Author Archives: williamjcobb

On Custer's Penis and Sitting Bull's Bloody Arms

Posted on July 4, 2010 by williamjcobb

So I feel Richard Brautigan’s (1935-1984, R.I.P.) ghost hovering over me this cool Colorado morning, on this July 4th, while reading about a battle in Montana in 1876, perhaps a mythic, blood-stained centennial. He lived and wrote late in his … Continue reading →

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Summer of the Beatles and the Caterpillars

Posted on July 2, 2010 by williamjcobb

So this summer I’ve been turning my daughter on to the Beatles, meanwhile rediscovering how great they were, taking me back. I was a child when “Let It Be” was on the AM radio airwaves and I remember it as … Continue reading →

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On Nathaniel Philbrick's "The Last Stand," in Memory of George Armstrong Custer

Posted on June 30, 2010 by williamjcobb

Writing a book about Custer’s Last Stand is a bit tricky, considering you have stiff competition from Evan S. Connell’s masterpiece Son of the Morning Star (1986), but Nathaniel Philbrick’s new book, The Last Stand, just published, is an immediate … Continue reading →

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Review of Nic Pizzolatto's "Galveston," a Knockout Crime Novel

Posted on June 22, 2010 by williamjcobb

I was camping in the mountains west of Cottonwood Pass, Colorado this weekend, but on Sunday the following review of mine appeared in the Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/books/stories/DN-bk_galveston_0620gd.ART.State.Bulldog.2951729.html Galveston is a terrific book, and whenever I get a chance I’m … Continue reading →

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Daniel Woodrell's "Winter's Bone" Film Out and About

Posted on June 12, 2010 by williamjcobb

I’ve blogged before about Daniel Woodrell’s novel Winter’s Bone (2006): There’s a review today in the NY Times of the film version, which sounds good, gets glowing praise: http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/06/11/movies/11winter.html?hpw. And being an indie film, this review is just the kind of … Continue reading →

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Coen Brothers's "A Serious Man" Trumps Michael Chabon's Nostrums

Posted on June 9, 2010 by williamjcobb

So did many people read this Op-Ed by Michael Chabon in the New York Times last weekend? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/opinion/06chabon.html?pagewanted=1&hp I like Chabon’s fiction, though I usually don’t go out of my way to read it. He often comes across as rather … Continue reading →

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On John Hillcoat's Film Version of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

Posted on June 9, 2010 by williamjcobb

So it took me a while to get around to watching The Road (2009), partly because I knew it would be a grim experience. The novel is one of the few books that count as a masterpiece of the 21st … Continue reading →

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In Moab, Utah: Where Dinosaurs Sleep

Posted on May 30, 2010 by williamjcobb

A full moon hung in the sky over Moab, Utah the other night, framed by a few puffy, cartoon clouds. We’d spent the day looking at dinosaur tracks. My daughter, Lili, looked up and said that dinosaurs were sleeping in … Continue reading →

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"Greenberg" & the Feckless Indie Male

Posted on May 13, 2010 by williamjcobb

So this weekend I caught Noah Baumbach’s new film Greenberg in a St. Louis theater, the day after I rewatched the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man, which is better, true, but also not really a fair comparison, because who can … Continue reading →

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Deep Water Spills: Peak Oil Under Sea

Posted on May 4, 2010 by williamjcobb

For years now I’ve been curious about the phenomenon/topic/fringe idea of Peak Oil, basically the warning that we will soon reach the peak of oil production: once it’s peaked, it’s only a matter of time before supplies start to dwindle, … Continue reading →

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