Driving the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), “a fundamental change in the way we live, work and relate to one another”, is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is the foundation of 4IR.  In this WEF panel discussion video, Generative AI is discussed as The Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The discussion includes …

Boundaries help make kids feel safe

Hard to believe it’s been a year. On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall and devastated western North Carolina, as well as areas in surrounding states like South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. It brought unprecedented flooding to a part of the state that rarely gets hurricanes, and destroyed the business, homes and lives of so many people. It’s hard to put into words just how catastrophic and horrific it was, and people in that part of the state will be recovering for decades to come. But in the wake of the hurricane so many neighbors stepped up to help one another, and there was a silver lining of hope when people like Eric Church, alongside Luke Combs and others, helped raise over $24.5 million for residents in WNC with their Concert For Carolina benefit show. Eric has gone onto start his Blueprint for the Blue Ridge initiative, which is the umbrella that his Blue Haven community is under, a neighborhood in Avery county which will be the new home of around 200 residents that lost everything. It’s been a work in progress for months now, and Eric has already purchased more land in the area to start another similar neighborhood because the need is so high. It’s beyond incredible what he’s done to help ensure that the people who have called the mountains home for so many generations could stay there, and Eric shared a beautiful video today as we come to the anniversary of Helene about what Chief Cares is doing for locals. He also announced that Blue Haven and his organization is now broadening its reach by expanding homeownership opportunities not only to those whose homes were directly impacted by the storm, but also to pillars of the community in educators, healthcare workers, first responders and others who selflessly serve Western North Carolina. Chief Cares will offer mortgage-free homes to selected applicants, and Eric says his main goal is to keep the community intact: “Keeping the community intact has been my goal all along. And what we’ve learned these past several months is that offering long-term housing to the people who hold our communities together—from those whose homes were impacted, to those who are critical to rebuilding—will bring the greatest impact. We’re responding in real time to the evolving needs of Western North Carolina. Chief Cares is here for the long haul.” Church wants to help those who are so important to their community, especially in times of devastation like following Helene, right where they’re needed and where they love to be. He adds that it’s not just building homes for people who need it, but a longterm, very worthy, investment into the community: “We’re not just building homes—we’re investing in the people that will carry this community forward for generations. This isn’t about short-term solutions. It’s about long-term hope.” The first residents are expected to be in their homes before Thanksgiving, and as one woman in the below video put it, it feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from her shoulders. Recipients of a Blue Haven home will live rent-free for ten years, where they’ll continue to invest in the community, and at the end of the ten-year term, the deed will be transferred, making the home fully theirs to own. It’s a unique model built on trust, dignity, and a shared investment in the future of this region. The initiative is bolstered by a recent $6 million investment from AmeriHealth and the AMY Wellness Foundation, which will fund key infrastructure, wraparound services and expanded housing capacity across Avery, Mitchell and Yancey counties as Chief Cares continues to expand their relief efforts. It brings tear to my eyes watching Eric, and the recipients of these homes, talk about how much it means to them and why they love the community so deeply. The video tells the stories of several families who were directly impacted by Helene, and also features Eric talking about his own personal connection to the area and what his plans are to continue the Blue Print for the Blue Ridge initiative well into the future: The post Eric Church Reflects On Hurricane Helene One Year Later, Announces Expansion Of ‘Blueprint For The Blue Ridge’ Housing Initiative: “It’s About Long-Term Hope” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

