December 1, 2010

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Wednesday, December 1, 2010              Edition: #4398
Bully For You!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
“Deadline Hollywood” reports that it looks like actors Anne Hathaway (28) & James Franco (32) will host the 83rd annual “Academy Awards” on February 27th (thereby younging up the hosting age by about a decade) . . . The drama “Winter’s Bone” is fast emerging as an Oscar favorite after landing the ‘Best Feature’ honors at this week’s “2010 Gotham Independent Film Awards” in NYC (how come the good films are the ones we’ve never heard of?) . . . “Desperate Housewives” actress Eva Longoria says that the rumors are untrue – she has no plans to adopt a baby as a single-MILF (that comes after you’ve totally given up on the old fashioned method) . . . Fashion designer Stella McCartney (daughter of Paul) has given birth to a daughter (she now has 4 little munchkins to outfit in her natty Gap Kids togs) . . . Matthew Wilder, director of “Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story”, says axing Lindsay Lohan from the upcoming bio-pic feels like ‘16 tons’ off his mind (BS translation: It was a good dump) . . . Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian (“Keeping Up With the Kardashians”) says she felt ‘disgusted’ after losing her virginity at 14 (we’re disgusted she felt the need to blab about it in the book she ‘co-wrote’) . . . And the ubiquitous Ryan Seacrest has signed a new 3-year partnership with Clear Channel Communications which, among other things, grows his syndicated radio show “On-Air With Ryan Seacrest” to 4 hours and pays him circa $60 million in total, according to “New York Times” (well, that drops us down the list of ‘Highest-Paid Radio Personalities’ to #4,957,204).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “America’s Next Top Model” (CW) – After shooting a commercial and print ad, the models walk the final runway; then the winner is chosen.
• “Chelsea Lately” (E!) – Cee Lo Green (“The Lady Killer”).
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Cake (“Showroom Of Compassion”).
• “Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (Comedy Central/CTV) – Sting (“Symphonicities”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/A Channel) – Cee Lo Green.
• “Grammy Nominations Concert Live” (CBS) – LL Cool J hosts a 1-hour special from Club Nokia in Los Angeles, announcing the nominees for the 53rd “Grammy Awards” (February 13th). Performances by BoB, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Miranda Lambert.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Ra Ra Riot (“The Orchard”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/A Channel) – Bruce Springsteen (“The Promise: The Darkness On the Edge Of Town Story”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni) – Nicki Minaj (“Pink Friday”).
• “Lopez Tonight” (TBS) – Cee-Lo Green.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/A Channel) – Darius Rucker (“Charleston SC 1966”).
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Sheryl Crow (“100 Miles From Memphis”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Alicia Keys – Today she initiates “Digital Life Sacrifice”, a fundraiser for her ‘Keep A Child Alive Foundation’ in which celebrities pledge to stay off Twitter and Facebook until $1 million is raised. Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, and Usher are among those helping out. (So if we don’t contribute … they stay off social media forever? Cool.)
• Foo Fighters – They’re getting back to basics, recording their next album in Dave Grohl’s garage with producer Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana’s landmark “Nevermind” album. The new Foo is due in Spring 2011.
• Lady Gaga – Correspondent Anderson Cooper says he’ll never forget interviewing her in London because she got him so tipsy on Jameson Irish whisky, he struggled to finish questioning her. The segment is scheduled to air on “60 Minutes” (CBS) in February.
• No Doubt – Gwen Stefani says her 4-year-old son Kingston really likes nail polish. (Wearing or sniffing?)
• P!nk – If she has a baby boy, she says she wants to name him Jameson … like the whiskey. (Beats the heck out of ‘Beige’ or ‘Taupe’.)
• Simon & Garfunkel – On his website, oldies singer Art Garfunkel displays a complete list of every book that he’s read for the past 42 years, in order, including the dates on which he read each. (Do we have OCD?)
NET: http://www.artgarfunkel.com/library/list1.html
• System Of a Down – They’ve announced an end to their hiatus. They’ll reunite in 2011 for at least a European tour next June.
• Usher – He tells “ Daily Star” he feels pressured to be ‘the new Michael Jackson’ and he’s happy to fill the void. (Is he taking dumb comments lessons from Kanye?)

BS BUZZWORDS:
New terms leaking into the lingo …
• ‘Busy Brain’ – A mental state that includes racing thoughts, anxiety, lack of focus, and sleeplessness. (“I am totally out of it this morning. I was awake all night with busy brain.”)
• ‘Cougar Lift’ – Cosmetic surgery performed on a middle-aged woman to enhance her prospects of dating younger men. (“Nice cougar lift, although the navel in your forehead is a tad obvious.”)
• ‘Vegivore’ – A person who craves or has a special fondness for vegetables. (“She became a vegivore because she secretly loves the sound of carrots screaming when they’re dumped in boiling water.”)

