Wednesday, February 29, 2012        Edition: #4695

Monthly Planning Calendar in Today’s “BS”!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
18-year-old AnnaSophia Robb has landed the role of a young ‘Carrie Bradshaw’ in the upcoming “Sex & The City” prequel TV series, “The Carrie Diaries” (yep, they’re milking it) . . . Actor James Spader is leaving his role as CEO ‘Robert California’ on “The Office” (NBC) after just 1 season, suggesting that was always his intention (BS translation: This ship is sinking fast!) . . . Actress Heather Locklear & former fiancé Jack Wagner will not face charges over their December domestic bust-up as LA prosecutors have decided to drop any legal action (they’d rather take someone more famous to court) . . . Meantime, TMZ is reporting that Wagner will be one of the contestants when “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC) returns March 19th, alongside 47-year-old former child star Melissa Gilbert (“Little House On the Prairie”) and Sherri Shepherd (“The View”) . . . “True Blood’s” upcoming season on HBO will be the last with creator-producer Alan Ball in charge, the network announcing he’ll step down to an advisory role if the show has a 6th go-round (season 5 debuts June 24th) . . . Online voting to name a new bridge over the Morava River from Slovakia to Austria is overwhelmingly in favor of calling it ‘The Chuck Norris Bridge’, the aging martial arts star pulling a whopping 74% (former empress Maria Theresa is 2nd at just 8%) . . . 41-year-old actress Uma Thurman has confirmed to “People” mag she’s expecting her 3rd child, her first via on-and-off boyfriend Arpad Busson (seems he was on-again) . . . Actress Lucy Liu is set to play Sherlock Holmes’ first female ‘Dr Watson’ in a modern-day TV take on the famous detective stories to be set in NYC and entitled “Elementary” (British actor Jonny Lee Miller plays the sleuth) . . . And perhaps surprisingly, 48-year-old Kathy Ireland has been named ‘Richest Model In the World’ in a new “Forbes” magazine ranking for amassing a fortune estimated at $350 million (she no longer walks the catwalk but her company Kathy Ireland Worldwide now sells products at over 60,000 locations in 15 countries).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion” (CW) – In the season 18 debut, former “Britain’s Next Top Model” contestants compete against a new crop of American hopefuls.
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – The female semifinalists perform.
• “George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight” (CBC) – Jordan Knight (New Kids On the Block).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CHCH) – Wallpaper (“Doodoo Face”).
• “King” (Showcase) – 2012 ‘Outstanding Female Performer’ ACTRA Award-winner Amy Price-Francis returns as homicide detective ‘Jessica King’ in the 2nd season debut.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Portugal. The Man (“In the Mountain In the Cloud”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – ‘Springsteen Tribute Week’ continues.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – Robert Glasper Experiment f/Lupe Fiasco & Bilal (“Black Radio”).
• NME Awards (London) – Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey, Odd Future, and The Vaccines are among acts nominated as the winners are announced at the O2 Academy Brixton. Noel Gallagher picks up the ‘Godlike Genius Award’ for career achievement.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Romeo Santos (“Formula Vol 1”).
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Lyle Lovett (“Release Me”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Jennifer Hudson w/Ne-Yo – The video for their duet “Think Like A Man” debuts today. It’s the lead single from the soundtrack of the upcoming film of the same name based on the best-selling book by comedian Steve Harvey. The soundtrack is due out April 10th.
• Lady Gaga – Star Will Smith has confirmed she has a cameo role in the upcoming 3rd instalment of the “Men In Black” movie franchise. Former boxer Mike Tyson, veteran actress Betty White, and ex-“X Factor” judge Nicole Scherzinger are among other celebs believed to be taking part. (Stunt-casting … a sure sign that an idea has been worn out.)
• Little Big Town – This week they’re in the studio recording their 5th album. Today they give fans a glimpse of the process and hold a live online chat at 5:45 CST …
NET: http://new.livestream.com/littlebigtown/studiocam
• Madonna – Her manager is denying a track from her upcoming album “MDNA” has been re-named due to legal pressure from “Girls Gone Wild” entrepreneur Joe Francis. It’s claimed the decision to change the title to “Girl Gone Wild” was ‘part of the final tweaking process’.
• Sex Pistols – The Brit punk rockers have signed with Universal, which will re-release their seminal 1977 album “Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols”. The expanded and repackaged release will tie in with the album’s 35th anniversary later this year.

THE BIG LEAP:
Today is “Leap Year Day”, the calendar correction that occurs every 4 years. A few facts …
• In Leap Years (aka ‘bissextile’ years), a day is added to bring our Gregorian calendar more into accord with Earth’s orbital period … roughly 365.2422 days.
• If we didn’t have Leap Year, our calendar would become so out-of-line it would need a major adjustment like in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII declared October 5th to be October 15th and 10 entire days instantly disappeared!
• A person born on a Leap Day is called a ‘29er’, a ‘leapling’ or a ‘leaper’. The odds of being born on February 29th are 1-in-1,461.
• Leap Day has often been celebrated as “Bachelors’ Day” or “Sadie Hawkins Day”, traditionally when girls can ask a guy out. The tradition of women proposing to men on this day dates all the way back to 5th-Century Ireland.
• Leap Day effects us in many ways, ie: inmates serve an extra day in jail, but it’s unlikely your bank will give you an extra day’s interest. And this may make you want to take the day off … unless you get paid by the hour or per diem, you’re working for free today.
• What is the official name for a non-Leap Year? It’s called a ‘Common Year’.
• The ‘Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies’ is an association with several goals, including having Leap Day printed on calendars like holidays are.
• Every year in which Summer Olympics are held is coincidentally also a Leap Year.
NET: http://www.leapyearday.com
– ListsOPlenty.com

BS CUTTING-EDGE VOCAB:
New terms leaking into our lingo …
✓ ‘Diabulimia’ – A term combining diabetes + bulimia, this is an eating disorder in which a diabetic person attempts to lose weight by regularly omitting insulin injections. (Not only dumb but dangerous!)
✓ ‘Gen C’ – The latest nickname for the ‘Gen Y’, ‘Millennial’ or ‘Echo Boomer’ generation. It stands for ‘Generation Connected’, reflecting their penchant for social media, online videos, and use of portable devices.
✓ ‘Preppers’ – The new wave of survivalists who are caching food and water in case of an unspecified future disaster. Even retailer Costco has jumped on the bandwagon, offering survival kits in backpacks with enough food for 2 weeks, knives, a hatchet, duct tape, a tent, and a first-aid kit.

SHAKE IT UP:
Want to boost your creativity? Have an innovative breakfast. For instance, pour milk into a bowl and then add the cereal. According to a new study from Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, preparing a common meal in reverse order can stimulate innovative thinking. Researchers think that’s because avoiding conventional behavior and breaking patterns leads to more flexible and creative thinking. Active involvement in a normal event, they say, can trigger higher levels of creativity. (Trying commuting all the way to work in reverse.)
– Miller-McCune.com

BS AMAZING FACT:
81% of littering is done intentionally. Age, not gender, is a significant predictor of littering behavior. People under 30 are more likely to litter than those who are older.
– TTP

BS CHRONOMETER 02.29.12