Friday, December 11, 2020 — Edition: #6870

Don’t Take Any Sheet, Unless It’s Pure Bull!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ [***UPDATE***] Ellen DeGeneres has tested positive for Covid-19. A tweet from her verified Twitter account on Thursday read: “I want to let you all know that I tested positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, I’m feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I am following all proper CDC guidelines. I’ll see you all again after the holidays. Please stay healthy and safe.”
-CNN
★ Joe Exotic, whose story was made famous in the Netflix show “Tiger King,” is hoping Kim Kardashian can get him out of jail. The ex-zookeeper who was convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill rival Carole Baskin, wrote a letter to Kardashian, asking if she could help score him a pardon from President Trump. Kardashian appears to be a “Tiger King” fan, and tweeted about it back in March. Kimmy K is an advocate for criminal justice reform, and met with an Oklahoma death row inmate just last month.
-NYPost
★ A “True Blood” reboot is in the early development stages at HBO. The original “True Blood” is based on “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” novel series. It debuted on HBO in 2008 and ran for seven seasons. True Blood took place in a world in which vampires live among humans after the creation of a synthetic blood substitute that allowed vampires to stop hunting humans for food. There was also a myriad of other fantasy creatures in the show, including werewolves and witches. At this time, none of the show’s original cast is attached to return.
-Yahoo
★ Nicolas Cage will host “History of Swear Words,” a proudly profane series about expletives for Netflix in January. The six-episode series will dive into the origins, pop culture usage, science and cultural impact of swear words. In each 20-minute episode, Cage will conduct interviews with historians, entertainers and experts in etymology and pop culture. “The History of Swear Words” will premiere on Netflix Jan. 5.
-Yahoo
★ YouTube has announced it will delete any new content that repeats false claims that voter fraud or rigging impacted the US election. The Google-owned platform wrote on Twitter: “Now that enough states certified their Presidential election results, we’ll remove any content published today (or anytime after) that alleges widespread fraud or errors changed the 2020 U.S. Presidential election outcome.” YouTube says the move is in keeping with its goal to, “connect people to authoritative info, limit harmful misinfo & remove violative content.”
-TheWrap

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Barack Obama, Zac Brown Band (R)
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Kristen Bell, Sienna Miller, Kelly Clarkson & Brett Eldredge
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Ethan Hawke, Lewis Black, Carter McLean (R)
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Armie Hammer, Surfaces (R)
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Day of Hot Topics
• “The Talk” (CBS): Candice Bergen, Morena Baccarin
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Kerry Washington
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Chris Harrison, Michelle Buteau
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Joe Manganiello, Deidre Hall
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Kristen Bell, Jenn Lyons, Amirah Kassem
• “The Christmas Caroler Challenge” (CW): Season 2 premiere. Meeting the 10 groups, from the most elaborate ultra-traditional virtuoso performers to those with the most unexpected twists on the classic Christmas carol.
• “Inn Love by Christmas” (LIFETIME): A successful young woman climbing her way up the corporate ladder in the hotel industry is convinced by her grandmother to come home for a small-town Christmas.

SATURDAY-
• “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!” (HALLMARK): A restauranteur receives a DNA test revealing she’s Jewish. The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.
• “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (HBO): Following the meteoric rise of Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb as they navigate the complexities of working intimately alongside family.
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC): Host Timothée Chalamet, with musical guest Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.

