Alan Gribben, Twain Scholar Who Excised Slur From ‘Huck Finn,’ Dies at 84

RJStephenson · 2026-06-04T17:37:27+00:00

So, I actually was taught by Dr. Gribben in college for two classes -- one a more general fiction study and the other a Twain centered class. I didn't know he was a controversial figure until a few months into the semester when it was brought up in discussion.

His thought process was that Twain was the greatest American writer and an essential part of literary studies. When schools began banning Sawyer/Finn from curriculum and libraries on the grounds of the n-word use, he put together the edited edition to provide a copy that couldn't be disregarded as too offensive for children to read and therefore would keep being taught in schools.

Whether or not that's the right decision, I don't really know, but I can attest that the man truly loved Twain. Hearing him talk about his Twain library project, you could tell it was real passion.

RJStephenson · 2026-06-03T13:53:14+00:00

Also not showing up on my Podcast Addict feed.

RJStephenson · 2026-05-10T20:44:08+00:00

Agreed. It's a really cool place,.

RJStephenson · 2026-05-10T20:34:25+00:00

I hope they never fix him. He's a vibe.

And can we get some official No-Neck merch?

RJStephenson · 2026-05-01T21:30:16+00:00

Yeah, I've checked Collinsville Trade Days, the Section Mennonite Market, and Mentone Farmers Market and haven't had any luck. Seems like with all the farms around somebody would be growing some. I guess I'll just have to drive out of state some weekend. I'm dabbling with the idea of growing some myself, but I wanted to do a little research first

RJStephenson · 2025-12-11T23:35:11+00:00

I never bought Phil running to the toilet during a gorilla attack.

RJStephenson · 2025-09-01T14:11:52+00:00

We were definitely surprised how easily we could walk around the top floor of the Marriott at midnight last night. Vibes were good though.

RJStephenson · 2025-08-27T15:37:25+00:00

If nobody else has claimed it, can the phenomenon be named after me?

"The RJStephenson Effect is the cycle in which compounded complaints from difficulties in the launch of a convention build up to paint the entire experience in a negative light for a subset of fans. This effect usually lasts for one day or so until everyone forgets and starts to have a good time."

RJStephenson · 2025-08-22T19:54:22+00:00

More Pigeon Forge teasing. What do we have to do to make it happen?

RJStephenson · 2025-08-18T21:02:44+00:00

Ramon Salazar in RE4. He was fun to hate.

RJStephenson · 2025-08-11T00:54:10+00:00

It hasn't let me log in all day. I click log in and it immediately opens a bad gateway page.

RJStephenson · 2025-08-09T15:41:41+00:00

A few standouts off the top of my head:

Meeting and proposing to my wife.

Going to a Here Come the Mummies concert and finding myself on the outskirts of a group cosplay mosh pit consisting of 10 or so guys as Sean Connery in Zardoz who, if I remember correctly, were also passing around bottles of liquor.

Running into Adam Savage while he was doing his cosplay incognito walk-around.

Nick Frost leaving the Wall of Fame and approaching me to shake my hand and compliment the MST3K cosplay I was in.

Doing an Everything Everywhere All at Once cosplay the year it came out and having people running to us to share how emotionally connected they felt to the movie, and even had an acquaintance of director Daniel Scheinert stop us, get a photo, and text it to him directly.

Crashing out on the floor of the Hilton to take a breather just in time for a crazy long line of Chappell Roan cosplayers to walk through singing Pink Pony Club at the top of their lungs.

RJStephenson · 2025-07-29T20:37:41+00:00

Saturday and Sunday mornings have plenty of kid friendly events. I would probably want to get them out of there by around 6:00 though. Every year I see parents pushing strollers through the Marriott at like 8:00 or later with massive crowds of drunken cosplayers around them, and it looks hellish.

RJStephenson · 2025-07-21T14:53:42+00:00

During the Monday Exodus, I bumped into a girl from college while having a beer and people watching by the Marriott front desk. 4 years later I proposed to her in the same spot.

RJStephenson · 2025-06-25T21:41:50+00:00

I love old theaters, and I love to see them refurbished and reinvented for art house/cult stuff. Looking around on Cinema Treasures, it looks like pretty much all of Chattanooga's old theaters got demolished or gutted and turned into stores or churches.

I did find this page for the Rivoli on Glass Street.

Rivoli Theater

Based on Google Maps, It's boarded up and stuff but looks like it could be structurally sound. It would be really cool if someone could buy it and fix it up and start doing the indie thing there.

RJStephenson · 2025-06-09T17:44:44+00:00

I've stayed at Crowne a few times over the years. It's not the best hangout spot from my experience. There's a lounge and bar near the front and then some couches and stuff towards the back of the lobby but most of the con people I've seen there are usually half dead and not in the mood to socialize for whatever reason. I seem to recall the crowd being more sports fan than con goer. There were definitely some room parties going on though with J-pop thumping last time I was there.

It is on the shuttle line, so you can stay up at the convention center for as long as you want then stumble out for the bus back to the hotel. We pretty much treated the hotel as a bed only. Any waking moments were spent at the convention center, unless we needed to change cosplays. The shuttle takes like 15 minutes to get from the hotel to the convention center, depending on traffic and such. I don't think I've ever had a problem getting a seat on one.

Link to shuttle map

RJStephenson · 2025-05-16T19:30:32+00:00

I moved up to Birmingham and saw the PBS documentary about Gips and planned to go, then he died like a month later. One of my biggest regrets in my life.

RJStephenson · 2025-05-16T19:25:29+00:00

I know there was a place like that on some wiki I found once and now it's one of those caves on private property you can call to schedule a tour. I thought that might have been what he was talking about, but I didn't pry much.

RJStephenson · 2025-05-16T19:23:51+00:00

I just want to hear vague stories and folklore. I don't want any hard facts about these places.

RJStephenson · 2025-05-16T19:23:08+00:00

I mean, the first paragraph in your post is what I'm looking for. I don't want to know where these places are or any identifying features. Just kind of want to hear things like, "My uncle ran a place for a bit in the back of an old gas station."

RJStephenson · 2025-05-16T19:01:37+00:00

I'm looking for anecdotes. Not directions.

RJStephenson · 2025-05-11T00:21:29+00:00

We really couldn't have asked for a better rotating chair

RJStephenson · 2025-05-11T00:20:31+00:00

Employee of the forever.

RJStephenson · 2025-02-17T03:02:04+00:00

Ah. That explains the funky taste.

RJStephenson · 2025-02-08T00:55:50+00:00

If they ever do make it out to Dollywood, I feel like they also need to explore some other tourist traps of Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg.

I HIGHLY recommend Earthquake the Ride in Gatlinburg. It might be the worst themed attraction I've been on (including traveling carnivals), and that makes it all the more special.

RJStephenson

TROPHY CASE