Author Archives: williamjcobb

Aliens Among Us: Probing Hillbillies and Freaking Shut-ins, How Netflix’s “Encounters” and Hulu’s “No One Will Save You” Prep Us for the Coming Alien Apocalypse, Kind of

So with the Congressional hearings on the little-green-somethings formerly known as UFOs (now called UAPs) and crazyass whatnot we should all be aware the Alien Apocalypse is soon upon us—imagine old geezer croaking “The end is nigh”—and there are two … Continue reading

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My Life as a Bob Odenkirk Character: On How Watching Netflix’s Black Mirror episode “Joan Is Awful” Mimicked My Experience of Watching the AMC series Lucky Hank

So after a long hiatus the much-acclaimed Netflix series Black Mirror arrived (Season Six) and I loved the first (terrific) episode, “Joan Is Awful.” It’s a funny twist on media, deep-fake technology, and other wrinkles of our tech-hungry culture, featuring Annie Murphy … Continue reading

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“Bobcats, Bobcats, Bobcats”: Animal Life and a Tribute to “Modern Family”

So it’s the Autumn Equinox, woohoo! I’ve been away—until January 2023, in the Hell otherwise known as Academia (I joke)—and it’s about time I get off my duff and start posting again. Yesterday I woke in my Colorado Springs neighborhood … Continue reading

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“The North Water”: This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Moby Dick

So Ian McGuire’s novel of 2015, The North Water, is one of the best of that decade. It’s demented and visual, a twisted contrast to such polar adventure tales such as Shackleton’s Endurance. Now it’s a miniseries of five episodes, … Continue reading

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Day 25: On David Quammen's "Spillover": Terrific Book That Foretold Our Pandemic, Kind of

So I’ve seen various books mentioned as predicting pandemics, now that the coronavirus time is nigh, but not much mention of one of the best virus books I’ve read: David Quammen’s nonfiction book about the biology behind zoonotic diseases, Spillover: … Continue reading

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Masks for Everybody! Stick 'em Up!

So my wife made me a coronavirus mask. I have the curious itch to rob a bank.

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"The Hunt" Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Bomb

So we all heard the hoopla about the notorious “anti-liberal” film The Hunt back in the Fall, causing its debut to be delayed, but it’s out now and it’s a hoot. First let me admit to being roughly in the … Continue reading

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"Underwater" movie review: You think you got a big monster?

So in this time of virus lockdown and pandemic horror, let’s imagine creatures that don’t exist and have some scary fun! Or that seems to be the thinking of whoever made the new Kristen Stewart film, Underwater. It’s like Alien … Continue reading

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The Great Stillness

So I’ve been calling our present stay-at-home reality the Great Hunkering (as in “hunker down”) but now I’m thinking it should be called The Great Stillness, at least in my neck of the woods. Things are quiet. The most people … Continue reading

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"Ad Astra" Review: Killer Baboons, Moon Buggy War Zones, and Space Travel as a Walk in the Park

So I caught the new Ad Astra film last night, and in my best snarky Bill-Murray-as-Film-Critic-on-SNL mode I’ll quip: It’s like Apocalypse Now meets 2001: A Space Odyssey with a spritz of Alien. I’ll confess I’ve never been a big … Continue reading

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