SUNDAY-
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (CBS): The reindeer with the incandescent nose guides Santa’s sleigh through a bad storm on Christmas Eve. Based on the song by Johnny Marks.
• “The Walking Dead Holiday Special” (AMC): Chris Hardwick hosts an hour-long event featuring cast members as they virtually gather to reminisce on the series’ past, present and future.
• “Christmas Comes Twice” (HALLMARK): When a Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride on the carousel transports a top newscaster back in time, giving her a second chance at love.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ariana Grande – Her “Sweetener World Tour” is coming to Netflix. She announced on Wednesday that “excuse me, i love you”, a film capturing some of her life on her 101-stop 2019 tour, will come to the streaming service on Dec. 21. She also wrote that she’s “looking forward to a change of pace.”
• Twenty One Pilots – have released the holiday single ‘Christmas Saves the Year’. It dropped immediately after the duo’s Christmas stream on Twitch, which benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation. LINK:  https://youtu.be/ozXb10fOi2A
• Mariah Carey — reportedly spent $5.2 million on her Apple TV+ Christmas special, which was released this month. A lot of the budget reportedly went toward securing appearances from the likes of Ariana Grande and Snoop Dogg, but a source says Carey’s styling alone, including hair and make-up, cost more than $165,000.
• John Mayer — has released a G-SHOCK watch inspired by his childhood Casio keyboard. He calls the watch, which he designed, “the perfect bridge between my double life as a musician and a watch enthusiast”. The Casio G-Shock Ref 6900 by John Mayer is available for $180 at www.Hodinkee.com
• Jon Bon Jovi – is getting a lot of online flack for his new version of The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’. It currently has more thumbs-down than thumbs-up votes on YouTube. Sample comments include: “You give Christmas songs a bad name,” and “If 2020 was a Christmas song …” LINK:  https://youtu.be/KB9vvxYocW0
• Perry Farrell – The former Jane’s Addiction and Porno For Pyros frontman will appear on the first episode of a new series of “The Big Interview with Dan Rather”, scheduled for Jan. 6 on AXS TV. Also appearing this season: Luke Combs and Randy Travis.
• Brandi Carlile – The 2-time Grammy nominee’s “Still Home for the Holidays” livestream concert is set for this Sunday. Tickets are on-sale now with two purchase options: general admission and a special bundle that also includes a pre-order of her forthcoming memoir, “Broken Horses,” to be released April 6.
• Luke Combs – is among the country artists named to Billboard’s Top 100 Artists of 2020. Combs took the #13 spot on the list headed up by Post Malone. Other country artists in the top 50: Morgan Wallen (#24), Kane Brown (#31), Maren Morris (#34) and Gabby Barret (#43).

UNMASKED TRUTH:
Separate studies have shown that when it comes to COVID-19, there are no shortcuts – and that includes the use of plastic face shields AND scarves in place of traditional face masks. Researchers in Japan posted a video illustrating how a sneeze from a person infected with the coronavirus carries “vortex rings” of contagious particles under a face shield, rendering it useless. Their study, published by Fukuoka University, also shows that face shields don’t keep germy aerosols in, either, because the open sides and bottom of the visor allow particles to escape. Meanwhile, health officials are warning that ditching a face mask in favor of bundling up with a winter scarf won’t stop the spread of the novel coronavirus either. Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, a critical care specialist at Cleveland Clinic, says winter scarves are about as effective as neck gaiters, because they too consist of just one layer, and “may paradoxically lead to the production of more, smaller droplets as large droplets are broken up as they pass through the single layer.” Plus, a scarf or neck gaiter is more likely to get wet, which would make them ineffective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically recommends “non-valved multi-layer cloth masks, to prevent transmission” of the novel coronavirus.
(I’m guessing, then, that my hockey mask isn’t going to be a big help?)
(But I saw a meme that said just the opposite…!)
(Actually, the way things are going, it can’t hurt to use these things, in ADDITION to your mask…and social distancing…)
-NYPost, Fox

