Wednesday, January 4, 2017 – Edition: #5882

Bully For You!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Carrie Fisher will be laid to rest in a private funeral on Thursday, while a more public ceremony will take place later on down the line. The “Star Wars” actress, who passed away following a heart attack at age 60, is being laid to rest in an intimate ceremony attended only by close friends and family. It’s thought Carrie’s mother Debbie Reynolds, who died a day after her daughter, is being laid to rest at the same time as the family wants them buried next to each other at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale CA.
– “‘Entertainment Tonight”
★ Ben Affleck says he won’t be working on the upcoming “Batman” film if he feels the script isn’t up to scratch. The actor took over the role of ‘Bruce Wayne’ in last year’s critically panned “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. As well as starring in the role of the ‘Caped Crusader’ in the new DC Comics movie, tentatively titled “The Batman”, 44-year-old Affleck is also scheduled to direct the film. But he’s now saying he’ll walk away from the project if the screenplay is a bust.
– “The Guardian”
★ In case you missed this week’s premiere episode, Arnold Schwarzenegger has drawn inspiration from “The Terminator” and “Predator” for his new “Celebrity Apprentice” catchphrase. The 69-year-old actor has taken over from president-elect Donald Trump as host of the reality competition and following months of speculation, we now know how the former Governor of California is dismissing hapless hopefuls. His dismissal phrase is: “You’ve been terminated. Now get to the choppa!” Hmm, makes “You’re fired!” seem like genius.
– Bang Showbiz
★ A new ranking shows that “Deadpool” was the most pirated movie of 2016. According to data compiled by TorrentFreak, Ryan Reynolds’ irreverent comic book movie heads a list that’s heavily populated by superheroes. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” comes in at 2nd place, ahead of “Captain America: Civil War”, while “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “X-Men Apocalypse” round out the Top 5.
– ContactMusic.com
★ And legendary 79-year-old director Ridley Scott (“Alien”, “The Martian”) is not a fan of superhero movies. He says he’s turned down offers to direct a comic book blockbuster for Marvel or DC Entertainment on ”several” occasions. In a new interview he says: “I can’t believe in the thin, gossamer tight-rope of the non-reality of the situation of the superhero.” (?!?!?). Although he’s approaching his 80th birthday, Scott has no intention of stepping away from the movie biz, as he has the sequel “Alien: Covenant” coming out in May.
– DigitalSpy.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Caspian (“Dust & Disquiet”). Rerun.
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/CTV) – Glass Animals (“How to Be a Human Being”).
• “The Real” (syndicated) – E-40 (“The D-Boy Diary: Book 2”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – “The Hamilton Mixtape”, a collection of covers of songs from the smash hit Broadway musical and tunes inspired by it. Rerun.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Aubrey O’Day – Her “Between Two Evils” EP is rumored to be inspired by her relationship with Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
• Backstreet Boys – “La La Land” star Ryan Gosling was once offered a place in the boy-band.
• Beyoncé – For some reason she has a writing credit on her cover of “Ava Maria”. Yes, we’re talking about that “Ava Maria” … from 1825.
• Bob Marley – The late reggae star’s father was a white Englishman born in Jamaica named Norval Sinclair Marley.
• David Bowie – Vinyl records enjoyed a staggering renaissance in 2016, with sales in the UK jumping to their highest level in 25 years. Bowie’s untimely death last January led to him becoming the best-selling vinyl artist of 2016, with 5 albums among the top sellers.
• Jay Z – He once shot his brother for stealing money from him.
• John Legend – He tells “Us Magazine” that he was his high school’s student body president and prom king. He graduated at age 16.
• Kesha – She has an IQ of 140 and scored 1500 on her SATs.
• Lil Wayne – He has 4 children by 4 different women.
• Miley Cyrus – Her real name is Destiny Hope Cyrus.
• Sam Hunt – He’s reportedly engaged to his “Montevallo” muse. “People” magazine confirms that Hunt popped the question to girlfriend Hannah Lee Fowler. In his new track “Drinkin’ Too Much”, Hunt speaks directly to her: “Hannah Lee, I’m on my way to you.”

