- 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
- 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
- “The Wiggle Room”: A Short Story
- On the New Film “Grizzly Night,” Based on the Nonfiction Book “Night of the Grizzly” (1971)
Recent Comments
No comments to show.
Category Archives: books/film
On Candice Millard’s “River of Doubt” and “River of the Gods”: Bugs, Snakes, and Disease Aplenty
So a couple years back my wife read Candice Millard’s excellent nonfiction book The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey (2005). She raved about it and I put it on my reading list, but somehow or other I ended up reading … Continue reading
On the New Film “Grizzly Night,” Based on the Nonfiction Book “Night of the Grizzly” (1971)
So it was my (pleasant? gruesome?) surprise yesterday to stumble upon this new film Grizzly Night, which is based on a true story, famously recounted in Jack Olsen’s nonfiction book Night of the Grizzlies (1971). I’m a sucker for a … Continue reading
Posted in "Grizzly Night" 2026 film, "Night of the Grizzlies" by Jack Olsen, Animal attack movies, Bear attacks, Bears, books/film, Film, Glacier National Park backcountry, Horror Films, The West, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Yellowstone National Park backcountry trips
Tagged Film, Good Bears Gone Bad, Grizzly Night, Night of the Grizzlies, The West
Leave a comment
On “Die My Love”: Jennifer Lawrence Channels Her Inner Kristi Noem, and Does Not Write the Great American Novel
So after a lot of pre-release buzz the Jennifer Lawrence film Die My Love fizzled at the box office and did not get much attention. (Note: Minor spoilers ahead.) That’s a bit unfortunate, as it has the terrific performance of … Continue reading
“The Salt Path” (2025): An Underappreciated Film That Includes Actual Humanity
So my wife and I are inveterate backpackers—the seasoned, often bedraggled kind. We’ve backpacked in many locations from Denali National Park in Alaska (perhaps the “wildest” backcountry) to Yellowstone and the Wind Rivers in Wyoming and many others. But truth … Continue reading
Friendly Aliens Who Will Pull Our Plug: On “Pluribus” and “Bugonia”:
So I’m still a skeptic as far as alien visitors are concerned but it seems I’m bumping into extraterrestrial stories whenever I turn on the TV. Following the epic success of Better Call Saul (one of my favorite series of all time) … Continue reading
Posted in Alien Intelligence, Annihilation, books/film, Climate Change
Tagged Film, UFOs
Leave a comment
Shocking Bird Population Decline as in The Bird Saviors
So for years I’ve been reading about and studying Climate Change (though I do find Global Weirding to be witty and accurate), for various reasons, some of them personal of course: I have a daughter who will live in this … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books/film, Climate Change, The West, writing
Tagged Birding, Climate Change, Fiction Writing, Good Fiction, The Bird Saviors, The West, Wildfires
Leave a comment
Herman Wouk Died at Age 104: His Novel, "The Winds of War," Is Relevant Today
So I keep meaning to get back to my blog, but one thing or another always intrudes: new stories and chapters to write (a new story titled “The Wall” will soon appear in The Antioch Review), grass to mow (Thursday), … Continue reading
Posted in books, books/film
Tagged Book Reviewing, Fiction Writing, Good Fiction, Herman Wouk's The Winds of War
Leave a comment
Imagining Storm & Fire: Hurricane Harvey, "Goodnight Texas," and The Prediction of Fiction
So a year ago, on August 24th-25th, Hurricane Harvey crashed into the Texas coast, roughly equaling, in monetary damage, the destruction of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Based on my novel Goodnight, Texas, you could say I predicted it: I … Continue reading
Posted in books, books/film, Climate Change, The West
Tagged Book Reviewing, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, Fiction Writing, Good Fiction, Goodnight Texas
Leave a comment
On the Film "Annihilation": "Stranger Things" Meets "Arrival" on Acid
So I’ve been seeing a slew of films lately, including The Shape of Water (much fun, including weird fish-man sex) and The Florida Project—which deserves a post of its own—as well as Gary Oldman’s magnificent work of scenery-chewing, The Darkest Hour, … Continue reading
Posted in Annihilation, books/film, Cryptozoology, Florida films, Horror Films
Tagged Annihilation film, Film, Florida films, Horror Movies
Leave a comment