The Oakland Salon Beatdown Video trial this month

The Oakland Salon Beatdown Video is back in the news as the trail starts in April. According to ABC News Channel 7 in the Bay Area, the pretrial hearing was held in Alameda County Superior Court, Department 104.

Melissa Seals is the owner of the Oakland hair salon where she was the focus of a brutal beatdown by not one, but six women in the spring of 2009. The women entered the salon and two started the attack while one made a video of it. They then stole her merchandise and raised the blinds so people walking by could see what they were doing, according to The Huffington Post.

Here's the ABC News video (Warning: it's graphic):



The ABC video reports that in 2010, 36-year-old Melissa Seals is suffering from Post-Tramatic Stress Disorder. One of the attackers is named Kavina Bryant, who attended the hearing. Bryant is the woman in the green sweat pants and blue halter top who does much of the beating of Seals.

Another woman, who Melissa Seals identifies as "Janilla Edgerton" (she has no Internet trail) in the video (with the red sweat pants) also hit and kicked her,and Seals said the woman's still roaming the neighborhood, even with an arrest warrant active on her. As of this writing and to this blogger's knoweldge, Edgerton has not been arrested.

Seals needs help. She's lost 75 percent of her clients, and as ABC was talking to her, someone from EBMUD turned off her water. The problem is other customers were scared off by the attack.

I don't have contact information for Melissa Seals; ABC News Channel 7 may. Seals does not have a criminal record so she can work at another salon with ease.

Stay tuned.

Crystal Bowersox almost quit American Idol; Ryan Seacrest steps in

American Idol singing sensation Crystal Bowersox apparently and understandibly could not handle the sudden fame and attention she was getting and nearly quite Idol a week ago.

But some sensible talk by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest talked Bowersox out of bailing.

According to TMZ.com, Crystal Bowersox broke down in a parking lot in front of several people after a show and asked "what's the point," but it wasn't clear what triggered her actions.

Ryan Seacrest, who from personal experience seems to be a level headed person...



stepped in and reportedly said Bowersox would get a contract and become a millionaire if she won Idol, adding "The greatest thing I ever did was make enough money so I could buy my mom a house. You can buy your mom a house."

That's a great reason to continue on American Idol. Crystal Bowersox remains; bravo to Ryan Seacrest.

Stay tuned.

Jerry Brown meets Richard Aguirre for California Governor, sort of

Richard Aguirre is an until now largely unknown Democratic candidate for Governor of California taking on California Attorney General Jerry Brown. In the video above, posted today April 17th, Aquirre walks in with the perfect activist-running-for-something attire of jeans, t-shirt, and pony tail, and expects to be taken seriously.

Richard v. Jerry at the convention

The result, even if that's his brand, is he's in a damaging video he posted on YouTube which shows him not being taken seriously. Richard Aguirre first challenges Jerry Brown to a debate in his speech, then allows himself to be shown yelling at Brown from the back of the ballroom at the California Democratic Convention.

After that, much of Richard Aguirre's camera time is spent on a not so merry chase of Brown around the convention, yelling for him to debate like a Chihuahua might bark at a Doberman Pincher.

Geez.

Finally Richard Aguirre gets to within reach of Brown, who keeps going without stopping, looking at him as if Brown was in a car going by roadkill. It was pathetic.

One thing. At least Jerry could have stopped and talked to the man much as San Francisco Mayor and Lieutenant Governor Candidate Gavin Newsom did. But even Gavin, in one gesture without saying it, said "Look at this guy."

If Richard wants to be taken seriously, he has to stop showing himself as a small person who's yelling from the back room at Jerry Brown and be a person who has videos at his own events and states his own platform for governor.

Stay tuned.

Danny Glover arrest for protest against Sodexo like Hugo Boss

Danny Glover

Actor Danny Glover's arrest at the US headquarters of French company Sodexo has got the Internet buzzing a bit, but it's not as bad as it reads and marks a new more intense sprit of activism for the legendary actor who was most recently in 2012.

Readers of this space may remember that Danny Glover called on male Oscar presenters like Sean Penn and Quentin Tarantino to boycott Hugo Boss suits before the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. His letter protested the clothing company's plans to close plants and lay off 300 workers.

In this case Glover's protesting Sodexo's alleged union-bashing practices, telling a crowd "We're here today to say no more to deplorable pay and working conditions." The protest was international in scope as it involved a French company, and the protesters consisted of both American and French workers.

