The Mass Shooting and Killings In Aurora, Colo.: Fear And Darkness At The Movie Theater

     

I think for moviegoers here in the US and worldwide, the mass shooting and killings at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., was the unthinkable.

There should be a federal law that applies to all states that requires a very specific background check for any current or past history of mental illness through medical records or an unstable past including all misdemeanors as well as felonies, of course, for anyone who tries to purchase a firearm or weapon i.e. such as the shooter and killer of this God awful and terrrible tragedy-James Eagan Holmes. That's the only way to prevent guns BEING SOLD to crazy people or potentially crazy people who about to possibly go off the deep end. Criminals and thugs in gangs in the streets will get guns off the black market regardless and that's hard to control. Other than that, there are better ways to prevent people from buying guns who shouldn't have them. Guns don't go on shooting sprees by themselves and randomly kill people. It's the crazy ass fools who are stupidly insane who kill people with guns. Guns are not crazy. People are crazy.

Nevertheless, for millions of people, going to the movie theater was their last great hope to escape the reality of a boring daily grind of life and stresses of job, family and finances. There was always a sense of adventure and excitement when you went to the movies. Now that sense of fear and darkness will creep around the shoulders of moviegoers until it one day fades away.

R.I.P. Andy Griffith, 1926-2012

"In regards to Actor Andy Griffith's death today, I think most of us baby boomers who grew up in the 50's and 60's watching his television sitcom still long in our hearts and minds and would like to think that a "Mayberry" still exits somewhere in America.  But in reality we know that it does not these days.  But at least we have the re-runs from "The Andy Griffith Show"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7_cac6gqAU to escape reality for 30 minutes at time."-Galen A. Smith Sr.

"On The Cover Of Rolling Stone!" It Just Might Be Alex Kandell Of Sleeper Agent Next

     I am signed up for Google Alerts and I received one the other morning on my cell phone about Sleeper Agent and Rolling Stone magazine.  I had just woke up and I hadn't brewed or drank any coffee yet.  However, I put on my bathrobe and then proceeded to put my eye glasses on as I thumb through my e-mails until I found it again gingerly holding my cellphone.  And then all of sudden I was like totally surprised and amazed that Alex Kandell of  Bowling Green, Ky.'s indie rock group, "Sleeper Agent" was picked to be one of six women rock (or rap?) singers to be in Rolling Stone's "Women Who Rock" series contest! I asked Tony about it and he was like, "Well, yeah dad, me and Alex told you and mom about it several weeks ago.  Don't you remember?"
       Since I am 50 years-old and I don't quite remember everything that is told to me in passing by Tony, Alex or Patty, I have to blame it on too much partying in my younger days. Lol!  That's my only explanation at the moment regarding my loss of memory.  However, if you want to vote for Alex and Sleeper Agent, all you have to do is go to the link http://www.rollingstone.com/womenwhorock/embed/sleeper-agent and vote for Alex Kandell of Sleeper Agent.  It would be much appreciated by the band-Alex, Tony, Justin, Lee, Scott and Josh and all of rock music lovers of Bowling Green, Ky!

Bowling Green, Ky.'s Hot Spots: Lost River Cave, Molly Shannon's Irish Pub and Lost River Pizza Co.

