Wednesday, December 7, 2022 – Edition: #7374
Thanks For Being On Our Sheet List!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Hours after the world learned the shocking news Monday of Kirstie Alley’s death, the 71-year-old actress’s representative confirmed that her cause of death was colon cancer. Alley’s children had previously announced that she had “only recently discovered” the cancer. On Monday evening, True and Lillie Parker shared a statement about the “Cheers” star’s passing on Alley’s social media. In their message, they stated that Alley had recently been diagnosed with cancer and subsequently passed away from the illness. They did not provide any further details into what exactly she ailed from, but her representative later confirmed to “People” it was colon cancer. Their statement began, “We are sad to inform you that our incredible, fierce and loving mother has passed away after a battle with cancer, only recently discovered.”
-PopCulture
★ Two trailers for the new “Harry & Meghan” Netflix docuseries have been criticized for allegedly using footage and photos in misleading ways. The trailers show archive clips and pictures as Prince Harry and Meghan talk about being sidelined by the Royal Family and hounded by the media. But it is thought at least 3 of the images were taken from events that had nothing to do with the couple. This includes a photograph of paparazzi, which is said to have actually been taken at a “Harry Potter” premiere, 5 years before the duke and duchess met. Another allegation is that an image was cropped to suggest the couple were left on the edge of a royal event, when they were in fact front and center. There is also a suggestion that another photo was used to illustrate press intrusion, when it was actually taken at an event where all photographers present were controlled and agreed upon in advance. Netflix and the Sussexes’ production company have not commented.
-BBC
★ Months after the end of their defamation trail, Amber Heard has made an official legal move against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. Heard’s legal team has filed a new appeal, arguing that since a separate trial previously ruled in favor of Heard regarding her claims of abuse against Depp, then the jury in their most recent trial should not have been able to find him innocent. They also argue that the trial should have been held in California instead of Virginia. The legal papers also state that Heard believes the outcome will “undoubtedly will have a chilling effect on other women who wish to speak about abuse involving powerful men.” She is seeking to have the verdict overturned, thrown out, or for a whole new trial.
-PopCulture
★ One of the most controversial Netflix shows ever has just joined a rarified group. “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has now reached 1 billion hours viewed in its first 60 days of release. The only other shows to do that are “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things 4”. All 10 episodes of Dahmer were released on Sept. 21. Since then, Netflix subscribers have watched 1 billion hours of the show. Squid Game reached 1.65 billion hours watched in its first 28 days of release, while Stranger Things’ fourth season reached 1.35 billion hours watched in the same time frame. Dahmer topped Netflix’s Top 10 list for 3 weeks and stayed on the chart for 7 weeks.
-PopCulture
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Will Ferrell, Colson “Machine Gun Kelly” Baker, The Linda Lindas
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Michelle Pfeiffer, Lil Rel Howery, Clive Davis
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Mariah Carey, Kumail Nanjiani
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Jesse Eisenberg, Meghann Fahy
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Jordan Jensen
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Jeff Lewis, Bethenny Frankel
• The View” (ABC/CTV): Mike Birbiglia
• “The Talk”(CBS): Lisa Ann Walter, Teddy Swims
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Emma Thompson, Zoey Deutch
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Zoey Deutch, Mike Rowe, Jeannie Mai
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Mindy Kaling
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Don Cheadle, Adrienne Bailon-Houghton
• “The Conners” (ABC): Dan meets his in-laws for the first time when Louise’s family comes to visit; Darlene helps Becky with a parenting problem.
• “The Amazing Race” (CBS): The final 3 teams travel 3,000 miles to race through Nashville for the final showdown, where they must play a giant piano to win the $1 million prize.
• “The Masked Singer” (Fox): Fan faves from Season 8 get into the holiday spirit for a Christmas singalong.
• “DC’s Stargirl” (CW): Season 3 finale. Courtney and the JSA find themselves in the fight of their lives against their biggest threat yet.
