Monday, December 6, 2021 – Edition: #7122
Good Morning, Sheetheads!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ CNN has fired primetime anchor Chris Cuomo for trying to help his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, fight the accusations of sexual misconduct which resulted in his resignation. In announcing the firing on Saturday, CNN said “additional information” had come to light. While Cuomo has said he never tried to influence CNN’s coverage of his brother, he told investigators about calls to other journalists to find out what information they had about some accusers. Chris Cuomo had been suspended last week.
-TheGuardian
★ Demi Lovato is no longer “California sober”. In March, Lovato revealed in both their YouTube docuseries “Dancing With the Devil” and a Glamour cover story, that they were California sober, which means to drink in moderation and smoke weed, but abstain from other substances. At the time Lovato said it was an effective way of managing sobriety. But now they are revealing a new outlook, writing on Insta: “I no longer support my ‘California sober’ ways. Sober sober is the only way to be.”
-Yahoo
★ George Clooney was offered $35 million for a single day of work in an airline commercial, but he turned it down because of the airline’s association with a particular country. He told The Guardian that the spot was associated with a country that, “although it’s an ally, is questionable at times, and so I thought: ‘Well, if it takes a minute’s sleep away from me, it’s not worth it.’” Clooney declined to name the country, but he certainly isn’t opposed to commercial work — he’s been the face of Nespresso for years, but the airline commercial crossed a line in his personal beliefs.
-TheWrap
★ If you’re a Toronto Raptors fan, you know Nav Bhatia — the upbeat, enthusiastic, diehard supporter known as the “Superfan”. Soon, a lot more people will know Bhatia, too, as Hollywood is set to tell his life story on the big screen. A biopic about Bhatia is in the works and actor Kal Penn — of the “Harold & Kumar” movie series — is will star in the title role.
-MSN
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Jennifer Aniston, Ann Dowd, Kathryn Hahn, Kevin Hart, John Lithgow, Jon Stewart
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Jonah Hill, Tig Notaro, Dan + Shay
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Jennifer Lawrence, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Michael J. Fox, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ashley Williams, Nikki Glaspie
• ” The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Zachary Levi, Nicole Byer, Nnena
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Rachel Hargrove, Jessica Albert
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Joey Fatone, Jordan Fisher
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Ansel Elgort, Haylie Duff
• “A Very Boy Band Holiday” (ABC): Favorite boy band members sing their holiday hits, including Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, Bobby Brown, Joey McIntyre and Nick Lachey.
• “Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City” (NBC): The singer hosts a new holiday special from New York City, with guests including Leon Bridges, Camila Cabello, Jimmy Fallon and Kermit the Frog.
• “The Voice” (NBC): The top 8 artists perform individual songs and ’90s-themed duets.
• “Landscapers” (HBO): Series premiere. 4-episode drama based on the true story of a seemingly ordinary British couple who become the focus of a murder investigation when 2 bodies are discovered in their backyard.
• “Secretly Santa” (LIFETIME): Business rivals who playfully despise each other develop unexpected feelings while working together on a holiday gift-giving app.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Dua Lipa – Her hit ‘Levitating’ is the #1 song on Billboard‘s 2021 year-end Hot 100 Songs chart. It debuted on the weekly Hot 100 on Oct. 17, 2020, and has yet to depart the chart. Meanwhile, Olivia Rodrigo topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 Artists recap.
• Lady Gaga — Friday, she kicked off awards season with a Best Actress win at the New York Film Critics Circle for her performance in “House of Gucci”. The Ridley Scott-directed film, sees her portray Patrizia Reggiani, the wife of Maurizio Gucci, who hired a hitman to murder her husband in 1995.
• (***Caution: “Badass”***) Haim — have delivered an update of Adam Sandler’s ‘Hanukkah Song.’ It mentions an array of Jewish celebrities, including Eugene and Dan Levy and Maya Rudolph. Later, Este Haim croons, “Doja Cat’s half Jewish, Chalamet’s half too/Put ‘em both together, what a fine lookin’ Jew!” Sandler retweeted the clip, writing: “Love you ladies! You are three badass Jews!” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/573s5dbu
• ABBA – have dropped the music video for their first-ever Christmas song. ‘Little Things’ sees children getting ready to put on an ABBA-themed Christmas pageant. Song royalties will be donated to UNICEF’s Global Child Protection Fund. LINK: https://youtu.be/f0qO04Y9Pwk
• REO Speedwagon and Styx – have announced a summer co-headlining US tour with special guests Loverboy. The “Live & UnZoomed” tour kicks off May 31 in Grand Rapids MI, and runs through Aug. 21, with one Canadian stop, Aug 16 in Toronto.
