Hasta La Gadget!

For a sketch about clowns, this isn’t very funny.

One of Louis C.K.’s strongest sketches from his recent “SNL” appearance, “Birthday Clown,” has been criticized for possibly ripping off Tig Notaro’s short film “Clown Service.” And the backlash has become so loud that Notaro is sharing her thoughts on the matter. 

“It has been impossible for me to ignore the cacophony of voices reaching out personally and publicly about the potential plagiarizing of my film ‘Clown Service,’” says the comedian in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

From watching both videos, you can see distinct similarities, including the entire premise of a single lonely person booking a clown performance. 

Notaro says, “While I don’t know how all this actually happened, I did find it extremely disappointing.” 

She says a “writer/director” who was aware of “Clown Service” worked on Louis C.K.’s “Birthday Clown.” Notaro hasn’t talked to Louis C.K. in around a year and a half, and never gave anyone any permission to use her material. 

She concludes the statement, saying, “I hesitated to even address any of this, but I think it is only right to defend my work and ideas and moving forward, I plan to continue screening ‘Clown Service’ with the joy and pride I always have.”

The Huffington Post has reached out to Louis C.K.’s management for comment. You can read Notaro’s full statement below:

It has been impossible for me to ignore the cacophony of voices reaching out personally and publicly about the potential plagiarizing of my film Clown Service (a film that I screened at Largo in Los Angeles for over a year and it premiered at Vulture’s Comedy Festival in NYC as well as numerous film festivals around the country and I am currently screening on my national tour).

While I don’t know how all this actually happened, I did find it extremely disappointing.

Here is what I can tell you:

First off, I have recently learned that a writer/director who was fully aware of Clown Service when I was making it, actually worked on Louis C.K.’s clown sketch that is in question.

Secondly, Louis C.K. and I have not communicated in any way for nearly a year and a half.

And finally, I never gave anyone permission to use anything from my film.

I hesitated to even address any of this, but I think it is only right to defend my work and ideas and moving forward, I plan to continue screening Clown Service with the joy and pride I always have.

H/T Entertainment Weekly

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In what sounds like a plot line from Orange is the New Black, a pair of Ohio prison inmates took decommissioned computers, used them for nefarious purposes and hid them from guards by stashing the machines in a ceiling. According to regional news sit…

The walled garden Apple uses to meticulously control every element of the iPhone can really suck. It prohibits you from replacing the battery, adding third-party storage, or using an iPhone to tinker around and build new, weird projects.

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BlackBerry will soon see a significant chunk of money coming its way. It has been involved in an arbitration with Qualcomm for quite some time. BlackBerry alleged that it was overpaying Qualcomm for the royalties due on the latter’s payments. The arbitration has now ended and the result is that Qualcomm will have to pay close to a billion dollars to BlackBerry.

BlackBerry and Qualcomm had both previously decided that they would solve the matter through arbitration rather than take the case to trial which would have no doubt been a costly affair for both companies.

The arbitration hearings took place from February 27th to March 3rd and while the matter was stitched up several weeks back, the public announcement has been made today. No details about the arbitration itself have been made public since the entire process was a private affair.

Qualcomm has publically announced today that it has entered into a binding interim arbitration award that requires it to refund $814.9 million plus interest and attorney’s fees to BlackBerry.

The issue discussed in the arbitration was that whether Qualcomm’s voluntary per unit royalty cap program applied to BlackBerry’s non-refundable payments of royalties due on sales of certain handsets from 2010 through to the end of 2015.

Qualcomm says that while it doesn’t agree with the decision, it is binding and not appealable, which means that it’s going to have to pay BlackBerry the money.

BlackBerry Wins Royalty Dispute With Qualcomm, Awarded Close To $1 Billion , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Garmin today announced the launch of a new fitness tracking wearable device that takes the fight directly to its biggest competitor Fitbit. Garmin has announced the Vivosmart 3 fitness tracker today. It takes the baton from the Vivosmart HR that was released back in 2015. Priced lower than the competing device from Fitbit, the Vivosmart 3 offers some unique features that aren’t present on most fitness tracking wearables that cost less than $200.

The Garmin Vivosmart 3 has a thin and sleek profile. Its Chroma display is placed behind the band’s soft-touch material which gives the entire device a universal texture. There are three unique features in the Vivosmart 3.

It supports automatic rep counting so it’s capable of counting reps and sets on its own during weight training exercises. The other is a fitness level score and fitness age number which are both estimated on the user’s VO2 max level. It displays that level in easy to understand ranges from “poor” to “superior.”

The Vivosmart 3 also offers guided breathing exercises and stress-level charts that allow the user to customize a session between one to five minutes long with the display telling them when to inhale and exhale. This will be great for those who feel that they need to focus on breathing exercises to reduce stress.

Garmin has made the Vivosmart 3 available for purchase today and has priced it at $139.

Garmin Vivosmart 3 Offers Unique Features For $139 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.