Thursday, December 10, 2020 — Edition: #6869

Sheet Happens!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ The next Spider-Man film is looking more and more like a big Spider-verse reunion. It’s been revealed that Alfred Molina will join the cast of Jon Watt’s third Spider-Man film, reprising the role he played in 2004’s “Spider-Man 2”. Rumors of Molina’s involvement have percolated for a few weeks, since reports surfaced that he was spotted on set. Apparently, he will once again play ‘Doctor Octopus’. According to the rumor-mill, Jamie Foxx’s ‘Electro’ will also be back, as well as Kirsten Dunst’s  as ‘MJ’, and Emma Stone as ‘Gwen Stacy’, pregnancy permitting. Word is that Andrew Garfield will be back to join Tom Holland in the title role, and so will Tobey McGuire, if a deal can be hammered out between him and Sony/Marvel.  At the moment, the next Spider-Man movie is set to be released on Dec. 17, 2021, although that could change.
-Polygon, Collider
★ George Takei may not have been the ranking science officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, but the “Star Trek” helmsman is still a firm believer in medical science. He recently confirmed his strong support for vaccinations as the first COVID-19 vaccines make their way to the public, while encountering resistance from anti-vaccination groups along the way. On Twitter, Takei wrote: “If you are a Star Trek fan, but you refuse to get vaccinated, then you are not living up to the ideals of Star Trek: Science, logic, and compassion require us all to do our part.”
-Yahoo
★ CBS has released the first teaser for its upcoming “Silence of the Lambs” sequel “Clarice,” with Rebecca Breeds playing FBI agent ‘Clarice Starling’. The drama will premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 11th. Breeds takes over the role that was portrayed by Jodie Foster in the 1991 classic. In the new series, Clarice “returns to the field in 1993, one year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs”.  LINK:  https://tinyurl.com/yyt2nc4h
-TheWrap
★ Kevin Bacon is trying to save a pig who shares his name. He posted an appeal for an experienced keeper to take home a 4-year-old Kunekune named ‘Kevin Bacon’, who is being cared for at a Scottish SPCA rehoming centre because his previous owners couldn’t look after him. Bacon (the person) took to Twitter to share a link and wrote: “Help a fellow Kevin find a home?” In August, Dennis Quaid adopted a cat who shared his name, after it was rescued in Virginia. At the time Quaid said: “Maybe they should start naming animals in shelters after different celebrities and see who bites.”
-Canoe
★ A documentary about the beloved children’s show “Sesame Street” is coming to HBO Documentary Films. “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street,” will debut in 2021. It follows the work of Muppets creator Jim Henson along with some of the other pivotal voices who helped bring “Sesame Street” to air in the 1960s and made it a household name for generations.
-TheWrap

