Monday, February 10, 2025 – Edition: #7890
Good Morning, Sheetheads!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ “Friends” star David Schwimmer took to Instagram Saturday to ask X owner Elon Musk to remove Kenye West from the social media platform after the rapper posted a new series of controversial and antisemitic tweets. Schwimmer, who is Jewish, wrote: “We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile… but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk.” The controversial statements West, now known as Ye, wrote included: “I’m a Nazi,” “I love Hitler”, and “I’m racist. Stereotypes exist for a reason and they all be true.” Schwimmer wrote that West’s “sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews”, and “Silence is complicity.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mreytx5b
-PageSix
★ Tom Cruise can add a prestigious aeronautics medal to his long list of accomplishments. The star of the forthcoming “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning”, who has a known penchant for piloting, jumping and hanging off of aircraft, was honored with the Grande Medaille of the Aero-Club de France, presented to him on Saturday, for his “significant contribution to the history of aviation and inspiring future pilots.” The medal is the highest distinction from the institution, which was created in 1898. Last year, Cruise jumped off of the Stade de France to close out the Paris Olympics, in a surprising feat that blurred the lines between his fictional characters and real life.
-Deadline
★ “Dog Man” easily held on to the #1 spot at the movies on Super Bowl weekend. It took in about $13.7 million domestically. With a 10-day total of approximately $54 million, it but faces tough competition next weekend for family attention with “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Paddington in Peru” on the way. The horror/rom-com mashup “Heart Eyes” came in second with $8.5 million. And action flick “Love Hurts,” was 3rd, opening to $6 million.
-TheWrap
★ “The Bachelorette” is taking a break this year. ABC’s long-running reality dating show will skip its usual production cycle, which means Season 22 won’t premiere in July, as is usually the case. Don’t worry though, The Bachelorette hasn’t been canceled, although its return date hasn’t been set. Production on the show also skipped 2006 and 2007 entirely. And other shows in the “Bachelor” universe have also taken breaks, including, most recently, “Bachelor in Paradise,” which skipped 2024 entirely.
-TheWrap
★ NBC has announced the first wave of A-listers set to appear as part of “SNL50: The Anniversary Special”. Airing Feb. 16, the 3-hour, primetime event will feature Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Bad Bunny, Dave Chappelle, John Mulaney, Kim Kardashian, Martin Short, Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Pedro Pascal, Peyton Manning, Quinta Brunson, Robert De Niro, Sabrina Carpenter, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks and Woody Harrelson. More names will be announced later. SNL50: The Anniversary Special will be preceded by “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert”, streaming live from Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 14, exclusively on Peacock.
-TVLine
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Zoe Saldaña, Patrick Schwarzenegger, JOHNNYSWIM ft. Tobe Nwigwe
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Betty Gilpin, Mary Ellen Matthews, Adam Lambert
• “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Will Ferrell, FLO (R)
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Colman Domingo, Paula Pell
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Zach Cherry, Pete Holmes, Corin Wells (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Amy Schumer, Brianne Howey
• “The Daily Show” (COM): Host Jon Stewart
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Jeremiah Brent, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Tan France and Jonathan Van Ness
• “Today” (NBC): Jesse Eisenberg, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, Amy Poehler co-hosts
• “GMA3” (ABC): George Wallace, Adrienne Smith, Mike Muse
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Scott Foley; Dr. Karyn Gordon
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Anthony Mackie, Alan Cumming, Ben Barnes
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): The cast of “Yellowjackets”, Will Taylor
• “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Colman Domingo
• “Extracted” (Fox): Series premiere. The survivalists arrive in Canada and spend their first night alone in the wilderness; as they attempt to build a shelter, their families watch from afar.
• “The Voice” (NBC): The Blind Auditions, Part 2
• “NCIS” (CBS): NCIS investigates the fatal poisoning of one of Kasie’s forensic scientists; McGee is questioned by the Pentagon regarding the contents of his book.
