BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
“Vampire Diaries” star Ian Somerhalder (‘Damon Salvatore’) has launched his own non-profit, ecological organization, the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which is building an animal sanctuary in a bid to help kids with behavioral issues (one of the good guys in the biz) . . . 25-year-old Hollywood actress Megan Fox (“Transformers” and, most recently, “Transformers”) has vowed to tone down her outspoken views in future after admitting her past comments have gotten her into trouble (just like in the movies, your job is to sit still and look pretty) . . . Turns out the reason Melissa Gilbert went missing from “Dancing With the Stars” after her performance Monday night was because she suffered a mild concussion and whiplash by accidentally cracking her head backstage (not yet known if she’ll be back) . . . Word has it actress Emma Roberts (Julia’s niece) has reignited her romance with former “Glee” star Chord Overstreet following their split in January, the young couple deciding to give it another go (cuz Tinseltown can be so lonely) . . . TV star Zooey Deschanel (“New Girl”) tells “Marie Claire” she was bullied as a 12-year-old because she was chubby, and claims one schoolmate actually spat in her face (does it not seem like ‘bullying’ has become the go-to beef this year?) . . . “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart has reportedly put costar-boyfriend Robert Pattinson on a diet as he’s porked on 10 lbs eating cheeseburgers and drinking beer since completing the series (he hates the gym, so she’s encouraged him to take up paddle surfing) . . . A 40-year-old Canadian woman accused of stalking Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”) is due back in court May 14th after being arrested outside his NYC home on the weekend (turns out he once took her on a dinner date ‘as a favor to a friend’) . . . And 27-year-old actress Scarlett Johansson has felt it necessary to inform us she went ‘commando’ for her scenes in “The Avengers” (opening May 4th), because her ‘Black Widow’ costume was ‘like 800 degrees’ and ‘it’s a unitard’ (here now, you can’t say that!).
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “America Revealed” (PBS) – Debut of an innovative new 4-part series that utilizes aerial photography and satellite images to highlight the interdependent networks that feed and power the USA. Hosted by Yul Kwon (winner of “Survivor” season 13).
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – The remaining finalists perform.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Craig Morgan (“This Ole Boy”).
• “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” (ABC) – Series debut of a comedy about a down-on-her-luck young woman who moves in with a deceivingly charming new roommate. Stars Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter, James Van Der Beek. The initial 2 episodes are available online before they even air on TV.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) –Ellie Goulding (“Lights”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CHCH) – The Civil Wars (“Barton Hollow”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Foster the People (“Torches”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Lenny Williams (“Unfinished Business”); Ting Tings (“Songs From Nowheresville”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – Kaiser Chiefs (“Start the Revolution Without Me”).
• “Live With Kelly” (syndicated/CTV) – Monica w/Brandy (“New Life”).
• “Stanley Cup Playoffs” (CBC/TSN/TSN2) – The 2012 playoffs get underway with Canada’s hopes pinned on the Vancouver Canucks and the surprising Ottawa Senators.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Neon Trees (“Picture Show”).
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Trisha Yearwood (“Trisha’s Southern Kitchen”).
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Black Eyed Peas – Currently in London filming the UK version of “The Voice”, will.i.am tells “The Times” he doesn’t own a house because he’s been on the road 12 years and likes to live in hotels. He’s also not had a vacation because, he says, his life is a vacation.
• Katy Perry – In “Teen Vogue” she’s quoted as saying: “I’m tired of being famous already, but I’m not tired of creating. Fame is, I think, just a disgusting byproduct of what I do.” Now she says it was all meant in jest and her words were taken out of context. (Um … seems fairly clear.)
• Keith Urban – He’s announced that all artist and publishing royalties from “For You”, a song written for the movie “Act of Valor”, will be donated to the Navy SEAL Foundation. The movie follows an elite team of Navy SEALs on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.
• Kenny Chesney – His duet with Tim McGraw, “Feel Like a Rock Star”, has debuted at #13. That’s his highest debut ever on “Billboard” magazine’s ‘Country Songs’ chart.
• LeAnn Rimes – She’s shopping for a writer to co-pen her autobiography, which will include her take on her failed first marriage and her romance with current husband Eddie Cibrian. They met on-set during the filming of the TV movie “Northern Lights” in Calgary in 2009.
