** "It's a horrible thought, but it's a story about a particular part of human nature. It's wild - your guess is as good as mine..."

Patty McCormack Talks The Bad Seed, Her Pat Nixon, The Sopranos. Revisiting her most famous and notorious role as that equal parts sweet and scary little girl Rhoda in the enigmatically infamous The Bad Seed, on this 80th anniversary of that enduring creepy classic - and why. And a glimpse into The Bad Seed now and then, with her not so coincidental treachery involving the murder of a class competitor for a penmanship prize to die for.

Along with a conversation about that moment in time as well, that may have jolted mass consciousness as an allegorical glimpse into the American nightmare exposed beneath that whitewashed American dream. Along with McCormack's starring role as Pat Nixon, in Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon - a drama pitting that other disgraced president, in a politics versus media showdown back then...

** "So where are we now...a No Kings Rally. And when a king shows up, a literal king, I'm looking at Congress, they clap like a bunch of trained seals..."

Pacifica Host Garland Nixon on how democracy doesn't work. Referencing voting booths, ballots, vampires and werewolves; the MLK March on Washington and the two dollar minimum wage - and Medicare, fruit, a few bad apples, and pickup trucks...

** "Spring TV Preview - The good, the bad, and the bland..."

Bro On The Global Television Beat. Arts Express Paris Correspondent Professor Dennis Broe on totalitarian satire taking place 'some time in the future, or in the present in Trump's America'...Regarding Nazis, Silicon Valley, paraphrasing Voltaire or not - and 'French Canadian humor featuring a victim's derriere attached to a plough...'

Plus...Trump 20 point war on peace...Prez gluttony awards binge to die for...

And...We are saddened to report the passing of our Arts Express colleague and friend, Mitchel Cohen. A committed revolutionary and poet, Mitchel was not only a former chair of WBA's Local Station Board, but also a passionate activist and writer who directly impacted the lives of many.

His most recent book, The Fight Against Monsanto's Roundup, is a compelling work that outlines the harm against the widespread use of the cancer-causing pesticide glysophate, and how to effectively fight back against it. And as a founder of the No Spray Coalition, Mitchel directly affected the laws in NYC with regard to the reckless spraying of pesticides throughout the city's parks and streets.

But these were just a few of Mitchel's political battles. We will explore and celebrate Mitchel Cohen's legacy, ideas and work, to be aired soon. Stay tuned...

On A String Review: Life Is A Movie, Or The Other Way Around

A kind of life is a movie or the other way around, what's on screen uniquely and astonishingly meets off screen, as neither documentary nor biopic but something unprecedented in 'On A String.' The gently bold and bracing inventive cinematic gem is the creation of the multi-talented young classical musician, director, writer, comedian and star, Isabel Hagen.

Based on her own life warts and all, Isabel stars as her fictionalized self, in a mix of brutal honesty and potent comic absurdity with candid insight. And in contrast to the more typical cluttered narrative in movies, where one is rarely a villain in their own life story. While in this case, Hagen navigates the failures of her screen persona - in love, and in music as a trained Juilliard cello musician, with a sensitivity buoyed by a unique and deeply sympathetic self-awareness.

To say much more about On A String would diminish the many delightful surprises to savor. Other than to applaud the nuanced mix of tragic and humorous moments unraveling the personal and creative struggles of the musicians in the film, many of them Hagen's fellow performers and friends in real life. And where the comic soul of Hagen speaks emphatically of survival in a not necessarily accepting or forgiving world.

** On A String will be presented at the Vail Comedy Festival in Vail, Colorado on May 23rd. More information is at: vailcomedyfestival.com

Prairie Miller IMDB