    I had to work Saturday morning like most weekends.  However, I did have something to look forward yesterday afternoon when I arrived home.
  One of our new friends who is a Sleeper Agent fan drove down from Lexington, Ky., to go see the movie, "What To Expect When Expecting" starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez, with Patty and I.  We have been wanting to see it ever since it came out in May.  Of course, we mainly wanted to see the part where they used a portion of Sleeper Agent's song, "Get It Daddy," in it.  It was a nice little chuck of change for the band and it all goes into the pot.  Seems like they will probably get more nice little gigs like in this future if all goes well.  Apparently, Sleeper Agent continues to be on the up and up which is awesome!  We are really proud of the band as you can probably tell!
   However, before we went to the movie, we decided to show our out of town guest some unique spots in Bowling Green.  First of all, we were all hungry so went to headed on over to Molly Shannon's Irish Pub (formerly Greener Groundz)http://greenergroundz.com/ on Broadway Avenue.  I used to go there all the time when it was a bagel and coffee shop but this was first time I had been there in several years.  I liked the atmosphere and the food and drink was good but I thought menu prices were a little too high.
     After lunch, we headed over to Lost River Cavehttp://lostrivercave.com/ on Nashville Road.  We didn't have time to take a guided boat tour but were able to go visit the gift shop.  The gift shop is really nice and they have a lot of neat stuff in there. I kept thinking about the early 90's when the organizers of  "The Friends Of Lost River Cave and Valley" were getting things going and raising funds to get the cave up and running as a tourist attraction.  Needless to say, I was really impressed on how far they have come after all these years.  It seems very successful!  My favorite part of the gift show was when I was standing in awe looking up at the flat television screen on the wall and watching this incredible, informative video that they made about the cave.  Also, I enjoyed looking at all the black and white photos of  some of the history of the cave that they had on display.  I thought to myself, "Wow, we are so lucky to have this jewel of a treasure in our on backyard! Also, that we (Bowling Green) are able to share it with the world by luring people of I-65 with the roadside billboard signs outside of Nashville and other places along the infamous interstate." (infamous for all the deaths from wrecks that occur on I-65 especially lately).
   Then we headed on over to see the movie at The Great Escape Greenwood 10http://www.greatescapetheatres.com/ near the Greenwood Mall on Scottsville Road and Campbell Lane.  I liked the movie somewhat.  It was funny at times.  But again, we really enjoyed seeing the part where they used Sleeper Agent's song in it.  It was very exciting to see and especially seeing the credits at the end of the movie on the big screen with the band's name and my son's name up there among the other band members names (Galen A Smith Sr.).
   After the movie, when headed on over to Lost River Pizza Co.http://www.lostriverpizza.com/ on Nashville Road for dinner.  Patty and I have been there several times along with Tony (Galen Jr.) and Alex from Sleeper Agent.  We really like the place because it has a nice family atmosphere and well as a blended mixed crowd.  You have people who go there for the pizza and you people who go there the craft draft beers.  They have a lot of variety of beers to choose from.  The pizza and salads are really good too.  But again, it's a little pricey in my opinion.

   If you want to show to your out of  town some of Bowling Green's hot spots, there's quite a few places to choose from for sure.  And we did not even scrape the tip of the iceberg!

Sleeper Agent And Schools At The Whiskey Bent Saloon In Downtown Nashville, Tenn.

     Patty and I drove down to downtown Nashville last Tuesday night, May 8th, along with a couple of friends from the Lexington, Ky., area to see Tony and his band mates from Sleeper Agent perform at The Whiskey Bent Saloon.  We also had a chance to see another up and coming Bowling Green, Ky., based band, "Schools" also perform.
    I always enjoy going to Nashville because when you get downtown, you always feel the history of the place.  The place is really wild and very cool at the same time.  It's kinda like a little New Orleans with a party festive atmosphere in a country funky, twangy sort of way.  Even on a weekday night.  When you are there, you know that this is where country music and its honky tonks all began.  I remember seeing "WW and The Dixie Dance Kings" starring Burt Reynolds as a kid back in the early 70's growing up in Memphis, Tenn., and the film took place in downtown Nashville right on Broadway Avenue where we were Tuesday night.  The movie had scenes from the old Grand Ole Opry, "The Ryman Theater" and the world famous honky tonk bar, "Tootsies" which is all right in that general area.
    I remember in 1984 when I was attending Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., I used to go to Nashville to visit with my fraternity brother and his family.  We drove down Broadway towards the Cumberland River and it was nothing like it is today.  Basically, that part of town seemed dead back then.  Nowadays, it has made a full-fledged comeback and things are very much alive and kicking.  Downtown Nashville on Broadway where the strip is, it's a rockin'!
   It was quite of a quaint setting for Sleeper Agent to be performing.  They are used to performing on much larger stages and venues lately especially after just arriving back from Coachella 2012 Music Fest in Palm Springs, Calif.  They put on a great show regardless. However, they were paid a pretty penny to perform in conjunction with the "Short Mountain Distillery's" grand opening celebration.  Short Mountain was giving out free shots of their new whiskey but I did not drink any because I do not drink hard liquor (anymore.)  The Whiskey Bent Saloon on Broadway seems like a fairly new bar and music venue but it has an old time honky tonk feel too it.  It's a very nice, clean place also.  Check it sometime when you're in downtown Nashville.
   I was able to speak with lead singer, Jeremi Simon-Kinnaman of Schools and he said that they are still searching for a record deal.  I encouraged him and told him that it would probably happen soon.  Those guys are awesome!  Also, Brad Shultz from Cage The Elephant and his wife, Lindsey, attended the show and I enjoyed talking to him and his lovely wife for while.  Brad and I talked about the Bowling Green music scene and how it has grown lately.  I complimented him and told him, "You guys (Cage The Elephant) brought the world to Bowling Green through your music."  Now Sleeper Agent is following in their footsteps and Schools is on their way to do the same too.  What's interesting is that all three bands have a lot of the same interconnections and they all used the famous Nashville based country and rock music producer, Jay Joyce to record and produce all of their albums.

