January 15, 2014

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ 19-year-old pop star Justin Bieber may have cost his neighbor as much as $20,000 in damages after alleging throwing at least 20 eggs at the house in Calabasas CA last Thursday. Justin’s neighbor now claims the cost is expected to be far higher than the original estimate of $400, as the entire front of the home needs to be redone in Venetian plaster and the front doors need re-staining to the tune of $5,000. On top of that Bieber could be hit with vandalism charges and might even be answerable to felony charges due to the high cost of damages. (C’mon. Last time we checked, egg easily washes off … unless it’s on your tie.)
– Bang Showbiz
★ 28-year-old Brit actress Carey Mulligan (“Great Gatsby”) says her musical ambitions were dashed early in her career when she was told she couldn’t sing. That ended her childhood dream of appearing in musical theater, but she’s now gotten a bit of satisfaction by crooning in the Coen Bros new film “Inside Llewyn Davis”. Mulligan, who plays a folk singer alongside Justin Timberlake, says they were told their roles were based on 1960s trio Peter, Paul & Mary. (She also likely does a little humming with her hubby around the house … she’s wed to  Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford.)
– Telegraph.co.uk
★ ‘Jack Bauer’ doesn’t get nervous, does he? Probably not, but the actor who played him for 8 seasons (2001–10), 47-year-old Kiefer Sutherland, admits he’s as ‘anxious and wound up’ as he’s been in a long time over the upcoming 12-hour series re-boot “24: Live Another Day”, which debuts May 5th (FOX/Global). A long-rumored movie adaptation is also still a possibility, but “24: Live Another Day” is said to be a totally separate story. It will be shot and set in London, with filming set to begin in a couple of weeks. (In a sense, Keifer is going home … he was born in London, though he grew up in Canada.)
– Canoe.ca
★ And Kanye West got into yet another altercation this week after fiancée Kim Kardashian visited a medical building in Beverly Hills CA. Seems an 18-year-old held the door open for Kim then uttered a series of offensive phrases including several ethnic slurs. A short while later, Kanye arrived (after being paged?) and allegedly punched the teenager, while Kim told him that they ‘have it all on tape’. Reportedly, the young man wants to press charges. (The whole episode sounds like a lame scripted set-up bit for Kim’s floundering reality TV show.)
– Zap2It.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV2) – Ryan Seacrest returns as host for the 2-night, 4-hour 13th season debut. Tonight hopefuls in Austin TX and Boston MA audition for judges Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez, and Keith Urban.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Moon Taxi (“Mountains Beaches Cities”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Harry Connick Jr, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban (“American Idol”); Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (“Give the People What they Want”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Blues guitarist Jonny Lang (“Fight for My Soul”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Tame Impala (“Lonerism”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – The Orwells (“Other Voices”).
• “Real World: Ex-Plosion” (MTV) – Debut of a new twist on the “Real World” series in which
ex-couples move in to a San Francisco CA house and new romances spark.
• “Suburgatory” (ABC) – Season 3 debut.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – 1970s rock band Foreigner (“Can’t Slow Down”).
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Jennifer Nettles (“That Girl”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ariana Grande – 5 months after releasing her debut album, “Yours Truly”, she’s already back in the studio working on her sophomore effort. Word has it she’s once again working with producer Harmony Samuels, who helped craft her hit song “The Way”.
• The Eagles – Their “History Of the Eagles” string of California concerts kicks off tonight with the 1st gig of a 6-night stand re-opening the Forum venue in Inglewood CA. The current lineup features Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B Schmit.
• Fleetwood Mac – More than 15 years after announcing her retirement, Christine McVie is apparently back in the band. Mick Fleetwood announced the news during a concert in Maui HI on Saturday night, according to the fan site Fleetwood Mac News.
• Guns N’ Roses – A new BBC4 TV documentary series in the UK, “Born To Be Wild”, ranks them as the greatest American rock band of all-time. Now there’s an argument starter!
• Michael Jackson – The Jackson family’s bid for a retrial of their wrongful death suit against AEG Live, the concert promoter who hired Jackson’s personal doctor, has been rejected. A Superior Court judge nixed the idea, saying there’s no confusion over the previous verdict.
• Outkast – In addition to this year’s Coachella and Governor’s Ball festivals, the duo has just revealed they’ll take their reunion on the road for circa 40 shows. It’s a celebration of the 20-year anniversary of their debut album, “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik”.
• The Pixies – Tonight in Toronto ON, they kick off a 33-city North American tour that runs through March 1st in Austin TX. The tour is in support of the band’s first collection of new music in more than 20 years, the 4-track extended plays “EP-1” and “EP-2”.
• Robin Thicke – Sony/ATV has settled a dispute with Marvin Gaye’s heirs who claim Thicke sampled heavily from Gaye’s music on the mega-hit “Blurred Lines”. The new agreement means the label will not be part of any potential trial between the Gaye family and Thicke.

RANKING “AMERICAN IDOL” WINNERS:
The show’s had way more misses than hits over its dozen years. The most successful “Idols” …
5. Scotty McCreery – The country-crooning Season 10-winner saw his 2011 album make history, becoming the first country debut to bow at #1 on the “Billboard” all-genre album chart.
4. Phillip Phillips – This Dave Matthews soundalike and Season 11-winner had the most successful coronation song with “Home”, which went on to sell over 4 million copies.
3. Jordin Sparks – The Season 6-winner saw her debut album sell 2 million copies and get her a Grammy nod. But it’s now been 5 years since her less successful 2nd album, “Battlefield”.
2. Kelly Clarkson – Over 20 million albums sold since her 2002 victory. She’s also won 3 Grammy Awards and appeared as a judge on the TV reality singing competition “Duets”.
1. Carrie Underwood – The biggest earning alumnus, with sales of 16 million albums and 20 million singles, plus $100 million in tour revenues. She’s also taken home 6 Grammy Awards.
– QMI

THE TRUTH ABOUT BFFS:
Despite social media connections, most people only have a few ‘close friends’, Oxford University researchers have found. Though sites like Facebook and Instagram help us keep in touch with acquaintances, people from our past, and a few new contacts, the number of real-life friends in our social circle tends to stay the same over time. Most people have 5-to-8 really good friends. We tend to drop old friends when new ones arrive, making the size of our inner circles fairly constant. Researchers call this our ‘social signature’. (Or for some, anti-social.)
– Agence France-Presse

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 80% of people over age 65 still have a VCR.
• 53% of us hit the snooze button at least 6 times a day.
• 30% of women say putting on makeup is the most important thing they do every day.
• 20% of drivers do NOT let other drivers merge into their lane.
• 17% of us cannot wink.
• 4% of all amateur photos taken in the USA are shot at Disney World.

QUITTING IN 140 CHARACTERS:
The humorous new ‘Quit Your Job’ iPhone app aims to relieve the stress and anxiety of confronting the boss with the news by sending a text message instead. It takes users through a series of steps to determine why they are leaving and then crafts a text message that is sent directly to the employer. ‘Quit Your Job’ was inspired by another app called ‘BreakupText’, the one that helps users split with their significant others via text message. (Are we becoming such wimps we need an app to take care of anything that seems a bit difficult?)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/pthj96b
– Reuters.com

BS CUTTING-EDGE VOCAB:
New terms leaking into our lingo …
• ‘Felfie’ – A self-shot photo by a farmer, typically with farm animals or implements in the background. (“That’s me up front and Bessie behind, in case you want to tag her.”)
• ‘First-World Problem – A trivial frustration or petty concern, particularly one that contrasts sharply with serious problems such as those faced by developing (Third World) nations. (“They frickin’ dropped a channel off basic cable without announcing it!”)
• ‘Underbrag’ – A self-deprecating comment that acts as a brag because it shows the person is confident enough to admit a failing or embarrassment. (“I’m really not very good at this, but let’s give it a go and see how it turns out …”)

BEST WORKOUT PLAYLIST:
Sports scientists have joined forces with music-streaming service Spotify to compile the ultimate fitness soundtrack, based on global popularity of tracks together with music that’s proven to make you work harder due to tempo, style, and lyrics. Among the tunes …
1. “Roar” – Katy Perry (mental preparation)
2. “Talk Dirty” – Jason Derulo f/2 Chainz (stretching)
3. “Skip To the Good Bit” – Rizzle Kicks (stretching)
4. “Get Lucky” – Daft Punk f/Pharrel Williams (aerobic/warm up)
5. “Move” – Little Mix (aerobic/warm up)
6. “Need U 100%” – Duke Dumont f/A*M*E (cardio training, low intensity)
7. “You Make Me” – Avicii (cardio training, low intensity)
8. “Feel My Rhythm – Viralites (cardio training, moderate intensity)
9. “Timber” – Pitbull f/Ke$ha (cardio training, moderate intensity)
10. “Applause” – Lady Gaga (cardio training, high intensity)
– “Daily Mail”

DID YOU KNOW?
‘Son-of-a-bitch stew’ was a cowboy dish made from the internal organs of a whole cow and an onion.
– “1,339 Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop”

BS CHRONOMETER 01.15.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1968 [46] Chad Lowe, Dayton OH, TV actor (“Pretty Little Liars” since 2010, “Life Goes On” 1991-93)/movie actor (“Unfaithful”)/brother of actor Rob Lowe

1979 [35] Drew Brees, Austin TX, NFL superstar quarterback (New Orleans Saints)

1981 [33] Pitbull (Armando Pérez), Miami FL, rapper (f/Ke$ha-“Timber”, “I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]”)

1988 [26] Skrillex (Sonny Moore), LA CA, electronic dance music DJ-producer (“Bangarang”, “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Fresh Squeezed Juice Day”. So what’s your preference … Orange? Grapefruit? Tomato? Red Man Chaw?

