Gallup Sun

Who would have thought a tough Marine veteran, and former bass player for a death-metal band would be belting out cutesy love songs with none other than his two little girls. Rippy Williams — a Dineh musician and single father of Lily, 11, and Lola, 9 — is passing his talent onto his daughters while entertaining local audiences. The Sun caught up with Rippy and the Sillyettes to find out more about this unique Gallup trio.

Gallup Sun: Rippy and the Sillyettes: How did you come up with this name?

Rippy: There’s this band called The Raise from the 1950s, and they had this song called, “Two Silhouettes on the Shade,” so we learned that song and my youngest daughter, Lola...

The American Red Cross New Mexico will be in Gallup July 16 promoting the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, officials said. Gallup Fire Marshal Jesus Morales said Red Cross members and local volunteers will visit neighborhoods at sites that have yet to be determined.

“At no cost, the Red Cross will install smoke alarms at residences,” Morales said. The Gallup Fire Department will assist in the installation.

“It’s something that is done every year,” Morales said.

By Bernie Dotson

Sun Correspondent

Rating: «« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 117 min.

As a boy, my favorite author by a country mile was Roald Dahl. Obviously, his tales, which include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, among many others, were always incredibly imaginative. Still, I think that I most appreciated the author’s embrace of darker story elements (always peppered with a sense of humor). His young protagonists are often put through the ringer. Dahl had an amusing way of putting the screws to any character with traits that he found repellent or rude — it never mattered if it was a child or an adult. As a young reader, I always felt that he wasn’t patronizing me or sanitizing...

Rating: ««« out of 4 stars

Running Time: 110 min.

It seems like Warner Brothers’ expensive attempt to reboot the Edgar Rice Burroughs character of Tarzan hasn’t been getting a whole lot of publicity over the past couple of weeks. Perhaps this is because it’s an aged property that appears old-fashioned to many. And a truly horrific real-life incident involving a gorilla earlier in the month may have caused some discomfort for viewers and marketing departments. Whatever the reason, The Legend of Tarzan appears likely to take a beating with critics and at the box office.

I feel a little badly for the film. Yes, it is clunky in spots and certainly has its fair share of issues...