Tag Archives: 2000s

Hated by All the Right People

Posted on May 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

“What’s happened to Tucker?”, Rod Dreher may have asked himself in not so many words. Since Carlson aired an interview with a young troll whose name I’ll not give further mention, and failed to press the boy on his antisemitic … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Decision Points

Posted on May 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

I have a ….complicated relationship with George W. Bush. He was the president when I was in high school, and most importantly during 9/11: his “I can hear you!” response still makes me want to find a table, stand on … Continue reading →

Posted in General, history, Politics and Civic Interest | Tagged , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Losing the Signal

Posted on March 25, 2026 by smellincoffee

Despite coming of age as cellphones were becoming ubiquitous, I developed an immediate dislike for them on arrival; I grudgingly bought one in 2005 when I began working, purely to keep in the car for emergencies, and but was not … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Iran & Israel: A Lovers to Enemies Story

Posted on March 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

Trita Parsi’s Treacherous Alliance is a history of relations between the United States, Israel, and Iran from 1947 on. It principally argues that Iran and Israel’s relationship has become poisoned not because of Iranian ideology — specifically, that of the … Continue reading →

Posted in General, history, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Provoked (not Justified)

Posted on February 2, 2026 by smellincoffee

Coming of age amid 9/11 and the terror war made me obsessed with DC’s foreign policy – understanding its actions in the world, and their consequences.  The government’s  line that “[terrorists]  hate us for our freedoms” fell apart pretty quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Fall and Rise

Posted on September 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

24 years ago today, the ‘severe clear’ skies above New York were overwhelmed by ash and smoke, by ignorance and hate. Fall and Rise is a history of that day, one that was good enough to be favorably compared to … Continue reading →

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The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World

Posted on September 5, 2025 by smellincoffee

I’ve been collecting WTC photos since high school, haunted by watching the Towers burn and fall on live tv. Some of the most interesting I’ve seen have been inside Windows of the World, a restaurant that occupied two of the … Continue reading →

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The Great Deluge

Posted on September 4, 2025 by smellincoffee

In September 2005, I remember watching the approach of Hurricane Katrina with a wary eye; just a year before, my own area had been savaged by Hurricane Ivan. I had no desire to live through that again, especially now that … Continue reading →

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Gandolfini

Posted on August 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

Like many, I was awed by James Gandolfini’s performance throughout The Sopranos,  which made him an actor whose presence guarantees I’ll watch any movie he’s in. Gandolfini is a professional biography of an actor whose charisma and commitment to his … Continue reading →

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Content & Context

Posted on June 23, 2025 by smellincoffee

Content collects several of Cory Doctorow’s favorite pieces of his written on “technology, creativity, copyright, and the future”, clumping in the mid-2000s. The content is mixed in medium, but united in message: herein are essays, speeches, and interviews that cover … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments