Behind The Scenes: Record Label Demands From Amazon

Amazon defied the record labels by launching an unlicensed personal cloud music service. (Disclosure: I'm CEO of competitor MP3tunes.) Music companies immediately expressed their dissatisfaction and Amazon public stated they would discuss licenses with labels. Since then considerable speculation has swirled about regarding licensing discussions Amazon, Google and Apple are having with the 4 major record labels. Dominating the discussions is the labels concern that personal cloud services will exacerbate piracy and erode their business even further. Consequently they want to impose substantial restrictions on any such service, but each labels has different concerns and demands. Below are examples of the startling limitations major labels wish to impose on such services. Universal Music Group is concerned that users will load pirated songs into lockers. Average MP3 players house more than a thousand songs and UMG believes that many were unpaid for. They do not want to see the billions of songs that came from P2P system laundered (think drug money) in a cloud service and become legitimate.

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Watch UFC 129 from your own room in the Rogers Centre

UFC 129 in Toronto sold out in record time, but fans left without seats have an option to get into the Rogers Centre: book a room for $1,300 in the Renaissance Hotel, which is a part of the Rogers Centre and looks into the large, domed arena. You and up to three friends can enjoy the fights from the privacy of a hotel room.

Of course, there's fine print:

The hotel plans on enforcing a strict set of special policies regarding the number of guests in the room, as well as the restriction of outside food and beverages, so be sure and check out the rules before booking the room.

You don't want to be watching a crucial moment in Jake Shields vs. Georges St. Pierre and have hotel security bust in and kick everyone out before you hear the judges decision, so it makes sense to follow these rules.

According to the Renaissance, the hotel rooms are comparable to 200 or 300-level seats, which are going for between $350-600 on Stubhub. A $1,300-room split four ways is $350. Throw in tax and food, and the room will cost about $400 a person, so it's not necessarily a cheaper option.

There are upsides to having a private room to watch the fights:

-- No line for the bathroom.

-- If a fight breaks out in the stands, that has no effect on you. Let the idiots tussle. They won't knock over your beer.

-- A break in the fights = naptime.

-- The guy yelling, "PUT HIM IN A BODYBAG!" is not sitting behind you. Neither is the armchair coach, the know-it-all, the fighting couple or the way-too-drunk-too-early-in-the-night guy. (Unless those are your friends. If they are, you can lock them in the bathroom.)

But it's not everything you could want in a fight-watching experience. A few years ago, a young woman tried to watch a Blue Jays game from a Renaissance room wearing nothing but a thong and a smile, and security quickly put an end to it.

More UFC 129 coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
Georges St. Pierre's training is just messing with us now
St. Pierre visualizes Toronto celebration

Would you want to watch the fights from a hotel room? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Why Can?t Anyone Make A Popular Tablet?

I've been thinking a lot about the popularity of tablets and the problems manufacturers face coming up against the iPad. The devices that we see here at CG are all pretty amazing - even the Playbook was a cool, if flawed, device - but no one device seems to be able to grab any traction. In looking back, I see echoes of the netbook craze of the oughts, and the parallels with this "fad" (along with the distinct differences) are very telling.

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What you need to know from this week on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

Team dos Santos has the momentum from last week's win. Who will win the next fight? Will Brock Lesnar misuse more colloquialisms? Who paints his toenails? Read on for spoilers and a recap this week's episode.

Lollygagging of the week: After the loss, Lesnar is disappointed in the work ethic of his team, making me think that Lesnar learned his coaching style from:

You know what that makes you? Lollygaggers.

Fight announcement of the week: Team dos Santos has this week's pick, so he picks Ramsey Nijem to take on Lesnar's Charlie Rader, who Lesnar called out for lollygagging.

J. Crew model of the week: Nijem has painted toe nails and loves Glee, which give his teammates a reason to make fun of him."Everyone makes fun of me for watching Glee, but those kids are talented," Nijem says. No argument here.

Like a two-year-old, he takes his clothes off at the drop of a hat. He likes to joke around with his teammates, which may be a ruse to throw his opponents off. Perhaps, or perhaps not.

Cameo of the week: Brock Lesnar brings in UFC Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes to work with his fighters on wrestling. Now, far be it from me to question Lesnar, but he is a former wrestler with pretty strong bona fides, and so he brought it another wrestler ... ? I love wrestling as much as anybody, but wouldn't it make sense to bring in a coach to shore up weaknesses? Nonetheless, Brock's team loves working with Hughes, a legendary welterweight.

As both teams talk about this fight, they're absolutely sure that the other team is underestimating the other. Both teams think that their fighter's advantage will be wrestling. Hmmm.

Misuse of the word disgrace of the week: Lesnar tells Rader that if he doesn't win, it's a disgrace because Nijem paints his toenails. I'd like to see Lesnar call Chuck Liddell a disgrace.

