Wednesday, December 21, 2022 – Edition: #7384
The BS Press!
BS SUBSCRIBER NOTE:
The Bull Sheet will not be publishing during the period December 26, 2022 – January 2, 2023, in order to give staff an opportunity to enjoy the holidays. All subscribers will receive account credits for non-service days. Following Fri. Dec. 23, the next Bull Sheet edition will be for Tuesday, January 3rd. Thanks for a great year of BS and Happy Holidays, all!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced their next documentary series for Netflix. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “Live to Lead”, will shine a light on the leaders and activists making a difference. In the trailer, Harry says: “This was inspired by Nelson Mandela, who once said, ‘What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived’, before Markle finishes: “It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” The doc will feature interviews with late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, climate activist Greta Thunberg, social justice attorney Bryan Stevenson, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, feminist activist Gloria Steinem, and more. Live to Lead premieres Dec. 31. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/36m28smx
-ETCanada
★ Will you accept this podcast? Embattled former “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison has announced he’s launching a new podcast that will address his controversial 2021 departure from the ABC reality series. In a trailer for the aptly named: “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever… With Chris Harrison”, he says: “I’m a little nervous. I have not spoken publicly for 2 years about this…I think about this and what I want to say and how important it is that I speak to everyone for the first time.” Harrison, who hosted the dating show and its spinoffs since it premiered in 2002, exited the ABC series in June 2021, after defending Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for attending an Antebellum-themed party in college. The podcast, which debuts Jan. 9, will also include Harrison’s opinions on “all things relationships,” including “dating, marriage, love, loss and more.”
-PageSix
★ Tom Cruise motorcycles off a cliff, base-jumps through the sky and leaps out of planes in an extended behind-the-scenes featurette released by Paramount for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One.” The clip opens with a shot of a long ramp curling over a cliff’s rocky edge in Norway, and Christopher McQuarrie, writer and director of the film, saying: “This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted”. Cruise adds: “We’ve been working on this for years…it’s gonna be a motorcycle jump off a clip into a base jump. I’ve wanted to do it since I was a little kid.” The clip shows the arduous prep that the stunt involves, including over 500 skydives and 13,000 motocross jumps. “Dead Reckoning” is set for release in July. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2w4seatw
-TheWrap
★ Kevin Federline and Jamie Spears are writing a book about (ahem!) parenting. Britney Spears’ ex-husband is “writing a book on his experience of fatherhood” — and the pop star’s estranged dad has “agreed to help,” says journalist Daphne Barak. Barak has interviewed both Federline and Jamie Spears in recent months, and told a reporter that the 2 “are now speaking to each other once again” following a rough patch in their relationship. In September 2019, Federline obtained a restraining order against Jamie after the Spears family patriarch allegedly abused his grandson Sean Preston, whom the former backup dancer shares with Britney.
-PageSix
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Kathryn Hahn, Dominic West, Beach Weather (R)
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Dolly Parton, Claire Foy, DOMi & JD Beck featuring Mac DeMarco (R)
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Daniel Craig, Josh Johnson (R)
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Pierce Brosnan, Sharon Horgan, Craig Finn & the Uptown Controllers, Elena Bonomo (R)
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Kenan Thompson, Annaleigh Ashford, Bazzi (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): BravoCon: Andy’s Mystery Door (R)
• The View” (ABC/CTV): John Leguizamo, Julie Taymor (R)
• “The Talk”(CBS): Shemar Moore, Elio Morillo (R)
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Jimmy Fallon, Niecy Nash Betts
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Dolly Parton (R)
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Ina Garten, Zosia Mamet (R)
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Cedric the Entertainer (R)
• “Sherri” (Check local listings): Paulina Porizkova, Chef Jeff Mauro
• “Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon” (CBS): Performances from Garth Brooks, Eric Church, Jonas Brothers, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Brad Paisley, Billy Porter and more.
• “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” (NBC): A new holiday musical with special guests Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams, Miley Cyrus and more.