• One Direction – After conquering North America, they’ve flown to Australia for a string of 4 gigs and have been met with ecstatic reaction from their fans Down Under, most of them female.
• Queen – Roger Taylor says the surviving members of the band will play 4 shows with Adam Lambert as lead vocalist this year, including 2 in London, a June 30th gig in Moscow, and a Summer gig in Kiev, Ukraine alongside Elton John.
• Rolling Stones – 64-year-old guitarist Ronnie Wood has confirmed they’ll go back into the studio later this month to ‘throw some ideas around’. They’re expected to announce a delayed 50th anniversary tour for next year.
BS CUTTING-EDGE VOCAB:
New terms leaking into our lingo …
• ‘Hackerazzi’ – A person who breaks into a celebrity’s email account or computer. (“Today’s top story: Thanks to a hackerazzi, nude pics of Betty White have been leaked online ….”)
• ‘Sorry Gift’ – A retail sales suggestion for customers who feel guilt over dropping a bundle on something for themselves. The solution? A little something for the spouse of similar value. (“That watch is $3,000, but if that seems a lot this $2,500-ring will make a great sorry gift for your wife.”)
• ‘Ultra-marathon’ – A running race longer than the standard marathon of 42K or 26 miles. The shortest standard distance to officially qualify is 50K or 32 miles. (Recommended only for masochists.)
BURN BABY BURN:
Everyday ways to burn calories in just 20 minutes …
✓ Grocery shopping … 84 calories.
✓ Dusting … 70 calories.
✓ Cooking … 48 calories.
– “Vitality Magazine”
FORCING IT:
A new study in the “Journal of Occupational Health and Psychology” suggests that service industry workers can get stressed-out by being forced to smile at customers and act friendly when they don’t really mean it. (If this is true, the servers down at [local dive joint] are entirely stress-free!)
– PA News
SCREEN READING:
If you’ve become a fan of e-books, you’re certainly not alone. Some 21% of adults have read an e-book in the past year, according to a new study by the Pew Internet Project. What’s more, readers of e-books read an average of 10 books more per year than readers of print books. And e-readers also buy more. Those who own electronic reading devices prefer to buy, rather than borrow, books. (Dumb! Many public libraries now offer them free.)
– “Christian Science Monitor”
FRIGHTENING FACTS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ANTS:
• Ants are as old as dinosaurs. A recent study suggests they first arose in the mid-Cretaceous period, about 110-to-130 million years ago.
• Ants have conquered almost the entire globe. With the exception of Antarctica, the Arctic, and a handful of islands, just about every piece of land on Earth harbors at least 1 ant species.
• The world’s total ant population makes our 7 billion look weak. Researchers estimate that there are upwards of 10 quadrillion individual ants alive on Earth at any given time.
• Ants gather together to form ‘super-organisms’. As many as 50 million of them might come together to form a single, eerily-coordinated colony.
• Ants can account for over a quarter of the animal biomass in some areas, particularly in tropical regions where they are especially abundant.
• Ants practice slavery. Many species are known to raid neighboring colonies and steal eggs or larvae. The forcibly-acquired young are then either eaten or put to work.
(Creeped out yet? Now about spiders …)
– Condensed from io9.com
FOLDING PHONE:
Samsung has given a name to its flexible screen technology, an indication we may soon see it in retailers. ‘Youm’ is the name chosen by the electronics giant for its thin, next-generation screens, which are so malleable they can be bent into a wave or arc. The flex-tech is planned for use in e-readers, cameras, and phones. Competitor LG is the first out of the gate, however, already producing what it calls the ‘world’s first plastic electronic-paper display’. (Great, now as well as down a storm drain or toilet you can lose your electronics in a paper shredder.)
– CNET.com
DID YOU KNOW?
• A recent survey finds the average patient spends 21 minutes killing time in their doctor’s waiting room. Best bet for a short wait? Book the first appointment of the day.
– AMA
• One-third of us use the snooze button on the clock radio every morning. Of those who use it, most hit it 3 times before actually getting up.
– PA News
• The hump of a really famished camel may flop over and hang down the side of the body as the fat is used up.
