Tuesday, August 20, 2024 — Edition: #7775

Sheet Happens!

 

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
[***UPDATE***] ★ Longtime TV talk show host Phil Donahue died on Sunday night at age 88. Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” he was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show, typically during a full hour with a single guest. “The Phil Donahue Show”, later renamed “Donahue”, launched in 1967, and became a trendsetter in daytime TV, where it was particularly popular with female audiences, and spurred a new category of talk shows that would dive into social issues and current events. He passed away at home surround by his family, including his wife of 44 years, Marlo Thomas.
-Global
★ Danielle Fishel revealed that she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. The “Boy Meets World” star disclosed the news on her “Pod Meets World” podcast, telling listeners that her former co-stars-turned-co-hosts Rider Strong and Will Friedle were some of the first to know. The good news is this: The 43-year-old said “It is very, very, very early. It’s technically stage zero.” The former “Girl Meets World” actress assured her fans that she is “going to be fine” and plans to have surgery to remove the cancer, and pursue “some follow-up treatment”.
-PageSix
★ Russian authorities have declared George Clooney’s nonprofit “undesirable,” effectively blocking it from operating inside the country. The Clooney Foundation for Justice was set up in 2016 by the actor and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, to investigate mass human rights abuses, and support victims. The organization is “actively investigating war crimes in Ukraine” as part of its work, according to its website. The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation said in a statement that it had declared the activities of the CFJ to be “undesirable on the territory of our country”, as it “carries out work aimed at discrediting Russia on a Hollywood scale.”
-DailyBeast
★ The brown felt fedora worn by Harrison Ford in the second “Indiana Jones” movie sold for $630,000 at auction. The hat, featured in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, was expected to fetch between $250,000 and $500,000, according to the film and TV memorabilia company Propstore’s online description. The fedora came from the personal collection of the late stunt performer Dean Ferrandini, who also wore it while standing in for Ford as the dashing archaeologist-adventurer.
-AP
★ Jamie Lee Curtis has revealed that “Freakier Friday” has almost finished filming. The sequel to Disney’s 2003 body swap comedy starring Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother-and-daughter duo is set for release next year. Curtis took to Instagram to announce that there are just a few more days of shooting to complete this week, “but it’s winding down and…as I arrived at work and looked at the hundreds of people gathering together to make it for the fans…I’m feeling especially grateful to my ULTIMATE movie daughter, @lindsaylohan without whom we could not have made this movie.” She also noted that she and Lohan “fell right back” into playing mother and daughter.
-ContactMusic
★ “Inside Out 2” has confirmed a special opening for its home release. The Pixar blockbuster is set to arrive on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on September 30. The home-viewing format will feature a range of additional features, including a brand-new cold open. The description reads: “In this alternate opening, a now 13-year-old Riley awkwardly fumbles her way through an original song she wrote for a school audition.” Fans will also get to see deleted scenes and other bonus clips.
-DigitalSpy

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Colman Domingo, Sanaa Lathan, KALEO, guest host RuPaul
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Adam Sandler, will.i.am, Liz Moore, Julian McCullough
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Richie Moriarty, Betsy Sodaro, Punam Patel (R)
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Michael Keaton, Conner O’Malley
•  “The Daily Show” (COM): Jon Stewart hosts “Indecision 2024” from Chicago’s Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Letitia Wright, Sean Evans (R)
• “The Talk” (CBS): TBA
• “Live with Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Sterling K. Brown, Mark Wahlberg
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Eddie Redmayne, Gayle Rankin, Retta, Ricky Martin, ATEEZ (R)
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Drew’s Birthday Surprise Show!
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Hannah Waddingham (R)
• “America’s Got Talent” (NBC): Quarterfinals 2
• “Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC): The men and women of WWE face off; Candace Parker and
Lisa Leslie go head-to-head.
• “Democratic National Convention (Check local listings): From Chicago: coverage continues.
• “Divided by Design” (HGTV): Series premiere. Married designers Ray and Eilyn Jimenez, who run dueling firms, bid against each other for clients in the Miami housing market.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Olivia Rodrigo – has a sure-fire way of dealing with exhaustion while on the road. In an interview, she said: “I sleep so much on tour. I sleep for 13 hours a day sometimes.” She also spends time reading and has been “watching Sex and the City every day to make myself feel like I’m grounded and at home.”
• Demi Lovato — has released a bilingual duet with the Mexican band Groupo Firme called ‘Chula’. There’s also a video of them performing the song together onstage. Lovato said the band’s “energy and passion for music are infectious”. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/4vyn4kcu
• Van Halen — Sammy Hagar has revealed which Van Halen album will get the expanded reissue treatment next: 1995’s “Balance”. He also said in an interview that the band he put together for his current tour celebrating Van Halen (Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham) will record an album together.
• Don Henley — is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his second solo album “Building the Perfect Beast” with a new vinyl reissue, out Oct. 4. It’ll be a 2-LP set for the first time, remastered from the original analog tapes. The new version is already streaming on all digital outlets.
• Bob Dylan — will contribute a cover of Cole Porter’s ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ to the upcoming biopic about Ronald Reagan. The movie, which stars Dennis Quaid, will also feature music by Gene Simmons, Clint Black and Tanya Tucker. “Reagan” hits theaters on Aug. 30.
• Keith Urban – gave just a few hours’ notice before performing a free concert Friday night in the parking lot of a huge Athens AL gas station. Hundreds showed up for the show outside a Buc-ee’s, a chain of roadside stores known for barbecue. He was also caught on video donning a Buc-ee’s T-shirt and apron as he helped prepare brisket behind the counter. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mw97cyhm
• Morgan Wade – Friday, she dropped her third album “Obsessed”. It features 14 songs, including a collab with pop star Kesha on the ballad ‘Walked on Water’. 29-year-old Wade said she has been the “biggest” Kesha fan since she was 15. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/36dx57v3
• Brad Paisley – His wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, underwent surgery after losing her voice while on stage at a fundraiser almost 2 years ago. She posted: “It never quite came back. It’s been a challenging couple of years, but we finally got to the bottom of it. I have damage to my laryngeal nerve.” She also said: “I have a badass scar that’s smiling at me across my neck.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/4s37yyww

