June 13, 2013

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Thursday, June 13, 2013        Edition: #5006


Tomorrow’s Show Prep Today!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
✳ HBO’s most-watched current series, “Game of Thrones”, has landed a dubious honor. Its Season 3 finalé is now the ‘Most Pirated TV Episode of All-Time’. TorrentFreak.com notes that Sunday’s episode, “Mhysa”, notched a record 170,000 shares on file-sharing service BitTorrent. And within 24 hours after it aired, over 1 million users downloaded it, beating all previous records for a TV series. (When a million people are ‘stealing’ a show, it’s time for someone to invent a new business model.)
– “Jam! Showbiz”
✳ When Jimmy Fallon takes the reins of the long-running NBC 11:30 pm show, it will be re-christened “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”, in the style of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” (1962-92). The current incarnation, which Jay Leno hosts, is titled “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”. Executive producer Lorne Michaels has also announced that long-time “Late Night” writer Amy Ozols has been named producer of the new version when it moves to NYC in February. (You know what this means? Jay will be whining in his monologue … again.)
– TheWrap.com
✳ Movie star Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour” films) is currently writing a stage adaptation of his best-selling memoir “I Am Jackie Chan”. The international action star and renowned martial artist says the stage musical will chronicle the lives of his parents, his early education at the Peking Opera School, and his rise to stardom through music. Chan says he’s looking for a director for the production right now. (Can’t wait to hear this musical’s show-stopping song: “Wipe Yourself Off, Man. You Dead.”)
– “Hollywood Reporter”
✳ Fashion model Kate Upton apparently has a new man, “Dancing With the Stars” pro Maksim Chmerkovsky. Multiple reports suggest the couple has become very close in recent weeks after mutual friends set them up on a date. Upton, who turned 21 on Monday, has previously been linked to baseball star Justin Verlander and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Chmerkovskiy was previously engaged to fellow “DWTS” pro Karina Smirnoff, and split from another dancer, Peta Murgatroyd, earlier this year. (These people are serial daters.)
– WENN.com
✳ And a gorgeous 24-year-old Canadian model from Montréal is claiming Kanye West cheated on Kim Kardashian with her, and that he admitted he’s only with the reality star to help his career. Leyla Ghobadi says she first met ‘Ye at a 2012 show at Revel’s Ovation Hall in Atlantic City NJ, when he deputized a roadie to bring her backstage. He subsequently invited her to his hotel room on 3 occasions, she contends, the last of which she accepted. A Kardashian rep is denying the story; West’s camp isn’t commenting. (And somewhere Kim is pitching a fit.)
– “Star Magazine”

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• Bonnaroo Music Festival (Manchester TN) – The annual 4-day festival gets underway at its usual 700-acre farm site. The event’s eclectic line-up includes Dwight Yoakam, The Lumineers, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mumford & Sons, The National, Of Monsters and Men, Paul McCartney, R Kelly, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Wilco and many more.
NET: http://www.bonnaroo.com
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) –She & Him (“Volume 3”); Usher (“Looking 4 Myself”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Robin Thicke f/Pharrell (“Blurred Lines”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Grimes (“Visions”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – Harry Connick Jr (“Every Man Should Know”).
• “Live With Kelly & Michael” (ABC/CTV) – Matchbox Twenty (“North”).
•  NBA Finals (ABC) – Game 4 from the AT&T Center in San Antonio TX.
• Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction (NYC) – This year’s inductees include Aerosmith’s Joe Perry & Steven Tyler, and Foreigner’s Lou Gramm & Mick Jones among others.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Timeflies (“The Scotch Tape”).
• “Wendy Williams” (syndicated) – The Lonely Island (“The Wack Album”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• The Beatles – 72-year-old Ringo Starr is preparing a children’s picture book based on his song “Octopus’s Garden”. Ben Cort, illustrator of “Aliens Love Underpants”, is doing the drawings. The book will come with an accompanying CD when it’s published in October.
• Metallica – Having just wrapped their 2nd annual “Orion Music + More” festival in Detroit MI, they’re now set to get down to business on a new album. However, Kirk Hammett tells MTV News that it realistically might not be ready until 2015.
• Mumford & Sons – They’ve had to postpone tour dates this week due to a medical emergency involving standup bassist Ted Dwayne, who has a blood clot near his brain that requires an operation. 3 shows are being rescheduled, presumably giving the band time to find a fill-in.
• She & Him – Tonight  in Nashville TN actress/singer Zooey Deschanel & musical cohort M Ward embark on a North American tour in support of their latest album, “Volume Three”.
• U2 – Bono has enlisted a slew of stars including Green Day, Mumford & Sons, and Will.i.am to record “agit8”, a collection of protest songs. The project is an attempt to get world leaders to focus on poverty at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland next week. It’s streaming free on Spotify.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Assassin’s Creed” – Actor Michael Fassbender is attached to star in an adaptation of the videogame, playing a bartender who discovers that he comes from a secret and historic line of assassins. He is captured by a corporation that forces him to hunt down historic artifacts using a device that brings forward the memories as well as the skills of his ancestors.
• “Choose Your Own Adventure” – 20th Century Fox is nearing a deal to acquire the rights to this iconic 1980s-90s book series that allowed readers to choose the path of the characters every few pages, with the decisions leading to different fates, good and bad. It’s hoped the so-called ‘forked storytelling’ concept can be used for a franchise of action-adventure films.
• “Lizzie” – Christina Ricci is taking on the role of accused axe-murderer Lizzie Borden in a new Lifetime TV movie. Borden was famously acquitted of hacking her father and stepmother to death in Massachusetts in 1892. The double murder made Borden infamous although she was set free following a sensational trial.
• “Star Wars VII” – Rumors abound that the 7th addition to the franchise will begin production in England in January 2014 as director JJ Abrams has revealed he’ll be moving his family to London at the end of this year. The highly anticipated sequel will be shot in the UK to take advantage of new tax benefits.
• “Top Gun 2” – Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is vowing to go ahead with plans for a sequel to the 1986 Tom Cruise classic despite the death of the original film’s director, Tony Scott. The project was put on hold last August after the celebrated director jumped to his death from a California bridge. Bruckheimer suggests Cruise is also still on board with the follow-up project.

DELIVERING DINNER BY DRONE:
London-based chain YO! Sushi is testing a new way to get food to customers’ tables … the flying tray. The 4-propeller ‘iTrays’ carry plates across its restaurants at up to 25 mph. So far, it hasn’t proven such a great idea … most of the food winds up on the floor instead of a table. In a similar experiment, a San Francisco-based restaurant is delivering ‘Burrito Bombs’ with a flying drone, and Domino’s is considering a ‘DomiCopter’ to transport pizzas in the UK and Ireland. (Do you have to tip?)
– BusinessInsider.com

GETTING KICKS FROM BABIES:
The makers of Huggies have created a device for dads so they can stop feeling so left out … a ‘pregnancy belt’ that replicates their unborn child’s kicks in real time from mom’s belly. Poor dads don’t get to experience the joys of motherhood, such as morning sickness and feeling like a waterbed. So Huggies decided to help out, using the device in a new ad depicting fathers as so emotionally invested in pregnancy that they’re weeping. (Crying for attention, no doubt.)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/kyjt8lu
– Jezebel.com

WASTE FOOD, WASTE WATER:
Tossing out leftover food is not only a waste of money, it’s also a big waste of water. According to the environmental think-tank, World Resources Institute, inside the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted every year worldwide is 45 trillion gallons of water. This represents a staggering 24% of all water used for agriculture. (Someone needs to invent a ‘waste compressor’ to recycle valuable water.)
– NPR.org

LAME TWITTER:
Here’s a new term for you: ‘Twitter Groupspeak’, meaning everyone seems to be tweeting the same stupid phrases over and over. The problem is a dulling sameness of phraseology, a glib shorthand that has bloomed on social media. If you hang around Twitter long enough, you’ll become irritated by the grinding repetitiveness of a few stock phrases, including …
✗ “Check out this wacky story!” (which you likely heard days ago)
✗ “It’s so crazy!!” (usually it’s not at all)
✗ “This is not The Onion” (no, it’s not from the satirical website because it’s not that good)
✗ “Wow”, “Whoa”, and its gratingly misspelled offspring “Woah” (are we becoming morons?)
– TheAWL.com

95% OF US WASH OUR HANDS WRONG:
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the right way to wash your hands is to wet them with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap. Rub them together to make a lather while scrubbing them well, making sure you get the backs of the hands, between the fingers, and under the nails. Keep this up for 20 seconds – the CDC recommends singing the “Happy Birthday” song twice – and afterward rinse under running water, before drying with a clean towel or air dryer. (Thanks so much for the “Happy Birthday” earworm, people!)
– CBS News

