Thursday, March 12, 2015

Well-Known Actor 'Windell Middlebrooks' died at 36



A representative for Windell Middlebrooks, who played a no-nonsense beer delivery man in TV commercials, says that the actor has died.

Middlebrooks agent, Steve Ivey, says the Los Angeles-based actor died Monday. He was 36.

Middlebrooks graduated from Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas.

The actors family released a statement Tuesday that called Middlebrooks death, in their words, the passing of a young black star.

Further details were not immediately available.

The family asked for privacy, saying it was Middlebrooks wish that his final scene not be lived on social media.

Besides his TV spots for Miller High Life beer, Middlebrooks credits included the TV series Body of Proof, Cougar Town and Scrubs.

Source: http://www.zinereport.com/28912891_well-known-actor-windell-middlebrooks-died-36/



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Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao press conference LIVE STREAM: Watch ...



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Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2990166/Floyd-Mayweather-vs-Manny-Pacquiao-press-conference-LIVE-STREAM-Watch-pair-come-face-face-LA-ahead-fight.html



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Champions League: Chelsea v PSG team news and lineups



PSG have it all to do when they take on Chelsea in Stamford Bridge today

The scoreline might say 1-1, but its not as even as that score suggests. The all important away goal that Chelsea managed in Paris gives them a significant advantage going in to this crucial Champions League clash today.

PSG need to score against their English opponents in order to have any chance of qualifying for this years Champions League quarter finals. With the attacking prowess the French side have on offer you might think they should be able to score with ease.

You have to consider their opposition, Chelsea have a great defense more often that not but when you add in the fact that manager Jose Mourinho is possibly the best tactical boss in world football it paints a dooming picture for PSG.

Mourinho is the king at setting out his stall and inviting pressure, often scraping a game by the bare minimum he needs to qualify. Take this fixture last year for example, PSG came in to the second leg up 3-1 and failed to score. Chelsea won 2-0 on the night and went through on the away goal rule.

A similar type game is expected for today, but an early goal from PSG would shake things up and force Mourinho to rethink his game plan.

Here are the players tasked with getting the job done:

More CHAMPIONS LEAGUE coverage from 120 Sports:

Tags: Chelsea PSG UEFA Champions League

Source: http://fansided.com/2015/03/11/champions-league-chelsea-v-psg-team-news-lineups/



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'Blurred Lines' has precedents from Beatles to Vanilla Ice



By ANDREW DALTONAssociated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A jury has determined that singers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied R&B legend Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up" with their 2013 megahit "Blurred Lines." Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay Gaye's children nearly $7.4 million. The decision could have an unprecedented effect on the industry, but it was only the latest in decades of cases that have taken pop songs from the recording studio to the courtroom over plagiarism allegations. Here are some highlights.

EX-BEATLE VERSUS THE CHIFFONS

Former Beatle George Harrison's 1970 solo song "My Sweet Lord" had a melody heavy with echoes of "He's So Fine," the 1962 hit from The Chiffons. The copyright owner sued Harrison. A judge said that while the tunes were nearly identical, Harrison was guilty only of "subconscious plagiarism." Harrison would eventually pay out $587,000.

HUEY LEWIS VERSUS THE GHOSTBUSTERS

Ray Parker Jr. ain't afraid of no ghost, but he had to give in when Huey Lewis and the News came after him. Parker's "Ghostbusters," from the movie of the same title, was among the top 10 songs of 1984. But Lewis sued him over the song's resemblance to "I Want a New Drug," a song released earlier the same year. Parker settled out of court for a confidential sum.

VANILLA ICE VERSUS QUEEN

Vanilla Ice's 1990 signature tune, "Ice, Ice, Baby," used a sample of the 1981 Queen-David Bowie collaboration "Under Pressure" without credit. Vanilla Ice would settle out of court for an undisclosed amount in one of many cases that stemmed from hip-hop's heavy use of sampling at the time.

FOGERTY VERSUS FOGERTY

In a case as bizarre as it was far-reaching, John Fogerty was accused of stealing from John Fogerty. The Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman was sued for his 1985 solo song "The Old Man Down the Road" because his former label thought it sounded too much like the 1970 Fogerty-penned "Run Through the Jungle," a song it owned the rights to. A jury ruled in Fogerty's favor, but a countersuit over attorneys' fees would reach the U.S. Supreme Court. And the fight would lead to a decades-long and ongoing rift among bandmates who took opposing sides. Fogerty was still estranged from his brother and fellow CCR member Tom Fogerty over the issue when Tom died in 1990.

