sandi garrulity: May 2012

Sunday, May 13, 2012

John Travolta's Difficult Week: Another Sexual Harassment Claim

Actor's lawyer vehemently denies all three claims that have been made so far.
By Gil Kaufman

John Travolta
Photo: Getty Images

After two anonymous male masseurs came forward with claims alleging that John Travolta assaulted and sexually harassed them during rub downs, another man has come forward with a similar story.

The third alleged victim, the first to be publicly named, is Chilean cruise ship employee Fabian Zanzi, who, according to reports, says that Travolta accosted him in 2009 while he was working as a VIP liaison on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Zanzi told ABC.es that Travolta allegedly offered him $12,000 to have sex, but that he spurned the "Pulp Fiction" star's advances. "He hugged me and asked me to do a massage," Zanzi said. The cruise ship worker has reportedly filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Travolta, but no evidence of that suit had emerged at press time.

The latest allegation capped a difficult week for the married star, who has long battled allegations that he is gay. The two anonymous masseurs filed a $2 million civil lawsuit  against Travolta earlier in the week, which the actor's lawyer tagged as "a complete fiction and fabrication." Speaking on Travolta's behalf, attorney Marty Singer said, "None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred. The plaintiff, who refuses to give their name, knows that the suit is a baseless lie. It is for that reason that the plaintiff hasn't been identified with a name even though it is required to do so."

Singer went on to say that Travolta, ,58, was not in California on the date when the first claimant -- who has since said he got the date wrong -- said the "Hairspray" actor allegedly made sexual advances towards him during a massage.

On Friday (May 11), Singer also denied the claims by Zanzi, accusing him of "hopping on the bandwagon" in search of "his 15 minutes of fame."

"This individual is simply hopping on the bandwagon to get his 15 minutes of fame by coming up with a story for the first time with something that supposedly happened over three years ago," Singer told the New York Daily News. "Nobody has ever heard from this guy before. No lawyer has contacted us."

Radar Online reported that the Atlanta resort where the second John Doe accuser claims Travolta made sexual advances has been asked to preserve the surveillance tape taken during that time in the event that it becomes evidence in the lawsuit.

Quoting an unidentified source close to the case, the gossip site reported, "The hotel has been notified by the masseur's attorney to preserve the surveillance video of the time when Travolta stayed there ... The surveillance video will be crucial evidence in the case because it shows Travolta going to the spa the next day after it is claimed the incident occurred, looking for the masseur, because he wanted to see him again, which is all detailed in the lawsuit. Travolta was told the masseur wasn't available and he left. The masseur was extremely upset when he left Travolta's room, which would have been captured on the camera in the hallway as well."

The 14-page suit filed by the first alleged victim last Friday in California's U.S. District Court, charges Travolta with assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that among other salacious activities, Travolta exposed himself and groped the masseur despite protests during a massage performed in Los Angeles in January 2011.

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Audi e-bike W?rthersee lets you pop wheelies eco-style, plays nice with your smartphone

We're no stranger to e-bikes here, but most of the examples we've seen so far have very much been meant for A-to-B rides. Audi's aiming to fix that with its e-bike Wörthersee prototype. The carbon fiber transport not only has a strong 2.3kW motor -- the most powerful ever in a bike, so says Audi -- but can use that power for tricks. You can flick the Wörthersee into a wheelie mode and either shift your weight around or leave it fully automatic, depending on the fierceness of your stunt skills. Not that it'll be a timid ride if you prefer to keep both wheels on the ground, as a motor-assisted pedaling mode will take you up to 50MPH, and you can still ride at 31MPH if you're not keen on using your legs. That's faster than the already speedy Grace One City we tried, folks. The vorsprung durch technik also comes through a smartphone tie-in, although in a much more stunt-savvy way than the app- and tuning-focused Ford E-Bike Concept: it tracks video and trick runs, both for its own game system and for bragging rights on Facebook.

With a very light 3.5-pound carbon fiber frame and a quick 2.5-hour charge-up time, the e-bike Wörthersee sounds like a wild ride that will charge quickly enough for a spin on your lunch break, but we wouldn't rush to put down a deposit. Audi is calling the prototype a "show bike," which is a sign than the design as-is won't show up at the local sports store. We'll let you know if the Wörthersee or a more pragmatic descendant makes the leap to a dealer.

