BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Benedict Cumberbatch is leading a campaign urging the UK government to pardon thousands of gay men who were convicted of ‘gross indecency’ in post WW2 years. The actor became angered by the treatment of code-breaker Alan Turing during his research for that role in “The Imitation Game”. Turing was posthumously pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013. Now Cumberbatch, along with “Imitation Game” director Morten Tyldum and openly gay actor Stephen Fry are leading a campaign for all gay men to receive a pardon like Turing. To that end they’ve published an open letter in Britain’s “The Guardian” newspaper this week.
– WENN.com
★ Actor Bradley Cooper and his model-girlfriend Suki Waterhouse are rumored to be moving in together when he relocates to London for a stint on the West End stage. The “Hangover” actor is set to take his Broadway show “The Elephant Man” to London in May, and he reportedly plans to set up house with the Brit model. Word has it he’s currently looking at rental possibilities and keeping her in the loop with all of his suggestions. Cooper and Waterhouse have been dating since meeting at the “Elle Style Awards” in London 2 years ago.
– “The Sun”
★ And actor Kiefer Sutherland has set a new benchmark for celeb drivers racing cars around a test track on Brit TV program “Top Gear”. The “24” star took part in the latest episode of the motoring show’s ‘Star In a Reasonably Priced Car’ segment and his rain-drenched lap set a new record. He completed his circuit of the track in England in 1 minute, 49.2 seconds, fractions quicker than singer James Blunt, meaning Sutherland now leads the speed list for wet laps. However, TV tough-guy Sutherland admits the stunt had his heart pumping. Quote: “It scared the crap out of me.”
– ContactMusic.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Dierks Bentley (“Riser”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Charli XCX (“Sucker”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – The Budos Band (“Burnt Offering”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni1) – Diana Krall (“Wallflower”).
• “Queen Latifah” (syndicated) – Jennifer Hudson (“JHUD”); Madden Brothers (“Greetings From California”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Neil Young (“Storytone”).
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo) – Lance Bass (“Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding”, airing Thursday)

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Bob Dylan – Today he releases the album “Shadows In the Night”, featuring 10 songs popularized by Frank Sinatra such as “Autumn Leaves”, “Some Enchanted Evening”, and “I’m a Fool to Want You”. Rather than covering the songs, he says he’s ‘uncovering’ them.
• Kanye West – He’s atop a celebrity cameo wish-list for the “Game Of Thrones”. If the Kanye casting comes off, he will join the likes of Coldplay drummer Will Champion and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody among music artists who’ve guest-starred on the show.
• Katy Perry – Two guitars used during her Super Bowl half-time performance have gone up for auction to raise money for anti-domestic abuse charity Break the Cycle. Bids for the American Vintage Jazz bass and Fender American Standard Stratocaster end February 15th.
• Kid Ink – His sophomore album, “Full Speed”, is out today. Quote: “After having an amazing year, I feel like I am just now hitting my stride and I’m going full speed in my own lane on this album.”
• Mark Ronson / Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” is #1 on the UK Singles Chart for a 7th consecutive week.
• Mariah Carey – Online video of her performing at the 2015 Jazz & Blues Festival in Jamaica appears to show her lip-syncing to her hit “Fantasy” … badly. Comments on the video-posting accuse her of forgetting the lyrics, and failing to stay in time with the recording.
• Sam Smith – He tells the new issue of “Rolling Stone” magazine he’s encountered ‘gay bashing’ for years and once endured actual physical abuse as he walked around London wearing make-up.
• Shakira – The new Miss Universe hails from Barranquilla, the same hometown as Shakira and actress Sofia Vergara. Both stars have both reached out to publicly congratulate Miss Colombia, Paulina Vega, after her win.