TOM PETTY VERSUS SAM SMITH

Not all plagiarism cases are so nasty. Tom Petty won a piece of British soulster Sam Smith's***t "Stay With Me" earlier this year, and all he had to do was ask. Petty's publishers said that while it was clearly coincidental, the song's melody bore a striking resemblance to Petty's 1989 song "I Won't Back Down." Smith and his representatives agreed, and granted co-writing credit to Petty. The song would win Grammys for record of the year and song of the year the following month.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.whdh.com/story/28373683/blurred-lines-has-precedents-from-beatles-to-vanilla-ice



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'Blurred Lines' jury finds for Marvin Gaye



Robin Thicke outside the Roybal Federal Building on March 5, 2015, in Los Angeles.(Photo: David Buchan, Getty Images)

Was it simply an homage? Or flat-out copying? The jury decided Tuesday it was the latter.

That's been the issue in the musically packed, big-money Los Angeles trial over the 2013 hit Blurred Lines.

Musicians Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. preemptively sued the family of late singer Marvin Gaye for a determination on whether their hit song was an infringement on the copyright for Gaye's 1977 hit song, Got to Give It Up. Gaye's family counter-sued.

On Tuesday, Gaye's camp emerged victorious. The eight member jury voted unanimously that Thicke and song producer Williams had infringed on the 1977 Gaye song.

The jury awarded nearly $7.4 million to Gaye's family. His children Nona, Frankie and Marvin Gaye III were present in court when the verdict was read.

Nona Gaye wept as the verdict was being read and was hugged by her attorney, Richard Busch.

"Right now, I feel free," Nona Gaye said after the verdict. "Free from ... Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told."

Williams issued a statement to USA TODAY via his spokesperson Amanda Silverman. "While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward," read the statement."Pharrell created Blurred Lines from his heart, mind and soul and the song was not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter."

Thicke and his representatives have not spoken publicly since the verdict was announced.

The jury reached the decision after hearing nearly a week of testimony about similarities between Blurred Lines the biggest hit of 2013 and Gaye's***t.

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Thicke and Williams denied copying. Their song earned them more than $5 million apiece.

Although both are credited as its songwriters, Williams wrote the song in about an hour in 2012, and the pair recorded it in one night, according to the testimony.

The verdict could tarnish the legacy of Williams, a reliable hit-maker who has won Grammy Awards and appears on NBC's music competition show The Voice.

An attorney for Thicke and Williams has said a decision in favor of Gaye's heirs could have a chilling effect on musicians who try to emulate an era or another artist's sound.

Williams told jurors that Gaye's music was part of the soundtrack of his youth, but he denied using any of it to create Blurred Lines.

The Williams, Thicke and T.I camp contended they did nothing wrong in being inspired by Gaye and evoking the feeling of Gaye's music.

But lawyers for Gaye's children accused Williams and Thicke of repeatedly changing their stories about how they created Blurred Lines and felt their clients deserved a piece of the millions of dollars the song has made.

Nashville entertainment law attorney Richard Busch said his clients were thrilled with the verdict. "This is as satisfying or more satisfying than any case I've ever had," Busch said. "Winning the Eminem digital download case was obviously a very big deal. But winning this might be more satisfying because of the machine we were up against and who Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke are.

"I'm sure (Thicke and Williams) probably wondered who this guy from Nashville, Tennessee is, but they know now."

An accounting statement during the trial, according to The Hollywood Reporter, revealed that there were $16,675,690 in profits for Blurred Lines.

According to testimony, $5,658,214 went to Thicke, $5,153,457 was given to Williams and $704,774 to T.I.

Record companies (Interscope, UMG Distribution and Star Trak) took home the rest, with an executive at Universal Music testifying that overhead costs on the creation of Blurred Lines accounted for $6.9 million.

Pharrell Williams outside the courthouse building.(Photo: David Buchan, Getty Images)

Add to that a second song, Gaye's After the Dance, also being disputed, and Busch put damages at $40 million.

Howard King, lead attorney for Williams, Thicke and T.I., told jurors a verdict for the Gaye family would stifle artists and inhibit musicians trying to recreate an era or genre of music.

The two-week trial was entertaining, enlightening and colorful. Thicke sang, played the piano and even danced a little in his seat during his testimony. He also told the federal jury that he was drunk and high on drugs during interviews about the song. Although he is credited with co-writing the mega hit, Thicke said Williams wrote it on his own.