BEER BELLIES BOGUS:
The ‘Beer Belly’ is a complete myth, says Charles Bamforth, a professor of Food Science & Technology at the University of California at Davis. Why? The main source of calories in any alcoholic beverage is alcohol and all alcohols contain the same caloric ingredients. There’s nothing special about beer calories that causes them to head straight to the belly. It’s true, beer is usually imbibed in larger quantities than wine or liquor, but the extra weight it causes likely has more to do with lifestyle than beer. (Two words: Pizza; La-Z-Boy.)
– PopSci.com

BS AMAZING FACT:
From the common multiplication table, 6 X 8 is the calculation children get wrong most, while 9 X 12 takes them the longest.
– “Times of London”

BS CHRONOMETER 06.13.13


TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1953 [60] Tim Allen (Dick), Denver CO, TV actor (‘Mike Baxter’ on “Last Man Standing” since 2011, “Home Improvement” 1991-99)/movie actor (“Toy Story” films, “Santa Clause” movies)

1970 [43] Rivers Cuomo, Yogaville CT, alt-rock singer-guitarist (Weezer-“Pork & Beans”, “Beverly Hills”)

1974 [39] Steve-O (Stephen Glover), London UK, TV/movie stuntman (“Jackass” 2000-02/  “Jackass 3-D”, “Jackass: The Movie”)

1981 [32] Chris Evans, Sudbury MA, movie actor (“The Avengers”, “Fantastic Four: Rise Of the Silver Surfer”)  COMING UP: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014).

1986 [27] Kat Dennings, Philadlephia PA, TV actress (‘Max Black’ on “2 Broke Girls” since 2011)

1986 [27] Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, Sherman Oaks CA, twins who co-run a billion-dollar consumer-goods company (clothing, cosmetics, hair products, home decor, etc)/sometime actresses (began TV sitcom “Full House” 1987-95 at 6 months of age )

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Kitchen Klutzes Day”, celebrating not-so-accomplished cooks by encouraging them to prepare a recipe that contains no more than 4 ingredients, not including water, salt & pepper. (What’s the easiest dinner to make? ‘Mac & Cheese’? ‘Wiener Water Soup’? ‘PB&J’?)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/6ttlxts

• “Nurse Assistants Day”, observed annually on the 2nd Thursday of June since 1977 to recognize nursing assistants who work in nursing homes and long-term care centers.

• “Weed Your Garden Day” … or just start referring to it as a ‘wildflower display’.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2005 [08] After a sensational 16-week trial in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson is found innocent of child molestation charges

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2006 [07] Heather Mills, ex-model and estranged wife of Paul McCartney, announces her intention to divorce the billionaire musician (reportedly costs him circa $50 million)

2003 [10] Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1884 [129] Builder LaMarcus Thompson unveils the 1st roller coaster, the ‘Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway’, at Coney Island NY (the 6 mph ride cost 5 cents)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1992 [21] World’s ‘Smallest Recorded Baby’ is born, measuring just 6 inches and weighing only 11 ounces

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] “Man of Steel” opens in movie theaters
[Fri] World Blood Donor Day
[Fri] Work @ Home Fathers Day
[Sat] Global Wind Day
[Sun] Fathers Day
[Sun] MuchMusic Video Awards (Toronto)
[Sun] “40th Daytime Emmy Awards” (HLN)
This Week Is … Men’s Health Week
This Month Is … Great Outdoors Month

BULL’S BITS


A BS GUIDE TO UNACCEPTABLE SHOW-AND-TELL ITEMS:
The key to show-and-tell is to bring something to school that’s significant, but not so cherished that it can’t be lost or barfed on. A few items that would be inappropriate for your kindergartner to bring in for S&T …
✗ The small plastic baggie he found at ‘the bad park’.
✗ A dead squirrel.
✗ A live squirrel.
✗ Daddy’s pills.
✗ The frozen placenta from her birth.
✗ The cat litter scoop.
✗ A set of steak knives.
✗ Bathtub drain hair.
✗ That guy on your block who never talks.
✗ Anything he found in the drawer of mommy’s bedside table.
– JasonGood.net

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What is the one talent or skill you don’t have but always wanted?

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
Alas, you’ve come down with a case of pediculosis. What is it?
a. A foot or other appendage that’s ‘asleep’.
b. An infestation of head lice. [CORRECT]
c. Mouldy toe.
– Wikipedia.org

BS RANDOM JOKE:
If we are what we eat I’m cheap, fast, and easy.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Women are better than men when performing this precision task.
Answer: A University of Massachusetts study has found women are more accurate at hammering a nail.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A diamond is just a lump of coal that made good under pressure.

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