BIOLOGICAL CLOCK:
Older female butterflies spend up to 55% of their day flying in order to catch the attention of a mate, scientists have found. Researchers studying speckled wood butterflies observed virgin females acting more conspicuously as they aged. While they still had enough lifespan left to lay and feed their eggs, females increased their activity … apparently in order to attract a mate. (For related information, see ‘Cougar Lift’ above.)
– “Animal Behavior”

THE SPENDING OF THE GREEN:
As usual, the 84th edition of the “Christmas Book” from Dallas-based luxury retailer Neiman-Marcus includes some jaw-dropping, lavish gift ideas including …
• A ‘Gourd Ukulele’ musical instrument, handmade by Danny Ferrington … $6,000.
• An edible 21.5 square foot ‘Gingerbread Playhouse’ … $15,000.
• A ‘Tequila Avion Party’ for you & 75 guests by A-list event planner Colin Cowie …$125,000.
• ‘His & Hers Charm Bracelets’, with 11 diamond & gold charms commemorating N-M’s previous annual ‘His & Hers’ gifts … $248,000.
• ‘MetroShip Houseboat’, a luxury watercraft built for traveling or just partying … $250,000.
• ‘Pool Art’, a 22-by-12 foot installation by glass artist Dale Chihuly at the bottom of your swimming pool … $1.5 million.
NET: http://bit.ly/i7L0K3
– Luxist.com

GREEN TIPPLING:
Distilling whisky results in waste products, namely pot ale left in the copper stills and spent grains. Scottish scientists have now developed a means to convert this waste matter into a useful biofuel. It can even be used in conventional cars without adapting their engines. The new method developed by the team produces butanol, which gives 30% more power output than the traditional biofuel ethanol. The researchers think it could also be used to fuel planes and as the basis for chemicals such as the solvent acetone. (For the good of the Earth, drink more whisky!)
– Guardian.co.uk

UNDER THE SEA:
Slovenian winemaker Ivan Simonic is planning to build a wine cellar … beneath the ocean. He discovered the underwater conditions produce excellent wines after retrieving 600 bottles that he laid 6 months ago in clay-made amphoras on the Adriatic seabed. The sparkling wine, named ‘Poseidon’ after the Greek god of the sea, was placed at a depth of 30 meters (98 ft) where the temperature is about 12 C (54 F), perfect for storing and maturing wine. What’s more, the constant movement of the sea means the usual techniques used to mature sparkling wine are not necessary. (It’s not so convenient for shopping, however.)
– SMH.com.au

DID YOU KNOW?
• A woman spends, on average, 3 times longer on each visit to a public restroom than a man, yet there are usually the same number of stalls in each convenience.
– WHO
• A cup of coffee combined with a 20-minute nap will double the caffeine effect.
– BBC News
• In Tromso, Norway the Sun has gone down and it won’t come up again until January. It happens every year in this community in the Arctic Circle. Children mark the beginning of the period called ‘Morketid’ by setting out candles in the town square.
– “Ordinary Finds”
• Nashville TN musician Matt Glassmeyer has built a roof on his porch out of 350 damaged vinyl LP records. He says it’s held up pretty well after 2 years of use.
– TreeHugger.com

BS CHRONOMETER 12.01.10

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1935 [75] Woody Allen (Allen Stewart Konigsberg), Brooklyn NY, film director/writer/actor (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, “Match Point”)/2 Oscars (“Hannah & Her Sisters” 1987, “Annie Hall” 1978)  COMING UP: “Midnight in Paris”, starring Rachel McAdams & Owen Wilson (2011).

1945 [65] Bette Midler, Honolulu HI, pop singer (“Wind Beneath My Wings”)/movie actress (“The Stepford Wives”)

1970 [40] Sarah Silverman, Bedford NH, comedian/TV personality (“Sarah Silverman Program” 2007-10, “Saturday Night Live” 1993-94)/talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s ex-girlfriend

1977 [33] Brad Delson, Agoura CA, rock guitarist (Linkin Park-“The Catalyst”, “In The End”)

1978 [32] Mat Kearney, Eugene OR, pop singer (“Nothing Left to Lose”, “Undeniable”)

1985 [25] Janelle Monae, Kansas City KS, pop/soul singer/songwriter (f/Big Boi-“Tightrope”, “Cold War”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Advent Calendar Day”, the day many kids begin opening one compartment on their seasonal calendar each day through December 24th. Hey, is that chocolate in there?

• “Bifocals At the Monitor Day”, a day of lamentation for all those forced to tip their heads back open-mouthed in order to use a computer, thanks to their need for bifocal lenses. Gradually, more and more of the Boomer generation is suffering ‘presbyopia’ (Greek word for ‘aging eye’).