• “Hat Day”, a day to dispel the boredom of mid-Winter by wearing the goofiest hat you can find. Always hilarious on radio.

• “Humanitarian Day”, encouraging people to work together enthusiastically to disrupt the vicious cycle of poverty, hunger, and neglect.

• “Wolf Moon”, the Full Moon of January, so-named because it traditionally caused wolf packs to howl hungrily. It’s also sometimes referred to as the ‘Old Moon’ or ‘Moon After Yule’.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1974 [40] The ‘50s-nostalgia sitcom “Happy Days” premieres on ABC-TV

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1983 [31] “Down Under” by Men At Work hits #1 on pop singles chart (in 2010, a court rules the flute solo is based on the kids’ song “Kookaburra Sits In the Old Gum Tree” and awards the copyright owner 5% of royalties backdated to 2002)

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1967 [47] 1st ‘Super Bowl’ (although it isn’t called that until 2 years later) as 61,946 fans pay 10 bucks a ticket to watch legendary coach Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers beat the KC Chiefs 35-10 in Los Angeles (MVP is Packer QB Bart Starr)

2001 [13] ‘Wikipedia’, the free content encyclopedia, goes online

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1983 [31] Tom Syles of Van Nuys, California sets a world record by keeping a single Life Saver candy intact in his mouth for 7 hours, 10 minutes

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Sundance Film Festival begins (Park City UT)
[Thurs] “Critics’ Choice Movie Awards” (CW)
[Thurs] Appreciate a Dragon Day
[Thurs] Women in Blue Jeans Day
[Fri] “Devil’s Due”; “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”; “The Nut Job”; “Ride Along” open in movie theaters
This Week Is … Universal Letter Writing Week
This Month Is … Clean Up Your Computer Month

BULL’S BITS

WHAT YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST SAYS ABOUT YOU:
• Bacon – You just know what’s up. People come to you for advice on life’s tough questions. Questions like, what should I eat? And you know the answer. (Bacon.)
• Breakfast Burrito – You’re both a trendsetter and an enforcer. Whatever you say goes in the land of breakfast and beyond.
• Cereal – You’re the kind of person everyone just wants to be near. The cereal-eater has an inner magnetism that no one can resist.
• Coffee – If it’s your favorite part of breakfast, you’re the kind of person who instantly makes any room better just by walking into it. You improve any situation. You’re the alcohol of people.
• Doughnuts – You’re as real as they come and you don’t play games. You’re mad authentic and all the other fake breakfast-eaters out there ain’t got nothin’ on you, donut lover. Way to be.
• French Toast – You’re destined for greatness. French toast eaters just cannot be stopped so everyone should watch out for you and your maple syrup trail to the stars.
• Fried Eggs – If fried eggs are you favorite breakfast food, it just means you’re doing it right. Breakfast. Life. Everything.
• Lox – Lox is like, “Yo, listen up. We’re eatin’ fish for breakfast and there’s nothing you can do about it.” If you embrace the breakfast fish, you have tremendous strength of character.
• Omelet – If omelets are your favorite, it means you’ve got attitude. But in a good way. Like a cool, chill kind of way.
• Pancakes – You should probably put ‘eating breakfast’ on your résumé because you’re just so good at it. Step aside, amateurs, the breakfast pro is here to show you how it’s done.
• Smoothies – You’re incredibly stylish. For example, look at what you’re wearing right now. Everyone loves it!
• Toast – You are made of sunshine. You probably don’t even need a toaster. Just rub the bread all over your body and the sunshine from within will toast it.
• Yogurt – You have a beautiful soul. If anyone had the power to see your soul directly, they would probably start crying because it’s just so beautiful.
– Adapted from BuzzFeed.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Little-known fact: If you laid all the world’s politicians end-to-end around the globe, about 60% of them would drown.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Our longevity keeps going up and up. What worries you most about living a long life?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Men are 3 times more likely to do THIS at the gym than women.
Answer: Walk around the locker room naked.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking.