BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ The story of Steven Avery as portrayed on Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” has captivated a lot of viewers since the documentary series premiered on December 18th. No additional episodes of the real-life documentary have been made yet, though the filmmakers have spoken to inmate Avery several times with an eye towards making new installments. They have not yet returned to Wisconsin to film additional footage. While the certainty of Avery’s guilt remains in flux, what’s undeniable is the audience appetite for further installments of the series.
– BuzzFeed News
★ PBS-TV’s “Masterpiece” is set to air a Queen Victoria miniseries in its “Downton Abbey” time slot. The 8-part miniseries starring “Doctor Who” alum Jenna Coleman originates from the UK’s ITV and will debut in 2017 in the same Sunday time slot that “Downton” has occupied for 6 years. “Victoria” follows Britain’s iconic queen from her ascension to the throne in 1837 through her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert. The network claims the new period piece has it all … a riveting script, a brilliant cast, and spectacular locations. And it’s a true story!
– EW.com
★ Game on! 36-year-old actor Chris Pratt (“Jurassic World”) has posted on Instagram that he plans to follow a diet of eating wild animals this year that he kills himself with his hunting friends. He’s calling the innovative diet ‘The Game Plan’ and it entails only free-range organic wild meat. The plan actually isn’t so far-fetched. Free-roaming animals such as venison, bison, rabbit, and elk tend to have a lower fat content than domesticated animals. He does admit that he’ll add in a few cheats such as bacon, pepperoni, and sushi. His carnivorous existence will be supplemented by healthy fruits and veggies as well.
– MensFitness.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Oh Wonder (“Oh Wonder”).
• “High School Musical” (Disney Channel) – Disney Channel’s highest-rated program when it debuted as a TV movie in 2006. Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman reunite for a 10th anniversary screening. Zac Efron won’t appear but he has recorded a message. The movie spawned 2 sequels and the soundtrack became a bestseller.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Savages (“Adore Life”); Vanessa Hudgens (“High School Musical”).
• “Kocktails With Khloé” (FYI) – Long-delayed weekly talk show debut. Expect chats on celeb gossip, fashion, and pop culture from the up-front Kardashian sister. An 8-episode series has been ordered up.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Torres (“Sprinter”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global) – Rev Run (Run DMC, who receive a ‘Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award’ this year).
• “The Real” (syndicated) – Jeezy (“Church in These Streets”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Stephen Bishop (“Be Here Then”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Black Sabbath – Their final tour, dubbed “The End”, begins tonight in Omaha NE. They decided to scrap the idea of making another album in favor of focusing on this lengthy farewell tour that’s scheduled through September 21st in Phoenix AZ.
• Earth, Wind & Fire – The Recording Academy has announced they will also be honored with a ‘Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award’ this year, alongside Herbie Hancock, Jefferson Airplane, and Linda Ronstadt.
• Usher – He’s revealed via Twitter that his 8th studio album will be titled “Flawed”. The album is expected sometime in 2016 but no exact release date has been announced.
• Wiz Khalifa – Though it hasn’t been nominated for an Academy Award, his hit “See You Again” f/Charlie Puth has won ‘Best Movie Song’ at the Critics Choice Awards. The song was featured in last year’s hit film “Furious 7”.

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 90% of us say we wake up in the night … every night.
• 75% of dog owners say they won’t buy a new car unless it’s a good fit for their pooch.
• 58% of people have shopped for groceries before work in the morning.
• 57% of married men admit they cried after their partner accepted their marriage proposal.
• 31% of us say we wish we had the courage to get rid of our television.
• 25% of us who buy a new car … name it.

BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Climatarian’ – A person whose diet consists primarily of foods that do not contribute to human-induced climate change.
• ‘Dude Food’ – Informal food that is said to be favored by men, often including meat.
• ‘Skype Family’ – A family in which one parent is living overseas and contact is maintained via Internet phone.