• “Hanukkah” begins at sunset, the 8-day Jewish celebration also known as “Festival of Lights”. Traditions include the lighting of candles placed in the menorah and the exchange of gifts. Children often play the dreidel game.

• “Let’s See What We Find In the Fridge Day”, a day to be brave and eat something from the back of the refrigerator. So what did you find?

• “Pie Day”, honoring the popular culinary creation as an ‘art form’. (We like it as a weapon.)

• “St Eligius Day,” patron saint of farmers, miners, taxi drivers, veterinarians, jockeys and locksmiths.

• “World AIDS Day”, the 22nd annual day of AIDS awareness and education, first declared by the UN’s World Health Organization in 1988. The UN estimates that 5 people worldwide die of AIDS every minute of every day. HIV has hit every corner of the globe, infecting over 42 million men, women, and children. The official symbol of “World AIDS Day” is the red ribbon. In some communities, the occasion is observed as “Day Without Art”.
NET: http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/en/World-AIDS-Day

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2003 [07] World premiere of the 3rd and final “Lord Of the Rings” movie, “The Return Of the King”, in Wellington NZ (#3 movie of all-time, grossing $1.12 billion worldwide)

2004 [06] Tom Brokaw signs off for the last time as anchor of the “NBC Nightly News” (succeeded by Brian ‘Bent Nose’ Williams)

2009 [01] 78-year-old TV personality Regis Philbin (“Live With Regis & Kelly”) undergoes hip-replacement surgery (he’s being refurbished one piece at a time)

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1891 [119] James Naismith, a YMCA trainer from Almonte ON, nails up 2 peach baskets on opposite ends of the gym at Springfield College in Massachusetts and instructs students to toss soccer balls into them, thus inventing the game of ‘basketball’

1929 [81] Game of ‘Bingo’ invented by Edwin Lowe (nowadays it’s a $5-billion-a-year charitable fundraiser)

1953 [57] Starlet/model Marilyn Monroe is featured as the nude centerfold in the 1st issue of “Playboy” magazine

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] International Day For the Abolition of Slavery Day
[Thurs] Special Education Day
[Fri] “CMT Artists Of the Year” (CMT)
[Fri] NASCAR Sprint Series Awards Ceremony (Las Vegas)
[Fri] “The Warrior’s Way” opens in movie theaters
[Sun] 2010 Kennedy Center Honors (Washington DC)
[Mon] “American Country Awards” (FOX)
This Week Is … Cookie Cutter Week
This Month Is … World Aids Month

BULL’S BITS

BS USES FOR NAVEL LINT:
45-year-old Australian librarian Graham Barker has dedicated 26 years to staring at his own navel, carefully extracting 22.1 grams (.77 oz) of lint which he sorted by color in clear jars. That’s enough for a “Guinness World Record”. But what to do with it? How about …
• Self-sticking fake sideburns or mustache.
• Don’t wanna forget something? Tie some navel lint around your finger!
• Tug-o-war for really, really weak people.
• Fix your kid’s yo-yo.
• Bundle newspapers for recycling.
• Really tasty dental floss!
• Sell it to the world’s grossest museum. (That, in fact, is what’s he’s done, according to “Daily Mail”.)

CLASSIC “GOOSEBUMPS” BOOK OR CHEESY HORROR FILM?
Are the following titles from the mega-successful “Goosebumps” kids’ books by author RL Stine or from low-budget, B-movie fright-flicks?
• “It Came From Beneath the Sink!” [Goosebumps]
• “At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul” [Horror Film]
• “The Girl Who Cried Monster” [Goosebumps]
• “Horrors of Spider Island” [Horror Film]
• “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” [Horror Film]
• “Legend Of the Lost Legend” [Goosebumps]
• “Spider Baby” [Horror Film]
• “The Blob That Ate Everyone” [Goosebumps]
• “Monsters Crash the Pajama Party” [Horror Film]
• “The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living & Became Mixed-Up Zombies” [Horror Film]
– Thanks to Josh Halbur

BS WEB GOODIE:
If you’re too lazy to slog around navy yards looking for a used aircraft carrier, now you can buy one online! ‘HMS Invincible’ served Britain’s Royal Navy 1980-2005, including combat action during the Falklands War. Just click on ‘Add to Cart’ (seriously!).
NET: http://bit.ly/fyZKzL

BS PHONE STARTER:
Which has-been star would you like to see make a comeback?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I’ve got two kids at home. I really should give them back though.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: According to a survey, the #1 sound most people like to wake up to is the sound of birds chirping. And THIS sound comes in second.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: The sound of bacon frying.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
What you are, not what you have, is what makes you rich.

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