Lohan Gets Jail Visit from Ex-GF Sam Ronson

No stranger to the bar scene, Sam Ronson rolled over to Lynwood Correctional Facility today to visit with her ex-girlfriend Lindsay Lohan.

From: http://www.tmz.com/

Samantha Ronson Visits Lindsay in the Slammer

Someone's going to have to install a revolving door to accommodate all of Lindsay Lohan's visitors.

Despite rules stating that only professional visits are allowed Monday through Friday, Samantha Ronson was the latest nonprofessional to be seen at the Lynwood, Calif., lockup where her pal will be spending the next 10 days or so.

And we doubt she was there to spin records.

Ronson went into the facility at 1:40 p.m. today and stayed for about an hour. Upon leaving, when asked how Lohan was doing, she snarked back, "How do you think she's doing?"

Well, Lohan's probably doing better than some, considering she's apparently allowed visits from friends and family, including mom Dina and sister Ali yesterday,when most of her fellow inmates have to wait until the weekend to see anyone other than their lawyers.

"Lindsay might get visitors after the official visiting hours are over for the other inmates for security reasons. It's for the safety of everyone," a law-enforcement official told KTLA-TV.

"Song Of The Day: Rolling Stones- Waiting on A Friend," Ronson tweeted this afternoon.

Also making the trip to the Century Regional Detention Center Thursday were Lohan's current attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, and one of her former lawyers, celeb-friendly criminal-defense pro Blair Berk.



Read more: http://www.eonline.com/

That's entertainment!

A surprisingly balanced examination of violent entertainment appeared on CNN.com on Monday. Inevitably, mixed martial arts was the center of discussion.

"Everyone loves a fight," Dana White told the website. "It's in our DNA. The example I like to use is that if you're in an intersection and there's a basketball game on one corner, a soccer game on another …"

Ugh. Nobody has gotten more mileage out of that sermon than White. (It's also more than a little silly; if there were an alien attack on another corner, people would watch that. Pointing out that we enjoy gross spectacle is not exactly helping the cause.)

The conclusion of the quoted Poindexters is that audiences enjoy "taboo" entertainment, something unseen in ordinary life and expressed as an extreme form of activity. But violence is really just the base level of drama and conflict, which virtually everyone finds enthralling on some level: soap operas, movies, sports. No big mystery.

What stands out is White's assertion that the UFC is pristine from a medical standpoint: "We take pride in the fact that there has never been a death or serious injury -- outside of a broken arm or leg -- in the history of the UFC," he said. Cal Worsham's collapsed lung at UFC 9 would disagree. There's also the matter of the long-term traumatic brain injuries, glimpses of which we're only now beginning to see. Is the sport safe enough for public consumption? Certainly. Safer than boxing? Probably. Safe?

No. Not even close.

MMA's biggest problem is a skewed public perception: It is neither as barbaric and slack-jawed as its detractors suggest nor as sterile and humane as its supporters argue. The danger in mindless repetition of its safety record is that we continue to ignore some very real issues relating to neurological and orthopedic damage that aren't as obvious as a broken leg or unconsciousness. Getting punched and kicked is not the brain's favorite way of passing time. It might let you know that at 25, or it might wait until 55, but it will eventually clue you in.

This ignorance is a product of the crusades of the 1990s -- both against MMA and the fans' struggle to keep it relevant. When your party line is a constant stream of rhetoric about how "safe" something is, the message isn't likely to change even when the facts do.

Part of the blame should be shouldered by promotions, which encourage fighters to "be exciting" and "aggressive." Do any fighters interpret that directive as being more dynamic with their ground game? Of course not. The language is intended to give us an endless stream of Griffin/Bonnar clones, fighters toiling in stand-up even when it's hardly in their best cognitive interests. Somewhere along the way, Sean Sherk transformed from a devastating grappler to a guy winging undersized arms at opponents. He wants his bonus checks. He wants to stay employed. Treating the octagon like an NCAA mat isn't the answer. And so we're getting more violent fights, in which strikers who have little business striking are eating leather for round after round in a career that's going to pay the wrong kind of dividends later.

Is all this mayhem adversely affecting us in any way as a culture? Probably not. Every generation has its standards, and those standards are almost always throttled by the new, "offensive" entertainment of the day. I imagine some parents forbid their children to watch the gunfights on prime-time television in the 1950s. It's a story that gets recycled.

What MMA can be targeted for is the creation of the posturing cretin who stalks Vegas hotels in obscenely tacky T-shirts, invisible lats and the confidence of someone who has taken at least five jiu-jitsu classes -- the same guy who finds blood and suffering amusing rather than galvanizing. My fear is not of a violent culture, but a tasteless one.

From: http://espn.go.com/

Digital movie standard tackles format hurdles

Movie bought once could be viewed on huge range of devices, brands

A group of U.S. media and electronics companies will soon start testing a system that will let you watch the movies you buy wherever you are, regardless of formats and other technical hurdles. Like a bank account accessible from all ATMs, your account would follow you, no matter what brand of machine you use.
The group has also come up with a name for the open standard it is creating, which it was unveiling Tuesday: UltraViolet.
The open standard backed by movie studios including Warner Bros. and technology companies such as Microsoft Corp. represents a challenge to proprietary formats from Apple Inc. and others. Those formats lock buyers of video content to limited numbers of devices, such as the iPad or Apple TV.
Backers of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem hope to kick-start growth of digital movie purchases, now just four per cent of all sales, by freeing consumers of format concerns.
That would mirror the way that the use of automated teller machines exploded once all banks co-operated in processing transactions, said Mitch Singer, the chief technology officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of the consortium, the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem.

Proof of purchase

The concept is to create a digital locker that stores tokens that are proofs of purchase of DVDs, Blu-ray discs and movie downloads.
When a consumer buys a movie online or at a store, he can watch it anywhere else, including on any mobile device or TV set without the hassle of copying his personal files.
The UltraViolet brand is meant to evoke the platform's invisible presence, and transcendence across numerous devices.
"It's outside the visible spectrum, but it's all around you and it's ubiquitous," Singer said.
Specifications for a proposed common file format will be released soon, and testing of the system with an unnamed retailer will begin by the end of the year, Singer said.

Apple, Disney not participating

Although the consortium contains a broad swath of companies including Toshiba Corp., Best Buy Co. Inc. and Netflix Inc., it does not include Apple Inc., or The Walt Disney Co.
Disney is attempting to come up with its own digital locker system called "KeyChest" that seeks to accomplish roughly the same thing. Apple representatives declined to comment.
Movie studios are pushing the benefits of being able to buy movies once for use on any device to offset the decline in DVD sales.
U.S. spending on all home video products, including discs, downloads and rentals, fell five per cent to $20 billion in 2009, dragged down by a $2 billion decline in DVD spending to $16.4 billion, according to industry association The Digital Entertainment Group.
Spending on digital downloads, video-on-demand rentals and Blu-ray discs grew by about $1.1 billion combined, to $3.6 billion, not enough to make up for the DVD decline.
One hurdle facing the digital locker concept is that the retailer collecting money on the sale may not be the one that bears the cost of delivering the movie over set-top boxes or the internet.
So far, the necessary web of deals allowing for that complex transaction has not been set up.
Mark Coblitz, senior vice-president at group member Comcast Corp., said his company has not decided how it might develop a business using digital tokens.
Comcast could sell UltraViolet-compatible movies through its Fancast video website, or deliver movies that customers have purchased elsewhere over Comcast set-top boxes. Either method could involve complex sharing of costs and revenues.
But no matter the business model, Coblitz said giving customers a way to access their movie libraries anywhere could make a Comcast cable subscription more worthwhile.
"It really adds a lot of value to being a customer of Comcast," he said.

From: http://www.cbc.ca/

Bullock renews restraining order against stalker

LOS ANGELES – Sandra Bullock obtained a temporary restraining order Monday against a 41-year-old man accused of stalking the Oscar-winning actress since 2003.

Bullock's attorney obtained the protective order on her behalf against Thomas James Weldon, who has been the subject of previous court orders to stay away from the 45-year-old actress.

A hearing for a three-year order against Weldon was scheduled for Aug. 6.

Bullock first obtained a restraining order in California against Weldon in 2003, but that order expired in 2009. He voluntarily entered a mental institution in Tennessee, and the actress sued the state in 2006 to require them to notify her of his release.

According to the court filing, Weldon turned up in a Wyoming emergency room last month complaining of anxiety and sleeplessness. He later told hospital staff that he had driven from Tennessee in an attempt to meet Bullock at her home in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Declarations from a doctor who interviewed Weldon in Wyoming said that Weldon believes he has communicated with Bullock telepathically. He told doctors that he has not been taking his medications.

"His preoccupation with Ms. Bullock is obvious," Dr. Jiri Danczik, a psychiatrist, wrote in a sworn declaration.

It is unclear when Weldon was released from the mental institution in Tennessee.

Bullock's attorney, Ed McPherson, filed a declaration stating that Weldon has sent the actress numerous e-mails and faxes in recent years.

The actress' previous court filings have accused Weldon of repeatedly trying to contact Bullock and traveling around the country in an attempt to meet her. Bullock has never met Weldon, the court filing said.

