Another Sheetload of Bull!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ “The Voice” is stocking up on superstars for its 9th season. Having already added Selena Gomez, John Fogerty, and Brad Paisley to its lineup, Missy Elliott has now been signed to join the singing competition, serving as advisor to Pharrell Williams’ team. It’s already been announced that Rihanna will operate as the key advisor to all contestants. “The Voice” returns September 21st on NBC-TV.
– E! News
★ Universal has just shattered the international box-office record for the highest-grossing year by a movie studio. With over 4 months still to go in the calendar year the studio has announced it’s grossed $3.78 billion, already surpassing the 2014 mark of $3.73 billion set by rival Fox. Universal has released 4-of-the-5 biggest movies in 2015 so far: “Furious 7”, “Jurassic World”, “Minions”, and “Fifty Shades of Grey”; it still has 9 titles on its main slate awaiting release by the end of the year. Among them: “Crimson Peak”, “Everest”, and “Steve Jobs”.
– “Entertainment Weekly”
★ AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead”, the much-anticipated companion series to mega-hit zombie drama “The Walking Dead”, has had a record-setting debut as Sunday’s 90-minute premiere attracted 10.1 million viewers, including 6.3 million adults 18-49. That’s the best cable TV series launch on record; the previous mark in the 18-49 demo set by AMC’s “Better Call Saul” (4.4 million) earlier this year. “Fear the Walking Dead” airs 5 more episodes in its 1st season before handing off to its parent series, “The Walking Dead”, which returns October 11th.
– Variety.com
★ Nielsen Social has released a new study that examines which TV shows have the highest proportion of loyal Twitter users, defined by people who tweet about 3 or more episodes. Topping the list is “Scandal”, with 24% of fans tweeting about the show multiple times during the last season. “The Walking Dead” pulls up in 2nd place with 23%, while FOX-TV’s freshman hit “Empire” pops up in 3rd at 22%. Another ShondaLand product from Shonda Rhimes, “How to Get Away With Murder”, comes in at #4.
– EW.com
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “America’s Got Talent” (NBC/CityTV) – Viewers have one last chance to send their favorites from the top 24 acts to the next round.
• “The Carmichael Show” (NBC) – Double-episode debut of a new sitcom starring comedian Jerrod Carmichael, based on his real-life experiences and his opinionated family.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Ashley Monroe (“The Blade”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Andy Grammer (“Good to Be Alive”); “MTV Video Music Awards” host Miley Cyrus.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Caribou (“Our Love”). Rerun.
• “Live With Kelly & Michael” (syndicated/CTV) – Ricky Martin (“A Quien Quiera Escuchar”).
• “The Real” (syndicated) – Wale (“The Album About Nothing”). Rerun.
• “The Talk” (CBS) – Rick Springfield (“Just Gotta Sing”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Jennifer Hudson w/Iggy Azalea (“He Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”). Rerun.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – This week she’s been surpassed by Kim Kardashian as the ‘Queen of Instagram’ with over 44 million followers, edging Bey’s total of 43.95 million. Taylor Swift is 3rd with a tad over 43.5 million.
• Bon Jovi – Jon Bon Jovi confirms the band has now completed its contract with Mercury Records, its 32-year label home, by releasing a new ‘fan album’ called “Burning Bridges” to fulfill their contract. As the title suggests, the parting is not so amicable.
• Drake – He & tennis star Serena Williams have been spotted kissing passionately during an intimate dinner at Cincinnati OH restaurant Sotto. They were previously linked in 2011, and Drake was court-side at Wimbledon this Summer watching Williams win her 21st major title.
• The Judds – They’re reuniting for a 9-show residency at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Las Vegas beginning October 7th. Produced by AEG Live, “Girls Night Out” will mark the first concerts by Naomi & Wynonna Judd together in 5 years.
• Luke Bryan – He remains atop the ‘Billboard 200’ albums chart for a 2nd week with “Kill the Lights”. Bryan has enlisted Chris Janson, Sam Hunt, and the Peach Pickers to join him on his 7th annual “Farm Tour”, beginning September 30th in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• Sam Hunt – He tells “Billboard” he deliberately dresses differently than most country artists (flat-billed ball caps, skinny jeans, tunic tops) in order to break down stereotypes. Quote: “The most flattering thing I hear is, ‘I didn’t think I liked country music before I heard your record’.”
