Thursday, February 16, 2017 – Edition: #5913

Sheet Happens!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Today Lady Antebellum reveals the first round of nominees for the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards during the 8 am ET hour on “CBS This Morning”. Nancy O’Dell and Kevin Frazier reveal additional nominees on the “Entertainment Tonight” website at 8:50 am ET. Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley are returning to host the 52nd annual “ACM Awards” live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas NV on April 2nd.
– MusicRow.com
★ Hilary Duff’s ex-husband Mike Comrie is reportedly under investigation over a rape allegation. An unnamed woman claims she met the 36-year-old retired NHL hockey player in a bar Saturday night and they went back to his LA home where he assaulted her “multiple times”. Sources connected to Comrie, however, claim the woman is a longtime acquaintance who had given her full consent, and furthermore there was another woman present at the scene who has not filed any complaint.
– TMZ.com.
★ And we saw this coming months ago … Ben Affleck reportedly doesn’t want to be ‘Batman’ anymore. After recent news that Affleck has stepped down as director on “The Batman”, rumors are now swirling that he wants to drop out of the film completely. Affleck made his debut as the ‘Caped Crusader’ in last year’s poorly received “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. He also appears in the role later this year in “Justice League”. But word has it he’s now looking to negotiate an exit from the role. DC Cinematic Universe just can’t seem to catch a break with the new pic, experiencing one problem after another.
– Canoe.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Body Language Decoded” (CBC) – This new documentary examines how body movements are often more important than words for communication. The doc examines the different body language used in various parts of the world.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Shovels & Rope (“Little Seeds”). Rerun.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Fat Joe & Remy Ma (“All the Way Up”).
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/CTV) – Bibi Bourelly (“Ballin'”).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Bebe Rexha (“I Got You”).
• “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global) – Lady Antebellum (“You Look Good”).
• “Live With Kelly” (syndicated/CTV) – Music producer Timbaland.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Rag’n’Bone Man (“Skin”).
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo) – Adam Lambert (“Welcome to the Show”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Alanis Morissette – Her California home has been hit by burglars in a big way … they made off with $2 million in jewelry. Law enforcement sources say the burglars broke into her Brentwood home last week when the singer was not at home.
• Blake Shelton – Tonight his “Doing It to Country Songs Tour” kicks off in Bakersfield CA. Dates are scheduled through March 18th in Omaha NE. RaeLynn is the opening act.
• Calvin Harris – He’s teasing new music on which he’s collaborating with the ”greatest artists of our generation”. The 33-year-old DJ-and-producer hasn’t named names, but he confirms that his new album is in the mixing stage.
• The Chainsmokers – The debut album from Alex Pall and Drew Taggart is entitled “Memories: Do Not Open” and it’s being released on April 7th. The duo has previously only released music on shorter EPs.
• Kid Rock – He’s being considered as a potential candidate for US Senate. The 46-year-old musician (real name Robert Ritchie) has apparently been thrown into the mix at a Michigan Republican Party convention as one of the potential contenders for a seat opening next year.
• Luke Bryan – Tonight the next leg of his “Kill the Lights Tour” gets underway in Huntington WV. New dates have been added for February and March. Brett Eldredge is the opener.
• Maroon 5 – Adam Levine has recruited his model-wife Behati Prinsloo for the group’s new music video “Cold”. A preview shows Adam arriving home from a wild night out and laying on top of the bed while his wife is under the covers asleep with an eye mask on.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Harriet” – Broadway star Cynthia Erivo is portraying African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in this new bio-pic from director Seith Mann. Tubman escaped slavery and subsequently led over 300 slaves to freedom through the fabled ‘Underground Railroad’ of secret routes and safe-houses in the mid-1800s.
• “McQueen” – The life of late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen is depicted in this bio-film coming later this year. McQueen died of suicide in 2010 at age 40. The feature-length documentary explores the creative mastermind’s life from his early work an apprentice at a Savile Row tailoring company to launching his own designer label.
• “The Sea Change” – 56-year-old Brit actress Kristin Scott Thomas (“The English Patient”) is starring and making her directorial debut with this romantic drama based on the 1959 Elizabeth Jane Howard novel of the same name. The story focuses on a couples’ struggling marriage as they find themselves thrown together with a group of people on a remote Greek island.
• “Siberia” – In this upcoming romantic thriller, 52-year-old actor Keanu Reeves stars as a jewelry smuggler whose precious stones are swiped, leading him to track the bandit into the harsh climes of northern Russia. Along the way he falls in love with a local café owner in a small Siberian town. Production starts later this year.
• “Terms Of Endearment” – Lee Daniels (“Empire”) is considering directing Oprah Winfrey in a remake of the 1983 movie classic. It would mark the first time the two have worked together since 2013’s “The Butler”. The original film adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel picked up 5 Oscars, including ‘Best Picture’ and acting prizes for Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson.