SHOOTING THE BULL

WHO’S DRIVING THIS THING?
I knew that driving would eventually come to this: Cars talking to one another, and drivers with not much to do, except, well…play with their phones. The US Department of Transportation has laid out a road safety plan that will lead to cars communicating with each other. “Vehicle-to-everything” (V2X) technology enables vehicles to stay in touch with each other — as well as pedestrians, cyclists, other road users and roadside infrastructure. It lets them share information such as their position and speed, as well as road conditions. They’d be able to do so in situations with poor visibility, such as around corners and in dense fog. A country-wide rollout would require a system of mobile, in-vehicle and roadside tech that can communicate efficiently and securely while protecting people’s personal information. Safety advocates claim the tech could prevent hundreds of thousands of crashes and minimize the severity of collisions by reducing the speed of impact. It is hoped to have the system fully deployed across the National Highway System by 2036.
(Do you think this new system would even make cars use their turn signals? Nah! Too crazy…)
(I’m not sure we need this. I find that whenever I get too close to another vehicle, I’m communicated with quite effectively!)
-Engadget

“SHOCKING” DEVELOPMENT (Sorry…):
Forget Ozempic, Wegovy and all those other weight-loss drugs that are so…2022. South Korean scientists are working on a way of “zapping” your brain to supress appetite. This futuristic method of weight-management, known as “transcranial random noise stimulation”, involves delivering gentle electrical currents to specific areas of the brain through the scalp, which the researchers believe can influence the neural circuits responsible for appetite control. The white-coats theorize that the electrical stimulation may enhance the brain’s natural ability to resist cravings and make more mindful food choices. They liken it to giving your willpower a “little boost from the outside”. Although more testing is needed, if this electrostimulation treatment equipment is commercialized, the scientists say the units could be used at home rather than in hospitals, providing a simple method for daily appetite suppression management, with little or no side effects.
(Zapping your brain at home? By yourself? I’m pretty sure that’s a super-villain origin story right there!)
(I can already get the same effect at home with stuff already on hand. By standing naked in front of a mirror!)
-StudyFinds

FULL-NEST SYNDROME:
If, because of the realities of today’s housing market, the concept of becoming an “empty nester” seems like some kind of wild fantasy that’s never going to happen, here’s a little something to file away in the back of your brain: Even if they DO move out someday, they might come back. And you’ll probably like it. A new study found that a surprising 85% of parents report being delighted to have their adult children back home. Talker Research surveyed 2,000 parents of children in their 20s who are currently living at home. And while the results certainly tell of a generation that is struggling with financial independence, parents seem to be overwhelmingly supportive of their kids who have come home to roost. Even though 27% of parents said they weren’t financially prepared for their child’s extended stay, two-thirds are using the time together to teach money-related lessons, including saving, budgeting, paying down debt, and investing.
(Yeah, the first lesson I’d teach my kid is about paying rent!)
(Of COURSE parents love to have their kids back under their roof. Free dog-sitting, a bit of rent money, and you never have to worry about snacking too much – because the cupboard’s always empty! What’s not to love?)
-StudyFinds