• “LEGO Masters” (Fox): Season 3 finale. ‘Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular’: The teams compete in 2 super-size brick-building challenges; the winning team gets $20,000 for its charity.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Miley Cyrus – has teased that some big changes are coming, and fans are hoping that it means new music is on the way. On Insta, she posted video of a roadside sign in LA emblazoned with the words “NEW YEAR NEW MILEY”. She also has launched a countdown to the New Year on her website, the same time she’ll be ringing in 2023 on her New Year’s Eve special with Dolly Parton. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/bdt8n7rj
• Drake – lost $1 million on a FIFA World Cup bet. Although he bet on Argentina, the ‘Rich Flex’ rapper’s wager was in a market where extra time isn’t counted. Argentina eventually won 4-2, but required penalty kicks to do so.
• Snoop Dog – should be Twitter’s next CEO, according to a poll. After Elon Musk tweeted a survey asking if he should step down, Snoop posted his own question: “Should I run Twitter?” After 24 hours, 81% of 2.3 million people agreed that he should be the new CEO. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3setxje8
• Dave Grohl – has shared a cover of Blood, Sweat and Tears’ 1968 hit ‘Spinning Wheel’ (with Judd Apatow on vocals) from the first-ever live edition of his “Hannukah Sessions” project, recorded Dec. 5 in LA. This year’s event, with profits for the Anti-Defamation League, featured Jewish rockers presenting their own songs and choice covers, with Grohl on drums. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yc3n5hth
• Robert Plant — says he’d love to do another album with Alison Krauss, after their first collaboration since 2007 was nominated for 3 Grammys, but this time, he doesn’t want to wait so long to do it. The 74-year-old said: “I suppose if we wait another 14 years it could be a bit dicey for me, to be honest.” Of working with Krauss, he said: “We enjoy each other…so it seems like a great idea.”
• Maren Morris – will appear as a celebrity guest judge on “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” this season. The reality competition returns for season 15 on Jan. 6, and will feature many other guest judges, including country’s Orville Peck, pop star Ariana Grande, comedian Ali Wong and actress Julia Garner.
• Scotty McCreery — played Santa Claus for Hall of Famers Alabama by presenting the band’s Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry with the Pandora Billionaire plaque, commemorating more than 2 billion Alabama streams on the service. McCreery, the opening act for Alabama’s show in Roanoke VA, interrupted the group mid-set to surprise them with the trophy. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhchw4
• The Judds — Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town and Tanya Tucker will join Wynonna Judd on The Judds: The Final Tour in 2023. The tour was slated to include both Wynonna and Naomi Judd, but after Naomi’s death on April 30, Wynonna decided to do the tour anyway, with a variety of special guests. Martina McBride will play all dates. The tour resumes Jan. 23 in Hershey PA.
SHOOTING THE BULL
VIRTUALLY ABSENT:
As you get set to visit with your entire extended family this holiday season, here’s a little something to keep in your memory bank: According to a survey, 73% of adults find it easier to relate to strangers online than to people they know in real life. The recent OnePoll survey of 2,000 people in the US found that 45% say that’s because they’re more comfortable communicating in written and visual form. 43% say they can chat with their virtual pals for longer periods of time. And more than a third (35%) feel a strong sense of community when discussing their favorite media, such as movies and books, online.
(So, when everyone sticks their nose back into their phone 2 minutes after Christmas dinner, at least know they’re probably talking to others who are also avoiding talking to their relatives!)
(I don’t understand why these people, for just one day, can’t just put their phones away and sit silently on the couch, drinking and watching basketball, like the rest of us!)
-StudyFinds
SCIENTISTS SAY:
➢ Every little bit of physical activity helps when it comes to avoiding severe COVID-19. Those who were more physically active before being diagnosed with COVID-19 — even those with chronic illness — had a lower risk of severe outcomes, according to a large-scale study presented in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. People “who were consistently inactive were 191% more likely to be hospitalized and 391% more likely to die than those who were consistently active”, no matter their age or ethnicity, the researchers said. According to lead author Deborah Young, we “need to view physical activity as a pandemic-mitigation strategy”. (It HAD to be exercise, didn’t it? They can’t do a study and decide something like “fried chicken is the key to a long life”, or “chocolate prevents cavities”, can they?)
➢ Whether from stress, cold weather or simply falling out of good habits in terms of eating, sleeping and drinking, heart attack rates spike as much as 40% between Christmas and New Year’s, according to cardiologist Dr. Donald Lloyd Jones, chair of preventive medicine at Chicago’s Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He said that looking at heart attack rates, we see “fairly constant rates week by week with two exceptions: One is that there’s a broad, shallow dip in summer months and, two, there is a…spike of about 30-40% in the last couple weeks of the year.” Lloyd-Jones feels that in addition to things like excessive food and alcohol and cold temperatures, the spike could also be a result of the stresses of traveling, and of preparing for the holiday season, as well as the exertion of doing things like shoveling snow. (Why did I immediately think of the stresses of dealing with my in-laws?)
-UPI
UBER-ODD EATS:
Uber Eats has released its 2022 cravings report. It’s a snapshot of the most popular, unusual and unique delivery requests and trends across the US over this past year. Here are some highlights . . .
• In almost all 50 states, the most frequent special instruction on food orders was “no onion.”
• Other frequent instructions include “no tomato” and “extra sauce”.
• Requests for ranch dressing have dramatically dwindled in recent years.
• Amid this year’s “sober curious” movement, there was a big spike in requests for non-alcoholic beverages, including a 300% increase in orders of zero-proof beers, wines and spirits.
• The most popular food and alcohol pairings included: steak and margaritas, pizza and White Claw (hard seltzer), burritos and margaritas, chicken and sangria, and wings and beer.
• Some of the most unexpected food combos include Fruit Roll-Ups and hot Cheetos, pickles and whipped cream, popcorn and pickle juice, dark chocolate and tomato salad, pizza and applesauce, sushi and ranch, peanut butter and pizza, and watermelon and mustard.
(OK, delivery drivers…now’s your time to shine. Spill your oddest delivery story!)
-NYPost
COLD WEATHER MYTHBUSTING:
(for the first day of Winter…)
✗ You lose most of your body heat from your head: Nope. Heat loss is closely related to surface area, and the head has only about 9% of the body’s surface area. On the other hand, if the rest of you is all covered up and your head isn’t, then you DO lose most of your heat from your head… (I can, however, confirm that you lose most of your HAIR from your head…)
✗ To warm up, sip coffee or brandy: Caffeine and alcohol hinder the body’s ability to produce heat. They can also cause your core temperature to drop. Instead, drink warm water, or something with sugar. (Can I have brandy if I put sugar in it?)
✗ Cold weather can cause you to catch cold: Can we put this to rest right now? You catch cold from a virus, not from cold temperatures. (Now stop listening to old wives!)
✗ Rub your fingers or toes to warm them: Wiggle them instead. If exposed skin (including your face and ears) becomes cold, cover it with a warm hand until it feels better. Rubbing can cause tissue damage.
✗ You should resist shivering: Shivering means that your body is trying to warm up, and that’s good. In fact, shivering can triple your body’s heat production. (On the other hand, it can chip your teeth…)
✗ If I’m cold, you must be cold too: Age, gender, fitness level and acclimatization all determine when you “feel” cold. And women generally feel cold before men do, possibly because they have less heat-generating ability. (Just ask me about my first wife!)
(Cold, hard facts…that aren’t facts!!)
-OldFarmersAlmanac, first published in BS in 2020
DID YOU KNOW?
If you want a delicious and sustainable dinner, consider swapping your red meat with Spirulina. Research from Israel suggests a daily diet that includes the blue-green algae can boost your health and slow down climate change. Spirulina algae is considered a superfood for its rich protein, iron, and essential fatty acid content. Compared to beef, spirulina is a far superior healthy food choice and would serve as a sustainable meat substitute. The stuff is cultivated in Iceland, which study authors say could be the site for future mass production.
