If your stomach is sour with the antics of the two hairballs American democracy has coughed up, if you’re weary of the incursion of celebrity culture into every corner of life and the procession of horrors that constitutes the news, consider refreshing yourself with Powers and Blaylock’s On Pirates, which contains layer upon layer of joke, and a long example William Ashbless’s artfully atrocious poetry.  The Kindle edition is cheap, free even if you have one of the nifty Amazon credits.  It’s a cheap hour of diversion.

In a few days, Powers’ Down and Out in Purgatory will tumble into my mailbox.  I wonder if Ashbless, or Vilhelm Tuhka Siunta, or whatever he’s calling himself now, will make an appearance.