BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Today 65-year-old actress Meryl Streep and 64-year-old musician Stevie Wonder are among the 19 people selected by Barack Obama to receive the USA’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It recognizes those who’ve made ‘especially meritorious contributions’ to the country. The prestigious awards – also being handed out to composer Stephen Sondheim, former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, actress/author Marlo Thomas, and author Isabel Allende – are being presented during a ceremony at the White House.
– ContactMusic.com
★ Could this be some kind of record? Over the course of filming “Mission Impossible 5”, the production has gone through 6 limo drivers and is now working on a 7th. Why so many? If you’re thinking it’s the fault of Tom Cruise, you’d be wrong. He’s apparently a superb guy on-set. No, the culprit is director Christopher McQuarrie’s wife, whose shopping trips in London’s West End are causing headaches. Alongside all the parking fines she’s been racking up, she’s been annoying drivers to the point of resignation by getting them to wait outside one shop, then making them drive her a few feet down the street to the next.
– PopBitch.com
★ Veteran TV writer/producer Norman Lear is in talks to revamp his classic sitcom “All In the Family”. The 1970s show about working class bigot ‘Archie Bunker’ and his family broke ground by tackling issues such as homosexuality, women’s rights, and racism at a time when such topics were considered too controversial for TV. It ran from 1971-79. Lear admits he has concerns about how much censorship a modern-day ‘Bunker’ would face but says plans are afoot to pull something together in 2015. He better not leave it too long … he’s 92-years-old.
– WENN.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Benjamin Booker (“Violent Shiver”). Rerun.
• “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC/CTV2) – Part 1 of the 2-part finalé, the last chance for dancers to impress judges and viewers. Guest star Quvenzhané Wallis (“Annie”, opening December 19th). The winners are announced tomorrow night.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Gwen Stefani (“Spark the Fire”).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Interpol (“El Pintor”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni1) – Sam Hunt performs his new single “Take Your Time” (from the album “Montevallo”).
• “Tavis Smiley” (PBS) – Blues musician Kenny Wayne Shepherd (“10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Dej Loaf (“Sell Sole”); will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas).
• “The Voice” (NBC/CTV2) – The top 10 artists perform for the judges. This week a slew of ‘special guest advisers’ appear, including Colbie Caillat, Diana Ross, Meghan Trainor, and Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – The 2 CD/2 DVD limited edition “Beyoncé Platinum Edition Box Set” is out today, with 2 new songs and 4 new unreleased remixes with superstar collaborators. The original self-titled album from last December, featuring 14 songs and 17 videos, is also included.
• Coldplay – “Ghost Stories Live 2014” is released today on DVD/CD and digital. The DVD documents their performance of the album to a handful of fans 2 months prior to the its release. The audio was recorded at concerts in Cologne, London, Paris, LA, NYC, and Sydney.
• David Guetta – Today’s worldwide release of his 6th studio album, “Listen”, includes guest vocalists Emeli Sandé, John Legend, Nico & Vinz, Nicki Minaj, Ryan Tedder, Sia and others.
• Metallica – Today the 10-year-old film “Some Kind of Monster” becomes available digitally and via Video On Demand for the first time. In addition to the original film,  a 25-minute short is also included, “Metallica: This Monster Lives”, filmed at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
• Paramore – Today they release a digital-only expanded edition of last year’s self-titled album. It includes previously unreleased material, including a new version of “Hate to See Your Heart  Break” as a duet with Joy Williams (ex-Civil Wars), as well as live versions and bonus tracks.
• Pitbull – On the heels of his single “Fireball”, his new album “Globalization” is out today. It includes guest spots from Chris Brown, Dr Luke, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Lopez, Sean Paul and several others.
• REM – They’ve teamed with MTV for today’s release of the massive DVD box set titled “REMTV”. The 6-disc set compiles live performances, awards show highlights and other TV appearances, as well as a new documentary about the band. List price: $99.99
• Soundgarden – A new 3-CD rarities collection, “Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path” is out today. It features B-sides, instrumentals, covers, demos, and unreleased tracks. Among the latter: “Storm”, recorded in May this year with producer Jack Endino in Seattle WA.

