Bill Kauffman on Shelby Foote

We Could Use a Shelby Foote Today by Bill Kauffman

One of the greatest Civil War historians saw nobility in the stars and bars.

Gail Jarvis on Ken Burns's The Civil War

Revisiting 25 Years of Revisionist Claptrap

the documentary -- the only good thing about it is the participation of Shelby Foote?

Moore with Shelby Foote

In Depth with Shelby Foote


Shelby Foote on Faulkner

NPR: Revisiting a Conversation with Historian Shelby Foote (mp3)

Addressing People

One more thing I had wanted to discuss in conjunction with everything else I mentioned in this post: a problem that is quite obvious in California and in major urban areas (such as Boston or NYC) -- the loss of politesse regarding how we greet and address others. It is normal for people to greet each other without using their names, first or last.

I feel ashamed in admitting that I tend to go along with this trend at work, despite my ideals. Part of it is due to the fact that I am uncomfortable with addressing people with whom I have just a professional acquaintance by their first name. It has taken me a while to calling the secretary at one school by her first name because not calling her anything seems worse, and I don't do this consistently. I try to address people by their family names and the proper title. (While speaking I will use "Miss" for unmarried women, but when I write a note as a concession to social norms I will use "Ms.") The other part is habit... (not necessarily laziness), as well as the desire not to stand out too much. There is also the problem of failing to properly introduce one's self (which happened when I encountered the student teacher).

Southern accents

Some comments to Dr. Wilson's latest have lead me to think about the accent(s) I heard this past week. Mr. Daniel Maxwell refers to the "the ‘generic’ Southern accent that I hear spoken by Kentuckians and Tennesseans." I couldn't distinguish between any of the accents that I heard in Western Kentucky and Nashville -- there was the "typical" drawl, with the elongated vowels and syllables -- the one associated with a lack of sophistication? I couldn't help but think that after encountering certain people. But I liked the sound of the judge's speech.

Dr. Wilson (naturally?) holds the Carolinian accent in high esteem. What then, of the loss of non-rhotic Southern accents? I have to say that I prefer the sounding of the r.

Southern American English
A Xanga post about the North Carolinian dialect.

Shelby Foote:


YouTube - Southern Accent pt. 2 (Part 1)

It's been a while since I've heard from LAB, who is originally from... I want to say Tennessee. She has a pleasant accent, coupled with a soft voice. I'll attempt sending an e-mail.