NEWS OF THE WEIRD:
➢ Aliens have reached an agreement with the US government to keep quiet about the experiments they conduct on Earth — as well as their secret base on Mars — until mankind is ready to accept them, according to the former head of Israel’s space program. Haim Eshed told an Israeli newspaper that Donald Trump was on the “verge of revealing” but aliens in the Galactic Federation pressured him to wait because “They don’t want to start mass hysteria.” So, an agreement was reached to keep their existence under wraps. Fortunately, according to Eshed, the little green men and women come in peace. (That’s the first time Trump has EVER been nice to ‘aliens’!)
➢ A man walked 280 miles over 7 days after a fight with his wife – and ended up being fined for breaking coronavirus travel restrictions! The 48-year-old (whose name hasn’t been released) was slapped with $485 in fines after Italian authorities found him walking at about 2am, well past the national curfew of 10pm. The man, whose wife had reported him missing almost a week earlier after a “confrontation”, told a newspaper that he walked about 50 miles per day, and had been assisted with food and drink by kind strangers along the way. Local law enforcement provided him with a room in a local hotel until his wife could pick him up. (I bet he was a lot more comfortable in the hotel than he was on the ride home!)
-NYPost

DID YOU KNOW?
Apparently, “Friday” isn’t the only good “F” word you should be thinking about today. A new study says getting a few bad words off your chest is beneficial to your mental health. In a survey, more than a quarter (28%) of people said that swearing helped them stay motivated during lockdown, while 41% said they sometimes swear at themselves to boost enthusiasm. The study also found that 36% of us swear to reduce stress, and 27% said swearing helps them feel better on a bad day. Language expert Dr Emma Byrne says profanities can serve as a painkiller, mood-booster and even a social bonding tool. (Well, she probably threw a few extra adjectives in there…but you get the idea!)
-Unilad

BS CHRONOMETER 12.11.20

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1944 [76] Brenda Lee, Atlanta GA, country-pop singer (‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’, ‘I’m Sorry’)

1954 [66] Jermaine Jackson, Gary IN, pop singer (‘Let’s Get Serious’, w/The Jackson 5-‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’)/Michael and Janet’s brother

1958 [62] Nikki Sixx (Frank Ferranna), San Jose CA, rock bassist (Mötley Crüe-‘Dr. Feelgood’, ‘Home Sweet Home’, Sixx:A.M.-‘Lies of the Beautiful People’)

1967 [53] Mo’Nique (Monique Imes), Baltimore MD, movie actress (“Precious”)/TV actress (“The Parkers” 1999-2004)

1981 [39] Zacky Vengeance (Baker), Olympia WA, metal guitarist-vocalist (Avenged Sevenfold-‘So Far Away’, ‘Buried Alive’)

1984 [36] Xosha Roquemore, LA CA, TV actress (‘Tamra’ on “The Mindy Project” 2013-17)/movie actress (“The Butler”, “Precious”)

1986 [34] Karla Souza, Mexico City Mexico, TV actress (‘Laurel Castillo’ on “How to Get Away With Murder” since 2014)

1996 [24] Hailee Steinfeld, LA CA, movie actress (“Pitch Perfect 2″, “True Grit”)

SATURDAY- Bob Barker (“The Price Is Right”) is 97; Dionne Warwick (‘I Say a Little Prayer’) is 80; Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers) is 77; Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) is 71; Sheila E. (‘The Glamorous Life’) is 63; Jennifer Connelly (“Requiem for a Dream”) is 50; Mayim Bialik (“Big Bang Theory”) is 45

SUNDAY- Dick Van Dyke (“The Dick Van Dyke Show”) is 95; Christopher Plummer (“The Sound of Music”) is 91; Ted Nugent (‘Cat Scratch Fever’) is 72; Steve Buscemi (“Boardwalk Empire”) is 63;  Jamie Foxx (“Django Unchained”) is 53; Tom DeLonge (Blink 182) is 45; Amy Lee (Evanescence) is 39; Taylor Swift (‘Shake It Off’) is 31

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “National App Day”, “App” was named word of the year in 2010 by the American Dialect Society. Apps have changed how we work, live and play. They have created thousands of new companies, millions of new jobs and billions of dollars in revenue (and a lot of bad puns…)

• “National Salesperson Day”, honoring those gifted and creative individuals whose big kick in life is persuading others to spend a buck.

• “Lost & Found Day”, the 9th annual, encouraging us to give one last effort to find whatever it is we have lost. (Our minds?)

• “International Mountain Day”, first declared by the UN in 2002 to draw attention to the important role that mountainous regions play in our water and food supply. (OK…but why?)

• “National Noodle Ring Day”, a noodle ring is, rather predictably, made from noodles – especially flat, tagliatelle type egg noodles. It’s made using a ring mold, or a Bundt tray, with ingredients including cheese, eggs, and flour, along with the noodles.

• “UNICEF Birthday”, the anniversary of the creation of UNICEF in 1946. What does it stand for? “The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund”

• “National Have a Bagel Day”, here are today’s five food things to know about the Bagel:
– The bagel originated in Poland and it was designed for Lent.
– Its name derives from the Yiddish word ‘bengal’, meaning ‘ring’ or ‘bracelet’. Immigrant Polish-Jews brought the bagel to the United States.
– The hole in the center is for multiple bagels to be threaded onto a dowel, which allows bakers to transport them more easily. (And melted peanut butter to leak onto your hand more easily…)
– Automated production and distribution of frozen bagels started in the 1960s with bagel baker Harry Lender, Murray Lender, and Florence Sender.

SATURDAY-
• “Fresh Breath Day”, if you’re average, you have over 10 billion bacteria in your mouth right now. Some of them churn out stinky chemicals such as hydrogen sulphide, the same gas that gives rotten eggs their odor. Some germs release putrescine, another sulfurous compound that has the essence of rotting meat. (***Ask listeners for old folk remedies for bad breath, like chewing cloves or scraping your tongue with a spoon.***)
• “Gingerbread House Day”, time to get at it if you want one in time for the holidays. Also known as “Eat Yourself Out of House and Home Day”.
• “Poinsettia Day”, honoring Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett (1799-1851), the US diplomat to Mexico who introduced the plant to the U.S. in 1825. Now a favorite decoration for the holiday season, about 60 million are grown in North America each year. Although proper pronunciation of the word DOES include the ‘e’ sound prior to the last syllable (poin-SET-ee-uh), many dictionaries now also accept the more commonly used ‘poin-SETTA’ pronunciation.
• “National Ambrosia Day”, the mythical “food of the gods,” a heavenly treat for we mortals at any time of the year. This cool and creamy citrus fruit salad is a light and tasty side dish or dessert.
• “National Ding-a-Ling Day”, you should brace yourself for bizarre and crazy behavior from all of the people you encounter today. Even normally conservative people have been known to go a little crazy on this day.

SUNDAY-
• “Geminid Meteor Shower”, this annual event began Friday night and peaks tonight and into tomorrow morning. As Earth crosses the debris field of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, we will be able to see a predicted 120-150 meteors per hour. Tiny particles will enter our atmosphere at 35km/second, producing long, slow and very bright streaks vaporizing about 80 km high. Some consider this the best meteor shower of the year, and some expert are saying this year’s could be the best EVER.
• “Hot Cocoa Day”, because there’s nothing like a steaming mug of the stuff on a bitter cold December day. (Ouch! Burned my freaking tongue!)
• “Violin Day”, so pick up your Stradivarius and let’s make some sweet music together.
• “National Day of the Horse”, encourages people to be mindful of the contribution of horses to history, the economy and to the character of the places they inhabit. (So, a big “Hello!” to our ‘Neigh’-bors!)
• “Ice Cream Day”, it’s so good that there are multiple holidays dedicated to it. Most of them happen during the summer, but one is in December! A few fun facts …
– Perhaps surprisingly, the most popular flavor is vanilla, snagging about 26% of total sales. Chocolate comes in a distant 2nd, with about 13% of the market.
– One of the major ingredients in ice cream is air. Without it, the stuff would be as hard as a rock.
– Among the most unusual flavors ever concocted are avocado, garlic, azuki bean, jalapeno, and pumpkin. Perhaps the weirdest of all – dill pickle ice cream – was once targeted at expectant mothers. Sales were disappointing.
– 1 out of every 5 ice cream eaters has shared their treat with a pet dog or cat.
– The largest ice cream sundae in history was made by Palm Dairies in Edmonton AB on July 24, 1988. It weighed in at almost 25 tonnes (60,000 pounds).
– It takes an average of 50 licks to polish off a typical single-scoop ice cream cone.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2005 [15] Matt Damon weds Argentine-born Luciana Barrosa at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau near New York City Hall

2014 [06] The number of Instagram monthly users overtakes Twitter, 300 million+ to 284 million (Today:  Insta – 1.2 billion, Twitter – 350 million) [Source: Statista]

THIS DAY IN MUSIC . . .
2006 [14] ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey becomes the first ringtone certified Gold for sales of over 500,000

2010 [10] Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden weds fashion designer and actress Nicole Richie in Beverly Hills, California (still together)

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
2014 [06] Detroit, Michigan emerges from the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history

2017 [03] 997 students, staff and parents gather at West Byford Primary School, setting the world record for the ‘Largest gathering of people dressed as Harry Potter’

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ The Atlantic Ocean grows an inch wider every year. The Pacific shrinks an inch.
✓ Groundhogs, woodchucks and marmots are all the same critter.
✓ A soap bubble is 10,000 times thinner than a human hair.
✓ If you’re average, you’ll have about 1,400 dreams this year.
✓ Although illegal, there is a thriving black market in Italy for a cheese containing live maggots.
✓ Canada’s Northwest Territories was almost renamed in the 1990s. The second most popular choice: “Bob”.
-BathroomReadersInstitute

Best of BS . . .
BS SIGNS YOU’RE HAVING A BAD HOLIDAY SEASON:
• All of the Christmas cards you receive are addressed to “Resident.”
• The first words your daughter’s new talking doll says are, “Take me back to the store.”
• The FBI finds your handprints on Mrs. Claus’s dress.
• You’ve had more than one fist fight with a mall cop.
• You’re riding in a one-horse closed sleigh, and your wife keeps whining, “Oh what fun we’d be having if only this were an open sleigh!”
• Every person you know gets you an industrial-sized bottle of Clearasil.
• A week after Christmas, you notice a bizarre smell coming from the chimney.
• Two words: tinsel rash.
-Neloo, first published in BS in 2017

TODAY’S SLICE OF BS:
➠ The Trump’s Christmas decorations include a Gingerbread House w/275 pounds of gingerbread dough, 10 pounds of pastillage dough, 30 pounds of gum paste, 25 pounds of chocolate, and 25 pounds of royal icing. (If you want to see them, hurry . . . they won’t be in the White House long. And neither will the decorations!)
➠ I just read that for men, wearing their hair in a ‘man-bun’ could result in baldness. (It can also result in landing a job as a barista, working the counter at Oktoberfest, or getting your face punched.)
➠ Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx turns 62 today. (He’ll spend the day “Shouting at the Devil” … to get off of his lawn.)
➠ Europe has sold over 500,000 hybrid cars this year. (I hope we don’t completely get rid of regular cars. After all, no more gas-powered cars means no more gas stations. And no more gas stations means no more last-minute places to shop for my wife on Christmas Eve…)
➠ A fireball moved slowly across the night sky, stunning residents of Canada and the US in a ‘once in a lifetime show,’ on Tuesday night. (I would have walked outside to see it, but . . . you know. . . Football.)

BS WEB GOODIE:
Just because it’s Friday:  https://tinyurl.com/yx9p5oxp

BS PHONE STARTER:
What was the moment when you realized you are turning into your parents?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Even the Grinch had a dog. So, if you don’t like dogs, you might want to do some soul-searching.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  In a survey, the top-3 gifts that women said they dread getting the most were gift certificates, tacky ornaments and THIS. What is it?
Answer:  A diet book

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Learn to appreciate what you have, before time makes you appreciate what you had.