Southpaw Entertainment Karaoke

I don't know about you, but I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from our collective shoulders here in the US.Don't get me wrong- I like to consider myself a realist- I'm fully aware that all of the nation's problems didn't magically disappear Wednesday, but the majority of them sure as hell won't be caused (or exacerbated) by the White House going forward. That's the hope, anyway.

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I'm three episodes in watching WandaVision, and I don't have a clue what the fuck is going on. I actually dig that- because I'm not all that hip on things that are cookie cutter or predictable.

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I have been incredibly lucky to not have picked up any colds or anything over the past year (since that nasty one last January, anyway), but I'm pretty sure I have a nasty sinus infection. I mean one side of my face is just killing me (I know, my face doesn't do you any favors, either). I'm not particularly worried about it being Covid. I tend to stay away from people when there's not a global plague. Also, I can still smell and taste stuff.

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Grammy winning and Oscar nominated composer Perry Botkin, Jr. died last week. The news was confirmed by The Happy Days of Garry Marshall documentarian John Scheinfeld after Van Dyke Parks shared a tribute on Twitter last Monday.

"Perry was a magnificently talented composer, arranger, producer and story-teller, perhaps best known for composing the Grammy-winning Nadia’s Theme for the CBS soap The Young and the Restless," Scheinfeld said.

Over his long career, Botkin worked not only on TV and film, he also collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Jones, and Paul Williams, as well as arranging music for Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman and The Cascades’ Rhythm of the Rain. His most recent work was on 2017's Baby Driver. He was 87.

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Three New York ticket resellers are facing $3.7million in fines after the first court case brought under an anti-trust bill passed in 2016. Just in Time Tickets, Inc., Cartisim Corp. and Concert Specials, Inc., were accused of using bots to purchase tickets and reselling them at inflated prices.

The fines, requested by the Federal Trade Commission under the law, were lowered from an initial $31 million per company because the companies were unable to pay them (normal people like us- they'd just garnish our pay forever).

FTC chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act's "bipartisan sponsors sought to crack down on the abuses that unscrupulous actors inflict on consumers whose typing fingers were no match for algorithms in attempting to secure tickets online."

"The settlements our staff negotiated with these alleged BOTS Act violators make clear that serious consequences will befall those who cheat fans out of a fair shot to secure tickets to live events."

The Act was signed into law in December, 2016.

I can tell you, I was looking for Elton John tickets for his farewell tour and the prices for resell were goddamned ridiculous- they were like sanctioned scalping.

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The Flaming Lips had two shows in Oklahoma City Friday and Saturday night. Unlike other shows, these were (mostly) safe- as the band and attendees watched from "space bubbles" that could hold up to three people. 

The idea was inspired by Lips' frontman Wayne Coyne’s own bubble, in which he usually rolls over the crowd in during the band’s gigs.

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Glastonbury has been canceled again due to COVID-19. Originally set for June 23-27 of this year, organizers said that, in "spite of our efforts to move Heaven & Earth, it has become clear that we simply will not be able to make the festival happen. We thank you for your incredible support and let’s look forward to better times ahead."

Ticket holders have been informed that they can choose to roll over their deposit, guaranteeing a chance to secure tickets for the 2022 festival. Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, and Paul McCartney were set to headline last year's festival.

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Comic Dave Chappelle has canceled his weekend performances after testing positive for COVID-19. His representatives say he is asymptomatic.

In a statement, they went on to say the comedian has "conducted socially-distanced shows in Ohio since June 2020 and he moved those shows to Austin during the winter. Chappelle implemented COVID-19 protocols which included rapid testing for the audience and daily testing for himself and his team. His diligent testing enabled him to immediately respond by quarantining, thus mitigating the spread of the virus."

Don't know how safe he thinks he is, though, since he was photographed- maskless- earlier this week with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk and his baby-mama, Grimes- both of whom have had COVID, Grimes as recently as two weeks ago.

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The wife of the late songwriter Jacques Levy has filed a lawsuit against Bob Dylan, claiming the singer's team owes his estate 35% of the income generated by Dylan's 1976 album Desire that Levy collaborated on. 

The suit, filed Thursday by Levy's wife and the publishing company that represented him, claims Dylan’s team has "refused to remit to (Levy’s family) their rightful share of the revenue and/or income earned" from Dylan's sale of the publishing rights to his catalog last month.

Dylan's attorney called the suit a "sad attempt to unfairly profit off of the recent catalog sale. The plaintiffs have been paid everything they are owed. We are confident that we will prevail. And when we do, we will hold plaintiffs and their counsel responsible for bringing this meritless case."

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Birthdays today include: Doug Kershaw of Rusty and Doug (85); Ray Stevens (82); Neil Diamond (80); Aaron Neville (80); Matthew Wilder (68); Jools Holland of Squeeze (66); Beth Hart (49); Tatyana Ali (42); and Daveed Diggs (39). #MusicalBirthdays