Glover and several others were arrested after crossing a police line. But in all honesty and not to take away from the sprit of what Glover did, such arrests are always staged with the cooperation of local police officials.

I'm personally glad to see Danny Glover getting involved in politics, but while protests do bring attention to an issue, the common theme of demonstrations and arrests fall on deaf ears in a New Media era. If Danny Glover wants to make a real splash he should start a lobbying company and a political action committee.

Stay tuned.

Seattle International Film Festival Opening has "The Extra Man"

The Extra Man

This is exciting! The Seattle International Film Festival's Opening Night Gala on May 20th will be anchored by the presentation of the film The Extra Man. The movie was a hit at The Sundance Film Festival and at the Sarasota Film Festival just days ago. On March 29th, Magnolia Pictures inked a deal to distribute the film.

The Extra Man features Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Kevin Kline with appearances by Katie Holmes and John C. Reilly. It has Dano as Lewis Ives, a school teacher who has a love of wearing women's lingerie (Olympian Julia Mancuso, who has her own lingerie line, might find this interesting). Not surprisingly Ives loses his teaching job. Kevin Kline plays Henry Harrison, who works as an "extra man" who's an escort to rich, older women to parties and social affairs and who takes Ives under his mentorship as an aspiring playwright in New York City.

Here's a video introduction featuring the writers and directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini talking, in a quirky way, about The Extra Man.



The Gala will be held at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle, and feature a red carpet entrance for Paul Dano, Shari Springer Berman, and Robert Pulcini, and other cast members that were not specifically mentioned as attending. (Translation: Katie Holmes may show up, so get down there!)

The SIFF runs May 20th through June 13th. Visit the website at http://www.siff.net

NFL Draft: Conte Cuttino sleeper running back prospect

The NFL Draft always has it's share of sleepers and this year, one is Conte Cuttino. But before we look at Conte Cuttino, a brief review. In past NFL Drafts the classics were Notre Dame Quarterback Joe Montana, taken in the 3rd round by the San Francisco 49ers, and Tom Brady of the University of Michigan, taken in the 6th round as the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.

But real NFL Draft sleepers are players that come from small schools that go past the view of pro scouts. Like Marques Colston of The New Orleans Saints. Colston was taken in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft but ended up starting as a rookie. Now, Colston has his first Super Bowl ring.

This year, Conte Cuttino may be that sleeper. A video sent to me by my friend and NFL Draft colleague Bill Chackhes at Football Reporters Online and NFL Business Blog showed a running back that's shockingly quick.

Conte Cuttino's 5-9 and 200 pounds, runs a 4.4 40-yard dash, and played for Stony Brook University. He ran for 3,067 career rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. Here's the video:



There are a lot of YouTube videos about Conte Cuttino, so he's not far below the radar at all. 10 NFL team reps reportedly came to his pro day at Fordham University, and the Sun Sentinel blog writes that Conte is being compared to Dave Meggett, the New York Giants running back who played for Bill Parcells.

Conte Cuttino's one to watch. Stay tuned.

Larry King divorce: King and Shawn Southwick second thoughts, again

CNN's Larry King has been the focus of a possible divorce from his wife Shawn Southwick. While reports have Shawn Southwick fuming over King's alleged gift-buying for her sister, and today a new TMZ blog entry explains the two are reconsidering the divorce idea, it's clear they've had a stormy relationship.

In 2008, the blog appropriately named The Dailystab reported that Shawn Southwick King was rumored to have been caught cheating on Larry King with a then-29-year old actor named Hector Penate; Shawn was 48 and Larry King 74 at the time, and were married for 11 years.

Hector Penate, described as a B-list actor by the National Enquirer, was their son's baseball coach at the time.

(A momentary aside; how's that for a sex scandal that's covered the age spectrum? So cool. 29, 48, 74. Young. Middle. Old. Nice.)

The National Enquirer claims that Hector Penate took a stab at Shawn King on Larry King's desk at their Beverly Hills home. The relationship was said to have gone on for a year. King was fuming, and divorce rumors were in the air but King reportedly confronted Penate.

So both Larry King and Shawn Southwick King have sadly faced allegations that one was cheating on the other. Maybe the two should take a time out from other people and focus on each other. For King, who's been with her for 13 years now, the seventh marriage should be the charm, yeah?

Stay tuned.