Category Archives: Photography

Proposition 64 Passes in Colorado & Mitt Is a Loser, Which Means It's a Good Day

Posted on November 8, 2012 by williamjcobb

So my (second) home state of Colorado voted to legalize “recreational” marijuana. Cool. It’s like volleyball now! (Only where you keep forgetting the score.) Enough already with this Prohibition, Part II. Obama even mentioned “this warming planet” in his acceptance speech—though … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Politics, The West | Tagged , | Leave a comment

On David Quammen's "Spillover," Today's Election, and the Great Horned Owls Beside Me

Posted on November 7, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been reading David Quammen’s new book, Spillover (2012), on emerging diseases (and particularly zoonotic viruses, a la Ebola, Marburg, HIV, SARS, etc.), and I keep feeling sicker and sicker. It’s like I’m catching Ebola from reading this book. But … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Climate Change, Owls, Photography, The West, Water Crisis | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of David McGlynn's "A Door in the Ocean"

Posted on August 27, 2012 by williamjcobb

So my review of David McGlynn’s just-published memoir, A Door in the Ocean, appears today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a good book, and gives an interesting insider’s viewpoint of competitive swimming, how grueling and isolating it can … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Photography, The West, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On Frozen Penises and Rivers Coated With Pelican Feathers: Reading Stephen Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage," About the Lewis & Clark trip of 1804-6

Posted on August 9, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m heading up to Montana/Wyoming in a month, to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and to get warmed up for it, I’m reading Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage (1996), which is in some ways a retelling of the Lewis & … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, Photography, The West, Water Crisis | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

On Simon Winchester's "Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories," Plus That Crazy "Mermaid" Show Last Night

Posted on July 17, 2012 by williamjcobb

So today is a High Brow/Low Brow blue plate special: Right now I’m reading Simon Winchester’s Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories (2010), part of my summer reading slate of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad TV, Birding, books, Photography, The West | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fireworks for Summer People: A Tale of Summer Mayhem

Posted on July 6, 2012 by williamjcobb

So seeing as we’re living through the worst wildfire season in Colorado history, our annual fireworks show in the town of Westcliffe was canceled due to a Stage 2 fire ban. I missed it. As a kid, fireworks were a … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Photography, The West, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Reading "The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7": A Vision of Colorado Springs Before It Was Afire, Plus "The Bird Saviors" Appears on KRCC, Colorado Springs Radio

Posted on July 1, 2012 by williamjcobb

So after returning from another trip to Santa Fe, I’m now reading “The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7,” which recounts an expedition to explore the Arkansas River boundary of the Louisiana Purchase—otherwise known as a Poor Man’s Lewis & … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, Photography, The West, Uncategorized, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Reading "The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7": A Vision of Colorado Springs Before It Was Afire, Plus "The Bird Saviors" Appears on KRCC, Colorado Springs Radio

"Prometheus" at a Cinema in Santa Fe, An Experience in Intensity

Posted on June 16, 2012 by williamjcobb

So while I was in Santa Fe I caught Ridley Scott’s prequel to Alien (1979), the flashy and eye-catching Prometheus, which is certainly trippy, even if it doesn’t all add up. I guess if I were rating it as such, … Continue reading →

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

"The Bird Saviors" Playlist at Largeheartedboy.com, Live From the El Rey Inn in Santa Fe

Posted on June 13, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m at the El Rey Inn in Santa Fe, a supercool motel in the (greatly upgraded) motor-court mode on the historic Route 66, on this the official debut day of The Bird Saviors. Part of the debut is a … Continue reading →

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

Review of "The Bird Saviors" in Booklist, With Bonus Bird Pics

Posted on June 10, 2012 by williamjcobb

So there’s a good review of The Bird Saviors in Booklist, which is another one of the pre-publication review entities: Booklist: May 15, 2012 The Bird Saviors./Cobb, William J. (Author)/Jun 2012. 320 p. Unbridled, hardcover, $25.95. (9781609530709). “The dusty town … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Photography, The West, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment