Monthly Archives: November 2011

"The Muppets Movie" Meets "The Human Centipede": Now That Ain't Right

Posted on November 29, 2011 by williamjcobb

So the title for this post should be “The Muppets Movie cleanses the horror of The Human Centipede,” but oh well. These two happened to be the films I saw this weekend: The Muppets Movie at a local cineplex, where … Continue reading →

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On HBO's "Enlightened": Or The Resurrection of Laura Dern

Posted on November 22, 2011 by williamjcobb

So Monday night has become one of those rarities: the premier night of must-see TV. I mostly ignore network TV these days, because the many commercial breaks get so tedious that once you get used to programs without them, they … Continue reading →

Posted in Good TV | Leave a comment

"The Blood People": On Horror Creeping in Netflix, With Nods to "Night of the Demons," "Primal," and the Awful "The Awakening"

Posted on November 18, 2011 by williamjcobb

So the other morning my five-year-old daughter wakes up and the first thing she says to me is, “People are made of blood.” She’s right, actually. And I kind of like the poetry of the line, although the way her … Continue reading →

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On Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0": A Disturbing Vision of the Future

Posted on November 15, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I must first confess that I am NOT a Thomas Friedman fan, which I think makes my enthusiasm more authentic for his nonfiction book Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew … Continue reading →

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On Werner Herzog's New Film, "Into the Abyss," and the One Currently Opening Wide Its Maw at Penn State

Posted on November 12, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I teach at Penn State, a position which will be uncomfortable to admit for some time. Suffice to say it’s been one bizarre, disheartening week. I’ll let others shout bromides about the charges and the conduct of officials, but … Continue reading →

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Christo's Next Art Project, "Over the River," Gets Approved, and Will Be in My Backyard

Posted on November 9, 2011 by williamjcobb

So there’s good news for art lovers of the world: Installation-art guru Christo has finally got approval for his project titled “Over the River,” which will be located about twenty short miles north of my Colorado home, on the Arkansas … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, The West | Leave a comment

The Goy Crisis

Posted on November 3, 2011 by williamjcobb

So the other day I was discussing (perhaps ‘talking at’ would be a more accurate description) the Boy Crisis issue with my class of (rather sleepy, uncommunicative) undergraduate students in an Intro to Creative Writing class, and it was something … Continue reading →

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On Paul Gilding's "The Great Disruption," With a Nod to Eugene Linden's "The Future in Plain Sight"

Posted on November 2, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I’m a sucker for ‘big vision’ books about the future and the myriad problems we face with climate change and resource depletion, and right now I’m reading Paul Gilding’s The Great Disruption. It manages to be at once peppy … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Climate Change, The West | Leave a comment