Fight of the week: Ramsey Nijem (Team dos Santos) vs. Charlie Rader (Team Lesnar)

Round One: Nijem starts by driving Rader into the fence in a clinch. They continue to pummel for much of the round until Nijem throws an inadvertent knee to Rader's crotch. Once broken apart, Nijem dives in for another takedown attempt. Though he has trouble getting it, he does inflict damage with knees and short strikes. He finally puts Rader on his back after tons of work. Rader springs back to his feet, but Nijem brings him back to the ground and stays in control for the rest of the round.

Round Two: This time, Nijem has no problem getting the takedown. He takes Rader's back and controls him at the beginning of the round, throwing short strikes until he can flatten Rader out and apply a rear-naked choke. Rader didn't put up much of a fight, and tapped to give Nijem the win.

After the fight, Lesnar said that he was worried from the start of the fight, when he saw the look in Nijem's eyes. He also says that Rader quit, an idea that Dana White backed up.

Quote of the week: "I don't even care. These guys don't want to even be here." -- Brock Lesnar

Lesnar clearly doesn't know how to handle fighters who don't have the same drive as he has. He rips them for choking and not caring. It's going to be a long season if Lesnar and his fighters don't get on the same page.

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Rebecca Black Says O Music Awards Had 'Great Energy'

Online sensation also talks about her 'awkward' newfound fame.
By Aimee Curran, with reporting by Gabi Gregg

Rebecca Black
Photo: MTV News

Regardless of whether you love or loathe the music of Internet sensation Rebecca Black, the "Friday" singer was a perfect choice to host the O Music Awards Fan Army Party at Las Vegas' Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino on Thursday (April 28). After presenting the Fan Army FTW award to Tokio Hotel, we caught up with the viral phenom to find out what she thought of MTV's first online awards show and how she's adjusting to her newfound fame.

Although Rebecca's overnight success has garnered endless hate and even death threats in the past few months, she was overjoyed to have opportunities like hosting the O Music Awards bash.

"It was so much fun," she told us. "There was great energy everywhere, and it's awesome to see all the fans."

The Fan Army FTW award was the most personal award of the night, based solely on the love and support of an artist's fans. While the haters might be pretty loud, Black said she has just as many fans who are already talking about forming their own Rebecca Black army of support.

"I've heard someone say, 'Let's call ourselves this,' 'Let's call ourselves that,' but I don't think there's an official one," she said of her yet-unnamed fanbase.

While her fans figure it out, Rebecca said she's still adjusting to being a recognizable face in the public eye.

"It's kind of awkward, because I'll be walking and I'll have no makeup on, and I just don't look good," she laughed. "So they'll be like, 'Oh my gosh, you're Rebecca Black!' And I'm like, 'Ummm yes!' "

What should Rebecca Black's fans be called? Share your ideas in the comments!

Related Videos

• MTV News Extended Play: Rebecca Black

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South Park Scares You Into Reading Apple?s Terms And Conditions

You know the drill ... You open iTunes and there's a popup that asks you to download a new version. You download the newest version and there's another popup asking you to agree to Apple's Terms of Service. But it's over 55-pages long! You scroll to the bottom and hastily click "Agree," because what's the worst that can happen right? Right? Well in South Park's out-of-control genius premiere last night (which you've probably already seen but I'll repost clips of for the three of you who haven't) creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone took iPhone Location-gate to the next level in a plot line that was a mashup of a Stevenote and the horror film "The Human Centipede."

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Strikeforce: Shinya Aoki Easily Submits Lyle Beerbohm

by Michael David SmithShinya Aoki is one of the greatest submission specialists in mixed martial arts, so it was no surprise that Lyle Beerbohm was no match for him at Saturday night's Strikeforce event.

But it was a bit of a surprise just how easy Aoki made it: The whole fight lasted just a minute and a half, and Beerbohm all but invited Aoki to submit him with an odd game plan: Beerbohm charged forward and pressed Aoki against the fence in the opening seconds of the first round, a clear mistake that put Aoki in his wheelhouse when they fell to the ground.

 

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The view from two MMA judges’ seats

MMA fans disagree on nearly everything, from the best pound-for-pound fighter to the best promotion to even the prettiest ring card girl. However, there is one area that MMA fans, media, promoters and fighters do agree on -- the state of MMA judging is nothing short of sorry. Martin Kampmann, Nam Phan and Riki Fukuda were recent victims of egregiously bad judging, but rarely does a card go by that doesn't have at least one judges' decision that leaves the MMA world confused.

Two judges spoke up recently about their job, and how they arrive at decisions. Chuck Wolfe, who surprised Bellator fans by scoring Joe Warren 30-27 in a win over Marcus Galvao, despite the damage that Galvao inflicted on Warren during the second round. Wolfe defended his call:

"He had three rounds to take Warren out if he really wanted to beat him -- he had three rounds to dominate Warren, as well as Warren had three rounds to dominate him," Wolfe said. "It's up to the fighter. ... Don't leave it in the hands of the judges, especially when it's a close fight."

Yes, that's a judge saying, "Don't leave it in my hands." Wolfe mentions his credentials, but then essentially says, "Don't make me do the job." Imagine being at work and telling that to your boss. How long would it be before you cleaned out your desk?

