- Liking a band is one thing. Getting art representing them permanently etched into your skin merely because the band asks you to is another level entirely. It’s questionable whether the 15 fans who willingly inked up because The Kills requested it deserve credit or criticism, but back in June, the band had asked for 15 fans to take part in the project, entitled ‘Under The Gun.” Singer Alison Mosshart and guitarist Jamie Hince volunteered to pay for the tattoos, which were inked at Los Angeles tattoo parlor Shamrock Social Club, with the ink placed wherever on the fans’ bodies that they chose. The only conditions were being willing to have them done at Shamrock Social Club and allowing the band to film them, with each tattoo inspired by the songs on the duo’s new album ‘Ash And Ice.’ All of the tattoos have a similar design, featuring a solid black outline, one inch in diameter. Now that the ink is done, each tattoo of a symbol assigned specifically to a song on the album, the footage from the tattoo sessions are the basis for The Kills’ new single ‘Hard Habit To Break.” Because there are only 13 songs on the album, the final two tattoos are of the volcano and martini glass from the album’s cover. That level of commitment seems to deserve more than being temporarily immortalized in a music video that will soon be forgotten, but you don’t always get what you deserve……..
- Now that U.S.-Cuban relations have reopened and more tourism dollars are flowing into the island nation, everything is cool for the Cuban economy, right? Or not. Not if Cuba's parliament convenes for one of its twice-annual plenary sessions having been warned by government officials that the country needs to cut energy use and with many islanders are desperate for more extensive economic reforms and that parliament seems ill-equipped to deliver that change. Sure, the National Assembly approved an economic roadmap that emerged from a spring Communist Party congress, but it’s not like their recent plans have produced much in the way of positive results. The most recent round of reforms began six years ago under President Raul Castro and they’ve produced but a smattering of private-sector activity. The state still controls crucial areas of the economy and now, the prices of the country’s exports are falling, meaning Cubans will be forced to adopt power- and fuel-saving measures. So far, that’s meant reduced bus services, cutting back on air-conditioning at public offices, reduced work days at some state buildings and slashing fuel allotments for government vehicles by half. Also on the agenda at the parliament’s meeting at a convention center in Havana were Cuba's chronic housing crisis, food quality and customs regulations……...
- If a wildly disappointing coach of a national team no one really cares about falls in the soccer forest, does he make a sound? Probably not and if the Jurgen-Klinsmann-to-England rumors turn out to be true, American soccer isn’t going to be that much worse off. Multiple sources have reported that Klinsmann is “in discussions” with the English Football Association over the vacant England manager job, which came clear after former England boss Roy Hodgson stepped down after his team was upset by Iceland in the Euro 2016 Round of 16. Klinsmann’s biggest “accomplishment” during his tenure with the U.S. Men’s National Team was a semifinal berth in the Copa America tournament last month, but that run ended with a 4-0 ass-kicking at the hands of world No. 1 Argentina. Klinsmann was hired by the U.S. in 2011 following the firing of Bob Bradley and other than Copa America and reaching the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup, he hasn’t come anywhere close to taking the U.S. to the top of the world soccer power structure. It’s actually amusing that England still thinks so highly of him given how lackluster his USMNT tenure has been, but maybe the English have fond memories of his stint in charge at Bayern Munich and leading the German national team to third place at the 2006 World Cup. Or perhaps those good times playing for two years in the English Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur are enough to push him ahead of other candidates for the England manager job like Arsenal coach Arsene Wagner……..
- There’s nothing that could happen in the context of America’s most doomed presidential election in its history that would seem implausible at this point, so having a Republican delegate from northern Virginia waging a legal battle against the government on account of being forced to vote for Donald Trump on the first ballot at the upcoming Republican National Convention is perfectly reasonable at this point. GOP delegate Beau Correll says the law violates his First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of association, but the fact is that legally he has to vote for Trump because Trump won Virginia's primary. Should he fail to live up to his duty, he could be charged with a misdemeanor. His legal argument isn’t finding a receptive audience with Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who insists that the law must be followed and that Correll should have been aware of it when he took office. Correll, meanwhile, believes that voting for Trump is essentially handing the election to presumptive Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. "I'm gonna go there, vote my conscience, and I'm not gonna vote for Donald Trump," Correll said. "If you are for Donald Trump, here today, you're almost for certain defeat, and a Hillary Clinton presidency." The Correll v. Virginia battle merits watching because if Correll wins, it could clear the way for other delegates to revolt against Trump at the Convention next week…….
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