Friday, March 16, 2012        Edition: #4707

Happy St Patty’s Day, For Sheet’s Sake!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
HBO’s “Luck” has just run out, the network canceling the Dustin Hoffman racetrack drama after a 3rd horse has died on the set (what are the odds?) . . . When asked this week why he recently cut his hair, “Two-And-a-Half-Men” star Ashton Kutcher joked, “Jesus wanted his look back so I gave it to him” (new look: clean-shaven, short hair) . . . Denying rumors of cosmetic surgery, a rep for “Missing” star Ashley Judd is blaming her weird puffy face on an ‘ongoing, serious sinus infection’ (um, ok but why’s the left eyebrow always arched – hair transplant from the hind leg of a dog?) . . . Relationship-challenged movie star Charlize Theron (36) has just adopted a son (named ‘Jackson’), something she says she’s been trying to do for a long time (given up on finding Mr Right?) . . . Meantime, actress Sandra Bullock (47) is said to be seeking a younger sib for her adopted son Louis, RadarOnline.com reporting that she’s already completed the paperwork (we’re betting it’s not a Jesse) . . . Whitney Houston’s ‘adopted’ son Nick Gordon has scotched rumors he’s dating the tragic singer’s daughter Bobbi Kristina, insisting he’s just ‘helping her through her grief’ (the best way he knows how) . . . New Orleans police have issued a warrant for Russell Brand’s arrest for hurling a photographer’s cellphone through the window of an abandoned building, even though Brand has already offered to pay for the busted window (what about the phone, dude?) . . . And “Dancing With the Stars” is supposed to be a competition where contestants meet their pro partners on Day 1 of the season (March 19th), but buzz has it that Sherri Shepherd has already been practicing with her partner, Maks Chmerkovskiy, since early last December (that’s it, we’re finished watching this show … wait a sec, we never started).

WEEKEND SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “CMC Rocks the Hunter 2012” (Hunter Valley, Australia) – Tonight through Sunday, Dierks Bentley, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw headline the annual country festival Down Under.
NET: http://bit.ly/qxxKZg
• “George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight” (CBC) – Tonight Plants & Animals (“The End Of That”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CHCH) – Tonight Keane (“Strangeland”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Tonight The Kills (“Midnight Boom”). Rerun.
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Tonight Fitz & The Tantrums (“Pickin’ Up The Pieces”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – Tonight Kasabian (“Velociraptor”). Rerun.
• “Oprah’s Next Chapter” (OWN) – Sunday Oprah interviews the pop superstar and her mother at their family home in New York. Gaga reveals she’s planning to ‘go silent’ for awhile as she has ‘nothing else to say to the media’. (Even she’s getting tired of hearing about her!)
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC/Global) – Host ex-NBA player Charles Barkley; musical guest: Kelly Clarkson (“Stronger”). Rerun.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Tonight Toby Keith (“Clancy’s Tavern”).

WEEKEND TV SEASON FINALÉS:
✓ “The Walking Dead” (Sunday)

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia they embark on the first leg of a North American tour. Late saxophonist Clarence Clemons is being replaced by both his nephew, Jake Clemons, and longtime band collaborator Eddie Manion. “Wrecking Ball” has just become Springsteen’s 10th #1 album.
• Bruno Mars – He’s become only the 10th man ever to grace to cover of “Playboy” magazine, playing guitar in the cover shot while April’s ‘Playmate Of the Month’, Raquel Pomplin, lies at his feet.
• Jack White – Tonight he headlines a Third Man Records showcase at the “South By Southwest Festival” in Austin, Texas. He’s the label’s CEO.
• Jennifer Lopez – In the April issue of “Vogue”, her longtime manager and business partner Benny Medina says she’s a victim of ‘serial monogamy’ who isn’t able to maintain a healthy relationship with a man because she’s only interested in obsessive guys who pursue her.
• Maroon 5 – Trying to explain why he’s getting into the celeb fragrance biz after previously mocking it on Twitter, Adam Levine tells “People” magazine: “I want to do a thing that’s never done properly.“ (BS translation: The money’s good.)
• Reba McEntire – Saturday her 90-minute concert special “All the Women I Am” premieres on Great American Country. It was shot during a gig at the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana.
• Rihanna – She’s dropping hints that she’s getting back together with Chris Brown. Quoting the Beres Hammond song “They Gonna Talk”, she has tweeted: “When they see me with you, wonder what the crowd would say? When they find us together, what will all the people say?”
• Rolling Stones – It looks like their planned 50th anniversary tour won’t happen until 2013, partly due to the questionable health of Keith Richards. Rather than a grueling world tour, they may opt to camp out in major cities for multi-night stands.

TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
(Three R-rated comedies opening on the same day … does this make sense?)
• “Casa De Mi Padre” ( R-Rated Comedy ): Will Ferrell is experimenting with indie movies again, this one a bit unhinged and borderline inappropriate. The story follows the ‘Alvarez’ brothers, who find themselves at war with a Mexican drug lord while trying to save their father’s ranch. Co-stars Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna. Directed by Matt Piedmont of “Funny or Die” fame.
NET: http://www.casademipadremovie.com
• “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” ( Limited Release R-Rated Comedy ) – Jason Segel (“The Muppets”) plays a 30-year-old slacker who lives in the basement of his mom’s house. Susan Sarandon plays his mother and Ed Helms (“The Office”) his estranged brother who, by comparison, seems to have everything going for him … except his wife.
NET: http://www.jeffwholivesathome.com
• “21 Jump Street” ( R-Rated Action Comedy ) – In this bigscreen adaptation of the TV show that starred Johnny Depp (1987-91), Jonah Hill & Channing Tatum play a pair of underachieving cops who are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a drug ring. Co-stars Ice Cube and Brie Larson, with a cameo by Depp.
NET: http://www.21jumpstreet-movie.com

HOW TO BE HAPPY:
A new University of Warwick study of more than 10,000 people has found that we grow happier as we get older. Although physical quality of life goes down after middle age, mental well-being doesn’t – in fact, it increases. The researchers suggest this could be due to better coping abilities. It could also be due to a lowering of expectations from life, with older people less likely to put pressure on themselves in the personal and professional spheres. (“Did I put on pants today? Yes! How happy for me.”)
– “The Telegraph”

FAILURE IS AN OPTION:
Students may perform better if they’re told that failure is a normal part of learning, according to new research from the University of Poitiers in France. The widespread cultural belief is that academic success equates with a high level of competence, and failure relates to intellectual inferiority. By being obsessed with success, students are afraid to fail, the study says, so they’re reluctant to try to master new material. Acknowledging that difficulty is a crucial part of learning could help overcome feelings of incompetence. (“Dad, I got an ‘F’. Aren’t you proud?”)
– PsychCentral.com

DID YOU KNOW?
The very first NCAA Basketball Tournament was held in 1939 and won by the University of Oregon ‘Tall Firs’. (Now they’re the ‘Fighting Ducks’. Are they mascot-challenged?)
– TTP

BS CHRONOMETER 03.16.12