Monday, 30 June 2008

Second nanny sues Rob Lowe in sex case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former nanny for actor Rob Lowe has countersued the couple, claiming she was sexually harassed while working for them in 2007 in a case filled with sordid accusations and a claim of extortion.


It is the second time that Lowe, 44, who stars in U.S. television drama "Brothers & Sisters," has been sued since he and his wife, Sheryl, filed their own suit against two former nannies and a chef claiming the three violated confidentiality agreements by divulging personal information about the couple.


In the latest suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, former nanny Laura Boyce claims that Sheryl Lowe subjected her to "sexually offensive and hostile conduct" by walking around at home naked in front of Boyce and asking Boyce questions about her sex life.


The suit says Sheryl Lowe made a racially motivated statement about the genitals of Boyce's black boyfriend.


Boyce also claims she regularly worked 15-hour days without being paid properly for her overtime. She worked for the couple last year from April through November, helping to care for their two teenage sons.


"We are on top of this ... and we are not going to stop until there is justice," Gloria Allred, Boyce's attorney, told reporters at a news conference as Boyce stood close by with tears in her eyes.


Last month former nanny Jessica Gibson countersued the Lowes, saying that Rob Lowe stuck his hand into her pants, grabbed her bottom and exposed himself to her.


Allred, a prominent attorney in high-profile Hollywood cases, also represents Gibson. 

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Elton John - Elton Lost His Heart His Virginity In San Francisco


SIR ELTON JOHN has fond memories of San Francisco, California in the early 1970s - because he lost his virginity to a man there.

The British rocker was an overnight sensation in America on his first tour and decided to celebrate with a sex session at the city's Miyako Hotel.

He recalls, "The first time we went to America was the first time I'd ever had sex with a man.

"It was the first time I'd really had sex, let alone with a man.

"I was basking in my glory; I suddenly thought, `To hell with it, here goes.'"





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Saturday, 14 June 2008

Danger Danger

Danger Danger   
Artist: Danger Danger

   Genre(s): 
Rock
   Rock: Hard-Rock
   



Discography:


Rare Cuts   
 Rare Cuts

   Year: 2003   
Tracks: 11


Cockroach (CD 2) - Ted Poley, 1993   
 Cockroach (CD 2) - Ted Poley, 1993

   Year: 2001   
Tracks: 11


Cockroach (CD 1) - Paul Laine, 1994   
 Cockroach (CD 1) - Paul Laine, 1994

   Year: 2001   
Tracks: 12


The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves   
 The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves

   Year: 2000   
Tracks: 11


Four The Hard Way   
 Four The Hard Way

   Year: 1997   
Tracks: 10


Dawn   
 Dawn

   Year: 1995   
Tracks: 11


Screw It   
 Screw It

   Year: 1992   
Tracks: 16


Danger Danger   
 Danger Danger

   Year: 1989   
Tracks: 11




Just like whatever musical movement, when such glam metal pretty boys as Poison and Ratt arrive at the big meter in the late '80s, legion aper acts of the Apostles followed in their path; one being Danger Danger. Like the aforementioned bands, the quintet -- Ted Poley (vocals), Andy Timmons (guitar), Bruno Ravel (bass), Steve West (drums), and Kasey Smith (keyboards) -- motley pop hooks and good looks with hard-edged guitar riffs, landing a deal with Epic in 1989. The same year byword the release of the group's self-titled debut, spawning the single/video "Naughty Naughty," which enjoyed a few airings on MTV's Headbanger's Ball program. The album failed to break in the grouping through to the big sentence, only the mathematical group stuck to their guns and issued further albums: 1992's Screw It, 1995's Dawn, 1998's Four the Hard Way, and 2000's Return of the Great.






Funk Fiction

Funk Fiction   
Artist: Funk Fiction

   Genre(s): 
Drum & Bass
   



Discography:


ELP Collective Vinyl   
 ELP Collective Vinyl

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 2




 





Scribe picks up two awards

Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin

Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin   
Artist: Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin

   Genre(s): 
Other
   



Discography:


West Meets East: The Historic   
 West Meets East: The Historic

   Year: 1999   
Tracks: 7




 






Bodysnatchers

Bodysnatchers   
Artist: Bodysnatchers

   Genre(s): 
Ska
   



Discography:


Let's Do The Rocksteady EP   
 Let's Do The Rocksteady EP

   Year: 1980   
Tracks: 2


Easy life [EP]   
 Easy life [EP]

   Year: 1980   
Tracks: 2




 





Mistralth

Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum   
Artist: Jamie Cullum

   Genre(s): 
Jazz: Contemporary Jazz
   Miscellaneous
   Jazz
   



Discography:


Twentysomething   
 Twentysomething

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 15


Catching Tales   
 Catching Tales

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 14


Pointless Nostalgic   
 Pointless Nostalgic

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 13




British pianist/vocalist Jamie Cullum mixes jazz with musical pop and rock candy into a crossover style that calls to mind such artists as Harry Connick, Jr., and Norah Jones. In that vein, Cullum will scarcely as often breed a swing jazz standard as a modern rock song dynasty, and his original compositions dextrously go from earnest ballads to songs of sardonic brainpower.


Having played guitar and piano since historic period eight, Cullum developed an greedy interest in jazz passed down from his older brother Ben. Inspired by such forte-piano icons as Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck, Cullum exhausted some of his formative years living in Paris, where he honed his abilities playacting in jazz clubs.


Cullum finally earned a degree from Reading University, during which meter he recorded his showtime album, Heard It All Before, at long time 19. The surprise success of that album finally put him in touch with jazz bassist Geoff Gascoyne, world Health Organization offered Cullum the opportunity to play on his album Songs of the Summer. With Gascoyne's encouragement, Cullum finally recorded his second base album, Pointless Nostalgic, released in 2002.


The album benefited from a boost of promotional material as it standard heavy airplay on TV and radio personality Michael Parkinson's BBC 2 radio show. Cullum finally signed with Universal Records and released his third record album, Twentysomething, in 2003. Catching Tales and the compilation/mixtape album In the Mind of Jamie Cullum followed in 2005 and 2007, respectively.






Ping Pong Playa - movie review

Movie fans of a certain age -- about 30 to 45 -- have fond memories of a few 1980s
HBO mainstays that seemed tailor made for TV. Eddie and the Cruisers, Just One of the Guys,
Super Fuzz… charming, silly nuggets that aired endlessly, perfect for our hanging-in-the-basement
brains. Whether they were overly earnest or just dumb, they seemed out of place on
the big screen. Jessica Yu's Ping Pong Playa feels like it could easily take its place
within that pantheon. It could be a big, watchable cable TV star, especially if you're
12 years old.



Independent Film Festival of Boston organizers said this was probably the most family-friendly
selection in their six-year history, and they're right. It's a culturally aware comedy
that's always light instead of challenging, aiming most laughs at the pre-teen set.
To put it bluntly, Ping Pong Playa is as goofy as its title.



At its center is Christopher Wang (co-writer Jimmy Tsai), the self-proclaimed "C-Dub."
He's the hoops-loving underachiever of his Chinese-American family, a clan with a
firm hold on the local ping pong monopoly. His brother (a physician, of course) is
a table tennis master, winning tournaments and bringing popularity to him mom's ping
pong class and dad's sporting goods store. Chris isn't interested. He smacks streetwise
constantly, plays schoolyard basketball with little kids, and mocks everything from
his brother's accomplishments to Chinese traditions.



But Yu and Tsai have no intentions of digging beneath the surface of identity issues
and family obligation. There's the opportunity -- even at a kid's level -- but nearly
everything has an aw-shucks, smiley sheen to it. A ridiculous fender bender causes
Chris to fill in for his injured mom and brother, training a ragtag bunch of kids
and competing in a big tournament called The Golden Cock. Huh?