THIS WEEK’S VIDEO RELEASES:
Out today on DVD, Netflix, Google Play and/or other video providers …
• “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them” ( R-Rated Drama): In this 3rd film of a trilogy, a once happily married couple suddenly find they’ve evolved into strangers longing to understand each other in the wake of tragedy. Stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, William Hurt, Isabelle Huppert.
• “Dracula Untold” ( PG-13 Horror ): The original story of one of legend’s most captivating figures goes back to 1462 Transylvania and centers around Vlad III, the prince of Wallachia who develops an insatiable thirst for human blood. Stars Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Charles Dance, Sarah Gadon.
• “John Wick” ( R-Rated Action Thriller ): Actor Keanu Reeves has resurfaced with his first mainstream film in years, an action flick about an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement (how apropos) in order to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. Co-stars Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe.
• “Ouija” ( PG-13 Horror ): Last year’s obligatory Halloween-season horror flick follows a group of friends who find they must confront their most terrifying fears when they awaken the dark powers of an ancient spirit board (aka ‘Ouija’) following the mysterious death or a girl. Stars Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Bianca Santos.
• Also released today: “The Reagans: The Legacy Endures” (Documentary); “Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic” (Documentary); “Sex [Ed] the Movie” (Documentary); “Tricked” (Documentary); and “The Wonder Years: The Complete 2nd Season” (Vintage TV).

BEST SHAKESPEAREAN INSULTS:
Nobody has ever mastered the putdown like good ol’ Will Shakespeare. So here are a few ways to add some class when you’re talkin’ trash …
• “You mad mustachio purple-hued maltworm.” (Hamlet)
• “Your face is not worth sunburning.” (Henry V)
• “Thy brains are useless boiled within thy skull!” (The Tempest)
• “Thou art a very ragged wart.” (Henry IV)
• “There’s many a man hath more hair than wit.” (Comedy of Errors)
• “Sweep on you fat and greasy citizens!” (As You Like It)
• “He has not so much brain as ear wax.” (Troilus & Cressida)
– PA News

CRAZY CAREERS:
A few real-life jobs that you probably haven’t considered …
• Airport Animal Wrangler (chases wildlife from runway areas)
• Worm Rancher (locating earthworms for bait)
• Open Manhole Monitor (ensures pedestrians aren’t injured while work is being performed)
• Potato Chip Inspector (“yummy, yummy, yummy, yech a bad one, yummy …”)
• Mock Juror (hired by trial lawyers to practise presenting their cases)
• Alligator Wrestler (a common Florida tourist attraction)
There’s also a man who tests tampons and a woman who tests condoms. The processes, of course, are scientific.
– Nancy Rica Schiff’s book “Odd Jobs”.

CATCH A MOOD:
Want to feel happy? Spend more time with people whose mood you wouldn’t mind catching. Studies show that during conversation with someone, we tend to mimic the other person’s facial expressions, posture, and speech rhythms. Experts suggest that by doing this, we eventually come to feel what the other person is feeling. (With that in mind, what famous person would you like to hang with for a day?)
– “Woman’s Day”

NASTY NAMES FROM THE PAST:
Author Alan Richter estimates about a third of the English language has had some form of sexual connotation over the years. His book “Sexual Slang” lists thousands of suggestive expressions from past centuries. Among them …
✓ ‘Play nug-a-nug’ (16th century ‘boinking’)
✓ ‘Fadoodling’ (17th century ‘boinking’)
✓ ‘Horizontal refreshment’ (1860s term for ‘messing around’)
✓ ‘Get one’s ashes hauled’ (‘getting lucky’ in 1910)
✓ ‘Sard’ (10th century slang for ‘copulate’)
✓ ‘Join giblets’ (17th century slang for ‘bumping uglies’)
✓ ‘Abbess’ (18th century word for ‘hooker’)
(Great source for names you can call the boss out loud.)
– MentalFloss.com

DID YOU KNOW?
A strawberry is NOT a berry. A banana IS a berry.
– List25.com

BS CHRONOMETER 02.03.15

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1956 [59] Nathan Lane, Jersey City NJ, Broadway actor (“The Producers”, “Guys & Dolls”)/movie actor (“Swing Vote”, “The Birdcage”)

1965 [50] Maura Tierney, Boston MA, TV actress (‘Helen Solloway’ on “The Affair” since 2014, “The Good Wife” 2012-13, “ER” 2000-08)/movie actress (“Baby Mama”, “Semi-Pro”)

1976 [39] Isla [‘EYE-luh’] Fisher, Muscat, Oman, movie actress (“Rise Of the Guardians”, “Wedding Crashers”)/wed to comedian-actor Sacha Baron Cohen since 2010

1982 [33] Jessica Harp, Kansas City MO, former country singer (The Wreckers-“Leave the Pieces”)

1986 [29] Rebel Wilson, Sydney, Australia, movie actress (“Night At the Museum: Secret Of the Tomb”, “Pitch Perfect”)/TV actress (“Super Fun Night” 2013-14)

1990 [25] Sean Kingston (Kisean Anderson), Miami FL, reggae-pop singer/rapper (“Fire Burning”, “Beautiful Girls”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Artist Appreciation Day”, an annual salute to those who choose to create as a way of life.

