The Long Road Out

Vermont Public Radio announced today that Bernie's running for 2016. There's no question that he'll win. Why?   It's a clear shot to Pennsylvania Avenue unless Dennis Kucinich reappears via some form of miracle.   The reason is because if you take the 26 Republicans and Hilary and put their positions into a scatter diagram, the concentration is so tight you can't fit in another dot.  Some of the fat white guys on the Republican Circuit, in fact, may have to drop out. There's Bernie out there by himself.   The X axis on his candidacy is "correct points of view" and the Y axis is "morality." Every one else is in a tight squeeze aligned with "the same old shit" and "sleazy." Go Bernie, Go!!!

The directors and publicity staff of PBS's new television series Wolf Hall , which debuted this weekend, are at a loss to explain how John Bates, the valet played by Brendan Coyle in PBS' other smash historical drama Downton Abbey , managed to appear in every scene in the first episode. Coyle's character is noteworthy in that he never actually says anything in Downton Abbey .  Coyle has been quoted as noting that "I have very clear instructions to do nothing on the show except smile and make doe-eyes." "It's not as easy has it looks," Coyle continued defensively.  "You try doing that thing with your eyes when you're standing behind bars or while you slowly deduce that your wife has been raped." Mark Rylance, who plays Thomas Cromwell in the new Wolf Hall , was particularly nonplussed by the surprise cast member.  "It's really difficult to overcome, frankly," he told us.  "We're having enough trouble pretendi...

This pyrrhic category requires that the entire album have a common purpose and excellence--and not necessarily that any particular song carries the day (though there are some spectacular songs included of course!). And of course, now the idea of the album is more or less commercially and artistically outdated.   It's much harder to add some of the current great work in rock and pop...you don't have to look very far to find wonderful music these days on the alt channels. A starting list and order: Graceland , Paul Simon Physical Graffiti , Led Zeppelin Tea for the Tillerman, Cat Stevens Various Indigo Girls albums Peter Gabriel Shaking the Tree Brothers in Arms , Dire Straits Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon