An R. Kelly juror was nearly dismissed this morning after throwing a temper tantrum at the sequestration hotel Thursday evening.
The man, a white male in his 40s, apparently became agitated when his food and drink failed to arrive promptly during dinner.
"I've been waiting for a [expletive] half hour for a drink," a deputy quoted him as saying. "All I want is a couple of beers and a hamburger."
Cook County jurors typically are allowed to order any menu item under $10 and to have two alcoholic drinks at taxpayers' expense while sequestered.
Deputies said the man's fellow jurors told him there was no need for foul language, but he continued to rant. He was then removed from the dining area and taken outside, where he allegedly made some unflattering comments about the law-enforcement officials.
"You guys have been monitoring me all day," he was quoted as saying. "You know I'm not drunk."
The man was given his own room at the hotel following the disruption, deputies said.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan called the man into the courtroom and asked if he was trying to intimidate his fellow jurors. The man giggled and told the judge he was just feeling claustrophobic.
"Why are you laughing?" the judge asked. "You're grinning at me. Do you have a mental problem?"
The man told the judge that he was fine. The juror has grinned through much of the trial—even when the sex tape was played.
Gaughan let the other 11 jurors decide whether to keep him or restart deliberations with an alternate. The jury sent back a note saying it would continue discussing the case with the man on the panel.
"Your actions have consequences," the judge said. "I don't want another outburst."
Stacy St. Clair
June 13, 2008 9:24 AM CDT: Jury goes back to work
The R. Kelly jury resumed deliberations at 8:30 a.m. after spending the night sequestered in a local hotel.
The panel spent more than three hours discussing the case Thursday before the judge ordered them to recess. They already have elected a foreman and asked for testimony transcripts, which the judge denied.
Kelly is not in the courthouse. The R&B superstar does not have to be in the Cook County
Criminal Courts Building during deliberations, but Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan has ordered him to remain within an hour's drive of the courthouse in case a verdict is reached.
June 13, 2008 6:30 AM CDT: The issues before the jury
No more arguments. No more colorful cross-examinations. No more evidence. No more testimony.
After a night tucked away in an undisclosed hotel, jurors in the R Kelly case begin deliberating again at 8:30 a.m.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Monday, 23 June 2008
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Sean Connery to unveil autobiography
Sean Connery is set to shake and stir this year's Edinburgh Book Festival by unveiling an autobiography on his 78th birthday.
The Scottish actor who defined the role of British secret agent James Bond and his literary collaborator, film maker Murray Grigor, discuss the book at the festival on August 25, organisers said.
Connery, a passionate Scottish nationalist who has sworn not to live in his home country until it is independent, has titled his memoirs "Being a Scot".
As the book festival celebrates its 25th anniversary, director Catherine Lockerbie told Reuters she had been keeping an eye on Connery's autobiography through its various incarnations.
Edinburgh-born, Connery once delivered milk in the city and posed as a model at the College of Art before hitting the big time.
"His book obviously had to be launched with us," Lockerbie said.
BIGGEST IN THE WORLD
The literary feast, with a record 800 authors participating in 750 events from August 9-25, runs alongside the international arts festival, the anarchic fringe and a series of exhibitions in the biggest annual celebration of its kind in the world.
Connery's appearance also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, creator of British superspy James Bond, otherwise known as agent 007.
Author and comedian Charlie Higson will launch the fifth and final episode of his successful Young Bond series, while the authorised biography of Fleming, For Your Eyes Only, will feature at the festival.
Lockerbie has sought to attract authors from around the world.
Focus on China brings writers from the world's most populous nation, while themes on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel and fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq are covered in the festival's East and West and War and Terror series.
Lockerbie said the international aspect was key to the festival.
"I have been steadily working to increase the number of nations and cultures represented ... I think there's a strange disjunction between a globalize, homogenized, shrinking world, in one respect, and the fact that we still don't understand other cultures, points of view.
"And it seems to me that with the arts in general, and literature in particular, is a key vehicle for understanding, and that's been a mission of mine."
