Tuesday, October 13, 2020 – Edition: #6827

Sweet Sheet!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Gal Gadot will reteam with “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins to bring Cleopatra back to the big screen in a woman-driven period biographical drama about the Egyptian ruler. Cleopatra was, of course, most famously played by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 film of the same name, whose $42 million budget made it the most expensive film at the time. The new project is reportedly on an “accelerated timetable” as it could be a big earner for the studio after the recent devastating blows to the film industry caused by the pandemic.
-Yahoo
★ Vanessa Hudgens is facing backlash over some recent Instagram posts. She shared two versions of a photo showing herself posing in New York’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery while wearing a black vest, matching skirt, fishnet tights, long gloves, a face mask, and combat boots. She originally referenced the burial ground as her “Happy place” with a black heart emoji. Numerous Instagram users questioned her caption and choice to pose for photos in a cemetery. She later changed the caption to say: “Searching for that headless horseman” with a winkie-face emoji…and a black heart.
-Yahoo
★ “America’s Got Talent” judge Simon Cowell is recovering “well and ahead” of schedule from the bike accident that resulted in surgery for a broken back. The news that he is doing well is contrary to a previous report that he could be bedridden for the next six months. The 61-year-old was forced to miss the AGT live episodes this season. According to sources , Cowell is “doing really well and is recovering well and ahead of what is expected,” and is “doing over 10,000 steps a day” and is swimming to “get his back strong and healed again.” The sources claim Cowell “no longer needs to wear a back brace all the time.” This rosy outlook came after other sources claimed Cowell went through a “rough few weeks” and experienced setbacks in his recovery.
-PopCulture
★ Anyone hoping to be an extraordinary housefly for Halloween this year after tuning into the VP debate is out of luck because the costume is sold out! It seems that lots of people decided to dress as the infamous housefly that landed on Mike Pence’s head during the debate. According to HlloweenCostumes.com, the “adult fly costume” is out of stock and their supplier is sold out too. The Halloween costume retailer says they experienced a huge demand right after the debate, causing the costume to “fly” right off the shelves.
-TMZ

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Patrick Dempsey, Clare Crawley, OneRepublic
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Joel McHale, Big Sean (R)
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Dr. Jon LaPook, John Dickerson (R)
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Sarah Paulson, H. Jon Benjamin (R)
• ” The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Gabrielle Union, Nick Cave (R)
• “Conan” (TBS): Ralph Macchio (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Lenny Kravitz, Hoda Kotb
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, guest co-host Cindy McCain
• “The Talk” (CBS): Jurnee Smollett
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Gov. Andrew Cuomo
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Ellen’s favorite moments so far from Season 18
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Dennis Quaid, Theresa Caputo
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS): Gloria Estefan, Emily Estefan, Lili Estefan, Luvvie Ajayi Jones
• “The Bachelorette” (ABC): Season 14 premiere
• “Tell Me a Story” (CW): Season 2 premiere

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Harry Styles – has announced a limited-edition vinyl box set version of his second album “Fine Line”.  It will include the album on double black 180g vinyl, 10 exclusive 12×12″ gloss prints of Styles by Tim Walker, a 24-page “Fine Line at the Forum” lyric zine, and a pair of white cotton gloves to handle the items with care. It drops Dec. 11.
• Ariana Grande – Producer Tommy Brown – aka TBHits — shared a photo with Grande from when the pair finished her “thank u, next” album. He included the caption “6****”, leading fans into a frenzy over the status of her next album. They are guessing the four asterisks could stand for anything from “days” to “rings.”
• Pearl Jam – On Sunday, they released ‘Get it Back’ to streaming platforms. The song was their contribution to “Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy Volume 2” — a compilation to raise money for Voting Rights Lab that was only available for 24 hours via Bandcamp.
• Slash — has recorded a version of the “Love Story” theme song, in honor of his friend, film producer Robert Evans, who died last year. He says he’ll probably release it online, and he has also been working on new Guns N’ Roses music (still).
• Van Halen – Streaming of their music in the US increased by over 1,300% in the days following Eddie Van Halen’s death last week. Van Halen songs were streamed 31.19 million times from October 6-7, compared to 2.12 million times October 4-5. The top-5 most-streamed songs: ‘Jump’ (2.33 million streams, a gain of 554%), ‘Panama’, ‘Runnin’ With the Devil’, ‘Hot For Teacher’, and ‘Eruption’.
• Lenny Kravitz – says the reason he doesn’t mention his little-known engagement to Nicole Kidman in his memoir “Let Love Rule” is because the book only documents the first 25 years of his life. That story will have to wait for his next book. The two were briefly engaged between Kidman’s marriage to Tom Cruise and her subsequent marriage to current husband Keith Urban.
• Kane Brown – will co-host the 2020 CMT Music Awards with “Modern Family’s” Sarah Hyland. Two more co-hosts are yet to be announced. Performers at the Oct. 21 event include Brown, Ashley McBryde, Dan + Shay, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Caylee Hammack and HARDY.
• Trace Adkins – will release his new EP “Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy” this Friday. The six-song collection features the recently released songs ‘Just the Way We Do It’, ‘Mind on Fishin’’, and ‘Better Off’.

