Posts by Alby

Just about a quarter of the American population is 60 and older – old enough to remember the Bicentennial. Those people naturally are comparing the mood of the country at…

America is turning 250, and it's as spry and sprightly as you'd expect anybody turning 250 to be. I think the semiquincentarian will need help blowing out all those candles.…

The Trump administration is plumbing new depths in reality denial, claiming 150,000 people have visited the sad, shabby Great American State Fair when everybody can see the acres of unoccupied…

I knew Alan Jackson was a big name in country music – since his debut in 1987 he released 35 singles that topped the country chart – but I found…

Guest post by Nathan Arizona Three fine songs hit the charts about the same time just before the Beatles era. Listeners could hardly be blamed if they got them a…

Not that it matters – the banal triviality is part of the story's appeal – but the New York Times thinks it's gotten to the bottom of what caused the…

H/t El Somnambulo Cape Verde is a small chain of islands about 400 miles off the westernmost point of Africa. It's home to about 590,000 people, though it has a…

Are Republicans starting to figure out that Trump's popularity has cratered? A good sign: The shouting match between Trump and lame-duck Sen. Bill Cassidy over the botched attack on Iran.…

There's a reason the news cycle can't get enough of the Reflecting Pool story – it's making Donald Trump look even more ridiculous than usual, and for once innocent people…

Guest post by Nathan Arizona When folk singer and songwriter Mary McCaslin was 6 she and her family moved across the country from Indiana to California. She remembered being excited…

If you watched the aftermath of the World Cup match between the US and Australia last week you heard the jubilant crowd break into song, as soccer crowds often do.…

Guest post by Nathan Arizona Ace the band was a one-hit wonder. The hit itself became a classic-rock staple. The lead singer became an important longtime figure in British rock,…

Post By Alby: Donald Trump has always been a fuck-up at everything except getting attention, so it's always fun to see him botch projects in his supposed area of expertise,…