    I would dare say that Tuesday night was one of those Southern, rock music and regional things via way of Bowling Green and Nashville, taking the music world by storm.  However, if that's the case, then we were sitting right in the middle of an eye of a hurricane Tuesday night in downtown Nashville.  And it sure felt like it too!

A Murder At Bowling Green, Ky's Ramada Inn-Strangely Bazaar

    The newspaper article posted below was published in the Bowling Green (Ky) Daily News today about a murder that happened four years-ago at the Ramada Inn, one of Bowling Green's oldest hotels on Scottsville Road.  Of course, the hotel has changed hands several times through the years as well has been remodeled a couple times too.  But to me, this was a strangely bazaar murder case that happened right here in Bowling Green.  It's just weird that a now convicted killer stalked another man who was a guest at the hotel.  Originally, the killer found the guest at the hotel's bar knowing that the guest had a wallet full of cash and then went to the front desk to get the guest's room number.  And then the desk clerk gave him the room number!  After the killer got the guest's room number, he knocked on the his door and as the guest opened the door, the killer barged his way  in and strangled the guest to death and then took his cash.  And to top it off, the hotel's video camera's recorded the killer in the lobby and the halls of the hotel as he walked to the guest's room.  Complete wacko nuts for real!  What was that crazy, stupid idiot thinking?!!!

    The Ramada Inn has had it's ups and downs through the years in Bowling Green.  Back in the 90's, a little girl who was a grandchild of one of the housekeepers climbed into a laundry chute, got stuck and died.  Also, in 1979 or 1980, when then governor of California, Ronald Reagan was running for President, he supposedly stayed in the hotel's suit with his wife Nancy while making a campaign stop in Bowling Green.  Now, the hotel has all of the former Greenwood Inn's nightlife business at its lounge called the "Crossroads Bar & Grill."  The Greenwood Inn was dubbed the 'Meat Market" because that's where everybody in Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky went to find a "date" for the night or to be "picked up" for the evening.  I suppose the Crossroads Bar and Grill offers that same type of clientele.  They've even have the same house band that played at the Greenwood Executive Inn for years.  And one of the band members who used to be a guy is now a woman through the transgender process as rumor has it.  I would advise if you go to the Crossroads Bar and Grill or stay at the Ramada Inn, don't flash any cash around and watch your wallet very carefully.

GLASGOW MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN MURDER AT HOTEL
By JUSTIN STORY, The Daily News, jstory@bgdailynews.com/783-3256

Murder suspect Troy Lee Rupe admitted Tuesday to killing and robbing a man in a Bowling Green hotel room four years ago.
Rupe, 50, of Glasgow, entered a guilty plea in Warren Circuit Court to murder and first-degree robbery, acknowledging his role in the death of Thomas L. Ward.
Ward, 38, of Glasgow, was found dead April 13, 2008, in a room at the Ramada Inn at 4767 Scottsville Road. An investigation determined that Ward had been beaten and strangled.
Appearing with his attorneys, Renae Tuck and Eric Clark of the Department of Public Advocacy, Rupe spoke with a slight rasp while answering questions from Warren Circuit Judge Steve Wilson.
Rupe has been sick from cancer, and his graying hair, glasses and thin frame gave him a much different appearance Tuesday than how he looked in his Warren County Regional Jail booking photo taken in 2008 when he was charged with the crimes.
“I just want to apologize to the family. I’m sorry for the loss of their loved one,” Rupe said Tuesday.
About 10 of Ward’s relatives were in the courtroom to hear Rupe admit guilt.
Ward’s mother, Mary Brooks, read a short statement describing the effect her son’s death has had on the family, calling the date of her son’s death “the worst day of our lives.”
“The emptiness you have left in our family will never be gotten over,” Brooks said while addressing Rupe, her voice rising as she struggled to avoid crying. “You took the most precious thing that God gives – life.”
The Bowling Green Police Department led the investigation into Ward’s death, viewing hotel surveillance video footage from the Ramada Inn taken on the night of the homicide that showed Rupe following Ward.
The footage was aired on television the following day, and several people called the BGPD identifying Rupe as the man following Ward.
Rupe himself called the police after the footage aired, came to Bowling Green to be interviewed by detectives and was charged with the crimes.
During the investigation, police found money in Rupe’s Glasgow home that was alleged to have been taken from Ward.
Wilson sentenced Rupe on Tuesday to 21 years and six months in prison. The plea agreement that Rupe, who had been scheduled to go to trial next month, reached with Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron recommended that amount of time to be served on the murder charge and a 20-year sentence for robbery, with both of those sentences to be served concurrently.
Additional charges of tampering with physical evidence and first-degree persistent felony offender were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Because the murder was committed during the course of another violent crime, Rupe could have been eligible for the death penalty, but Cohron filed notice after Rupe’s indictment that he sought a maximum sentence of life without parole.
Rupe will get credit for the time he has served in custody and must serve 18 years and three months of his sentence before he can be considered for parole.

