Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
▪ Grammy-winning country group The
Dixie Chicks have dropped the word
Dixie from their name, now going by The Chicks. The band’s social media accounts and website were changed on
Thursday to refer to the new name for the band, which is made up of Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer. The band also recognized that the name was already in use by a band in New Zealand. “A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name. We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters,” the band said in a statement. The move follows a decision by country group Lady Antebellum to change to Lady A after acknowledging the word’s association to slavery. A statement on The Chicks’ website said, “We want to meet this moment.” The term Dixie refers to the U.S.’ Southern states, especially those that belonged to the Confederacy. The Chicks are the best selling female group in the U.S. with more than 33 million albums sold in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Formed originally in Texas as a bluegrass group, the band hit commercial fame with their breakthrough album “Wide Open Spaces.” The band, which has won 13 Grammys, was shunned by country radio over an incident in 2003 when lead singer Maines criticized then-President George W. Bush because of the Iraq War. They responded to the backlash with their song “Not Ready to Make Nice,” and swept the Grammys in 2007 winning three of the top all-genre categories.
▪ “The Big Bang Theory” actor Mayim Bialik is teaming with DC Entertainment on a project that joins superhero power to the power of science. DC Entertainment announced Thursday that Bialik will collaborate with popular comic writers and illustrators on a story collection that features Batman, Superman, the Flash and others in search of such mysteries as why polar ice melts and what can be found at the bottom of the sea. “Flash Facts” will come out in February and provide “a helpful bridge between the S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) lessons taught inside the classroom and how these principles affect our everyday lives,” DC announced. Bialik herself is a neuroscientist and author whose previous books include “Beyond the Sling” and “Girling Up.”