Thursday, November 19, 2020 — Edition: #6854

Sheet Happens!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ George Clooney has a reputation of being one of the coolest guys in the business, and he just showed why – again. Speaking to GQ for its annual “Man of the Year” issue, Clooney addressed a story about something he reportedly did that’s been circulating for a few years. For the first time, he confirmed the rumor that he once gathered 14 of his best friends and gave them each a suitcase full of $1 million in cash. And to make the gesture even more incredible, it’s been reported by one of the recipients that in addition to the cash, Clooney paid all of their taxes for that year as well.
-MSN
★ Conan O’Brien’s self-titled TBS late-night show “Conan” will end in June 2021. The announcement from WarnerMedia marks an end to an 11-year run for O’Brien on the cable network. His travel specials, “Conan Without Borders,” will continue to air on TBS. O’Brien has also signed a deal with HBO Max for a new weekly variety series, and in a statement, he said: “In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform. I’m thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription.” No premiere date has been set for that series.
-Yahoo
★ After years of being praised for his screenplays, Quentin Tarantino is finally putting his writing skills to paper in two upcoming books. He’ll release a novel version of his 2019 movie “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”, fresh off the 10 Oscar nominations it received earlier this year. The novel will fill in more about the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role. Other characters who were largely cut from the film will feature in the novel, set to hit stands next summer. A second novel “Cinema Speculation”, is also expected next year.
-MSN
★ Director Spike Lee, best known for making movies about the experience of being Black in America, is switching course with his first ever musical – on the subject of Viagra. He will direct an as-yet untitled musical that will tell the story of the development and accidental invention of the erectile dysfunction medication. The project is based on an article in Esquire by David Kushner from 2018 called “All Rise: The Untold Story of the Guys Who Launched Viagra.”
-TheWrap

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Kristen Stewart, Mike Tyson, Zac Brown Band
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Sarah Paulson, Henry Golding, Car Seat Headrest
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): LL Cool J, Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Michael Moore, Rich Eisen, Valerie Franco
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Marc Maron, Royal Blood
• “Conan” (TBS): Sarah Silverman
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Michael J. Fox, Alison Brie
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Michael Strahan, Mario Lopez
• “The Talk” (CBS): Laurence Fishburne
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Tamron Hall, Susan Kelechi Watson, Alice Lewis
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Melissa McCarthy
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Kaley Cuoco, Mackenzie Foy, Compton Cowboys, Mickey Guyton
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Liza Koshy, Lindsey Vonn, David Sedaris
• “A Million Little Things” (ABC): Season 3 premiere
• “Supernatural” (CW): Season 15 finale
• “Jersey Shore Family Vacation” (MTV): Season 4 premiere. Two days after Angelina’s wedding, the girls are at each others throats; “The Situation” becomes “The Mediation” in hopes of bringing them all back together.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Nick Jonas — is returning to “The Voice”. He’ll take his place in the rotating red chair for the show’s 20th season premiering this spring, stepping in for Gwen Stefani, who will take a break from her coaching duties. Jonas was a coach on the show’s 18th season last spring, and made it to the finals with his team member Thunderstorm Artis.
• Shawn Mendes – announced on social media this week that his duet with Justin Bieber, ‘Monster’, will arrive tomorrow. Fans have been hoping for a team-up since the duo have been seen hanging out lately. TEASER:  https://tinyurl.com/yyms6nua
• Taylor Swift — has responded to news of the sale of her catalog by Scooter Braun to a private equity company. As expected, she is deeply unhappy with the second sale of her master recordings without her consent in a year and a half. She also confirmed that she has already begun re-recording her first 6 albums, with the hopes of having fans only listen to the music that she controls.
• The Rolling Stones — Keith Richards has spoken again about the group’s upcoming 60th anniversary in 2022. According to him, “I haven’t heard of any plans, but I’m sure there are things being made.” He prefaced his comment by saying “The plans are to still actually all be alive.”
• Van Halen – ‘Distance’, the first music from Wolfgang Van Halen’s solo band MAMMOTH WVH, has topped the iTunes Top 100 Songs chart. He reacted on social media, writing: “#1 on @iTunes . Not just rock, but overall. I’m speechless.”
• Lady A — is celebrating the one-year anniversary of their album “Ocean” with a deluxe version, out tomorrow. It will feature 6 new songs including ‘Heroes’, featuring Thomas Rhett.
• Chris Young – Tomorrow, he’ll release his new single, ‘Famous Friends’, and it will feature a famous friend, Kane Brown. After a series of hints, earlier this week, Young posted: “Okay guys, some of you guessed right. I can finally announce that my next single is dropping this Friday and is a collab with Kane Brown! It’s called ‘Famous Friends’ and I can’t wait for you to hear it!”
• Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood — will host a one-hour special “Garth & Trisha Live! A Holiday Concert Event,” on Dec. 20 at 8:30 ET on CBS. The show will feature performances of holiday classics, which fans will request ahead of the show.
• Dolly Parton – Her fans are having a lot of fun with the fact that she helped fund the promising COVID-19 vaccine announced this week by Moderna. In April, she announced she was donating $1 million to toward research for a vaccine. One Twitter user posted (presumably to the tune of ‘Jolene’):  “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacciiiiiiiiiiiiiine”

TWITTER TWEETMENT:
Twitter is evolving beyond just 280-character blocks of text. This week, the social network announced disappearing tweets and some other features, including audio. First off, “Fleets” are posts that disappear after 24 hours. This is similar to features offered by Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Fleets do not receive retweets, likes or public replies. Twitter is also expanding its test of voice tweets for direct messaging, and introducing a new experiment called “audio spaces”, described as a live audio space where multiple people can communicate and discuss or debate a topic. It will be available before the New Year.
(Oh, so basically Zoom without video?)
(Tweets that disappear? I’m guessing there are a lot of people who wish they had this 5 years ago, before they got fired…)
-CNN

THE DOCTOR NOSE:
An American doctor has gone viral with his tip on how to keep your glasses from fogging up when you’re wearing a face mask. Last week Dr. Daniel Heiferman, a neurosurgeon in Memphis, TN, shared a selfie on Twitter which shows him wearing a face mask with an adhesive bandage plastered on the top of it. In the caption, he wrote: “If you’re having a hard time with glasses fogging or keeping your mask up over your nose, a simple bandaid does wonders. Learned it in the OR. Feel free to share, it may save lives!” He explained that a lot of surgeons actually use surgical tape for the same purpose, but a Band-Aid has a cotton pad that helps prevent skin irritation.
LINK:  https://tinyurl.com/y273c4sw
(He couldn’t have told us about this 8 months ago?)
(Apparently, keeping your glasses from fogging up when you’re wearing a mask IS brain surgery!)
-CTV

SEXIEST MEN:
Actor Michael B. Jordan was named People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive 2020′ this week.  The magazine unveiled its pick on Tuesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” special. Jordan (who came out dressed in a hazmuit suit, because it’s 2020 after all) revealed his identity after Kimmel and viewers at home took guesses.
Here is a look at the past 10 winners (plus a bonus):
2019: John Legend
2018: Idris Elba
2017:  Blake Shelton
2016:  Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
2015:  David Beckham
2014:  Chris Hemsworth
2013:  Adam Levine
2012:  Channing Tatum
2011:  Bradley Cooper
2010:  Ryan Reynolds
BONUS: 1992:  Nick Nolte!
-People, E!

FUNNIEST TWEETS OF THE WEEK FROM WOMEN:
⇒ Every day around midnight, I’m shocked to find out it’s only 6pm. — pheonix
⇒ Because I’m on diet, I only ate half of a donut and saved the other half for 2 minutes later. — Jessie
⇒ alright what book about history and/or airplanes are we getting our dads for Christmas? – Anna Fitzpatrick
⇒ Me after the election: I’ll never be sad again Me 15 minutes later: never mind – Alyssa Limperis
⇒ Yeah, it’s true, I lost my virginity to George Clooney. George Clooney Total Landscaping. – Emily Nussbaum
⇒ alex trebek was proof that you can be a kind person who also bullies nerds, 100% legend – Olivia Craighead
⇒ I’m not saying my grandparents *worship* me, that would be crazy. I’m just saying they have 8 pics of me around the apartment and only 1 pic of jesus – Karen Chee
…AND A FEW FROM PET OWNERS:
⇒ If you want to know how I rate in our household, my wife has one term of endearment for me and 74 for our dog. – Kent Graham
⇒ the thing i say most often to my dog: “MY SWEET SWEET BOY” the thing i say most often to my cat: “WHY.” – Aiden Thomas
⇒ Things I most often say to my dog: “What are you eating?” Things my dog most often says to me: “What are you eating?” – Rhymer Novak
-HuffPost

DID YOU KNOW?
Music has always been able to bring people together, and now, a study has found that even infants can appreciate a good lullaby sung in a foreign language. Researchers at Harvard discovered that American babies still relax after being played unfamiliar lullabies sung in other languages. The study validates the theory that babies respond to something universal in lullabies that naturally evokes feelings of calm and sleepiness, regardless of whether they’re familiar with the actual words in the song.
-StudyFinds

BS CHRONOMETER 11.19.20

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1933 [87] Larry King, Brooklyn NY, TV show host (“Larry King Live” 2005-2010, “Larry King Now” since 2012)

1938 [82] Ted Turner, Cincinnati, OH, media mogul, philanthropist (founder of CNN and TBS/former owner of the Atlanta Braves/winner of sailing’s America’s Cup in 1977)

1942 [78] Calvin Klein, Bronx NY, fashion designer (Calvin Klein Jeans, CK One, CK Be)

1959 [61] Allison Janney, Dayton OH, TV actress (‘Bonnie Plunkett’ on “Mom” since 2013, “The West Wing” 1999-2006)/movie actress (“The Help”, “Juno”) COMING UP…”Breaking News in Yuba County”, 2021

1960 [60] Matt Sorum, Mission Viejo CA, rock drummer (Velvet Revolver, Guns N’ Roses, The Cult)/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2012

1961 [59] Meg Ryan (Margaret Hyra), Fairfield CT, movie actress (“Sleepless in Seattle”, “When Harry Met Sally”)

1962 [59] Jodie (Alicia) Foster, LA CA, movie actress (Oscars-“The Accused”, “Silence of the Lambs”)

1973 [47] Billy Currington, Savannah GA, country singer (‘Hey Girl’, ‘Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer’)

1976 [44] Jack Dorsey, St Louis MO, billionaire businessman/web developer (co-creator, CEO of Twitter)

1983 [37] Adam Driver, San Diego CA, movie actor (‘Kylo Ren’ in the “Star Wars” franchise)/TV actor (‘Adam Sackler’ on “Girls” 2012-2017) COMING UP…”The Last Duel”, 2021

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Have a Bad Day Day”, for all the grouches who can’t stand being constantly told to ‘Have a good day’.

• “International Men’s Day”, now celebrated in over 60 countries (including Trinidad & Tobago where it began in 1999, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, UK, and USA). It’s to highlight discrimination against men & boys and to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular to community, family, marriage, and childcare.

• “Women’s Entrepreneurship Day”, a global movement to celebrate, empower, and support female entrepreneurs around-the-world. NET: http://www.womenseday.org

• “World Toilet Day”, celebrating toilets and raising awareness of the 4.2 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation. NET: http://worldtoilet.org

• “National Blow Bagpipes Day”, contrary to popular belief, the bagpipes did not originate in Scotland. However, it was Scotland that kept the instrument alive. While its exact origins are disputed, the oldest reference to them is from Asia Minor (now Turkey). (So today, blow bagpipes, unless you think bagpipes blow!)

