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Category Archives: books
Be Careful of What That Next Climate Might Look Like, and Reflections on David Keys's "Catastrophe: An Investigation Into the Origins of Modern Civilization"
So Thomas Friedman in Sunday’s NY Times had a good piece about the environmental factors at play in the so-called Arab Spring popular uprisings, here. This is an aspect of climate change that usually gets ignored—political instability. I think everyone … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Politics, The West, Weird Science
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Colorado in Drought and Further Reflections on Michael Mann's "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars," Or What's That Hot Breath on Our Necks? The Dry of Things To Come
So Michael Mann’s The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars is one of the best books that deals with both global warming/climate change and the politics surrounding it, especially the “despicable me” world of climate change deniers. I’ve read many … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Politics, The West, Uncategorized, Weird Science
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On Reading Michael Mann's "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars" As the Year Without a Winter Segues into a Freakishly Warm Spring
So I’m now reading Michael Mann’s book The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, which is an inside look at the so-called “Climategate,” or perhaps more accurately the Right Wing/Big Oil Specious Attack on Climate Scientists. For those not familiar … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Politics, The West, Weird Science
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Review of Noah Hawley's "The Good Father" in the Dallas Morning News
So here’s my review of Noah Hawley’s new novel, The Good Father, published Sunday in the Dallas Morning News (click the hyperlink ‘review’). I liked the novel, even if it’s ultimately a downer story, of a father searching for the … Continue reading
Further Reflections on Scenes Cut From the Film Version of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," Or Films You Wish You Had Seen, and Some You Wish You Had Not
So being a diehard Cormac McCarthy fan (and more than just a little bit suspicious), I feel the hand of God or Fate or Providence in the fact that one of my students this semester was an actor (Baby Eater … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Bad TV, books, books/film, Film, The West, writing
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Does Sarah Palin Know Where Germany Is? and a Shout-Out for Mark Leyner's new novel, "The Sugar Frosted Nutsack"
So last night I caught HBO’s film Game Change, about Sarah Palin’s (improbable? nightmarish? absurd?) role as John McCain’s veep in the 2008 election, and it’s surprisingly good. Why surprisingly? I’m not a huge fan of biopics/reenactments of contemporary events, … Continue reading
Posted in books, books/film, Good TV, Politics, writing
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Mitt Romney as The Feckless Male
So one thing fascinating about being a professor is that you notice over a span of years the changes in student behavior and trends. While I’m of the mind that human behavior doesn’t change all that much across the ages, … Continue reading
Posted in books, Education, Politics, writing
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The Effect of Reading Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows" on E-Reading: Just Say No to Distractions
So here’s a little (naive) gem in the NY Times this morning, an article about the lure of online distractions while e-reading titled “Finding Your Book Interrupted … By the Tablet You Read It On,” which contains this quote: “Can you concentrate … Continue reading
Posted in books, Uncategorized, Weird Science, writing
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Did William Gay Really Write His Books? Meddlesome Neighbors Want to Know
So there’s an obituary of Southern Gothic master Wiliam Gay in last week’s daily NY Times (Feb 29th) that I almost missed, which has a few illuminating details and quotes, such as describing his novel Twilight (2006) as “textbook Southern … Continue reading
Posted in Art, books, books/film, writing
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R.I.P. for William Gay, Contemporary Southern Gothic Fiction Master: the Day the Banjo Music Died
So a friend sent me this notice this morning, and I’m sorry to hear it: William Gay, author of The Long Home (1999), which my editor, Greg Michalson, edited and published; I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down … Continue reading
Posted in books, books/film
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