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 70% of men have gone to see a movie they didn’t like just to please their partner.
• 65% of us know someone addicted to sugar.
• 50% of weddings occur in the afternoon.
• 25% of all scald burns to children are from hot tap water.
• 12% of us don’t like supermarket self-checkout lanes because they make us feel stupid.
• 10% of dates end early because the guy honks the car horn instead of going to the door.

CES 2017:
Highlights from the biggest tech trade show of the year, the Consumer Electronics Show, officially underway tomorrow in Las Vegas …
✓ This year, autonomous self-driving vehicles are set to steal the show. Self-driving cars are now way more connected, sharing and receiving data on road conditions and traffic flow.
✓ HDR (High Dynamic Range) should become status quo for TVs in 2017 after being something of a standout feature for the last couple years.
✓ There are drones in new shapes, sizes, and with new capabilities … for flying indoors, for high-speed racing, even for diving underwater.
✓ There’s a deluge of wireless headphones and speakers, thanks to the cable-phobic world we’re now living in.
✓ Cameras are being built into everything: drones, smartphones, toys … you name it.
✓ There are wristbands that are supposed to curb nausea while you’re wearing a VR headset (a wearable to cure for the ills of wearing wearables).
✓ There are smartwatches that are touted to be powered by body heat.
– Condensed from TheVerge.com

BOT FOR SENIORS:
IBM is working on a prototype bot that’s described as a ‘robotic roommate’ for seniors. Built with sensors that can detect anything from change in motion to sounds and scents, the so-called IBM Multi-Purpose Eldercare Robot Assistant (MERA) could help track whether stove burners are left on or if the person has fallen. IBM has been developing the sensors alongside Rice University at its Aging in Place lab in Austin TX. The prototype is already capable of reading facial expressions, capturing vital signs, and recognizing speech. One obvious market for the gizmo would be Japan, which already has 65,000 people over age 100 and has broken its own record of most centenarians per capita for 46 years in-a-row. (A lot cheaper than home care!)
– Consumerist.com

BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Adulting’ – What 20-somethings call doing things that are associated with being an adult, ie: doing the laundry, cooking yourself dinner, etc.
• ‘Bird’s Nest Parenting’ – An arrangement where the children of a couple who have separated or divorced remain in the family home and their parents take turns living with them there.
• ‘Digital Divorce’ – A new process that allows couples to end their marriages online, without the need for either the couple in question or the judge to physically attend court to resolve the case.

WHERE TO SEE A WHITE RAINBOW:
White rainbows, also known as ‘moonbows’, are frequent in only 2 places in the world: Cumberland Falls in the US state of Kentucky and Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border in Africa. A white rainbow appears when moonlight (which is sunlight reflected off the Moon) in the days just before, during, and after a Full Moon hits the mist generated by waterfalls. Because we can’t see colors well in low light, a moonbow appears white. What makes Cumblerland Falls and Victoria Falls unique is that they boast just the right amount of splash along a wide gorge so that moonlight can reach down and across the mist. (Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border has lost its regular moonbow thanks to light pollution.)
– BBC Travel

THE DIVA OF DIVAS:
A few stories that have proliferated about Mariah Carey that may be (possibly) true …
✓ She likes to listen to her own music in the bedroom.
✓ And also while giving birth.
✓ Carey also demands her own ‘entrance music’.
✓ She once confused the King of Jordan with Michael Jordan.
✓ She walked out of Obama’s inauguration dinner because she wasn’t seated at the head table … with the Obamas.
✓ She sleeps in a steam room because late singer Luther Vandross told her to.
– Excerpted from “The Telegraph”

BS AMAZING FACT:
Too much Facebook browsing makes you miserable.
– BBC News

BS CHRONOMETER 01.04.17

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1960 [57] Michael Stipe, Decatur GA, retired rock singer-songwriter (REM-“Everybody Hurts”, “Losing My Religion”)

1965 [52] Julia Ormond, Epsom UK, movie actress (“My Week with Marilyn”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)/TV actress (“Mad Men” 2013-15)

1966 [51] Deana Carter, Nashville TN, country singer (“How Do I Get There”, “Strawberry Wine”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Spaghetti Day”, celebrating the Italian pasta dish seemingly everyone loves. Marco Polo brought the recipe for pasta back to Europe with him after his famous trip to China in the 13th century.

