BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Lucas Till is TV’s new “MacGyver”. The 25-year-old, who portrayed mutant superhero ‘Alex Summers’, aka ‘Havok’, in the “X-Men” movies, has been cast as the resourceful and ingenious secret agent ‘Angus MacGyver’, taking over the role made famous by Richard Dean Anderson in the original 1985-92 action show. The TV revamp will also feature former “CSI” star George Eads. The reboot focuses on a young ‘MacGyver’ as he is recruited for a secret organization. The pilot for the series airs later this year on CBS-TV.
– TheWrap.com.
★ Brit actress Talulah Riley is divorcing business tycoon Elon Musk … for the 3rd time. “Inception” star Riley (30) and the PayPal/Tesla Motors founder (44) ended their 1st marriage in 2012 after just 18 months. But they reconciled and tied the knot again in July 2013. Musk filed for divorce a 2nd time in 2014, but they both moved to have the motion dismissed last August. However, that reunion was short-lived as Riley has filed new papers in LA Superior Court this week to end their 2nd marriage once and for all.
– TMZ.com
★ And former wrestler Hulk Hogan (62) has been awarded another $25 million in his sex tape lawsuit. The fighter-turned-screen star was awarded $115 million by a Tampa FL jury on Friday, after he sued Gawker Media for a sex tape it published without his permission in 2012. This week the jury returned to court to bump Hogan’s haul by another $25 million in punitive damages. The additional sum was awarded just hours after Gawker’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, insisting Friday’s verdict was already ‘debilitating’ for the company.
– Associated Press

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “CMT Crossroads: Cheap Trick & Jennifer Nettles” – The country star and the iconic rockers blew the roof off the house on the band’s classic “I Want You to Want Me” during this show’s taping. Nettles is releasing her 2nd solo album “Playing With Fire” on May 13th; Cheap Trick is set to release a new album, “Bang Zoom Crazy … Hello”, on April 1st.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Swedish singer Zara Larsson w/Brit singer MNEK (“Never Forget You”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – LoCash (“I Love This Life”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – The Bots (“Pink Palms”).
• “Meredith Vieira” (syndicated) – Rick Springfield (“Rocket Science”). Rerun.
• “The Real” (syndicated) – Tank (“Sex Love & Pain II”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Against Me! – Laura Jane Grace is releasing her autobiography, “Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout”, on November 15th. The memoir chronicles her life in the punk scene along with her coming out as transgender in 2012.
• Britney Spears – She’s being accused of (poorly) Photoshopping a new bikini pic she’s posted on Instagram. The snap shows her lying on the deck beside her pool in an orange bikini as she soaks up sunshine. It’s the size of her waist that has social media mocking her.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/j4u326d
• Chris Stapleton – Tonight the country star is returning home to Paintsville KY to take the stage (or perhaps gym floor) at his alma mater, Johnson Central High School in nearby Charleston WV. Tickets are free, but are first come-first served.
• The Go-Go’s – The “We Got the Beat” hitmakers are hitting the road one last time after 38 years together. They’ll kick off a North American tour August 2nd in Clearwater FL and take their final bow August 30th at the Greek Theatre in LA, where the band was founded.
• John Lennon – The earliest known letter written by Lennon is expected to fetch more than $40,000. As an 11-year-old he wrote a thank-you card to his Aunt Harriet after Christmas 1951. Bidding begins today at TracksAuctions.com and culminates with a live online auction April 3rd.
• Justin Timberlake/Little Big Town – If Instagram ‘likes’ have any correlation to chart success their new collaboration, whatever it is, is going to be a hit. A day after announcing they are writing material together, JT’s post had 320,000 likes.
• Katy Perry – She’s doing a duet with Dolly Parton at the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards next month. Parton will be honored with the’ Tex Ritter Award’ for her recent TV movie, “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors”. The awards air Sunday, April 3rd on CBS-TV.
• Method Man & Redman – They’re looking at investing in a new app to help fellow marijuana aficionados find legal weed dispensaries. The “How High” rappers are in talks to be involved with ‘BlazeNow’, a search engine for services in areas where pot has been legalized.
• Spice Girls – Is a 20th anniversary reunion happening or not? While Emma Bunton is thrilled at the idea, it’s still up in the air whether they’ll be able to bring Victoria Beckham onboard. “She’s just a little bit of a bitch to people”, Mel B recently said in a podcast via Digital Spy.
• Zayn – In a new interview with “Complex” magazine he reveals the restrictions of life in One Direction extended to physical appearance. He claims he wasn’t allowed to grow a beard or get tattoos during his time in 1D. His debut solo album, “Mind of Mine”, is out Friday.