1 CHIP = 10 STEPS:
The UK is considering adding ‘Activity Equivalent’ icons on food labels. The idea is to inform consumers just how many minutes of exercise will be needed to burn off the contents. A sample chocolate bar package from the Royal Society of Public Health shows small icons of a stick figure running, cycling, and swimming beside the number of minutes it would take to burn off the calories inside. To torch the candy’s calories, the eater would have to run for 40 minutes, bike for 49 minutes, or swim for 29 minutes, based on Heart Foundation statistics. A 171-calorie bag of potato chips would require jogging 19 minutes, cycling 23 minutes, or swimming 13 minutes. The organization believes the pictures present the info more easily than nutritional stats, which many people find confusing. (Basically, a moment on the lips … and it’s 19 minutes on the treadmill!)
– “New York Daily News”

HOW TO SAY CHEESE:
It’s “Cheese Lovers Day” today. Cheeseburger, mac & cheese, cheese pizza – need we say more? Here are a few tips on buying cheese from an expert cheesemonger …
• Don’t be afraid to sample. Take full advantage of free nibbles until you taste a cheese you love.
• Variety is the key to creating a good cheese plate. Try for different aromas, tastes, and textures.
• Learn how milk type affects flavor. Goat’s milk is lowest in butterfat, making cheeses that are tangy and acidic. On the other hand, water buffalo milk is highest in butterfat which makes rich, creamy cheeses like mozzarella. Cow’s and sheep’s milk cheeses fall somewhere in between.
• If cooking is your primary objective when shopping for cheese, ask for something that will melt easily.
• For wine pairings, what grows together goes together. This is easiest to follow with products from regions in Spain, France, and Italy where they’ve been perfecting their wine- and cheese- making techniques for centuries.
• You’re probably storing it wrong. Wrap your cheese in wax paper to protect it while also allowing it to breathe. Place it in the vegetable crisper or lowest point of your fridge where it will stay nice and dry.
• Another big mistake you’re probably making is eating your cheese immediately after removing it from the fridge. Cheese is meant to be consumed at room temperature.
– Condensed from MentalFloss.com

NASTY NEW FLAVORS:
Since 2007, the Jelly Belly Candy Co has been producing a line of jelly beans with a maniacal purpose. Each ‘BeanBoozled’ collection includes over-the-top, gross-out flavors like ‘Barf’, ‘Stinky Socks’, and ‘Rotten Egg’. Their 4th edition is slated to hit candy stores this Spring and it features 2 nasty new varieties … ‘Dead Fish’ and ‘Spoiled Milk’. The most evil aspect of the tongue-in-cheek series is that it also includes beans from Jelly Belly’s classic line of flavors, with each gag-inducing candy having an identical-looking, sweet-tasting counterpart. For instance, ‘Canned Dog Food’ is indistinguishable in appearance from ‘Chocolate Pudding’, and ‘Booger’ has the same mottled green hue as ‘Juicy Pear’. (Surprise!)
– DrugstoreNews.com

FOREIGN WORDS THAT YOU SPEAK:
The English language loves a good loan word. These are common words and phrases lifted directly from another language …
✓ Avatar – In Hinduism, it means the manifestation of a god in bodily form.
✓ Chowder – May come from the French word for cauldron, chaudière.
✓ Fest – The German word for celebration. Hence, Oktoberfest.
✓ Intelligentsia – Describing a well-educated sector of society, the word arose in Russia in the late 19th century.
✓ Kowtow – Chinese for a traditional bow of respect that involves touching one’s head to the floor.
✓ Lemon – May have originally come from an Arabic term for citrus fruit.
✓ Mosquito – Means ‘little fly’ in Spanish.
✓ Sherbet – Either from the Turkish şerbet or from the Persian term sharbat.
✓ Tattoo – Brit explorer James Cook brought the word back from his voyages in Polynesia.
✓ Tsunami – In Japanese, the word means ‘harbor wave’.
(“Oh yes, I speak ten different languages …”)
– EnglishLeap.com

MINIMAL MILES FROM MOM:
The average person lives within a half-hour from mom. Older parents might suffer from Empty Nest Syndrome, but according to new data from the University of Michigan’s Health & Retirement Study, when kids fly the coop, they don’t go very far. On average, adult children live just 18 miles from mom. Researchers tend to focus on mothers because they are often the care-givers, and generally live longer than their male counterparts. The analysis also finds that only 20% of adult children live more than a few hours from their parents by car. Generally speaking, the close proximity is a result of families who rely on each other for support, both practically and financially. (Father, after all, is the loan arranger.)
– “New York Times”

