Author Archives: williamjcobb

"127 Hours" in Theaters Now, But Not Everyone in Utah Loves Aron Ralston

Posted on November 6, 2010 by williamjcobb

Last summer I stayed a few days in Green River, Utah, at the River Terrace Inn, a cool hotel right on the river, with a pool and hut tub, plus great birding: Scott’s Orioles, Western Tanagers, and Bullock’s Orioles, all … Continue reading →

Posted in books/film, The West | Leave a comment

On the Republicans Return to Power: The Empire Strikes Back!

Posted on November 4, 2010 by williamjcobb

After all the blathering about the midterms elections (“Let’s Dumb Down America Now!”), at least one of the news sites should have led with the headline, “The Empire Strikes Back!” The least they could do. Boehner is a Darth Vader … Continue reading →

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A Smidgen of Hope in the West, and Another Good Defense of Obama

Posted on November 4, 2010 by williamjcobb

If you’re like me, last night’s election seemed a triumph for the latest version of the Know Nothing Party, and in honor of the writer who mentioned that historical reference most eloquently, I should note that Tim Egan sums up … Continue reading →

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On Leslie Kean's "UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record": We Are Not Alone, and the Visitors Have Some Awesome Toys

Posted on November 2, 2010 by williamjcobb

So I’m a sucker for UFO stories, though I remain a fairly strong skeptic. For instance, the more I’ve learned about the much-vaunted Roswell Incident the more I lean toward it being a rather complicated story of interstellar hooey. I’ve … Continue reading →

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ABC News as Conservative Media Bias

Posted on October 30, 2010 by williamjcobb

I watch network TV these days only to keep an eye on what mainstream media bullshit is being tossed about, and the last week or two have seen several doozies: Last night their “White House correspondent” (nitwit in D.C.) Jake Tapper … Continue reading →

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Stephen Graham Jones's "It Came From Del Rio"—Is that Jack Nicholson or a Chupacabra?

Posted on October 28, 2010 by williamjcobb

So Stephen Graham Jones is at it again, offering us a new, seriously weird novel with the kickass title of It Came From Del Rio. I just started it and don’t want to give too much away, but it’s not … Continue reading →

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You Give Me Planetary Fever: On China's Coal & Global Warming

Posted on October 27, 2010 by williamjcobb

There’s a good piece in today’s Scientific American about China’s coal use/addiction, located here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-china-avoid-the-carbon-trap-of-coal It has some excellent quotes, including this one: “Described with a little poetic licence, global warming is a planetary fever caused by burning too much … Continue reading →

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Corporate Shills Screwing Democracy, Plus Tattoo Publishing

Posted on October 22, 2010 by williamjcobb

It seems everyday brings a new (at least ‘recent’) low to our wobbly democracy: the Republican-dominated Supreme Court aka Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Scalia et al have rigged the campaign finance laws to be now meaningless, allowing huge corporations … Continue reading →

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Kent Haruf in the House and Thomas McGuane in the News

Posted on October 21, 2010 by williamjcobb

For the last two days I’ve had the good fortune of a visit from novelist Kent Haruf, who gave a reading on our campus last night. Kent’s a natural raconteur (I’ve been waiting years to use that word) and told … Continue reading →

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Review of Bruce Machart's "The Wake of Forgiveness"

Posted on October 17, 2010 by williamjcobb

Here’s my review of Bruce Machart’s debut novel, The Wake of Forgiveness, which appears today in the Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/books/stories/DN-bk_wake_1017gd.ART.State.Edition1.333f06a.html It’s a good novel, and I could have written much more about it, but there’s a short word count … Continue reading →

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