Bullseye!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has finally agreed to enter rehab for alcohol abuse but only as an outpatient, because he wants to attend the “Celebrity Apprentice” finalé & reunion party with his fellow contestants this Sunday (a party – now there’s trouble!) . . . A rep for “America’s Got Talent” judge David Hasselhoff is now denying a report claiming he was rushed to hospital for alcohol poisoning on the weekend after his 16-year-old daughter found him passed out on the floor (a source tells Radar Online he’s been hospitalized at least 10 times over the last few years, many unreported) . . . 35-year-old actor Christian Bale (“Terminator Salvation”, “The Dark Night”) has sliced off the top of a finger in a dirt-bike accident, leaving it so disfigured he says people almost faint looking at it (now he can only flip you the knuckle) . . . A ‘Miss California Pageant’ official has confirmed that the pageant organized & paid for breast implant surgery for contestant Carrie Prejean just weeks before the “Miss USA” competition (oops, they boobed!) . . . “Angels & Demons” director Ron Howard is accusing Vatican officials of hampering the filming of his adaptation of the Dan Brown novel, saying they used ‘back channels’ to disrupt shooting around Vatican City (one way or t’other, it’s opening May 15th) . . . Eliza Dushku, star of “Dollhouse” (FOX/Global), is reportedly dating Vanessa Williams’ ex-, former NBA pro Rick Fox, the pair spotted together all over Miami & Las Vegas (they’ll soon have even more in common – being out of work) . . . And former “American Idol” runner-up Justin Guarini has written a song for the soundtrack of the “Twilight” sequel “New Moon” even though – no one asked him to (next he plans to give the Sistine Chapel ceiling a much-needed repainting … with a roller).
BS SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – The final 4 perform rock songs; rock guitarist Slash (Velvet Revolver, ex-Guns N’ Roses) is the week’s mentor.
• “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC/A Channel) – One celebrity is eliminated from the competition; English singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum performs.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/A Channel) – Black Eyed Peas perform “Boom Boom Pow”.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Brit pop singer Lily Allen (“The Fear”) is a guest.
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/A Channel) – Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is on. He’s become the 2nd musician to accuse Coldplay of stealing the melody used in their mega-hit track “Viva La Vida”, claiming they took elements of his 18-minute 1973 song “Foreigner Suite”.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS) – Franz Ferdinand perform “No You Girls”.
• “Live With Regis & Kelly” (syndicated/CTV) – Ciara (“Love Sex Magic”) is the musical guest.
• “The Real Housewives of New York City” (Bravo) – The season finalé airs.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Dolly Parton – She’s recorded a new version of “I Will Always Love You” with Stephanie Block, one of the stars of the new Broadway production “9 to 5: The Musical”. Block will include the collaboration on her new album that’s due out in June.
• Flo Rida – He says he loves the Black Eyed Peas hit “Boom Boom Pow” so much he has agreed to work on a new remix of it.
• Jimmy Buffett – He’s accepted a ‘business role’ from the new Miami Dolphins owner, NYC real estate tycoon Stephen Ross. The NFL team offers no details, saying only that more info will be announced at a news conference this Friday.
• Kelis – She’s filed a divorce petition in LA court, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason her marriage to fellow hip-hop artist Nas has fallen apart. She’s currently 7 months pregnant with their first child. The couple has been married since 2003.
• Miranda Lambert – The “Dead Flowers” singer has injured a knee, apparently slicing it open on a rock while … hog hunting. Now that’s country!
• Sting – His 18-year-old daughter Coco remains in intensive care in an LA hospital after a fluke accident, collapsing in a restaurant and cracking her skull on a chair as she fell to the floor.
TODAY’S VIDEO RELEASES:
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” ( Fantasy Drama ): Adapted from a 1920s story by F Scott Fitzgerald, Brad Pitt plays a man with an unusual affliction: As everyone around him grows older, he ages backwards, making the challenges of life such as creating friendships, finding a job, and falling in love difficult and heartbreaking. Co-stars Cate Blanchett & Tilda Swinton. Won Academy Awards for ‘Art Direction’, ‘Makeup’, and ‘Visual Effects’. Also comes in a ‘Two-Disc Special Edition’.
• Also released today: “Boston Legal: Season 5” (TV); “Crusoe: The Complete Series” (TV); “Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict – Season 1” (TV); “Lipstick Jungle: Season 2” (TV); “TCM Greatest Classic Films Collections: American Musicals”, “Broadway Musicals”, “John Wayne Westerns”, “Western Adventures”, “Battlefront Asia”, “Battlefront Europe” (compilations).
