Monthly Archives: September 2011

Reading Daniel Yergin's "The Quest" & a Witty Post About Truthiness

So I’m reading the much-talked-about new tome on energy and the future, Daniel Yergin’s The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, just published. So far I’m not particularly impressed, especially after Dwight Garner’s rave review in … Continue reading

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Australian Horror on Netflix: "The Reef," "Arctic Blast," and "Primal"

So I was at first excited by the streaming-video options of Netflix months ago, but the charm actually rather quickly wore off and I agree with some of the popular grouching about it—basically that Netflix has a rather limited list … Continue reading

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"127 Hours" as Big-Budget "I Shouldn't Be Alive," With a Nod to the Great "Touching the Void"

So I finally got around to watching the much-acclaimed/suspect film of Aaron Ralston’s self-amputation, 127 Hours, and actually thought it was pretty good, even if my hotel owner/chef in Green River, Utah held a grudge against Ralston for not paying … Continue reading

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Climate Change Coverage in the NY Times

So I have decidedly mixed feelings about most of our media, no matter how much I read or watch it, as I imagine most of us do. (I make a point to read CNN just to see the latest blather … Continue reading

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On a Novel Titled "The Bird Saviors"

So a few months ago I blogged about finishing my new novel ms., The Bird Saviors, & how the completion occurred by describing a rather simple detail—a man drinking a glass of water—that has greater implications and reverberations than one … Continue reading

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Review of Justin Torres's novel(la) "We the Animals"

So my review of Justin Torres’s debut novel, We the Animals, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here: http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20110902-book-review-we-the-animals-by-justin-torres.ece It’s a good, short book. I point out that it’s closer to a novella than a full-figured novel, but that’s … Continue reading

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The Know Nothing Party Defies Gravity, Wins Elections?

So it’s driving me (slightly) crazy to read the idiocy coming out of Rick Perry’s mouth, echoed by a chorus of other Republican presidential contenders. Paul Krugman in the NY Times sums up their anti-science idiocy well here: What strikes … Continue reading

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