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.

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

John F. Kennedy

Posted on June 27, 2026 by smellincoffee

Despite only serving most of two years, JFK has loomed large in the memories of Americans, and his brutal assassination has much to do with that. His presidency was potential cut short; hope, aborted. In John F. Kennedy, Brinkley writes: … Continue reading →

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Thirteen Days

Posted on June 26, 2026 by smellincoffee

The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest time the Cold War came to turning into a hot war, and (presumably) a global holocaust. RFK served the President most immediately not as his attorney general, but his confidant and advisor. Thirteen … Continue reading →

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The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert F. Kennedy

Posted on June 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

David Halberstam was already a seasoned reporter when he began covering RFK’s fatal 1968 bid for the presidency. The bid itself was almost dead on arrival; RFK dragged his feet on deciding, and continually probed those around him as to … Continue reading →

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