Wednesday, December 9, 2020 – Edition: #6868

It’s Your Daily Constitutional Sheet!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Carole Baskin says she has “never” spoken to Joe Exotic. She claims agreed to take part in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King” because she believed it would be an exposé of the mistreatment of animals by private owners, but it mainly focused on the relationship between her and her rival, though she insists the “feud” depicted on the show was created by producers. She told an interviewer: “Instead, they just glamorized this yahoo in Oklahoma, and tried to create a feud. I’ve never even spoken to Joe Exotic. I’ve seen him in person I think four times.”
-Canoe
★ This week, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the premiere of “Home Alone”, Disney+ U.K. partnered with artist and cake designer Michelle Wibowo for an elaborate gingerbread recreation of the iconic house from the film. The project took 300 hours to complete, and features fine detail on edible items, from the house itself to the Oh-Okay plumbing van used by the burglars in the film, as well as the Little Mero’s pizza delivery car and small figures of Macaulay Culkin’s ‘Kevin’ and the bandits, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. AWESOME LINK:  https://tinyurl.com/y6ev5uek
-MSN
★ Jason Momoa surprised a young fan battling a rare form of brain tumour. He shared photos of Danny Sheehan, who turns eight in a few days, with the box he gifted him featuring “Aquaman” movie collectibles, including a life-sized trident. In November, Momoa surprised Sheehan with a sweet FaceTime video call after seeing a viral video of the youngster squealing with delight after receiving an Aquaman action figure. Momoa, who is currently on location in Toronto, shared part of their call in a video posted to Instagram.
-MSN
★ The latest actor to portray KFC founder Colonel Sanders is none other than Mario Lopez. But rather than a commercial, Lopez will star in a Lifetime movie called “A Recipe For Seduction” that mixes the Colonel’s secret herbs and spices with romance. It’s one of the many movies in the It’s a Wonderful Lifetime Christmas holiday movie slate, and the short film will be available on Lifetime’s app and through VOD during the holiday season.
-MSN