See Also
Phil Thornton
Artist: Phil Thornton
Genre(s):
Easy Listening
Electronic
Other
New Age
Discography:
Tibetan Meditation
Year: 2003
Tracks: 9
Dreamscapes
Year: 2002
Tracks: 8
Cloud Sculpting (Colors)
Year: 2001
Tracks: 7
Solstice
Year: 1999
Tracks: 8
Sorcerer - The Mask Of Seduction
Year: 1996
Tracks: 2
Shaman
Year: 1996
Tracks: 3
Illusions
Year: 1996
Tracks: 11
Entering The Circle
Year: 1996
Tracks: 10
Alien Encounter
Year: 1996
Tracks: 6
Pharaoh
Year: 1995
Tracks: 4
Beyond Heaven's River
Year: 1995
Tracks: 5
Fire Queen
Year: 1991
Tracks: 5
Between Two Worlds
Year: 1991
Tracks: 6
Initiation
Year: 1990
Tracks: 4
Transformation
Year: 1989
Tracks: 4
Forever Dream
Year: 1989
Tracks: 7
From Another Sky
Year: 1988
Tracks: 4
Flying
Year: 1987
Tracks: 7
Immortal Egypt
Year: 1986
Tracks: 10
Edge Of Dreams
Year: 1986
Tracks: 2
Alchemy
Year: 1983
Tracks: 6
Phil Thornton is straight off intimately associated with the British New Age medicine cause, just he is also an complete guitarist and has had a foresighted touring and recording association with Sinead O'Connor. He is a regular appendage of the neo-psychedelic English band Mandragon, and he has worked with Gordon Giltrap, Talking Heads, Stallion, Die Laughing, Naked Lunch, 4 B 2's, and Expandis. Thornton augments his musical talents as an effected studio manufacturer.
Thornton's first "non-rhythm" New Age work was the photographic film score for Overcast Sculpting, which was later released on the New World Music, home to nigh of his recordings. On this send off, he met didgeridoo player Steven Cragg, with whom he recorded Induction and Tibetan Horn. In his Sussex, England, transcription studio, Expandibubble, Thornton continues to explore new limits of sequenced electronic music (Alien Encounter) and the insights of tribal and ethnic cultures (Shaman).
Dad says Winehouse has emphysema
LONDON (Reuters) - Soul singer Amy Winehouse has developed the lung condition emphysema and has been warned by doctors that she will die if she continues smoking drugs, her father said in an interview on Sunday.
Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leaves sufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughter had series of health checks in hospital.
"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. "The doctors have said that if she had continued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid -- she wouldn't have been able to breathe."
He added: "She's got emphysema. It's in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask on her face struggling to breathe.
"With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes, her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She's got 70 percent lung capacity."
He added that a spell in hospital last week and renewed treatment for her well-publicized drug addiction had offered a ray of hope for his 24-year-old daughter.
"If she doesn't go back to drugs, then she can lead this magnificent life," he said. "We are praying that that's what Amy really wants. She seems resolute."
He called on drug dealers to help her recovery by refusing to supply her with crack cocaine.
There is no medical reason why she shouldn't be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival next weekend, he added. In the past, work has helped to keep her away from drugs.
Mitch Winehouse said the incurable illness, which leaves sufferers struggling for breath, was diagnosed when his daughter had series of health checks in hospital.
"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. "The doctors have said that if she had continued the way she was going she could have ended up an invalid -- she wouldn't have been able to breathe."
He added: "She's got emphysema. It's in its early stages, but had it gone on for another month they painted a very vivid picture of her sitting there like an old person with a mask on her face struggling to breathe.
"With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes, her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She's got 70 percent lung capacity."
He added that a spell in hospital last week and renewed treatment for her well-publicized drug addiction had offered a ray of hope for his 24-year-old daughter.
"If she doesn't go back to drugs, then she can lead this magnificent life," he said. "We are praying that that's what Amy really wants. She seems resolute."
He called on drug dealers to help her recovery by refusing to supply her with crack cocaine.