That George Jones was a wild one. His reputation as a country music legend, and one of the best country voices of all time, is well established. His reputation as a bit of a loose cannon is pretty well established too. Obviously, we all know the story of Jones driving a riding lawn mower to the liquor store after his wife at the time hid the keys to all of his cars to keep him from drinking. But you know there are hundreds more wild stories about the Possum out there just waiting to be told. I recently heard Tracy Lawrence tell a story from his days of touring with George Jones about how Tracy quickly learned you didn’t want to stand too close to Jones: “I learned real quick not to get too close to him because George, if you were walking beside him, especially if you were on his right side, you’d be walking along everything fine having a conversation, he’d just take his hand and he would backhand you right down the cod and he would say “take a bow son.” I mean, it would double you over right there in hall, man. And he’d just laugh. So you learned to kind of guard yourself when you was close to him because he’d catch you off guard and pop you, boy.” Imagine getting nut-checked by George freakin’ Jones. Well that reminded me of another classic story about the Possum, and the time that he grabbed another country legend by the… well, by the private parts. Except this time, it was all over a woman. According his 1996 autobiography I Lived To Tell It All, Jones says that he had gotten it in his head that his then-wife Tammy Wynette and Porter Wagoner had been seeing each other romantically. Of course, the irony is that George himself essentially stole Tammy from her previous husband, Don Chapel. Ripe with jealousy, ol’ George decided to confront Wagoner about it – in the bathroom at the Grand Ole Opry of all places. Now I guess this is worth mentioning, but apparently Porter Wagoner had a reputation not just for his flashy Nudie suits, but also for being… blessed downstairs. Yup, ol’ Porter allegedly had a hog on him. So Jones decided that he wanted to see for himself. As the story goes, an angry and jealous Jones walked up behind Wagoner while he was using the urinal at the Grand Ole Opry, reached around, and got a big ol’ handful of Porter Wagoner’s manhood. According to Jones’ recounting of the incident in his book: “One of the worst things I ever did was against Porter Wagoner.  Tammy and I were playing the Grand Ole Opry. The show is run in segments, and Porter was the host of our segment. My mind became extremely altered when I mixed liquor with diet pills, and I often got very aggressive and hostile. Flat-out mean. I was drinking and taking pills when I saw Porter head for the men’s room at the Ryman Auditorium.  I had gotten it in my head that Tammy and Porter were seeing each other romantically. I followed Porter into the rest room and saw him standing at the urinal. I walked up behind him and shouted, ‘I want to see what Tammy’s so proud of!’ Then I reached around and grabbed his d–k. I twisted hard. Porter began to jump and wave his arms. His sequin suit made him a blur of shimmering silver. He doesn’t move much onstage. He moves a lot when you pinch his penis. He peed on himself and had no change of clothes. Somebody said he missed his next segment and Ernest Tubb had to substitute.” However, Jones also denied even remembering that the confrontation happened, which he says in his book happened “I was drinking and taking pills.” When asked by Rolling Stone if he really grabbed Porter Wagoner’s hog at a urinal, Possum replied: “Well, I don’t remember that to this day, but he told me about it.” Jones also called the incident one of the worst things he’s ever done drunk, and in 1997 he even appeared in Company’s Comin’: A Salute to Porter Wagoner with a message for his friend: “Hey Porter ol’ boy, I’m gonna tell ya, we’ve been down many highways and byways together. And I’ll tell ya what, a couple of ’em we’d probably like to forget about both of us. But I’ll tell ya what, you don’t need no rockin’ chair and I don’t either. And good buddy I’m gonna tell ya, ride on for 50 more.” Sounds like they buried the hatchet… Yet, another hilarious story from the colorful career of the great George Jones.The post George Jones Once Grabbed Porter Wagoner By The Junk In The Bathroom At The Grand Ole Opry: “I Wanna See What Tammy’s So Proud Of” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Supreme Court just handed present Trump a major victory when it comes to the power of the purse. They upheld his “pocket rescission” of $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding, with . . .

President Trump has just asked the Supreme Court to end birthright citizenship once and for all, telling the high court that the idea of ‘birthright citizenship’ is a mistake and that the . . .

Due to scheduled conflicts, Judas Priest couldn't make it to Black Sabbath's final festival "Back to the Beginning", which sadly marked Ozzy Osbourne's final performance, just a few weeks before his death at the age of 76. As a tribute to them, Priest released at the time a cover of "War Pigs" and now, they put out a new version featuring Ozzy Osbourne's vocals. According to the singer Rob Halford, it was Sharon Osbourne's idea to feature Ozzy's vocals on the new version, as he recalled in an interview with Full Metal Jackie. "She approached me with this idea, she said, 'I love your version of 'War Pigs.' Is there a way we can get Ozzy? I was (like), 'You're asking me? This is gonna happen.'" "So you get Ozzy singing a line and then I'm singing a line and Ozzy's singing a line and I'm singing a line. It's the first ever time in my entire life that I've been able to do a duet with Ozzy and I'm so eternally grateful and blessed that I was able to do that... it's just going to a really special place," Rob Halford said. Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd and Epic Records UK will donate all profits from audio streams, downloads, and physical sales to the Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation and Cure Parkinson's. Like Ozzy, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton has also struggled with the condition since 2018. Although he rarely performs live with Judas Priest these days, he is still involved in the studio recordings and played on this track. Hear the Judas Priest version of "War Pigs" cover featuring Ozzy Osbourne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crMDEgNQip8&list=RDcrMDEgNQip8&start_radio=1&pp=oAcB0gcJCesJAYcqIYzv Rob Halford curiously was for a few nights the vocalist of Black Sabbath. The first time happened in the early 1990s when Black Sabbath at the time agreed to be Ozzy Osbourne's opening act and Ronnie James Dio, who was their frontman at the time, refused to play that show because he thought it was a wrong move to be the opening act for their previous singer. So he was called and performed a full show with the band. More than a decade later, when Sabbath would reunite with Ozzy at Ozzfest, his festival, the singer was feeling sick and couldn't perform with themThe post Judas Priest releases “War Pigs” cover featuring Ozzy Osbourne appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

