Israel “Cachao” Lopez, 84 year old Cuban bass player who co-created the mambo over 60 years ago, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: [Cachao] received the walk’s 2,219th star Friday in front of the King King nightclub, where a Cuban band performed in his honor after the …

On the one hand: If U.S.-led forces invade Iraq (news – web sites), world oil prices will probably plunge from current levels and stay there — so long as the conflict ends quickly and causes little damage to production capacity in the Persian Gulf, several energy analysts said Friday. [AP] …

Nashville is NOT Hollywood. Do we need any more proof of that than two concurrent stories out of the Music City: the Charlie Daniels pro-war rant, producer for country TV channel replies, gets fired story; and the Dixie Chick Natalie Maines busts loose with an anti-Bush statement at a concert …

Tossing digital video around like a beanbag: Terratec will be presenting its latest modular digital video recorder system at CeBIT this week. Designed for the living room, the Lancaster AV 701 is a multi-station system that consists of an analogue or digital TV receiver, an 80GB hard disk (enough to …

From James Grimmelmann in the indispensible LawMeme, a comprehensive report from the Berkeley Digital Rights Management conference: something has gone missing here. One of the great strengths of the copyright critique these days is that it’s so comprehensive: the story of the copyright balance being tipped too far in favor …

The amazing Johnny Cash – at a highpoint in his, what?, fifth career with American lV: The Man Comes Around – is suffering from pneumonia: Johnny Cash is being treated at a Nashville hospital for pneumonia, a hospital spokeswoman said. The 71-year-old singer, who was admitted Monday to Baptist Hospital, …

Yahoo to announce a subscription video/audio streaming service: Internet media company Yahoo Inc. will launch its most substantial subscription video service yet next week, an offering that will combine streaming coverage of news, entertainment and live sporting events, sources close to the company said on Friday. The new service takes …

I believe song sequencing is a critical – and sometimes THE critical – aspect of putting an “album” (what exactly does that mean now?) together. In this next mix-and-match phase of music consumership, sequencing will be strictly personal. Is this progress? Sure it is, but something is always lost in …

There seems to be an announcement every few days now from AOL about some new service or convenience. I am pleased and wish them well (my sister works there), but I can’t help but wonder at the timing: why couldn’t they improve the sevice and value to customers BEFORE the …

Dawn celebrates motherhood here. At least before the advent of home testing, the first sign of impending motherhood used to be the friend who didn’t come to visit. More euphemisms from the Museum of Menstruation: Are you in need? “When I was in college in Berea, Ohio, if my female …