• “The Hunting Party” (NBC): A serial killer who targets happy families is on the loose; the team must stop him before it’s too late; Bex learns who she can and can’t trust.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Bruno Mars and ROSÉ – THAT was fast: Their smash hit ‘APT’ has officially reached one billion views on YouTube. Reaching the milestone
just 105 days after its release in October, the song is the 5th fastest music video to hit one billion.
• Lady Gaga — After spending years in the spotlight, she tells ELLE UK that in the next decade of her life, she wants “things to be less about me”, so she can “be there for people around me as much as I can.” She also revealed that she and fiancé Michael Polansky plan to start a family, but she has no intention of giving up her music career.
• Chris Martin – was among the performers at the opening ceremonies of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver. Others who lent their talents to the event at B.C. Place Stadium on Sat. included Katy Perry, Noah Kahan and Nelly Furtado. Martin has been involved with the Games since they were founded by Prince Harry in 2014, and composed the ‘Invictus Anthem’, used in the medal ceremonies.
• Prince – His estate has convinced Netflix to cancel the release of a 6-part Prince documentary directed by Ezra Edelman. The streamer said it will work with Prince’s estate to develop “a new documentary featuring exclusive content from Prince’s archive”. Prince’s people had claimed a first cut of the original film was filled with “dramatic” factual inaccuracies.”
• Bob Dylan — Timothée Chalamet has landed on the Billboard Album chart thanks to the soundtrack to the Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown”. The album, which features Chalamet performing, debuted at #17 on the Billboard soundtracks chart. It is also at #44 on the Top Album Sales chart.
• Neil Young – His music will be celebrated with the new tribute album “Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young”, out April 25. Those paying tribute include The Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald with Allison Russell, Eddie Vedder, Brandi Carlile, Mumford & Sons, Lumineers, Fiona Apple, and more. Out now are ‘Lotta Love’ covered by Courtney Barnett, and ‘Southern Man’ by Chris Pierce. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/77vmbd9r
• The 2025 CMT Music Awards – aren’t be happening. The long-running country music awards show faces an unclear future as Paramount merges with Skydance Media. A memo acquired by Hollywood Reporter from the president of Paramount indicates the show is being paused as the company looks to “reimagine and optimize our events slate going forward.”
• Shaboozey – ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ has now been at #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for 32 weeks. That adds to the song’s record run at the top of the chart, which has been around since 1990.
• Runaway June — has dropped the new romantic balled ‘To Be Yours’. Singer Stevie Woodward said inspiration for the song came from a conversation with Jordan Howell, to whom she has just announced her engagement. Quote: “I was talking to my boyfriend about, do we want kids one day…And I was thinking, ‘If we weren’t lucky enough to have a family, I would be happy just to be yours.’” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/y4tarzwe
SHOOTING THE BULL
MORNING MOTIVATOR:
It turns out your parents were right when they told you to get some sleep and “deal with it in the morning” – because that’s when you’re probably at your best. University College London researchers analyzed data from almost 50,000 people, and results showed a trend of people generally reporting better mental health and well-being earlier in the day, with less severe depressive symptoms and increased happiness, life satisfaction and sense of self-worth. On average, people feel worst late at night. Most evidence shows that late morning is the best time for problem solving – and that mood is relatively stable at that time as well, making it easier to handle tough topics with a level head.
(They could be right. By late morning, I’ve had a chance to pour 7 or 8 cups of coffee down my throat, so…yeah, that’s probably when I’m least likely to do something I’d regret!)
(But it’s Monday morning. Aren’t I already dealing with enough?)
-CNN
NEW VOCAB ADDITIONS:
Sometimes, it’s hard to keep up. We’re here for you…
❑ “Boomerask”: A Wall Street Journal story calls this a cousin of the “humblebrag”. It’s play on “Boomeranging” a question so the asker can respond with a boast. Think of that co-worker who asks “How was your weekend” with the intention of launching into a response about their more-exciting weekend adventures. (Oh. So this isn’t at all about Baby Boomers asking naively ill-informed questions about technology?)
❑ FOBO: Forget “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out”). The latest anxiety-inducing trend is “Fear of a Better Option”. Patrick McGinnis, an author and venture capitalist who coined the term, describes it as “the anxiety that something better will come along, which makes it undesirable to commit to existing choices when making a decision”, even then there perfectly acceptable options in front of us. He says that struggle to choose just one is “an affliction” of abundance. (I experienced this yesterday at a Super Bowl party. There were so many snack options that I didn’t know what to do. So I had ‘em all. Problem solved!)