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Keegan-Michael Key, Isla Fisher, Ingrid Andress
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Jon Hamm, Meghan Trainor, Earth, Wind & Fire
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Rachel Maddow, Megan Thee Stallion
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Aubrey Plaza, Natalie Palamides, Kaz Rodriguez
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Jamie Dornan, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
• “Conan” (TBS): Andrew Rannells
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Meredith Marks, Lisa Barlow
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Taraji P. Henson
• “The Talk” (CBS): Amanda Seyfried
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Vanessa Hudgens, Shaggy
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Pharrell
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Rachel Brosnahan, Nikki & Brie Bella, Colman Domingo, Pentatonix
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Neil Patrick Harris, Duff Goldman, Michaela Watkins, Aliza Kelly
• “I Can See Your Voice (FOX): Season 1 finale
• “The Great Christmas Light Fight” (ABC): Season 8 premiere.
• “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!” (NBC): Broadway stars bring Dr. Seuss’ classic children’s book to life in a two-hour theatrical production recorded at the Troubadour Theatre in London.
• “Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2020” (CW): 12 of the world’s best holiday commercials; a look at other great commercials that capture the spirit of the holiday season; Kevin Frazier and Keltie Knight host.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Miley Cyrus – Her rock-flavored new album “Plastic Hearts” has become her first entry on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, debuting at #1. On the all-format Billboard 200, Plastic Hearts debuted at #2.
• Kid Cudi — will release his “Man On The Moon 3” album on Friday. He has already shared the album’s artwork and tracklist, which includes appearances by Pop Smoke, Skepta, Phoebe Bridgers and Trippie Redd.
• Slash – named his new “Victoria” Les Paul Goldtop model after a thief who stole his guitars. He explained that in the late ’90s, “a bunch” of guitars were stolen from the studio at his house. One of the guitars he never got back was a Goldtopl. He learned that a woman named Victoria was responsible for the theft, so, as he put it, “I decided to name the guitar after her.”
• Jon Bon Jovi — has released covers of three Yuletide classics on “A Jon Bon Jovi Christmas”. It includes an unplugged take on Tom Petty’s ‘Christmas All Over Again’, ‘If I Get Home on Christmas Day’, which was made famous by Elvis Presley in 1971, and a cover of The Pogues’ 1987 original ‘A Fairytale of New York’.
• Steve Perry – The former Journey singer says he’s been working on new music recently —and he won’t keep fans waiting too long. He has “so much” material sitting around “and new stuff I’ve written.” The bad news? He has “no idea” when the songs will be released.
• Bob Dylan — Universal Music Group has purchased his entire catalog of songs in a deal estimated to be worth more than $300 million. It includes 600-plus copyrights ranging from 1962’s ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ to this year’s ‘Murder Most Foul’, which became his first #1 hit.
• Cyndi Lauper – has announced her 10th annual Home for the Holidays benefit concert. The livestream to support True Colors United, which is focused on ending LGBTQ youth homelessness, will debut Dec. 11 on her TikTok page, with a later stream Dec. 13 on YouTube and Facebook. Among those appearing are: Cher, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Adam Lambert, Phoebe Bridgers, Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell, Harvey Fierstein, LL Cool J, Whoopi Goldberg, and more.
• Sinead O’Connor — Her memoir, “Rememberings,” will be released June 1. Her publisher calls it a “revelatory” account of her life, from her childhood in Dublin through triumphs such as her cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, and through her many controversies and struggles with mental illness.
• David Bowie – A commemorative coin released by the British Royal Mint in honor of his hit single ‘Space Oddity’ orbited the Earth for 45 minutes. Created as part of the “Music Legends” collection, the coin was carried by a balloon to an altitude of 35,656 metres before descending back to Britain. The coins, featuring the iconic lightning bolt painted on Bowie’s face, are available for US $15,800 each.
• Carrie Underwood — teamed with Latin star David Bisbal for the new bilingual duet ‘Tears of Gold’. The ballad features both artists trading vocals in English and Spanish. It will be featured on Bisbal’s upcoming “En Tus Planes” deluxe album. LINK:  https://youtu.be/o6teH-xJn5o
• Maren Morris — unveiled a brand-new song tentatively titled ‘If I Just Get Out of My Way’ during a livestream concert on Friday. A reviewer wrote that the song finds her “examining her choices and the ways she’s coped with tough times in the past.” LINK:  https://tinyurl.com/y2ge6dy4
• Dustin Lynch – is among the artists, along with Lee Brice, Riley Green and Big & Rich, set to celebrate Lee Greenwood’s 40 years as a hitmaker at an Oct. 12 concert in Huntsville, Alabama. Also paying tribute will be Michael W. Smith, Jamey Johnson, Alabama’s Randy Owen, The Oak Ridge Boys, Sam Moore and Crystal Gayle.

FESTIVE FACTS:
⇒ It seems many of us are turning to Christmas decorations in an effort at salvaging some holiday cheer from what’s been a predominantly sad and scary year. A survey found that 2020’s non-stop flood of bad news took a toll on 75% of people, with 70% saying they are “desperate” to do something positive to spread cheer, even if it’s just to make at least one person laugh or smile. For some, that means putting up outside holiday decorations for the first time. For others, it means larger and more extravagant decorations than they’ve ever displayed before.  (If my new XXL red expandable jammy pants count as a decoration, then yes!)
⇒ Many of us are operating on smaller budgets this Christmas season as the pandemic wears on, but that’s not stopping us from sharing in the holiday spirit. New research indicates that the average person will spend $322.65 on holiday gifts for six different people this year. A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults reveals that millennials plan to spend the most, with an average budget of $331.45. That’s almost $12 more than baby boomers and Generation X. Generation Z is planning to spend almost $110 less ($219.75, on average), and will exchange gifts with two fewer people than respondents from other age groups. (Sorry, family, I spent all my cash on that enormous inflatable “Grinch” decoration outside!)
-NYPost, StudyFinds

FARE DEAL:
It’s not exactly ‘working from home’, but you could probably make do. Hawaii is using free airfare to entice remote workers to move temporarily to the state during the pandemic. The Aloha State launched the program, called “Movers and Shakas,” which allows out-of-state workers to apply for round-trip tickets to the island of Oahu. It’s an effort aimed at helping aid the economic recovery by attracting visitors and bringing business to local establishments hurt by the decline in tourism. Successful applicants will be required to commit a few hours each week to a nonprofit, where they can use their knowledge and skills. Applications are now being accepted for the first cohort of visiting workers.
(Is there a surfing non-profit where I can volunteer my skills?)
(It’d really be a shame to have the second half of that round-trip ticket go missing, wouldn’t it?)
(I’d suggest you get on that, before someone beats you to the punch!)
-NYPost

