BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Tonight the original cast of Broadway musical “The Wiz” is set to reunite for a special performance in NYC to celebrate the show’s 40th anniversary. George Faison, the Tony Award-winning choreographer for the 1975 production, is organizing the event entitled “The Wiz: A Celebration in Dance & Music” at the Central Park Summerstage. Phylicia Rashad, who played a Munchkin in the chorus, emcees the show; original cast members Andre De Shields and Dee Dee Bridgewater perform at the free event. (NBC-TV is airing “The Wiz Live!” on December 3rd.)
– ContactMusic.com
★ British singer, dancer, model, and TV personality Alesha Dixon has teamed up with HTC and Smashbox Cosmetics to launch the first-ever … make-up kit for selfies. The admitted selfie fan says she considers the kit – which includes Photo Finish Foundation Primer, Full Exposure Mascara, and LA Lights highlighter – the savior of her makeup bag because it has everything needed to look her best in a close-up. (How do you say ‘sell-out’ in British?)
– Bang Showbiz
★ Zac Efron is in talks to join Dwayne Johnson in a new “Baywatch” movie based on the 1990s TV show. Johnson will also produce the pic via his Seven Bucks Productions banner. Seth Gordon (“Horrible Bosses”) will direct the movie. Efron would play ‘a young rule-flouting hothead’ opposite Johnson who’s set to play an older, more ‘by-the-book’ lifeguard in what will be a comedic take on life at the beach. Production is expected to start in February. (Will they reprise Pamela Anderson’s role? If so, what actress should get it?)
– “Hollywood Reporter”
★ And a news anchor has walked off the set because he didn’t want to hear another Kardashian story. John Brown, co-host of the “Good Day Orlando” TV show on FOX 35 in Florida, briefly exited after raging about how he’s tired of hearing about the ubiquitous reality TV stars. Quote: “I don’t care! I’m sick of this family, I can’t take it anymore! It’s a non-story!” The show was going OK until the topic turned to Kylie Jenner and her decision to name her new rabbit ‘Bruce’. That world-shaking news apparently set off Brown’s meltdown. (Think of this: 13 years ago reality TV’s Anna Nicole Smith was THE big deal. She’s barely memorable now.)
– BuzzFeed News

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “America’s Got Talent” (NBC/CityTV) – 7 acts advance to the semifinal round.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Jason Isbell (“Something More Than Free”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Big Talk (“Straight In No Kissin'”). Rerun.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – The Budos Band (“Burnt Offering”). Rerun.
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Rita Ora (“I Will Never Let You Down”); Unknown Mortal Orchestra (“Multi-Love”).
• “Queen Latifah” (syndicated) – R&B great Gladys Knight (“Where My Heart Belongs”). Rerun.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Reba McEntire (“Love Somebody”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• AC/DC – Former drummer Phil Rudd tells “Rolling Stone” magazine: “Just give me 5 minutes in a room with [Angus Young] and I’ll get my job back. I promise you.” He’s currently serving a home arrest stint in New Zealand.
• Ariana Grande – The 22-year-old is officially dating back-up dancer Ricky Alvarez. They’ve been rumored to be an item ever since the infamous video at California’s Wolfee Donuts showed them licking a selection of baked goods together without buying.
• Chris Brown – Tonight his 25-city “One Hell Of a Nite” tour debits at the Sprint Center in Kansas City MO. Special guests include Kid Ink, Omarion, Fetty Wap, and Teyana Taylor. Dates run to September 19th in Concord CA.
• “Descendants” – The soundtrack to the new Disney Channel movie debuts at #1 on the ‘Billboard 200’ albums chart this week.
• Janelle Monáe – Tonight her “EEPHUS Tour” launches in Philadelphia PA. The trek consists of 8 ‘secret’ shows in various cities, culminating in a homecoming concert in Atlanta GA on August 31st. Fans need to sign up for free tickets at the Wondaland Records site.
NET: http://www.wondaland.com
• Lady Gaga – “American Horror Story” showrunner Ryan Murphy has revealed she’ll play the owner of the ‘Hotel Cortez’ in the show’s new season, who has a nefarious plan that’s revealed in the 1st episode. “American Horror Story: Hotel” premieres October 7th on FX.
• Mark Ronson w/Bruno Mars – Serbian singer Viktorija claims their chart-topping “Uptown Funk” is a ripoff of her 1984 single “Ulice Mracne Nisu Za Devojke”, which translates as “Dark Streets Are Not For Girls”. See what you think. 16 seconds in, it starts to sound awfully familiar.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/q6oyynx
• Michael Bublé – His wife Luisana Lopilato has thrown him a surprise circus-themed party for his 40th birthday in his hometown of Vancouver BC. It was guaranteed to be a surprise because … his birthday isn’t until September 9th.
• Taylor Swift – She’s reportedly been looking at buying a 16th-century Scottish castle, Tower of Lethendy, in order to be closer to her Scot DJ boyfriend Calvin Harris. The price tag … $4.8 million. Taylor already has homes in Nashville TN, NYC, and Beverly Hills CA.
• The Weeknd – This week “Can’t Feel My Face” has finally hit #1 after a long climb up the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ singles chart.

