Category Archives: The West

Review of Malcolm Brooks's debut novel "Painted Horses," and What I've Been Up to All This Time

Posted on August 31, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I feel bad for my uncared-for little blog here, languishing away as I rush about in my busy life, never finding time to nurture, as they say. It’s like the freckled orphan in the corner, who you notice now … Continue reading →

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Review of Peter Heller's "The Painter" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on May 19, 2014 by williamjcobb

So here’s my review of Peter Heller’s new novel, The Painter, today in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s a good book, and I’ll have more to say about it this week, but for now I’ll let this review speak. … Continue reading →

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Melting Ice Caps v. The In-Laws, With a Derisive Sneer at Marco Rubio

Posted on May 13, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I haven’t written much about Climate Change in a while (and in fact haven’t blogged, due to the hectic rush at the end of the term, but that’s over with, thank god) and here comes a batch of bad … Continue reading →

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On Mark Bauerlein's "The Dumbest Generation" and Teaching to the Intellectually Challenged

Posted on March 19, 2014 by williamjcobb

So this little gem is priceless, coming from one of our last somewhat-intellectual news outlets, The New York Times: a media writer describing how he doesn’t read anymore, and seems happy (or Post-Shame, at least) to do nothing but watch TV … Continue reading →

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"American Hustle" Kills SuperDud XLVIII

Posted on February 5, 2014 by williamjcobb

So on Sunday afternoon I went to see American Hustle, which should win the Best Fun Picture category at the Oscars, and after which my wife wryly noted, “I don’t think we saw Amy Adams breasts enough.” (See the film, … Continue reading →

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On Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" & a Christmas Without the Internet

Posted on January 14, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I happened to see the awesome/sad/hilarious film Nebraska, another classic by Alexander Payne, at a swanky art house theater (the Plaza Frontenac) in St. Louis before Christmas, but was unable to post anything about it, as I left the … Continue reading →

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My Review of Jim Harrison's "Brown Dog" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on January 12, 2014 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been woefully out-of-touch with my blog, my misbegotten red-headed stepchild (with apologies to all ginger stepchildren in the world), but I haven’t been woefully out-of-touch with reading & living, which should always trump blogging. My review of Jim … Continue reading →

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On Jim Harrison's "Brown Dog" & Park Chan-wook's film "Stoker"

Posted on December 8, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I feel sorry for my poor blog, to which I don’t give enough attention—like the ignored dog that’s always whimpering to be taken for a walk or the proverbial red-headed stepchild (with apologies to all red heads and stepchildren … Continue reading →

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On Stephen D. King's "When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence," With a Nod to Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land"

Posted on November 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been reading Stephen D. King’s When the Money Runs Out: the End of Western Affluence, which seems like a perverse act. Of all the things to read in the world, why this? It’s mainly about macroeconomics, the global … Continue reading →

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Cormac McCarthy/Ridley Scott's "The Counselor": No Country for Old Men II, or No Country For Anyone in Love With Penelope Cruz, Either

Posted on October 28, 2013 by williamjcobb

So on its first weekend in my neck of the woods, I caught Ridley Scott’s new film The Counselor, with the screenplay being by none other than the great Cormac McCarthy, finest novelist of our times: It was a, um, … Continue reading →

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