THE JEAN GENIE:
Clothing manufacturer Levi’s is offering to buy back their old jeans. The Levi’s SecondHand program is the company’s way of creating what they call a “circular marketplace” for its best customers. People are invited to drop worn jeans and jackets off at Levi’s stores, where they will receive a gift card for $15-25 for each denim item that can be resold, and up to $35 for vintage. If it is too worn for resale, customers still get a $5 credit. Clothes sold in the SecondHand marketplace are priced between $30 and $100. Levi’s, which has made sustainability corporate priority, says that buying a used pair of jeans saves about 80% of carbon dioxide emissions in an industry that has been identified as one of the worst polluters. Levi’s says this is the first second hand program of its kind from a global denim brand.
(I’ve seen what some people are wearing these days. NO jeans are too worn for resale!)
(Who in their right mind would ever want to get rid of their trusty old jeans for a new pair?)
(This is obviously a program aimed at people who don’t have a little brother!)
-MediaPost

SAVING DAYLIGHT SAVING:
Ontario is the latest jurisdiction taking s serious look at retaining Daylight Saving Time year round. A bill to move the province to permanent daylight time has passed second reading in the legislature, and if passed, Ontario would join the Yukon Territory in ending the twice-annual event (Saskatchewan has never participated in the clock change, and remains on Central Standard Time). Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Jeremy Roberts, who introduced the bill, says that studies show that increasing evening daylight hours would encourage people to get out and do some shopping at a time when small businesses are suffering, and allow kids to get more daylight at the end of the day – making Ontario a “safer and happier place.” One caveat: The act can only be brought into effect if neighboring jurisdictions Quebec and New York agree to adopt the practice as well. If the bill passes, the sun won’t rise in southern Ontario until around 9 a.m. in the later part of December, resulting in a dark commute to work and school.
(Hey! Who’s trying to steal my extra hour of sleep?)
(Given the choice, I’d just like to set my clock ahead to 2021!)
(Which would you prefer? Permanent Daylight Saving, Permanent Standard Time, or things staying the same?)
-TheWeatherNetwork

STANDING ROOM ONLY:
A man who is being called “Britain’s biggest hoarder” has died, and left behind a treasure-trove worth as much as £4 million (US $ 5.2 million). The collection of more than 60,000 items was crammed into a home in Nottingham, where the owner had stacked possessions from floor-to-ceiling in every room, including everything from unopened parcels dating back to 2002 to valuable collectables and antiques. He had also filled a rented apartment, two garages, part of a neighbor’s year and 24 wheelie bins to store more belongings. It took a team of eight people in three vans 180 hours to empty the house, over the course of six weeks. The items, many of which are described as “not rubbish, but top-quality stuff”, will be sold off in 3,000 lots over a 4-day sale. The late owner had assembled so much stuff that he was forced to move into a bed-and-breakfast in the last year because he’d run out of space for himself.
(“Not rubbish, but top-quality stuff”…That’s exactly how I describe MY junk when my wife gets on my case!)
(I’m 90% certain I just heard my neighbor say: “Amateur!”)
(I used to date a hoarder, and she broke up with me. Ouch! It seems I’m the one thing she COULD get rid of!)
-LADBible