1990S POP CULTURE FACTS YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED TO KNOW:
☞ ‘Tickle Me Elmo’ was almost named ‘Tickle Me Taz’ — as in the ‘Tasmanian Devil’ from Looney Tunes.
☞ The Spice Girls didn’t come up with their nicknames. A magazine editor and staff thought of the names as part of a feature they were running on the group.
☞ Sony originally developed PlayStation as a CD-ROM add-on to Super Nintendo. It was actually called “Play Station” (2 words) and had a port for SNES cartridge games and a CD-ROM drive for Sony games.
☞ Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis paid for 2 Forrest Gump scenes out of their own pockets, one of which is the one where ‘Forrest’ runs across the US. Paramount refused to increase the film’s budget, so the pair agreed to pay for the scenes in return for a larger percentage of the film’s box office.
☞ The original Polly Pockets were tiny because Chris Wiggs, who created the toy for his daughter, used a makeup powder compact to create a portable dollhouse.
☞ ‘Timon’ and ‘Pumbaa’ were originally the ones who were supposed to sing ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ in “The Lion King”. But when Elton John found out about it, he killed the idea, saying, “I don’t want a big, stinky warthog singing my love song!”
☞ George Lucas returned to directing for “The Phantom Menace”, his first time in that role since the original “Star Wars” film. But he was hesitant to do so, and only agreed after first asking Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and Ron Howard to direct. They all said “no”.
☞ Thanks to its pioneering use of auto-tune, Cher’s hit ‘Believe’ changed music forever. But at the time, she wasn’t interested in recording it. Her record company president eventually persuaded her that since her last album (full of ballads) had been a disappointment, she should focus on her gay audience and do a dance album.
☞ Steve Jobs wanted to call the ‘iMac’ ‘MacMan’.
-BuzzFeed

DID YOU KNOW?
Coca-Cola is consumed almost everywhere, but nowhere is it more popular than in the Mexican state of Chiapas, where the average person drinks 821.2 liters (217 gallons!) of the stuff per year, about 32 times the global average. The people of Chiapas consume about 2.2 liters (74.4oz) per day, which makes it more popular than drinking water. And little wonder: Coca-Cola is sold and advertised almost everywhere in the state, and it’s almost as cheap as water, too. (These people should DEFINITELY not be eating Mentos!)
-OddityCentral

BS CHRONOMETER 08.20.24

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Lemonade Day”, honoring the old-fashioned Summer refreshment favorite. Many sources say that lemonade was invented in Paris on this day in 1630. (And remember, unless life also hands you sugar and water, your lemonade is going to suck!)
• “Radio Day”, for no apparent reason other than someone penciled it in on a calendar years ago. To celebrate, all on-air personalities get a hefty raise and a day off. (In my dreams…)
• “World Mosquito Day”, commemorating the 1897 date when British doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered the link between malaria transmission and mosquitoes. (At the time, it created a lot of buzz…)
• “Bacon Lovers Day”, saluting one of the oldest processed meats. The Chinese began salting pork bellies as early as 1500 BC. What odd dish do you include bacon in … or on? (Bacon is the duct tape of the kitchen. It can fix anything!)
• “Medical Transporters Day”. They can be traced back to World War I, where Field Ambulances transported those in need of care to medical facilities. This innovation moved into hospitals in the form of Medical Orderlies, and into the community in the form of ambulances.
• “Virtual Worlds Day”. Whether you enjoy on-line games or simulating real life events for training, or connecting with colleagues around the globe inside a virtual workspace, this day is for you. (Is “The Sims” still a thing?)
• “Hawaiian Pizza Day”. This “controversial” development was concocted by a Greek Canadian in the early 1960s. It consists of a pizza topped with ham and pineapple, and possibly ham and bacon, resulting in a sweet-salty dish. (If Hawaiian pizza is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!)
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Wed] Spumoni Day
[Wed] Sweet Tea Day
[Thurs] Take Your Cat to the Vet Day
[Fri] Hug Your Sweetheart Day
This Week Is…Aviation Week
This Month Is…Professional Speakers Month

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1948 [76] Robert Plant, West Bromwich England, rock singer (‘Tall Cool One’, Led Zeppelin-‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, w/Alison Kraus-‘Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)’/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 1995/Commander of the Order of the British Empire 2009

1954 [70] Al Roker, Queens NY, TV host (“Today Show” since 1996, host of NBC’s coverage of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1995)

