March 8, 2016

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Tuesday, March 8, 2016           Edition: #5642


Thanks a Sheetload for Choosing “BS”!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Amy Poehler, Charlize Theron, Colin Farrell, Elton John, Mary J Blige, Oprah Winfrey, and Tina Fey are among the stars calling for gender equality around-the-world. An open letter written to world leaders, organized by the ONE Campaign for today’s “International Women’s Day”, highlights the fact that 155 countries have laws that discriminate against women, while 500 million women worldwide can’t read, and 62 million young girls around-the-globe are denied the right to education. “Nowhere on Earth do women have as many opportunities as men. Nowhere.”, the letter sums up.
– WENN.com
★ Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o is receiving rave reviews for her Broadway debut in the new play “Eclipsed”. Written by Danai Gurira (“The Walking Dead”), the play is now being staged at NYC’s John Golden Theatre. “Eclipsed” centers around a group of captive wives of a rebel officer during the Liberian Civil War. Nyong’o portrays ‘The Girl’, a semi-literate, 15-year-old who becomes the 4th wife of a commanding officer. “New York Times” lauds the 33-year-old actress as “one of the most radiant young actors to be seen on Broadway in recent seasons.”
– “Daily News”
★ And Tupac Shakur keeps on giving as until-now undiscovered, unreleased music, handwritten notes, and lyrics have been recovered. The goods are pretty awesome: 3 notebooks containing a bunch of handwritten Pac ideas and lyrics, and some CDs with unreleased tracks. The lucky finder got his hands on the stash after answering a Craigslist ad for baseball cards. It just so happened the seller had the Tupac merch too, his dad having worked with the rapper for years. The material is going to the highest bidder via auction site Moments in Time. It won’t come cheap; 2-page “Point The Finga” music video notes are expected to pull $35,000 alone.
– TMZ.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – American Authors (“What We Live For”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – The Wild Feathers (“Lonely Is a Lifetime”, out Friday).
• “Josh Groban: Stages Live” (PBS) – The artist pays tribute to musical theater by performing classic numbers from Broadway shows.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Miami Horror (“All Possible Futures”). Rerun.
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/M3) – Gwen Stefani (“This Is What the Truth Feels Like”, out March 18th).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney). Rerun.
• “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global) – DMA’s (“Hill’s End”).
• “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” – Tonight the Spring season debut.
• “Of Kings & Prophets” (ABC) – Series premiere of a new drama series. Tonight a king tries to defend his kingdom by planning a strategic marriage for his daughter.
• “Tavis Smiley” (PBS) – Talib Kweli (“Train of Thought”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Cam sings “Burning House” (“Untamed”). Rerun.
• “The Voice” (NBC/CTV2) – Hopeful vocalists perform in blind auditions.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Chris Stapleton – He continues his ride atop today’s new ‘Billboard Country Albums’ chart with “Traveller”. And it’s one of just 2 country albums on the latest all-genre ‘Billboard 200’ album chart, ranking 7th.
• The Eagles – The wife of former member Randy Meisner has been shot dead in their Studio City CA home. Lana Rae Meisner apparently called 911 on Sunday night to report domestic violence at the house an hour-and-a-half before Randy himself called in to report his wife had been shot. Police are now conducting an investigation.
• Jennifer Lopez – She’s inked a new deal with Epic Records, reportedly signing a long-term contract that reunites her with Epic Chairman/CEO LA Reid. J-Lo previously released 6 albums on Epic, but her last 2 came from Island Def Jam and Capitol respectively.
• Kelly Clarkson – In a new radio interview with Australia’s KIIS-FM she claims she was once ‘blackmailed’ into working with record producer Dr Luke, the man accused of drugging and raping Kesha. Clarkson says: “The last time I worked with him I only worked with him because literally I got blackmailed by my label.”
• Lady Gaga – She & actor-fiancé Taylor Kinney are among the many who’ve taken part in this year’s annual ‘Polar Plunge’ in Chicago IL, their 2nd consecutive year completing the frigid feat. Thousands of daring souls jumped into Lake Michigan to raise money for Special Olympics.
• Meghan Trainor – She describes her new single “No” to “Billboard” magazine as, quote, “a big, angry … woman anthem about being independent”. The tune is from her upcoming album “Thank You”, due out May 13th.
• The 1975 – The Brit rockers have landed their first #1 album on today’s new ‘Billboard 200’ chart. “I Like It When You Sleep, For You are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It” is their 2nd release. Their self-titled debut album peaked at just #28 on the same chart back in 2013.
• Taylor Swift – She & boyfriend Calvin Harris have celebrated their 1-year anniversary as a couple. She made the announcement via Instagram, with a photo showing off a gold locket with ‘3.6 2015’ engraved on it. Meanwhile, the Scottish DJ has shared a video on Snapchat, featuring a cake decorated with hearts and the words ‘1 Year’ on top.
• The Weeknd – The RIAA has announced his album “The Hills” is now officially certified as 7-times Platinum (sales of 7 million+ units). Adele’s “25” is 8X, and Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” has now achieved an incredible 32X certification.