– Halife.com
BS CHRONOMETER 04.11.12
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1964 [48] Steve Azar, Greenville MS, country singer (“Sunshine [Everybody Needs a Little]”, “I Don’t Have To Be Me [‘Til Monday]”)
1973 [39] Jennifer Esposito, NYC, TV actress (‘Jackie Curatola’ on “Blue Bloods” since 2010, “Samantha Who?” 2007-09)/movie actress (“Crash”)
1979 [33] Chris Gaylor, Stillwater OK, rock drummer (All-American Rejects-“Gives You Hell”, “Dirty Little Secret”)
1981 [31] Alexandre Burrows, Pincourt QC, NHL forward (Vancouver Canucks)
1987 [25] Lights (Valerie Poxleitner), Timmins ON, pop singer/songwriter (“Saviour”, “Drive My Soul”)
1987 [25] Joss Stone (Joscelyn Stoker), Dover UK, pop/soul singer (“You Had Me”, “Fell In Love With a Boy”)/sometime actress (“The Tudors” 2009-10) BS FACTOID: She’s been asked to perform in the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics in London.
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Barbershop Quartet Day”, honoring the 1938 founding of SPEBSQSA (‘Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America’) in Tulsa OK. It’s the 74th anniversary, so altogether now … hmmmm.
• “8-Track Tape Day”, a time for nostalgic memories of the old cartridge tape format of the 1970s. Get listeners to flip through their dusty tapes and call in some of the weirder titles.
• “World Parkinson’s Disease Day”, to boost awareness of the disorder and to spur new research and treatment innovations. The red tulip is the official flower of “World PD Day”.
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1989 [23] Cher wins ‘Best Actress’ Academy Award for “Moonstruck”
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1970 [42] The Beatles officially disband (coincidentally on the very day their single “Let It Be” hits #1)
2002 [10] Aretha Franklin and several Motown recording stars are honored with street names in Detroit’s new low-income housing project (“You can’t miss it, I live at the corner of Aretha and Smokey …”)
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1989 [23] 1st NHL playoff goal by a goaltender (Ron Hextall, Philadelphia Flyers)
TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
1996 [16] Greg Norman shoots a 63 at the Masters golf championship to tie the lowest-ever round in a major tournament
2003 [09] Detroit Tigers set MLB record by becoming the first team ever to start the baseball season with 9 consecutive losses … twice … in-a-row
COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Licorice Day
[Thurs] Support Teen Literature Day
[Fri] “The Cabin In the Woods”; “Lockout”; “The Three Stooges” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival begins (Indio CA)
[Fri] Scrabble Day
[Sat] “Trisha’s Southern Kitchen” debuts (Food Network)
[Sat] 27th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction (Cleveland)
This Week Is … Health Information Privacy & Security Week
This Month Is … International Guitar Month
BULL’S BITS
BS GENTLE WAYS TO SAY, “YOUR FLY IS OPEN”:
• “The cucumber has left the salad.”
• “You’ve got Windows in your laptop.”
• “Sailor Ned’s trying to take a little shore leave.”
• “Your soldier ain’t so unknown now.”
• “Paging Mr Johnson … Paging Mr Johnson …”
• “You need to bring your tray table to the upright and locked position.”
• “The Buick is not all the way in the garage.”
• “You’ve got a security breach at Los Pantalones.”
• “Do you have a permit to sell hotdogs?”
• “Our next guest is someone who needs no introduction …”
– Adapted from RedBubble.com
BS RANDOM JOKE:
If I could only grow green stuff in my garden like I can in my refrigerator.
BS WHYZITS:
• Whyzit drug addicts and computer aficionados are both called ‘users’?
• Whyzit grass only smells when you mow it?
• Whyzit the weaker our arguments are, the stronger the words we have to use?
• Whyzit a tire gauge lets out half the air when you’re trying to get a reading?
• Whyzit today’s rough times are always tomorrow’s ‘good old days’?
BS BRAIN BUSTER:
A man is running home. Upon approaching home he sees a man with a mask who is holding something. Frightened, the man who was running returns to the place he came from. What is happening here? (It’s a baseball game. The man was running to home plate. When he saw the catcher with the baseball he turned and ran back toward 3rd base.)
BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Where’s the oddest place you’ve brushed your teeth? (A poll by Oral-B Labs reveals that 4% of us brush our teeth in the shower; 2% in the washroom at work; and 1% in the kitchen, while watching TV, or in the car. Remember, though, you should never floss and drive.)
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: We throw away over 3.5 billion of THESE every year.
Answer: Wire hangers.
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
No revenge is more honorable than the one not taken.
