Thursday, February 9, 2012        Edition: #4687

Sheeters Always Prosper!

BS SUBSCRIBER NOTE:
We’re on BS beach week hiatus February 16-23 inclusive. Subscribers will receive account credits in lieu of service.

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Movie star George Clooney says the only ‘kid’ he’d consider adopting is Shailene Woodley, his 20-year-old co-star in “The Descendants” (that’s a bit perv-y) . . . Meantime, it’s come to light that Clooney’s steady GF Stacey Keibler dressed up like a cheerleader for Super Bowl Sunday (whatever daddy asks for) . . . Troubled actress Demi Moore reportedly isn’t allowed to get on a scale while in rehab (not that she weighed anything to begin with) . . . Despite reports, Demi Moore has NOT become best buds with Charlie Sheen’s ex, Brooke Mueller, while in treatment (imagine the trash talk over husbands) . . . In a new interview with HuffingtonPost.com, “Jersey Shore” star Snooki has revealed she’s bisexual (after she drinks, she’ll be anything you want) . . . Actor Daniel Radcliffe says he’s miffed ”Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2” was snubbed by the Oscars, saying the Academy doesn’t seem to like commercial films or kids’ films (unless they’re directed by Martin Scorsese) . . . 37-year-old actress Eva Mendes tells “Marie Claire” in its March issue that her 31-year-old boyfriend Ryan Gosling is a ‘dream co-star’ (in “The Place Beyond the Pines”, opening in September) and she’s never felt ‘so creatively satisfied’ (whoa, what kind of film IS this?) . . . “Smash” (NBC) wasn’t exactly a smash in the ratings, but its debut performed solidly (next Monday will be the big test to see if viewers will stick with it) . . . Actor Robert Downey Jr has become a father for the 2nd time, he & wife Susan welcoming new son ‘Exton’ (almost as weird a name as his 18-year-old half-brother ‘Indio’) . . . And in a new interview, movie actor Robert Pattinson admits ‘nobody would give a [sheet]’ about him if it weren’t for the “Twilight Saga” (thereby demonstrating a level of awareness rarely seen in Hollywood).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – Vocalists in Hollywood try to advance to the semifinals.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CHCH) – Tony Bennett (“Duets II”).
• “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” (CBS) – Weird Al Yankovic (“Alpocalypse”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Primus (“Green Naugahyde”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – The Kills (“Blood Pressures”, out April 4th).
• “The Talk” (CBS) – Steven Van Zandt (E Street Band).
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Estelle (“All of Me”, out February 28th).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – She’s been spotted out for another night out on the town, rocking yet another skin-tight dress. (Those surrogate mom rumors are going to start up again!)
• Chris Young – Tonight he’s the opening night headliner for the 2012 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in Texas. Other acts featured through February 26th: Alan Jackson, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Hot Chelle Rae, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert.
• Lady Antebellum – They’re taking their “Own the Night 2012 World Tour” to Europe this Summer, beginning July 10th in Dublin, Ireland. (Imagine “Need You Now” with an Irish accent.)
• Lana Del Rey – A source tells “NY Post” her manager has decided to postpone a planned tour after her much-mocked performance on “Saturday Night Live” (one critic says she sounded like a cow in labor). It’s thought the delay will allow memories of the “SNL” disaster to fade.
• Madonna – Her Super Bowl halftime show had an audience of 114 million, nearly 3 million more viewers than the game itself, according to Billboard.com. And that’s about 4 million more than last year’s performance by the Black Eyed Peas.
• MIA – It’s been a rough week for her. Not only is she facing fines for flipping the bird during her Super Bowl performance, but rumor has it she’s split from her fiancé Benjamin Bronfman and sometimes goes 6 weeks at a time without seeing their 3-year-old son.
• Paul McCartney – Today he receives the 2,460th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located next to his former Beatles bandmates on Vine Street, in front of the Capitol Records building. Tonight he’s featured in a free streaming iTunes performance of his new album “Kisses On the Bottom” live from the Capitol Studios at 7 pm PST.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – They’ve posted an interactive version of the video for “Look Around” online. Fans can be the director and control the camera. Check out the clip here …
NET: http://bit.ly/xv5hLQ
• Train – They’ve announced their upcoming album will be titled “California 37”. Due out April 17th, it will include their current single “Drive By”.
• Young The Giant – Tonight they begin a headlining tour in San Francisco, California that runs through mid-April. Grouplove and Walk the Moon will each open on select dates.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Blade Runner” – Is ‘Deckard’ coming back? Word has it that a fresh reboot is in the works for the 1982 classic sci-fi film that starred Harrison Ford & Sean Young. And original director Ridley Scott is attached to the Warner Bros project. It’s widely expected to be his next production after “Prometheus” (opening June 8th). He’s likely to be the only returning alumni.
• “Can a Song Save Your Life?” – Scarlett Johansson will star as a young performer who moves to NYC to try and launch a singing career. In the wake of  being dumped by her boyfriend, she meets an unlucky record producer who helps her find success whilst falling in love with her at the same time. Mark Ruffalo has signed on to co-star. (Oh no, is she going to sing?)
• “Plush” – Director Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”) & actress Evan Rachel Wood (“True Blood”) are reuniting for this erotic thriller set in the turbulent world of LA’s rock-and-roll community. It’s described as a 21st-century “Fatal Attraction”. The movie will be Hardwicke and Wood’s first collaboration since the 2003 drama “Thirteen”.
• “Trouble With the Curve” – This baseball-themed movie will star Clint Eastwood as an ailing baseball scout in his twilight years who takes his daughter  (Amy Adams) along for one last recruiting trip. Justin Timberlake co-stars as a former baseball player who’s now a NY Yankees talent scout. The film’s scheduled to open this September.
• Untitled Strauss-Kahn Film – Gerard Depardieu is set to play disgraced French financier Dominic Strauss-Kahn opposite Isabelle Adjani as his wife in this upcoming bio-film. Strauss-Kahn was charged with sexually assaulting a maid at a NYC hotel last year. Even though charges were dropped, he was forced to quit as International Monetary Fund chief.