Jeff Blatnick, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and an early player in building the UFC, now serves as a well-respected MMA judge. He allowed reporter Jim Genia to shadow him through a regional MMA event in New Jersey, explaining some of the nuances to judging that fans can't see from their seat in the stands or through their television screen.

"If a fighter winces from a landed punch, that means it scored," he says.� "If I hear the whoosh of a foot dragging on a takedown, it's a legitimate attempt at a takedown."

Blatnick acknowledges that there will be subjectivity among judges, because a judges has to compare apples and oranges. Does a takedown matter more than three elbows? How does a leg kick stack up next to a jab?

Judging is a problem in MMA, but one that is to be expected in a sport that has grown so much in a short time. Judges with backgrounds in wrestling or boxing or jiu-jitsu are having to learn the value of the other disciplines. What's clear is the need for ongoing education for current and new judges. Some states, like New Jersey and Ohio, already have stringent requirements for judges. Other states need to catch up.

The good news is that MMA recognizes the problem exists, which is the first step in fixing any debacle. Recently retired UFC vet Ricardo Almeida plans to go into judging, hopefully starting a trend for former fighters.

Education and more qualified judges will help, but something that any fan of a judged sport need to realize is that subjectivity will always creep into the judges' minds. Their decisions will forever be one more area of disagreement for MMA fans.

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The worst part of UFC 129 for GSP and Shields? Dealing with the sometimes dopey media

Fighting in front of 55,000 fans, a huge pay-per-view audience and increased media attention has to be great for the fighters at UFC 129. There is a downside. With all the interest, Jake Shields and Georges St-Pierre say the media crush has been unbelievable.

"It's always a distraction. For sure, I'm not gonna lie, the worst part is this," St-Pierre said. "Sometimes you have to wake up very early in the morning. It's bad because it messes up your sleep time."

Shields wants to be a company man, but when you body is on west� coast time, it makes it even tougher to fulfill your duties.

"I think they have me doing the same amount [of interviews as St-Pierre], which I'm not really used to," Shields said (0:15 mark). "I looked at my schedule up there and they have me getting up at seven in the morning for interviews, which is four o'clock in the morning my time.�It seems kind of ridiculous to me. I don't know."

The former Strikeforce middleweight champ will do what he's told. He's a quality dude. Watch him act like a pro as this crazy, smiling wacko is all over him.

Before you mock too hard, John D. Villareal is a pretty accomplished athlete. He's just a little too Tony Little-like.

GSP said he understands that the media requests are part of the business and those increase even more when you're a champion. He also knows it's how fans get their fill of the sport.

Most Excited Interviewer in the World tip via Cage Potato

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His life is ‘a living hell’ so Nick Diaz is going to box Fernando Vargas?

This latest gem doesn't sound like Nick Diaz is "playing the game." as Dana White requested last year.

Outside the cage, that means the Strikeforce welterweight champ, has to show up for drug tests and fulfill some of his media responsibilities. Do that and there could be huge paydays awaiting him in the UFC. Oh, and one more thing ... don't sign boxing contracts.

The constantly displeased Diaz told HDNet there's no one for him to fight in Strikeforce and his life is a living hell. His trainer Cesar Gracie says the MMA star has signed a deal to fight former world champion boxer Fernando Vargas in September. Gracie says the Diaz camp is just waiting for Vargas, 33, to sign the contract.

Update - Camp Diaz says the Vargas fight is off:

"We were talking about Vargas, but the thing is, I just came under some information that Vargas apparently has some kind of medical issue where he's not able to pass the test any more, and he could be retiring," Gracie said. "Vargas was very interested, but unfortunately, if he can't pass the test, he can't pass the test."

Gracie says now Diaz wants to fight Jeff Lacy.

This is all an interesting development since Scott Coker has basically indicated Diaz can't box while under contract with Strikeforce.

Vargas claims he's making a comeback and told ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto in January that he had his weight down to 187 pounds. If his goal is to make a run at a world title again, why would Vargas risk his reputation by fighting someone from the MMA world? Who wants to bet this "dream" fight never comes off?

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Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim Set for UFC 132

by Michael David SmithThe rapidly growing official fight card for UFC 132 has added a welterweight bout with major title implications.

Carlos Condit and Dong Hyun Kim will meet inside the Octagon at UFC 132, the promotion announced Friday. The fight has been added to a card that includes a main event of Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber and undercard fights including Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben and Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader.

Although most people probably don't think of Condit or Kim as one win away from a title shot, this fight could determine the next No. 1 contender in the welterweight division. If Georges St. Pierre beats Jake Shields later this month, and if he doesn't want to move up to middleweight to fight Anderson Silva after that, the UFC will be desperately seeking new challengers for St. Pierre's belt.

 

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Brazil's Barboza vs. England's Pearson Set for UFC: Rio

by Michael David SmithThe UFC's August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.

The latest fight announced for the card features undefeated Rio native Edson Barboza taking on Sunderland, England's Ultimate Fighter winner, Ross Pearson. The fight was reported by Pearson's hometown paper in Sunderland and was confirmed on the UFC's official UK Twitter account.

 

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The ‘Pitbulls’ offer another awesome finish at Bellator 41

In a highlight that should bring a smile to some fans' faces, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire scored another devastating finish for the "Pitbull" Brothers. See, the UFC doesn't have every good fighter in the world under contract ... yet.� The smaller of the two dynamos, took out a high level featherweight in Wilson Reis. "Pitbull" dominated most of the fight. Reis, a top level grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt had trouble getting Freire to the ground, and eventually wore down on the feet as "Pitbull" scored the finish at 3:29 of the final round.

Freire (16-1) advances to Bellator Season 4 featherweight final where he'll face Daniel Straus. That won't be an easy fight. Straus is a monster at 145 pounds and very good grappler. He dominated Kenny Foster, finishing with a third round guillotine choke in the other semifinal on Saturday. The win was particularly impressive for the massive Straus since the fight began with Arizona afternoon temperatures around 99 degrees.

Patricio's older brother Patricky, 25, reached the Bellator Season 4 lightweight final where he'll face Lloyd Woodard.

Joe Warren was successful in a non-title fight, but barely against Marcus Galvao. Warren, a bantamweight by trade, holds the Bellator featherweight title as well. By the looks of Straus and the Patricio "Pitbull," he'll be hard pressed to exit 2011 with that Bellator 145-pound strap. Warren and "Pitbull" met in the Season 3 final, where the American posted an amazing comeback victory after getting torn up in the first round. It looks like "Pitbull" has shored up any weakness that he had with his takedown defense.

The "Pitbulls" are on the verge of stardom. The MMA blogger for the Daily Mirror in the U.K. says they have a chance to be the next Nogueira brothers.

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Study: Weight-cutting affects brains, not brawn

Cutting weight before fights is a part of MMA. Usually, a fighter who has had a tough weight-cut is assumed to have problems in strength and endurance, but a recent study questions that assumption.

Researchers at Cal State Fullerton took a look at how weight-cutting affects wrestlers, and the results might surprise you. Cutting six pounds or more in a short period of time tends to lead to confusion among the athletes, but their strength is not affected.

The researchers found that wrestlers who lost 4 percent or more of their body mass had significantly higher levels of confusion on the day of the competition. There was no increased confusion for those who lost less than 4 percent of their body mass. Body mass reduction had no effect on other psychological functions or on grip strength or lower body power, said the researchers at California State University, Fullerton.

The weight-cutting that wrestlers do is generally of a smaller amount than fighters because they do it more often, and at the collegiate level, wrestle the same day that they weigh-in.

Fighters generally get at least 24 hours to recover from cutting down for weigh-ins, but also usually cut more weight. The study noted that decision-making is affected by weight cuts. Both Efrain Escudero and Thiago Alves did not look like themselves in bouts where they had blown weight the day before.

Consider that the next time you watch a fighter who has had significant weight-cutting issues. Is he slowing down, or is it his mental skills that are breaking down?

Thanks to the Open Mat.

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‘King Mo’ enters Evans-Jones spat by calling one of them a ‘ho’

With the UFC holding the rights to over 85 percent of top 125 fighters in the world, training partners would eventually be faced with stepping into the cage with each other. Just about everyone in the fight world has an opinion on the teammates versus teammate story.

Rashad Evans agreed to do it against newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. That Evans-Jones matchup irks Strikeforce 205-pounder Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Lawal is buddies with Evans and feels like the longer tenured member of Greg Jackson's team was boxed into a corner. The problem started with Jones stepping in front of Evans to take the UFC 128 title fight against Mauricio Rua and then softening his stance on not fighting Evans.

""I think it broadsided (Evans), because they both made an agreement (not to fight) and all of a sudden someone reneges," Lawal told Five Knuckles. "I would never fight Daniel (Cormier) definitely, and he would never fight me. Then all of a sudden if he went behind my back and said, 'I'll fight Mo on TV' … that's a ho move and a ho move deserves an ass whipping."

Lawal, like many other fighters, adheres to the philosophy that training partners should never fight.

"I know none of my training partners that are my brothers would ever pull a ho move like that. If I say I ain't going to fight my brother, I ain't going to fight my brother," said Lawal.

MMA isn't that important to his wallet, so he'd find another option if forced to fight a teammate.

"I got brothers who I train with (and) I won't fight my training brothers," Lawal said. "They can fire me and I will go to the WWE, I don't care. Rashad is a brother to me, why fight him if there are other options?"

There's no such brotherhood with King Mo and Quinton Jackson. Lawal would love to fight Jackson and thinks he could handle him easily.

