Thursday, March 17, 2011        Edition: #4464
Top O’ The Bull To You!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
56-year-old newlywed actor Kelsey Grammar has put his 6-bedroom, 7-and-a-half bath Beaver Creek, Colorado ski chalet up for sale at $7.9 million ($2.5 million more than what he paid in 2002, but then he’s had another divorce settlement) . . . 34-year-old actor Seann William Scott (“Dukes of Hazzard”, “American Pie” films) has entered rehab to seek treatment for ‘health and personal issues’ (no doubt brought on by looking at his filmography) . . . “Glee” star Cory Monteith (‘Finn’) has revealed the show was trying to clear rights to use a Bjork song, but noone could track her down because apparently she doesn’t have a phone number (check the Yellow Pages under ‘Swan Costumes’) . . . 22-year-old actress Vanessa Hudgens is said to be working with police to find out who’s been leaking nude pics of her online, as a 3rd set of explicit shots was uploaded Tuesday (funny how this ‘leak’ comes in the same month as the release of her new movies “Beastly” and “Sucker Punch” – we’re just sayin’) . . . LA judge Keith Schwartz has offered Lindsay Lohan 60-to-90 days in jail if the troubled actress pleads guilty to grand theft but she’s said to be balking at the plea deal and considering taking her chances in a trial (she has until March 25th to decide) . . . And 42-year-old skateboarding legend-turned-videogame mogul Tony Hawk has reportedly filed for divorce from his 3rd wife so he can be with – his best friend & business partner Matt Goodman’s wife Cathy (uh, make that FORMER best friend).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – Black Eyed Peas perform; Lee DeWyze performs; one contestant is eliminated.
• “Chelsea Lately” (E!) – Rihanna (“Loud”).
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Iron & Wine (“Kiss Each Other Clean”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/A Channel) – Josh Groban (“Illuminations”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Young Dubliners (“Saints & Sinners”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/A Channel) – Leon Russell (“The Union”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni) – Keri Hilson (“No Boys Allowed”); Tim McGraw (“Number One Hits”).
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/A Channel) – Serj Tankian (“Imperfect Remixes”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Arcade Fire – They’re planning a trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti to jam with local musicians for an upcoming DVD release. They’ve also pledged to contribute over $1 million to ongoing relief funds in Haiti, where band member Regine Chassagne’s parents hail from.
• Black Eyed Peas – They shot their latest video “Just Can’t Get Enough” in Tokyo only a few days before the earthquake and tsunami hit. The video now features a link to the Red Cross where people can make donations.
• Dierks Bentley – He’s headlining the 30-city  “2011 Jagermeister Country Tour” that kicks off tonight in Wallingford CT. Opening acts include Josh Thompson and Miss Willie Brown.
• Katy Perry – Her pastor mother Mary Perry Hudson is shopping a book detailing how her pop star daughter’s career has affected her Christian ministry. She is now looking for a publisher to release it.
• Kenny Chesney – Tonight his 51-date “2011 Goin’ Coastal Tour” begins at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach FL. Billy Currington is the opening act.
• Motley Crue – 50-year-old frontman Vince Neil’s TV reporter-girlfriend Alicia Jacobs, who stood by him through his DUI charge and subsequent incarceration, has now announced she’s decided to move on from the relationship ‘due to the decisions Vince continues to make’.
• Pearl Jam – Eddie Vedder may be planning his first solo project since the 2007 soundtrack to “Into the Wild”. He’s debuted a new song entitled “Longing to Belong”, causing speculation he could put out a new solo album this June.
• The Strokes – Tonight they play a free show at Auditorium Shores in Austin TX as part of the SXSW Festival. Their long-awaited (and leaked) new album “Angles” is out March 22nd.
• Travie McCoy – Tonight he embarks on his first-ever headlining solo tour. The “Sgt. Schlepper’s Who Needs Hearts Club Band Tour” begins at Opera House in Toronto.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Daredevil” – Ben Affleck’s superhero is heading back to the bigscreen almost a decade after the original. “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” director David Slade has signed up to revamp the film but Affleck is not expected to have anything to do with the new installment. Filming on the project is expected to start later this year. No casting details have been announced.
• “Drift” – Australian actor Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) is heading back Down Under to start shooting this surfing drama that’s being marketed as the biggest surfing movie since 1991’s “Point Break”. Worthington will play one of a pair of brothers who attempt to escape their troubled background to start a new life on the Western Australia coast.
• “How to Be Single” – 36-year-old actress Drew Barrymore, who helmed “Whip It”, has signed up to direct her 2nd feature film, a romantic comedy featuring a large ensemble cast and a multi-layered story about the love lives of a number of New Yorkers over 10 years. She’ll also co-produce the project. No stars have yet been announced.
• “The Goree Girls” – Jennifer Aniston is set to star in this true story about female prisoners who form a country band in Texas in the 1940s. The cast also includes country singers Pam Tillis and Jennette McCurdy, along with Kelly Rowland, formerly of Destiny’s Child. Others in the cast include Sandra Oh & Ellen Pompeo, both from TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”.
• “Zoolander 2” – Ben Stiller promises this upcoming sequel will be ‘bigger and better’ than the original 2001 comedy. He’s set to pick up the story of his clueless supermodel character as he reappears 10 years later in Europe. Will Ferrell will also return in the film as bad-guy ‘Jacobim Mugatu’.