• Tom Petty — More than 4 years after his death, he will be awarded an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Born and raised in Gainesville, Petty once worked as a groundskeeper at UF, but he was never enrolled.
• Luke Combs – He, along with Walker Hayes, Chris Stapleton, and Dan + Shay are among the country artists who landed on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 Artists list. Combs, Thomas Rhett and Luke Bryan topped the Year-End Country Airplay Artists Chart. Chris Young and Kane Brown nabbed the top spot on the Country Airplay Songs chart, largely due to the success of their duet ‘Famous Friends’.
• Luke Bryan – ABC has announced he’ll be back, along with fellow judges Katy Parry and Lionel Richie, for a 5th season of “American Idol”, beginning Feb. 27. Ryan Seacrest will also return as host.
• Luke Bryan and Morgan Wallen – will headline the Tidalwave Music Festival, one the beach at Atlantic City, Aug. 12-14, 2022. Also performing: Lauren Alaina, Blanco Brown, Breland, Travis Denning, Riley Green, Lindsay Ell, Hardy, Jon Langston, Tracy Lawrence, Chase Rice, Runaway June, Elvie Shane, DeeJay Silver, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Lainey Wilson.
SHOOTING THE BULL
NO CLEARANCE, CLARENCE:
Disappointing news for bargain hunters: It could be a bad year for post-Christmas clearance sales. Why? Global supply chain issues, of course. As retailers struggle with tighter inventory and plenty of out-of-stock products heading into peak shopping period, experts say that we should prepare to kiss hopes of juicy, across-the-board clearance deals goodbye. Some Black Friday shoppers would have noticed that stores weren’t as generous with holiday discounts this year, and still, some retailers report that they lost millions in sales around US Thanksgiving due low inventories. What’s that got to do with January sales? Some businesses are considering packing up leftover merchandise after the holidays and storing it for next year instead of clearing it out at a discount immediately after Christmas.
(So no huge January sales? Hmmm…I might as well let my family know that we can celebrate Christmas on Christmas this year, then!)
(Not That it’ll stop MY wife from shopping!)
-CNN
GETTING NEEDLED ABOUT A CHRISTMAS TREE:
Every year, a Christmas tree is presented to the city of London as a gift of thanks from Norway for Britain’s support during World War 2. This year, though, the British are not particularly grateful. Why? The tree is, in a word, ugly. The 78-foot Norwegian spruce was lit up in Trafalgar Square on Thursday night, and provoked quite a few negative responses, including demands that it be replaced. It’s not hard to see why. In pictures, it appears that one side of the tree is very sparse, leading some to say it looks “half-dead”. It’s unclear exactly when the damage took place, but there’s a good chance it happened during the 1,731 km (1,076 mi) journey from Oslo to London. In true “stiff upper-lip” fashion, other online commenters made of point of calling it “lovely”, “majestic” and saying it is “appreciated by the vast majority”. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/ykn4hzsv
(Once it was decorated nice and lit up for the season, it looked fine. I just wish the same could be said for me at the company Christmas party!)
(What did they deliver it in? A Volkswagen?)
(Somewhere, Charlie Brown is smiling…)
-BroBible
NEW GOOD NEWS:
➢ An enthusiastic bird watcher spent years leaving out food for a family of crows—but he never expected something in return. Stuart Dahlquist of Seattle first became acquainted with the crows after he rescued 2 chicks that had fallen out of their nest in his yard 6 years ago. He began regularly throwing bird food into his front yard — and the crows apparently took notice. One day, he was surprised to find a fir sprig that had been decorated with a soda can tab, left in the exact spot where he fed the crows. The next day, he was offered a second soda tab-decorated branch courtesy of the crows. Along with a pic, Dahlquist wrote on Twitter: “This isn’t only generous, it’s creative, it’s art. My mind is blown.” He plans to get a tattoo of the gift as reminder of his sweet inter-species friendship. (If it IS art, would that make it correct to refer to it as a “murder-scene”?) LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2p837cj7
➢ For most of its history, the football team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside has been, well, bad. But it started this season ready to make history — and that’s exactly what they did. The Cubs rode a dominating, undefeated season straight to a historic championship game. CSDR plays in a league for smaller schools, and is the only deaf team in the league. Every player on the team is deaf, as is their coach. The team communicates by sign language on the field, and has learned to expertly read the other team’s body language. After a series of blowout victories, they met up with Faith Baptist, a perennial favorite, in the championship game. The Cubs put up a good fight, but injuries gave their opponents the edge in the end. But their incredible run sent an unmistakable message: The CSDR Cubs are not to be underestimated. (They probably listen to their coach better than MY kid’s team does!)
