortable in a place where they call you overdressed if you're wearing socks. What I rea...
Posted by on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:23:00 GMT

HOW TO BE AN ENGLISH MAJOR IN TWO EASY STEPS

1.) If a character in a story picks up an object, holds an object, or brandishes an object, call that object a phallic symbol. 2.) If a character in a story suffers in any way great or small, call th...
Posted by on Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:43:00 GMT

WAS THIS THE ZODIAC SPEAKING?

If you are a true crime buff, or if you have seen the excellent 2007 film Zodiac, you know who Arthur Leigh Allen (1933-92) was. For those who don't know, the Zodiac murders comprise one of the great ...
Posted by on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:03:00 GMT

BAD TOE DAY

I am staring at the middle toe of my left foot. The rest of my foot has a normal appearance, but that particular toe now looks as though it belongs on the foot of a guy who has been dead about three ...
Posted by on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:31:00 GMT