Thursday, December 21, 2023 – Edition: #7623
The BS Press!
BS SUBSCRIBER NOTE:
The Bull Sheet will not be publishing during the period December 25, 2023 – January 1, 2024, to allow staff an opportunity to enjoy the holidays. All subscribers will receive account credits for non-service days. Following Fri. Dec. 22, the next Bull Sheet edition will be for Tuesday, January 2nd. Thanks for being here for The Bull in 2023, and Happy Holidays, all!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig has sealed the deal with her very own ‘Ken’ — marrying Noah Baumbach after 12 years of dating. After exchanging vows at NYC’s City Hall Tuesday, the directors celebrated at Billy Joel’s Madison Square Garden concert — where she was still wearing her bridal white, and Baumbach in his dashing navy blue suit. The pair began dating in 2011, and got engaged in 2020. They’re parents to son Harold, who is 4, and a baby boy, who arrived this year.
-TMZ
★ Jerry Seinfeld has been in Israel this week meeting with the families of hostages captured by Hamas, along with some of those recently released. He previously signed a letter condemning the “barbaric” attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which led to the war that is currently raging. Monday, Seinfeld, who is American Jewish, met with families at the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum Headquarters. He was seen wearing a dog tag reading ‘Bring them home’ around his neck. According to Israel’s Channel 13, the meeting lasted 2 hours longer than scheduled. Around half of the hostages captured have so far been released.
-Deadline
★ Guy Fieri is borrowing a page from Shaquille O’Neal when it comes to their children inheriting any money — if they wanna see cheese, they gotta bring home 2 degrees. The Food Network appeared on Fox News, and shared what he told his sons, Hunter, who is 27, and 17-year-old Ryder — about what they should expect when his time comes to an end. Quote: “I told them the same thing my dad told me: ‘When I die, you can expect that I’m gonna die broke, and you’re gonna be paying for the funeral. Fieri, who is 55, also told his boys: “None of this that I’ve been building are you gonna get unless you come and take it from me.” That includes getting college degrees — and he said “they’re on their way”.
-ET
★ Kelly Osbourne is ready for a little nip and tuck. On the latest episode of her family’s podcast “The Osbournes”, the 39-year-old shared the gift she wants to give herself this holiday season, which is something she hasn’t gotten before – plastic surgery. The new mom—who welcomed her baby boy in 2022—motioned to her neck and face, indicating the areas she’s hoping to improve. But not everyone was on board. Dad Ozzy responded, saying: “Oh f(ooey), Kelly, don’t. Stop.” And mom Sharon agreed. The plastic surgery veteran told her daughter that it’s “too early” to start dabbling with cosmetic procedures.
-E!
★ Cameron Diaz has finally addressed the long-standing rumors that Jamie Foxx’s behavior on the set of “Back in Action” caused her to quit acting for the second time. In a podcast interview, she said: “I really hate all of the things that were being said about our set.” The “Bad Teacher” star specifically mentioned the rumors that Foxx was “making everything miserable” behind the scenes, maintaining those reports couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Diaz also said: “Jamie is the best. I love that guy so much.”
-PageSix
★ Fans of the 1990 Christmas movie “Home Alone” went wild after a trailer was dropped on YouTube for a supposed 3rd film starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The fake trailer, featuring a grown up ‘Kevin’, purportedly takes place 30 years after the events of “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”, and features the rapscallion facing off with the Wet Bandits one final time. It takes viewers on a wild roller coaster involving booby traps, SWAT teams and even someone being lit on fire. Sadly, it’s just a well-crafted fake, with many of the clips lifted from various television shows, movies and commercials. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3ph47zt4
-NYPost
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Will Arnett, Lamorne Morris, Melissa McCarthy, Alec Benjamin (R)
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Travis Scott, Joe Keery, Mario the Maker Magician
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Louis Cato
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Jack Antonoff, Michael Mann, Bleachers
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Hillary Clinton, Shannon Cohn (R)
• “The Talk” (CBS): Cedric the Entertainer, Shannon Sharpe (R)
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Leslie Jones
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Jeremy Allen White, Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons, Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Mariah Carey
• “Big Brother Reindeer Games” (CBS): Season 1 finale
• “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2023” (ABC): Performers include Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Niall Horan, OneRepublic, Sabrina Carpenter, Jelly Roll, Doechii, David Kushner, AJR, Pentatonix, Big Time Rush and Cher.
• “Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic” (CBS): Honoring and celebrating the legendary career of the iconic actor and performer for his 98th birthday.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Cardi B – Awkward! She and Offset will be battling over who draws the biggest crowd on New Year’s Eve in Miami, when they’ll play different venues in the same hotel — at the same time. Both are scheduled to play the hip Fountainbleu, a booking that went down before their relationship blew up.
• Mariah Carey – Her ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is back at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was originally released on her “Merry Christmas” album in 1994, and hit #1 in 2019 (for 3 weeks), 2020 (2 weeks), 2021 (3) and 2022 (4). BTW, Dean Martin’s ‘Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!’ is at #10.
• Rolling Stones — have hired a Tina Turner impersonator as a backing singer for their 2024 US tour. The group will be hitting the road to promote their new album “Hackney Diamonds”, and they will be joined by former “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” star Chanel Haynes. She teamed up with the Stones at their show in Milan in June 2022, to perform ‘Gimme Shelter’ together.
• Sebastian Bach – The ex-Skid Row singer will be among the 2024 inductees to the Metal Hall of Fame. Also being honored at the Jan. 24 ceremony will be Mick Mars (ex-Mötley Crüe), Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-Judas Priest), Carlos Cavazo (ex-Quiet Riot), and Biohazard.
• Gwen Stefani – has big plans for 2024. Quote: “I’m actually putting out music, so I’m excited about that. I’ve been working on this for a long time. I’ve finally landed in that place where I’m obsessed, where I can’t stop listening, so I feel like I’m somewhere.”
• Jelly Roll – It seems he has fulfilled his promise of spearheading the largest toy drive in Nashville’s history. Saturday, he donated a tractor-trailer packed with toys to the Last Minute Toy Store, which gifts toys to underprivileged families over the holidays. The store wrote on social media: “The Last Minute Toy Store needed some gifts for 7,675 kids. Jelly Roll sent over a TRACTOR TRAILER… and DUNKED it.”
• Carrie Underwood – Her Christmas tree is anything but ordinary this year. In addition to her own personal touches, it features some unique pieces, thanks to her sons, Isaiah and Jacob, who are 7 and 3. She posted pics, writing: “For those who heard my ‘messy Christmas tree’ story in Vegas, this is a classic ornament my boys picked out.” It shows a red raptor…wearing a red Santa cap with white trim, and carrying a candy cane. Another pic shows a robot ornament.
• Chris Young – The most memorable Christmas present he’s ever received was his first guitar. Laughing, he said: “That’s always going to stand out in my mind as a gift that I picked up and was so excited to have, and then realized it was going to take me a really long time to learn to play it.”
SHOOTING THE BULL
YOUR COMPLETELY UNSOLICITED NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION:
We’re all snacking too much these days. And in my case, I don’t mean just because it’s the holiday season. And as you know, it’s hard to cut out the between-meal noshing. But Christopher Taylor, a professor of medical dietetics at Ohio State University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, says that his research found that snacks contribute to about one full meal’s worth of calories per day. So what do we do about it? Rather than trying to stop snacking entirely, he recommends employing “healthier snacking patterns”. This means instead of reaching for hi-calorie junk like potato chips, candy, or other pantry junk, you should be looking for foods that are high in one thing: fiber. Why? It not only helps you feel full, it regulates blood sugar, and promotes regularity, among other benefits. So, skip the pretzels and Cheetos, and consider grabbing artichokes, chia seeds, blueberries, nuts, whole wheat crackers, chickpeas, popcorn or snacks made from avocado, like guacamole or truffles.
(Fine. But what’s for dessert?)
(Are chicken wings hi-fiber? Just checking…)
-NYPost
COLD WEATHER MYTHBUSTING:
(for the first day of Winter…)
✗ You lose most of your body heat from your head: Nope. Heat loss is closely related to surface area, and the head has only about 9% of the body’s surface area. On the other hand, if the rest of you is all covered up and your head isn’t, then you DO lose most of your heat from your head… (I can, however, confirm that you do lose most of your HAIR from your head…)
✗ To warm up, sip coffee or brandy: Caffeine and alcohol hinder the body’s ability to produce heat. They can also cause your core temperature to drop. Instead, drink warm water, or something with sugar. (Can I have brandy if I put sugar in it?)
✗ Cold weather can cause you to catch cold: Can we put this to rest right now? You catch cold from a virus, not from cold temperatures. (Now stop listening to old wives!)
✗ Rub your fingers or toes to warm them: Wiggle them instead. If exposed skin (including your face and ears) becomes cold, cover it with a warm hand until it feels better. Rubbing can cause tissue damage.
✗ You should resist shivering: Shivering means that your body is trying to warm up, and that’s good. In fact, shivering can triple your body’s heat production. (On the other hand, it can chip your teeth…)
✗ If I’m cold, you must be cold too: Age, gender, fitness level and acclimatization all determine when you “feel” cold. And women generally feel cold before men do, possibly because they have less heat-generating ability. (Just ask me about my first wife!)
(Cold, hard facts…that aren’t facts!!)
-OldFarmersAlmanac, first published in BS in 2020
GIFT SHIFT:
Every year, you hear about those surveys that tell us how much money we are expected to spend as a nation on Christmas. And also, how much individuals expect to spend on gift-giving. But here’s a new angle: According to a new survey of adults who participate in gift exchanges, whether it be with friends, co-workers, or as part of A Secret Santa or White Elephant exchange, they expect to spend an average of $88 on gifts, simply for that type of gift giving. The poll, commissioned by discount retailer Big Lots, found that, among adults who celebrate Christmas, the average participant said they’ll be involved with 6 different gift exchanges this year, and spend 11 hours shopping for the right gifts – for gift exchanges alone! When it comes to the recipients of these gift exchanges, participants said they were likely to exchange with their extended family (68%), friends (64%) and coworkers (53%). And 12% even participate in gift exchanges with strangers they meet in online communities.
(Uh, just a thought here, but DON’T give gifts to total strangers that you’ve only met online. That’s called an online scam, and it’s how I lost my vacation fund!)
(11 hours shopping for gift exchanges alone? Can’t you just buy the same thing 6 times?)
-NYPost
NEW WORK TERMS WE LEARNED THIS YEAR:
1. The Lazy Girl Job: The content creator who popularized the term ― defined “lazy girl jobs” as positions where you can have “pretty comfortable salaries, and not do that much work and be remote.” (Like a content creator?)
2. Bare Minimum Mondays: Because when you give yourself permission to do the absolute bare minimum for work that day, and everything feels different. (Just ask your co-workers!)
3. Voluntelling: If you’ve been quote-unquote “volunteered” for an assignment you didn’t ask for, you’ve actually been “voluntold.” (And this is supposed to be new?)
4. ‘Hey’ Hanging: On some instant messenger platforms, simple greetings can take on magnified importance without the reassuring context of tone and body language. So, a brief “Hey” can send you into a worried spiral, making you think the sender is upset.
5. Quiet Cutting: An answer to “quiet quitting”, this is what happens when you get a “reassignment of duties” and lose the role or job title you were hired for, though you remain employed.
6. Body Doubling: Commonly used by professionals with ADHD, this is when you do a task and have another person on Zoom or in person doing a task too. This way, the person with ADHD can stay anchored to the present and focused.
7. Post-Work Restraint Collapse: It’s a concept that therapists are using to describe the deep exhaustion caused by draining work days. The “collapse” after work is what happens when you finally feel safe to release pent-up emotions. (Just be glad you aren’t married to someone who suffers from this. Phew!)
-HuffPost
THE BEST AND WORST SHOWS OF 2023:
According to the critics at New York Post . . .
HERE ARE THE 10 BEST…
“A Murder at the End of the World” (Hulu)
“The Diplomat” (Netflix)
“Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
“Class of ’09” (FX on Hulu)
“The Other Two” (Max)
“Succession” (HBO)
“The Last of Us” (HBO)
“Fargo” (FX)
“Poker Face” (Peacock)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
…AND THE 5 WORST:
❑ “And Just Like That …” (Max)
❑ “Milf Manor” (TLC)
❑ “Velma” (Max)
❑ “The Morning Show” (Apple TV+)
❑ “The Idol” (HBO)
(I beg to differ – although I may be the only one who kept watching “Fear the Walking Dead” right to the bitter end!)
-NYPost
DID YOU KNOW?
Birthday cards calling someone “over the hill” or making fun of them for getting older are so common that many people don’t think twice about them. But Sara Breindel, co-director of the Denver-based anti-ageism campaign “Changing the Narrative”, is hoping you will. Dismayed by “the racks of birthday card options that mock older adults”, her group created a contest asking artists to design birthday cards with a more “age-positive” approach. She says the winning designs, and others like them, are sending a powerful and important message. Although birthday cards may sound innocuous, Breindel feels they’ve become a prominent example of harmful messaging that can have significant health consequences, after all, “The way we think about aging affects how we age.” (As long as there’s a gift card in there, I don’t care WHAT it says!)
-CNN
BS CHRONOMETER 12.21.23
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Winter Solstice”, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, as Winter officially arrives at 10:27pm ET (***Also the “Summer Solstice” for our BS’ers in the Southern Hemisphere, when the path of the Sun in the sky is farthest south***) The winter solstice is celebrated in many ways …
– “Blue Christmas”, also called “Longest Night” in the Western Christian tradition, is a day in the Advent season marking the longest night of the year.
– “Flashlight Day”, a tongue-in-cheek commemoration of the year’s longest night.
– In the Wicca religion it’s “Yule”, marking the death of the Sun-God and his rebirth from the Earth Goddess. (The source of the ‘Yule log’)
– Iranians celebrate with “Yalda”, when fires and lights are lit and families stay up all night to help the Sun battle against darkness.
– The annual “Yukon International Storytellers Festival” features all-night music and stories in Whitehorse, Yukon. (Just 89 days until Spring!)
• “Short Girl Appreciation Day”, a salute to those of minimal stature on the shortest day of the year. (Because it’s better to have loved a short girl and lost – than to never have loved a tall!)
• “Regifting Day”. The Thursday before Christmas is a common date for work parties and festivities. Regifting Day encourages you to avoid giving the usual cheap and undesirable presents and help preserve the environment by ‘regifting’ a colleague. The term “regifting” came from the 1995 “Seinfeld” episode “The Label Maker,” although the practice itself had long existed.
• “Humbug Day”, when 12 ‘humbugs’ are allowed to be uttered in order to vent the frustrations of preparing for the holidays.
• “Don’t Make Your Bed Day”, created after a petition to Congress by 5th grader Shannon Barba of New Mexico in 2014. Although Congress didn’t bite, she reasoned that she was sick of making her bed every day – so because December 21 is the shortest day of the year, and we spend the least amount of time out of bed today, why bother making it?
• “Crossword Puzzle Day”, celebrating the date in 1913 when the first ‘Crossword Puzzle’ was published in the “New York World”. Arthur Wynne devised what he called a “Word-Cross” for the Christmas edition, blissfully unaware he was starting a worldwide craze.
• “French Fried Shrimp Day”, celebrating the joys of battered prawns. Mmm! (I’ve just been offered a job as a shrimp chef, but I’m not sure if I’ll accept it. I’ll need to weigh the ‘frozen prawns’…)
• “Homeless Persons Remembrance Day”, observed since 1990 to bring attention to homelessness and to remember those who have paid the ultimate price for living on the street.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Abilities Day
[Fri] Date Nut Bread Day
[Sat] Roots Day
[Sun] Christmas Eve
This Month is…Pear Month
This Month is…Tie Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1935 [88] Phil Donahue, Cleveland OH, TV talk show host (“The Phil Donahue Show” 1970-96)/20 Emmy Awards
1937 [86] Jane Fonda, NYC, movie actress (“The Butler”, “On Golden Pond”)/TV actress (“Grace & Frankie” 2015-22)/star of 22 exercise videos which sold 17 million copies in the 80s and 90s
1947 [76] Kay Robertson, West Monroe LA, reality TV star (“Duck Dynasty” 2012-2017)
1948 [75] Samuel L. Jackson, Washington DC, movie actor (“Pulp Fiction”, ‘Nick Fury’ in 13 Marvel films) COMING UP…“The Garfield Movie”, 2024
1951 [72] Nick Gilder, London England (raised in Vancouver BC), rock singer-guitarist (‘Hot Child in the City’, Sweeney Todd-‘Roxy Roller’)/songwriter (Patty Smyth w. Scandal-‘The Warrior’)
1957 [66] Ray Romano, Queens NY, movie actor (“Ice Age” movies)/TV actor (“Parenthood” 2012-15, “Everybody Loves Raymond” 1996-2005. COMING UP… “No Good Deed” series
1965 [58] Andy Dick, Charleston SC, TV actor (“2 Broke Girls” 2013-2016, “Newsradio” 1995-1999)
1966 [57] Kiefer Sutherland, London England (raised in Toronto, ON), TV actor (“Designated Survivor” 2016-19), “24″ 2001-10)/movie actor (“The Lost Boys”)/son of Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas
1982 [41] Tom Payne, Essex England, TV actor (‘Jesus’ on “The Walking Dead” 2016-19) COMING UP… “Imaginary”, 2024
1983 [40] Steven Yeun, Seoul South Korea, TV actor (‘Glenn Rhee’ on “The Walking Dead” 2010-2016)/movie actor (“Nope”) COMING UP…“Mickey 17” 2024
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2012 [11] The world is supposedly scheduled to end, according to the much-cited ‘Mayan Calendar’, despite the fact that experts say there are no Maya prophecies foretelling the end of the world on the date (part of the hype was created by the 2009 movie “2012″)
2014 [09] “The Battle of the Five Armies”, the last film in “The Hobbit” series, exceeds box office expectations by grossing over $90 million in its first 5 days of release
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2012 [11] ‘Gangnam Style’ by South Korean musician Psy becomes the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views (currently #11, with 5 billion. ‘Baby Shark Dance’ is now #1 with 17 billion)
2014 [09] Elton John & David Furnish formally convert their civil partnership into a marriage, hosting a ceremony at their estate in Berkshire UK (guests include David & Victoria Beckham, Ed Sheeran, Sharon Stone…and Ozzy Osbourne)
2019 [04] Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ hit #1 in the US for the first time, 25 years after it was first released in 1994 (also hit #1 in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023…and 2024…)
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1891 [132] The first game of basketball, based on rules created by Canadian-American James Naismith, is played by 18 students in Springfield MA, using peach baskets nailed to walls as goals
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK CHRISTMAS FACTS:
✓ The South Pole is colder than the North Pole.
✓ The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
✓ The tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot (67.3m) Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
✓ Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens’ classic story ‘A Christmas Carol’ was almost named “Little Fred.”
✓ The word ‘nog’ (as in ‘eggnog’) comes from the word ‘grog’ which refers to any drink made with rum.
✓ Until a Coca-Cola ad gave him his red and white suit, Santa Claus wore green, purple or blue.
-FactRetriever, GoodHousekeeping
Best of BS . . .
LESS POPULAR HOLIDAY TV SPECIALS:
• “Discovery Channel Presents: ‘Elf Autopsy’”
• “’Twas 243 Nights Before Christmas”
• “Frosty, the Anatomically-Correct Snowman”
• “The Grinch Who Sold Christmas on eBay”
• “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t, Due to Santa’s Urinary Tract Infection”
• “Let’s See What Burl Ives Looks Like Now!”
-First published in BS in 2016
(***Caution***) BS THINGS SAID BOTH AT CHRISTMAS AND DURING SEX:
• “Are you going to wrap that?”
• “Let me pinch those cheeks.”
• “Larry down the street got the same thing and he was happy.”
• “It needs batteries.”
• “I don’t think I can do this sober.”
• “Oh my God! You came!”
• “You’ve been a naughty girl…”
• “This is the only time I ever think about Mariah Carey.”
• “You want WHAT??”
• “It’s Christmas and we are having sex.”
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2020
BS WEB GOODIE:
Mission more-or-less accomplished (sound up): https://tinyurl.com/2bkrrt2z
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I hung my Christmas lights on the house across the street so I can see them!
BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s one thing you’re excited about that’s coming up in 2024?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: In a survey, parents said THIS tradition is their favorite to share with their kids. What is it?
Answer: Wrapping presents together
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much you spend.