Tip via Cage Potato

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Greplin: 1.5 Billion Documents Indexed, Six Engineers

Late last year we first mentioned Y Combinator startup Greplin - it's a startup that indexes your social stuff in the cloud, making all your Facebook, Gmail. LinkedIn, Google Calendar, Evernote, Twitter, Dropbox and just about everything else searchable. The easiest way to describe it is "the other half of search." They opened their doors to customers in February. The company won't talk about total user numbers yet, which isn't surprising. But we have dug one interesting data point out of founder Daniel Gross - They've now indexed some 1.5 billion documents. And they're indexing about 30 million new documents per day. What this means - when you join Greplin you authorize it to index various social apps and services. A typical user may sign up and start off by authorizing Greplin to index Facebook, Twitter and Gmail, for example. Greplin then grabs everything in those services - all your Facebook messages and updates, all your Twitter updates and DMs, all your Gmail messages back and forth, etc. , and lets you search them. When you add up all those documents for all users, you get to that big number, 1.5 billion.

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Is the UFC making a mistake honoring legendary Gracies by letting them fight?

The mixed martial arts world is fired up for the UFC to hit Brazil. The sport, built upon the backs of great Brazilian fighters like Royce Gracie, is still on the fringe in his homeland. The UFC has a chance to make it mainstream.

Once the Olympics announced it would hold the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the UFC decided it was time to make a push in Brazil. Rumors began swirling immediately that Gracie would fight on the card.

He was the champion, in a tournament-style format, back at UFC 1 and UFC 2. Gracie was the smallest fighter in the field. That was 1993 and 1994. He's 44 years old now without a professional fight since 2007.� Gracie wants the chance to close his career in the Octagon and it sounds like the UFC is willing to give him the opportunity:

"It would be the perfect place to do my last fight," Gracie told UOL Esportes (via Bloody Elbow). "I never fought in Rio de Janeiro and I couldn't be more psyched. We are negotiating [the fight deal], but we should have it finalized in two weeks. We only had an initial contact and I don't even have an opponent yet, but we should have that finalized soon ... My weight is the same as it was twenty years ago [80kg], I am still training, keeping the blade sharp. I follow a very strict diet. I never drank, never party, Carnival, none of that... I'm ready to fight"

There's also rumors that his cousin Renzo, 43, will fight on the card as well. It may be a feel good moment for a few seconds when they enter the Octagon, but it seems like the UFC could be walking a fine line with this one.

In 2006, Royce was never in his fight against Matt Hughes at UFC 60. Hughes grounded and TKO'd him in just 4:39. Renzo was slightly better against Hughes, losing at UFC 112. But it doesn't appear either should be in there with anything resembling a top 20 welterweight.

UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson was tweeting last night asking fans for their opinion on a Royce fight:

Nelson's "on the juice" mention was a reference to Gracie's positive steroid test following his last fight against Kazushi Sakaraba.

Eliminate Matt Serra from the list of candidates. Serra, a Gracie fighting disciple, isn't going to cross his mentor Renzo to fight a member of the family. The other names are puzzling. Could Royce really be competitive against Dan Hardy or Amir Sadollah?

Tip via MMAMania

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So a Lady and Her Monkey Walk Into a Petsmart...

I went to Petsmart yesterday to get some things for little Mary Margaret, and while I was pulling into the parking lot, I passed a lady getting out of her car with a monkey on her shoulders.

Of course I came to a screeching halt because there was a lady getting our of her car WITH A MONKEY ON HER SHOULDERS, and that's just something you don't see every day.

I proceeded to take a photo...

...but then thought it would be better to capture the craziness on video, so here it is:

Lady and Her Monkey Go to Petsmart from Karyn Bosnak on Vimeo.

 

When I told Mark about the lady and her monkey and showed him my movie, he said, "You really are crazy." I was like, "I'm crazy? THE MONKEY WAS WEARING A DIAPER AND PEARLS."

I mean, for real, let's put this into perspective.

Anywho, here's another photo of the lady and her monkey at the checkout counter:

I realize I now have one cat and two dogs, but at least I don't walk around with a monkey on my shoulders. (Yet.)

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Poor Beverly

This little girl's life is about to drastically change.

Check back Monday for exciting news.

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Sibblingz Launches New Version Of Multi-Device, Social Gaming Platform

Multi-device social gaming platform Sibblingz, announced a new version of its cloud-based platform, codenamed Spaceport. Sibblingz allows developers to create games on Facebook as well as iOS and Android devices, allowing players to continue the same social game as they switch between devices. The platform also offers the developers the ability to monetize free-to-play games with virtual goods.

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‘Mayhem’ Miller takes his talents to the UFC

Jason "Mayhem" Miller, a veteran of Strikeforce and DREAM and the star of MTV's "Bully Beatdown" has signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC after his Strikeforce deal expired, as reported by MMA Fighting and confirmed by Miller's Twitter account.

He plans to fight in the UFC's middleweight division:

"I will beat the brakes off most of the guys in the middleweight divisions in the UFC," he said. "I guaran-damn-tee it."

Miller hasn't fought since a DREAM win over the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba in September 2010. His last Strikeforce bout was a year ago in Nashville. He won over Tim Stout, then jumped in the cage after Jake Shields' win, sparking a brawl resulted in suspensions. He has fought in the UFC before: one loss to now-welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre.