ELECTRONIC CASH KINGS 2015:
A new ranking of highest-paid DJs based on pre-tax earnings from June 2014-to-June 2015 …
5. Avicii (Sweden) … $19 million.
4. (tie) Skrillex (USA) / Steve Aoki (USA) … $24 million.
3. Tiesto (The Netherlands) … $36 million.
2. David Guetta (France) … $37 million.
1. Calvin Harris (Scotland) … $66 million.
– Forbes.com
FOOD FOR ALL:
In the Spanish town of Galdakao, there’s a refrigerator on a public sidewalk that the hungry can open to find fresh, wholesome food, and take what they like for free. When they return the next day, they find the supply replenished. Residents are calling it the ‘Solidarity Fridge’, where donors generously leave their extra food for others to enjoy. Everyone is welcome to give and to take with no strings attached. The town has instituted a simple set of rules: no raw meat, fish, or eggs; no expired goods; and all homemade items must be labeled with dates and thrown away after 4 days. It’s an innovative solution to the problem of some having too much to eat and others having too little, with the added bonus of building community along the way. (The Spanish town of Murcia has since picked up on the idea. Will the ‘community fridge’ go global?)
– NPR.org
FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 63% of women say they would cancel a date if they were having a bad hair day.
• 56% of us have not taken a vacation for at least a year.
• 55% of women have used their curling iron as a microphone while singing in the bathroom.
• 34% of women say they find ‘love handles’ sexy on a man.
• 7% of women won’t allow their man to wear a hoodie.
• 4% of people say the secret they don’t want anyone to ever find out is … they smoke.
HAIR HACK:
If you’re typical, your ‘first-day’ hair may be full of life but as days go by, product buildup makes it limp and dull. But it doesn’t have to be this way, thanks to – huh? – club soda. That’s right, the flavorless, bubbly beverage that adults pretend to like contains bicarbonate, which is also a great agent for clarifying hair and restoring its luster. It removes product residue, buildup from sweat, and even chlorine or salt from swimming. It can also be used to tame ‘frizz’ and keep hair soft in locales where water is ‘hard’, meaning it has a high mineral content. Club soda is gentler than clarifying shampoos and so easy to use – once your hair is clean, simply pour a can of the stuff over it. This nifty hack works on all lengths and textures, making hair fresh, shiny, soft, and frizz-free. (And the price is right … a buck or two, max.)
– BuzzFeed Life
BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Shade Balls’ – Floating, plastic balls that cover the surface of a body of water (ie: a pond) to help prevent evaporation and algae growth, or to deter birds from landing or nesting on the water.
• ‘Social Bankruptcy’ – The condition of being so overwhelmed by social media that the only solution is to close all of one’s accounts. (This is also know as … getting a life.)
• ‘Underbus’ – Used as a verb to describe the act of unfairly discrediting, blaming, or disposing of an ally or colleague, particularly for personal gain. (“I got underbussed at the staff meeting by Steve … again.”).
SENIOR SIPPING:
1-in-5 people over 65 who drink are consuming an ‘unsafe’ level of alcohol, say UK researchers at King’s College London. That means the rates of unsafe drinking among those 65+ are higher than those of the general population. Guidelines advise no more than 14 units of alcohol a week for women and 21 units a week for men. Higher consumption increases the risk of health problems such as cancer and can take years off the average life-span. For older people, drinking more than the recommended amount carries the additional risks of confusion and falls. Analysis of health records has found that the heaviest drinkers 65+ tend to be male and relatively affluent. (Well, at least they’re affluent to begin with …)
– BBC Health
GIFTS ’90S KIDS ALWAYS WANTED BUT NEVER GOT (POUT):
Every birthday you had high hopes, but chances are you were never gifted the really cool things you wanted, such as …
✓ Game Boy – The handheld gaming device and its successor, Game Boy Color, sold a combined 119 million units worldwide. Odds should have been that you got one … but no.
✓ Nintendo 64 – If you were a massive “Mario” fan then this console was what dreams were made of.
✓ Power Rangers Outfit – Play-fighting with siblings could only be truly fantastic if you had a costume to get into character. Instead you got a crummy T-shirt with the ‘Red Ranger’ on it.
✓ Sony PlayStation – The must-have ’90s game console that you were desperate to get your sticky mitts all over so you could play “Tomb Raider”. Alas, didn’t happen.
✓ TV Show Box Sets – The only way to binge-watch your favorites before Netflix came along. Unfortunately, they were pricey. Therefore you got zero.
✓ TV/VHS Combo – All you wanted was to be able to watch TV late at night without your parents wading in and turning it off. With a combo you could have taped TV after lights out.