-StudyFinds
BS CHRONOMETER 12.21.22
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Winter Solstice”, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, as Winter officially arrives at 4:48pm (***Also the “Summer Solstice” for our BS’ers in the Southern Hemisphere, when the path of the Sun in the sky is farthest south***) The winter solstice is celebrated in many ways …
– “Blue Christmas”, also called “Longest Night” in the Western Christian tradition, is a day in the Advent season marking the longest night of the year.
– “Flashlight Day”, a tongue-in-cheek commemoration of the year’s longest night.
– In the Wicca religion it’s “Yule”, marking the death of the Sun-God and his rebirth from the Earth Goddess. (The source of the ‘Yule log’)
– Iranians celebrate with “Yalda”, when fires and lights are lit and families stay up all night to help the Sun battle against darkness.
– The annual “Yukon International Storytellers Festival” features all-night music and stories in Whitehorse, Yukon. (Just 89 days until Spring!)
• “Short Girl Appreciation Day”, a salute to those of minimal stature on the shortest day of the year. (Because it’s better to have loved a short girl and lost – than to never have loved a tall!)
• “Humbug Day”, when 12 ‘humbugs’ are allowed to be uttered in order to vent the frustrations of preparing for the holidays.
• “Don’t Make Your Bed Day”, created after a petition to Congress by 5th grader Shannon Barba of New Mexico in 2014. Although Congress didn’t bite, some thought she was on to something. She reasoned that she was sick of making her bed every day – so because December 21 is the shortest day of the year, and we spend the least amount of time out of bed today, why bother making it?
• “Crossword Puzzle Day”, celebrating the date in 1913 when the first ‘Crossword Puzzle’ was published in the “New York World”. Arthur Wynne devised what he called a “Word-Cross” for the Christmas edition, blissfully unaware he was starting a worldwide craze.
• “French Fried Shrimp Day”, celebrating the joys of battered prawns. Mmm! (I’ve just been offered a job as a shrimp chef, but I’m not sure if I’ll accept it. I’ll need to weigh the ‘frozen prawns’…)
• “Homeless Persons Remembrance Day”, observed since 1990 to bring attention to homelessness and to remember those who have paid the ultimate price for living on the street.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Abilities Day
[Thurs] Regifting Day
[Fri] Roots Day
[Sat] Christmas Eve
This Month is…Pear Month
This Month is…Tie Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1935 [87] Phil Donahue, Cleveland OH, TV talk show host (“The Phil Donahue Show” 1970-96)/20 Emmy Awards
1937 [85] Jane Fonda, NYC, movie actress (“The Butler”, “On Golden Pond”)/TV actress (“Grace & Frankie” 2015-22)/star of 22 exercise videos which sold 17 million copies in the 80s and 90s. COMING UP…“80 For Brady”
1948 [74] Samuel L. Jackson, Washington DC, movie actor (“Pulp Fiction”, ‘Nick Fury’ in 11 Marvel films) COMING UP…“The Marvels” 2023
1950 [72] Kay Robertson, West Monroe LA, reality TV star (“Duck Dynasty” 2012-2017)
1951 [71] Nick Gilder, London England (raised in Vancouver BC), rock singer-guitarist (‘Hot Child in the City’, Sweeney Todd-‘Roxy Roller’)/songwriter (Patty Smyth w. Scandal-‘The Warrior’)
1957 [65] Ray Romano, Queens NY, movie actor (“Ice Age” movies)/TV actor (“Parenthood” 2012-15, “Everybody Loves Raymond” 1996-2005
1965 [57] Andy Dick, Charleston SC, TV actor (“2 Broke Girls” 2013-2016, “Newsradio” 1995-1999)
1966 [56] Kiefer Sutherland, London UK (raised in Toronto, ON), TV actor (“Designated Survivor” 2016-19), “24″ 2001-10)/movie actor (“The Lost Boys”)/son of Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas
1982 [40] Tom Payne, Essex England, TV actor (‘Jesus’ on “The Walking Dead” 2016-19)
1983 [39] Steven Yeun, Seoul South Korea, TV actor (‘Glenn Rhee’ on “The Walking Dead” 2010-2016)/movie actor (“Nope”) COMING UP…“Mickey 17” 2024
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2012 [10] The world is supposedly scheduled to end, according to the much-cited ‘Mayan Calendar’, despite the fact that experts say there are no Maya prophecies foretelling the end of the world on the date (part of the hype was created by the 2009 movie “2012″)
2014 [08] “The Battle of the Five Armies”, the last film in “The Hobbit” series, exceeds box office expectations by grossing over $90 million in its first 5 days of release
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2012 [10] ‘Gangnam Style’ by South Korean musician Psy becomes the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views (currently #11, with 4.6 billion. ‘Baby Shark Dance’ is now #1 with 11.9 billion)
2014 [08] Elton John & David Furnish formally convert their civil partnership into a marriage, hosting a ceremony at their estate in Berkshire UK (guests include David & Victoria Beckham, Ed Sheeran, Sharon Stone…and Ozzy Osbourne)
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1891 [131] The first game of basketball, based on rules created by Canadian-American James Naismith, is played by 18 students in Springfield MA, using peach baskets nailed to walls as goals
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK CHRISTMAS FACTS:
✓ All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas added together would equal 364.