GRIN & BEAR IT:
Despite the belief that optimists enjoy better health than pessimists, research has found a dark underside to optimism. According to a long-term US study called the ‘Longevity Project’, cheerful and optimistic children are less likely to live to an old age than their more staid and sober counterparts. In fact, constant cheerfulness is as big a risk factor for premature death as elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol. Why? When everything is going great, the optimist soars. But when facing life’s difficulties, the optimist can feel defeated by the magnitude of the struggle that’s required. (While Eeyore just keeps on plodding.)
– Slate.com

MASSIVELY MISINFORMED:
Highlights of a recent survey of British adults conducted by a Birmingham research center …
• 49% of adults wrongly believe that ‘memory-erasing’ technology is currently available.
• 41% of people incorrectly believe that ‘hover boards’ exist, as in “Back To the Future”.
• 30% of respondents believe that ‘time travel’ is actually possible.
• 24% of people are wrong in their belief that humans can be ‘teleported’.
• 21% of adults incorrectly believe ‘light sabers’ are a reality.
• 18% of adults have the erroneous idea that they can SEE gravity.
– BirminghamScienceCity.co.uk

WE AIN’T GOT THE BEAT:
University of Montréal psychologists have identified a 23-year-old man named Mathieu as the first documented case of ‘Beat Deafness’, a condition in which a person can’t feel music’s beat or move in time to it. Mathieu flails in a time zone all his own when bouncing up and down to a tune, unlike people who don’t dance particularly well but generally move in sync with a musical beat. What’s more, Mathieu usually fails to recognize when someone else dances out of sync to music. The researchers think the condition is quite rare. (Actually Mathieu suffers the same deformity a lot of guys have … two left feet.)
– Discovery.com

TOO STUPID FOR US TO MAKE UP:
• She should’ve watched her asp! Israeli model Orit Fox was posing with a huge snake at a photoshoot in Tel Aviv when it suddenly bit her. She was holding the boa constrictor and went to lick its head when it  latched on to her left breast. The model was taken to hospital and released after a tetanus shot. The snake, however, died several days later … from silicone poisoning.
– Orange.co.uk
• Meet the world’s most pathetic bank robber! A perpetrator by the name of Nathan Pugh walked into a Dallas, Texas bank and demanded money from a teller. The quick-thinking employee said she couldn’t comply unless he showed her 2 pieces of ID. He did … and was soon easily busted by cops following up on the info.
– NYPost.com
• This guy’s big dump caused a traffic jam! A 60-year-old Australian has been charged with obstructing a roadway after deliberately depositing close to 9 tons of rock & soil on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He allegedly drove his truck onto the bridge about 3:30 pm Tuesday, stopped in the northbound lane, and dumped his load. He then displayed a half-dozen signs reading ‘Down with Fascist Australia’.
– QMI Agency

BS AMAZING FACTS:
• A pub called The Local in Minneapolis MN has poured the largest volume of Jameson Irish Whiskey in the world … 4 years in-a-row. In 2008 they were going through 22 bottles a day.
– TTP
• If you haven’t been friended lately, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unpopular. More and more Christians are giving up Facebook for Lent, according to the webmaster for Padua Catholic Church in Fresno, California.
– “Detroit Free Press”

BS CHRONOMETER 03.17.11

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1951 [60] Kurt Russell, Springfield MA, movie actor (“Grindhouse”, “Escape From LA”)/actress Goldie Hawn’s partner since 1983/actress Kate Hudson’s stepfather

1955 [56] Gary Sinise, Blue Island IL, TV actor (‘Detective Mac Taylor’ on “CSI: NY” since 2004)/movie actor (“Forrest Gump”)

1964 [47] Rob Lowe, Charlottesville VA, TV actor (“Parks & Recreation” since 2010, “Brothers & Sisters” 2006-10, “The West Wing” 1999-2003)/movie actor (“Austin Powers” movies)  BS FACTOID: His middle name is ‘Helper’.