• “Play Monopoly Day”, you can find Monopoly games in many themes. Examples: World War, sports, horse racing, Star Trek, Scooby Doo and even themes of famous cities around the world. Monopoly holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for best-selling board game of all time.

• “Great American Smokeout”, an annual intervention event on the third Thursday of November by the American Cancer Society. Approximately 35 million American adults still smoke, and tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the country. The event challenges people to quit today, or use the day to make a plan to quit.

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] Beautiful Day
[Fri] Name Your PC Day
[Sat] False Confession Day
[Sat] National Gingerbread Day

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2013 [07] People magazine names Maroon 5’s Adam Levine “Sexiest Man Alive,” making him the first musician to earn the title in the feature’s 28-year history

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1990 [30] Milli Vanilli are stripped of their 1989 ‘Best New Artist’ Grammy because Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan didn’t actually sing on their debut album, “Girl You Know It’s True.” It is the first time a Grammy has ever been revoked

2007 [13] At Caroline Kennedy’s 50th birthday party, guest performer Neil Diamond reveals his 1970 hit ‘Sweet Caroline’ was written about her

THIS DAY IN SPORTS . . .
2004 [16] “The Malice at the Palace”, the worst brawl in NBA history, occurs during an Indiana Pacers @ Detroit Pistons game (Ron Artest suspended 86 games, Stephen Jackson suspended 30 games)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1997 [23] The McCaughey septuplets (7 babies) are born to Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa. They would become the first set of septuplets to survive infancy

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ It would take over an hour for a heavy object to sink to the deepest part of the ocean.
✓ The average length of a wire coat hanger when straightened is 44 inches (1.12m).
✓ Because so many people live near the equator, two thirds of the Earth’s population have never seen snow in person.
✓ Cats also have “whiskers” on the backs of their forelegs.
✓ Princess Diana had to call Prince Charles “sir” until they were formally engaged.
✓ Your nose is always in your field of vision, but your brain chooses to ignore it.
-MenWithKids, BathroomReadersInstitute

BS MORE SOCIAL-DISTANCING PICKUP LINES:
• If COVID-19 doesn’t take you out – Can I?
• Is that hand sanitizer in your pocket or are you happy to be within 6 feet of me?
• Since the library is closed, I’m checking you out instead.
• You can’t spell virus without “U” and “I”.
• Baby, do you need toilet paper? Because I can be your Prince Charmin.
• I saw you from across the bar. Stay there.
• Without you, my life is as empty as a supermarket shelf in March.
• Hey baby – Can I ship you a drink?

TODAY’S SLICE OF BS:
➠ There’s an Atari-themed hotel opening in Vegas. (Now comes the hard part, Atari-fans:  Finding someone to share the bed with.)
➠ Happy Birthday! Larry King is now at 87! (Not years, divorce attorneys…)
➠ Larry King is 87 today. (Some of his childhood friends are holding a huge party for him — Betty White . . . Alexander the Great . . . Triceratops . . .)
➠ Saturday is World Television Day.  Sometimes I worry I watch too much TV. Like when I’m stuck in a conversation with my wife and I try to fast-forward her with the remote…)
➠ US Thanksgiving is one week from today. It’s a day to give thanks for all the wonderful things in your life. (For instance, your loving wife and kids . . . Also, the ATM at the strip club…)

BS WEB GOODIE:
Did that really just happen?  https://tinyurl.com/yyxupo9v

BS PHONE STARTER:
What new hobby have you picked up this year?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
They say to live each day like it’s your last, but I’d rather live each day like it’s my first — by eating 8-12 times and sleeping in between.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  According to a new survey, THIS is the most popular nickname we give our baby. What is it?
Answer:  Peanut

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.