WORDS THAT ARE THEIR OWN OPPOSITES:
Here comes a pile of ‘contronyms’ – words that are their own antonyms . . .
➢ Dust:  can mean either to add or to remove the thing in question. Only the context reveals which it is. It depends whether you’re dusting the crops or the furniture.
➢ Left:  can mean either remaining or departed. If the gentlemen have gone to the other room for after-dinner cigars, who’s left? (The gentlemen have left and the ladies are left.)
➢ Sanction:  can mean “give official permission or approval for” or conversely, “impose a penalty on.”
➢ Oversight:  is the noun form of “oversee” and “overlook.” Oversee means “supervise”, while overlook usually means “to fail to see or to disregard or ignore.”
➢ Resign:  in print, it can mean “to quit”, or “to sign up again”.
➢ Off:  means “deactivated,” as in to turn off, but also “activated,” as in the alarm went off.
➢ Weather:  can mean “to withstand or come safely through” (as in the company weathered the recession) or it can mean “to be worn away” (the rock was weathered).
➢ Hold up:  can mean “to support” or “to hinder”: “What a friend! When I’m struggling to get on my feet, he’s always there to hold me up.”
➢ Out:  can mean “visible” or “invisible.” For example, “It’s a good thing the full moon was out when the lights went out.”
-MentalFloss

DID YOU KNOW?
Breakdancing will officially become an Olympic sport. The International Olympic Committee’s pursuit of urban events to lure a younger audience was a determining factor in adding street dance to the to the medal events program for the 2024 Paris Games. Other newly added sports include skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, all of which will debut at the delayed Olympics set for Tokyo in 2021. Breakdancing will be called ‘breaking’ at the Olympics, which it was called in the 1970s by hip-hop pioneers in the United States.
-TheIndependent

BS CHRONOMETER 12.09.20

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1934 [86] (Dame) Judi Dench, York UK, movie actress (“Skyfall”, “Shakespeare in Love”) COMING UP…”Off the Rails”

1953 [67] John Malkovich, Christopher IL, movie actor (“Being John Malkovich”, “RED” movies)

1953 [67] Donny Osmond, Ogden UT, pop entertainer/TV host (“Donny and Marie” show 1977-79, 1998-2000)/stage performer (“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”)

1962 [58] Felicity Huffman, Bedford NY, TV actress (“Desperate Housewives” 2004-12)/married to William H. Macy/served 2 weeks in jail in connection to the college admissions scandal

1968 [52] Brian Bell, Knoxville TN, rock guitarist (Weezer-‘Buddy Holly’, ‘Beverly Hills’)

1969 [51] Jakob Dylan, New York NY, rock singer-guitarist (The Wallflowers-‘One Headlight’, “Heroes’)/son of Bob Dylan

1972 [48] Tre Cool (Frank Edwin Wright III), Frankfurt Germany, rock drummer (Green Day-‘Good Riddance [Time of Your Life]’, ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’)

1978 [42] Jesse Metcalfe, Carmel Valley CA, TV actor (“Desperate Housewives” 2004-09, “Chesapeake Shores” 2016-18)

1980 [40] Simon Helberg, LA CA, TV actor (‘Howard Wolowitz’ on “The Big Bang Theory” 2007-19)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Christmas Card Day”, commemorating the first commercial Christmas card, commissioned by Sir Henry Cole in London, England in 1843, which featured an illustration by John Callcott Horsley. His cheery little card depicting a family with glasses raised in a Christmas toast was widely denounced at the time as promoting drunkenness.

• “Anna’s Day” in Sweden and Finland, when it’s time to start the preparation process of the lutefisk to be consumed on Christmas Eve, as well as a Swedish day celebrating all people named ‘Anna’.

• “International Anti-Corruption Day”, to raise awareness of corruption and the role of the UN Convention Against Corruption in combating and preventing it.

• “Pastry Day”, a fun day created to encourage you to make, and of course eat, your favorite pastries. (Initiated by the ‘Danish’?)