Continue reading Audi e-bike W?rthersee lets you pop wheelies eco-style, plays nice with your smartphone

Audi e-bike W?rthersee lets you pop wheelies eco-style, plays nice with your smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 May 2012 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So Chic! Liz Lange and Target?s New Diaper Bag Collection

The new line of baby bags is both affordable and stylish.

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iPod owners notified of RealNetworks lawsuit's class action status, given chance to cash in

Remember RealNetworks' 2005 lawsuit over Apple's effort to keep Harmony DRM off of the iPod, calling the countermeasures an abuse that locked customers into Apple's FairPlay copy protection and the iTunes Store? You're forgiven if you don't -- the complaint was filed in 2005. Even with iTunes having gone primarily DRM-free over three years ago, though, owners of iPods bought between September 12th, 2006 and March 31st, 2009 are just now getting notices that they qualify for a slice of any damages if they register and Rhapsody's former owner wins in court. Of course, there's no guarantee that RealNetworks will win and get you music money to feed your iPod, iPod classic, iPod nano or iPod touch, but unless you're planning to sue Apple yourself, there's no penalty for a legitimate claim.

iPod owners notified of RealNetworks lawsuit's class action status, given chance to cash in originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 07:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ars Technica | source

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Friday, May 11, 2012

With 12M+ Downloads, Scan Launches Scan-to-gram, A New Way To Follow People On Instagram

Three guys from Provo, Utah set out on a mission to make QR codes, those boring pixellated, black-and-white squares come alive -- in other words, to extend their functionality by turning them into realworld "like," "follow," and "buy" buttons. And it's been working. In February, Scan announced a seed funding round from Shervin Pishevar, Google Ventures, CRV, Start Fund, Social + Capital, Ludlow Ventures, and more. The company moved their operations from Utah to San Francisco, and is currently sitting at just over 12 million downloads across iOS devices. As Scan is in the business of creating apps that extend the potential application of QR code tech, Scan is today leveraging the buzz around Instagram to let businesses, organizations, etc. build their Instagram user base via QR codes. The new app, appropriately called Scan-to-gram, which launches today, lets users scan QR codes and instantly follow a company and its employees. Notable Instagrammers to be part of its initial launch, including Warby Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Nike, Marc Jacobs, and, notably, the Instagram team itself.

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Six-Year-Old Records Unassisted Triple Play in Little League Game

Only 15 players in Major League Baseball history have ever turned an unassisted triple play. In 120 YEARS. Now a six-year-old has joined the club!

Due in large part to terrible base-running by his opponents, but still.

In a youth baseball game in Georgia, a soft line drive floated directly to shortstop Ross Bernath, who nabbed it cleanly, raced back to touch third base, then chased down the somehow-still-advancing runner from second. Score it 5, unassisted!

The only sad part? Ross' career may have just peaked.

Six-Year-Old Unassisted Triple Play

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Defense in Hudson family slayings: Case not proved

FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2011 file photo, singer and actress Jennifer Hudson speaks in Chicago. On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, attorneys for William Balfour, who is on trial in Chicago and charged in the 2008 murders of the Hudson's mother, brother and nephew, are expected to put on a brief defense after the prosecution rests its weeklong case. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Cook County Sheriff's Department shows William Balfour, who is charged in the murders of the mother, brother and nephew of Oscar winner and singer Jennifer Hudson. On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, attorneys for Balfour are expected to put on a brief defense after the prosecution rests its weeklong case. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday.(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

CHICAGO (AP) ? A defense attorney for the man accused of killing relatives of Jennifer Hudson says prosecutors have failed to prove their case.

Public defender Amy Thompson told jurors Thursday that she was "offended" that prosecutors "would ask you to throw your logic away."

Hudson's former brother-in-law, William Balfour, is charged with murdering her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew in October 2008 in what prosecutors contend was a fit of rage against his ex-wife.

During their closing argument, prosecutors showed jurors photos of the victims' bloody bodies juxtaposed with pictures of them alive.

Prosecutor Jennifer Bagby also said physical evidence links Balfour to the crime, and that jurors have "overwhelming circumstantial evidence."

She took time to describe what circumstantial evidence, saying it is everything short of a direct witness.

Associated Press

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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Gangster Squad Trailer: Ryan Gosling Stars in Legendary L.A. Crime Drama

The first trailer for Gangster Squad, starring Ryan Gosling and based on a truth-based criminal saga from the late 1940s, has been released.