• “Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2022” (CW): Counting down the world’s best holiday commercials; a look at other great spots that capture the true spirit of the holidays.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Bad Bunny – heads Billboard’s list of the top artists of 2022. The rest of the top-10, in order: Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Drake, Morgan Wallen, Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran, Adele, The Weeknd and Lil Baby. (The top-100 is here (Queen is #67!): https://tinyurl.com/2vy8cf5k
• Cardi B – shut down an internet troll by revealing how much she was paid for an exclusive concert for Chase Sapphire cardholders in Miami Beach. In her post, she explained that she got $1 million just to perform at a 35-minute set. She closed her million-dollar clapback by writing: “THINK ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU TYPE ABOUT THIS GRAMMY WINNER”
• Abba – Sir Ian McKellen wants to join the group. The legendary British actor, who played ‘Gandolf’ in “The Lord of the Rings”, appears in a new tongue-in-cheek video where he meets up with Björn Ulvaeus for their regular knitting session, and suggests he become a part of Abba, or rather ‘Abiba’. They did a similarly-themed holiday clip last year. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2s44ecnm
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — have announced more dates for their tour into 2023, fresh off a run of stadiums across North America and Europe this year. Tickets go on sale this Friday for an additional 20 shows in the US, Canada, UK and Europe, with opening acts including St. Vincent The Strokes, Iggy Pop, Thundercat, The Roost and City and Colour.
• Goo Goo Dolls – have announced this summer’s “Big Night Out Tour” with opening act O.A.R. The bands will kick things off July 24 in Clearwater FL and wind through the US, ending Sept. 7 in Highland CA. Tickets go on sale Friday. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/ye28snpa
• Maren Morris – brought actress Kristin Chenoweth to the stage to join her in a rendition of ‘For Good’ from the Broadway musical “Wicked” at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena over the weekend. Later, Morris posted video, gushing that she’s “Never getting over this.” Chenoweth originated the role of ‘Glinda’ when the show premiered on Broadway in 2003. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2s3njxcy
• Jimmie Allen – has revealed details for his Holiday Bowling Classic, an event that he’s hosting in Wilmington, Delaware, Dec. 17. He uploaded poster on social media, writing “Calling all bowlers. It’s going down!” First prize is $2,000 LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2s4k3ue9
• Tim McGraw – ushered in the holiday season with a cover of the Merle Haggard classic ‘If We Make It Through December’. Along with the Instagram video, he wrote: “(A) Little Holiday song to get us in the spirit. Here’s one of my favorites” LINK: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cle_YCYJ60C/
SHOOTING THE BULL
OLD NEWS:
Life really does get better with age, according a new study. Yes, modern life is stressful, but researchers from Penn State say that chances are it will get better — eventually. They found that the number of daily stressors and people’s reactivity to daily stressors tends to decrease with age (In other words, they don’t allow those experiences to strain them as much as they did when they were younger.) Their study of the daily lives of more than 3,000 adults showed that while 25-year-olds reported stressors on nearly 50% of days, 70-year-olds reported stressors on only 30% of days. And, as the study leader put it: “A 25-year-old is much grumpier on the days when they experience a stressor, but as we age, we really figure out how to decrease those exposures.” And that’s a good thing, because our emotional responses to these events are predictive of later well-being, including chronic conditions, mental health and even mortality.
(Great. So…less stress when I’m older. If it doesn’t kill me first!)
(Maybe we just get sick and tired of caring – just like I was told in my last performance review!)
-StudyFinds
CHRISTMAS POLL:
While some people complain about “Christmas creep”, where it seems like stores start their holiday decorating and promotions earlier and earlier every year (and start playing Christmas music earlier…), according to a survey, half of us (54%) wish the holiday season lasted longer! A OnePoll survey asked 2,000 US adults about how they spend their time during the holiday season, and 52% said they try to fit in as many festive activities as possible. While most said up to 2 more weeks would be good, if you can believe it, 41% wouldn’t mind it a bit if the holidays went on even longer. 44% of respondents said it starts feeling like the holiday season to them in November…and 35% said they start to feel the excitement of the holidays in September and October.
(I know that sounds hard to believe…unless you’re married to one of them!)
(Instead of starting holiday season earlier, who not stretch it out at the end? After all, it’s not like we have a whole lot to look forward to in January…!)
-Talker
MONIKER MONITOR:
Pet care company Rover.com has released its list of the most popular pet names of 2022 (in the US). The pet website identified the top 100 pet names that were attached to male and female dogs and cats, after diving “deep into the Rover database of over a million pet parents to determine the most popular dog [and cat] names of 2022”. Here are the top-10…
The most popular dog names of 2022 (in order):
Female: Luna, Bella (#1 last year), Daisy, Lucy, Lily, Zoe, Lola, Sadie, Bailey, Stella
Male: Max (also #1 last year), Charlie, Cooper, Milo, Buddy, Rocky, Bear, Teddy, Duke, Leo
The most popular cat names of 2022:
Female: Luna, Lily, Bella, Lucy, Nala, Callie, Kitty, Cleo, Willow, Chloe
Male: Oliver, Milo, Leo, Charlie, Max, Loki, Simba, Jack, Ollie, Jasper
(Does no one call their dog ‘Pup Tart’ anymore? Or ‘Groucho Barks’? ‘Snoop Dog’, anyone?)
