Category Archives: Uncategorized

How To Write a Book About the Wind: On Simon Winchester’s “The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind”

Posted on January 14, 2026 by williamjcobb

So I have to begin with a confession: I’m most definitely a fan of the much-acclaimed nonfiction writer Simon Winchester. One of my first Winchester reads and still one of his finest (and my favorite) was Krakatoa: The Day the … Continue reading →

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Ten Years Left of Humanity, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the A.I. Bomb: On Two Visions of the Upcoming A.I. Apocalypse: Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares’ “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” and Mustafa Suleyman’s “The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future”

Posted on January 12, 2026 by williamjcobb

So I recently read the somewhat-infamous bestseller by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All (2025). It’s a white-knuckled warning about the imminent peril of ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence). … Continue reading →

Posted in A.I., A.I. 2027, A.I. Apocalypse, A.S.I. (Artificial Super Intelligence), Annihilation, books, Economics, Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares' If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, Mustafa Suleyman's The Coming Wave: A.I., Power, and Our Future, Uncategorized, Universal Income, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bobcats Not in Bad Decline: CivilWarLand Is Here, and Bobcats Are Invading

Posted on January 9, 2026 by williamjcobb

So my title today is a nod to my writer-friend’s excellent book of stories, George Saunders’s CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (of which I have a rare first edition). With all the ICE chaos and MAGA mayhem it’s a relief to … Continue reading →

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Aliens Among Us: Probing Hillbillies and Freaking Shut-ins, How Netflix’s “Encounters” and Hulu’s “No One Will Save You” Prep Us for the Coming Alien Apocalypse, Kind of

Posted on October 4, 2023 by williamjcobb

So with the Congressional hearings on the little-green-somethings formerly known as UFOs (now called UAPs) and crazyass whatnot we should all be aware the Alien Apocalypse is soon upon us—imagine old geezer croaking “The end is nigh”—and there are two … Continue reading →

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My Life as a Bob Odenkirk Character: On How Watching Netflix’s Black Mirror episode “Joan Is Awful” Mimicked My Experience of Watching the AMC series Lucky Hank

Posted on September 28, 2023 by williamjcobb

So after a long hiatus the much-acclaimed Netflix series Black Mirror arrived (Season Six) and I loved the first (terrific) episode, “Joan Is Awful.” It’s a funny twist on media, deep-fake technology, and other wrinkles of our tech-hungry culture, featuring Annie Murphy … Continue reading →

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“Bobcats, Bobcats, Bobcats”: Animal Life and a Tribute to “Modern Family”

Posted on September 23, 2023 by williamjcobb

So it’s the Autumn Equinox, woohoo! I’ve been away—until January 2023, in the Hell otherwise known as Academia (I joke)—and it’s about time I get off my duff and start posting again. Yesterday I woke in my Colorado Springs neighborhood … Continue reading →

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“The North Water”: This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Moby Dick

Posted on September 1, 2021 by williamjcobb

So Ian McGuire’s novel of 2015, The North Water, is one of the best of that decade. It’s demented and visual, a twisted contrast to such polar adventure tales such as Shackleton’s Endurance. Now it’s a miniseries of five episodes, … Continue reading →

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The Waste of Gadgets: a Quick Look at Nicholson Baker's "Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids"

Posted on February 16, 2018 by williamjcobb

So the first thing I should note about Nicholson Baker’s excellent Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids (2016) is how funny it is. He’s got a keen eye for the absurdities in contemporary education, the unintentional comedy of … Continue reading →

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Review of Kent Haruf's "Our Souls at Night" as Tribute to the New Film Version Starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford

Posted on October 29, 2017 by williamjcobb

So two years ago Kent Haruf published his last terrific novel, Our Souls at Night, which I reviewed for the Dallas Morning News, and as a tie-in and tribute of sorts, the DMN has republished my review today, which can … Continue reading →

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On Charles Murray's "Coming Apart" and the Recent Middlebury College Brouhaha, from a Liberal Who Has Actually Read His Books

Posted on May 5, 2017 by williamjcobb

So I’ve followed with some interest (and some dismay) the recent brouhaha about Charles Murray’s visit to Middlebury College, that was interrupted by a student demonstration that got out of hand—labeled a “riot” by some media and commentators—and in which … Continue reading →

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