Happy 70th b-day Sir Paul!  Bob Dylan and mark Knopfler to tour together. How Rush's new album is selling. Men and bachelor parties. Will social media corrupt your daughter? Cheaters more likely to get STD's. Men gain weight after kids are born. 5 worst healthy fast food meals for kids.

PAUL MCCARTNEY

Happy Birthday to Paul McCartney, who turns 70 years old today. To date, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in history, having written or co-written 30 U.S. Number One hits. McCartney met his original songwriting partner John Lennon on July 6th, 1957 at a church social where Lennon was performing. After joining Lennon's band the Quarrymen, McCartney persuaded Lennon to add his friend George Harrison in 1958, and the seeds of the Beatles were born. Ringo Starr joined the group in 1962.

Over 50 years since starting his musical career, and having written some of the most beloved music of the 20th century, McCartney is still unable to read or write a note of music: "I can think songs up, I can think arrangements, I can structure things, but I can't physically write stuff down on a page. I always had a kind of dyslexia when I was a kid. I was taking piano lessons -- I took them at a few points in me life. Whenever I did, it always seemed boring, it always seemed like homework -- I don't wanna put any students off who are learning properly. I always had great difficulties with it."

McCartney is currently working on his first new original album since 2007's Memory Almost Full, and admits that his past figures in quite heavily when working up new material: "Y'know, you reference most things you do either to, 'Would that work with the Beatles? Would this be a good Wings song? Would John (Lennon) like this?' Y'know, 'What would George play on this?' -- and stuff. I think you do that. I often think of John."

Out now is McCartney's deluxe and expanded version of his second solo album 1971's Ram. The reissue follows the 2011 release of both of McCartney's legendary "one-man-band" solo sets -- 1970's McCartney and 1980's and McCartney II. The albums are the latest additions to the ongoing "Paul McCartney Archive Collection" series, following 2010's inaugural reissue of Wings' 1973 set, Band On The Run. His 1976 triple-disc live set, Wings Over America, is slated to be the next archival reissue -- possibly by year's end.

Also in the works is an upcoming McCartney tribute album featuring contributions from Billy Joel, Kiss, B.B. King, Paul Rodgers, Garth Brooks -- and the Cure, who'll be teaming up with McCartney's son, singer-songwriter, James McCartney. No title or release date has been announced for the tribute album.

BOB DYLAN/MARK KNOPFLER

Bob Dylan and Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler will head out on the road for a North American double bill this fall. The pair, who recently toured together in Europe -- with Knopfler opening -- have announced the initial dates of their late-summer tour, kicking things off on August 19th in Lloydminster, Alberta and winding things down on September 1st in Big Flats. New York. Vintage Vinyl News reported that Knopfler will be releasing his new solo album in September, called Privateering, and only performed two Dire Straits tunes during the European run -- "Brothers In Arms" and "So Far Away."

Knopfler said that with his new material, he never knows how well it'll hold up until he runs it through with other musicians: "What happens with a song is it sits in a notebook, and then when you start running it down with a band and stuff, it's when it starts to slide off your notebook and go out into the world. It's a great feeling, actually, when it's happening. In some ways, bits of it don't belong to you anymore, I suppose, or there's a sense in which it doesn't belong to you anymore."

Rolling Stone associate editor Austin Scaggs says that both on and offstage, Bob Dylan has always remained an enigma to his core fan base: "Maybe he doesn't know his audience -- maybe he doesn't want to know his audience. Maybe he wants to challenge this mass of people in front of him. And I think he wants to challenge them with, y'know words -- but with rhythm."

RUSH

Rush's new studio album, Clockwork Angels, is expected to sell between 85,000 and 95,000 copies in its first week of release since arriving in stores last Tuesday. Those sales estimates are based on one-day tracking reports compiled by industry website Hits Daily Double. Those sales could be good enough to put the album in the Top Three or even possibly earn the group its first-ever Number One on this week's Billboard album chart, which comes out on Wednesday (June 20th).

The new disc is Rush's 20th studio effort and the trio's first explicit concept album since 1978's Hemispheres, with drummer and lyricist Neil Peart coming up with the plot and characters. Guitarist Alex Lifeson was asked about getting back into storytelling mode: "All our records really are thematic, and there is a connection and a fluidity that runs through them. But this one is a little more overt and there's a little more of a story to it, and I think it gave Neil an opportunity to express himself on a wider platform."  