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Emily Blunt, Kyle Chandler, Sturgill Simpson
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Bruce Springsteen, J. Balvin, Mandy Moore
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): James Corden, Fleet Foxes
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV):  Blake Shelton, Jenny Slate, My Morning Jacket, Kaz Rodriguez
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Andrew Rannells, Megan Thee Stallion
• “Conan” (TBS): Joe Manganiello
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Kristin Chenoweth, Patricia Altschul
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Emily Blunt, Elizabeth Werner
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): James Marsden, Monica Mangin
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): James Corden, Meghan Trainor
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Keegan-Michael Key, Nelly, Danielle Kartes
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Ellie Kemper, Elaine Welteroth
• “One Night Only: The Best of Broadway” (NBC): Hosted by Tina Fey, Broadway’s brightest stars take to the streets to perform hit numbers from today’s biggest shows, including “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Chicago,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “Jersey Boys” and “Mean Girls.”
• “Silent Night — A Song for the World” (CW): The creation and cultural impact of the world’s most famous Christmas carol, composed in 1818. Hugh Bonneville narrates.
• “Time Person of the Year” (NBC): The annual recipient of the highly regarded honor is revealed, along with the honorees for Businessperson of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Athlete of the Year and Guardians of the Year; the most important stories of 2020 are showcased.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Cardi B – has been announced as a co-headliner for Montreal’s 2021 Osheaga festival, alongside Post Malone and Foo Fighters. Event producer and promoter Evenko says all COVID-19 guidelines will be followed, and refunds will be issued if the event can’t go forward as scheduled for July 30-Aug. 1.
• Taylor Swift – Her “Folklore” album has topped Billboard’s albums of the year countdown. The surprise summer release was voted Billboard staff’s CD of 2020, beating Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia”, which came second. The Weeknd’s “After Hours” came third, with Bad Bunny’s “YHLQMDLG” and Lady Gaga’s “Chromatica” also in the top 5.
• Madonna – has finally gotten her first tattoo. The mother of six had each of her children’s initials inked on her wrist in a vintage typewriter-style font. Her kids range in age from 8 to 24.
• Mariah Carey – has confirmed plans for a biopic based on her bestselling autobiography “The Meaning of Mariah Carey”. On “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” she said: “I really feel like it should (happen)…That was always my goal but it was important to write the book first.” No word on casting yet. (But you know she’s going to play herself, right?)
• Van Halen — Wolfgang Van Halen says there are currently no plans to open up his late father Eddie’s vault to put out unreleased material. His plan is to “archive it properly and digitise it, so everything is safe for years to come.”. He also points out that “To a certain extent, my dad released all the good stuff.”
• Elton John – says he has no plans to make a new album anytime soon. He told an interviewer “I’m a dad and I love being a dad. I will get in the mood to record again…But no one needs another Elton John record out at the moment.”
• Maren Morris – Her friend and producer busbee (Michael Busbee), who passed away in 2019 of brain cancer, was honored by The Academy of Country Music as Producer of the Year. He also produced Lady A, and wrote songs for Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts.
• Darius Rucker – has become the third country singer and fourth entertainer to invest in bringing pro baseball to Nashville. Kane Brown, Luke Combs (and Justin Timberlake) are also among the investors eager to see MLB action in the city. The proposed expansion team would be called the Nashville Stars and pay tribute to the Negro League team that played there in the 1940s and 50s.
• Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani – are atop the Billboard Country Airplay chart together for a second time with their most recent duet ‘Happy Anywhere’. That gives Stefani her second country #1, after ‘Nobody But You’, and Shelton his 28th.

“CALLING” YOUR PHONE INTO QUESTION:
Maybe the fact that I walk around with my face glued to my smartphone isn’t such a bad thing. A study has found that, actually, our worries about how much we’re using our phones are doing more harm than our actual use of them. British researchers studied 150 smartphone users and say they can find no evidence that smartphone use is related to poor mental health. Although many participants reported feeling extra stressed after realizing they had spent more time than intended on their phone, it was determined that smartphone use isn’t an accurate predictor of mental health issues like anxiety, stress, and depression.
(Carpal tunnel syndrome? Well, they got us there!)
(Did they say anything about the mental health of those of us who still have a crippling addiction to Angry Birds?)
(Good! Because I’d hate to have to stop going to the bathroom!)
-StudyFinds

CLIMB IT CHANGE:
The highest point on earth just got higher. Mount Everest is 29,031 feet above sea level, according to survey results presented this week. That is two feet higher than the altitude previously recognized by the government of Nepal. The new measurement is the culmination of a multiyear project to definitively measure the legendary mountain. This was the first serious survey of Everest in 16 years, and has been closely followed by the geographic community—particularly scientists analyzing how a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 affected the region.
(If there are only 3 countries in the world that don’t use the metric system, why do they always give the height of Mt. Everest in feet?)
(I didn’t know there WAS such a thing as a “geographic community”, but I bet they rock! Wait, that’s geology…)
(And there you have it. We’ve finally reached “peak Everest”.)
-NationalGeographic

TEA? COFFEE?
➢ Here’s how to make the perfect cup of tea, according to food scientist Dr. Stuart Farrimond: First, use a mug or tea cup. None of this Styrofoam stuff, because it absorbs flavor. If you have the choice, use an orange or red mug. Psychologically, hot drinks taste sweeter in an orange or red cup. Use good quality water. Filter if necessary. Loose leaf tea gives more flavor than bags. Let it brew for five minutes, not two, as most people do. And add the milk after the tea. (I tried it…and it STILL tasted like tea!)
➢ A study by addiction researchers has revealed that coffee fools people into yearning for it, through the same modes of addiction as drugs. The study, by Germany’s University Jena, asked participants to divide pictures between those they found pleasant or unpleasant, and included comparisons between coffee and other drinks, as well as non-beverage-related pics, such as a skull and a puppy. Researchers assumed that someone who drinks a lot of coffee would smash the ‘like’ button as quickly as they do for other agreeable images. But they found that those who drink relatively high levels of coffee (at least three cups a day) only “like” coffee a little more than those who drink low levels or no coffee. The bottom line: Caffeine shares crucial properties with other drugs when it comes to “like” versus “need”. (Maybe they were just shaking…)
-ScienceFocus, NYPost