-Yahoo
FUN FACTS ABOUT “HOME ALONE”:
Many of us watch it every Christmas season. If you’re one of them, go into it this year knowing…
⇒ The role was made for Macauley Culkin: Writer John Hughes came up with the idea after seeing Culkin in the John Candy film “Uncle Buck”. In one scene, Culkin, who has been left alone by his uncle, interrogates his would-be babysitter.
⇒ Robert De Niro turned down the role of ‘Harry Lime’: So did Jon Lovitz. Then Joe Pesci made the part his own. Bonus fun fact: Pesci, used to playing the heavy in movies like “Raging Bull”, wasn’t used to the family-friendly atmosphere — and dropped a few f-bombs. He was asked to say “fridge” instead.
⇒ In real life, Kevin might have killed the Wet Bandits: In 2018, a doctor diagnosed what would happen if a person sustained the injuries they did at the hands of the 7-year-old. Between BB gun shots to the groin, and a steaming hot iron and can of paint to the face, their injuries would have caused a ‘blowout fracture’ and lead to serious disfigurement…at least. (And don’t forget the red-hot doorknob!)
⇒ The tarantula on burglar Daniel Stern’s face? Yep, that was real: Stern agreed to let it happen—but only one take. Stern had to mime the blood-curdling scream, so as not to frighten the spider, and have the sound dubbed in later. (That alone would have killed me!)
⇒ Old Man Marley wasn’t in the original screenplay: Kevin’s supposedly scary neighbor, who eventually teaches him the importance of family, was added at the suggestion of director Chris Columbus, who thought the film could do with a stronger dose of sentimentality.
⇒ Elvis may have made a cameo: When Catherine O’Hara’s character ‘Kate’ is at the airport, trying to get home to be with Kevin, an extra in the background caused a conspiracy theory that Elvis Presley was alive and well and working as an extra on holiday movies. (“Blue Christmas without you”?)
-Romper, MentalFloss
DID YOU KNOW?
“Goblin mode” has been chosen as the 2022 Oxford word of the year. The term refers to “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”. It’s the first word of the year to have been decided by public vote. Given a choice of 3 words (or phrases/hashtags), narrowed down by lexicographers from Oxford University Press, more than 340,000 English speakers around the world cast votes, making “Metaverse” the second choice, followed by “#IStandWith”. Goblin mode scored 93% of votes cast.
-Guardian
BS CHRONOMETER 12.07.22
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Cotton Candy Day”, celebrating the sweet, sugary taste-treat that melts in your mouth. It was invented in 1897 as ‘Fairy Floss’, then renamed in 1920. In Greece, Israel, and India, it is often referred to as ‘Old Woman’s Hair’. Yuck.
• “International Civil Aviation Day”, an observance by the International Civil Aviation Organization since 1994, to reinforce the importance of civil aviation to social and economic development. (Will this idea ever take off?)
• “National Letter Writing Day”, when we’re encouraged to take a few minutes to send someone a handwritten letter. Letter-writing has almost become a lost art. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone, either printed or in cursive? (What other old-school skills are falling by the wayside?)
• “Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day”, observed on the anniversary of one of the defining moments in American history, the 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which caused the US to enter WW2. It is also known as the “date which will live in infamy”. BS FAST FACT: The 2001 film “Pearl Harbor” cost as much to make as the actual rebuilding of Pearl Harbor, and lasted an hour longer than the attack.