Williams' testimony hinged on feelings. "Feel, but not infringement," Williams said when asked whether he recognized similarities between the songs. "I must've been channeling that feeling, that late-'70s feeling."

Blurred Lines was the biggest hit of 2013 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. T.I.'s rap track was added after it was recorded in mid-2012.

Contributing: The Tennessean's Nate Rau, and the Associated Press

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1GoPxS9

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/03/10/blurred-lines-trial-verdict/24492431/



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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Miss. State quarterback injured in PCB concert fight



PANAMA CITY BEACH A Mississippi State quarterback was injured Monday afternoon during a brawl outside Club La Vela while on Spring Break, according to a Panama City Beach Police Department news release.

Dakota Dak Prescott was released Monday after telling police he did not want to press charges and did not need medical treatment following a parking lot skirmish at 4:51 p.m. in the Club La Vela parking lot, 8813 Thomas Drive, PCBPD reported.

Photos of the encounter quickly spread across social media, as did video of the brawl.

--- VIDEO: SEE THE FIGHT (WARNING: Contains some potentially offensive language)

PCBPD officers were called to a large crowd fighting in La Velas parking lot Monday afternoon at the end of the Waka Flocka Flame concert. By the time police arrived, the fight had been broken up by club security, police reported.

Portions of the fight were caught on a video taken on a bystanders cellphone. As the fight ends, Prescott can be seen stumbling to his feet.

Police later approached Prescott, who declined to press charges and did not want medical treatment. Prescott was not charged in the incident, police reported.

Bill Martin, spokesman for Mississippi State, said he spoke with Prescott about the fight. Martin said Prescott suffered facial cuts after being hit with a bottle, but he did not have to go to the hospital. Martin said the fight also involved teammates Torrey Dale and Damian Williams.

--- VIDEO: SEE THE FIGHT (WARNING: Contains some potentially offensive language)

Martin added that the three players were headed back to Starkville, Mississippi, where the university is located.

Prescott sent a message on Twitter on Monday night that said, Thanks for all the Concerns and Prayers! Im okay [sic] and ready to get back to Starkville. Ignorance happens! Be safe on Spring Break!

PCBPD reported the incident is still under investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.newsherald.com/news/crime-public-safety/mississippi-state-quarterback-dak-prescott-injured-in-pcb-concert-fight-1.448451



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A St. Patrick's Day lunch menu from Sonoma's Meadowcroft Wines



The Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, is one of the only cooking schools in the world with its own 100-acre, certified organic farm.

Ballymaloe graduate Darby Tarantino uses that sprawling, verdant garden as inspiration each March when she creates an authentic St. Patricks Day luncheon at the tasting room of Meadowcroft Wines in Sonoma, where she serves as the resident chef and wine educator.

Unlike the faux-Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage, which is more Manhattan Island than Emerald Isle, her farm-to-table feast conjures up all of the sweet root vegetables and crisp spring bounty of Ballymaloe, a Gaelic word that means the townland of sweet honey.

When they think of Irish food, people always think of meat and potatoes, said Tarantino, whose ancestors fled County Cork during the potato famine. But at Ballymaloe Cookery School, theyve realized that Ireland is more than that. Its surrounded by ocean, and its founder, Darina Allen, is responsible for all kinds of farmers markets all over the country.

Tarantino, who grew up in Santa Rosa and now lives in Penngrove, made her first trip to Ireland in 2000, then returned every year until 2007, when she decided to leave her job in escrow to enroll at Ballymaloe and reinvent herself as a food and wine maven.

I fell in love with the country, so I started going back every year, she said. Ireland was calling me home. Whenever I land at the airport there, I have a feeling of being home.

In 2007, the Celtic Tiger economic engine was still roaring when she started classes at Ballymaloe, which opened its doors in 1983 and has been teaching students the secrets of authentic Irish cooking ever since.

Everything we cooked came from the organic farm, she said. We made our own cheese, and even milked the cows.

During the first week, Allen taught the students how to make a proper Irish soda bread, a simple, unleavened loaf made with flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt.

She taught us how to get the right texture, and how to tell if it is done, Tarantino recalled. You have to have just the right amount of buttermilk and when you tap the bottom, you should hear a hollow sound.

Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/3584983-181/a-st-patricks-day-lunch



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