– Adapted from “Metro”
BS AMAZING FACT:
Where do baby carrots come from? Ugly carrots. When a California farmer realized he was discarding 400 tons of carrots a day because they were too bent to be sold, he gave his harvest a makeover and shaved them down to snackable nubs. Today baby carrots are a $1 billion-business.
– “Mental Floss Magazine”
BS CHRONOMETER 08.26.15
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1966 [49] Dan Vickrey, Walnut Creek CA, alt-rock guitarist-vocalist (Counting Crows-“Accidentally in Love”, “Einstein On the Beach”)
1969 [46] Adrian Young, Long Beach CA, rock drummer (No Doubt-“It’s My Life”, “Hey Baby”)
1970 [45] Melissa McCarthy, Plainfield IL, TV actress (‘Molly’ on “Mike & Molly” since 2010)/movie actress (“Spy”, “Bridesmaids”) UP NEXT: “Ghostbusters” 2016.
1975 [40] Tyler Connolly, Delta BC, rock singer-guitarist (Theory Of a Deadman-“Angel”, “No Surprise”)
1980 [35] Chris Pine, LA CA, movie actor (“Into the Woods”, “Star Trek” films) COMING UP: “Z for Zachariah”, opening Friday; “Star Trek Beyond”, in 2016.
1985 [30] Brian Kelley, Ormond Beach FL, country singer (Florida Georgia Line-“Dirt”, “Cruise”)
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Air Guitar World Championships”, the Grand Final of the 20th annual competition in Oulu, Finland through Friday, in which fake strummers from around-the-world compete for big prizes.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/ogr69r4
• “Dog Appreciation Day”, to encourage support, rescue, and help for dogs in need.
• “Make Your Own Luck Day”, a day to take affirmative action to gain control of your life. Taking responsibility for your own actions … what a concept!
• “Women’s Equality Day”, celebrating the civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls NY.
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1996 [19] Electronics giant Philips unveils the 1st ‘Flat TV’, which can be hung on a wall
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2004 [11] Singer-songwriter Laura Branigan (“Gloria”, “Solitaire”, “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”) dies at her home in Southampton NY of a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm at age 47
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2014 [01] It’s announced Burger King Worldwide is purchasing Canadian restaurant chain Tim Hortons and moving headquarters to Canada, creating the 3rd-largest global fast-food company
TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
2009 [06] Country singer Jack Ingram breaks the world record for ‘Most Consecutive Radio Interviews in 24 Hours’ with 215
2012 [03] 15-year-old amateur golfer Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins the Canadian Women’s Open, becoming the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour (now ranked the #2 pro)
COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Banana Lovers Day
[Thurs] Motorist Consideration Day
[Fri] Radio Commercials Day
[Sat] Full ‘Sturgeon’ Moon
[Sat] International Bat Night
[Sun] “MTV Video Music Awards 2015” (MTV)
This Week Is … Safe at Home Week
This Month Is … Panini Month
BULL’S BITS
“PRICE IS RIGHT” GAME OR COLDPLAY SONG?
You run down the list rapid-fire while your contestant tries to determine which are games played on long-running daytime show “Price is Right” and which are songs recorded by Coldplay …
GAME #1
“Clocks” [Coldplay]
“Rat Race” [Price is Right]
“Careful Where You Stand” [Coldplay]
“Things I Don’t Understand” [Coldplay]
“Cliffhanger” [Price is Right]
“Warning Sign” [Coldplay]
“Hit Me” [Price is Right]
“Safe Crackers” [Price is Right]
“The Escapist” [Coldplay]
“The World Turned Upside Down” [Coldplay]
GAME #2
“Most Expensive” [Price is Right]
“Temptation” [Price is Right]
“Freeze Frame” [Price is Right]
“Twisted Logic” [Coldplay]
“The Goldrush” [Coldplay]
“Bullseye” [Price is Right]
“Square One” [Coldplay]
“Squeeze Play” [Price is Right]
“Lucky Seven” [Price is Right]
“Before I Lose” [Coldplay]
BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What product did you buy because it was advertised to the point where you thought you couldn’t live without it, but afterward only ended up using a couple of times?
BS RANDOM JOKE:
The biggest selling books are cookbooks; the 2nd-biggest sellers are diet books. No wonder we’re all confused!
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Asked what is the #1 rule in their household, most families cite THIS.
Answer: Shoes off the furniture!
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
If you spread out all the sand in North Africa, it would cover the Sahara Desert.