There is no medical reason why she shouldn't be able to perform at the Glastonbury Festival next weekend, he added. In the past, work has helped to keep her away from drugs.
Double P
Artist: Double P
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
Sex and Rum
Year: 2004
Tracks: 4
Gilbert hopes SAG returns with open mind
Glasvegas, Ladytron, Guillemots for Hydro Connect
Glasvegas, Guillemots, Ladytron and Iglu And Hartley have been added to the line-up of the Hydro Connect festival.
The bash, set to take place on August 29-31 near Argyll, Scotland, will also feature headline sets from Kasabian, Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand.
Other notable names set to appear on the bill include Manic Street Preachers, Sigur Ros, Elbow, Spiritualized, Mercury Rev and The Gossip.
To check the availability of Hydro Connect tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS now, or call 0871 230 1094.
Jun 17, 2008 at Raigmore, Inverness -
Jun 18, 2008 at Fubar, Stirling -
Jun 19, 2008 at ABC2, Glasgow -
More Glasvegas tickets
The bash, set to take place on August 29-31 near Argyll, Scotland, will also feature headline sets from Kasabian, Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand.
Other notable names set to appear on the bill include Manic Street Preachers, Sigur Ros, Elbow, Spiritualized, Mercury Rev and The Gossip.
To check the availability of Hydro Connect tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/GIGS now, or call 0871 230 1094.
Jun 17, 2008 at Raigmore, Inverness -
Jun 18, 2008 at Fubar, Stirling -
Jun 19, 2008 at ABC2, Glasgow -
More Glasvegas tickets
Brian Eno and David Byrne
Artist: Brian Eno and David Byrne
Genre(s):
Other
Discography:
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Year: 1981
Tracks: 11
Dulce Liquido
Artist: Dulce Liquido
Genre(s):
Techno
Discography:
Shock Therapy
Year: 2003
Tracks: 12
Disolucion
Year: 2000
Tracks: 10
Pete Wentz, 'FNMTV' And I Try To Save The Music Video, In Bigger Than The Sound
On The Record: FNMTV, FNLA and FNBASTARDSOFYOUNG
I am not, as they say, an "L.A. person." In fact, I am probably the most un-L.A. person I know. I deplore traffic, VIP areas cordoned off with cushy velveteen ropes, California Pizza Kitchen, that dude the Cobra Snake and bands like Mickey Avalon — and as far as I can tell, those are pretty much the only things that exist in Los Angeles. I thought I was the anti-Randy Newman until someone told me his 1983 song "I Love L.A." is at least partially ironic. Anyway, I strongly dislike L.A.
So why, exactly, am I here? Surely there must be some colossally important reason I've flown west, subjected myself once again to all that is terrible about this place and am now sitting in a big, fancy hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, far away from my wife and our apartment, with my window open, listening to the sons and daughters of old money squeal and cavort in the well-manicured courtyard below me as I hammer out this week's column on a bed with high-thread-count sheets.
Well, actually, yes, there is. I'm trying to save the music video.
Or, more specifically, Pete Wentz is trying to save the music video. Tim Kash and I are here to help.
See, about a month ago, Wentz called me and asked if I'd be interested in helping him out with a project he was working on: a show based on the very simple idea that, once upon a time, music videos meant something. They were big deals, things you'd stay up late to watch, with a VHS tape cued and ready to record. They were like mini movies, grand unveilings of new songs and new looks and even new bass players. Some of them were great, some were terrible and some were even art, but they all meant something to someone somewhere.
Sadly, all of that seems like ancient history — the silly logic of some bygone era. But wouldn't it be great if it weren't? Wouldn't it be amazing if videos mattered again, were celebrated and given the proper treatment they deserve? Wouldn't it be wonderful if they were shown in their entirety? The answer, I thought after rolling it around in my jaded brain for a minute, was unequivocally yes.