Despite Tsai's best hammy efforts, Yu presents the ping pong workout sessions as
a series of clumsy music montages. There just doesn't seem to be enough script content
for anything tangible beyond that. But there is a likable energy and a few cute kids,
especially little Andrew Vo as Felix, who Chris nicknames "F-Bomb." (I love that one.)



Diminutive Felix is actually the only F-bomb in the movie. Somewhere along the way,
Yu must have decided to clean up Ping Pong Playa for a young audience because every bit
of profanity is covered by the sound effect of a basketball bouncing. Was this part
of the plan all along, or did Yu and producers realize they had a kids movie on their
hands after the fact?



Yu, an athlete herself -- a U.S. fencing team member in the '80s -- has directed
a couple of dramatic documentaries and helmed TV shows like The West Wing and Grey's
Anatomy. She doesn't have any real experience in broader humor, and Ping Pong Playa is proof.
But, in a few years, this one will end up on HBO or Cinemax next to Slappy and the
Stinkers, with throngs of pre-teens watching it over and over, giggling at Tsai's "what up
dawg?" dialogue. Hey, they may even get interested in ping pong.



Reviewed as part of the 2008 Independent Film Festival of Boston.



See Also

Jamie Foxx and stylist settle lawsuit over fees for work on BET, 'Miami Vice�








LOS ANGELES - Jamie Foxx needs no help getting dressed for trial - the actor has apparently reached a settlement with a former stylist who sued him.

Documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles show that lawyers for stylist Stacy Young and Foxx have reached an undisclosed agreement. Young helped Foxx primp for the 2006 BET Awards and a press junket for the film "Miami Vice."

Her lawsuit claimed that she was never paid for the work or her costs.

Foxx's lawyers denied the claims, saying Universal Studios, not Foxx, hired Young for the "Miami Vice" work.

Young's attorney says their camp is "pleased" about the settlement, but declined to offer details. Foxx's attorney did not respond to phone and e-mail messages left Thursday.










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Hilton fortune to go to charity

Paris Hilton's potential inheritance has dramatically diminished after her grandfather announced plans to donate 97% of his $2.3bn fortune to charity.
80-year-old Barron Hilton, the son of the man who founded the hotel chain and made the family fortune, will place the money in a charitable trust that will eventually benefit the Conrad N Hilton Foundation, raising its total value to about $4.5bn.
In a statement the foundation said: "Barron Hilton, chairman of the foundation, intends to contribute 97% of his entire net worth, estimated today at $2.3bn, including the created trusts, at whatever value it is at the time of his passing."
His wealth includes the $1.2bn Barron Hilton stands to earn from both the recent sale of Hilton Hotels Corp - started by his father Conrad in 1919 - and the pending sale of the world's biggest casino company, Harrah's Entertainment Inc.
Paris Hilton was not immediately available for comment on her grandfather's plans for his fortune.
Jerry Oppenheimer, who profiled the Hilton family in his 2006 book 'House of Hilton', has said Barron Hilton is embarrassed by the behaviour of his socialite granddaughter Paris and believes it has sullied the family name.
The Conrad N Hilton Foundation supports projects that provide clean water in Africa, education for blind children, and housing for the mentally ill. Its aims, based on Conrad Hilton's will, are "to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute".
"Speaking for the family as well as the foundation, we are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment," said Steven Hilton, one of Barron's sons and president and chief executive of the foundation.
Conrad Hilton established the foundation in 1944 and when he died in 1979 left virtually all of his fortune - including, according to media reports at the time, a 27% controlling stake in Hilton Hotels - to the charity.
But Barron Hilton challenged the will and after a nearly decade-long legal struggle reached an out-of-court settlement to split ownership of the shares with the foundation in 1988, The New York Times reported.
The hotel group was sold for $20bn in October to private equity firm Blackstone Group, while the acquisition of Harrah's - of which Barron Hilton was a board member until 2006 - is due to be completed by Apollo Management and TPG Capital in early 2008.