MOST FOLLOWED CELEBRITIES ON INSTAGRAM:
A new ranking on the most popular celebs who are posting pics …
10. Brazilian soccer star Neymar, 29.4 million followers.
9. Nicki Minaj, 30.9 million.
8. Kylie Jenner, 31.8 million.
7. Kendall Jenner, 33.8 million.
6. Justin Bieber, 35.6 million.
5. Selena Gomez, 40.1 million.
4. Ariana Grande, 40.3 million.
3. Taylor Swift, 41.4 million.
2. Kim Kardashian, 42 million.
1.Beyoncé, 42.6 million.
– Cosmopolitan.com

TO SMOKE OR NOT TO SMOKE, THAT IS THE QUESTION:
Shakespeare might have been a pothead, new evidence suggests. According to the “South African Journal of Science”, tobacco pipes from the bard’s 17th century personal garden in the UK show evidence of both nicotine … and cannabis. That’s right, William Shakespeare might’ve been a doper. However, researchers caution that despite the fact the pipes were found on his property, there’s no positive proof they belonged to the famous playwright himself. But University of the Witwatersrand professor Francis Thackeray, author of the study, claims that Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 76” just may be a cryptic reference to cannabis. (Quote: “Why with the time do I not glance aside / To new-found methods and to compounds strange? / Why write I still all one, ever the same / And keep invention in a noted weed ….”)
– CNN.com

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 72% of us say the most underrated romantic gesture is a kiss goodbye.
• 56% of couples say they argued in the car on their last road trip because of backseat driving.
• 41% of drivers admit to talking to themselves in the car.
• 20% of us admit to lying about winning awards on our résumés.
• 16% of us believe in knocking on wood for good luck.
• 14% of university students change majors at least once.

NAILING IT, PART 2:
“BS” recently noted that ‘Bubble Nails’ are causing a bit of hot fuss online; now It seems ‘Aquarium Nails’ may be the next big manicure trend. While this fad isn’t brand new, it’s been given new life after going viral on the Facebook page of a Vietnamese talk show. A how-to video about the fingernail fashion has been viewed over 24 million times. Essentially, ‘Aquarium Nails’ are made when a nail-shaped acrylic envelope is injected with baby oil and a lot of glitter which floats around inside. The resulting ‘artwork’ is then attached to a fingernail. It’s said the look can add a hint of mermaid to any manicure. (Just add a shell bra, some flawless locks, and shiny scales, and you’re good to go join ‘Ariel’ under the sea.)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/qezxxnw
– Adapted from PopSugar.com

BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Bio-bus’ – A transit bus that runs on bio-methane gas generated through the treatment of sewage and/or food waste. (“Mom, hurry up with my lunch bag. I smell the bus coming!”)
• ‘Brontobyte’ – A measurement equal to 1 thousand trillion terabytes … approximately 10 to the power of 27. (Some suggest that our grandchildren might one day be carrying around a ‘bronto’ of memory in their bionic implants.)
• ‘Goat Cheese Curtain’ – An imaginary boundary that separates urban sophisticates from those in the suburbs and beyond who have simpler, more traditional, or uncultured tastes. (“We’re serving hot dogs tonight because we have guests from beyond the goat cheese curtain.”)

THE NEW HEAD TRIP:
Virtual-reality travel might just revolutionize tourism … while turning us all into shut-ins. British digital media studio Framestore has developed ‘Teleporter’, originally designed for Marriott Hotels as a way for its guests to experience the future of travel. The system uses an Oculus VR Rift headset to transport the user to faraway places. It’s touted as being as close as you can get to the real-life experience of being there. Framestore is not alone. Other VR companies are also working feverishly to enable would-be adventurers to travel the world from the comfort of their own futons. (No more security patdowns, jet lag, or lost luggage. And the Oculus Rift never runs out of space in the overhead bins.)
– Adapted from “Maxim”

BS AMAZING FACT:
People who regularly read for pleasure are less likely to have feelings of stress and depression, are better able to deal with difficult situations, have higher self-esteem, and have superior sleeping patterns. (Get a book, have a life.)
– BBC.co.uk

BS CHRONOMETER 08.12.15

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1956 [59] Bruce Greenwood, Noranda QC, movie actor (“Star Trek Into Darkness”, “The Place Beyond the Pines”)

1965 [50] Peter Krause, Alexandria MN, TV actor (‘Adam Braverman’ on “Parenthood” 2010-15, “Dirty Sexy Money” 2007-09, “Six Feet Under” 2001-05)

1975 [40] Casey Affleck, Falmouth MA, movie actor (“Gone Baby Gone”, “Ocean’s 11” movies)

1992 [23] Cara Delevingne, London UK, fashion model (Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, etc)/movie actress (“Paper Towns”)  COMING UP: “Suicide Squad” 2016.

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “International Youth Day”, a UN observance since 1999 to draw attention to youth issues worldwide. (Acne?)

• “Middle Children’s Day”, a salute to middle-born children whose childhood activities were seemingly always limited by being ‘too young’ or ‘too old’. Awww.

• “Truck Driver Day”, saluting the long-haulers that deliver the goods. Ever notice truckers always say that they ‘drive truck’, not ‘drive trucks’?

• “Vinyl Record Day”, celebrated annually on the earliest of several possible dates in 1877 on which Thomas Edison may have invented the phonograph. The purpose is to encourage the preservation of the recordings, cover art, and cultural influence of vinyl records.
NET: http://vinylrecordday.org

• “World Elephant Day”, conceived in 2011 and dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world’s increasingly scarce pachyderms.
NET: http://worldelephantday.org

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2014 [01] Screen legend Lauren Bacall (“Key Largo”, “The Big Sleep”) dies in NYC at age 89

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2003 [12] The Beatles sue computer giant Apple, asserting that iTunes violates their copyright-infringement agreement not to market music under the ‘Apple’ name

2007 [08] Led Zeppelin announces plans for what will likely prove to be their last gig together – a performance at London’s O2 Arena to honor Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1981 [34] IBM introduces its 1st ‘Personal Computer’, the model 5150 equipped with MS-DOS 1.0 and a price tag of $1,565 (over 4-grand in today’s dollars)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1999 [16] On “Guinness World Records: Primetime”, Hang Thu Thi Ngyuen shoots an arrow from a bow that hits a target 16-ft, 5-in away … using only her feet

COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] International Lefthanders Day
[Fri] “The Man From UNCLE”; “Straight Outta Compton” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Shop Online For Groceries Day
[Sat] International Geocaching Day
[Sun] “2015 Teen Choice Awards” (FOX)
[Sun] “Ed Sheeran – Live at Wembley Stadium” (NBC)
[Sun] “Show Me a Hero” debuts (HBO)
This Week Is … Feeding Pets Of the Homeless Week
This Month Is … Catfish Month

BULL’S BITS   

MORE POINTLESS BS SITES ON THE INTERNET:
✗ This screen-licking puppy looks like it will clean the inside of your computer screen. It won’t.
NET: http://www.sanger.dk
✗ This all-knowing source of information will give you the answer to any question.
NET: http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com
✗ Go here, drag your cursor across the screen … then duck!
NET: http://ducksarethebest.com
✗ Two cartoon faces giving each other a peck. Heart-warming, no?
NET: http://www.muchbetterthanthis.com
✗ This one may be our favorite … good advice for us all.
NET: http://www.wwwdotcom.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Some people have skeletons in their closet. I have a whole graveyard!

TRUTH OR BS?
• The first Egyptian chariots were powered by sails. [BS]
• It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs. [True]
• Albert Einstein was an avid bodybuilder. [BS]
• ‘Winnie the Pooh’ was originally named ‘Winnie the Pee’. [BS]
• The youngest pope was 11-years-old. [True]
• Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning. [True]
– Sourced from Funny2.com

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Introverts, what’s your best piece of dating advice? Dating, by nature, can be incredibly awkward. Add being an introvert to the mix and things can get weird fast. But, in spite of your introversion, you don’t want to die alone. So, how do you find love in a world made for extroverts? How do you flirt when small talk is your personal hell? And how do you deal when your significant other is an extrovert?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: THIS is the #1 thing most people brag about getting a good deal on.
Answer: A vacation.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The statement following is true. The statement prior is false.