Friday, January 12, 2024 – Edition: #7633
Sheeters Always Prosper!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Michael Strahan came on his own show yesterday, to share that his daughter was recently diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. The “GMA” host sat in for a segment on the program where where he and his 19-year-old, Isabella, revealed she’s been receiving treatment for a malignant tumor doctors found in her brain in October. Strahan was absent for more than 3 weeks in late October due to “personal family matters,” but never disclosed details. The day before her 19th birthday, Isabella underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor — then had to relearn how to walk. She also underwent radiation therapy and 30 days of rehabilitation. She said she is now “feeling good” but will need to start chemotherapy soon.
-TMZ, PageSix
★ The nominations for the People’s Choice Awards are out, spanning movies, TV, music and general pop culture during 2023. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are both nominees, woth Kelce up for athlete of the year, and Swift nominated in 5 categories. Seven of the 8 nominees for pop artist of the year are women, with Jung Kook the only male. And 7 of the 8 nominees for social celebrity of the year are women, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson the lone male nominee. MCU star and “Barbie” actor Simu Liu will host the ceremony on February 18, live on NBC, E! and Peacock.
-Deadline, Billboard
★ Selena Gomez has signed on to play Linda Ronstadt in a biopic. The pop singer and “Only Murders in the Building” star teased the role on Instagram, posting a picture of Ronstadt’s 2013 memoir “Simple Dreams”. Ronstadt’s social media accounts posted a news story about the movie, with the message, “It all started with a simple dream.” The biopic is currently in pre-production, with producers including Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan, and James Keach, who produced the 2019 documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.” Ronstadt and Gomez are both of Mexican descent. LINK: http://tinyurl.com/2dkb8zjk
-Variety
★ A new report says Matthew Perry had many skeletons in his closet prior to his untimely death. The “Friends” star lied about his sobriety for years and had a history of being abusive, 3 anonymous sources claimed to Us Weekly in a cover story published Wednesday. One alleged: “He was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive,” and called him “manipulative”. Another, however, denied to the magazine that Perry was a “horrible human being” but said he was “warped” by his addiction. In Oct. 2022, Perry estimated that he had spent $9 million trying to get sober, but said at that point, he had been clean of all substances for 18 months.
-PageSix
★ We finally have our first real look at the most anticipated “Walking Dead” spinoff yet. The official trailer for “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” has been released by AMC, and it is full of heroes ‘Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) and ‘Michonne’ (Danai Gurira) slicing, dicing, and taking down walkers. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that Rick appears to be working for the Civic Republic Military. The Ones Who Live premieres February 25. LINK: http://tinyurl.com/yjnrm6vu
-EW
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): TBA
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Kevin Hart, Dan Levy, Zarna Garg
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): TBA
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Jeremy Allen White, Hannah Waddingham, Carter McLean (R)
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Annette Bening
• “The Talk” (CBS): Chelsea Handler
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Dan Levy, Josh Hutcherson, Gabby Bernstein
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Dan Levy, Wynonna Judd and Trisha Yearwood
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): The cast of “Mean Girls”: Angourie Rice, Reneé Raap, Auli’I Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, and Christopher Briney
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Molly Sims
• “Shark Tank” (ABC): Sprinkles Cupcakes founder Candace Nelson returns as a guest shark; a modern tinned seafood company; a diaper-changing helper; a brake for skateboards; lightweight packable meals.
• “20/20” (ABC): When a college student vanishes from a mall parking lot, police hunt her killer.
• “Transplant” (NBC): Bash tries saving a couple whose wedding was waylaid by gunfire; Mags’ demanding teen patient needs birth control; June struggles with an old habit.
SATURDAY-
• “I Am Paul Walker” (CW): He brought California-surfer looks and warm charm to the characters he played; ironically, the “The Fast and the Furious” star was in a vehicle when he lost his life.
• “Girl in the Video” (Life): A teenage girl disappears after sneaking out to meet the boy she’s been chatting with online. Her mother races to save her when she finds out she’s being exploited for livestreams on the dark web.
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC): Host Emma Stone; Noah Kahan performs (R)
SUNDAY-
• “Yellowstone” (CBS): Season 3 premiere. In the wake of the Beck Brothers, John reshuffles the political decks; Beth finds a trespasser and learns he may have big ambitions for the surrounding land.
• “29th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards” (CW): Honoring the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Chelsea Handler hosts, America Ferrera receives the SeeHer Award.
• “NFL Football” (NBC): NFC wild-card: Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit Lions
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Lil Nas X – posted another teaser of his new single ‘J CHRIST’ (out today), this time by unveiling a peak of the music video on Instagram. The clip shows look-alikes of stars including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Oprah and Barak Obama ascending a stairway to the gates of heaven. LINK: http://tinyurl.com/dshx26zu
• Dua Lipa – She and Seth Meyers are ink buddies for life. On her recent visit to “Late Night”, they got matching tattoos. They first took tequila shots poured down a Barbie Dreamhouse slide, then the host got a tiny star as his first-ever tattoo. Lipa — who estimated she has about 20 already — got the same on her ankle.
• Jennifer Lopez – Has released her new ‘Can’t Get Enough’ video – and in it, she gets married over and over again. More than a year after announcing she’ll release a sequel to the album “This Is Me… Then”, her “This is Me…Now” era has begun. In the clip, she says her vows at a rainy wedding, then dances with Derek Hough at the reception. One guest asks: “Third time’s the charm?” LINK: http://tinyurl.com/mwzm7jh9
• Mary J. Blige — will receive an Entertainment Icon Award at the 2024 Urban One Honors. She joins previously announced honorees Dionne Warwick and Chloé Bailey. The 2024 Urban One Honors will be recorded Jan. 20, and air Feb. 25, on TV One and CLEO TV.
• Kraftwerk – The electronic pioneers have announced a 9-show residency in LA. Celebrating the 50-year anniversary of “Autobahn” and hosted by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the residency, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, is scheduled for May 21-30.
• Nate Smith – one thing he learned from Thomas Rhett while on the “Home Team Tour 23” is to take some time to share his journey with fans at shows. He was able to spend some “hang time with T.R. and Cole [Swindell]”, and as a result, now he “actually will take 2 solid minutes [and] tell everybody, ‘I’m not going to talk your ear off for an hour, but here’s why I’m here. And thank you for giving me a chance.’”
• Kane Brown – He and wife Katelyn, who announced they were expecting their third child on Christmas Day, have shared the moment they found out the baby’s gender. An Instagram reel opens with Katelyn asking Kane about his prediction. He responds: “It’s a girl.” When a “gender reveal cake” shows that it is a baby boy, Katelyn screams in excitement, and Kane smiles. LINK: http://tinyurl.com/mpepnrac
• Chayce Beckham – The 2021 “American Idol” winner is now officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist. His single ‘23’ debuted at #71 on the all-genre chart. The song, released in 2021, also stands at #20 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and #14 on the Country Airplay chart.
SHOOTING THE BULL
NEW MOVIES THIS WEEK:
• “Mean Girls” (PG-13, Comedy/Musical): Cady Heron moves to suburban Illinois after being home schooled in Africa, and wants to be popular. She takes on The Plastics and becomes frenemies with Regina George. But soon, she learns the hard way that you shouldn’t mess with the Queen Bee. (Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Jon Hamm, Jenna Fischer) Tomatometer: 74%
• “The Book of Clarence” (PG-13, Adventure/Comedy): In ancient Jerusalem, Clarence struggles with the life he has been given. But the rise of a new Messiah gives him a new divine path to walk. (David Oyelowo, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy) Tomatometer: 76%
• “The Beekeeper” (R, Action/Thriller): One man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”. (Jason Statham, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons) Tomatometer: 72%
DON’T LOSE ANY SLEEP OVER THIS:
A new study says that many of us feel we had trouble sleeping last year. A survey by the US Sleep Foundation found that 37% adults slept ‘somewhat’ or ‘much worse’ in 2023 than in previous years. And members of Gen Z (those born 1997-2012) are at the top of the list for sleep challenges. The report also noted that Google searches for “sleep” reached an all-time high in 2023. Doughy-eyed adults tried many hacks to improve their sleep, including: showering before bed (45%), using a weighted blanket (26%) and keeping a bedroom window open (26%). 27% of respondents said they exercised more to improve sleep, 27% said they woke up earlier, and 25% said they limited or avoided caffeine in the evenings — and 19% even took the “drastic” measure of turning off their phone at bedtime. By the way, it seems that some celebs don’t share the same concern: Actor Rob Lowe was quoted this week as saying he gets “tons of sleep”, and “if there’s ever 12 [hours] to be had, I’m taking it.” And last month, actress Dakota Johnson went viral for saying she can “easily” sleep for 14 hours a day.