-Newser, NYPost
‘SOUND’ ASLEEP:
So, when you’re drifting off at night, is it a fan, or a TV on low volume for you? Or do you (Gasp!) sleep in silence? New research says that more than one-third of us just can’t sleep when it’s too quiet – and it’s Gen Zers who have the hardest time catching Zs with no soundtrack. A Talker Research poll of Americans found that 38% of respondents rely on white noise or other sounds to help them fall asleep. 49% of Gen Z respondents rely on sounds to sleep, compared to 41% of Millennials and 40% of Gen X. Just 32% of Baby Boomers rely on sound aids to help them sleep. One expert thinks Gen Z’s dependence on white noise could stem from their high exposure to screens and constant stimulation throughout their lives, creating the need for “a soft noise as a signal to unwind.”
(Well, I don’t intentionally put any kind of noise on – but thanks to this ring on my finger, I definitely never sleep in silence!)
(Let’s face it: Judging by any Boomer I know, those guys can sleep anywhere, any time – with any kind of noise!)
-SWNS
OLD-TIME VALENTINES:
Here are some quaint Valentine’s traditions from the past…
☞ Using Birds to Predict a Spouse: The superstition said that the first bird an unmarried woman saw on Valentine’s Day indicated the kind of man she would marry. A swan meant a loyal partner for life; a dove meant she’d marry a kind-hearted person; and a blackbird signified she’d marry a member of the clergy or one who did charitable work.
☞ A ’Vinegar Valentine’: Victorians would write these to rid themselves of unwanted romantic attention. The nasty notes didn’t smell of vinegar in the way a love letter may have a perfume-smell, but they certainly were sour: The writer would list the things they loathed about the recipient, alongside a caricature illustration.
☞ Sending Violets: Until the 1930s, New Englanders sent violets, rather than our traditional Valentine’s Day roses. Why? According mythology, Saint Valentine was persecuted by Emperor Claudius of Rome for his Christian beliefs. After being imprisoned, Valentine crushed violet flowers that grew outside his prison cell window to make ink, which he used to write his letters.
☞ Wearing Your Lover’s Name on Your Sleeve: During the Roman festival Lupercalia, women would pin the name of their love interest on their sleeve. The phrase was first written by Shakespeare a few centuries later in his play “Othello”, giving us the popular idiom used today.
☞ Gifting Your Date a Love Spoon: People Wales commemorate Saint Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers, on Jan. Beginning in the 17th century, men would whittle an intricately crafted wooden spoon for the woman they loved. You can still buy these gorgeous spoons in Wales.
☞ Sending a Single Glove of Love: In Victorian times, some chaps would send a single glove to his chosen Valentine, in hopes that she’d wear it on Easter Sunday as sign that she returned his love. (Or that she’d at least return his glove?)
☞ Looking for Love Omens in a…Cemetery: As part of this superstitious tradition, young people would head to the graveyard on Valentine’s Day, where the lovestruck kids would look for signs and omens at midnight to guess at who their beloved would be. (Well, it’s definitely a ‘sign’ that you’re desperate!)
-MentalFloss
DID YOU KNOW?
New research has found that the simple act of holding a loved one’s hand reduces pain. Researchers at University of Colorado found in their study of 22 long-term couples that: “The more empathic the partner…the stronger the analgesic effect”. Lead author of the study, Pavel Goldstein, said the idea for the study came to him while witnessing the birth of his daughter, and he wondered what he could do to alleviate the pain his wife was experiencing, and, “I reached for her hand and it seemed to help.” (Guys, let me save you some time: Hand-holding does NOT help when she has [ahem!] “a headache”!)
-StudyFinds
BS CHRONOMETER 02.10.25
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Football Hangover Day”. It’s estimated nearly 14 million people call into work “sick” the day after the big game. For this reason, some feel the day after the Super Bowl should be declared a holiday. (Or, maybe have it on a Saturday?)
• “Flannel Day”, a day for people to wear their best lumberjack-esque attire and enjoy a piece of clothing made to keep them warm during a long winter. (So put on your Canadian uniform!)
• “Clean out Your Computer Day”, observed on the 2nd Monday of February, when we’re encouraged to delete all the digital chaff we’ve collected over the past year. Doing this will help improve performance and protect data. It’s also a good time to update software. (And give that screen a wipe, too, willya?)
• “Oatmeal Monday”, a holiday that was traditionally celebrated at Scottish universities. From the 1600s through the late 1800s, students there were required to bring their own food and fuel to campuses, such as oatmeal and firewood.
• “Teddy Day”. We’ve been playing with them since childhood. This reflects our nurturing personality and is a symbol of affection. The teddy bear is named after President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt.
• “Umbrella Day”, honoring the famous invention designed to protect against rain or sunlight. “Parasol” usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; “Umbrella” refers to one more suited to protect from rain. (But some of us use ‘umbrella’ for both…sort of an ‘umbrella’ term!)
• “Home Warranty Day”, to educate home builders, real estate professionals and homeowners about insurance-backed structural warranties and home warranty service agreements, and how they can protect when the unexpected happens. (I don’t have a warranty on my A/C, but it’d be a lot cooler if I did!)
• “Plimsoll Day”, honoring Samuel Plimsoll, a member of English Parliament back in the day who championed sailors’ safety. The “Plimsoll line”, or waterline on a ship where the hull meets the water surface, is named after him.
• “International Cribbage Day”. Cribbage is one of the oldest regularly played card games. It was created by Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, and is derived from the Old English game “nod”.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Tues] Latte Day
[Tues] Get Out Your Guitar Day
[Wed] Hug Day
[Thurs] Kiss Day
This Week is…Celebration of Love Week
This Month is…Library Lovers Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1930 [95] Robert Wagner, Detroit MI, TV actor (“Hart to Hart” 1979-84)/movie actor (‘Number 2’ in “Austin Powers” movies)
1937 [88] Roberta Flack, Black Mountain NC, pop singer (‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’, ‘Killing Me Softly with His Song’)
1961 [64] George Stephanopoulos, Fall River MA, TV co-host (“Good Morning America” since 2009)/ABC News chief anchor and political correspondent 2014-21)/Senior advisor to the President 1993-96
1967 [58] Laura Dern, Los Angeles CA, movie actress (“Jurassic Park” movies, “Wild”, “The Fault in Our Stars”)/TV actress (“Big Little Lies” 2017-19)
1974 [51] Elizabeth Banks (Mitchell), Pittsfield MA, movie actress (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”, “Pitch Perfect” films, “Hunger Games” films)/directed, wrote, produced, and starred in “Charlie’s Angels” film (2019), director-“Cocaine Bear”
1981 [44] Uzo Aduba, Boston MA, TV actress (‘Crazy Eyes’ on “Orange Is the New Black” 2013-19)
1981 [44] Stephanie Beatriz, Neuquen Argentina, TV actress (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, 2013-21)/voice actress (“Bob’s Burgers”)
1991 [34] Emma Roberts, Rhinebeck NY, TV actress (‘Chanel Oberlin’ on “Scream Queens” 2015-16, American Horror Story 2013-19, 23-24/movie actress (“We’re the Millers”)/niece of Julia Roberts. COMING UP… “Saurus City”
1997 [28] Chloë Grace Moretz, Atlanta GA, movie actress (“Let Me In”, “Kick-Ass” movies) COMING UP… “Oh. What. Fun.”
2000 [25] Yara Shahidi, Minneapolis MN, TV actress (‘Zoey Johnson’ on “black-ish” 2014-22, “Grown-ish” 2018-24)/movie actress (“Peter Pan & Wendy”)
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2001 [24] Jennifer Lopez’ album “J. Lo” hits #1 in America. Her movie “The Wedding Planner” is #1 at the box office, making her the first artist with a #1 movie and album at the same time.
