Wednesday, January 8, 2025 — Edition: #7867
More From the Sheethouse!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Former “The Music Man” co-stars Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster publicly confirmed their romance on a date night in Santa Monica on Monday night. The actors were photographed holding hands heading to Father’s Office Pub. The 2 appeared together in the play, which ran on the Great White Way in NYC from December 2021 to January 2023. Jackman and ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness announced their split in Sept. 2023 after 27 years of marriage. Foster, meanwhile, filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years, “Ocean’s Eleven” screenwriter Ted Griffin, last month — just as news broke about Jackman and Foster’s apparent secret romance.
-NYPost
★ The second season of the HBO drama “The Last of Us” will launch in April, Sony confirmed during its presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. During the hourlong press session, studio head Neil Druckmann also cued up a short teaser for Season 2 that gives fans a brief glimpse of Pedro Pascal’s ‘Joel Miller’ and Bella Ramsey’s ‘Ellie Williams’, among other key characters. Season 2 will begin with a time jump 5 years into the future, where “Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind”, according to the sypnosis. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/5e5nj38p
-Variety, TVLine
★ It’s only been a few days since the Golden Globes, but the producers behind Sunday’s kudocast are already looking at bringing back host Nikki Glaser next year. Executive producer Glenn Weiss told Variety: “We absolutely had a great experience with her, and think that she would be great at this in the long term.” When asked if she has already been asked back, Weiss said: “Perhaps! I can’t talk officially…I will say…She really found her niche here, and I think it really worked out beautifully on this show. And I would love to see it continue.”
-Variety
★ Cynthia Erivo, Keke Palmer, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart and Shannon Sharpe have been nominated for Entertainer of the Year at the 56th NAACP Image Awards. The August Wilson adaptation “The Piano Lesson” led all films with 14 nominations, more than double the total for runner-ups “The Book of Clarence,” “Nickel Boys,” “Exhibiting Forgiveness” and “Bob Marley: One Love,” which received 6. “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” was the top television nominee, with 9. The NAACP Image Awards will take place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Feb. 22. It’ll air live on BET and CBS.
-TheWrap
★ Peacock is developing a reboot of “Grimm”, the cult favorite supernatural drama that ran on NBC from 2011-17. “Drop Dead Diva” creator Josh Berman is writing the new take, which he is executive producing with the original series’ creative team. The exact premise of the Grimm movie is still under wraps. It is believed to have ties to the series for diehard fans, but could also be easily taken up by those not familiar with the original mythology and characters.
-Deadline
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Cynthia Erivo, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Victoria Canal
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Jamie Lee Curtis, Mikey Madison, Michael Shannon, Jason Narducy
• “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Alan Cumming, Diane Morgan
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Pamela Anderson, Rose Matafeo
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Heather McMahan, Zach Noe Towers, Lisa Rinna
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Dorinda Medley, Whitney Rose
• “The Daily Show” (COM): Richard Reeves, host Desi Lydic
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Glenn Close, Diane Warren
• “GMA3” (ABC): Darryl McDaniels, Jamie Oliver, Thai Nguyen
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Adrien Brody, Pamela Anderson, Ali Larter
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Taylor Kitsch, Mel Robbins, The Phoenix, Kelly’s children, River and Remy
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Julianne Moore; Savannah James and April McDaniel
• “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): O’Shea Jackson Jr., Lee Jung-Jae
• “Shifting Gears” (ABC): Series premiere. Matt, the widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop, is confronted with his most challenging project yet when his estranged daughter and her children come crashing back into his life.
• “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (ABC): Season 3 premiere. Max Greenfield, Camilla Luddington, and W. Kamau Bell
• “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” (Fox): Season 3 premiere. 16 new celebs endure the harsh reality of ocean warfare, including taking a leap out of a moving boat onto a helicopter, and bungee jumping off a 12-story viaduct.
• “Raid the Cage” (CBS): Season 2 premiere. Two teams of best friends face off to grab prizes from the cage before time runs out.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ariana Grande – Her Eternal Sunshine era is apparently not over. Though she’s been focused on all things “Wicked” recently, she was asked about new music while on the Golden Globes red carpet. Her answer: “There’s something I made last year that will come out eventually. It’s an attachment of Eternal Sunshine.” We think that means there is extended version coming.
• Joe Jonas – admits he still feels “triggered” by the Jonas Brothers’ purity ring days. He shared a TikTok vid of him mouthing along to a soundbite of Russell Crowe’s character in “Unhinged” saying, “I don’t even think you really know what a bad day is.” He wrote: “When someone’s complaining to me, but they never had to wear a piece of jewelry that let everybody know that they’re a virgin.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/f6z7yer8
• Franz Ferdinand — have released their new single ‘Hooked’. It is the 3rd third song to be shared from the band’s upcoming 6th album “The Human Fear”, out this Friday, following ‘Audacious’ and ‘Night Or Day’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/5hfvb2mv
• Rush — One of the motorcycles late drummer Neil Peart famously rode between shows on Rush’s R30 Tour is going to auction. The BMW R1200GS is being sold at this year’s Vintage and Antique Motorcycle show in Las Vegas, on February 1. It is expected to fetch $40,000 – $50,000.
• Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple and Steve Earle — are among the special guests who appear on “Life, Death and Dennis Hopper”, an upcoming concept album about the Hollywood legend by The Waterboys. Earle appears on the album’s opening song ‘Kansas’, while Springsteen guests on ‘Ten Years Gone’, and Apple joins the band for ‘Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend’. The LP drops April 4.
• Riley Green – His bow hunting excursion didn’t exactly go as planned. Monday, he shared a video from the ER, showing his feet — one with a shoe, one bare on the hospital bed. He explained: “I stepped on a nail, impaled my foot.” Despite the pain, he is all smiles in the clip, sharing: “When I took my boot off, corn fell all over the floor”, and the nurse wondered “where all the corn came from.”
• Luke Combs — As ‘Guy for That’ continues to climb the charts, he looked back on his time working with Post Malone on their song and his country album “F-1 Trillion”. Quote: “Gosh, he’s the best. He’s such a sweet dude. And that project was really, really fun from a creative standpoint.”
• Carly Pearce – It has only been a year since “hummingbird”, but she is already teasing new music. She hopped on socials to post a clip of an as-yet-untitled new song. The acoustic ballad features the lyrics: “No clouds, no lining/No dirt, no diamond/No low, no high/ No wrong, no right/ No break, no fixing/ No lose, no winning/ May might bring showers/But no rain, no flower.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2s44fw58
SHOOTING THE BULL
DR. GOOGLE WILL SEE YOU NOW:
You know how it goes when you start Googling whatever symptoms you’re experiencing: It takes just a few minutes, and you’re convinced that you’re gonna die! So just a tip here: If it’s your child who’s sick, stay away from Dr. Google. And somewhat related to that dire set of circumstances, a new study found that parents who Google symptoms of a child’s ailment before being seen by a doctor tend to have less faith in their doctor’s diagnosis if their search led them to believe the child was suffering from something else. Researchers from New York’s Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine found that the internet search results played a significant role in the level of trustworthiness the parents had in the physician — and whether or not they’d seek a second opinion. The team reminded parents that simply entering a collection of symptoms in a search engine may not reflect the actual medical situation at hand, and that questioning a doctor’s abilities or asking for a second opinion could end up delaying treatment.
(I love how a quick internet search can us into medical experts overnight: “Sorry, Doc, I know you went through 7 years of medical school, but according to this message board I found on page 6 of Google, my child’s hiccup is definitely a sign of alien abduction!”)
(Well, thank goodness we have millions of online medical experts now — ever since the pandemic!)
-StudyFinds
KILLER DIALOGUE:
Movies are getting deadlier these days – and I’m not talking about violence, I’m referring to the dialogue. Researchers analyzed over 160,000 English-language films, and found that characters are talking about murder and killing more frequently than ever before. Researchers from the University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, and Ohio State examined movie subtitles between 1970 and 2020, and found a clear upward trajectory in this type of dialogue. Nearly 7% of all movies analyzed contained what they call “murderous verbs” in their dialogue, but it was not limited to obvious genres like action or thriller films. The researchers say this suggests that casual discussion of lethal violence has become more normalized across all types of movies, potentially contributing to what they call “mean world syndrome” – where people begin to view the world as more dangerous and threatening than it actually is.
(Guys: Have ya SEEN the news lately?)
(Do we need another movie disclaimer that says: “This film includes scenes of people talking about murder”?)
-StudyFinds
FIT LESS:
If your New Year’s resolution involves joining a gym, you’d best be sure not to pick Ascendancy Fitness. Why? Clayton Leah, the owner of the club, in Cheshire, England, has put the word out that his facility will not be accepting new members this month. He has been turning away potential new members at the time of year when new members are most likely to join, in order, he says, to protect existing gym members. According to him, eager January newcomers generally wind up tapering off as their will to maintain a New Year’s resolution wear off. And he didn’t want to “annoy” his long-term members. He claims the reaction “has been overwhelmingly positive”, and hopes the initiative of not accepting new members this month will encourage people to join throughout the year, instead.
(I guess it’s the only gym where you need willpower just to join!)
(Oh well. Hey! I wonder if that post-Christmas sale on cookies and chocolate is still on!)
-Fox, SWNS
COOLEST NEW PRODUCTS AT CES 2025 – THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET YOUR HANDS ON:
The 2025 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show, “The Most Influential Tech Event in the World”, continues through Friday in Las Vegas. While some concepts on display won’t be available for a long time, these ones are available to order – and are fairly affordable, too…
⇒ LeafyPod smart planter: This new planter lets you know whenever it needs light or water. After the first few waterings, it will create an ideal watering routine for the plant, and alert you if it needs more light or needs to be moved due to temperature or humidity changes. (Or if the cat discovered it…) [$148]
⇒ Nékojita FuFu: Do you sometimes find yourself blowing on a cup of coffee or tea to cool it down? Now you don’t have to. This adorable robot cat blows on your drink for you. The tiny Nékojita FuFu sits on the rim of your coffee or soup cup and gently blows cool air. (Can it make my whiskey cold, too – or do I still need ice cubes?) [$25]
⇒ Roam SodaTop bottle: Fizzy-water fans, what if you could carbonate the water INSIDE your water bottle? This unit has a special lid that you insert a CO2 cartridge into. And flavored syrups or other drink mixes can be added after the CO2 does its thing. The bottle itself is made of stainless steel, keeping your beverage cold for up to 12 hours. [$50]
⇒ Displace wireless TV: Not kidding – a wireless TV! It runs on batteries and features Wi-Fi streaming. The TV uses an AI agent to do tasks like streaming, productivity features (like sending emails) and more. And the pro version even has large, built-in suction cups to stick the TV to the wall! [From $1,499]
-CNET
COUNTRIES WITH THE BEST FOOD:
Travel guide TasteAtlas analyzed user ratings to determine the best cuisines in the world for 2025. Here are the top 10…
1. Greek
2. Italian
3. Mexican
4. Spanish
5. Portuguese
6. Turkish
7. Indonesian
8. French
9. Japanese
10. Chinese
[****Other BS countries in the top 100: USA (#13), Thailand (#28), South Africa (#35), Philippines (#36), Malaysia (#37), Canada (#43), England (#48), Sweden (#52), Australia (#53), Trinidad & Tobago (#59), Puerto Rico (#62), Denmark (#63), Finland (#64), Taiwan (#66), Norway (#73), Jordan (#74), Scotland (#78), Ireland (#80), New Zealand (#82), Bahamas (#86), Iceland (#92)***]
-NYPost
DID YOU KNOW?
It’s a groundbreaking new development that ISN’T on display at this year’s CES in Vegas. A new $13 million project is aiming to build synthetic life from scratch, for the first time ever. Funded by the European Research Council, a group of scientists are working to create simple living systems capable of “Darwinian evolution” within the next 6 years. Instead of using nucleotides – the “building blocks” of life” – the “MiniLife” researchers plan to create life from simple chemicals that are not already a product of evolution. The goal: human-made, completely synthetic molecules. The team hopes that cooking up a lab-controlled life-form could shed some light on how natural life began on Earth nearly 4 billion years ago. (…just in case you weren’t worried enough about AI taking over the world!)
-MorningBrew
BS CHRONOMETER 01.08.25
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Show & Tell Day at Work Day”, when adults have a chance to partake in the kindergarten ritual with co-workers. (***A good day to have your crew each bring in something that makes a unique sound***)
• “Bubble Bath Day”, a day to take the time to luxuriate in a super-foamy tubful of bubbles. Not only is taking a bubble bath relaxing, it is thought to cleanse the skin and open pores. There’s also a belief that the bubbles help to insulate bath water, keeping it warm longer. (Plus, the promise of bubbles is sometimes the only way to convince your kid to take a bath!)
• “English Toffee Day”, celebrating the ooey-gooey treat that rips the fillings right out of your teeth.
• “Argyle Day”, celebrating the pattern derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in Scotland. The pattern has been used for kilts, plaids and the patterned socks (known as a tartan hose) worn by Scottish Highlanders since at least the 17th century. So, wear your argyle-patterned clothing today!
• “War on Poverty Day”, to reflect on the impact of the legislation introduced in 1964 by US President Lyndon B. Johnson, that expanded economic opportunity through anti-poverty, health, education, and employment policies. One definition of poverty is “not having enough resources for your basic needs,” and it has a huge impact on people’s lives and society.
• “JoyGerm Day”, to remind us that by being positive and treating people with kindness, we can influence those around us, and pass that positive attitude on. (And when have you ever heard the words “joy” and “germ” used together before?)
