Author Archives: williamjcobb

Keanu Reeve’s New Movie “Outcome”: Schizophrenic Comedy/Drama on Fame and Goodness

Reeves plays this seriously. It’s like his Hamlet. He even has moments of anguished indecision, like the famous Dane, when he’s offered a way to short-circuit the extortion attempt by playing the victim-card. Continue reading

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Jim DeFelice’s “West Like Lightning: The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express” (2018)

“One of the keystones of the Pony Express was its sheer speed: They could get mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to San Francisco, California in 10 days.” Continue reading

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“Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen”: Either “Knives Out” or “Get Out” 

The latest Netflix miniseries to try to scare us all is Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, which should be required viewing for all young couples contemplating marriage—maybe the way that Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace should be required reading for all wannabe dictators eager to stumble into an unwinnable war. Continue reading

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“Your Friends and Neighbors” Season Two Begins With a Bad Back and a Huge Splash

The inimitable writer John Cheever explored this fantasy plot back in the 1950s with his short story “The Housebreaker of Shady Hill,” but Your Friends and Neighbors is definitely a worthy reboot of sorts. Continue reading

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“DTF St. Louis” Episode 5: David Harbour Deserves an Emmy

“In Episode 5 (there are many flashbacks) he confides in Clark an anecdote to explain how he got a ‘crooked dick.'” Continue reading

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The Year Without a Winter Over, Wildfire Season Begins

“So it’s hard to convey or describe just how oddly warm this winter has been in the Southwest.” Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Michael Mann's The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, Santa Fe, The West, Weird Weather, Wildfire Season 2026, Year Without a Winter | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

On Pekka Hamalainen’s “Indigenous Continent”: Finnish Historian’s View of Native American History

“Hamalainen’s Indigenous Continent is an impressive book, long and detailed.” Continue reading

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The Year Without a Winter Ends: It’s Spring!

So it’s Spring in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Cottonwoods and Cherry trees are blooming. And Venus is bright in a dusky sky.

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“War Machine”: Glimpse Our Future Wars Against Invading Robots

“I can’t believe I watched that whole thing.” Continue reading

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HBO’s “DTF St. Louis” Marches Toward Quirky Sex Fun and Murder

“He’s a portly Sign Language expert with money problems, a wife whose side gig as a Little League umpire turns him off, and a stepson who (at first) hates him.” Continue reading

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