BS AMAZING FACT:
Tinder users are given a secret rating that only Tinder can see. (49-year-old single guy … -12.)
– FastCompany.com

BS CHRONOMETER 01.20.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1946 [70] David Lynch, Missoula MT, filmmaker (“Blue Velvet”)/TV director (now shooting a “Twin Peaks revival for Showtime)

1956 [60] Bill Maher, NYC, TV talk show host (“Real Time With Bill Maher” since 2003, “Politically Incorrect” 1994-2002)

1966 [50] Rainn Wilson, Seattle WA, TV actor (“The Office” 2005-13)/movie actor (“Juno”)

1971 [45] Questlove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson), Philadelphia PA, alt hip-hop drummer/DJ (The Roots w/Duffy-“Well, Well, Well”)/house band on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

1979 [37] Rob Bourdon, Calabasas CA, rock drummer (Linkin Park-“What I’ve Done”, “In the End”)

1985 [31] Brantley Gilbert, Jefferson GA, country singer (“One Hell Of an Amen”, “Bottoms Up”)

1986 [30] Kevin Parker, Sydney, Australia, rock singer (Tame Impala-“Elephant”, “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards”)

1987 [29] Evan Peters, St Louis MO, TV actor (“American Horror Story” since 2011)/movie actor (“X-Men: Days of Future Past”, “Kick-Ass”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Penguin Awareness Day”, a day to increase awareness of the interrelationship between humans and marine animals.

• Zodiac sign of Aquarius (the ‘Water Carrier’) begins and runs through February 18th. Aquarians are said to be stubborn, opinionated, unpredictable, and conceited, but also far-sighted, visionary, original, and innovative.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1998 [18] Mega-hit teen TV series “Dawson’s Creek” debuts on the WB network

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1982 [34] Rocker Ozzy Osbourne is forced to undergo rabies shots after biting the head off a dead bat thrown at him during a concert in Des Moines IA (he apparently thought it was plastic)

2012 [04] R&B singer Etta James, most often remembered for her signature song “At Last”, dies from complications of leukemia at age 73

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
2006 [10] Witnesses report seeing a bottlenose whale swimming in the River Thames, the 1st time the species had been seen there since records began in 1913

2009 [07] Barack Obama is inaugurated the 44th president of the United States (4 years later he’s inaugurated on this day for a 2nd term)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2007 [09] a 3-man team, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility for the first time ever without mechanical assistance

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Hugging Day
[Thurs] Squirrel Appreciation Day
[Thurs] Women’s Healthy Weight Day
[Fri] “Dirty Grandpa”; “The 5th Wave” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Answer Your Cats Questions Day
This Week Is … Activity Professionals Week
This Month Is … Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

CLASSIC BOOK TITLES ADJUSTED FOR WINTER:
• “Of Ice and Men”
• “Paradise Frost”
• “To Chill a Mockingbird”
• “In Colder Blood”
• “I’m Turning the Color Purple”
• “Catch-Twenty Flu”
• “A Farewell to Bare Arms”
• “The Importance of Being Furnaced”
• “The Sound & The Flurry”
• “The Scarlet Sweater”
• “The Cold Man & The Tea”
– Thanks to Jarry Lee

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Work hard and save your money and when you’re old you’ll be able to buy all the things only the young can enjoy.

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
Which does the average person do about 250,000 times in their lifetime?
a. Yawn [CORRECT ]
b. Drink a cup of coffee.
c. Trip over their own feet.
– List25.com

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s your unusual ‘therapy animal’? Recently a passenger on a flight from Seattle WA to Salt Lake City UT brought aboard her registered Emotional Support Animal (ESA) … a turkey.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: If you are average, it’ll take you 5-and-a-half hours to complete THIS.
Answer: A book.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Power does not corrupt fools, but fools corrupt power.