MY NAME IS MUD:
The biggest trend this fall among new parents is taking inspiration for their baby’s name from nature, according to the world’s biggest baby name database, “Nameberry”. These days, many environmentally conscious parents are going for names like River, Meadow and Sky, because they hope to raise eco-minded children. Here are some of the most popular eco-names of 2020, by category:
➢ Botanical eco-names:  Inspired by flowers and plants, Blossom, Daisy, Meadow, Marigold, Juniper and Sage all made this year’s top 500 baby names list. (Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom named their baby ‘Daisy Dove Bloom’)
➢ Tree eco-names:  ‘Willow’ is a name that became more popular after Will and Jada Pinkett Smith chose it for their now-20-year-old daughter. Others gaining traction are: Arbor, Ash, Banyan, Birch, Cedar, Leaf and Oak.
➢ Animal eco-names:  The most popular species to draw inspiration from are birds. Popular choices include: Bear, Bee, Dove, Feather, Otter, Sparrow, Wolf and Wren ― or ‘Birdie’, like the daughters of both Busy Philipps and Jessica Simpson.
➢ Aquatic eco-names:  The most popular is ‘River’, and it is likely to become even more so, now that Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have named their newborn after the late River Phoenix, Joaquin’s brother. Also popular: Bay, Harbor, Ocean, Rain, Reef and Snow. (Don’t name your kid “Sewer” – even if you’re a lawyer!)
➢ Earthy eco-names:  Sky is a popular one. Other possibilities include: Prairie, Forest, Canyon, Woods and Stone. Lucy Liu called her now 5-year-old son Rockwell, which means “from the rocky spring.”
(I can’t wait until parents start coming up with creative “alternate spelling” versions of these…)
-HuffPost

DID YOU KNOW?
The increase in the number of people cooking and trying recipes during the pandemic has led to a surge in canning — and that surge has led to a shortage in Mason jars and lids. Marie Bregg, owner of canning supplier “Mason Jar Merchant” started seeing a huge increase in demand in the middle of August, and says sales are up 600%. Most of the demand is for the two-part lids, because they are single-use. Bregg calls it ‘Sourdough 2.0’, because it is the next craze of what people are doing in the kitchen because they have more spare time these days. (I suppose that’s nicer than calling it ‘toilet paper 2.0’, because it’s the next thing that people are getting irrational about stocking up on!)
-CTV

BS CHRONOMETER 10.13.20

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1941 [79] Paul Simon, Newark NJ, folk singer (Simon & Garfunkel -‘Bridge over Troubled Water’, ‘Mrs. Robinson’, solo – ‘You Can Call Me Al’)/Rock Hall of Fame: Simon & Garfunkel 1990, solo 2001

1942 [78] Jerry Jones, LA CA, NFL Owner-General Manager (Dallas Cowboys)

1947 [73] Sammy Hagar, Salinas CA, rock singer (Van Halen – ‘Why Can’t This be Love’, ‘Finish What Ya Started’, solo -‘I Can’t Drive 55′)

1959 [61] Marie Osmond, Ogden UT, country singer (‘Paper Roses’)/TV show host (“The Talk” 2012-20, “Donny & Marie” 1976-79, 1998-2000)

1964 [56] Matt Walsh, Chicago IL, TV actor (‘Mike McLintock’ on “Veep” 2012-19)

1967 [53] Kate Walsh, San Jose CA, TV actress (“13 Reasons Why” 2017-19″, “Private Practice” 2007-13, “Grey’s Anatomy” 2005-07)

1969 [51] Nancy Kerrigan, Woburn MS, figure skater (American Olympian who was injured by allies of rival Tonya Harding)/silver and bronze Olympic medalist)

1971 [49] Sacha Baron Cohen, London UK, movie actor (“Bruno”, “Borat”) COMING UP…” Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”, Oct. 23, 2020

1971 [49] Billy Bush, Killingworth CT, TV show host (“Today Show” 2016, “Access Hollywood” 2004-16)/4X “Miss Universe” pageant co-host

1980 [40] Ashanti (Douglas), Glen Cove NY, R&B singer (‘Foolish’)/movie actress (“Resident Evil: Extinction”)

1993 [27] Tiffany Trump, NYC, celeb offspring (daughter of Donald Trump & 2nd wife Marla Maples)

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “International Day for Failure”, a day to show some stupidity, error estimation, awkward moments, and other fails to the world. Why? Without the possibility of failure there is no success, they go hand-in-hand.  (So I’ve got THAT going for me…)

• “International Plain Language Day”, a day to encourage others to cut through jargon and double-speak to state things simply and clearly. (Never use a large word when a diminutive one will suffice) LINK: https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain/international-plain-language-day/

• “International Day for Disaster Reduction”, begun by the UN in 1989 as a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. (How are we doing so far?)

• “Own Business Day”, to celebrate and pay tribute to independent business owners by promoting and giving them extra awareness. Why on a Tuesday? For most, it is not a strong business day, and in most countries, the day is rarely a holiday. There is a website for business owners to create and publicize their special offers: LINK: www.own-business-day.com

• “National M&M Day”, 5 facts about the famous “melt in your mouth, not in your hands” candy:
⇒ From 1976 to 1985, there were no red M&Ms
⇒ Blue M&Ms were introduced in 1995
⇒ M&Ms were taken along on the first space shuttle voyage in 1982
⇒ There are 340 million M&M’s produced daily
⇒ The “M&M” was modeled after a candy Forrest Mars, Sr. encountered while in Spain in the 1930s. He observed soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell of tempered chocolate. This prevented the candies from melting, which was essential when included in soldiers’ rations.

