Kanye West [ tickets ] and hip-hop group UGK [ tickets ] took home the most trophies at last night's (6/24) BET Awards [ tickets ] '08 ceremony in Los Angeles.West scored for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, and also grabbed a win in the Best Collaboration category with T-Pain [ tickets ] for their work together on West's song "Good Life," which appeared on his most recent studio set, last year's "Graduation."UGK--also known as Underground Kingz--took home the prize for Best Group and also won in the Video of the Year category for "International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)," which featured a guest contribution from Outkast.Alicia Keys [ tickets ] scored a win for Best Female R&B Artist, while Chris Brown [ tickets ] captured the male category. Missy Elliot was the flip side for West, winning Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.A complete list of winners is included below.The ceremonies, broadcast live from the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium, were hosted by comedian D.L. Hughley and featured a wide variety of live performers, including Usher, Ne-Yo and Alicia Keys.Encore telecasts of the awards show are scheduled for various times over the BET Network throughout the next month. Check BET's website for more information.List of BET Awards '08 winnersBest Female R&B ArtistAlicia KeysBest Male R&B ArtistChris BrownBest GroupUGKBest Gospel ArtistMarvin SappBest Female Hip-Hop ArtistMissy ElliottBest Male Hip-Hop ArtistKanye WestBest New ArtistThe DreamBest CollaborationKanye West f/ T-Pain "Good Life"Best Video DirectorErykah Badu and Mr. RobotoVideo of the YearUGK f/ Outkast "International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)"Best ActorDenzel WashingtonBest ActressHalle BerryMale Athlete of the YearKobe BryantFemale Athlete of the YearCandace ParkerBET J AwardRaheem DeVaughnViewers' Choice AwardLil Wayne f/ Static "Lollipop"
Friday, 27 June 2008
Thursday, 19 June 2008
R. Kelly trial: Testimony phase draws to close
Testimony officially ended in the R. Kelly trial this afternoon as the judge ordered jurors to report back Thursday for closing arguments.
The jury was dismissed without any mention of a faulty stipulation regarding the accuracy of a DVD shown in court.
The prosecution learned Monday night that images from the sex tape at the center of the child pornography trial were compressed and lost significant detail when they were transferred to the DVD, Assistant State's Atty. Shauna Boliker said. The prosecutors blamed the error on "dumb lawyers" who simply wanted the DVD to more easily show shortened clips from the original video. The state swore to its veracity in a stipulation, a statement read to jurors in which both sides of the case agree on an item.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that the defense already presented testimony based on the supposed accuracy of both the DVD and the stipulation.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan called the stipulation "a rotten tomato in the barrel" and took an hourlong recess to consider the matter. After reviewing the transcripts, the judge said it was clear the defense had access to an uncompressed, unaltered copy of tape, in addition to the disc.
Gaughan asked the prosecution and defense to work together to resolve the matter. The two sides huddled for nearly an hour before returning to court and telling the judge they intended to put their agreement in writing.
Details of the resolution were not announced in open court.
Stacy St. Clair
June 10, 2008 3:49 PM: Quality of copied tape now at issue
A problem surfaced in the R. Kelly trial Tuesday as prosecutors acknowledged they erred by telling the jury that a DVD used during testimony was an exact copy of the sex tape at the heart of the case.
The prosecution learned Monday night that images from the tape were compressed and lost significant detail when they were transferred to the DVD, Assistant State's Atty. Shauna Boliker said.
The prosecutors blamed the error on "dumb lawyers" who simply wanted the DVD to more easily show shortened clips from the original video. The state swore to its veracity in a stipulation, a statement read to jurors in which both sides of the case agree on an item.
The stipulation also misrepresented who made the copy of the tape. It said a prosecution expert witness created it, when it was actually done by an employee of the state's attorney's office.
The controversy is further complicated because the defense already presented testimony based on the supposed accuracy of both the DVD and the stipulation
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan called an hourlong recess to consider the issue.
"The stipulation is not true," the judge said. "This is the rotten tomato in the barrel."
After the stipulation had been read earlier in the trial, the defense used the DVD to show jurors that a mark on the male participant's back appears and disappears during the quarter-second that the camera catches his bare back. The defense has told the jury that Kelly cannot be the man on the tape because the R&B superstar has had a dark, caterpillar-shaped mole along his spine since childhood.
Rather than tell the jury the stipulation was incorrect, prosecutors Tuesday called a forensic video expert who ridiculed a defense expert for relying on the DVD.
Kelly's defense team cried foul, telling the judge that the prosecution made the error--and then called a witness to make the defense look foolish and dishonest in front of the jury.
"The stipulation is wrong," lead defense attorney Ed Genson said. "We put a man on based on that and they put [another expert] up there to rebut him and that's not right."
Stacy St. Clair
The jury was dismissed without any mention of a faulty stipulation regarding the accuracy of a DVD shown in court.
The prosecution learned Monday night that images from the sex tape at the center of the child pornography trial were compressed and lost significant detail when they were transferred to the DVD, Assistant State's Atty. Shauna Boliker said. The prosecutors blamed the error on "dumb lawyers" who simply wanted the DVD to more easily show shortened clips from the original video. The state swore to its veracity in a stipulation, a statement read to jurors in which both sides of the case agree on an item.