• “National Llama Day”, to appreciate this fuzzy animal that’s closely related to the alpaca — and can be trained as a therapy animal. Some fun llama facts:
-They can live as long as 30 years.
-They make great guards because they charge at coyotes or dogs — and often make high-pitched screams at intruders.
-There are more than 150-thousand llamas in the U-S.

COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Dewey Decimal System Day
[Thurs] Human Rights Day
[Fri] National App Day
[Fri] Holiday Food Drive for Needy Animals Day

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1960 [60] “Coronation Street” airs for the first time on British TV (still in production)

1965 [55] “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the first animated ‘Peanuts’ TV special, makes its debut

2006 [14] Mariah Carey threatens legal action against porn star Mary Carey in an attempt to stop her from trademarking the similar-sounding stage name

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2014 [06] Sting joins the Broadway cast of his musical “The Last Ship”, in an attempt to rescue it from plummeting ticket sales (doesn’t work)

2019 [01] Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson dies of a brain tumor at 61

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
1979 [41] ‘World’s Largest Turkey’ (77 lbs/35 kg) is auctioned for $4,000 in London, England

2018 [02] New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady breaks Peyton Manning’s record for most touchdown passes in NFL history; moves to 582 with a 3 TD effort

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ Smelling bananas and/or green apples can help you lose weight.
✓ If you counted 24 hours a day, it would take 31,688 years to reach one trillion.
✓ There are about 10 trillion ways to play the first 10 moves in a game of chess.
✓ Cotton swabs cause more injuries than razor blades.
✓ People use an average of fifty-seven sheets of toilet paper each day.
✓ Experts say that a belly laugh can help relieve constipation.
-StrangeFacts, BathroomReadersInstitute

BS REASONS THE GRINCH IS AWESOME:
• He has the most sturdy sled known to man.
• He basically walks around naked and no one seems to even notice.
• Baby Grinch is almost as cute as Baby Yoda.
• He gets Whoville to stop singing that stupid song for at least a few minutes.
• I’ve never seen anyone, anywhere with better facial expressions.
• Unlike many politicians, his heart is actually capable of growing.
• He personifies who we all want to be when showing up to our holiday family gatherings.
• Helps you take down your Christmas decorations.
• He is so full of hate that he should be on Twitter.
• It ain’t easy being green.
• How bad can he be if he loves his dog?
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2019

TODAY’S SLICE OF BS:
➠ ‘The Weeknd’ is set to headline the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show. (Wow. It looks like they’ve finally come up with a way to get me to appreciate Adam Levine…)
➠ According to a report, about 33% of people have lied to their relatives to avoid having them over for the holidays. (Not me!  . . . I mean. . .  I died in a horrific traffic accident 11 years ago!)
➠ The U.S. added 245,000 jobs in November. (Mostly lawyers hired by Trump to sue for election fraud…)
➠ Unsurprisingly, ‘Pandemic’ is the Word of the Year for Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com.  (Other words on this year’s list were:  “Quarantine”, “Self-isolate”, and “I-Want-A-Divorce”)
➠ Mathematicians say your odds of winning an Oscar are better than winning the lottery. (Unless you’re Robert Downey Jr. . . . in which case, keep playing the lottery!)

BS WEB GOODIE:
A spot of tee:  https://tinyurl.com/y6eata3g

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• Which runs on about 20 watts of power, about the same as the lightbulb in your fridge?
a) Your phone
b) Your string of Christmas lights
c) Your computer
d) Your brain [CORRECT]

• In the 19th century, what were the first “artificial Christmas trees” made from?
a) Wax
b) Feathers [CORRECT. Dyed goose & turkey feathers were attached to wire branches]
c) Wood
d) Polyurethane

• 40% of our yearly consumption of which food item occurs between November and January?
a) Nuts [CORRECT. Close to 100% of eggnog consumption falls during that time.]
b) Eggnog
c) Fruitcake
d) Rum
-XmasTraditions

BS PHONE STARTER:
If you found an extra $100 in your pocket, how would you spend it? (In a poll, the top answers were shopping, dining out, and filling the car with gas.)

BS RANDOM JOKE:
They say it is better to give than to receive. I say it depends on the gift…

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  Not only do 68% of women say they can do THIS better than a man, 29% of women say they have mastered this skill. What is it?
Answer:  Gift wrapping

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.