- There continues to be nothing cooler than being Johnny
Depp. Aside from the obvious, being a famous movie star who hangs out with
other movie stars and gets paid millions of dollars for a few weeks of filming,
Depp seems to have become something of a status symbol for rock bands of all
ages and styles. First, he jammed with the Black Keys at the MTV Video Music
Awards, joining Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney on guitar for a rendition of
their hit song “Gold on the Ceiling.” Then, the Rolling Stones had a show in
Hollywood and Depp joined them on stage as well and shredded on guitar while
proving that if you’re famous, you can do just about any insanely cool thing
you could dream of doing. On the heels of his two successful stints on stage
with big-name bands, iconic rocker Alice Cooper had
proclaimed an open offer for Depp to join his band on the road. Depp
previously joined Cooper onstage at London's 100 Club last year and seems to
have made an impression. "Johnny came to Hollywood to play guitar. He
didn't come as an actor at all... I always say to him, 'If you really want to
go out on tour, let me know and you can come with us.' I wouldn't be surprised
if he did,” Cooper said. He then offered some of his sage musical wisdom to not
only Depp, but all up-and-coming bands who want to hang around long enough to
become over-the-hill, past-their-prime caricatures of themselves. "Don't
get into wimp rock. Be a rock star. Listen to Iggy And The Stooges, early Who,
early Rolling Stones," he said. "Bands are so timid. Every time I see
a new band I go, 'Why are you so afraid to be a rock star? Be an obnoxious rock
‘n roller. Get rid of your corduroys." Or, just be a mega-famous,
internationally known movie star who also knows how to strum a few chords……….
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! The sh*t is hitting the fan and
being flung all over the room in South Africa, where nine people, including two policemen, have
been killed in clashes between labor unions at a South African mine operated by
the world's third biggest platinum producer Lonmin. The clash was the deadliest
in a turf war rocking the sector and Lonmin deemed the situation at its Western
Platinum mine as “volatile.” The plant, 60 miles northwest of Johannesburg, was
operating at reduced capacity and was under heavy police guard. According to
police, a machete-wielding mob attacked the mine and killed two officers, while
a third officer was badly injured and police in turn shot dead three
protestors. "We came under attack. The suspects took our weapons. A
shootout ensued and during that incident three suspects were fatally
injured," spokesman Lindela Mashigo said. Police spokesman Brigadier
Thulani Ngubane said rioters were deploying "guerrilla tactics," showing
a certain amount of sophistication by rapidly forming 5,000-strong groups of
attackers before dispersing. Both sides showed a high level of aggression,
which is logical given that Lonmin's Marikana operations produced 1.3 million
ounces of platinum group metals in 2011, making it a very profitble enterprise.
Thursday’s clashes center on a struggle for membership between the dominant
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the upstart Association of Mineworkers
and Construction Union (AMCU). That’s right, union strife. World prices for
platinum are on the decline, so controlling the market is increasingly
important. Violence has escalated this week and two security guards were hacked
to death on Sunday, while the NUM said one of its members was killed while
trying to report for duty. Last Friday, an illegal strike by 3,000 rock drill
operators at Western Platinum mine kicked off a new round of violence and workers
who wanted to report for duty were reportedly being intimidated. Unions said if
Lonmin could not guarantee the safety of members, those members would be instructed
not to go to work, a situation which would cripple the Western Platinum
operations. AMCU General Secretary Jeff Mphahlehle plans to have an emergency
meeting with Lonmin management on Monday to address the issue. Just as long as
the riots continue………..