HOW DO YOU FLAG ONE OF THESE DOWN?
Dubai is aiming to become the world’s first city to have passenger-carrying drones operating in its skies. The Emirate’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) says it is on track to launch them by this July. The RTA has been working alongside Chinese firm EHang, whose Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV), the EHang 184, is being transformed to taxi passengers. Using a touchscreen to select a preset destination, passengers can travel for up to 30 minutes at a top speed of 100 km/hr (60mph), all the while being monitored by a ground-based control center. Dubai is aiming to transform 25% of all traffic into self-driving modes of transport by 2030. (We’ve been promised “Jetsons”-style flying cars for decades … could this be it?)
– RT.com

COOL HAT:
As if cancer isn’t bad enough, losing all your hair due to chemo treatments adds humiliation to the pain. In an attempt to stifle hair-loss, ‘cooling caps’ have become massively popular with European chemo patients. A new study published this week offers some of the first clinical proof of their effectiveness. The study shows approximately half of breast cancer patients using a cooling cap lose less than half their hair; and about 5% keep all their hair. Cooling caps are affixed to patients’ heads before, during, and after chemo; a machine cycles cooling liquid through the caps. While researchers aren’t exactly sure how the caps prevent hair-loss, one theory is they restrict blood vessels in the scalp, reducing the amount of chemo that reaches hair follicles. (This could be a major development as some people actually turn down potentially life-saving chemo in order to keep their hair.)
– “New York Times”

AWESOME CHILDHOOD PASTIMES THAT KIDS DON’T DO ANYMORE:
✗ Watching Saturday morning cartoons on TV.
✗ Walking over to someone’s house to see if they’re home.
✗ Collecting, trading, and playing marbles.
✗ Climbing trees and building tree-houses.
✗ Making prank calls on the phone.
✗ Collecting baseball cards.
✗ Staying out all day without your parents being able to contact you.
✗ Playing ‘manhunt’ at night while running through people’s yards.
✗ Writing notes in class.
✗ Putting playing cards in the spokes of your bike.
✗ Ding-dong doorbell ditching.
✗ Reading actual books.
– Condensed from List25.com

DEAD AIR:
A new study that claims air pollution is one of the leading causes of death should be alarming for the 92% of the world’s population breathing in polluted air, especially those in China and India. The research finds air pollution has been responsible for over 4.2 million deaths in 2015 alone (the 5th-leading cause of death worldwide), including 1.1 million each in China and India. While China has been working to rectify the issue, nothing is being done in India where deaths linked to pollution have jumped 50% since 1990. The reasons cited are rapid industrialization, coal production, massive population growth, and an aging public more vulnerable to pollution. There’s better news elsewhere – the 20% increase in deaths from air pollution worldwide since 1990 is slower than the rate of population increase. (Even so, surgical masks have become a fashion item in China.)
– Agence France-Presse

BS AMAZING FACT:
Humanity is yet to run out of a single fossil fuel.
– “Cap X”

BS CHRONOMETER 02.16.17

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1958 [59] Ice T (Tracy Morrow), Newark NJ, TV actor (‘Detective Fin Tutuola’ on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” since 2000)/former rapper (“Cop Killer”)

1961 [56] Andy Taylor, Newcastle UK, classic rock guitarist (Duran Duran-“The Reflex”, “Hungry Like the Wolf”)

1974 [43] Mahershala Ali, Oakland CA, movie actor (“Hidden Figures”, “Moonlight”)/TV actor (‘Cottonmouth’ on “Luke Cage” 2016, “House of Cards” 2013-16)

1977 [40] Brad Walst, Norwood ON, rock bassist-vocalist (Three Days Grace-“Break”, “Just Like You”)

1982 [35] Lupe Fiasco (Wasalu Jaco), Chicago IL, rapper (“The Show Goes On”, “Superstar”)

1987 [30] Ryan Follesé, Nashville TN, pop vocalist-guitarist (Hot Chelle Rae-“Tonight Tonight”, “I Like It Like That”)

1989 [28] Danielle Haim, LA CA, pop-rock guitarist/drummer (Haim-“The Wire”, “Forever”)

1989 [28] Elizabeth Olsen, Sherman Oaks CA, movie actress (“Captain America: Civil War”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Almond Day”, saluting what’s believed to be one of the earliest cultivated foods. 80% of the world’s almonds are now grown in California.

• “Day Of the Shining Star”, a public holiday in North Korea when the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il (1941-2011) is celebrated.

• “Do a Grouch a Favor Day”, a day to perform an unexpected good deed to cheer up someone who’s sulky.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2002 [15] Thieves break into George Michael’s London home and steal over $170,000-worth of paintings, jewelry, and designer clothes; then drive off in his $135,000 Aston Martin DB7

2007 [10] Britney Spears shaves her own head after an LA salon owner refuses to do it for her

2011 [06] Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” makes history, becoming the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart’s 1,000th #1 hit

2015 [02] Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea breaks his arm in 5 places in a gnarly snowboarding accident

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1937 [80] The synthetic fabric ‘Nylon’ is 1st patented by DuPont & Co

2005 [12] National Hockey League cancels the entire regular season and playoffs, becoming the 1st major sports league in North America to do so over a labor dispute

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] “Fist Fight”; “The Great Wall” open in movie theaters
[Fri] World Information Architecture Day
[Sat] Drink Wine Day
[Sun] Best Friends Day
[Mon] Presidents Day (USA)
[Mon] Family Day (Canada)
This Week Is … Justice for Animals Week
This Month Is … Jobs in Golf Month

BULL’S BITS

BS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EXCUSE NOTES:
They’re real, but they’re really lame …
• “Justin was at his grandmother’s yesterday and she did not bring him to school because he couldn’t remember where the school was.”
• “Matthew could not finish his work last night. He said his brain was too tired of spelling.”
• “Josh hurt his knee in a karate tournament over the weekend. He won his age group, but was in too much pain to do his math assignment.”
• “Amy did not do her homework last night because we went out to a party and did not get home until late. If she is tired, please let her sleep during recess time.”
• “Ryan stayed home because he had a stomach ache from eating too much frosting.”
• “It was my fault Michael did not do his math homework last night. His pencil broke and we do not have a pencil sharpener at home.”
• “Zachary didn’t practice last night because he lost his tooth in the mouthpiece of his trumpet.”
• “Emma was late on Wednesday. She fell asleep on the bus and was taken back to the bus yard.”
• “Cody was absent yesterday because we were at cosmic bowling until 2 am.”
• “Noah wasn’t in school yesterday because he thought it was Saturday.”

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Once I wept for I had no shoes. Then I came upon a man who had no feet. So I took his shoes. I mean, it’s not like he really needed them, right?

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What are your top 3 must-have smartphone apps?

BS U-PICK GASEOUS TRIVIA:
• What gas is used to fill birthday balloons so they float in the air?
a. Hydrogen
b. Helium [CORRECT]
c. Methane

• What’s it called when heat is transferred through a liquid or gas?
a. Refraction
b. Convection [CORRECT]
c. Methane

• Which is a example of a ‘noble gas’, which is stable?
a. Neon [CORRECT]
b. Ethanol
c. Methane
– Wikipedia.org

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: More than half of women say doing THIS makes a guy better looking.
Answer: Holding a musical instrument. (“Jared, you look so hot with that tuba …”)

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
There are no exceptions to the rule that everybody likes to be an exception to the rule.