Skynyrd and the Confederate flag. Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin experience. Paul Stanley excited with "Monster".  Crosby Still & Nash...and Tom Morello. Rescue team saves sex doll. Some men want to split bill on first date. Female dating statistics. Hate your job? Increasing speed prevents accidents? 7 reasons men don't want to talk about their feelings.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD

Backtracking on a statement given to CNN, Lynyrd Skynyrd's sole surviving co-founder Gary Rossington says the band will continue to fly the Confederate flag in its shows. Rossington, who said that the co-opting of the flag by the KKK and skinheads led some to believe that Skynyrd was also bigoted, set the record straight in a message posted on LynyrdSkynyrd.com:

I wanted to clarify the discussion of the Confederate Flag in our recent CNN interview. Myself, the past members and the present members (that are from the South), are all extremely proud of our heritage and being from the South. We know what the Dixie flag represents and its heritage; the Civil War was fought over States rights. We still utilize the Confederate (Rebel) flag on stage every night in our shows, we are and always will be a Southern American Rock band, first and foremost. We also utilize the state flag of Alabama and the American flag as well, 'cause at the end of the day, we are all Americans. I only stated my opinion that the confederate flag, at times, was unfairly being used as a symbol by various hate groups, which is something that we don't support the flag being used for. The Confederate flag means something more to us, Heritage not Hate.

- Gary Rossington.

JASON BONHAM

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience has just announced 10 fall dates. The band will kick things off on October 5th in Napa, California at the Uptown Theatre Napa and eventually wind things down on November 15th at Montclair, New Jersey's Wellmont Theatre. As on previous tours, Bonham and his band will share the unique history of Led Zeppelin through rock songs, video and light effects. The lineup features Bonham on drums, Tony Catania on guitar, Stephen Leblanc on keyboards/pedal-steel guitars, Dorian Heartsong on bass and James Dylan on lead vocals.

The show fulfills Bonham's life-long dream of performing alongside his father, Zeppelin's legendary late drummer, John Bonham via onstage clips: "We do '(When The) Levee Breaks' -- which is a wonderful part of the show, which is one of my favorite parts of the show because I actually get to play with dad. Like when I do 'Moby Dick'; it's a moment where I'm playing with my father. For people who weren't aware, but, we didn't have two drumkits in the house. So when I get to do this these days, it's really for the first time ever that we really get to play together, because we never did in real life. We never really actually got to experience that. And I'm reading articles on what my father had said, where he said, 'Y'know my son plays drums and I'd really love to have him play next to me at the Royal Albert Hall.'"

KISS

The buzz is particularly strong for Kiss' upcoming studio set, Monster, due out on October 9th. The collection, which is the band's first original studio set since 2009's Sonic Boom, is the second to feature their latest lineup of Gene Simmons on bass, Paul Stanley on rhythm guitar, Eric Singer on drums, and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. As with Sonic Boom, production duties were handled by Stanley and Greg Collins. Collins is best known for his mixing and engineering work for such artists as U2, No Doubt, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others.

Paul Stanley told us that he's particularly excited with the material on Monster, if for no other reason than it captures the band in a high point in its long and storied career: "With this album, we're totally at home with who we are, what we are, out past, present, and future. And I wanted us to take any blinders off so to speak. I wanted to unleash us, and let us be exactly who we are today. There's no getting away from our past -- nor would we want to -- but we're pumped! We're in top form, and the best way we can put it is, I didn't want us to make and album we once made, I wanted us to make the album we never made."

CROSBY STILLS & NASH

Crosby, Stills, & Nash, along with Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello, will perform a special benefit on October 3rd at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. The concert is designed to help defeat Proposition 32 on the State of California's November election ballot. Both CSN and Morello hope to "increase awareness of the deceptive measure designed to mislead voters and increase corporations' power by gutting important campaign transparency laws."

The press release stated that the event would feature guest speakers, including acclaimed actor/producer/director Edward James Olmos, with an acoustic performance by Morello and CSN closing the show. During set changes, guest speakers will advocate for Proposition 32's defeat.

David Crosby said that for him, being a songwriter and having a social conscience are one and the same: "Well, y'know, you start out simply seeing something that's dishonest, or wrong, or harmful and saying: 'That's dishonest, or wrong, or harmful.' You start out seeing America shooting its own children and watch Neil Young write 'Ohio' and think, 'Yeah, I wanna be a part of that.' Then you have children of your own and the universe shifts. Humbling and a responsibility that you cannot -- if you are a human being -- you cannot ignore, you cannot sit out."

