Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

WWW Wednesday and Places we Miss

Posted on July 8, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is “places we wish were still around”. I know a lot of my Millennial people will say “Blockbuster!”. And I get it: Blockbuster was a Friday night ritual for me, too: the diet … Continue reading →

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Warren G. Harding

Posted on July 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

What do I know about Warren Gamaliel Harding? Mm….he’s the “return to normalcy” president, he pardoned Eugene Debs whom Wilson had put in jail for daring to criticize him, there was a huge scandal in his administration, and he died … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday with Bobby

Posted on July 7, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is “Books with ____” in the title. I…don’t really have anything, so here’s doubled-barrelled RFK. Teaser Tuesday “All of it — all the words about whether Bobby Kennedy is a ruthless, mechanical rich guy or a genius mellowed … Continue reading →

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Happy rebellious Fourth!

Posted on July 4, 2026 by smellincoffee

I hope my fellow Amerikaner had a joyful, rebellious Fourth. I myself treated red lights like stop signs, and stop signs like caution lights. (Downtown Selma has a sick obsession with useless red lights: they’d make an anarchist of anyone.) … Continue reading →

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Wilson

Posted on July 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

Does Woodrow Wilson deserve more than a two-hundred-page biography? Given his historic impact, yes. Am I gracious enough to grant him one? That remains to be seen. Do I really want to spend hours of my life reading about the … Continue reading →

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June 2026 Moviewatch

Posted on July 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

Another long moviewatch post, this time mainly because I was very chatty about the movies when I made my notes. Ella Enchanted,  2004.  I saw Anne Hathaway. I clicked “play”. Simple as.  Then I heard Eric Idle offering narration and … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + Old Websites

Posted on July 1, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short reviews is, “Websites we wish still existed”. The first thing that comes to mind is the old 3DO forums: 3DO was a game-publishing company that did several very different series, including the Army Men … Continue reading →

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June 2026 in Review

Posted on June 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Well, dear readers, we are six months into 2026. Time to look and see how I’m doing on my reading goals. One happy bit of news is that I found a new binge-able artist. The last years I haven’t done … Continue reading →

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Teaser Tuesday and Thoughts on Drafting

Posted on June 30, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s TTT is books we’re looking forward to being released, but the books I was anticipating have already been released (GIRLS, etc) and the next book on my radar (Rod Dreher’s Warning to Weimar America or whatever final title it … Continue reading →

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Communion

Posted on June 29, 2026 by smellincoffee

When J.D. Vance’s formidable grandmother died, his connection to Christianity went with it. Although he’d been raised going to church with her on occasion,  the faith had never become internalized;  as he deployed to Iraq, he was moving further and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments