Tuesday, February 4, 2025 — Edition: #7886

Sheet Happens!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Ellen DeGeneres has reportedly clashed with her British neighbors in the Cotswolds over an extension at her multimillion-dollar home. The former talk show host moved to England with her wife, Portia de Rossi, in November. They purchased a stunning farmhouse in an upscale area for $18 million — $3 million over the asking price. But reports say that the couple have faced some blowback after wanting to put in an extension in their home, with locals claiming that the move increases flood risk. Others say it will likely disturb the nearby Roman ruins.
-NYPost
★ Lee Joo-Sil, best known for playing ‘Park Mal Soon’ in the second season of “Squid Game”, has died. She was 81. According to her talent agency, 1230Culture, Lee went into cardiac arrest at her family home in South Korea on the morning of Feb. 2 and was pronounced dead after being transferred to hospital. She had been diagnosed with stomach cancer 3 months before her death, a newspaper reported. She starred in Squid Game as the mom of undercover detective ‘Hwang Joon-Ho’ and stepmother of ‘Hwang In Ho’.
-People
★ Amy Schumer surprised fans at Saturday’s New York Knicks game when she joined the Knicks City Dancers to recreate her “Trainwreck” finale scene, complete with a kick-line, 10 years after the film came out. Schumer initially pretended to be surprised by the invitation during halftime, but it soon became apparent she was prepared to meet the challenge. The group ended the dance with a coordinated pose and kisses blown towards LeBron James, who also had a part in the 2015 rom-com. Schumer attended the game with cast members from her upcoming film, “Kinda Pregnant.” In Trainwreck, Schumer performs the dance at the film’s end in an attempt to win her love interest once and for all. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mr245338
-TheWrap
★ In a feat of ingenious marketing, Apple has released an 8-chapter edition of “The You You Are,” the middling self-help book that proves radical for the innies at “Severance”, inspiring them to lead a revolt against titan of industry Kier Eagan’s ‘Lumon’ in Season 1. Available under “Apple Books”, the book is drawn from the critically acclaimed show from executive producer/director Ben Stiller, and starring Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro and Zach Cherry. The Apple description calls it “an invitation to merge with your true ‘You,’ and expel from your essence the dead-eyed conventionalism that has defined your life since infancy.”
-Deadline
★ Will Ferrell told People magazine, “Some people were not too happy” when he showed up at an LA Kings game as a disheveled version of ‘Buddy the Elf’. In December, he went viral after dressing up as the beloved character for a Kings/Flyers game – and made it appear as if time had not been friendly to Buddy, with a beer in hand, a fake cigarette sticking out of his mouth and a scowling expression. He said that although he thought it was “hilarious”, some fans thought: “‘Please be true to the character. That was not cool’. Ferrell doubled down that “Buddy was having a bad day. Yeah. He just went to a hockey game, smoked cigarettes and drank beer.”
-HollywoodReporter

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Demi Moore, Gavin Rossdale, Abraham Alexander & Adrian Quesada
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Bill Gates, Lauren Graham, Japanese Breakfast
• “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Miles Teller, W. Kamau Bell
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Nicole Scherzinger, Roy Wood Jr., Michael Solomonov
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Melissa Rauch, Jessica St. Clair, Nico Santos
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Harry Hamlin, Kyle Richards
• “The Daily Show” (COM): TBA
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Bill Gates
• “Today” (NBC): Bill Gates; Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller; Amy Schumer, Ego Nwodim co-hosts
• “GMA3” (ABC): Harrison Ford, Frank Caprio
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Harry Hamlin
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Lauren Graham, Mason Gooding, David Boreanaz
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Sterling K. Brown, Sunny Anderson, Sabrina Brier
• “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Usher
• “Deal or No Deal Island” (NBC): After a historic win and 2 shocking betrayals, the competition intensifies for the remaining 10, as friends turn into enemies and an unlikely alliance forms.
• “Will Trent” (ABC): Things take a quick turn when Evelyn returns, and she becomes entangled in a case involving a rare stolen coin; Faith navigates her complex roles as both a daughter and detective.
• “FBI” (CBS): Jubal’s longtime informant brings intel of an impending large-scale terror attack, but when the details don’t add up, Jubal must sift out the truth from a man who’s known him at his worst. Followed by new eps of “International” and “Most Wanted”.
• “Doc” (Fox): Amy and Sonya try to help a teen in need of a bone marrow transplant and his brother whose own health issues jeopardize disability to donate; Jake deals with a fainting bride.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• The Weeknd – has unveiled a somewhat disturbing video for ‘Red Terror’. The stop-motion clip shows a young being experiencing an unsettling transformation in what looks like an alternate dimension. The song is from from “Hurry Up Tomorrow”, the final part of the trilogy that began with “Dawn FM” and “After Hours”. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/28vbfuyb
• Jonas Brothers – Following the success of ‘Slow Motion’ with Marshmello, they’ve released another collab. ‘I Dare You’ was recorded with reunited country group Rascal Flatts. The song was co-written by, among others, Nick Jonas and Dan + Shay‘s Shay Mooney. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/59nwwkve
• Elton John — Nicole Kidman owns the handwritten lyrics to his first international top 10 single, 1970’s ‘Your Song’. While on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, the “Babygirl” actress was asked if she’d ever asked for anyone’s autograph, and she shared that she had asked John to autograph the document. Your Song played a crucial part in Kidman’s 2001 film “Moulin Rouge”.
• David Bowie – The new live album “Ready, Set Go! (Live, Riverside Studios ’03)” will be released for Record Store Day April 12. It is a recording of Bowie’s 2003 interactive music satellite event in London.  The one-off concert featured Bowie’s first-ever live performance of his then-new album “Reality”. The song ‘New Killer Star’ is available now. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/erx64zyu
• Prince and the Clash — were among those honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys’ Special Merit Award ceremony on Saturday. The award is presented to artists who “have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.” Other recipients this year included Frankie Valli and Taj Mahal.
• Darius Rucker – clarified things on IG after earlier posting that he has moved to London and intends to play some shows in the UK. In his latest Instagram message, he reminds fans that he’s a “traveling musician, and is “living in London while working on some new music and playing some shows…but don’t get it twisted y’all … nothing will ever replace the Carolinas and it is still home.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yuzztu3b
• Kacey Musgraves – has released a mini-documentary. The 31-minute film, “Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well (The Making of the Album),” visits with Musgraves and her co-producers at New York’s Electric Lady studios, and features footage of Musgraves in Iceland filming the music video for the album’s title track. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/dxwzybu4
Kane Brown — is carrying a man purse — or a “murse” — these days. When asked about his Louis Vuitton over-the-shoulder bag while promoting his new album “The High Road”, he said he gets a lot of people saying: ‘What? Are you really wearing a bag?’ His answer: “Yeah, you know how easy it is to carry stuff?” Brown pointed out that as a dad of 3 young children, it comes in handy to carry their stuff, too.

SHOOTING THE BULL

TODAY’S TED TALK:
The secret to success in you career may lie in what you do in your spare time. Perdue and University of Georgia researchers found that strategically combining leisure activities with professional development can boost your confidence in the workplace AND your performance (as well as job satisfaction) — without negatively affecting your enjoyment of free time. They say that their tests show that success depends on choosing genuinely enjoyable activities that naturally align with professional growth. These might include listening to podcasts or reading interesting business books. The researchers point out that this approach works best for people who naturally prefer integrating their work and personal life, as opposed to those who like keeping them separate.
(I’ll combine work and leisure as soon as napping counts as a professional development skill)
(So…you’re telling me Netflix marathons aren’t boosting my career? Rude.
-StudyFinds

VALENTINE VERMIN:
If you’d like to remember your ex in a special way on February 14, a sports betting company has the perfect plan. BetUS is hosting a contest where jilted and betrayed lovers can name a New York City street rat after their former flame. It has already received more than 500 stories about toxic ex-lovers, and the plan is to pick the 5 worst, which will be added to a “Rat Roster”. That’s the starting lineup of an imaginary basketball team made up of cartoon rats. So far, here are some of the worst stories submitted by people who want to see their former flame ingloriously immortalized…
• A 32-year-old had her man over for dinner one night, and he went to use the bathroom. “Twenty minutes later I went to check on him to discover he’d left. All that was in the bathroom was a Post-it note saying sorry.”
• A 28-year-old showed up to the bar she and her boyfriend had chosen for their date, only to find him there with another woman he’d been dating at the same time. His defence? “Oh, I thought we were meeting at 8pm.”
• An air steward was dating a man for 6 months and would share stories about their relationship with her coworkers. The other stewardesses would also dish on the men they were dating – but after a while, their stories started sounding eerily familiar. She said: “I asked to see a picture of their guy — it was MY boyfriend dating all 3 of us.” LINK: https://www.betus.com.pa/nba/rat-roster/
(He would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you nosey stewardesses!)
(I’m just wondering if the rats would actually be offended…)
-NYPost

SUPER IDEA:
If you love football, chances are you wish the Monday after the Super Bowl were a holiday. Actually, even if you AREN’T a football fan, you’d probably appreciate the day off too, but I digress. A new survey found that 55% of football fans wish the day following the big game was a national holiday. Other findings from the poll of 3,000 adults…
• 76% prefer other days of the week “in general” to Mondays.
• Two-thirds agreed that Mondays are the most disliked day of the week.
• 34% said that everything feels slower on a Monday, partly because of sadness that the weekend is over, and partly because they “feel drained and easily agitated.”
• One in 10 admitted they start checking out” for the week as early as Monday.
(While I’d also like to have a holiday the day after the Super Bowl, they COULD…you know…have the Super Bowl on a Saturday. Just sayin’…)
(I was going to talk about this yesterday, but I forgot because…Monday…)
-SWNS

MUSICIANS WHO HATE THEIR OWN ICONIC SONG:
✗ Miley Cyrus – ‘Party in the U.S.A.’: “(It) is not even my style of music. I didn’t write it [and] I didn’t expect it to be popular, originally.” Later: “I hate it, but for some reason, the people love it.”
✗ Madonna – ‘Like a Virgin’: “For some reason, people think that when you go to a restaurant or you are going shopping that you want to hear one of your own songs. It’s usually ‘Like a Virgin’ — and that is the one I don’t want to hear.”
✗ Oasis – ‘Wonderwall’: Liam Gallagher: “I can’t (freaking) stand that song.”
✗ Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway to Heaven’: Robert Plant in 1988: “I’d break out in hives if I had to sing that song in every show…It’s just not for me.”
✗ Lorde – ‘Royals’: “It sounds like a ringtone from a 2006 Nokia. None of the melodies are cool or good. It’s disastrous. Awful.”
✗ Pink – ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’: “I wish I could burn that song and never sing it again.”
✗ Lady Gaga – ‘Telephone’: “I hate ‘Telephone’. Is that terrible to say? It’s the song I have the most difficult time listening to.”
✗ Bruno Mars – ‘The Lazy Song’: In 2019, he tweeted: “When someone tells me they actually like The Lazy Song,” along with a video of himself shaking his head and staring deadpan at the camera.
(Just waiting for Billy Ray to weigh in…)
-NYPost

DID YOU KNOW?
Scientists say they have finally figured out how polar bear fur repels ice, no matter how cold it is. As you might know, they regularly plunge into freezing waters to hunt seals – but unlike your car windshield on a winter morning, their fur doesn’t turn into a frozen mass. An international research team led by Trinity College Dublin’s School of Chemistry discovered that polar bear fur contains a natural ice-repellant similar to advanced synthetic materials, thanks to a protective oil called sebum. This explains how polar bears stay ice-free while hunting in temperatures that can plummet below -40°. (They’re out there flexing with ice-repellant fur, while I’m scraping my windshield with a credit card – and my car won’t start!)
-StudyFinds

BS CHRONOMETER 02.04.25

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Rosa Parks Day”, an American observance honoring the Black civil rights activist, who is known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Various states officially observe the holiday today (her birthday), or on Dec. 1, the anniversary of the date when she became a symbol of equality. Some municipalities officially mark the day as well.
• “World Cancer Day”, to encourage prevention, detection, and treatment. It’s led by the International Union Against Cancer, a consortium of more than 280 cancer-fighting organizations in over 90 countries.
• “Thank a Letter Carrier Day”, your chance to say thanks to the person who delivers your junk mail.
• “Homemade Soup Day”, a day to chop and blend and simmer, creating yummy goodness in a bowl all on your own. AllRecipes.com has over 1,000 recipes for homemade soup.
• “National Hemp Day”. It has been an essential material in the innovation of several industries including shipping, construction, and textiles. More recently, the construction industry began using hemp in place of concrete (known as hempcrete) because it is windproof and offers a lower carbon footprint.
• “Liberace Day”, honoring the flamboyant pianist and entertainer. “Mr. Showmanship” is perhaps as well-known for his persona as his musical talent. From the 1950s to the 1970s, he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world. Today is the anniversary of his 1987 death at age 67.
• “Eggplant Day”, celebrating the nightshade vegetable closely related to the tomato and potato. Native to Southeast Asia, the world’s largest producers today are China and India. (Keep your emoji jokes to yourself!)
• “USO Day”, honoring the 1941 creation of the United Service Organization, which continues to provide support for American troops and their families worldwide.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Wed] Weatherperson’s Day
[Wed] World Nutella Day
[Thurs] Chopsticks Day
[Fri] Rose Day
This Week is…Pay Your Bills Week
This Month is…Black History Month

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1948 [77] Alice Cooper (Vincent Furnier), Detroit MI, classic rock singer (‘School’s Out’, ‘Poison’)/syndicated radio personality (“Alice’s Attic”)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2011

1962 [63] Clint Black, Long Branch NJ, country singer (‘Killin’ Time’, ‘Nothin’ but the Taillights’)/married to Lisa Hartman Black since 1991

1963 [62] Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, Los Angeles CA, rock guitarist (The Offspring, ‘Self Esteem’, ‘Pretty Fly [For a White Guy]’)

1973 [52] Óscar de la Hoya (“The Golden Boy”), Los Angeles CA, former pro boxer (11 world titles in 6 different weight classes, 1992 Olympic gold)/current MMA and boxing promoter/Grammy nominated singer(!!)

1975 [50] Natalie Imbruglia, Sydney Australia, pop singer (‘Torn’, ‘Wrong Impression’)

1975 [50] Rick Burch, Mesa AZ, rock bassist (Jimmy Eat World-‘Pain’, ‘The Middle’)

1977 [48] Gavin DeGraw, South Fallsburg NY, pop singer (‘Not Over You’, ‘I’m in Love With a Girl’)

1983 [42] Hannibal Buress, Chicago IL, comedian (“The Eric Andre Show” 2012-20)/movie actor (‘Coach Wilson’ in “Spider-Man” movies)/former writer for “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock”)

1983 [42] Lauren Ash, Belleville ON, TV actress (‘Dina’ on “Superstore” 2015-2021, “Not Dead Yet” 2023-24)

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1991 [34] Alex Trebek becomes first person to host 3 American game shows at the same time (“Jeopardy!”, “Classic Concentration”, “To Tell the Truth”).

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1977 [48] Fleetwood Mac’s classic album “Rumours” is released. It sets the record for most weeks at #1 with 31, and becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales of over 40 million.

2010 [15] A judge rules that the flute riff in Men at Work’s song ‘Down Under’ plagiarizes another Australian classic: the 1932 song ‘Kookaburra’.

2024 [01] Taylor Swift wins the ‘Album Of The Year’ Grammy for “Midnights”, making her the first artist to win that award 4 times.

THIS DAY IN SPORTS . . .
2007 [18] Indianapolis Colts (led by QB Peyton Manning) defeat Chicago Bears 29-17 to win Super Bowl 41 in Miami, their first championship in 36 years (when they were in Baltimore).

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2004 [21] Facebook is launched from the Harvard dormitory room of Mark Zuckerberg (and how many thousands of hours have you wasted since?).

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ Having a positive attitude literally makes your brain work more efficiently, according to Stanford researchers.
✓ The use of CAPITAL LETTERS to denote shouting dates back to the 19th century.
✓ Ben and Jerry originally wanted to start a bagel company. They ended up in the ice cream business because they couldn’t afford a bagel machine.
✓ Before it was downsized from 64 to 50 ounces (1900 to 1500ml), the 7-Eleven Double Big Gulp was 50% larger than the volume of the average human stomach.
✓ Giraffes are 30 times more likely to get hit by lightning than people.
✓ It is estimated that 10 per cent of Europeans currently alive were conceived in a bed from IKEA.
-FactSlides, UberFacts

Best of BS . . .
BS WORST OPENING LINES FOR VALENTINES CARDS:
• “With just a few glaring exceptions, you’re more beautiful than the day we met.”
• “You make me so excited, I just can’t hold my bladder.”
• “‘Like’ is a such highly underrated word.”
• “I want you like a dog wants a muscular leg.”
• “I love the way you look, the way you clean, the way you cook.”
• “I need you like someone with the squirts needs Pepto Bismol.”
• “How do I love thee? Let me count the way …”
-First published in BS in 2015

BS SUPER BOWL PICKUP LINES:
• Do you have a jersey? Because I need your name and number.
• You can perform an illegal motion on me anytime.
• If I said you have a beautiful body, would you tackle me with it?
• Girl, your arm must be tired, because you’ve been passing through mind all day!
• Want to join my fantasy league?
• Is that a challenge flag in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
• Hey baby, I’m an eligible receiver for your phone number!
• Did I just catch you looking into my backfield?
• I want you to touch-down. I’ll leave it at that.
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2020

BS WEB GOODIE:
I think I work with them:  https://tinyurl.com/3ydab7hv

BS RANDOM JOKE:
My brain is giving me the silent treatment today.

☎ BS PHONE STARTER:
What is the most ridiculous recurring argument you have with your partner? (I can’t stand it when she stops the microwave early and doesn’t clear off the remaining time…)

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
85% of THESE are purchased by women. What are they?
Answer:  Valentine’s Day cards

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Sometimes, the road less traveled is that way for a good reason.