✓ The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
✓ The tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot (67.3m) Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
✓ Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens’ classic story ‘A Christmas Carol’ was almost named “Little Fred.”
✓ The word ‘nog’ (as in ‘eggnog’) comes from the word ‘grog’ which refers to any drink made with rum.
✓ Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
-FactRetriever, GoodHousekeeping
Best of BS . . .
HOW TO WRAP GIFTS WITH A CAT:
• Remove gift from bag. Now remove cat from bag.
• Open box to check gift. Now remove cat from box, replace gift.
• Smooth out gift wrap, realize cat is underneath it and remove cat.
• Toss out first sheet of wrap as cat has chased the scissors and torn the paper.
• Place gift on paper to hold in place while tearing transparent tape.
• Spend 20 minutes carefully trying to remove transparent tape from cat with nail scissors.
• Look for a length of ribbon. Chase cat down hall in order to retrieve ribbon.
• When finished, put gift and all wrapping materials in locked closet.
• Discover cat has somehow also gotten into closet and already torn gift paper.
• Begin again at step 1.
• Upon completion, spend 15 minutes looking for cat until coming to obvious conclusion.
• Unwrap present, untie box and remove cat.
• Go to store and buy a gift bag.
-Adapted from Corisnet, first published in BS in 2011
IF DOGS DID THE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING:
• All the gifts would say “From Santa Paws”.
• They would make us return the gift so they could go get it again.
• Mmmmm. Bacon.
• Finally, some workers wouldn’t mind working retail during the holiday season.
• They’d do a better job than most men.
• You’d probably get a phone with “collar ID”.
• All the presents would be buried instead of wrapped.
• Christmas morning would be “Ruff”.
• They’d make it very clear to us “Who’s been a good boy?”
• They probably wouldn’t be forced to sit on the floor and beg for scraps during Christmas dinner.
• I don’t have a dog so, I wouldn’t get shihtzu.
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2017
BS U-PICK WINTER TRIVIA:
Winter arrives today in the Northern Hemisphere, so today we’ve got a few ‘seasonal’ questions . . .
• How many sides are there in a typical snowflake?
a) 5
b) 6 [CORRECT]
c) 7
d) 1
• Which of the following is the name of a play by William Shakespeare?
a) The Story of the Winter
b) A Hazy Shade of Winter
c) The Winter’s Tale [CORRECT]
d) Walking in a Winter Wonderland
• ‘Winter Is Coming’ is the motto of which family in “Game of Thrones”?
a) House Stark [CORRECT]
b) House Baratheon
c) House Tully
d) House MD
-WeLoveQuizzes
BS WEB GOODIE:
A helping paw: https://tinyurl.com/29kjfzjc
BS RANDOM JOKE:
Christmas is a time when everybody wants their past forgotten and their present remembered.
BS PHONE STARTER:
Time for some positivity — What’s the best thing that happened to you in 2022?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: The average family uses one of THESE for 7½ years before throwing it away. What is it?
Answer: An artificial Christmas tree.
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much.