-GoodNewsNetwork, CNN
VITAMINS YOU PROBABLY SHOULD BE TAKING DURING WINTER:
☞ Vitamin D: helps us absorb calcium and is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because we produce it when we’re exposed to the sun. But with less sunshine in winter, our bodies may become deficient.
☞ Vitamin C: acts as an antioxidant and helps us absorb iron and heal wounds, and may help shorten colds and reduce symptoms. Some great sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, cabbage and broccoli. (I’ll take the pills, thanks!)
☞ Zinc: is a nutrient that helps the function of your metabolism and immune system. There is also evidence that zinc can prevent severe reoccurrence of colds and can shorten the time of infection. (So, what did I take that Vitamin C for?)
☞ Magnesium: supports muscles, nerve function and energy, especially important during the colder season. Less daylight often results in a lack of energy, and can lead to seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Avocados, nuts, seeds, legumes and bananas are all great sources.
(I’ve been much happier since I changed from coffee in the morning to orange juice. My doctor says it’s the vitamin C, but I think it’s the vodka!)
-Yahoo
DID YOU KNOW?
(***Caution: “Badass” again***) Nearly three decades after NBC’s “The Golden Girls” ended its 7-year run, the timeless show is getting its first-ever fan convention. The “Golden-Con: Thank You for Being a Fan” event is going down April 22-24 in Chicago. It will feature appearances by “guest stars, producers, and others directly connected with the show,” though no names have yet been announced. The Golden Girls starred Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty are 4 badass retirees living together in Miami home, and ran from 1985-92.
-NYPost
BS CHRONOMETER 12.06.21
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1955 [66] Steven Wright, Cambridge MA, comedian (known for his lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of one-liners)/movie actor (“Desperately Seeking Susan”, “The Emoji Movie” [voice])
Five of Steven Wright’s best lines:
• “It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it.”
• “I’ve written several children’s books…not on purpose.”
• “7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.”
• “A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I’m afraid of widths.”
• “All those who believe in psychokinesis raise my hand.”
• “I spilled spot remover on my dog and now he’s gone.”
• “A friend of mine has a trophy wife, but apparently, it wasn’t first place.”
1956 [65] Peter Buck, Oakland CA, rock guitarist (R.E.M.-‘Losing My Religion’, ‘Everybody Hurts’)
1957 [64] Andrew Cuomo, New York NY, American politician (Governor of New York 2011-21)/son of former NY governor Mario Cuomo/brother of fired CNN host Chris Cuomo, as you may have heard…
1962 [59] Janine Turner, Lincoln NB TV actress (‘Maggie’ in “Northern Exposure” 1990-95)/movie actress (“Cliffhanger”)
1967 [54] Judd Apatow, Syosset NY, movie producer (“Bridesmaids”, “Pineapple Express”)/movie director (“Knocked Up”, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”)/married to Leslie Mann COMING UP…”The Bubble”, 2022
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Gazpacho Day”, in celebration of the spicy but cold Spanish soup. To look like a real rube, order some in a restaurant, then blow on it to cool it down.
• “Miners Day”, saluting the ‘men of the deeps’ who toil away daily underground. (You know what they say: “A lot of people worry about being buried alive, but really it’s a miner problem…”)
• “Put on Your Own Shoes Day”, This is it, boys and girls. Time to prove you’re a big kid now. (Tomorrow, we work on putting on MATCHING shoes…)
• “St Nicholas Day”, commemorating the 4th-century bishop who died December 6, 342 AD, and from whom the traditions of “Santa Claus” and exchanging gifts were derived. No wonder he’s the patron saint of both children and merchants! Many European kids awaken today to find candy and oranges in their shoes, or if they’ve been bad … a piece of coal.
• “Pawnbrokers Day”, celebrated on “St. Nicholas Day”, the saint who, among other things, is the patron saint of pawnbrokers. (Buuut…shouldn’t St. Nicholas Day be Dec. 25?)
• “Microwave Oven Day”, Percy Spencer discovered microwave cooking in 1945 when he came too close to a magnetron tube and a chocolate bar in his pocket began to melt. (Fun Fact: The first commercially available microwave oven in 1947 was called the ‘Radarange’)
• “Walt Disney Day”, held on the first Monday of December in remembrance and honor of Walt Disney, whose birthday was December 5 (1901).
