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Recent Posts
- On Maggie Gylenhaal’s “The Bride”: Bonnie & Clyde in Stitches
- On George Saunders’ New Novel “Vigil”: Jumping the Shark Across the Heavens
- On HBO’s New Series “DTF St. Louis”: Charm & Glory of the Mundane
- On “Dr. Strangelove” 62 Years Later: General Jack Ripper in Charge Now
- On Tom Waits in “Father Mother Sister Brother”: Grifter Like Me
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Author Archives: williamjcobb
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
Posted in books, Climate Change, The West
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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
Posted in Film
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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
Posted in books/film, The West
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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
Posted in Climate Change, The West
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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
Posted in books, The West
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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: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/opinion/republicans-against-science.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss What … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Politics, The West
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On Tom Perrotta's New Novel, With a Warning About the Last
So in today’s New York Times Book Review Stephen King reviews Tom Perrotta’s new novel, The Leftovers, and has this to say: “Perrotta began his exploration of the stress points between religion and secular American life in his previous novel, “The … Continue reading
Posted in books/film
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On the Rise of the Fabulous Nothing Class, or As Some Have Phrased It, "Our Royal Wedding"
So I see this Kim Kardashian person mentioned (too often) in the news and do my best to ignore her, and see her best as the butt (pun intended) of jokes from the wry Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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On Finishing Tim Flannery's "Here on Earth," in Contrast to Justin Torres's "We the Animals"
So last night I reached the end of Tim Flannery’s new excellent book of nonfiction, Here on Earth: A Natural History of the Planet, which I rate as one of the best books of nonfiction I’ve read since Timothy Egan’s … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, The West
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