Thursday, December 16, 2010        Edition: #4409
Time For Your Daily Bovine Colonic!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Alice Cooper, Darlene Love, Dr John, Neil Diamond, and Tom Waits and have been chosen as the  Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s 2011 honorees, and they’ll be formally enshrined at the 26th Induction Ceremony March 14th at NYC’s Waldorf Astoria . . . Aussie actor Hugh Jackman has been slightly injured during this week’s taping of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” in Sydney, after sliding down a cable from the top of the famed Opera House towards a giant outdoor stage – then failing to stop (minor scrapes from running into light rigging) . . . By the way, Australia is spending more than $3 million to bring Oprah to the land Down Under, in an attempt to boost tourism (amongst women 49-plus?) . . . TV game show “Jeopardy!” will pit 2 of its most successful champions (Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings) against ‘Watson’, a computer program developed by IBM’s artificial intelligence team, in a 3-day competition for a $1-million prize (matches to air February 14-16) . . . A new study by Forrester Research has found that Internet usage has essentially caught up to TV viewing, climbing a whopping 121% over the past 5 years . . . 39-year-old “Dexter” (Showtime) star Michael C Hall has confirmed he’s divorcing his co-star wife Jennifer Carpenter after just 2 years of marriage (at least it’s a better fate than his screen wife ‘Rita Morgan’) . . . “Glee” (FOX) star Matthew Morrison (‘Will Schuester’) has no plans to relax when he finishes filming the current season in April, instead planning to head out on a world tour to promote his debut solo album, “Bringing It To the Masses” (due next year) . . . And 57-year-old former WWE star Hulk Hogan has wed his fiancée Jennifer McDaniel at their home in Clearwater FL, but the ceremony descended into chaos when cops were called in to break up a clash between a bodyguard and a paparazzo (unlike his wrestling matches, this rumble was for real!).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Colbert Report” (Comedy Central/CTV) – Oldies singer Paul Simon.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Jenny & Johnny (“I’m Having Fun Now”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/A Channel) – Tim McGraw (“Number One Hits”); Crystal Bowersox (“Farmer’s Daughter”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Diddy-Dirty Money (“Last Train to Paris”).
• “Larry King Live” (CNN) – It’s the end of an era as Larry hangs up his suspenders after 25 years and is saluted by a series of surprise guests. Brit TV personality Piers Morgan (“America’s Got Talent”) takes over the time slot in January.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – School Of Seven Bells (“Disconnect from Desire”).
• “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” (CBS) – Ruth Gerson (“Fools & Kings”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/A Channel) – Aloe Blacc (“Good Things”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni) – Florence & The Machine (“Lungs”), who also perform on the “Live On Letterman” webcast series at 8 pm ET.
• “Lopez Tonight” (TBS) – Ciara (“Basic Instinct”).
• “Tavis Smiley” (PBS) – Motown legend Stevie Wonder.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/A Channel) – Katharine McPhee (“Christmas Is The Time to Say I Love You”)

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Black Eyed Peas – Funk pioneer George Clinton has filed a copyright lawsuit against them, alleging they sampled his song “(Not Just) Knee Deep” without permission in a remix of their 2003 hit “Shut Up”. For that faux pas, he’s seeking $150,000 per infringement and an injunction prohibiting further distribution of the song.
• Brooks & Dunn – Kix Brooks is currently in the Middle East for a USO tour that also features cycling champ Lance Armstrong, plus comedians Robin Williams and Lewis Black.
• Easton Corbin – A new “Reader’s Digest”/Harris Interactive poll picks his tune “Roll With It” as the song that best captures America’s current state of mind. Corbin has also been named the ‘Top New Country Artist of 2010’ by “Billboard” magazine.
• Garth Brooks – Today he performs the first 2 shows of his 9-concert series at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in support of flood relief efforts. He’s sold over 140,000 tickets in total, raising more than $3.5 million for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. His wife Trisha Yearwood is also on the bill.
• Madonna – Her ‘Material Girl’ clothing line, initially exclusive to Macy’s department stores in America, is taking a first step toward going international by expanding to Hudson Bay Co stores in Canada.
• Oasis – Former lead guitarist Noel Gallagher is said to be on the wish list of potential judges for Simon Cowell’s upcoming US version of “The X Factor”, coming to FOX-TV next Fall. Also wanted: Mick Jagger, but that seems very unlikely.
• Paul McCartney – His 42-year-old ex, Heather Mills, is a step closer to achieving her goal of competing in the 2014 Paralympic Games after being accepted by the British Disabled Ski Team.
• Taylor Swift – For her 21st birthday, her actor-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal reportedly bought her a rare Fender Gretsch guitar signed by country music icon Chet Atkins, who died in 2001.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Medallion” – 46-year-old actor Nicolas Cage (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) is set to play the lead role in this action thriller about a former thief who has only a few hours to find his daughter who’s been kidnapped and put in the back of a ‘medallion taxi’ (the ubiquitous yellow cabs) in New York City. The film is scheduled for release in 2012.
• “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” – James McAvoy (“Atonement”) is said to be considering the role of ‘Mr Darcy’ in this horror adaptation of the Jane Austen classic. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s book, the story adds flesh-eating monsters to the period piece. Scarlett Johansson is being sought to play ‘Elizabeth Bennet’, though no announcement’s been made.
• “Safe House” – Country singer Tim McGraw (“Country Strong”, “The Blind Side”) is continuing his career on the silver screen, joining Denzel Washington & Ryan Reynolds in this upcoming action thriller. The story follows a CIA operative who must relocate a criminal from a safe house after it’s destroyed by a group of villains. The film’s due in 2012.
• “Southpaw” – Eminem will return to the bigscreen in this drama about a fast-rising welterweight boxer who fights his way to the title, only to see his world crash down around him due to tragedy. The project, which has been several years in the making, apparently appealed to the rapper because he’s interested in boxing and, in many ways, his own life has been a brawl.