Drummer Ian Paice is the only member of Deep Purple to appear on every album the band has released over the past six decades. Deep Purple were crucial to the evolution of Hard Rock, but according to Paice, they belonged to the second generation of bands that shaped the genre. In his view, the first group to truly push the boundaries of Rock and make it heavier was The Who. Paice talked about that in an interview on the podcast Metal Sticks, which also had the Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain. Ian Paice says The Who was crucial for the evolution of Hard Rock "We helped create what I call 'the second coming' of it. Everything else, the band that did it first — The Who did it before everybody. They were the first on the big amp; they were the first to push rock 'n' roll beyond pretty little pop songs. Let's not forget the importance of The Who." "They just changed everything for kids who wanted to do something a little more violently (laughs). (Pete) Townshend's notion on stage, (Roger) Daltrey's aggressive singing, and then the control of John Entwistle, and the madness of Keith (Moon). I mean, the whole thing should never have worked. "And what came on from the British side after that was very, very influenced by The Who, and also by (Jimi) Hendrix, who took the melodic side of it somewhere else... I would say The Who were so important. I mean, people tend to forget them, 'cause they've been around for so long. But that was a big spark," Ian Paice said (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). Albums like "Deep Purple In Rock" (1970), "Machine Head" (1972) and "Burn" (1974) became some of the most influential Hard Rock albums of all time. These days the band is formed by Ian Paice (Drums), Ian Gillan (Vocals), Roger Glover (Bass), Don Airey (Keyboards) and Simon McBride (Guitar). https://youtu.be/Dt5fjdjceaIThe post Ian Paice says The Who was crucial for the evolution of Hard Rock appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The comedian Eric Idle, best known for being a member of Monty Phyton, was a close friend of the late legendary Beatles guitarist George Harrison, who even helped the comedy group to make some of their famous movies. Idle gave more details in an interview with Adam Buxton, about when Harrison was attacked by a crazy intruder back in 1999. The attacker was a 34-year-old paranoid schizophrenic that was later on found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sentenced to indefinite confinement in a psychiatric hospital, but was discharged a few years later in 2002, eight months after Harrison passed away from cancer at the age of 58. Eric Idle gives details of when George Harrison was attacked by an intruder "He (Harrison) was very disturbed. I have never, ever seen him more disturbed. It was really shocking, because they fought for 20 minutes. (He was stabbed about 40 times) with a butcher's knife, and bleeding to death. (It was a) crazed guy, off his meds and I think he'd been looking for Paul (McCartney). He couldn't find Paul, so it's easier to find Henley. And he came over the wall, smashed in the window, and George, I think, came out because George was the bold one, who told the Hell's Angels to fuck off. He was always the one who came and said, 'No, you've got to fuck off' out of Abbey Road." "I think he did the same thing. He went at the top of the stairs and told him to fuck off, you know. And then he yelled 'Hare Krishna!' and the guy came at him up the stairs with a knife. It would have been wiser, perhaps, to lock the door and call the police. So I think Liv (Harrison's wife, Olivia) called the police, but it took them about 20 minutes to get there, and this all-out attack took place, and I think Liv, in the end, bashed him over the head with a Tiffany lamp, and they were all passed out when the police arrived and blood everywhere. It was like a scene from a horror film." He continued: "I know he was very shaken. They had a puja [a Hindu ceremony during which prayer is offered to one or more deities]. We went round and went through the attack, bit by bit, up the stairs and still blood on walls and things. It was like really awful and shocking and kind of therapeutic," Eric Idle said (Transcribed by Classic Rock). After EMI Films withdrew funding for the Monty Python classic Life of Brian just a few days before production was set to begin, George Harrison and his business partner Denis O'Brien arranged financing through the formation of Handmade Films. The film was a major success: made on a $4 million budget, it grossed over $20 million at the box office. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUUUVRVvWG0&t=2sThe post Eric Idle gives details of when George Harrison was attacked by an intruder appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.