Clockwork Angels is Rush's first album in five years and follows up 2007's Snakes & Arrows.

The band previewed several tracks from the new disc on its 2010/2011 Time Machine tour.

The storyline conceived by Peart follows a young man's quest as he encounters lost cities, pirates, anarchists, an exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

The novelization of Clockwork Angels is being written by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson in collaboration with Peart.

Rush will tour North America this fall, beginning on September 7th in Manchester, New Hampshire.

61% OF MEN HAVE LOW-KEY BACHELOR PARTIES

 A survey by TheKnot.com found that 61 percent of brides-to-be claim that their fiances are planning 'low-key' bachelor parties. 'Tamer' dinners and relaxed drinks are proving to be popular options for grooms-to-be these days. The survey also found that taking friends out to sporting events and on fishing trips are both more common. Anja Winikka, the website's director, said: 'It may be hard to believe, but the typical booze fest and stripper-filled bachelor parties are losing steam these days. Instead, men are opting for tamer bachelor parties where they enjoy a weekend of golf or fishing with their buddies. I'm not saying men aren't partying at all, but they're making more mature decisions about how they spend their last bachelor days with the guys.' (TheKnot.com)

DADS SCARED SOCIAL MEDIA WILL CORRUPT DAUGHTERS

Fathers are becoming increasingly protective of their daughters because they fear the influence of social networking sites, according to a new survey. The poll found that they 'feel less in control because of social media' such as Facebook and Twitter. Fathers are also concerned about the growing influence on their daughters of celebrity culture, with some 'perceiving the world as a more dangerous place'. According to the poll, 49 percent of teachers believe fathers are more protective of their daughters than they used to be. Just 5 percent said fathers were less protective these days, with the remainder detecting no clear trend. (Daily Mail)

CHEATERS MORE LIKELY TO GET STDS

 Cheaters are more likely to get an STD than those in an open sexual relationship. New research has shown people who jump into bed with someone without their partner's knowledge are unlikely to practice safe sex, -- with one explanation that they are more likely to be drinking. However, those in open relationships are less likely to contract an STD -- possibly because they are sober when they sleep with someone else and are more sexually aware. (UPI)

MEN PUT ON 20 POUNDS AFTER KIDS ARE BORN

Men are putting on an average of 20 pounds after having a child. Experts believe a lack of time to exercise, an increase in the number of take out food and sleepless nights are to blame for the growing problem. Paul Keenan, of Benenden Healthcare which carried out the study in conjunction with the Men's Health Forum, said: 'The modern lifestyle is a hectic one and this study clearly shows the impact this is having on fatherhood.' The study also found six out of ten dads admit they are 'out of shape' and four out of ten dads aren't able to pull their weight in the house because they are too exhausted. (Men's Health)

5 WORST HEALTHY FAST FOOD MEALS FOR KIDS (Yahoo!)

1) The "healthier" option from Chick-Fil-A: The Grilled Nuggets Kids' Meal, which comes with six chunks of grilled chicken, waffle potato fries, and low-fat chocolate milk. When you include fat content from the fries and the milk, the entire meal has 570 calories, 19 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,150 milligrams of sodium, and 23 grams of sugar.

2) McDonald's Cheeseburger Happy Meal. The combination of cheeseburger, fries, apple slices, and low-fat white milk (plus a toy) contains 520 calories, 20 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 920 milligrams of sodium, and 22 grams of sugar.

3) Sonic's Kids' Jr. Burger Meal, with a burger, apple juice, and apple slices with fat-free caramel dipping sauce came in third with 550 calories, 17 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 715 milligrams of sodium, and a whopping 42 grams of sugar, thanks to that caramel sauce. "This meal contains more sugar than two Twinkies," the report points out.

4) Burger King's Hamburger Kids Meal, with fat-free milk and apple slices, has 380 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 615 milligrams of sodium, and 24 grams of sugar, making it one of the best of the bunch. Still, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, the PCRM points out, is equal to 6 slices of fatty pork bacon.

5) Denny's Build Your Own Jr. Grand Slam -- egg whites, two slices of turkey bacon, hash browns, and orange juice -- has 332 calories, 11 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 570 milligrams of sodium, and 30 grams of sugar, and the PCRM takes issue with the fact that turkey bacon, while lower in fat than traditional bacon, is a processed food.

Thanks for listening to The Eagle while you work. Keep it fabulous, Houston!

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler

Fabulous Mid-Day Diva