RELAXING IS EXHAUSTING:
According to researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH, stopping a thought burns more energy than thinking. They compare it to trying to stop a truck on a downhill slope. Here’s the science: To stop thinking, the brain uses inhibitory neurons to prevent excitatory neurons from passing information. They do this by releasing an acid commonly called GABA.Bottom line is … relaxing can be exhausting, which could explain why so many of us struggle to unplug from work during vacation. (But we’re willing to try … about 12 weeks a year.)
– NewsUCanUse.com

THAT’S GOTTA HURT:
A museum in China has added a new exhibit dedicated to the history of the Chinese eunuch. ‘Eunuch’ is the Greek word for ‘bed keeper’ but during their heyday in the era of China’s Ming Dynasty eunuchs reached high positions of political power. The ‘family jewels’ were cut off of young boys and they were sent to live with the royal families as slaves.  The practice lasted 1,000 years in China and was meant to ensure there was no hanky-panky with royal wives and concubines. The last Chinese eunuch died in 1996. (There’s about 22 of them on the Carolina Panthers.)
– MSNBC.MSN.com

WAYS TO BE AN ECO-FRIENDLY COOK:
Expert tips on how to prepare food the smarter, greener way …
• Use the Right-Sized Burner – When you put a small pot on a large element, you waste heat.
• Boil Faster – For boiling water, an electric kettle is up to twice as efficient as a pot on the stove.
• Skip Preheating – Any food with a cooking time of more than 45 minutes can be started in a cold oven.
• Cook With Residual Heat – Turn off the oven a few minutes before the recipe indicates. It will remain hot enough to finish off the cooking.
• Nuke It – Microwaves use up to 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
• Get a Toaster Oven – It uses only a fraction of the energy of a full-sized one.
• Apply Pressure – A pressure cooker can save up to 70% of the energy that stove-tops use.
– Condensed from “Best Health”

ADS ON THE BOOKS:
eBook readers (Kindle, Kobo, etc) are a hot item this holiday season and advertisers are already experimenting with ways to pitch to consumers on them while they read. Videos, graphics, or text ads that appear when a reader first starts a book or along the border of the digital pages are being considered. Ads could be targeted based on a book’s content or on profile info about the reader. The ad biz has dabbled with books before without much success as authors howled and revenues proved skimpy. It’s not clear authors or readers would be any more accepting now. (Although fashion magazines seem to contain more ads than content.)
– “Wall Street Journal”

THE OTHER WOMAN GETS BETTER STUFF:
According to a new poll by online cheating service AshleyMadison.com, men spend about twice as much on their mistresses during the holidays as they do on their wives. While wives can expect perfume, bath & body products, and gift cards under the Christmas tree, guys are buying their little something on the side jewelry, lingerie, and day spa certificates. Thanks to tough economic times, the survey finds men are spending 22% less this year on their wives compared with 2006. Extramarital spending, however, remains about the same. (It’s all about Ho-Ho-Ho.)
– “New York Daily News”

FOR THE RECORD:
Guinness World Records has just ruled that the Facebook tributes to late actor Patrick Swayze on the 1st anniversary of his death (September 14th) have set a record for the most ever comments on a single Facebook posting … a total of 10,260 notes in his honor.
– ContactMusic.com

DID YOU KNOW?
• Starfish have a Teflon-like non-stick surface. (In case you ever want to fry an egg on sea life.)
• There’s a condition that can cause teenagers to sleep for weeks on end. (It’s called ‘teenage’.)
• Astronomers think there could be planets made of diamond. (At last, a rock to satisfy gold digger Oksana Grigorieva!)
– BBC News

BS CHRONOMETER 12.16.10

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1941 [69] Lesley Stahl, Lynn MA, extremely well-preserved (renovated?) TV journalist (“60 Minutes” since 1991)

1946 [64] Benny Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden, oldies singer (ABBA-“Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen”)

1949 [61] Billy Gibbons, Houston TX, classic rock guitarist/singer (ZZ Top-“Legs”, “Tush”)

1963 [47] Benjamin Bratt, San Francisco CA, TV actor (“The Cleaner” 2008-09, “Law & Order” 1990, 1995-99)/movie actor (“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”, “Miss Congeniality”)

1975 [35] Benjamin Kowalewicz, Montréal QC, rock singer (Billy Talent-“Rusted From the Rain”, “Devil In a Midnight Mass”)

1979 [31] Flo Rida (Tramar Dillard), Carol City FL, rapper (f/Ke$ha-“Right Round”, f/T-Pain-“Low”)

1988 [22] Anna Popplewell, London UK, movie actress (‘Susan Pevensie’ in “The Chronicles of Narnia” films)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Chocolate Covered Anything Day” (So fill up the tub!)

• “Eat What You Want Day”, a day to actually enjoy what you eat without worrying about quotas and content. (Go ahead, have another mug o’ gravy!)

• “Nine Days of Posadas” begins, the traditional Mexican Christmas celebration that includes breaking open a pinata. Similarly, “Misa de Gallo” (literally “Rooster’s Mass”) in the Philippines runs today through January 6th, said to be the world’s longest Christmas celebration.

• “Stupid Toy Day”, a half-hearted salute to some of the bad inventions marketed for kids. How about these real but really dumb ideas: ‘Fun Slides Carpet Skates’; ‘Stunt Granny Action Figure Play Set’; ‘Spitballs! The Sanitary Solution’; ‘Thumb Wrestling Masks’; ‘Russian Roulette Water Balloon Game’; ‘The Nose Flute’; ‘Flashing Vampire Fangs’; ‘Choke The Annoying Chicken’; ‘The Remote-Controlled Rat’

• “Tea Party Day” in Boston MA, anniversary  of the original 1773 ‘Boston Tea Party’, a protest over taxation by American colonists. (A holiday for Glenn Beck?)

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1905 [105] Show biz journal “Variety” debuts (still being published)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1971 [39] Don McLean releases the 8-and-a-half minute single, “American Pie”, one of the longest songs to ever hit the pop chart (perfect for air personality restroom breaks!)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2004 [06] Britain’s highest court rules that the government can not detain foreign suspects indefinitely without trial (does the name Julian Assange ring a bell?)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1998 [12] Kevin Cole of Carlsbad, New Mexico sets a new world record by blowing 7 inches of spaghetti out of his nose, beating the previous record of 5 inches (mom must be proud)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Underdog Day
[Fri] Clean Air Day
[Fri] “How Do You Know”; “TRON: Legacy”; “Yogi Bear” open in movie theaters
[Sat] International Migrants Day
[Sun] Oatmeal Muffin Day
This Week Is … Drunk Drivers Awareness Week
This Month Is … Safe Toys & Gifts Month

BULL’S BITS

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• Which do most of us think is the most critical to our self-esteem?
a. The look of our hair.
b. The appearance of our bodies. [CORRECT, selected by 36%. 24% pick hair; 22% smile.]
c. How our smile looks.
– Opinion Research Corp

• Which entertainer have the most people seen perform live?
a. Late singer Michael Jackson.
b. Illusionist David Copperfield. [CORRECT]
c. Country singer Garth Brooks.
– Halife.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Let’s organize this thing and take all the fun out of it.

BS PHONE STARTER:
What profession deserves to be paid more? (In a new AP-Stanford University poll, 57% of respondents say teachers are paid too little.)

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: Research shows that women who have one of THESE attract men but are considered a threat to other women.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: A high-pitched voice. (TIME.com)

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A fault recognized is half corrected.