(I’ve got news for those people searching “sleep” online: That’s the one thing that Google can’t find!)
(It’s not the sleeping that I have trouble with. It’s the waking up!)
-NYPost
NEWS OF THE WEIRD:
➢ An Ontario woman’s unusual talent earned her a Guinness World Record when she blew a 44.1-decibel whistle using her nose. LuLu Lotus of Mississauga, who learned she could whistle using her nose at the age of 7, earned the record for “loudest nose whistle” when she visited Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. and had her whistle loudness measured in a specialized room designed for precision recording. The nose whistler said her 5-year-old son is following in her footsteps after recently discovering his own nose-whistling ability. (I think I sat beside her at a funeral!) LINK: http://tinyurl.com/mw4muvet
➢ A man crashed his car outside a Bass Pro Shop in Alabama, stripped down to his birthday suit and plunged into the giant aquarium inside the store. The incident happened last Thursday in front of shocked shoppers in the town of Leeds, near Birmingham, police said. There’s more: The 42-year-old man did a “cannonball” leap into the aquarium, then stood under a waterfall. He left the water to yell at 2 officers, then dove back into the aquarium. He eventually climbed over the side and fell to the concrete floor below, where he was apprehended by police. He faces several charges. (…including “shrinkage”!)
-UPI, AP
SAFEST COUNTRIES FOR TRAVELERS:
Safety is a major consideration for many travelers in 2024…here are the 15 countries ranked the safest destinations, by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, a travel insurance provider…
1. Canada
2. Switzerland
3. Norway
4. Ireland
5. Netherlands
6. United Kingdom
7. Portugal
8. Denmark
9. Iceland
10. Australia
11. New Zealand
12. Japan
13. France
14. Spain
15. Brazil
(When I’m on vacation, I’m not worried about having my wallet taken – I’m worried about having it significantly lightened!)
-USAToday
DID YOU KNOW?
Potatoes may soon no longer be a vegetable. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is considering reclassifying potatoes, moving them from “starchy vegetables” into the “grains” category alongside rice and other carbs. If this doesn’t make sense to you, just hold on. Recent stats show that the veggies most-often eaten by Americans are potatoes – closely followed by (ahem!) tomatoes. As you may be aware, tomatoes are actually a fruit. This re-classification would make (ahem!) tomatoes the most popular vegetable in the US. (Are these the same people who started counting ketchup as a “vegetable serving” a few years ago?)
-Food&Wine
BS CHRONOMETER 01.12.24
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution Day”, More power to you if you’ve made it this far!
• “International Kiss a Ginger Day”, invented in 2009 as a response to the obviously problematic “Kick a Ginger Day”. Today, you’re encouraged to pucker up and plant one on a redhead (um…with permission, of course!) Here are some famous gingers…
✓ Movie star Emma Stone (“La La Land”)
✓ Movie actress Amy Adams (“Arrival”)
✓ TV host Conan O’Brien (“Conan”)
✓ Movie actress Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”)
✓ Movie actress Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”)
✓ Brit ex-royal Prince Harry
✓ Pop star Ed Sheeran (‘Shape of You”)
✓ Former US President Donald Trump (or at least he used to be one…)
• “Pharmacists Day”, honoring your friendly-neighborhood (legal) drug dealers…
BS SIGNS YOUR PHARMACIST IS NUTS:
☞ Counts out pills: “One for you, two for me . . .”
☞ Says he can’t read the doc’s writing, so he’ll have to take a guess.
☞ Writes on the pill bottle: “Take a bunch a couple times a day.”
☞ Makes people with high blood pressure wait longer in line.
☞ Every day at 5pm, he yells “Happy Hour!”
☞ Wears a shirt that says “A day without Prozac is like . . . Depressing, man”.
• “Marzipan Day”, celebrating the sweet, mold-able treat made mostly from sugar and almond meal or paste. It can end up looking like a big ball of Play Doh that you can color with food coloring and then form into different shapes.
• “Curried Chicken Day”, It’s a very popular dish in Asia, the UK, and the Caribbean. The word “curry” is an anglicized version of the Tamil word “kari,” which means “stir-fried.”
• “Hot Tea Day”, celebrating the rich culture and history, diverse types, health benefits, and soothing qualities of tea, and encouraging ‘tea-totalers’ “to raise their cups in honor of the beloved beverage.”
SATURDAY-
• “Make Your Dream Come True Day”. Even if your dream seems impossible, you’ll never know for sure unless you try. (Never give up on your dreams…keep sleeping!)
• “Rubber Duckie Day”, celebrating the tub-toy that tots treasure. Observed annually on the ‘birth anniversary’ of “Sesame Street” character ‘Rubber Duckie’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2etfa6b6
• “St. Knut’s Day” (“Tjugondag Knut”), the last day of Christmas (!?!) in Finland and Sweden.
• “Sticker Day”. Historians credit European merchants in the 1880s as the first to stick labels to their products in order to promote them to passersby. Thanks to them, you now have to gouge and mutilate your fruit in order to get them off of there…
• “Stephen Foster Memorial Day” in the USA. Altogether now – “Way down upon dah Swaneeee Ribber …”
• “Peach Melba Day”, made up of peaches poached in vanilla syrup, then served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. It was created by renowned French Chef Auguste Escoffier, and named after Australian opera singer Nellie Melba.
SUNDAY-
• “Caesarean Section Day”, commemorating the first successful procedure of its kind, performed in 1794 by Dr Jesse Bennet in Edom VA on his wife. (To celebrate, leave your house this morning by going out through a window . . .)
• “Dress Up Your Pet Day”. Today, dress up your furry family member in comfortable pet clothing — maybe even get matching outfits, if you want to get crazy. And of course, be sure to post the results on your social media (or your pet’s!)
• “Organize Your Home Day”, a day make sure there’s a place for everything and to then put everything in its place. The first step to organizing is to unclutter. (Better make that “Organize Your Home MONTH”!)
• “International Kite Day”, which originated in India. The annual kite festival, called “Uttarayan” in Hindi, celebrates the day that Winter ends and Summer begins.
• “Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day”. New York kosher butcher Sussman Volk produced the first pastrami sandwich in 1887. He claimed to have gotten the recipe from a Romanian friend in exchange for storing his luggage. Volk later converted his butcher shop into a restaurant to sell pastrami sandwiches.
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1952 [72] Ricky Van Shelton, Danville VA, retired country singer (‘Life Turned Her That Way’, ‘Keep it Between the Lines’)
1954 [70] Howard Stern, New York City NY, satellite radio host since 2006 (self-proclaimed “King of All Media”/TV personality (judge on “America’s Got Talent” 2012-2015)
1964 [60] Jeff Bezos, Albuquerque NM, entrepreneur (Amazon founder & former CEO, Blue Origin founder, Washington Post owner)/estimated net worth of $170 billion, now 3rd richest in the world
1965 [59] Rob Zombie (Cummings), Haverhill MA, movie director (“The Munsters”, “The Devil’s Rejects”)/heavy metal singer (White Zombie – ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65′, ‘More Human Than Human’)
1968 [56] Rachael Harris, Worthington OH, comedian-TV actress (“Suits” 2012-2019), “Goosebumps” since 2023/movie actress (“The Hangover”, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movies) COMING UP… “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story”
1970 [54] Zack de la Rocha, Long Beach CA, rock singer (Rage Against the Machine- ‘Killing in the Name’, ‘Guerrilla Radio’)
1974 [50] Mel C (Melanie Chisolm — “Sporty Spice”), Lancashire England, pop singer (Spice Girls – ‘Wannabe’, ‘Spice Up Your Life’)
1993 [31] Zayn (Zain Malik), Bradford England, pop singer (‘Pillowtalk’, w/Taylor Swift-‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’, One Direction-‘What Makes You Beautiful’)
SATURDAY- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Seinfeld”) is 63; Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) is 63; Trace Adkins (‘You’re Gonna Miss This’) is 62; Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 58; Shonda Rhimes (creator-writer-director of “Grey’s Anatomy”) is 54; Michael Peña (“Ant Man”) is 48; Orlando Bloom (“Pirates of the Caribbean” films) is 47; William Hung (‘She Bangs’) is 42; Liam Hemsworth (“The Hunger Games” films) is 34; Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) is 27
SUNDAY- Faye Dunaway (“Bonnie and Clyde”) is 83; Holland Taylor (“Two and a Half Men”) is 81; Steven Soderbergh (director-“Magic Mike”) is 61; LL Cool J (‘Mama Said Knock You Out’) is 56; Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is 55; Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) is 55; Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) is 42; Grant Gustin (“The Flash”) is 34
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2004 [20] The satirical TV newsmagazine show “Rick Mercer Report” debuts on CBC
2023 [01] Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, dies of cardiac arrest at 54
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1998 [26] Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, The Mamas & The Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, and Gene Vincent are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2003 [21] While awaiting emergency intestinal surgery, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees dies unexpectedly of cardiac arrest at age 53
2013 [11] The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used by Freddie Mercury until his 1991 death is sold at auction for £74,000 (about $90,000), more than 5 times the pre-sale estimate
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1967 [57] Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation. He remains preserved (if a bit freezer-burnt…)
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ Your brain literally heats up when you’re stressed. Smiling can cool it down.
✓ Blushing is caused by a rush of adrenaline. It’s also genetic, so if you’re prone to it, it’s likely one of your parents is, too.
✓ Those bumps on your tongue are what the taste buds are on, but those aren’t actually the taste buds themselves.
✓ It takes 120 litres of water to make one glass of wine.
✓ Cans of diet soda float, but regular soda cans sink.
✓ Monkeys floss their teeth.
-FactRetriever, WomansDay
Best of BS . . .
BS REASONS YOUR BARISTA MIGHT WANT TO SPIT IN YOUR DRINK:
• You ordered a soy milk dry cappuccino.
• You asked for a quarter-pump of sugar-free vanilla syrup.
• You took another person’s drink, then complained it wasn’t what you ordered.
• You demanded that your 1% milk be made by combining skim milk and 2%.
• Your name is Theresa and when you heard the name Carl you asked, “Is that mine?”
• Your name was called 17 times before you picked up your drink. And then you complained it was cold.
• You ordered a half-caff single shot espresso.
• You over-pronounced ‘caffé macchiato’.
• You ordered a whole-milk no-foam cappuccino.
-First published in BS in 2017
BS LESSER-KNOWN COLD REMEDIES:
• AfternoonQuil
• Jumping on one leg. But only when Simon says.
• Excessive self-pity.
• A shot of whisky and a slap on the butt.
• Thoughts and prayers.
• Filling a nettipot with siracha and ghost pepper oil.
• Well wishes on Facebook.
• Catch the flu. You’ll forget all about that puny cold.
• Calling in sick for work.
• Telling the person who is chronically coughing to shut the hell up.
• More cowbell.
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2018
BS WEB GOODIE:
But what is he teaching his kid? http://tinyurl.com/53hppzk9
BS RANDOM JOKE:
It is what’s inside that matters – the fridge is a perfect example!
BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s the best Wi-Fi name you’ve ever seen? (Bill Wi the Science Fi? Silence of the LANs? Chance the Router? Get off my LAN? I Believe Wi can Fi?)
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: THIS is more likely to happen in the kitchen than any other room in the house. What is it?
Answer: An argument
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or full miss the point. The glass is refillable.