This is the first big signing of a former Strikeforce fighter since Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, bought Strikeforce. At the time of the purchase, UFC president Dana White said that business would continue as usual and that the UFC and Strikeforce would continue to compete for fighters. Miller's contract had expired, and he hadn't had any Strikeforce fights in more than a year.

Many of the UFC's top middleweights are already tied up with fights, so it will be interesting to see where they will slot Miller first. Do you think they should challenge him with a top middleweight? Or bring him back into the fold slowly? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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Visa Makes A Strategic Investment In Disruptive Mobile Payments Startup Square

There is no doubt that mobile payments company Square is on a roll. The company just landed a lucrative deal selling its credit card readers in Apple's retail stores and is growing at a fast clip. And now the company has just received a strategic investment from a giant in the credit card industry?Visa. For background, Square offers iPhone, Android and an iPad app which allows merchants to process and manage credit card transactions with a handy little credit card swiping device that plugs into the headset/microphone jack. The device and service is the brainchild of Twitter co-founder and recently appointed product lead Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, and recently raised $27.5 million in new funding.

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Nick Diaz Beats Paul Daley in Wild Strikeforce Brawl

by Michael David SmithIn one of the best one-round fights in the history of mixed martial arts, Nick Diaz and Paul Daley pummeled each other for just under five minutes of back-and-forth action, with Diaz surviving multiple hard shots from Daley and eventually rocked Daley himself and finished Daley off by technical knockout with only three seconds remaining in the first round.

It was a great main event, and Diaz retained his Strikeforce welterweight title with his 10th consecutive victory.

The fight was an absolute thriller, and one that showed once again just how tough Diaz is: Daley is an incredibly powerful puncher, but Diaz took the best Daley had and answered every time.

 

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The view from two MMA judges’ seats

MMA fans disagree on nearly everything, from the best pound-for-pound fighter to the best promotion to even the prettiest ring card girl. However, there is one area that MMA fans, media, promoters and fighters do agree on -- the state of MMA judging is nothing short of sorry. Martin Kampmann, Nam Phan and Riki Fukuda were recent victims of egregiously bad judging, but rarely does a card go by that doesn't have at least one judges' decision that leaves the MMA world confused.

Two judges spoke up recently about their job, and how they arrive at decisions. Chuck Wolfe, who surprised Bellator fans by scoring Joe Warren 30-27 in a win over Marcus Galvao, despite the damage that Galvao inflicted on Warren during the second round. Wolfe defended his call:

"He had three rounds to take Warren out if he really wanted to beat him -- he had three rounds to dominate Warren, as well as Warren had three rounds to dominate him," Wolfe said. "It's up to the fighter. ... Don't leave it in the hands of the judges, especially when it's a close fight."

Yes, that's a judge saying, "Don't leave it in my hands." Wolfe mentions his credentials, but then essentially says, "Don't make me do the job." Imagine being at work and telling that to your boss. How long would it be before you cleaned out your desk?

Jeff Blatnick, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and an early player in building the UFC, now serves as a well-respected MMA judge. He allowed reporter Jim Genia to shadow him through a regional MMA event in New Jersey, explaining some of the nuances to judging that fans can't see from their seat in the stands or through their television screen.

"If a fighter winces from a landed punch, that means it scored," he says.� "If I hear the whoosh of a foot dragging on a takedown, it's a legitimate attempt at a takedown."

Blatnick acknowledges that there will be subjectivity among judges, because a judges has to compare apples and oranges. Does a takedown matter more than three elbows? How does a leg kick stack up next to a jab?

Judging is a problem in MMA, but one that is to be expected in a sport that has grown so much in a short time. Judges with backgrounds in wrestling or boxing or jiu-jitsu are having to learn the value of the other disciplines. What's clear is the need for ongoing education for current and new judges. Some states, like New Jersey and Ohio, already have stringent requirements for judges. Other states need to catch up.

The good news is that MMA recognizes the problem exists, which is the first step in fixing any debacle. Recently retired UFC vet Ricardo Almeida plans to go into judging, hopefully starting a trend for former fighters.

Education and more qualified judges will help, but something that any fan of a judged sport need to realize is that subjectivity will always creep into the judges' minds. Their decisions will forever be one more area of disagreement for MMA fans.

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PapayaMobile Raises $18 Million For Mobile Social Gaming Network

PapayaMobile, the developer of a plug and play technology that incorporates social gaming elements into iOS and Android games, has secured $18 million in Series B funding led by Chinese venture firm Keytone Ventures and DCM. This brings Papaya's total funding to $22 million. PapayaMobile hosts mobile games on its social network, which is comprised of over 15 million users and offers mobile developers the tools to build social gaming apps on Android and iOS. Since launching the gaming platform last year, 350 applications have integrated PapayaMobile. PapayaMobile has experienced over 375% growth in its user base since opening its social gaming network in June of 2010.

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Strikeforce Champ Gilbert Melendez Brutalizes Tatsuya Kawajiri

by Michael David SmithStrikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez made short work of Tatsuya Kawajiri on Saturday night, pummeling him with powerful strikes and finishing him with brutal elbows to the head on the ground to win a first-round technical knockout.

Melendez beat Kawajiri in a close decision in Pride in 2006, but there was nothing close this time around: Melendez dropped Kawajiri with punches in the opening seconds of the first round, blasted him with knees in the Thai clinch, took control on the ground and eventually finished the fight with vicious elbows.

 

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Video analysis: Iole and Cofield talk Diaz being next for GSP

With few quality welterweights dotting the Strikeforce roster, how willing is Zuffa to allow Nick Diaz to fight lesser names in its smaller organization? The Strikeforce 170-pound champ won his 10th straight fight against Paul Daley on Saturday, so who's next?

Diaz has the well-rounded game to give UFC champ Georges St. Pierre a real run for his money. If GSP gets by Jake Shields at UFC, will the UFC quickly abandon the "business as usual" mantra that it pitched when it purchased Strikeforce and throw Diaz at the French-Canadian?

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to discuss Diaz's immediate future and the win over Daley.

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Boys Noize Is 'Really Excited' About Spank Rock's New Music

'He's really a true artist,' DJ/producer tells MTV News of rapper.
By Akshay Bhansali

Boyz Noize
Photo: Getty

After a massive showing at Coachella this month, German electro house and techno producer Boys Noize rocked New York's Webster Hall this past weekend before settling into a more private role for the remainder of his week in the city: Alexander Ridha is producing MC Spank Rock's next album.

For the unaware, Boys Noize is a staple of the global dance-music touring circuit, a sophisticated, analog-happy producer who founded Boysnoize Records back in 2005. Lately, his thumping brand of sledgehammer productions have garnered him industry accolades, winning dance/electronica Independent Music Awards. And even Beatport.com has named him Best Electronic Artist three years in a row.

Ridha's project with Spank Rock isn't Boys Noize's first foray into album production. In fact, last year he co-wrote and produced Chilly Gonzales' album Ivory Tower. After a remix of Daft Punk's operatic "End of the Line" on the recently released Tron: Legacy R3CONF1GUR3D album, Ridha is pumped for his upcoming project with Spank Rock.

"We are both really excited about the songs," Ridha told MTV News. "It's all over the place, musically. We're doing some extra recordings with some live bands. And then there's this other song we did with Santigold, so she's gonna come in."

"There's definitely going to be those club bangers Spank Rock is known for, like the Baltimore influence. There's two or three of them. But really, I think in the last two or three years, he's really discovered his voice more. And we've actually done some, like, '60s-influenced, almost 'count rock.' We have this other song where he sounds just like Prince.

"It's so exciting to work with him," Ridha continued. "He's the bomb. He's really a true artist and the best rapper, live, as well. Like once you see him live, he'll blow you away."

Boys Noize and Spank Rock are about 95 percent done with the project and plan to drop their first single in a month. As for future plans with Santigold, Ridha told MTV News he had an extra day booked with the singer and that they may come up with material for her album as well.

Additionally, Boys Noize has plans to collaborate with Scissor Sisters as well, following up his remix of "Invisible Light" and the recently released Scissor Sisters vs. Boys Noize mixtape.

Related Artists

• Boys Noize
• Spank Rock

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White believes in Couture, thinks Machida’s style is hurting him

If you questioned why 47-year-old Randy Couture is getting a shot at Lyoto Machida, look no further than the head honcho at UFC. Dana White has long argued that Couture is still a top 10 fighter in the UFC's light heavyweight division.

During this Yahoo! feature, Fight Day, White also says Machida's counterstriking style may be turning into a negative (1:05 mark).

"The style that got him all those wins, all these years is kind of backfiring on him now. I don't think people have figured it out, but he lays back a little too much," White said. "I think he needs to be more aggressive and come forward. And he's definitely gonna have to be that way with Couture. Cause Couture's gonna be right in his face the whole fight."

Couture's recent wins came against boxer James Toney and 45-year-old Mark Coleman. Before that, he struggled to get by Brandon Vera, who was cut and then brought back by the UFC.

The USA Today/Bloody Elbow MMA poll has Couture at No. 16 in the world and No. 12 in the UFC. White says the rankings are [expletive]. Does he really stand a chance against a top five 205er in his prime? The oddsmakers say no. Machida is a massive minus-350 favorite.

Don't forget, you can watch UFC 129 on PPV right here on Yahoo! Sports.

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MMA Marketplace: Tokyo Five’s shirt for Japan

Tokyo Five bills itself as an apparel company with the Bushido spirit, and they're acting on it in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan. They are teaming up with Global Giving to raise money for Japan with the sales of a new shirt:

The shirt is just $20 and 100% of the proceeds will go to Global Giving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Click here to buy it and help with the relief.

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Happy Valentine's Day

(Bev wanted to take this photo wearing these candy nipple tassels but I said no.

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Strikeforce picks, Vegas-style: Kawajiri and Daley look to steal title belts

Both are decided underdogs, but they do have quick strike ability on their side. Tatsuya Kawajiri, challenging for the Strikeforce lightweight belt, and Paul Daley, battling for the promotion's welterweight crown, may have one path to pulling the upset and that's heavy hands.

Kawajiri's posted 11 knockouts during his career. A plus-200 underdog, he'll need to do something special to derail Gilbert Melendez, a complete fighter who's out-strategized everyone he's faced recently in Strikeforce.

Frankly, the Japanese veteran probably has a better shot than Daley does against Nick Diaz. Yet because Daley is a more familiar face to many American fans, he's actually fetching a slightly smaller underdog prize at plus-190.

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole makes his picks using the Las Vegas odds and surprised us by picking the longest dog on the board as a potential upset winner. Will any of the underdogs cash? If so, who's your picks?

Strikeforce odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium Las Vegas):

Nick Diaz (-240) vs. Paul Daley (+190) - Welterweight

Tatsuya Kawajiri (+200) vs. Gilbert Melendez (-250) - Lightweight

Lyle Beerbohm (+210) vs. Shinya Aoki (-270) - Lightweight

Keith Jardine (+325) vs. Gegard Mousasi (-450) -Light heavyweight

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White believes in Couture, thinks Machida’s style is hurting him

If you questioned why 47-year-old Randy Couture is getting a shot at Lyoto Machida, look no further than the head honcho at UFC. Dana White has long argued that Couture is still a top 10 fighter in the UFC's light heavyweight division.

During this Yahoo! feature, Fight Day, White also says Machida's counterstriking style may be turning into a negative (1:05 mark).

"The style that got him all those wins, all these years is kind of backfiring on him now. I don't think people have figured it out, but he lays back a little too much," White said. "I think he needs to be more aggressive and come forward. And he's definitely gonna have to be that way with Couture. Cause Couture's gonna be right in his face the whole fight."

Couture's recent wins came against boxer James Toney and 45-year-old Mark Coleman. Before that, he struggled to get by Brandon Vera, who was cut and then brought back by the UFC.

The USA Today/Bloody Elbow MMA poll has Couture at No. 16 in the world and No. 12 in the UFC. White says the rankings are [expletive]. Does he really stand a chance against a top five 205er in his prime? The oddsmakers say no. Machida is a massive minus-350 favorite.

Don't forget, you can watch UFC 129 on PPV right here on Yahoo! Sports.

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Director Mike Nichols: Julia Roberts ?is one of the World?s Great Mothers?

Julia Roberts puts family first ? even on the red carpet! The Oscar-winning actress attended the opening of the Tribeca premiere of Jesus Henry Christ with her sister, Lisa, who also co-produced the film with her. When In Touch asked her what the best thing was about working with family, she flashed us her million-dollar smile and said, ?To be able to be together all the time. Even longer!?

Julia, 43, admitted to reporters that, ?Producing is harder than acting. You have a lot of people to answer to.? But when In Touch asked director Mike Nichols, who worked with Julia on Charlie Wilson?s War, how Julia juggles family and career so seamlessly, he admitted, ?She?s perfect! She?s one of the world?s great mothers and wives and friends and actresses. She has an enormous heart. She?s full of happiness and love and joy. And she?s brilliantly intelligent and she?s a great actress.?

Mike also shared that Julia and her husband, Danny Moder, 42, have created a wonderful home for their children, twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 6, and Henry, 3. ?They?re so sweet, those kids. They love them so much. And they?re together all the time.?

And what?s next for Julia?s brood? ?They?re beginning nursery school in LA!? Mike tells In Touch.

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The ‘Pitbulls’ offer another awesome finish at Bellator 41

In a highlight that should bring a smile to some fans' faces, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire scored another devastating finish for the "Pitbull" Brothers. See, the UFC doesn't have every good fighter in the world under contract ... yet.� The smaller of the two dynamos, took out a high level featherweight in Wilson Reis. "Pitbull" dominated most of the fight. Reis, a top level grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt had trouble getting Freire to the ground, and eventually wore down on the feet as "Pitbull" scored the finish at 3:29 of the final round.

Freire (16-1) advances to Bellator Season 4 featherweight final where he'll face Daniel Straus. That won't be an easy fight. Straus is a monster at 145 pounds and very good grappler. He dominated Kenny Foster, finishing with a third round guillotine choke in the other semifinal on Saturday. The win was particularly impressive for the massive Straus since the fight began with Arizona afternoon temperatures around 99 degrees.

Patricio's older brother Patricky, 25, reached the Bellator Season 4 lightweight final where he'll face Lloyd Woodard.

Joe Warren was successful in a non-title fight, but barely against Marcus Galvao. Warren, a bantamweight by trade, holds the Bellator featherweight title as well. By the looks of Straus and the Patricio "Pitbull," he'll be hard pressed to exit 2011 with that Bellator 145-pound strap. Warren and "Pitbull" met in the Season 3 final, where the American posted an amazing comeback victory after getting torn up in the first round. It looks like "Pitbull" has shored up any weakness that he had with his takedown defense.

The "Pitbulls" are on the verge of stardom. The MMA blogger for the Daily Mirror in the U.K. says they have a chance to be the next Nogueira brothers.

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