Better known as the overachieving, hyper-enthusiastic Chotchkie’s waiter “Brian” from the iconic Mike Judge comedy “Office Space,” actor Todd Duffey has lost a lawsuit he filed over the use of his image in merchandise for the film—namely, the Office Space “Box of Flair” published by Perseus Book Group, which includes a book about the movie
“Whole Lotta Love” Mired in Muddy Water The case: Willie Dixon v. Led Zeppelin (1985) The complaint: Plagiarism. Some lyrics of the Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” were lifted from a 1962 Muddy Waters song written by Willie Dixon, “You Need Love.” The outcome: The case was settled out of court. Led Zeppelin conceded writing
A St. Louis judge has ruled that it’s not unlawful to flash your headlights to signal to other drivers that there are police ahead, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports. See the full opinion here. Ellisville, Missouri, a city of about 10,000 in St. Louis County, had a track record of punishing drivers who
The Tennessee Attorney General has issued an opinion on municipal sales of alcohol, and it’s a stiff one. Requested by the city of Clarksville and handed down earlier this month, the AG’s opinion means it’s closing time for certain beverage sales by the Parks and Rec Department at city-run festivals and venues, including its two
Some home-cooked omelettes may taste a little fresher in Nashville, now that the Metro council has voted to allow property owners throughout the jurisdiction to keep small flocks of chickens in their back yards—2, 4 or 6 birds, depending on acreage. The ruling legitimizes leghorns (and other breeds, too, but we like the alliteration) in
The founding of the charitable Shannon Trust organization which promotes literacy education among prisoners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was fittingly funded by the royalties from a book: “Invisible Crying Tree” published by 1995 by Shannon Trust founder Christopher Morgan comprises an eye-opening pen pal correspondence between Morgan and Tom Shannon, a farmer from
Hawaii is on its way to become the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, the kind commonly used by customers to transport groceries. Beginning January 17, 2014, such bags will be prohibited throughout Hawaii’s most populous counties, with the exception of Oahu, where a ban has passed but won’t go into effect until 2015.
The New York City Council voted recently to include smokeless electronic cigarettes in its city-wide public smoking ban. According to a report by USA Today, New Jersey, Utah and North Dakota already regulate the use of such devices where smoking is prohibited. Proponents for the measure say that the persistence (and/or increasing popularity) of smokeless
An interesting juxtaposition of developments trailing one of the biggest news stories of 2013 reinforces just how convoluted the whole situation is and likely will be for the foreseeable future: First, to the surprise of few (and the dismay of more), the White House yesterday confirmed it is not considering amnesty for Edward Snowden, the
Following the approval of a nativity display in Florida’s State Capitol rotunda–an area designated as a ‘public forum’–Chaz Stevens obtained approval to display a Festivus Pole also on the grounds. Constructed of empty Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cans and PVC pipe, the minimalistic monument is a reference to the holiday “Festivus” in the popular ’90s