• “Trivia Day”, honoring those with ‘doctorates in uselessology’. For a switch, try playing ‘Stump the Chump’, where listeners call in questions for YOU to answer.
BS ‘TRIVIA DAY’ QUIZ, COURTESY OF “TRIVIA CRACK”:
– Who uttered the famous salute “Live Long and Prosper”? (“Star Trek’s” ‘Spock’.)
– Who wrote the French romantic novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”? (Victor Hugo.)
– What famous phrase is Marie Antoinette known for? (“Let them eat cake.”)
– In the sport of bullriding, which hand do you ride with? (Either.)
– A group of porcupines is known as what? (A ‘prickle’.)

• “World Braille Day”, observed on the anniversary of the 1809 birth of Louis Braille of France. In 1829, he published “Method of Writing Words, Music & Plain Song by Means of Dots, for Use By the Blind”. Today, the ‘Braille method’ is used in virtually every language as the standard form of reading and writing by those with vision-loss.
NET: http://www.cnib.ca/en/living/braille/louis-braille

• “World Hypnotism Day”, with the objective of correcting the myths and misconceptions about hypnotism while promoting the truth and benefits of the process that helps many put aside fears, and change what they believed was unchangeable. (Not to mention bark like a dog.)
NET: http://www.worldhypnotismday.com

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2008 [09] Britney Spears suffers a child custody-related meltdown that leads to a brief hospitalization (as a result, her father gains control of her financial affairs via a conservatorship)

2009 [08 Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is voted the ‘Greatest Voice In Rock’, followed by Queen’s Freddie Mercury, and Free’s Paul Rodgers

2012 [05] Bryan Ferry (66) weds Amanda Sheppard (29), who dated Ferry’s son for a brief time

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1996 [21] 1st ‘Live Rock Concert On the Internet’ features Deborah Harry, Joan Jett, Joey Ramone, The Lunachicks

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
2010 [07] The Burj Khalifa, ‘World’s Tallest Building’ (828 m or 2,717 ft), is officially opened in Dubai UAE

2014 [03] Record-low temperatures are forecast for North America due to what’s being called a ‘polar vortex’, a tunnel of cold air funnelling all the way from the North Pole

COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Bird Day
[Fri] “Underworld: Blood Wars” opens in movie theaters
[Sat] “David Bowie: The Last Five Years” debuts (BBC 2)
[Sun] “Golden Globe Awards” (NBC/CTV)
This Week Is … Celebration of Life Week
This Month Is … Volunteer Blood Donor Month

BULL’S BITS

BS SIGNS YOU’RE JOINING A BAD GYM:
More people sign up at fitness clubs this week than any other time of the year. Beware if …
• The door to the front desk has a slot in it that slides open to verify your membership.
• There’s a KFC between the aerobics area and the free weights.
• The personal trainer claims that carrying his groceries up 30 flights is much better than a Stair-Master.
• It’s not actually carpet in the locker room, it’s really thick shower mould.
• On the way to the workout area, you pass several members’ memorial plaques.

BS BRAIN BUSTER:
Schwartzenegger has a big one,
Jay Z has a small one,
P!nk doesn’t have one,
The Pope has one but doesn’t use it,
Trump uses his all the time,
Han Solo has an unusual one,
Charlie Sheen is very, very proud of his.
What is it?
[A last name.]

BS RANDOM JOKE:
And then Buddha says to the hot dog vendor: “Make me one with everything.”

BS U-PICK SPORTS TRIVIA:
• How many Stanley Cups have the Ottawa Senators won?
a. 0
b. 2
c. 11 [CORRECT. The original Senators, founded in 1883, had a famed history, winning 11 Stanley Cups and playing in the NHL from 1917-34.]

• Who coached the winners of ‘Super Bowl I’?
a. Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.
b. Former LA Rams running back Crazy Legs Hirsch.
c. There was no Super Bowl 1. [CORRECT. It was then known as the AFL-NFL Championship Game. The term ‘Super Bowl’ only became official beginning with the 3rd annual game.]
– Wikipedia.org

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Could you give your pet mouth-to-snout resuscitation to save it’s life?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: The average woman keeps THIS for 12 years.
Answer: The same hairstylist.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Odds are, 10 years from now you won’t remember a single thing that happened today.