ACT YOUR SMARTS:
Research from Virginia Tech offers an explanation of why many people become, in effect, less intelligent in small group settings. If we think others in a group are smarter, we may clam up or become tongue-tied. That leaves the impression that we’re dumber, temporarily losing what researchers call our ‘expression of IQ’. The clamming-up phenomenon seems to be more common in women and people with higher IQs. (It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.)
– “Wall Street Journal”

HELICOPTER PARENTS AT WORK:
Highlights of a new Michigan State University survey of over 700 employers seeking to hire recent college graduates …
• 32% say parents submitted résumés on their child’s behalf … some without informing the child.
• 25% received messages from parents urging the employer to hire their son or daughter.
• 4% report that a parent actually showed up for the candidate’s job interview.
– NPR.org

BIG BROTHER’S WATCHING YOUR BUTT:
Facial recognition technology is growing rapidly. India’s government, for instance, is working on an ambitious plan to biometrically identify each of its more than 1 billion people. Mexico is working with Unisys Corp to build a large database of fingerprint, eye, and faceprint info for millions of its citizens. US security officials already collect biometric data on international travelers wishing to enter the country. Researchers are even looking at buttocks as possible unique identifiers for the future. (Picture this on an episode of “CSI”!)
– TheGlobeandMail.com

VALENTINES DAY FACTS:
• 62% of adults say they celebrate Valentines Day.
• 23% will purchase flowers or plants, two-thirds of them men.
• Over 140 million Valentines cards are exchanged annually, making it the 2nd-most popular greeting card occasion.
• Over 50% of all those cards are purchased in the 6 days prior to the observance.
• About a half-billion dollars are spent on candy during the week before February 14th.
• It’s expected about 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates will be sold.
• Men spend an average of $150 on the holiday; women just $74. (You just discovered you’re below average, didn’t you?)
– History.com

SMART HEADPHONES:
Prototype headphones that can tell which ear they are in have been developed by Japanese researchers. The earphones use proximity sensors to detect if they are in the right or left ear in order to play the correct audio. Why not just mark headphones ‘right’ and ‘left’? Researchers at the Igarashi Design Interface Project say checking the sides of the earphones before using them is annoying. They’ve also found a way to tell if 2 people are sharing … and play a mono mix to each. (Next they’ll be developing a single model … the ‘Vincent van Gogh’.)
– BBC News

DID YOU KNOW?
• Voting in Brazil is obligatory, but many think it’s useless. In 2010, the largest number of votes for any member of congress went to Tiririca, a popular TV clown, who ran on the slogan, “I don’t know what a congressman does, but vote me in and I’ll tell you.”
– “Boston Review”
• Japan will become a ‘super-grey’ society by 2060 as people aged 65 and over will account for about 40% of the population, according to the Health, Labor & Welfare Ministry.
– “Yomiuri Shimbun”
• University of Illinois research shows that the temperature downwind of a wind farm can fall by as much as 4 C (7 F) in daytime, while at night the reverse happens and the turbines have a warming effect.
– “Times of London

BS CHRONOMETER 02.09.12