- If you have a worthwhile musical project in the works and
you haven’t gotten Dave Grohl to play a part, it’s probably because you haven’t
asked him yet. Grohl has been in approximately 752 side projects and personal
projects over the past five years or so, but he’s apparently adding another
entry to the list. Word on the social media street is that he and Red Hot Chili
Peppers drummer Chad Smith could be set to feature on a new solo album from
Spinal Tap’s Derek Smalls. Those who love the iconic “This Is Spinal Tap”
mockumentary may remember that Smalls is portrayed by Harry Shearer in the
movie and as per a recent tweet from Smith, the character is set to release a
new solo record. The hitter of the high hats for the RHCP tweeted a photo of
himself and fellow drummers Grohl and Jim Keltner, a man who has worked with
iconic acts including John Lennon, Bob Dylan and even Elvis Presley himself.
Smith hinted in his post that the meeting was for a “Derek Small solo album”
and he also tagged Spinal Tap producer CJ Vanston in the post. Those who are
faithful followers of Spinal Tap will recall that the band last released an
album way back in 2009, when “Back From the Dead” dropped, but it’s been eerily
quiet since then. Maybe this project will breathe new life back into a true
cult favorite……..
- Prison inmates should be learning new skills, turning over
new leaves and keeping an eye on building the life they hope to live once
they’re released….so why is everyone so upset at Deldrick Jackson, an
entrepreneurial guard at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta who was making bank
and building a future right up to the point his business was discovered and now
he and his fiancée, Kelly Bass, face charges related to helping some of his assigned
inmates escape lockup. According to prosecutors, Jackson and his fiancée ran an
"inmate taxi service," taking inmates around town to restaurants and
hotels and returning them to prison in exchange for money. It sounds like a
simple case of demand meeting provision, except for the whole aspect of nearly everyone
involved being federal inmates, who typically aren't allowed to come and go
from lockup at their whim. Jackson pleaded not guilty to the charges, which
stem from a system in which inmates were allegedly taken to places and often
returned to prison with contraband, and without other guards knowing they left.
Of course, Jackson may now find himself in need of a guard as shady as he
allegedly was after this all plays out. If he lands in prison, having a
business-first, law-second guard willing to shuttle him on grocery/drug/weapon
runs outside the prison walls could come in handy. The only major flaw in this
operation, other than it being illegal and not concealed well enough, is
Jackson and Bass’ failure to maximize their (alleged) profits, as prosecutors
say Bass received about $4,000 from inmates' families or accounts associated
with inmates. If that’s the most you can bank from doing something highly
illegal, then maybe it’s not worth the massive risk you’re taking with your
freedom…….
- Now that he’s not playing football for a living, Tony Romo
can chase a championship dream he might actually have a chance to attain. Romo,
whose day job will be as the lead television analyst for games on CBS, has long
been among the legions of athletes who excel at one sport, but harbor the dream
of mastering the sport that seems to frustrate 99.9999999 percent of those who
play it at any level: golf. One month after retiring from football, the former
Dallas Cowboys quarterback joined a group of nearly 9,500 players who signed up
for the U.S. Open. That means he’ll play an 18-hole local qualifier Monday at
Split Rail Links and Golf Club in Texas and if he advances, he’ll tee it up
again in a sectional qualifier through which he could earn a spot in the U.S.
Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. Romo has tried and failed to get into the U.S.
Open before and in 2010, he actually made it out of local qualifying in 2010.
He then carded a 71 and withdrew in the afternoon after two weather delays at
the subsequent sectional qualifier in which only two of the 35 players
advanced. Not since Orville Moody in 1969 has a player gone through local
qualifying and won the U.S. Open, but don’t tell that to the dozens of star
struck lawmakers in the Texas Legislature who snapped and posted photos of Romo
after the legislature took the wholly unnecessary step of honoring a former
player who never won so much as an NFC championship game during his time under
center for the Cowboys…….
- Two years after a horrendous tragedy with a sinister
slant, a women's rights activist in Rwanda is staging a campaign worth watching
and supporting. Diane Rwigara is a woman who has suffered great loss, as two
years ago her father was killed in what police called a car accident even as
the family alleged foul play. Rwigara and her family petitioned President Paul
Kagame to launch an independent investigation into the death of their
patriarch, prominent businessman Assinapol Rwigara, but that never materialized
and now, Diane Rwigara is declaring her presidential ambitions, proclaiming
that she will oppose Kagame in the country's August election. She’s looking to
rise to power during an era in which she claims that many Rwandans have
disappeared without a trace and others have died in unclear circumstances.
She’s trying to take over a government that is staring down persistent
accusations of rights abuses despite its reputation for economic growth and
stability and in the process, oust a leader who technically was elected
president in 2000, but has been Rwanda's de facto leader since the end of the
country's genocide in 1994. She’s doing it all while both literally and
symbolically fighting against a government she believes may have played a part
in orchestrating her father’s death, giving this entire race an added edge that
makes it must-follow political theater…….
No comments:
Post a Comment