GAMING GAMBIT:
Just how important is the new “DJ Hero” videogame to Activision? So important it tried to buy rival game “Scratch – The Ultimate DJ” before it hit stores. When that failed, Activision bought the game’s developer, in hopes of stalling the release. At least that’s the claim in a pending lawsuit about the deal. A superior court judge has now ordered Activision to return game rights to former owner Genius Products. Why all the hubbub over a game based on club DJs? Simply put, sales of rock-based games (notably “Guitar Hero” & “Rock Band”) have peaked. By contrast, “DJ Hero” & “Scratch” will focus on electronica & hip-hop. It now looks like “Scratch” will likely debut in June, followed by “DJ Hero” this Fall. (Coming soon: ‘Opera Hero’?)
– “Billboard Magazine”
FARMERS FEAR SWINE FLU WILL INFECT … PIGS:
Forget people, the real concern for farmers is not that humans get flu from pigs … it’s the other way around! Humans have it, pigs don’t. At least not yet. Many pork producers are doing everything they can to make sure the H1N1 virus, known worldwide as ‘Swine Flu’ stays out of their herds. Bottom line: If you’re feeling sick, they don’t want you anywhere near their farms. (Just in case you find the aroma too enticing to resist.)
– Reuters
POST PARANOIA:
About a quarter of US colleges now report doing at least some research about applicants on social networking sites or through Internet search engines, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. David Hawkins, director of public policy & research for the group, says the message is clear … don’t post anything you don’t want a college admission officer to see. (Unless you first investigate what’s on the admission officer’s site.)
– “Los Angeles Times”
NOT SO TWEET:
After receiving negative feedback and criticism, marketing research firm Nielsen has updated a recent survey on the average length of time users participate on social website Twitter.com. For its second go round, Nielsen included applications and services that feed into Twitter (such as ‘Tweetdeck’ & ‘Tumblr’). The results were not only unchanged but seemed to verify the initial finding – about 60% of people on Twitter end up abandoning the service after just 1 month. Experts consider that too low a retention rate to make the phenomenon a long-term player. (Anyone surprised?)
– Nielsen Wire
LIFE BY THE NUMBERS:
A BS breakdown of who we are and what we do …
• 81% of women 40-to-44 years-old are mothers.
• 45% of women say their favorite item to borrow from their man is his shirt.
• 44% of us say our biggest high school regret is not learning a second language.
• 24% of consumers shopping for “Mother’s Day” will buy their gifts from discount stores.
• 15% of F1 Grand Prix drivers in 2009 are named ‘Sebastian’.
• 11% of moms end their childbearing years with 4 or more children.
THE SCIENCE OF SMILEY FACES:
Researchers at DePauw University in Indiana have analyzed photos taken in childhood or young adulthood from hundreds of people and rated their expressions with what’s been dubbed a ‘Smile Intensity Score’. According to their study published by the journal “Motivation & Emotion”, the less intensely the subjects smiled in photos, the more likely they were to divorce later in life. Conversely, the biggest smilers register the lowest divorce rates. (Take a picture after 20 years of marriage and see if they’re still smiling.)
– CNN.com
DID YOU KNOW?
• Even animals are feeling the pinch! NYC’s ‘Bronx Zoo’, the oldest city zoo in North America, has succumbed to a multimillion-dollar budget deficit and begun shipping hundreds of animals to other institutions. (To save money, why not just feed the smaller ones to the bigger ones?)
– “The Guardian”
• You likely always thought there were 12, but there are actually 13 signs of the Zodiac. Modern astronomers don’t divide the sky the same way ancient astronomers did, so the last sign is little known. According to star maps, the Sun cuts through a 13th constellation, ‘Ophiuchus [‘oh-fee-U-kus’] the Serpent Bearer’, between November 30th and December 17th. (What sign am I? Why I’m an Ophiuchus … with a rising cusp.”)
