Monthly Archives: March 2009

UFO Sighting & Blizzard of March '09

On The Day After of the Great Blizzard of March ’09 (The Weather Channel is calling it an Epic Storm. We got 13″ of snow. Nice but I don’t know about ‘epic’), I’m thinking aliens and such: A few nights … Continue reading

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On Eugene Linden's "The Future in Plain Sight" and Other Looming Disasters

Back in 2006 I stumbled upon a book by Eugene Linden titled The Future in Plain Sight, which is a little gem of foresight. Published in 1998, it predicted our present financial collapse, the rise of religious extremism and terrorism, … Continue reading

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On Donald Barthelme's "Sixty Stories" & Mary Robison's "The Dictionary in the Laundry Chute"

Back in 1988 it was and none other than Donald Barthelme called my one-bedroom flat in Jersey City and asked to speak with me. This was close to God giving you a call and wanting to chat. I’d been a … Continue reading

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On Stephen Graham Jones's "Ledfeather" & "Bleed Into Me"

So I’ve been reading Stephen Graham Jones’s new novel, Ledfeather, which gives up northern Montana as a dreamscape in both time and place. The stor(ies) take place in an almost alternate-universe approach of dual stories, one set in the present, near … Continue reading

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On Werner Herzog's "Encounters at the End of the World" and Hermit Basin, Where I Live

Werner Herzog’s new documentary about Antarctica, Encounters at the End of the World, is worth it just to hear his voice decry such “abominations” as “yoga classes and exercise rooms” at the Antarctic Murdo Bay research station, but the real … Continue reading

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Review of Dennis Lehane's "The Given Day"

This review originally appeared in the Dallas Morning News, Sunday October 12, 2008   Times Like These   Once in a while a book comes along that presents a vision of a disturbing past that bears queasy resemblance to our … Continue reading

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Review of Per Petterson's "Out Stealing Horses"

This review originally appeared in the Dallas Morning News, Sunday July 15, 2007   The Elegance of Being   “Out Stealing Horses,” the fifth novel of Norwegian writer Per Petterson, arrives in this country with much acclaim, having won several … Continue reading

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On Book Reviewing Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses and Dennis Lehane's The Given Day

Back in 1994 it was I reviewed my first book and I’ve been at it ever since, with professional rigor (and sore eyes, at times), for the New York Times, the Houston Chronicle, and most recently, the Dallas Morning News. … Continue reading

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On Cormac McCarthy and dusty roads

Back in 1988 I first heard of Cormac McCarthy from a friend who said I should read Blood Meridian because it would blow my mind. I did and thought it amazing, The Judge being one of the great characters of … Continue reading

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