WHEN TO GET THE BEST DEALS:
The terms ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ have become linguistic pawns in the retail discount game as stores take ‘doorbusters’ digital and dangle ‘Black Friday’ sales in front of customers weeks before the actual event. Thanksgiving is now officially better than Black Friday when it comes to getting deals, according to a new report. But shoppers don’t even have to wait until then to take home hot products at cheap prices. Black Friday is ‘more of an idea than a single-day event anymore’, says an analyst at Nasdaq Advisory Services. Pre-Black Friday sales have already been offering deep discounts. It’s predicted online prices will hit their lowest point this Thursday on Thanksgiving, with an average discount of 24%. (Almost as much as Value Village.)
–USAToday.com

“BACK TO THE FUTURE 2” PREDICTIONS THAT CAME TRUE:
It’s been 25 years since ‘Marty McFly’ went back to the future for the 2nd time, visiting a far-flung, far-out version of 2015. (The film opened November 22, 1989 in the USA, November 24th in Canada and the UK). Some of the incredible technological advances and weird pop culture phenomena imagined by the filmmakers back then don’t seem so unlikely nowadays. In fact, a few they got exactly right …
✓ Baseball in Miami – The Marlins weren’t in existence when the film was released. They started play as an expansion franchise in 1993.
✓ Endless Movie Sequels – “Jaws 18” was thought to be a wild joke in the film, but multi-film franchises like ‘Harry Potter’ and Marvel movies are now the norm.
✓ Hoverboards (sorta) – The new ‘Hendo’ hoverboard is a cool-looking device, but judging by the company’s Kickstarter video, it doesn’t seem particularly nimble or practical.
✓ Self-Lacing Shoes – A Québec company is now seeking Kickstarter funding for ‘Powerlace’, an auto-lacing system for shoes that looks like it actually works.
✓ Video Calls on TV – A 2-way video call on ‘Marty’s voice-controlled home TV seemed exotic. Video calls are now common on all sorts of devices, including new TVs that offer Skype.
A couple they got wrong: in “BTTF2”, the ‘McFlys’ still use fax machines. And nope, we still don’t have ‘flying cars’. (Think this was easy? OK, what do you predict for 2040?)
– Condensed from @Canoe.ca

PRICEY DIGS:
NYC’s Upper Fifth Avenue has overtaken Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay as the most expensive area on Earth to lease retail space. Rents on the Manhattan street have risen over 13% in the past year to a record $3,500 per square foot. Causeway Bay rents fell about 7% to a little over $2,700/sq ft. The Champs-Élysées in Paris remains 3rd, even though rents are unchanged following a 40% gain last year. London’s New Bond Street, where rents rose just over 4%, is 4th. Rents on Union Square in San Francisco CA have risen by a whopping 30% to $650/sq ft, the biggest gain in the world. (Makes the $1,500 you pay for your apartment seem measly.)
– @Bloomberg.net

SMALLER SEPARATION:
Psychologist Stanley Milgram popularized the idea that everyone on Earth is theoretically separated from one another (socially speaking) by no more than 6 connections way back in 1967. But it turns out that in this, as in everything else these days, Facebook has changed the game. Research by Italy’s University of Milan shows that Facebook users are way more connected than your average human of yesteryear. Instead of 6 degrees of separation, it’s now 4.74, meaning any 2 Facebook users are separated from one another by only that number of other Facebook users. (As in a ‘friend’ of a friend of a friend …)
– Sourced from CBC.ca

WORST ALL-TIME SEASONAL SONGS:
Just before you fire up your holiday season music on-air, you may want to check this list of ‘Worst Christmas Songs Ever Recorded’ so you can steer clear …
✗ Cyndi Lauper: “Christmas Conga”
✗ Dennis Waterman & George Cole: “What Are We Going to Get For ‘Er Indoors?”
✗ Kenny Rogers & Wynonna Judd: “Mary, Did You Know”
✗ John Denver: “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)”
✗ Miss Piggy: “I’m the Christmas Queen”
(What did they miss? How about Kenny G’s “Let It Snow”? Or Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” … pitiful!)
– Telegraph.co.uk

COUNTING COOTIES:
According to a new study by Dutch researchers, a single 10-second ‘intimate kiss’ (aka tongue job) can transfer a whopping 80 million bacteria from one mouth to another. In tests, researchers have consistently found that a specific type of bacteria living on a volunteer’s tongue is more likely to match bacteria on his or her kissing partner’s tongue than a complete stranger’s tongue. And here’s a bonus finding: while women recall kissing about 5 times-a-day, men say they average 10. One braggart claims 50 intimate kisses per day … which would total 8 minutes, 20 seconds. The researchers conclude that men are most likely exaggerating. (Go figger.)
– “Los Angeles Times”

BS AMAZING ANIMAL FACTS:
• Squirrels will adopt other baby squirrels if they’re orphaned.
– “Newswise”
• A single porcupine can fight off a pride of lions.
– “Science Alert”
• An octopus has 3 hearts.
– BuzzFeed.com

BS CHRONOMETER 11.24.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1964 [50] Conleth Hall, Ballycastle, Northern Ireland, TV actor (‘Lord Varys’ on “Game of Thrones” since 2011)

1970 [44] Chad Taylor, Baltimore MD, alt-rock guitarist (Live-“Heaven”, “Lightning Crashes”)

1978 [36] Katherine Heigl, Washington DC, TV actress (‘Charlie Tucker’ on “State of Affairs” 2014, Grey’s Anatomy” 2005-10)/movie actress (“Knocked Up”, “27 Dresses”)

1990 [24] Sarah Hyland, NYC, TV actress (‘Haley Dunphy’ on “Modern Family” since 2009)

TODAY’S BS REASON TO PARTY . . .
“Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day”, saluting the individual abilities each of us has. Okay, so what is it that you can do that no one else can? Whistle through your nose? Play both armpits simultaneously? Recite the alphabet backwards? Talk out of both sides of your mouth at the same time?

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1999 [15] “Toy Story 2” opens in movie theaters (5-day gross of over $80 million smashes Thanksgiving opening record)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1991 [23] The charismatic lead singer of the rock group Queen, Freddie Mercury, dies in his sleep at age 45, just one day after publicly announcing he’s suffering from AIDS

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2001 [13] A team of scientists in Worcester, Massachusetts confirms the successful cloning of 24 cows

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Tues] Strange Names Day
[Tues] International Day For the Elimination of Violence Against Women Day
[Tues] International Hat Day
[Tues] Shopping Reminder Day
[Wed] “Horrible Bosses 2”; “The Penguins of Madagascar” open in movie theaters
[Thurs] Thanksgiving Day (USA)

THIS WEEK IS . . .
Better Conversation Week / Deal Week / Family Week / Farm-City Week / Game & Puzzle Week

BULL’S BITS

BEST OF BS:
Highlight bits culled from 21 years of “Bull Sheet” back issues …
BS THINGS YOU LEARN FROM THE MOVIES:
• Eyeglasses never collect moisture when you come indoors from the cold outside.
• Movie characters driving in the city will get to park wherever they like.
• There are always people carrying around large sheets of glass on the street during a car chase.
• If you are blonde and pretty, it is possible to become a world expert on nuclear fission at the age of 22.
• People being chased by a car will keep running down the middle of the street instead of ducking in somewhere where a car cannot go.
• A facial scar is likely to make you go insane and seek revenge for the rest of your life.
• A hacker can get into the most sensitive computer in the world and guess the password in 2 tries.
• The bad guy usually kills his henchman for failing, yet never seems to run out of loyal henchmen.
• You can eat & drink as much as you want, yet never, ever have to go to the bathroom.
– First published in “BS” 2005.

WHO TAKES LONGER?
According to a Travelodge study …
• Men spend an average of 81 minutes per day grooming, styling, and dressing; women need only 75.
• Men take longer in the shower, requiring 23 minutes compared to the female average of 22.
• Men take longer to shave (18 minutes) compared to women (14 minutes), which is somewhat surprising considering how much more ground women have to cover.
• Men also take longer with cleansing and moisturizing, needing 10 minutes on average, while women can rinse and apply in just 9 minutes.
• Men need an average of 13 minutes to decide on an outfit, while women only take 10 minutes.
– First published in “BS” 2011.
NET: http://www.FreeRadioPrep.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
My spouse and I were happy for 20 years … then we met.

BS PERPLEXING TRIVIA:
What’s the difference between a ‘sunroof’ and a ‘moonroof’ on a car?
• A ‘sunroof’ is a retractable roof panel (often made of the same material as the body of the car) that lets light or air into an automobile. The first cars to offer this feature were made by the Nash Motor Company in 1937.
• A ‘moonroof’ is just a sultry term for a glass sunroof that lets light in while closed. The term was most likely invented by Ford Motor Company in 1973 to  describe the sliding glass hatches on its Lincoln Continental Mark IV … which were made by the American Sunroof Company.
(So, if you want to be precise about it, a ‘moonroof’ is a type of ‘sunroof’, but a ‘sunroof’ is not always a ‘moonroof’.)
– Sourced from “Kelly Blue Book”

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ If you could literally live inside a book, which one would you pick?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: It may be surprising but, if you’re average, you’ll eat 28 of THESE in your lifetime.
Answer: Pigs.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.

NOW ON OUR SHEET LIST:
Dan Bee @ Party934.com, Cocoa FL; April Skye @ 99.7 Classic Rock [KIOO] Visalia CA; Tomaž Skornik @ Radio Ormož, Ormož, Slovenia; Hayden Lamb @ The Edge 96.1 [2ONE] Katoomba, Australia; and Chris Keith @ Q102 [KTXQ] Arlington TX.