Tales From the Gangster Squad was a published series of articles by Paul Lieberman that appeared in the L.A. Times over half a century ago.

Set in 1949, the film centers on mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) who reaps ill-gotten gains from drugs, guns, prostitutes and gambling.

Gangster Squad Trailer

And Cohen it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are firmly under his control.

It's up to a few "outsider" cops, Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Gosling) to bring down this epic crime boss for good.

Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Nick Nolte and Anthony Mackie also star in the film directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland).

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Honda wins appeal of small-claims hybrid judgment

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A judge overturned a nearly $10,000 small claims judgment against American Honda Motor Co. that was won by a car owner who said the automaker misrepresented that her hybrid Civic could get 50 miles per gallon, according to a ruling released Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Dudley W. Gray II ruled Tuesday on Honda's appeal of a court commissioner's award of $9,867 to Heather Peters.

Peters had opted out of a class-action settlement giving some 200,000 owners between $100 and $200 each, plus a rebate if they buy a new Honda She elected instead to sue the automaker on her own.

Peters, a lawyer, also urged Honda owners to take the small-claims route as she did, and her initial success led some 1,700 other hybrid owners to follow suit.

The ruling by Gray will not have a direct effect on any of those other cases. However, a legal observer said it could pose a challenge to those pursuing small claims actions.

"I think it will make it harder for them to fight their case on an individual basis," said Aaron Jacoby, a class action lawyer in Los Angeles who is not involved with the Honda case.

The ruling is "not binding on another court, but it certainly is persuasive," he added.

A phone message left Wednesday for Peters was not immediately returned.

Honda said in a statement that it's pleased with the ruling.

"We are never satisfied when a customer is anything less than satisfied with one of our products, and the company does not relish the necessity to defend the truth in opposition to any of our customers," the statement said.

Gray's ruling found, among other issues, that while Peters had standing to bring the case in state court, federal regulations govern fuel economy ratings posted on vehicles and related advertising claims. The ruling also said most owners of that type of car achieve fuel economy close to federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

In addition, the judge said EPA miles per gallon ratings are for comparison among vehicles and don't account for various factors such as the condition of the car or the length of the trip, that can affect mileage.

"Despite these many variables, most of the owners of the subject vehicle achieve fuel economy very close to the EPA estimate," Gray wrote.

Peters argued that Honda knew it had problems with the hybrid cars but continued to advertise them as an alternative to high gas prices and a way to help the environment.

But Gray said the automaker's advertising slogans "are not specific promises of anything."

Peters also said her battery failed early on and was never again fully charged after she received a software update, leaving the car to run almost entirely on gasoline.

"The court finds it was designed to prolong the life of the battery, not to increase mileage or performance of the vehicle," Gray said of the software update.

Peters' "subjective impressions of sluggishness or impaired safety are unsupported by any objective evidence," he said.

Peters took her case to a small claims court in January, saying her 2006 Civic was expected to get 50 mpg, but barely got 30 mpg. She said she wouldn't have bought the car if its mileage was advertised, and her purpose for taking Honda head-on was to hold the automaker accountable for false advertising.

Her suit marked a unique end run around the class-action process that she said offered too little to Honda owners and too much to lawyers.

A judge has valued the class-action settlement at $170 million. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have placed the value between $87.5 million and $461.3 million, depending largely on how many people accept rebates of up to $1,500.

Honda said it has prevailed in 16 out 17 similar small claims cases since January involving Civic Hybrid owners across the nation. The company didn't immediately elaborate.

Jacoby said while others have followed Peters' lead, they may not have her tenacity and courtroom savvy.

"She made it seem anyone could do this," he said. "She's very bright and very hardworking. Not everyone is like that in terms of bringing their own case."

Associated Press

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Samsung's big-chinned SPH-L300 gets papped by Mr Blurrycam

Keep it under your hat, but Samsung's reportedly got a Sprint-exclusive handset in the works. If the images are to be believed, the SPH-L300 draws design cues from the chinny HTC Legend and packs NFC. According to BriefMobile's sources, there's a 800 x 480 display in the front, a Snapdragon S4 MSM 8960 in the middle and a 5-megapixel snapper 'round back. It'll also come with 4GB onboard storage, LTE and Ice Cream Sandwich from the get-go, oh, and it'll do a flawless impersonation of Bruce Campbell when things get slow at parties.

Samsung's big-chinned SPH-L300 gets papped by Mr Blurrycam originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 09:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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