The Unofficial Parent's Night In Nashville: Ben Kweller and Sleeper Agent At The Mercy Lounge

 

You might describe the Ben Kweller concert last Sunday night at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville as the "Unofficial Parent's Night," for the band members of the Bowling Green, Ky., based indie rock group, "Sleeper Agent."

Yes, all of us band member parents were there to show their love and support of our wonderfully talented and gifted children. Besides, we hadn't seen them for almost three weeks! It was great to see Tony, Alex, Josh, Scott, Lee and Justin again. And as usual they put on a awesome show, opening for Ben Kweller and his band during this particular leg of the tour. And as usual all of us parents-me, Patty, Marilyn, Teresa, Richard, Holly, Matt, Amy and Margie were all beaming with pride. Especially after these kids had just appeared on the "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Live!" show on NBC on March 22. It seems like the whole city of Bowling Green and the community of Western Kentucky University has been buzzing about it for almost two weeks now. To be perfectly honest, it's a great feeling to see your children excel in something in life that you know one day in life that it will pay off for them big time. At least we hope, right? Let's hope so. It's already paying off for them in more ways than one. I would say more ways than we could ever imagine.

I think for our children to grow up to pursue their dreams in life, we as parents had to give them their space, unconditional life and support. They have to have the freedom to create or compose all sorts of things in their young lives while growing up. What helps them grow and develop the most is to pursue what they love with a passion. It's kind like a flower garden. If you give the garden lots love and TLC, (water, sunlight, good soil, plant food, etc.) it will grow strong and blossom beautifully just like our children.

Because believe me, the "road life" as a musician or band does not appear to be glamorous as people might think. Yeah, they get to travel all over the United States visiting big cities and see different regions of the country. They get to experience all sorts of new places and cultures. They also meet thousands of new people along the tour. However, on the down side of the things, they live in and out of hotel rooms and sleep in a different bed every night which is always not fun. They probably have some good hotel rooms and some bad hotel rooms as well as possible bed bugs along the way. Yikes! Then there's the terrible food and good food. But I know that they do get tired of restaurant and fast food. And they are always ready for mom and dad's home cooking when they arrive back in Bowling Green. Then there's the dirty (behind the scenes) dressing rooms and places like that. Not at all music venues but some. Not to mention that they have to wash their own clothes in strange laundry mats, getting sick of the road and riding in a crowed, stuffy van up to 18-20 hrs a day sometimes.

But on the flip side there's a lot of great things about the road life which can bring much success in life for musicians. Musician Ben Kweller has done it for almost 15 years now. He started when he was 15 or 16 years-old. He has has five albums out, he owns his own bus and owns a home in Texas and has a wife and two children already. And he is only 30 years-old. Kweller, who's father is a doctor in a small town in Texas gave his son lots of love when he was growing up and exposed him to music at early age.

From Wikipedia-"Dr. Howard Kweller taught Ben how to play the drums when he was seven years old. For the next year, they would play together almost every night after Howard got home from work. Howard sang and played guitar while Ben played the drums. The duo played songs by The Beatles, The Hollies, Jimi Hendrix, and other artists of the 1960s. Howard is also a longtime friend of Nils Lofgren, a neighbor of his. Kweller has mentioned in interviews that meeting Lofgren greatly helped his exposure to music. When Kweller turned eight, someone showed him how to play "Heart and Soul" on the piano and the youngster immediately began to create his own songs using the same chords. By the time he was nine, he had a dozen original compositions under his belt and entered a songwriting contest sponsored by Billboard magazine, where he won an honorable mention."





When Patty and I met Ben in his dressing room backstage, he was very nice and cordial as well friendly to all us parents. It was an honor to meet such a fine example of young successful musician in today's rock world as Ben Kweller. We wish Ben continued success especially all of the members of Sleeper Agent. We continue to pray for their safety along the path of reaching for their dreams! Keep up the great work guys and girl! We love ya!