Brad

As noted earlier, I have the Sony Walkman and happy with it but oddly enough I’m not using it. When I’m driving, I bring my CDs and like that better.

There’s a new study out about the effects of drinking and the conclusion is that the Safest level of consumption is none

Aretha died without a will and estate issues loom

Well said.

Sebastià Alzamora - Blood Crime

I believe that is the real name of the sports broadcaster except that his first name is Rickie, not Ricky. He’s also the Spanish broadcaster for the Philadelphia Eagles.

FWIW, there is a Spanish broadcaster who does the play by play for the Yankees called Ricky Ricardo.

I never understood that whole Mason thing, with this degree or that degree.

Very neat.

No, just a usual forum thing I will probably take a look at it, assuming I can find it in a bookstore.

I thought the original was good too but I also thought that Marc Myers raised some points that I hadn’t been considered.

The following is a rather interesting article about music royalties and a counter reply by Marc Myers of Jazz Wax: How Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’ Became a Battle Cry for Musicians Seeking Royalties Marc’s response: “What The Times article failed to deal with, however, is the other side of the story: Did Aretha actually deserve writer or performance royalties on a song she didn't write or originally record? Covering someone else's original song doesn't entitle you to royalties just because your interpretive effort was more commercially successful. If you wrote a song (words and music) and recorded it (performance), the copyright and all the royalties associated with its use go to you. It was your creation. If I come along and vocally interpret your song differently on a record and I add a few ad-hoc lines, turning it into a monster hit, I'm not entitled to royalties. I'm entitled to payment by my record company based on my record's sales. As the song's writer in our example, you'd get paid the air-play royalties on the song that I "rented" from you. The Times article made it seem as if there were some gross injustice being done to Aretha. And I'm sure there was—on the record-sales side. Had she sued the Redding estate in 1967 to gain a writing credit for the lyrics she added, his estate probably would have been counter-sued for altering Redding's original lyrics, a major offense in the songwriting business. You're free to interpret with your voice; altering an original work by changing the words or spelling out the title doesn't merit a writing credit or royalties associated with that credit. Hence, The Times might have asked the obvious question: whether Aretha made her fair share from the sale of her Atlantic records of Otis Redding's Respect. But that's a whole other article.”

That is a hell of a story. Thanks for posting it.

That’s a good point. I know when we rented a POD a few months ago when we were renovating our garage, the rep asked all sorts of questions.

I think PODS always have to be on a person’s property because of liability issues.

Courtesy of Marc Myers, this is an amazing concert. It's a Dutch performance documentary on her concert with the Sweet Inspirations at Amstetrdam's Concertgebouw.

The problem is that he released info via Twitter instead of via through an 8-K (SEC form fo reporting significant or material information). The directors have hired outside counsel. It’s not the first time he’s run afoul of regulators. In addition, during an earnings call a month or two he was flip to banks, not the kind of people you want to annoy if you’re trying to raise funds for expansion or to take the company private.

I watched the end of the game. Tough one when you have the bases loaded and no one out.

Exactly, that is what you have to do. Those are the unwritten laws of the game. The Braves need to protect Acuña and I’m sure the Marlins would expect retribution the next time they play. The trouble is that the umpires will probably issue a warning and take it out of the hands of the players. I’m not sure I completely agree but be that as it may it’s a foreign concept too many pitchers. Not at all. It’s a question of not letting the batter feel comfortable. I don’t encourage head hunting but hitting someone in the backside can be effective. Pedro was good at this. He used to hit people and also back them off the plate. Sometimes, the thought that you might get hit can be just as effective as the real thing.

Yes, which is why he obviously got hit. I assume Urena will get a fine and asuspension. Generally, batters crowd the plate too much. The pitchers need to do something but batters fly off the handle even if you throw a bit inside. My team has a guy, Brandon Nimmo, who is always crowding the plate and, of course, he gets hit a lot. If pitchers can't pitch inside we're not going to have much of a game left.

Ditto.