CHICAGO – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is spending his time in federal prison teaching Civil War history and learning to play the guitar, while his attorneys work on an appeal, his wife said on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the beginning of his 14-year term for corruption.
“All that we have been left with is a aching hole in our lives,” Patti Blagojevich also said in a Facebook post. Glenn Selig, a longtime spokesman for Rod Blagojevich, confirmed the posting was from Patti Blagojevich.
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Blagojevich reported to a Colorado federal prison on March 15, 2012. Jurors convicted him on 18 counts, including charges that he tried to sell or trade President Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat.
Patti Blagojevich wrote that attorneys are “working diligently” on her husband’s appeal but they wouldn’t have any answers for at least six months.
She lamented the fact that her husband has missed their two daughters’ birthdays, music recitals and other family events.
“The loss feels all consuming,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, those moment have been stolen from my children and there is no getting them back.”
But Patti Blagojevich also wrote that family members have visited the former governor many times and talk with him every day. She said her husband also runs “miles and miles” around a quarter-mile track.
Girl who adored musicals grows up to write one
NEW YORK – Writing her first musical turned into a time machine for Cyndi Lauper.
As the Grammy Award winner began work on the exuberant “Kinky Boots,” it took her back to her childhood, when she constantly listened to cast albums.
She remembers her grandmother ripping “The King and I” off the record player after one too many spins.
“My mother said I was a little odd as a kid,” says Lauper, 59. “I was alone a lot but I didn’t feel alone. When I sang with those records, I’d be Julie Andrews and there was Rex Harrison sitting on my mother’s bed.”
At the Al Hirschfeld Theatre before a preview of her 15-song debut as a Broadway lyricist and composer, Lauper is nervous and humble. The girl who listened compulsively to show tunes has delivered her own.
“Kinky Boots,” which opens April 4, is based on a 2005 British film about a shoe factory on the brink of ruin that retrofits itself into a maker of footwear for drag queens.
Lil Wayne recovering after reported seizure
Lil Wayne has been hospitalized, but according to his camp and his official Twitter account — he’s OK.
The multiplatinum rapper was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Friday and reps confirmed he was “recovering.” He apparently tweeted to his fans from his official account on Friday night: “I’m good everybody. Thx for the prayers and love.”
A person close to the superstar’s camp who asked for anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press that Lil Wayne had a seizure. He has had a history of seizures in recent years.
While there were reports that Lil Wayne was fighting for his life, members of his Young Money camp denied it on Twitter.
Before the tweet from Lil Wayne’s account, rapper Mack Maine tweeted: “Wayne is alive and well! We watching the Syracuse game thanks for the prayers and concern.”
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