FUNNIEST TWEETS OF THE WEEK FROM PARENTS:
⇒ Does anyone have any advice for my 3 year old who wants to know how he can eat a different dessert after deciding he doesn’t want to eat the one he just ate? – threetimedaddy
⇒   You probably shouldn’t teach your child to kick their dad in the chest while yelling “this is Sparta” I know this now. – Professional Worrier
⇒ “I WANT MOMMY TO CUT MY HAIR,” my 6-year-old yelled, at once exercising his bodily autonomy and exhibiting absolutely dismal decision-making skills. – Arianna Bradford
⇒ There are 5 of us in this house and 738 shoes by the front door this does not check out — MominBits
⇒ Our daughter asked me what “cremation” means so I told her and she responded that it “sounds delicious” so apparently I’m raising a sweet golden-haired Hannibal Lecter – Richard Dean
⇒ The problem with children is that they are never as hung over as you are. – Matty Pumpkin
⇒ (***Caution***) If you want to p___ off a toddler, just tell him he’s tired. – Dude-Bro Dad
…AND A FEW ABOUT MARRIED LIFE:
⇒ If my wife doesn’t win anything on this $2 scratch ticket, it’s going to go down as one of the worst anniversary gifts ever. – Rodney Lacroix
⇒ My wife got upset when I asked her to take out the lavender scented trash bag, proving that lavender doesn’t have any calming effect – Vinod Chhaproo
⇒ Question: when your marriage counselor starts eating popcorn during your zoom session is that insulting or kinda flattering – Sarah Cooper
⇒ Good morning to everyone except my husband. He farted me awake. – Felicia
-HuffPost

DID YOU KNOW?
Barack and Michelle Obama are reportedly producing a comedy series for Netflix “based on the chaotic transition of power when Donald Trump became president in 2016.” The show, titled “The G Word With Adam Conover”, is a collaboration between the comedian and the former first couple’s Higher Ground Productions, based on Michael Lewis’s book “The Fifth Risk”. The book covers the chaos and mismanagement that occurred in the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy during the handoff between the administrations.
-VanityFair

BS CHRONOMETER 12.10.20

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1952 [68] Susan Dey, Pekin IL, TV actress (“The Partridge Family” 1970-74, “L.A. Law” 1986-1992)

1960 [60] (Sir) Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Northern Ireland, movie actor (“Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets”)/movie director (“Thor”)/screenwriter (“Hamlet”) COMING UP…”Death on the Nile”

1964 [56] Bobby Flay, NYC, TV chef (“Beat Bobby Flay” since 2013, “Boy Meets Grill”)

1972 [48] Andrea Canning, Collingwood ON, journalist (“Dateline NBC” since 2006)

1974 [46] Meg White, Grosse Pointe Farms MI, former rock drummer (White Stripes-‘Seven Nation Army’, ‘Icky Thump’)

1985 [35] Raven-Symoné, Atlanta GA, TV panelist (“The View” 2015-16)/TV actress (“That’s So Raven” 2002-07, “Kim Possible” 2002-07, “The Cosby Show” 1989-92)

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Dewey Decimal Day”, honoring Melville Dewey, who was born December 10, 1851 in Adams Center NY. At age 21, he invented the “Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) System” while working as a student assistant in the Amherst College library. For creating this revolutionary filing system, he’s known as the ‘Father of Modern Librarianship’. (Wow, let’s not overDUE it…)

• “International Human Rights Day”, honoring the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

• “Nobel Prize Awards Day”. The awards were established by the will of Swedish chemist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and have been held on this date since 1901. The current value of each award is about US $1.1 million.