RESCUE TEAM SAVES SEX DOLL FROM SEA

Emergency rescue teams in Turkey attempting to save a woman who appeared to be drowning in the Black Sea ended up "rescuing" an inflatable sex doll. Beachgoers called police thinking that the inflatable doll for a female swimmer who was in distress. After closing part of the beach, emergency services dispatched a team of divers for the rescue operation. Once rescuers found the doll, police deflated it and threw it away. (The Sun)

51% OF MEN WANT TO SPLIT BILL ON FIRST DATE

 A new survey found that most men would now ask for money towards the bill from a female partner on a first date. The vast majority (51 percent) are happier to "go Dutch" and split the bill. Just under one third of those polled said they would still pay for a first meeting. And five percent of those polled said they would be happy to reverse roles and allow their female companion to fund their evening. (Daily Mail)

FEMALE DATING STATISTICS (Men's Health)

• When the average woman first gets dumped: High school
• Number of guys she's sent packing: 5 (or more)
• Length of time the average single woman's relationship lasts: Six months to a year
• Women who initiated their most recent breakup: 1 in 2
• Why she thinks her last fling ended: "We were too young and immature."
• Percentage of women who keep gifts from past loves: 73
• Her favorite breakup line to use on a guy: "I think we're better off as friends."
• Most popular line used on her: See above
• How she let him down: In person - and that's how she'd want to get dropped, too
• Percentage of women who prefer to hear the bad news over the phone: 9
• Percentage of Americans who think it's fine to break up over text message: 11
• Celeb rumored to have asked for a divorce that way: Britney Spears
• Number of men she will have had sex with in her lifetime: 6
• Percentage of women who say they have broken up with a man for being a bad dancer: 2
• Percentage of women who say they broke up with their boyfriends because the guy's friends were annoying: 9
• When she's most likely to part with him: On a Monday, in January
• Percentage of women who say a guy has talked them out of dumping him: 40
• Percentage of women who don't speak to their exes: 35
• Percentage of women who are still pining over a heartbreaker: 27
• Percentage of single men who are still pining over a heartbreaker: 50

HATE YOUR JOB? BLAME YOUR FAMILY

Job satisfaction is partially genetic. According to research from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, some elements of job satisfaction are influenced more by your genetic predispositions than by the actual quality of your workplace. Studies of 300 pairs of twins found that genetic factors are four times as likely to influence stress levels and overall health as the environmental circumstances of a person's job. Reported levels of job stress, according to the study's author, are unreliable predictors of the objective stress level of that job; two people at the same job who report different levels of stress often just have genetically different responses to stress. The implication is that quitting a stressful job may not necessarily improve your quality of life, if the culprit is in fact your own reaction to stress, rather than the workplace itself. (AskMen.com)

INCREASING SPEED LIMIT PREVENTS ACCIDENTS??

A study by the Utah Department of Transportation suggests raising the freeway speed limit from 75 to 80 miles per hour may be a good thing. When the speed limit went up on four stretches of road in the state, accidents went down by 20 percent. The findings show that people tend to comply to higher speed limits. "Everyone naturally goes 75 to 80 miles an hour anyways. So it's that comfortable speed limit as most people drive on the freeway," said driver Kyle Taylor. (Fox13Now.com)

7 REASONS MEN DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS (TheStir.com)

1) He's insecure. Most men are raised to be strong and brave, which means they're not "supposed" to have feelings. So when you want to talk about emotions with your guy, go ahead and reassure him that feelings are all valid - he's allowed to talk about them.

2) He's got trust issues. Maybe it was a bad relationship or three. Maybe it was his upbringing. Maybe it's just the way he is. Either way, he's afraid to bring up how he feels around you. Show - don't tell - him that you're reliable and trustworthy, by saying what you mean, doing what you say you'll do, and being honest with him.

3) He's afraid to hurt you. Sometimes, guys don't want to talk about their feelings because they're afraid you're going to be hurt. This one is up to you, ladies - you can't control him, but you can show him that you can handle his feelings like a big girl by not losing your cool and hearing him out.

4) You don't let him finish. Rather than hearing him out, you react to his first few sentences, then talk over him. Ladies, let him finish talking and wait your turn.

5) Some Most guys just don't dig talking about that stuff. Doesn't mean they don't want to hear YOU talk about it, so go easy on him if that's the case.

6) You ask loaded questions. Questions like, "What are you thinking about?" mean you MAY be (in his mind) trying to talk about the future, pressure him, or get a compliment. If he's thinking about astrophysics, this can make him stammer. So ask lighter or more pointed questions if you want an answer. Then be prepared to take whatever it is that he says.

7) You're constantly questioning. Most dudes don't want to be put through the third degree each and every day. Sometimes, ladies, you have to put those insecurities to bed and just let your man be!

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

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler

Fabulous Mid-Day Diva