And that's basically how I ended up on "FNMTV," a new video show hosted by Wentz that premieres Friday night (June 13) at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (There was also some auditioning involved, but I'll spare you the grisly details.) We're currently rehearsing for the first episode — which will feature a live performance by Panic at the Disco and world premieres of videos from Flo Rida, the Ting Tings, Snoop Dogg and the Pussycat Dolls — in a heavily stucco'ed studio in Hollywood; I'm told it's the same lot where they film that show "Weeds." So far, I have sat through processes with names like "dry blocking" and "read-thrus" and have learned exactly two things: that I am incredibly terrible at TV (seriously, you should tune in just to see if my head will explode, because there's a 50-50 chance it will), and that despite my best efforts, this show could actually be really good.
And I'm not just saying that because MTV is putting me up in a big, fancy hotel with nice sheets, either. If you are a fan of music videos — or even a fan of music — you are probably going to like what we're doing here. And if, like me, you can remember the halcyon days of the early-to-mid 1990s, you're going to be happy too, because we're actually going to be playing the kind of videos that ran ad infinitum back then. Seriously!
And for fans of live performances, surprise guests and all sorts of user-generated content and interactive widgetry, that'll all be in there too — it is MTV, after all.
It's a delightfully antiquated idea — to premiere brand-new videos, often in their entirety, and then talk about them — but it's also a really vital one. Because, for better or worse, an entire generation of music fans has grown up bereft of the knowledge that music videos can really be amazing. It is a safe bet that today's 13-year-old does not have a VHS tape loaded with gems like Beck's "Where It's At," Pavement's "Range Life" or Yo La Tengo's "Sugarcube" (plus a whole lot of awkward Matt Pinfield interviews), and that's not just because VHS tapes are obsolete. It's because a lot of today's music videos aren't worth recording — or remembering, for that matter.
Through programming decisions and YouTube pixelations, the average video now has approximately the same worth (and life span) as a McDonald's hamburger or an issue of the PennySaver: They're disposable, meant for quick and soulless consumption. And if videos are basically just belched into the ether like so much burnt trash, well, why should directors even bother trying to make something of value? It's all going into the same cosmic junkheap anyhow.
I hope "FNMTV" helps to change all that. It may be naive, but hey, it's a start. And along the way, perhaps it could also help breathe life back into the genre (or something like that). If we treat music videos like events, then perhaps music videos will start actually becoming events once again. Or at the very least, maybe some kid will tune in, see a video like the Replacements' legendary "Bastards of the Young," and go, "Wow, what is that?"
Regardless, you can't say we didn't try. Actually, a lot of people already are saying things like that: Maybe we're not premiering enough videos, or maybe people will never be satisfied no matter what. Still, you should tune in anyway, because at the very least, you'll get to see my goofy ass clam up on live TV (this will be particularly satisfying to the thousands of David Cook fans I've offended over the past few weeks). After all, I'd hate to think I came all the way out to Los Angeles for nothing.
"FNMTV" premieres Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
Questions? Concerns? Video Picks? E-mail 'em to me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.
See Also
Amy Winehouse Told By Doctors: Quit Drugs Or Die
Amy Winehouse has reportedly been told by doctors to quit her drug habit - or risk an early death.
As we reported previously, the troubled singer was rushed to a private London clinic on Monday after collapsing at her Camden home.
Amy has been detained in hospital after initial tests to determine the cause of her fainting episode proved inconclusive.
Now it's claimed that health experts warned the scabby star that her drug addiction is likely to end her life if she doesn't do something about it now.
"She might have escaped this time, but eventually she won't get up again," a source told The Sun.
"The only thing to stop that happening is if she quits drugs."
There have been concerns for Amy's health since she was admitted to the hospital in August last year.
As we reported previously, the troubled singer was rushed to a private London clinic on Monday after collapsing at her Camden home.
Amy has been detained in hospital after initial tests to determine the cause of her fainting episode proved inconclusive.
Now it's claimed that health experts warned the scabby star that her drug addiction is likely to end her life if she doesn't do something about it now.
"She might have escaped this time, but eventually she won't get up again," a source told The Sun.
"The only thing to stop that happening is if she quits drugs."
There have been concerns for Amy's health since she was admitted to the hospital in August last year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)