The restraining order seeks to block Weldon from trying to contact Bullock at any of her homes and any of her movie sets. It also seeks to protect her 7-month-old Louis Bardo Bullock, whom the actress is in the process of adopting.

Bullock recently finalized her divorce from biker businessman Jesse James.

Article: http://www.yahoo.com

John Stamos Embraces Beach Boys, Entourage and Glee After "Heartbreaking" Trial

In his first interview since last week's extortion trial came to an end, John Stamos tells us he's moving on the best way he knows how: with music.

And no, he's not talking about his stint on Glee just yet...

"You know when you're at the dentist and they tell you to think of happy thoughts?" John explains. "Or if you're in a situation that is not so happy? Well, my happy thoughts last week were Beach Boys. I was thinking of playing music. There is nothing more cathartic for me and nothing makes me more happy than to get behind the drums and play. So when I got home [from the trial], I immediately cleared my schedule this week."

John kicks off his impromptu, multicity Beach Boys tour this Thursday in Brooklyn, then on to Westbury, N.Y., Baltimore and Vienna, Va. (See full schedule below.) This summer marks his 25th year (!) playing with the band.

The long-time TV fave, musician and Broadway star is squeezing in the Boys before he starts that other music gig/happy place: playing Emma's (Jayma Mays) new love interest (and dentist!) for 10 episodes on Glee this fall. "I start Glee soon, the week after next," John tells me.

And before that, he'll be popping up on HBO's Entourage to continue the hilarious storyline introduced in last night's episode. This Sunday, John will be playing himself and a potential new costar for Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon)—who doesn't believe anyone in America will buy Stamos as better looking than him. (Out of respect for the comedic genius that is Mr. Dillon we will respectfully conceal our chortle.)

"Without giving too much away," John says of his Entourage stint, "it sort of comes down to the fact that if Drama beats me at ping-pong, then I'll do his TV show. So, it all comes down to a ping pong game. I won't tell you who wins or loses but I took ping pong lessons, I swear to you, three times a week for at least six weeks. And I was horrible!" Then he laughs, "They bought me a ping pong table, which is in my pool now, because I kicked it over into there. I'm not very good."

As for the extortion trial that is now thankfully behind him, John says last Thursday's guilty verdict, in which a Michigan couple was convicted of trying to blackmail him, doesn't erase the sadness of the situation. "To be honest with you, nobody won," John says. "It wasn't like I was jumping up and down. It was a tragedy, you know? I mean, I went into it because the government asked me to be a witness. I wasn't on trial. I got caught up in some bizarre trip that happened six years ago… I [was] doing what was asked of me. There was a federal crime and I got subpoenaed and I said, 'Damn right, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna fight for the truth!' "

So was he nervous? "Never for one minute, I wasn't scared …Even when they were preparing me for the witness stand, I said, 'I'm just gonna go up there and tell the truth' because…I mean they barely even prepped me! They said, 'Just tell what you know. Tell what happened.' So, when I got in the courtroom and there's hundreds of people, and all of a sudden, this woman who I've never seen before in my life, this Sarah Henderson, gets up and starts spewing maybe the most hateful stuff that's ever been said about me in my life, my heart just sunk into my stomach like, 'Oh my god!' And then when I found out that they were allowed to print these lies, like this Associated Press guy was feverously, you know, writing everything. I mean, literally I went home from the hotel and every muscle and bone and fiber of my body was sick."

John says the hardest part of the whole experience was the attack on his character. "I've worked so hard my whole life, especially my last 27 years in the business, and it's important to me to be a stand up guy, you know? Because that's how my father was, and that's the way he taught me. And in a matter of 20 minutes, in an opening statement, to have all that ripped away from you, is just absolutely…heartbreaking is the only word I could use. So, do I feel vindicated? I guess. I just wish none of it would have happened. Clearly, those kids didn't win. The justice system proved right, but this costs millions of dollars, and the town of Marquette didn't win."

Still, the man we once knew as Uncle Jesse says he's so grateful for the fans' unwavering support—including those who showed up outside the courthouse to cheer him on. "The support was beautiful. It's so nice to see that people are on my side, you know?"

Be sure to check out John this Sunday on Entourage and you can see him performing with the Beach Boys at the performances listed below:

Thurday: Asser Levy Park at Coney Island in Brooklyn
Friday: Theatre at Westbury in Brooklyn
Saturday: Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore
Sunday: Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va.
And if you didn't get a chance to swing by the courthouse, but want to drop a line of support to John below, hey, we won't stop you.


Article: http://www.eonline.com/