• “Silly Sayings Day”, an annual salute to interesting expressions, witty sayings, and odd catchphrases that come and go like fashion.  Like:
➢ Doing nothing is hard, you never know when you’re done.
➢ Always follow your heart, but remember to bring your brain along.
➢ It’s so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid, then say the opposite.

COMING UP . . .
[Wed] Be Bald and Be Free Day
[Wed] Dessert Day
[Thurs] Grouch Day
[Thurs] Mushroom Day
This Week Is…Veterinary Technicians Week
This Month Is…Financial Planning Month

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2008 [12] Five months after marrying Jay-Z, Beyoncé releases the sassy ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)’. It goes to #1 in America for four weeks and wins the Grammy for “Song of the Year”.

2016 [04] Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature “For having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

TODAY’S SPORTS EVENT…
2015 [05] Basketball player Lamar Odom is hospitalized after being found unconscious in a brothel in Nevada

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1987 [33] The US Navy conducts the first military use of trained dolphins (in the Persian Gulf)

2014 [06] The Vatican issues a document indicating that the Catholic Church is taking a softer stance on non-traditional relationships, such as unmarried couples and same-sex unions

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ A lightning bolt strikes so fast it could circle the globe eight times per second.
✓ Scientists have figured out how to unboil an egg.
✓ The crayon color used most often is black.
✓ The inventor of the Rubik’s cube took a month to solve it before he released it to the world.
✓ If you are nominated for a Nobel prize, you’ll likely never know unless you win.
✓ If you kept yelling for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would produce enough sound energy to heat up a cup of tea.
-WhattheFFacts, BathroomReadersInstitute

Best of BS . . .
BS SIGNS YOU ATE TOO MUCH TURKEY:
• Your keyboard and mouse are just a tad outta reach this morning.
• When you plopped onto the couch, your spouse flew through the window.
• Pricking your finger to check your blood sugar yielded only gravy.
• You’ve been assigned a probation officer … by Weight Watchers.
• You received a Sumo Wrestler application in your e-mail.
• You’re suffering from ‘Dunlap’s Disease’ …  your gut has dunlapped over your belt.
• For the first time ever, there are no leftovers.
• A thermometer pops out your butt.
• They had to use the Jaws of Life to remove you from your recliner.
• You’re sweating gravy … and you’re farting feathers.
-First published in BS in 2001

BS BAD RESPONSES TO BAD NEWS:
• “Hey!  Better him than me!”
• “Can I have the rest of your beer?”
• “Well, hot dang doodle!”
• “Not interested.”
• “This is very sad. Alexa, play ‘WAP’.”
• “He deserved it.”
• “We’re still going out for dinner, right?”
• “You think THAT’S bad….”
• “Cheers, Mate!”
• “Meh.”
• “Congratulations?”
• “Does anyone have video?”
-Twitter

TODAY’S SLICE OF BS:
➠ Yesterday was Columbus Day in the US. (If Christopher Columbus were alive today, he’d say: “If only they had a special day where you could get a good deal on Sleeper-Sofas”!)
➠ The Nobel Prize in Physics was just awarded jointly to three scientists. . . Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez. (The Nobel Prize in Physics rewards scientists who answer life’s great mysteries. You know, like how the HELL are the Buffalo Bills atop their division?)
➠ Dolly Parton has had talks with Playboy over a nude spread to celebrate her 75th birthday. (If I wanted to see a blonde, big-breasted and aging singer from the 80’s naked, I’d just go to a Madonna concert!)
➠ A ‘Nudity Algorithm’ on Facebook wrongly blocked an advertiser’s images of an onion. (Now, if only they could block my mom from tagging me in childhood photos…)
➠ Biologists in Pennsylvania have discovered a hermaphrodite bird split down the middle, with one side flaunting male plumage and the other side female plumage. (Very strange. It has the male parts and the female parts. You know . . . a penis and a brain!)

BS WEB GOODIE:
I’m guessing he’s walking home:  https://tinyurl.com/y2tvyz7g

BS PHONE STARTER:
My favorite Autumn thing to do is …

BS RANDOM JOKE:
What if there were no hypothetical questions?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  Experts say THIS is a good time to hold your breath for 3 or 4 seconds. When is it?
Answer:  When someone around you sneezes

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A year from now, you’ll wish you started today.