Useless Fact Of The Week

Did you know that there are more than 3,000 types of pears grown in the world? 95% of the pears grown in the United States are grown in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. 

DE LA SOUL COVERS RUN-DMC

During a show at the Key Club in Los Angeles, De La Soul performed "Rock Box" in tribute to RUN-DMC. Great performance. Check it out below.

UMG vs. EFF

In May 2007 Universal Music Group sued a Los Angeles-based trader on eBay. Troy Augusto, who runs the business called "Roast Beast Music Collectibles", makes a living selling rare albums he bought at second-hand record stores.

UMG is suing Augusto for copyright infringement. They are saying that some of the items he offered for sale online were promotional copies and were not authorized for sale to the public.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights lobby group, is taking on the case on Augusto's behalf and is counter-suing Universal.

In regards to promotional copies, for quite some time record companies have maintained that they own these items and may ask for them to be returned at any time.

Due to the promo items that were contained in the eBay auctions from Mr Augusto, this is the argument that is close to being tested in court.

UMG's lawyers allege "Augusto's unauthorized distribution of the UMG promo CDs violated UMG's exclusive right to distribute its copyrighted works" in legal documents filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

This is a battle that will possibly shake things up for a bit.

Stories

Here are some links to some nice articles I checked out....

Bootleg Battle Lines -- a great write-up about the mash-up community.

A California family finds $10,000 and does something nice with it. --- $10,000

Erick Morillo.....busted ---nice work to houseplanet.dj on this one.

Wal-mart Must Pay!

Minnesota - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is to pay $54.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit.

The suit, that includes about 100,000 current and former employees, alleged that the discount store cut workers break time and did not prevent employees from working off the clock.

This is not the first time that the company has been in this sort of trouble. In fact, it is being reported that Wal-mart has faced 76 similar class-action lawsuits in courts across the country. In one case (California) they were ordered to pay $172 million for illegally denying lunch breaks.

Update: Don Cornelius Charged

As previously reported, Don Cornelius was arrested last month after allegedly getting into a dispute with an unnamed person at his home.

The alleged victim was female but police will not say if the person was his wife.

The former "Soul Train" host has been charged with three counts of spousal battery, one count of dissuading a witness from making a police report, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

If Cornelius is convicted of all of the charges filed by the L.A. City Attorney it may land him in jail for five years. The charges, all misdemeanors, are said to be from two separate incidents.

DJ Kicks: Flying Lotus? Burial? On The Way

Producer Flying Lotus is on tap to mix an edition of the very successful 'DJ Kicks' series. Also, it is rumored that there will also be a mix from, UK producer, Burial. There is no firm release date for either at this time.

Burial has been receiving praise for his debut album 'Burial' released in 2006 and his second 'Untrue' released in 2007. He recently was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

Flying Lotus has been receiving acclaim for his second full album 'Los Angeles'(warp records,2008).
His first album '1983' and follow-up ep 'Reset EP' were released in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

For more info on Burial check out: Burial Myspace Page
For more info on Flying Lotus check out: Flying Lotus Myspace Page

This Guy....just not that bright....

In San Anselmo, California a man who was on trial for auto theft allegedly arrived to court in a Lexus SUV that police say was stolen.

Police were attracted to the SUV he was driving after bystanders noticed Yorkshire terriers hopping around in it.

The gentleman was was arraigned on charges of receiving a stolen vehicle and receiving stolen property after police saw him approach the vehicle with keys in hand. He was also charged with animal cruelty and leaving animals in an unattended vehicle.


And how did that other case go? Well, he was charged with possession of the Porsche Carrera that had been stolen from a San Anselmo home.

California Governor Vetoes 'Donda West Bill.'

I don't live in California....but I must wonder....what bills did get passed? What bills were a great priority to Arnold?

As far as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is concerned the "Donda West Bill" is not one of them. "This bill does not meet that standard, and I cannot sign it at this time," read the veto message, one of dozens Schwarzenegger sent.

The cosmetic-surgery bill, AB 2968,would have required people to undergo a physical examination, give a complete medical history and get a doctor's clearance before undergoing plastic surgery.
According to the LA Times the bill received nearly unanimous support in the legislature.

The bill was prompted by the November 2007 death of Kanye West's mother, Dr. Donda West, who died a day after undergoing a breast reduction and liposuction surgery.