- February 2026
- January 2026
- November 2025
- October 2023
- September 2023
- September 2021
- April 2020
- September 2019
- May 2019
- August 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- October 2017
- August 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- November 2016
- October 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- December 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- May 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
Recent Posts
- “Song Sung Blue” Makes Kate Hudson Oscar Worthy
- On Randall K. Wilson’s “A Place Called Yellowstone”: Award-Winning History of Yellowstone National Park
- On Candice Millard’s “River of Doubt” and “River of the Gods”: Bugs, Snakes, and Disease Aplenty
- More Alone than “Alone”: On Adam Shoalts’s “Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell” (2025)
- Rachel McAdams film “Send Help” (2026) Makes Comic Gold Out of “Survivor” and “Alone” Audition Videos
Recent Comments
No comments to show.
Author Archives: williamjcobb
Review of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" Anthology, and a Nod to Holiday Pleasures, of the Guilty Variety
I’m on holiday vacation, offline for the most part, doing all those things one does on holiday, like witness TV programs I generally wouldn’t be caught dead watching, such as anything involving “. . . With the Stars!” in the … Continue reading
Posted in books
Leave a comment
On Chuck Closterman's Zombie Analogy and Stephen Graham Jones's "The Ones That Got Away"
It seems everyone is trying to deconstruct and decode the recent zombie craze, including Gail Collins in the NY Times, who wrote a funny piece about the zombie Congress, and this morning Chuck Closterman has a good(ish) piece in the … Continue reading
Posted in books/film, Politics, writing
Leave a comment
On the New Yorker's "20 Under 40" Anthology: Attack of the Dinner Party Zombies!
So I’ve been swamped with work the last few days, not to mention trying to decide what Christmas presents to give family members who fall into the Seriously Irritating category (Ah, festive cheer!), but I have managed to review The … Continue reading
Posted in books, Weird Science
Leave a comment
A Reason for Holiday Glee: Coen Brothers' "True Grit" to Open December 22nd
So the filmmakers who are putting pretty much everyone else to shame have a Christmas present (and they’re Jewish, to boot) for the world, their adaptation of True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges stepping into John Wayne’s boots. Here’s the official … Continue reading
Posted in Film, The West
Leave a comment
Oil Reserves Drop by 90% and Electric Cars Throb: Is That Peak Oil or Are You Just Glad to See Me?
I’m a fan of the concept of Peak Oil, even if I don’t know how valid the actuality of it is: In a nutshell, it makes sense to me that oil will eventually reach it’s peak, that is, the halfway … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Weird Science
Leave a comment
New Harry Potter Film Promises to Change Your Life
This week Jon (Sometimes Funny) Stewart had an amusing riff on the Palin brats in the news, dancing and otherwise, and mocked putting a gun in his mouth to end it all due to the absurdity of attention to such … Continue reading
Posted in books/film, Film
Leave a comment
The People Smarter Than Voters? Obama's Approval Rating at 63%, With a Dig at Spineless Turncoats on the Comedy Channel
After all the mainstream blather about the recent midterm elections being a repudiation (as opposed to ‘refudiation,’ which is what Sarah Palin does every time she opens her mama-grizzly mouth) of Obama and his policies, this little gem today makes … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Leave a comment
The Coral Is Dying and Don't Let Anyone Say "No One Saw It Coming": With a Nod to Warren Brussee's "The Second Great Depression"
One of the convenient lies about the financial crisis is the oft-stated excuse, “No one saw it coming,” usually referring to the real estate bust that triggered the credit crunch that ate the mouse that scurried away from the house … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change
Leave a comment
The Seas Are Rising, and the Tea Party Fiddles While Rome Burns
Although I realize I’m preaching to the choir in this venue, most likely read by like-minded souls whose intelligence understands that science should be taken seriously beyond the gadgets/consumer products one can purchase (I’ve noticed that right-wing types don’t “doubt” … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Politics
Leave a comment
"Avatar" as Metaphor for the Fantasy Craze
So a year ago it seemed every acquaintance I bumped into asked the same thing, “Have you seen Avatar yet?” With chagrin I’d admit that, no, actually I had not, any minute now though, I can’t wait. They would frown. … Continue reading
Posted in books/film
Leave a comment