Breaking news: I’m going to be in Mississippi this weekend
If you find yourself in Oxford, Miss., this weekend, stop by and say howdy, or how-do, or whatever they say in Mississippi. Why on earth would I be in Mississippi this weekend? Well, I’m honored to say that I will be part of the fourth annual Oxford Film Festival as a panelist and juror. The fact that I’m doing it as a last-minute replacement for my friend Scott Weinberg, who can’t make it due to a serious dental emergency (ouch), does not reduce the honor.
My panel is called “Film and the New Media: Writing about Film in Print and for the Blogosphere.” It’s at 4 p.m. Friday. I don’t know if anyone who reads this blog lives in or near Oxford, but hey, maybe.
This is a very sudden trip — I only got the call from Weinberg at noon today, and I have to fly out at 6:20 a.m. tomorrow — and so I’m a little scatterbrained at the moment. Mostly it means that all the stuff I was planning to do tomorrow and Friday and over the weekend, I have to do today instead. But I’m glad to fill in for Weinberg, and besides, I’m not one to pass up a free trip to Mississippi! Or at least apparently I’m not. It’s never come up before.
Monday’s “Snide Remarks” will almost surely be late in arriving, as I haven’t written it yet, and I won’t get back to Portland until 11 p.m. Sunday night, and I don’t know how much downtime I’ll have in Oxford. Friday’s movie reviews and “In the Dark” should be on the regular schedule, assuming they have Internet service in Mississippi. And maybe I should refrain from making Mississippi jokes until after the festival, just as a courtesy.
February 6th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Mississippi???
Have a good trip, and if they let you fly the plane, fly carefully.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I was actually in Oxford once after spending several days in the Delta. It was like returning to society.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Oxford is a nice little town with some great restaurants and interesting literary history. If you get a chance, take a drive over to Holly Springs. You will feel like you are in the deep South in the 1950’s.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I totally live in Mississippi! Cross my heart, Oxford is a really nice place!
February 7th, 2008 at 4:46 am
This is a “very sudden trip”? You have 18 hours between getting the call and getting on the plane. In my line of work, about once a year I get a message asking if I can go to the airport immediately because so-and-so’s flight was canceled due to weather and they need somebody to fill in for him in Detroit starting three hours from now. (I’m usually not available.)
February 7th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I have a friend who went to school in Oxford, he says its a really nice little town. About as liberal as you can get in Mississippi too, which is kind of like Park City for Utah - still provincial, but looked upon by residents as sinful.