1967 [44] Billy Corgan, Chicago IL, rock singer/guitarist (Smashing Pumpkins-“Tarantula”, “1979”)

1972 [39] Melissa Auf der Maur, Montréal QC, alt-rock musician (“Out of Our Minds”, ex-Smashing Pumpkins, ex-Hole)/professional photographer

1987 [24] Rob Kardashian Jr, LA CA, reality TV personality (“Keeping Up With the Kardashians)/sometime model

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Absolutely Incredible Kid Day”, the 15th annual observance on the 3rd Thursday in March encouraging adults to let kids know just how amazing and valuable they are. The idea is to write a note (text?) of support and encouragement to a kid of your choice.
NET: http://www.campfireusa.org/aikd_index.aspx

• “Clean Your Closet Day”. After all, would once-a-year kill ya? Sort it by junk, charity donations, giveaways to family & friends, and stuff that’s too small to wear anymore. Here are 25 more tips on how to do it …
NET: http://www.enjoy-your-style.com/clean-out-your-closet.html

• “St Patrick’s Day”, the Irish national holiday that began as a ‘solemn religious observance’ to honor St Patrick (389-461 AD), patron saint of Ireland. Some fast facts …
– It’s been an Irish holiday for 1,500 years, the first US celebrations being in Boston MA by the ‘Charitable Irish Society’ in 1737 and at NYC’s Crown & Thistle Tavern in 1756. It was first celebrated in Canada in 1765 in Québec City.
– The first St Patrick’s Day parade did not take place in Ireland, but rather in New York. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through NYC on March 17, 1762.
– NYC’s is still the world’s largest “St Patrick’s Parade”, with over a million spectators & 100,000 participants expected each year. The 2-mile parade lasts about 6 hours.
– Since 1965, the Chicago River has been dyed green for the “Chicago St Patrick’s Parade”, an idea conceived when a plumber was observed using green dye to trace leaks from a building.
– Green is associated with “St Patrick’s Day” because it’s the color of Spring, Ireland, and the shamrock.

• “Submarine Day”, celebrating the sandwich also known as a ‘hoagie’ or a ‘hero’.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2008 [03] New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer officially resigns after a scandal involving $1,000-an-hour call girl Ashley Dupré (he now hosts the CNN talk show “In the Arena”)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1987 [24] At a UK benefit, Princess Diana compliments flamboyant singer Boy George on his fashionable choice of attire … black tights and a white dress

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1845 [166] Stephen Perry of London UK patents the ‘Elastic Band’ (the next day, the 1st schoolboy gets an eraser flicked into his eye)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1908 [103] ‘Fastest Heavyweight Title Fight’ as Canadian Tommy Burns K-Os Jem Roche in just 88 seconds for the World Championship

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Forgive Mom & Dad Day
[Fri] Biodiesel Day
[Fri] “Limitless”; “The Lincoln Lawyer”; “Paul” open in movie theaters
[Sat] World Sleep Day
[Sun] Spring arrives
[Sun] Proposal Day
This Week Is … Agriculture Week
This Month Is … Red Cross Month

BULL’S BITS

INDIGENOUS IRISH INTOXICANTS:
• Beamish (since 1792) … Order this and you’ll look less cliché on the Irish holiday.
• Guinness (since 1759) … Black, bitter, and the bomb. If you haven’t heard of it, you’re in a coma.
• Murphy’s (since 1856) … Chocolate-y stout, clean finish. Slam it, dammit!
• Smithwick’s (since 1710) … If you want to impress the fellas in the pub, say it right: ‘SMI-thix’.
• Water (since the dawn of time) … Really, you pussy? On St Patrick’s Day?
– Excerpted from “The Toilet Paper”

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Beer … it’s not just for breakfast anymore.

BS PHONE STARTER:
Is St Patrick’s Day an over-hyped event that’s just an excuse to boost booze sales? If we are being ‘lepre-conned’, do you care?

ST PATRICK’S DAY PICKUP LINES:
• “I may not have 4 leaves, but if you pluck me I’ll bring you luck.”
• “Why don’t you come catch a leprechaun with me, maybe together we’ll get lucky.”
• “That’s a fine-lookin’ dram o’ whisky you be drinkin’, lass. It’d look so much better barfed up on me bedroom floor.”
• “So you actually kissed the Blarney Stone? Tongue or no tongue?”
• “Come over to my place and I’ll show you my Lucky Charms.”
• “If you don’t sleep with me, the leprechauns have already won.”
• “How’d you like to help put the Irish Spring back into me shillelagh?”
• “Well, lass, we’re the only ones still standing. How about it?”
– Adapted from TopFive.com

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: A new survey reveals that women like to meet men who are into THIS, as they are viewed as being more masculine.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Eating meat.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
When opportunity knocks, some people are in the back yard looking for four-leaf clovers.