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 90% of people surveyed say it’s acceptable to steal from a hotel.
• 66% of us say that if we hit a parked car and no one saw us, we would not admit to it.
• 60% of us talk or text on the phone while shopping at the grocery store.
• 34% of us have sprayed cologne or perfume on clothing to avoid having to do laundry.
• 17% of couples say they will not share their Netflix password until they are engaged.
• 7% of dog owners have had a birthday party for their dog … and invited other dogs.

SMARTPHONE DECORUM:
An etiquette advisor recommends the following rules regarding phone usage …
✓ Switch off your phone or turn it to vibrate when going into meetings, theaters, etc.
✓ Be aware of surroundings and don’t use your phone in situations where conversation may disturb others.
✓ People in the flesh deserve more attention than a gadget, so turn off your phone in social situations. And don’t keep checking it mid-conversation.
✓ Don’t use text messages to communicate important info or anything that needs a lengthy explanation. Cancellations are better received as a phone call than a text.
✓ There’s no need to use confusing, abbreviated text lingo. Use as much conventional grammar, spelling, and punctuation as possible to make yourself clearly understood.
✓ Handwritten thank-you notes should never be replaced by a text.
✓ Never, ever finish a relationship by text.
✓ Messages of condolence sent by text are the ultimate faux-pas … insensitive, lazy, and insulting.
– Debretts.com

BEWARE OF ‘GUNG-HO GARDENING’:
Gardening after the long Winter break requires preparation similar to that of an athlete, experts in osteopathic medicine warn. Warming up is the key. Gardeners are encouraged to stretch before starting and to take regular breaks. Medical experts warn against rushing out to pick up a spade and start digging, noting that clinics experience a surge in gardening-related injuries and sprains in early Spring. The most common problems are lower back pain and ligament or joint strain. (If this sounds hard to believe, just try gardening with a hard-working ‘green-thumb’ for an entire afternoon. You’ll never get up the next morning.)
– “Medical News Today”

BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Beardruff’ – Flakes of dead skin entangled in a beard. (Surprisingly, there doesn’t seem to be any retail product for this.)
• ‘Guy-Cry’ – Of or relating to a film that often moves male viewers to tears. (“That car chase was so good …. sniff.”)
• ‘Sleeper Car’ – A proposed driverless car that is completely autonomous, enabling its human occupant(s) to sleep on long or overnight trips. (We have these … they’re called semis.)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/jqacoxz
– WordSpy.com

HOW TO TELL YOU’RE GETTING OLDER:
Dr Donald Kausler, author of “The Graying of America”, suggests the following experiment to illustrate how far you’re getting along in years: First, try balancing on one foot for a minute. Then try balancing on one foot while reciting the alphabet. Finally, try it again while reciting the alphabet … backwards. The difficulty of each step increases greatly in proportion to your age. (I have trouble balancing on 2 feet while speaking.)
– “Memphis Commercial Appeal”

BS AMAZING EASTER FACTS:
• The word ‘Easter’ comes from the name of the ancient goddess of Spring … ‘Eostre’.
• Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the first day of Spring.
• The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22nd, the latest is April 25th.
• Trees decorated with Easter eggs started in Germany in the 1800s.
• If you have the hots for someone, give them an orange Easter egg … it shows ‘attraction and desire’.
– ReligiousTolerance.org

BS CHRONOMETER 03.23.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1968 [48] Damon Albarn, London UK, alt-rock singer-songwriter-producer (“Everyday Robots”, Gorillaz-“Feel Good Inc”, Blur-“Girls & Boys”)

1972 [44] Reggie Watts, Stuttgart, Germany, TV bandleader (“The Late Late Show with James Corden” since 2015)

1974 [42] Randall Park, LA CA, TV actor (‘Louis Huang’ on “Fresh Off the Boat” 2015, ‘Danny Chung’ on “Veep” since 2012)/movie actor (‘Kim Jong-Un’ in “The Interview”)

