TV NEWS: Former Razorback and NFL player Eddie Jackson, mentioned here last week for winning the Next Food Network Star reality competition, is in Little Rock today at the Statehouse Convention Center filming his show, BBQ Blitz, featuring a competition of the area's top barbecue chefs.
ACTING ON OPINION: In a recent Larry King Live interview, Hollywood actor and Arkansan Wes Bentley went from stage to soapbox, blasting Arkansas' religious protection bill, describing it as "institutionalized bigotry."
"It's a shame that I have to feel embarrassed to say I'm from Arkansas now because something so full of hate is coming from the place of my home," Bentley said, adding, "I can't imagine this is constitutional."
THE WRITE STUFF: Nancy Hendricks of Hot Springs is among the authors on Cosmopolitan magazine's recently released list of "20 Political Books Every Woman Should Read." She was included for her recent book, Senator Hattie Caraway: An Arkansas Legacy. Caraway was first appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1931, then became the first woman elected to the Senate when she won a special election. She served until 1945.
The list was compiled by campaign and political consultants who were asked to name their favorite books. Hendricks' most recent book, published earlier this year, Terrible Swift Sword: Long Road to the Sultana, is a Civil War-era historical novel. Her newest book, on America's first ladies, is set to be published next month, and she is currently writing Hattie to Hillary and More: 100 Notable Arkansas Women, to be published next spring by Butler Center Press.
Hendricks will be the featured speaker at the Pulaski County Historical Society meeting at the Darragh Center in the main branch of the Central Arkansas Library System at 2 p.m. next Sunday. The free event is open to the public.
HIS HOMECOMING: Contemporary Christian musician and El Dorado native Josh Wilson returned to his home state last weekend to perform at the Awake 2015 concert at the First Security Amphitheater in downtown Little Rock. Wilson's bio on his website, joshwilsonmusic.com, states the 31-year-old grew up in Texas as the son of a pastor and is now living in Tennessee, where he is pursuing song writing and performing. "I'm constantly trying to figure out how to best use the gifts God has given me to serve Him and others," he states on his website. To date, he's best known for his single, "Savior, Please," from his 2008 album, Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup.
SHINING STAR: Speaking of Arkies making music, Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently presented country star Justin Moore with an Arkansas Traveler award during a celebration in Moore's hometown of Poyen. Moore co-wrote his first No. 1 hit, "Small Town USA," while feeling homesick after moving to Nashville. In 2014, he and his family returned to Arkansas.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or [email protected]
SundayMonday on 09/06/2015