• “Special Kids Day”, started in 1990 as a seasonal event for children with special needs and their families to visit Santa Claus in environments designed to accommodate them.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Christmas Tree Day
[Thurs] Pretend To Be a Time Traveler Day
[Fri] Christmas Card Day
[Sat] Lager Day
This Week is…Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week
This Month is…Honor Your Pharmacists Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1932 [90] Ellen Burstyn, Detroit MI, movie actress (“Requiem for a Dream”, “The Exorcist”) COMING UP…“Untitled Exorcist film” 2023
1949 [73] Tom Waits, Pomona CA, blues-rock-folk-jazz singer-songwriter (‘Downtown Train’, ‘[Looking For] The Heart of Saturday Night’)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2001
1954 [68] Priscilla Barnes, Fort Dix NJ, TV actress (“Jane The Virgin” 2014-19, ‘Terri’ on “Three’s Company 1981-1984)
1965 [57] Jeffrey Wright, Washington DC, TV actor (‘Bernard Lowe’ on “Westworld” since 2016)/movie actor (“James Bond” and “Hunger Games” movies)
1978 [44] Kristofer Hivju, Oslo Norway, TV actor (‘Tormund Giantsbane’ in “Game of Thrones” 2013-19)/movie actor (‘Connor Rhodes’ in “The Fate of the Furious”) COMING UP…“Cocaine Bear” 2023
1979 [43] Sara Bareilles, Eureka CA, pop singer (‘Brave’, ‘Love Song’)
1988 [34] Winston Marshall, London UK, folk-rock banjoist (Mumford & Sons-‘Believe’, ‘I Will Wait’)
1989 [33] Nicholas Hoult, Wokingham England, movie actor (“X-Men: First Class”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”) COMING UP…“Garfield” 2024
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1969 [53] The TV special “Frosty the Snowman” is broadcast (on CBS) for the first time. It has aired annually every Christmas season since.
2001 [21] The caper movie remake, “Ocean’s Eleven”, featuring an all-star cast (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts) opens in theaters (it spawns the sequels “Ocean’s Twelve”, “Ocean’s Thirteen”, and the all-female “Ocean’s 8″)
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1991 [31] Michael Jackson’s ‘Black or White’ reaches #1 on the singles chart; U2 s “Achtung Baby” debuts at #1 on the album chart
2014 [08] Pink Floyd’s classic album “The Dark Side of the Moon” makes a surprise return to the ‘Billboard 200’ (#13), thanks to ultra-cheap special pricing at 99¢ in the Google Play store
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2020 [02] Breaking, the competitive form of breakdancing, is confirmed as an Olympic sport for the Paris 2024 games
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ The female equivalent of ‘dude’ is ‘dudine’.
✓ Hippo milk is pink.
✓ Buttermilk does not contain any butter.
✓ With 2 forks and a charge, a pickle will emit light.
✓ Most liquid laundry detergents are alive with living organisms that help to break down stains.
✓ A penguin was once knighted in Norway.
-AllThatisInteresting, RandomFactGenerator
Best of BS . . .
BS SIGNS YOU’RE AT A BAD OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY:
• Because of “corporate downsizing,” Santa is only 120 pounds.
• The eggnog smells suspiciously like white-out.
• The only food available is something called “reindeer kebabs.”
• Shady guy ringing bells for something called the “Salvation Navy”.
• For the 16th year in a row, the boss has passed out in the eggnog.
• All party games involve keeping a careful log of when each needle drops off the tree.
• Thanks to the alcohol-free punch, not a single butt gets photocopied.
-Neloo, first published in BS in 2012
BS BETTER USES FOR FRUITCAKE:
• Balance that wobbly kitchen table.
• Use instead of sand bags during El Nino.
• Speed bumps to foil the neighborhood drag racers.
• Collect ten and use them as bowling pins.
• Save for next summer’s garage sale.
• Carry it in your trunk for emergency use as a tire block.
• Save it until next year and give it back to the person who gave it to you.
• Two words: lethal weapon.
-Neloo, First published in BS in 2017
BS WHICH CAME FIRST:
• The golf tee or the safety pin? [The safety pin was invented in 1849, the golf tee in 1899]
• Printed Christmas cards or the long-distance phone call? [Christmas cards were first engraved in 1875, the first long distance call–from Boston to New York — was made in 1884]
• The ball-point pen or the pencil with attached eraser? [The pencil with attached eraser came in 1858, while the patent for the ball-point pen was granted in 1888]
• Volleyball or basketball? [Basketball was invented in 1892, volleyball came 3 years later, originally called ‘Mintonette’]
• Chop suey or potato chips? The first potato chips were cooked in 1865, while Chop suey was first prepared in 1896]
• The floppy disk or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? The floppy disk was invented in 1967, and The Rock was born in 1972.
-WaldotheClown, BuzzFeed
BS WEB GOODIE:
You may want to get that checked: https://tinyurl.com/avdctuf
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I quit my job at the helium bottling plant because I refuse to be spoken to in that tone of voice.
BS PHONE STARTER:
What is the silliest fear you have?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: 40% of adults say they wish they could change THIS about themselves. What is it?
Answer: Their height
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
True happiness only occurs when you find the problems you enjoy having — and enjoy solving.