– Startistics.com
BS CHRONOMETER 05.05.09
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1943 [66] Michael Palin, Sheffield UK, TV adventurer (“Himalaya”, “Pole to Pole”)/comedian (Monty Python’s Flying Circus 1969-74)/movie actor (“A Fish Called Wanda”, “And Now For Something Completely Different”)
1959 [50] Brian Williams, Elmira NY, TV news anchor (“NBC Nightly News” since 2004)
1988 [21] Adele (Adkins), Enfield UK, soul singer/songwriter (“Hometown Glory”, “Chasing Pavements”)
1988 [21] Brooke Hogan (Bollea), Tampa FL, TV personality (“Brooke Knows Best” 2008, “Hogan Knows Best” 2005-07)/wannabe pop singer (“About Us”, “Everything to Me”)
1989 [20] Chris Brown, Tappahannock VA, R&B/hip-hop singer (f/T-Pain-“Forever”, “Run It”)/alleged girl-beater (his next court date is set for May 28th)
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Cartoonists Day”, kicking off “Cartoon Art Appreciation Week”, to create greater public awareness of and appreciation for the cartoon. Why today? “The Yellow Kid”, the first newspaper comic strip, was first published on this day in 1895.
• “Cinco de Mayo”, a Mexican holiday commemorating the 1862 victory over French troops at the Battle of Puebla. Normally Mexicans celebrate with parades and fiestas but this year, thanks to H1N1, it’s likely to be a subdued affair.
• “Hoagie Day”, celebrating the super-sized sandwich also known as a sub, grinder, hero, Italian sandwich, po’ boy, wedge, zeppelin, or torpedo. What’s the best combo?
• “International Midwives Day”, observed since 1991 in over 50 nations worldwide to recognize and honor these healthcare professionals who are experts in women’s reproductive health.
NET: http://mana.org/IntMidDay.html
• “National Teacher Day”, always the Tuesday of the first full week of May, honoring the heroes of the classroom. (Teachers have no shortage of recognition, with several days in their honor each year.)
• “Oyster Day”, celebrating the mollusk delicacy enjoyed by many. (What brave soul could have first decided to eat one of these things?)
• “World Asthma Day”, an annual event on the first Tuesday of May organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma to improve asthma awareness & care around-the-world. (In celebration, raise your inhalers …)
NET: http://www.ginasthma.com/WADIndex.asp
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1988 [21] 1st live TV broadcast from atop Mt Everest (nowadays there’s so many people tramping up and down, you could do a talk show … and sell tickets to be in the audience)
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1904 [105] MLB’s 1st ‘Perfect Game’ (Boston Americans’ Cy Young vs Philadelphia)
1980 [29] 1st non-British player to win “World Snooker Championship” (Canada’s Cliff Thorburn)
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1979 [30] California’s Richard Brown sets ‘Skateboard Speed Record’ of 71 mph
1991 [18] Yasuyuki Kudoh performs record ‘Non-Stop Motorcycle Wheelie’ that covers 205.7 miles in Tsukuba City, Japan
COMING UP . . .
[Wed] Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
[Wed] No Diet Day
[Wed] No Homework Day
[Fri] Full ‘Flower’ Moon
[Fri] No Socks Day
This Week Is … Life Coach Recognition Week
This Month Is … Motorcycle Safety Month
BULL’S BITS
BS SIGNS IT’S TIME TO MOVE OUT OF YOUR PARENTS’ HOUSE:
• They keep scooping your “Star Trek Fan Club” newsletters before you get the chance to read them.
• You have to plan your dating schedule around Bingo Night.
• You find dentures laying around, and you’re not sure if they’re theirs or yours.
• You have to keep cancelling stockholder meetings because you’ve been grounded.
• They only allow you to watch TV if you’ve eaten everything on your plate.
• Your kids are just getting out of diapers and your parents are just getting into them.
• The new owners just can’t make cookies the way Mommy did.
– Adapted from Top5.com.
BS RANDOM JOKE:
Would you like voting results announced on “American Idol”, either in raw numbers or as percentages?
BS U-PICK MOTHERS’ DAY TRIVIA:
• In the vast majority of the world’s languages, the word for ‘Mother’ has this in common …
a. It is capitalized.
b. It begins with the letter ‘M’. [CORRECT]
c. It reads the same backwards as forwards, as in “Mom’.
– “The People’s Almanac”
• According to the old proverb, what is the ‘Mother of Invention’?
a. Necessity. [CORRECT]
b. Ingenuity.
c. Angelina.
– Bartleby.com
BS WEB GOODIE:
Which Disney princess are you? Answer these 10 questions at the Brainfall website to find out. For even more fun, run the quiz on a guy …
NET: http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-disney-princess-are-you/
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: If you want to keep your bones in great shape, experts say THIS is one of the best exercises you can do.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Gardening.
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A dandelion from a true love means more than a red rose from a friend.