1976 [40] Keri Russell, Fountain Valley CA, movie actress (“Dawn Of the Planet Of the Apes”, “Mission: Impossible III”)/TV actress (“Felicity” 1998-2002)

1976 [40] Michelle Monaghan, Winthrop IA, movie actress (“Gone Baby Gone”, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”)/TV actress (‘Maggie Hart’ on “True Detective” 2014)

1978 [38] Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira Jr), Miami FL, pop culture blogger (PerezHilton.com)/media personality (“Radio Perez”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Chip & Dip Day”. While North Americans might pick ‘Sour Cream & Onion’ or ‘Salt & Vinegar’ chips, the top flavors for ‘crisps’ in the UK include ‘Roast Beef & Mustard’ and ‘Smoked Ham & Pickle’. The Swiss like ‘Paprika’, while Thais choose ‘Prawn’, and in Egypt ‘Kebab’ is popular. The best dip? ‘Hot Bean with Jalapenos’ … or is it?
NET: http://www.punchbowl.com/holidays/national-chip-and-dip-day

• “Holi”, the 2-day Hindu Spring festival also known as the “Festival of Colors”. On the 1st day, bonfires are lit at night; on the 2nd day, celebrants toss colored powder & water on one other.

• “Puppy Day”, the idea being to save 10,000 homeless puppies in a single day by encouraging adoptions at dog pounds and rescue centers.

• “Tamale Day”, the perfect excuse to chow down on the popular Mexican dish. Tamales are packets of corn dough that can be filled with anything from squash or beans to fish, chicken beef or pork, and are usually wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/hq5goky

• “World Meteorological Day”, an annual UN observance to promote understanding of how weather, climate, and water affects us all. For one thing, it seems to be our favorite topic of conversation. What overused weather clichés should be dumped? “Mild, isn’t it?”

• “Worm Moon”, the Full Moon of March, so-named as earthworms reappear after Winter, heralding the return of the robins. It’s also been called the ‘Crow Moon’ and the ‘Sap Moon’. It’s the excuse for some 30,000 to party on the beach at the annual “Full Moon Party” on the Thai island of Kho Phangan.
NET: http://www.fullmoonparty-thailand.com

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2011 [05] Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor (“Butterfield 8”, “Cleopatra”) dies in Los Angeles CA of congestive heart failure at age 79

2012 [04] “The Hunger Games” opens in movie theaters to much anticipation and fanfare, generating $152.5 million during its opening weekend, the 3rd-highest grossing film debut

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2008 [08] Estelle f/Kayne West begin a 4-week run at #1 with “American Boy” (later wins Grammy for ‘Best Rap Collaboration’)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2014 [02] Kentucky beats undefeated Wichita State in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, ending Wichita’s historic 35-0 record

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] “The Catch” series debut (ABC)
[Thurs] Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
[Thurs] World Tuberculosis Day
[Fri] “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”; “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” open in movie theaters
[Sun] Easter Sunday
This Week Is … Tsunami Awareness Week
This Month Is … Caffeine Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

ALTERNATIVE WEDDING ANNIVERSARY GIFTS:
5th: Lint
10th: Pad Thai
15th: Throw Pillows
20th: Paprika
25th: Baby Back Ribs
30th: Grey Poupon
35th: Slam Poetry
40th: Hay
45th: Grandma’s Stories
50th: Thoroughbred Racehorse
55th: Groceries
65th: Skydiving Lessons
70th: Cobwebs
75th: Cat Food
– Thanks to Jez Burrows

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Who is currently the coolest person on TV?

U-PICK TRIVIA:
• You’ve decided to kick your annoying habit of ‘rhinotillexomania’. What the heck is it?
a. Constant whistling.
b. Mouth breathing.
c. Picking your nose. [CORRECT. A study shows that 65% of rhinotillexomaniacs use an index finger, 20% use a pinky, and a talented 15% their thumb.]

• Most people use about 15,000-to-16,000 of which?
a. Facial tissues in a lifetime.
b. Cubic feet of water in a year.
c. Words in a day. [CORRECT]

BS RANDOM JOKE:
What do you do if you are attacked by a circus mob? Go for the juggler.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: 1-in-5 of us has a favorite one of THESE.
Answer: Pen.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Failure is an event, never a person.