The situation was further complicated by the fact that the defense already presented testimony based on the supposed accuracy of both the DVD and the stipulation.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan called the stipulation "a rotten tomato in the barrel" and took an hourlong recess to consider the matter. After reviewing the transcripts, the judge said it was clear the defense had access to an uncompressed, unaltered copy of tape, in addition to the disc.
Gaughan asked the prosecution and defense to work together to resolve the matter. The two sides huddled for nearly an hour before returning to court and telling the judge they intended to put their agreement in writing.
Details of the resolution were not announced in open court.
Stacy St. Clair
June 10, 2008 3:49 PM: Quality of copied tape now at issue
A problem surfaced in the R. Kelly trial Tuesday as prosecutors acknowledged they erred by telling the jury that a DVD used during testimony was an exact copy of the sex tape at the heart of the case.
The prosecution learned Monday night that images from the tape were compressed and lost significant detail when they were transferred to the DVD, Assistant State's Atty. Shauna Boliker said.
The prosecutors blamed the error on "dumb lawyers" who simply wanted the DVD to more easily show shortened clips from the original video. The state swore to its veracity in a stipulation, a statement read to jurors in which both sides of the case agree on an item.
The stipulation also misrepresented who made the copy of the tape. It said a prosecution expert witness created it, when it was actually done by an employee of the state's attorney's office.
The controversy is further complicated because the defense already presented testimony based on the supposed accuracy of both the DVD and the stipulation
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan called an hourlong recess to consider the issue.
"The stipulation is not true," the judge said. "This is the rotten tomato in the barrel."
After the stipulation had been read earlier in the trial, the defense used the DVD to show jurors that a mark on the male participant's back appears and disappears during the quarter-second that the camera catches his bare back. The defense has told the jury that Kelly cannot be the man on the tape because the R&B superstar has had a dark, caterpillar-shaped mole along his spine since childhood.
Rather than tell the jury the stipulation was incorrect, prosecutors Tuesday called a forensic video expert who ridiculed a defense expert for relying on the DVD.
Kelly's defense team cried foul, telling the judge that the prosecution made the error--and then called a witness to make the defense look foolish and dishonest in front of the jury.
"The stipulation is wrong," lead defense attorney Ed Genson said. "We put a man on based on that and they put [another expert] up there to rebut him and that's not right."
Stacy St. Clair
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
HarperCollins sues mob chief's daughter over book
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Victoria Gotti, a newspaper columnist
and the daughter of late Gambino crime family boss John Gotti,
was sued on Thursday by HarperCollins Publishers for the return
of a $70,000 advance on a memoir that was never written.
Gotti and HarperCollins signed a contract in 2005 for two
books, including an untitled memoir, according to the lawsuit
filed in New York state court, which accused Gotti of breach of
contract.
Gotti, who was once a columnist for the New York Post, has
written several books and was the star of the reality
television show "Growing up Gotti."
She was paid $70,000 for the memoir and promised to deliver
a complete manuscript by November 2005.
Gotti twice delivered an outline of the book but the
outlines were rejected as "unacceptable" by the publishing
house and she was advised that the outlines "were not capable
of producing a complete manuscript," the lawsuit said.
Gotti was asked to return the money but never complied, it
said.
Gotti was not immediately available for comment.
HarperCollins is a unit of News Corp.
(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Michelle Nichols)
and the daughter of late Gambino crime family boss John Gotti,
was sued on Thursday by HarperCollins Publishers for the return
of a $70,000 advance on a memoir that was never written.
Gotti and HarperCollins signed a contract in 2005 for two
books, including an untitled memoir, according to the lawsuit
filed in New York state court, which accused Gotti of breach of
contract.
Gotti, who was once a columnist for the New York Post, has
written several books and was the star of the reality
television show "Growing up Gotti."
She was paid $70,000 for the memoir and promised to deliver
a complete manuscript by November 2005.
Gotti twice delivered an outline of the book but the
outlines were rejected as "unacceptable" by the publishing
house and she was advised that the outlines "were not capable
of producing a complete manuscript," the lawsuit said.
Gotti was asked to return the money but never complied, it
said.
Gotti was not immediately available for comment.
HarperCollins is a unit of News Corp.
(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Michelle Nichols)
Thursday, 5 June 2008
Tone
Artist: Tone
Genre(s):
Rock
Discography:
Solidarity
Year: 2006
Tracks: 7
The similarities of Tone, a self-proclaimed guitar ensemble, to Savage Republic and the Band of Susans ar well-nigh potential non accidental. The Washington, D.C.-based implemental band's debut record album appeared on Independent Project, the label execute by ex-Savage Republic guitar player Bruce Licher; the recording was produced by Robert Poss of Band of Susans. Including early members of Government Issue and Unrest, the grouping concentrates on building a mass of post-punk guitar reasoned with a svelte psychedelic edge on their instrumentals, as well recalling some traits of Glenn Branca's electric guitar orchestrations. Sustain appeared in 1996.
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