• “Winter Skin Relief Day”. Here’s some help: After bathing, pat your skin dry with a soft towel. Rubbing can cause more irritation and inflammation. And with the door closed to keep the humidity in, add a moisturizer.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Static Electricity Day
[Thurs] Word Nerd Day
[Fri] Peculiar People Day
[Sat] Hot Toddy Day
This Week is…La Poutine Week
This Month is…Clean Up Your Computer Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1946 [79] Robby Krieger, Los Angeles CA, rock guitarist (The Doors- ‘Hello, I Love You’, ‘Light My Fire’)
1955 [70] Mike Reno (Joseph Rynoski), New Westminster BC, rock singer (Loverboy- ‘Turn Me Loose’, ‘Working For the Weekend’, w/Ann Wilson-‘Almost Paradise’)
1967 [58] R (Robert) Kelly, Chicago IL, R&B singer (‘I Believe I Can Fly’) [currently incarcerated in North Carolina, scheduled for release December 21, 2045]
1976 [49] Josh Meyers, Bedford NH, TV comedian-TV actor (“That 70’s Show” 2005-2006, “Red Oaks” 2014-2017)/brother of Seth Meyers
1979 [46] Sarah Polley, Toronto ON, movie director (“Away From Her”)/movie actress (“Dawn of the Dead” [2004]/TV actress (“John Adams”)/Canada’s Walk of Fame, 2010
1983 (or 1982…or 1984) [42 (or 43…or 41)] Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang North Korea, politician (Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011)
1987 [38] Cynthia Erivo, London England, movie actress (“Wicked”, “Harriet”)/TV actress (“Genius: Aretha”)/stage actress (Tony Award-“The Color Purple”)
2000 [25] Noah Cyrus, Nashville TN, TV actress (“Hannah Montana” 2006 to 2010)/singer (feat. Labrinth-‘Make Me [Cry]’)/sister of Miley Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus
ON THIS DATE . . .
2020 [05] Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announce they are stepping back as “senior” royals, and will work towards becoming financially independent.
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2004 [21] The Donald Trump-hosted reality TV series “The Apprentice” makes its debut on NBC.
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1991 [34] Guitarist Steve Clark of Def Leppard dies of an accidental drug and alcohol overdose at age 30.
1993 [32] On what would have been Elvis Presley’s 58th birthday, a 29-cent stamp with his image is officially dedicated at Graceland. The design was chosen in a vote between an older Elvis from the ’70s and a younger version from the ’50s, which was the winner.
2016 [09] David Bowie’s “Blackstar” album is released on his 69th birthday. He dies 2 days later, and it becomes clear that the album’s ruminations on mortality are his parting words.
TODAY IN SPORTS . . .
1993 [32] Chicago Bull Michael Jordan scores his 20,000th career point (2nd fastest to do so, after Wilt Chamberlain).
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ No high jumper has ever been able to stay off the ground for more than one second.
✓ In Australia, there are more kangaroos than people.
✓ Mexico’s official name is United Mexican States.
✓ The placement of a donkey’s eye enables it to see all 4 feet at all times.
✓ Given the opportunity, deer will chew gum — and marijuana.
✓ People in nudist colonies play volleyball more than any other sport.
-RandomFactGenerator, FactSlides
Best of BS . . .
BS WORST THINGS TO HEAR JUST BEFORE GOING UNDER FOR SURGERY:
• “Nurse, start the YouTube video…”
• “I think I’ll try using only my left hand today.”
• After this one, I’ll be just 3 kidneys away from paying off my student debt.”
• “I’ll remove both, just in case.”
• “Let’s see what else is good in there.”
• “Hi – I’m Johnny Knoxville and welcome to Jackass.”
• “The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone…”
• “Quick! Pick up the scalpel. Five second rule!”
• “Get me 50cc’s of ketamine, stat! And something for the patient, too!”
• “We’re out of lubricant, Doctor!”
-Reddit, first published in BS in 2020
BS UNLIKELY YOGA POSITIONS:
• Snap, Crackle & Pop
• The Folded Fitted Sheet
• The Slipped Disk
• I’ve Fallen and Can’t Get Up
• The Downward Cat
• The Call My Chiropractor
• Uncomfortably Numb
• The Half Nelson Suplex
• The Stranded Turtle
• The Chalk Outline
• Faceplant
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2019
BS WEB GOODIE:
My year so far: https://tinyurl.com/38et6hpc
BS RANDOM JOKE:
It’s always “Wow, your car is a mess”, and never “Wow, you don’t litter!”
BS HEADLIES:
We give you an actual recent headline, and a fake one. You tell us which is real.
1. • A Wisconsin city rings in New Year one hour too late after forgetting daylight saving time ended
• Olympians reveal how much Paris 2024 medals have already deteriorated [REAL]
2. • US Election named the most underreported news story of 2024
• Top musician forced to cancel concert after Air Canada refused to give his priceless cello a seat on plane. [REAL]
3. • California man says “I’m the DUI” during arrest for drunken driving less than an hour into 2025 [REAL]
• Walmart store in Florida plans to leave holiday stock out, will be “first” for Christmas 2025
-MorningBrew, Fox
☎ BS PHONE STARTER:
What bit of trivia do you know that’s very interesting — but also very useless?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
If you’re going to do this today, it’s twice as likely to happen before noon. What is it?
Answer: Go to a drive-thru
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Remember that children, marriages and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.