- Verizon Wireless extended its reach Thursday by bringing its 4G LTE to
34 new markets. The network will now cover 235 million Americans, or 75 percent
of the U.S. population. Even before Thursday’s network extensions, Verizon
already had the most true-4G coverage in the United States. It now has 371
cities now marked on the map and the 4G sales pitch has been a primary focus of
Verizon’s marketing of late. Hammering home the point that it dwarfs its
competitors in term of 4G coverage has been a consistent message for the
company, as it has sought to contrast its hundreds of markets with AT&T’s
limited 51-market LTE network. Sprint is even further behind with its 4G
offerings and T-Mobile doesn’t have an active LTE network yet. In addition to
adding new markets to its 4G map, Verizon is also expanding coverage in 38
existing markets, such as New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The importance
of LTE is magnified with the next version of the iPhone, expected to be the
iPhone 5, later this year. Nearly everyone in the tech world expects the new
model to include 4G LTE wireless capabilities and top-notch Android phones have
been offering 4G data connections since before the iPhone 4S launched. If the
new iPhone is available on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint’s LTE networks, the
battle for customers will be fierce. Having 4G LTE service in places like Hot
Springs, Ark., Waycross, Ga., Danville, Ill., Manitowoc, Wis. and White River
Junction, Vt. will give Verizon a definite leg up on the competition………
- Despite another Olympic gold medal for the U.S. women’s
team in London, women’s soccer and soccer in general still don’t matter to the
vast majority of American sports fans. The average fan would still rather watch
a meaningless NFL preseason game to scout for their fantasy league draft than
sit down for a women’s soccer match, but that doesn’t mean human promotional
tour and newly minted Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo can't try to cash in on
her limited, fleeting fame. Solo made plenty of saves in the Olympic gold
medal match, a 2-1 win over Japan at Wembley Stadium. However, she’s making
more waves for some of the excerpts from her new book than she is for anything
she did on the field at the Games. Why an athlete who is a bit player on the
bigger sports scene and will fade from the world’s collective consciousness in
a matter of weeks is writing an autobiography of sorts remains unclear (other
than as a blatant cash grab), but that is an entirely different issue. Among
the claims she makes in the book is that former U.S. women’s team coach Greg
Ryan shoved her during an altercation during the 2007 Women’s World Cup. Solo
famously blasted Ryan’s choice of Briana Scurry in goal for an important match
and suggested her team would not have lost if she had been in goal. According
to an excerpt from her new book, “Solo: A Memoir of Hope,” the former “Dancing
With the (D-List) Stars” contestant exchanged words with Ryan and at one point,
he shoved her in a meeting at the team’s hotel in China. Ryan, now the women’s
coach at Michigan, quickly denied the allegation in a written statement that
read: “This allegation is completely
false. I did not shove or push Hope as I’ve been accused in her book. I would
have been terminated immediately by USA Soccer had this allegation been true. I
have openly discussed the contents of the meeting and this is the first time
that this accusation has been brought to light. “Hope was disappointed that I benched her for the semifinals,
but it was the right move for the team. It was discussed with team leaders, and
they stood by my decision.” Fair enough, because no one cares about women’s
soccer and it could not matter less whether Solo’s claim is true or not………..
- For some, the hot, dry summer in much of the United States
has been a nightmare. Farmers whose crops have not received enough rain are facing
huge losses, food prices are about to skyrocket and the heat wave has led to
dozens of deaths as individuals with no means of keeping cool have succumbed to
the sky-high temperatures. But others see that weather lemon and they are
busting out their juicer and a packet of Splenda and making some damn lemonade
out of it. That description fits the men of O'Brien Auto Performance in Tulsa, Okla.,
who have adapted to the heat and found a way to pay tribute to (some of) their
Irish heritage in the process. Customers have been greeted with Irish jig music
playing in the shop to compliment the shamrock that has long been in the
company’s logo, but they have also been treated to a rare sight, at least on
this side of the Atlantic Ocean: men in kilts. Owner David O'Brien had faced
one too many hot, arid Oklahoma summers and decided he had worked his last day
in the summer heat in long pants. Putting two and two together, he decided to
tip his cap to his ancestors and stay cool at the same time while not being so informal
as to wear shorts to work. "This is physically cooler than shorts,"
O'Brien said of his unusual lower-body attire. He admitted that d wearing a
kilt working on and under cars requires a certain etiquette, but it’s a balance
he’s been able to strike. "Keep your knees down and your feet crossed,
then everybody's happy and safe," O'Brien said. Employee David Denney has
also joined in on the kilt fun, but his fellow worker Ryan Henry has held out
on the kilt fun so far. O’Brien and Denny wear kilts every day from May to
October and even patronize a business in their own state by buying their man
skirts from an Oklahoma City company called Kommando Kilts………..
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