COMING UP . . .
[Tues] Cotton Candy Day
[Tues] International Civil Aviation Day
[Wed] Brownie Day
[Wed] Pretend To Be a Time Traveler Day
This Week Is…Influenza Week
This Month Is…Operation Santa Paws
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2005 [16] Director Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain”, starring Heath Ledger & Jake Gyllenhaal, premieres in NYC (goes on to win 3 Academy Awards)
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1988 [33] Roy Orbison, in the midst of a career resurgence thanks to his part in supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, dies of heart failure at 52
2008 [13] Beyoncé’s third album “I Am Sasha Fierce” debuts at #1 (as had her first 2)
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1877 [144] The first-ever recording is made of a human voice: Thomas Edison reciting ‘Mary had a Little Lamb”
2003 [18] Army becomes the first team in NCAA major college football history to finish its season 0-13, by losing to Navy 34-6
TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
2013 [08] The Fender Stratocaster played by Bob Dylan when he “went electric” at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is sold at auction for a record $965,000 (It had been in the possession of a NJ family for 48 years after Dylan left it on a private plane)
2017 [04] Starbucks opens its largest cafe in the world in Shanghai: 30,000 square-feet, 1/2 size of a football field
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ It takes 345 squirts from a cow’s udder to get a gallon (4.5 liters) of milk.
✓ Police are sometimes called “the fuzz” because London cops once wore fuzzy helmets.
✓ Of all types of smiles, the insincere smile uses the least energy and the fewest muscles.
✓ If you lose your pinkie finger, you lose 50% of your hand strength.
✓ It’s estimated that the value of a home drops by $5,000 if any room is painted bright pink.
✓ Hell, Michigan froze over in 2004, 2014, 2019 and 2021.
-BathroomReadersInstitute
Best of BS . . .
BS INAPPROPRIATE FUNERAL THOUGHTS:
• “This is definitely the quietest I’ve ever seen him.”
• “Soooo…you’re single now…”
• “That punk owed me 20…”
• “I cannot believe that priest is telling us that he went to heaven.”
• “I wore that outfit better.”
• “How much longer until we get to eat those little triangular sandwiches?”
• “I KNEW I shouldn’t have held his beer…”
• “Even in death, she’s on her back.”
• “It looks like I got away with it…”
• “Don’t check your phone…Don’t check your phone…Don’t check your phone…”
• “That looks nothing like her. She looks really pretty…”
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2018
TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ Merriam-Webster has chosen “vaccine” as its 2021 word of the year. (Other popular phrases up for consideration included: ‘Fauci ouchie’, ‘anti-vaxxer’ and “Put some clothes on, Madonna.”)
➠ Billie Eilish has launched her first-ever fragrance. (So, great news for everyone who wants to smell like 1960’s leather, pajama bottoms and 3-day-old socks…)
➠ A rare Apple-I computer just sold at an auction for $500,000. (I guess it’s easy to save up that kind of cash when you’re not spending it on women…)
➠ Goo Goo Dolls singer Johnny Rzeznik turned 56 yesterday. (His birthday party was completely indistinguishable from birthday parties for the guy from Matchbox Twenty and the guy from Third Eye Blind. ..)
➠ A study found that “comfort foods” DON’T actually make you feel better. (But Southern Comfort does, so — cheers, Science!)
BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• In the original script for “Toy Story”, what object was the character of ‘Woody’ (voiced by Tom Hanks)?
a) A ventriloquist dummy [CORRECT]
b) A clown doll
c) A puppet
d) Woody Woodpecker
• Which professional athlete was considered for the lead in “Terminator”?
a) Dan Marino
b) Mike Tyson
c) O.J. Simpson [CORRECT]
d) Anna Kournikova
• Which is NOT a core rule for handling a Mogwai in “Gremlins”?
a) Do not feed it after midnight
b) Do not expose it to bright light
c) Do not let it get wet
d) Do not let it get cold [CORRECT]
-ReadersDigest
BS WEB GOODIE:
Monday vibes? (sound up): https://tinyurl.com/45r3kas8
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I’m pretty happy that this year I managed to put off my Christmas shopping extra early.
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: 1/3 of THESE happen between US Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. What are they?
Answer: Marriage proposals
BS PHONE STARTER:
What, to you, is the greatest Christmas movie of all-time?
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.