• “National Lager Day”, most lager is matured or conditioned at a cold temperature, and is cool and bottom fermented with a particular yeast. The term lager means “storeroom” or “warehouse” in German.

• “Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales”, to celebrate and memorialize all whales that have died. Whales can live more than 200 years, and provide minerals and vitamins to the Inuit people who hunt them. Today, you’re invited to watch a documentary about whales or ‘speak whale’ like ‘Dory’ in “Finding Nemo”. LINK:  https://tinyurl.com/bfle7mp

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] National App Day
[Fri] Have a Bagel Day
[Sat] Gingerbread House Day
[Sat] National Poinsettia Day

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2005 [15] Comedian Richard Pryor dies of heart failure at the age of 65 after battling Multiple Sclerosis since 1986

2009 [11] James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi epic “Avatar” has its world premiere in London (became highest-grossing movie of all-time at $2.8 billion, barely exceeded in 2019 by “Avengers: Endgame”)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1984 [36] The African famine relief song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ by Band Aid is released

2005 [15] After five years of dating, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood tie the knot in a private ceremony at their home in Owasso, Oklahoma.

2007 [13] Led Zeppelin play a one-off show at the O2 Arena in London, the biggest reunion in rock history. John Bonham’s son, Jason, plays drums at the show, which was a benefit for late Atlantic records president Ahmet Ertegun’s Education Fund

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
2012 [08] Colorado governor John Hickenlooper declares marijuana legal for recreational use (first state to do so)

2013 [07] General Motors appoints Mary Barra its CEO, making her the first female to become the chief executive of an automotive company

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1964 [56] Reverend Martin Luther King Jr is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35, the youngest ever to win the award

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ The human brain would be able to perform 38 quadrillion (38 thousand-trillion) operations per second if it were a computer.
✓ Dolphins not only have names for each other, but they can call out for each other specifically.
✓ Mice can fit through a hole the size of a ballpoint pen.
✓ Our sense of taste and smell are reduced 50% and 20% during flights. That’s why airplane food doesn’t taste so great.
✓ You can’t sneeze in your sleep because your brain shuts down the reflex.
✓ The man said to have the longest beard in the world, died in 1567 after tripping over it while running from a fire.
-Factinate

BS 2020 HOLIDAY SONGS:
• Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas
• All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Vaccines
• Sanitizer’s Coming to Town
• I’ll Have a Zoom Christmas Without You
• I Want to Wish You a Merry Christmas From the Bottom of the Stairs
• Please Stay Home for Christmas
• I’m Streaming of a White Christmas
• Lysol I Want for Christmas
• Baby, It’s COVID Outside
• I’m Dreaming of a Wine Christmas
-Twitter

TODAY’S SLICE OF BS:
➠ NASA’s Kepler mission announced the discovery of its first rocky exoplanet. (Besides being the smallest planet found outside the solar system, scientists say it’s so Earth-like that it even has a family of annoying Armenian reality stars…)
➠ Rapper Bubba Sparxxx opened up recently about his 80-pound weight loss, and gave some diet tips. (Not sure about you, but I, for one, am sick and tired of these ‘edgy’ rap artists influencing our children with exercise, diet and health tips. Who’s with me?)
➠ In an interview, Ryan Gosling once said that after watching the movie “Rambo” he brought a knife to school and started throwing it at people. (That’s nothing! You should have seen what Lindsay Lohan did after watching “Basic Instinct”!)
➠ Dolly Parton revealed what she really looks like without a wig. (There were no survivors.)
➠ NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus just turned 78. (In related news, that last statement has won the award for “Most Unintentional 8th Grade Boy-Humor Ever”!)

BS WEB GOODIE:
It’s a good thing he’s not driving:  https://tinyurl.com/y6quu7ot

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Ever notice that speed walkers look like kids who’ve been told not to run around the pool?

BS PHONE STARTER:
Which is the absolute earworm tune of the year, the one you got stuck in your head and just couldn’t get rid of? (‘Blinding Lights’? ‘Yummy’? ‘Nobody But You’? ‘WAP’?)

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:   Just 27% of us will give a Christmas gift to THIS person. Whom?
Answer:  Our boss

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The difference between impossible and possible lies in a person’s determination.