2006 [19] The final episode of cult favorite “Arrested Development” airs on Fox. (A Netflix reboot airs in 2013, and another from 2018-19)
2014 [11] Actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat Shirley Temple dies in Woodside CA at age 85. (She was the top Hollywood box-office draw from 1935-38)
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1993 [32] 90 million Americans tune in as Michael Jackson appears on Oprah’s prime time special, where he talks about having the skin condition ‘Vitiligo’, and claims he’s had just 2 plastic surgery operations.
2011 [14] The video for Rebecca Black’s song ‘Friday’ is uploaded to YouTube and quickly becomes a viral hit, amassing over 180 million views, and becoming the year’s most watched video.
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1996 [29] IBM’s “Deep Blue” becomes the first computer to win a game of chess against a reigning (human) chess champion, Gary Kasparov.
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ Birds belong to the theropod group of dinosaurs that included the T. rex. That makes them earth’s only surviving dinosaurs.
✓ There are no seagulls in Hawaii.
✓ In America, it is a federal crime to use your roommate or friend’s Netflix account.
✓ The drummers in Queen and Duran Duran have the same name – Roger Taylor.
✓ Hot dogs take more than 20 years to break down in a landfill.
✓ During WWII, a U.S. naval destroyer crew won a battle against a Japanese sub by throwing potatoes at them. The Japanese believed them to be grenades.
-BathroomReadersInstitute, TheFactSite
Best of BS . . .
BS SUPER BOWL LOSER EXCUSES:
• Depressing pre-game pep talk by Mitch McConnell.
• Their quarterback kept looking one way, then throwing the other.
• Started giving 109% instead of 110%.
• Should have made ‘tails’ our FINAL ANSWER during the coin toss.
• Shouldn’t have skipped breakfast — it’s the most important meal of the day!
• The refs weren’t calling mask violations among the other team’s coaching staff.
• Hey, did you ever try to run around a 350-lb tub of goo?
• Those big guys on other team kept trying to knock us down!
• Secure enough in our manhood to play gently.
• It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.
• Wanted to beat the traffic.
-First published in BS in 2001
BS VALENTINE CARDS FOR LONG-TERM COUPLES:
• “I Want You … To Put the Trash Out”
• “With Just a Couple Exceptions, You’re More Beautiful Than the Day We Met.”
• “We’ve Been Through a Lot Together … And Most of It Was Your Fault”
• “You’re My Kind of Weird, Hon’”
• “You Know, Valentine, Beauty Is Only a Light Switch Away.”
• “I Will Shave My Legs for You … But Only on Date Night”
• “You Put Up with My Crap… And I Like That”
• “If You Were a Booger, I’d Pick You First.”
• “Happy Valentines Day to My Ex. Hope You like the Heart-Shaped Box Full of Angry Hornets.”
• “I Love You … Even Though You Fart in Bed”
-BuzzFeed, first published in BS in 2016
BS WEB GOODIE:
Back to the grind: https://tinyurl.com/2yt7tj64
BS RANDOM JOKE:
Happy “Football Hangover Day”, to those who celebrate…
BS VALENTINE’S DAY MOVIE TRIVIA:
• What romantic movie is based on a book by Nicholas Sparks – and stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams?
A: The Notebook
• This 2009 rom-com stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds – but the scene-stealer is TV icon Betty White!
A: The Proposal
• What 1987 romantic film features Cher and Nicolas Cage?
A: Moonstruck
• In what romantic movie does Whoopi Goldberg play a psychic?
A: Ghost
• What romantic film features an over-the-top wedding in Singapore?
A: Crazy Rich Asians
• What movie came out in 2010, telling different love stories that occur on Valentine’s Day, featuring actors including Julia Roberts, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher – and Taylor Swift?
A: Valentine’s Day
-ReadersDigest
☎ BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s the most frustrating product you own? (The squeeze tube that leaks all over the place? Cheap pens? ‘Convenient’ zip closures that don’t stinkin’ work? The fact that you need about 4 remote controls?)
BS WATER COOLER QUESTIONS:
One-quarter of us don’t know how to do THIS to our car. What is it?
Answer: Change the time on the clock
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Do what is easy and your life will be hard. Do what is hard and your life will become easy.