1956 [68] Joan Allen, Rochelle IL, movie actress (“Jason Bourne” films, “Room”)

1969 [55] Billy Gardell, Pittsburgh PA, TV actor (“Bob Hearts Abishola” 2019-24, “Mike & Molly” 2010-16)

1970 [54] Fred Durst, Jacksonville FL, nu-metal-rap-rock singer (Limp Bizkit-‘Rollin’, ‘Behind Blue Eyes’)

1971 [53] David Williams, London England, TV actor (“Little Britain” 2003-06)/TV personality (judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” 2012-2022)

1971 [53] Ke Huy Quan, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, movie actor (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) COMING UP…”The Electric State”, 2024

1974 [50] Amy Adams, Vicenza Italy, movie actress (“The Fighter”, “American Hustle”) COMING UP…”At the Sea”

1983 [41] Andrew Garfield, Los Angeles CA (raised in Surrey England), movie actor (“The Amazing Spider-Man” films, “The Social Network”) COMING UP…”We Live in Time”, 2024

1992 [32] Demi Lovato, Albuquerque NM, pop singer (‘Heart Attack’, “Sorry Not Sorry’)/TV personality (“The X Factor” 2012-13)/TV actress (“Barney & Friends” 2002-04, “Glee” 2013-14)

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2012 [12] Groundbreaking comedian Phyllis Diller dies at age 95.

2017 [07] Comedian and telethon host Jerry Lewis dies at age 91.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2016 [08] The Tragically Hip play their final concert in their hometown of Kingston ON. 6,700 attend, including Prime Minister Trudeau, with 25,000 gathered outside, and 12 million Canadians watching on TV or online. The tour was announced after singer Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

2018 [06] The Eagles album “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” is certified for sales of 38 million, making it the best-selling album of all-time in America, topping Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” by 5 million. Worldwide, Thriller is still by far the top seller.

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1920 [104] American Professional Football Conference (APFC), forerunner of the NFL, is created during a meeting at the Jordan & Hupmobile Auto Showroom in Canton, Ohio.

2000 [24] Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship, becoming the first golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win 3 majors in a single year.

2012 [12] Augusta National Golf Club (home of The Masters) announces it’s finally opening its doors to women (former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and banker Darla Moore become the first female members).

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ If you kicked a ball in space, it would keep going forever (unless it hit something).
✓ To speak just a few phrases, the body uses 100 different muscles from the chest, neck, jaw, tongue, and lips.
✓ Birds have hollow bones, which help them fly.
✓ Shaquille O’Neal wears size-22 shoes.
✓ In the Old West, more cowboys died crossing swollen rivers than during gunfights.
✓ The first “Avon Lady” was actually a man (Company founder David McConnell in 1886).
-BathroomReadersInstitute, Facts

Best of BS . . .
BS BORING CAMPFIRE STORIES:
• “It was a bright and non-stormy day…”
• “…and the ghost’s name was Casper. He was friendly. The end.”
• “My dating history in excruciating detail.”
• “I went to the grocery store the other day. I got everything on my list, then I went home and put it away.”
• “This one time… at band camp… we got our instruments…. and played songs…. and that’s it.”
• “The one about that time we brought the wrong sandwiches.”
• “…and it was then I realized that I forgot to claim that deduction on my taxes…”
• “The one where Smokey the Bear told me that only I can prevent forest fires — and then he separately told the same thing to like, every other kid. How am I supposed to believe anything he says?”
• “Any story about your kids.”
• “…and the call was coming from a call center in Des Moines, Iowa!”
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2018

TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ Recent research shows that married people tend to drink less. (The study has a margin of error of “plus or minus a fifth of vodka after my wife informs me we’re going to brunch with her mother.”)
➠ According to a poll, 30% of people feel that money is more important than friends. (The other 70% prefer their friends, but only because they can borrow money from them . . .)
➠ A study found that Americans spent more time researching cars than doctors. (In America’s defense, a car isn’t going to make them feel like crap for weighing 300 pounds!)
➠ Wally Amos, creator of Famous Amos Cookies, has died at 88 years of age. (May he rest in pieces…)
➠ Happy birthday to Al Roker who turns 70 today. (I predict a 100% chance of cake!)

BS WEB GOODIE:
I’ve watched this WAAAY too many times:  https://tinyurl.com/mt4pe2v6

BS RANDOM JOKE:
People are still willing to do an honest day’s work. The problem is they want a week’s pay for it.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ If you could trade lives with any celeb, who would it be?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
About 25% of people eat THIS food with a spoon. What is it?
Answer:  Mac & cheese

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
No legacy is so rich as honesty.