• “Carrot Cake Day”, an idea that first hatched in the Middle Ages. At that time, sugar and other sweeteners were rare and very expensive, so people used sweet vegetables for flavor.
NET: http://www.punchbowl.com/holidays/national-carrot-cake-day

• “Halfway Point of Winter” as 45 days of the season have passed and the equivalent remain before the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. (Did we hear a giant sigh?)

• “Setsubun”, the day before the traditional beginning of Spring in Japan. It’s accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away evil. It’s called mamemaki, literally ‘bean throwing’.

• “Snow Moon”, the Full Moon of February, alternately knows as the “Hunger Moon” or “Storm Moon”.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2001 [14] The XFL (Xtreme Football League), founded by WWE mastermind Vince McMahon in cooperation with NBC-TV, plays its first games (folds after 1 season, leaving the remote-control overhead camera as its sole legacy)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1959 [56] Rising rock & roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and ‘The Big Bopper’ are killed when their chartered plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after takeoff from Mason City (known as ‘The Day the Music Died’, thanks to Don McLean’s 1972 hit “American Pie”)

2003 [12] Legendary music producer Phil Spector is arrested for murdering actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home (later sentenced to 19 years-to-life in prison, meaning he’ll be 88-years-old before becoming eligible for parole)

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1995 [20] Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the 1st woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 gets underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida

2002 [13] New England Patriots defeat heavily favored St Louis Rams 20-17 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to take home their 1st Super Bowl (on this day in 2008, NY Giants upset New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII)

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
1947 [68] North America’s ‘Coldest Recorded Temperature’, -63 C (-81.4 F) at Snag, Yukon Territory

2000 [15] German stripper Helen Wolff sets a new world record for getting dressed and undressed … 692 times in 11 hours

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Wed] Digital Learning Day
[Wed] Facebook Birthday
[Wed] World Cancer Day
[Thurs] 17th Grammy Foundation Legacy Concert (Los Angeles)
[Fri] 2015 MusiCares Person Of the Year (Los Angeles)
This Week Is … Women’s Heart Week
This Month Is … Care About Your Indoor Air Month

BULL’S BITS

MORE BS SIGNS YOU’RE A BAD PARENT:
• When your kid asks who her daddy is, you point at the NBA game on TV and say, “One of them.”
• Having never potty trained him, he’s now too big for regular diapers and must wear Depends.
• When you ask, “Now, what do we do if the cops come to the door?” she answers, “Flush Daddy’s stash?”
• You hog all the UV light in the tanning booth.
• Your 8-year-old wears a nicotine patch.
• Your kid sits YOU down to talk about drug use.
• He still takes his pacifier to school … high school.
• Your kids are being bullied.  And they’re home schooled.
• You formula-feed your newborn so you can save your breast milk for White Russians.
• When your daughter asks why she has 7 toes, you reply, “Got me, ask your daddy-cousin.”
– Adapted from JasonGood.net

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• What is a ‘tittle’?
a. A type of wild goat.
b. The wire support in a bra.
c. The dot over the letter ‘I’ or ‘j’. [CORRECT]

• You suffer from ‘gymnophobia’. What are you afraid of?
a. Being naked. [CORRECT]
b. Physical exercise.
c. Squirrels.
– “Amazing Facts”

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Which current movie soundtrack will you want to hear 10 years from now?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I finally quit smoking by using the patch. I put 6 of them over my mouth.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Almost everybody does THIS eventually, but the average person now does it 4 years sooner compared to 40 years ago.
Answer: Goes gray.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘really good’.