Minnesota Court Awards RIAA $1.92M for Theft of 24 Songs
Court is adjourned in the high-profile RIAA case against Jammie Thomas-Rasset for the download of two-dozen songs: a Minnesota jury awarded the Recording Industry Association of America $1.92 million in their suit against Rasset for sharing 24 songs on the Kazaa P2P network. Rasset is ordered to pay the fine to four major labels for damage compensation.... read more
TEDGlobal Conference Brings Innovation to Oxford in July
Every year, 1,000 people from across the world gather in Long Beach, Calif. for a marathon of talks from some of today's most innovative thinkers. Started in 1984 to gather leaders and luminaries in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design, the TED Conference hosts presenters year after year whose ambitious resumes and eloquent 18-minute lectures demand admiration.... read more
Paste Launches Iranicon to Support Fair Elections
There are some disputes that are just bigger than the cut-and-dry facts of who wins and who loses. The current turmoil caused by the recent election in Iran is one of these times. No longer an issue of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vs. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the election has brought the basic elements of democracy into question.... read more
Where Will Emile Hirsch's Hamlet Fall Within the Canon of Modern-Day Shakespeare Films?
When we heard Emile Hirsch would play Hamlet in a modern-times Shakespeare remake directed by Twilight's Catherine Hardwicke, flashbacks of teen flicks (most of which involved Julia Stiles) adapting 16th-and-17th-century masterpieces flooded our collective memory. It's always been interesting to watch what develops in these modernizations, as directors and writers throw purist interpretation to the wind with the belief that Shakespeare's storylines transcend all time periods. Heartthrobby leads try to give Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier a run for their money, jeans-and-tees replace frilly frocks, and major turns of plot transpire in gas stations, high-school stadiums and Blockbuster video stores. Although some past adaptations have recontexualized... read more
Georgia Theatre Catches Fire in Athens
According to various reports on Twitter, Athens, Ga.'s historic Georgia Theatre caught fire around 7:00 a.m. EST this morning. Although a cause for the fire has yet to be named, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports that witnesses said the fire was "a major blaze and that the theater would likely suffer major damages." Atlanta's 11 Alive News also reports out of order traffic lights, visible smoke from miles away and "as many as 4 ladder trucks" currently fighting the flames.... read more
Mos Def's The Ecstatic: The T-Shirt
Rather than accept the decline of the physical album as an inevitability, some people are taking active steps to avert it. Case in point: music/fashion impresarios Invisible DJ, in conjunction with LnA Clothing, have designed the first ever "Music Tee" for Mos Def's latest album, The Ecstatic.... read more
Homer Simpson and GPS: Together at Last
Regardless of whether the idea of hearing Homer Simpson's voice directing you on the road sounds like a fantasy or a nightmare, TomTom has made it a reality. The cartoon father figure's voice skin is now a $12.95 accessory to the manufacturer's GPS units. And make no mistake, according to TomTom's website, this is the original Homer voice. No impersonators here.... read more
Israeli Newspaper Taken Over by Poets and Authors
Israel daily newspaper Haaretz sent their staff writers home last Wednesday and invited 31 of the nation's most celebrated poets and authors to report the day's news. The special edition of the paper was a tribute to the annual Hebrew Book Week, a tradition whose roots go as far back as 1926.... read more
MySpace Lets Go of 400 Employees
In an attempt to stay financially afloat and not become another social networking flash-in-the-pan (Remember ICQ? Friendster? No?), MySpace announced yesterday that it's laying off 400 employees, which is roughly 30 percent of its entire staff. Owen Van Natta, a former Facebook employee who was only recently christened CEO of MySpace in April, released an official press release that made the reality clear: The times are a-changin'.... read more
Vodka Company Asks Cat Power, David Lynch, James Franco, 39 Others to Share Dreams
Few things seem as personal as being allowed a peek into someone's subconscious, even if it's only for 42 seconds. But ONEDREAMRUSH, a promotional project from the New Zealand-based 42Below vodka, will let you do just that. Forty-two directors have signed on to create super-short films based on dreams they've had.... read more
Six Flags Files for Bankruptcy
Be still, our pre-teen hearts: Amusement park chain Six Flags filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend, an action that triggers wistful memories of hot summer weekends spent waiting in lines for Batman: The Ride and those ever-Roaring Rapids. Will we ever again relive those days? The future actually sounds favorable.... read more
Catching Up With... Stephen Lynch
Quietly playing comedy shows for well over a decade and releasing albums since 2000, Stephen Lynch has built up a cult following... read more
DJ Gang Steals Credit Cards, Collects Tons of Phony Royalties, Gets Arrested
The guys of Ocean's Eleven couldn't have devised a more clever scheme. But just like Mr. Ocean, a gang of nine DJs from the London area learned that even the best-laid plans can go awry. The members used 1,500 stolen credit cards to download their own tracks, thus netting £200,000 in royalties.... read more
Graphic Designer Melds Classic Novels, Albums
With his latest project, Cover Versions, graphic designer Littlepixel is reviving (and combining) classics from literature and music. The artist has used covers from 1960s Pelican books to redesign covers for albums such as Belle & Sebastian's Tigermilk and Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures.... read more
The Digital TV Transition: Three Conspiracy Theories
As you (hopefully) know, the long-awaited and once-delayed transition from analog to digital television broadcasting is finally happening... read more
Bonnaroo Ticket Seekers Offer Congas, Hoodies, Much More
Yesterday, tens of thousands of revelers headed to a 700-acre farm in the middle of Tennessee to check out one of the most beloved music festivals in the country. Bonnaroo is here. But what to do if you don't have a ticket? Sure, offering money for someone's pass is an option, but $250 is a lot to front. So, take a hint from some of these people; you might be able to pay for Bonnaroo with something from your own garage. And if you do have a ticket, but you're more interested in, say, congas, then you're in luck. While... read more
Bing: The Next Big Search Engine?
In an attempt to divert cursors away from Google's search engine and onto Microsoft-owned territory, Bill Gates' empire pulled out a big gun called Bing. The replacement for Microsoft's Live Search product was unveiled two weeks ago after investing about $100 million in ad campaign dollars, and it's generating quite a buzz.... read more
Tim & Eric: Doin' it Live
Cinco. Spagett. Pep-Pep. B’Owls. The unique language of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim... read more
Glastonbury Festival Halts Murder Trial
A murder trial in London has been delayed after the judge learned one of the jurors had tickets to the Glastonbury Festival. (We're wondering if his honor is a Blur fan.)... read more
Amanda Palmer Plans Book, Shows, Releases
After taking in years of punk-cabaret entertainment with the Dresden Dolls and the release of a killer, Twin Peaks-inspired solo effort, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, it might have seemed difficult to imagine the next page in the storied career of AFP (That's "Amanda Fucking Palmer." Her words, not ours). Hell, you might've considered enlisting the services of the Log Lady to predict what was in store.... read more
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