THIS WEEK’S VIDEO RELEASES:
Out today on DVD, Netflix, Google Play and/or other video providers …
• “In the Heart Of the Sea” ( PG-13 Action Adventure ): Based on a real-life 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a giant whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home. Directed by Ron Howard. Stars Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy. The original tale of the sinking of a whaling ship inspired Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick”
• “Macbeth” ( R-Rated Drama ): Michael Fassbender stars in a new bigscreen adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic ‘Scottish play’. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife ‘Lady Macbeth’ (Marion Cotillard), ‘Macbeth’ murders his king and takes the throne for himself. Co-stars David Thewlis, Paddy Considine.
• “The Peanuts Movie” (PG Animated Family Adventure ): ‘Snoopy’ embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their arch-nemesis, while his best pal ‘Charlie Brown’ begins his own epic quest back home. Voice cast includes Noah Schnapp, Bill Melendez, Hadley Belle Miller, Francesca Capaldi.
• “Victor Frankenstein” ( PG-13 Sci-Fi Horror ): Told from the perspective of lab assistant ‘Igor’ (Daniel Radcliffe), the story of the young medical student ‘Viktor Von Frankenstein’ (James McAvoy) and how he became the legend we know today. Co-stars Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott. Shot in the UK.
• Also released today: “Children Of the Stars” (Documentary); “Community: The Complete Final Season” (TV); “Hogan’s Heroes: The Complete Series” (Vintage TV); “Manhattan: Season 2” (TV); “The Mask You Live In” (Documentary); and “Nelson Algren: The End Is Nothing, The Road is All” (Documentary).

WEIRD BS THINGS THAT HAVE CAUSED AUTO ACCIDENTS:
While ‘Distracted Driving’ is often cited as one of the most common causes of motor vehicle accidents, the drivers below gave much more unusual reasons as to why they crashed their vehicles …
• Eclipse – A San Francisco CA woman blamed the Moon moving in front of the Sun as the reason she didn’t see 2 pedestrians crossing the street in front of her car. The 26-year-old claimed she’d been blinded by the eclipse’s glare.
• Mom – Imagine seeing your mother in the opposite lane while you’re driving a stolen car. Apparently that’s all it took to cause a 13-year-old in New Jersey to crash the ripped-off vehicle into a tree.
• Moose – This is just bad luck. While driving down a country road a Norwegian man swerved his car in order to avoid hitting a moose in the middle of the road and ended up … hitting a bear.
• Sneeze – A violent sneeze can cause you to close your eyes for a few seconds. Tragically, that seems to be what happened to a 79-year-old Australian woman who passed away after a sneeze caused her to lose control of her vehicle.
• Spider – Swatting a spider is not a good enough reason to let go of a steering wheel on a highway, as one 17-year-old in Kansas learned. 11 people were taken to hospital after her car crossed the center line and slammed head-on into a Jeep.
– Condensed from Newser.com

SCANDALOUS FOOTWEAR:
Design house Dolce & Gabbana has released the potentially offensive ‘Slave Sandal’ as part of its Spring 2016 collection. The shoe is listed on the official website for a whopping $2,395 a pair. They’ve been released as part of a new line that’s said to be inspired by the design duo’s Italian heritage, but the use of the term ‘slave’ is stirring up controversy all over the Internet. Lace-up style sandals are widely referred to as ‘Gladiator’ sandals, but for some reason the company decided to describe the new creation as a “slave sandal in Napa leather with pompoms”. The luxury brand has not released a statement about the uproar. (Another fashion fail?)
– @NYDailyNews

FOR THE RECORD:
“Zootopia’s” opening weekend box office of $73.7 million ranks it the 4th-highest March opening ever and a best for Disney Animation, besting even “Frozen” which pulled in $67.4 million in its 2013 debut weekend.
– “USA Today”

DID YOU KNOW?
• Happy music makes colors appear brighter.
– “Daily Telegraph”
• A song that gets stuck in your head is called an ‘earworm’. This is derived from the German word ‘Ohrwurm’, which means ‘earwig’.
– List25.com

BS CHRONOMETER 03.08.16


TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1977 [39] James Van Der Beek, Cheshire CT, TV actor (‘Elijah Mundo’ on “CSI: Cyber” since 2015, “Dawson’s Creek” 1998-2003)

1979 [37] Tom Chaplin, Hastings UK, alt-rock singer-songwriter (Keane-“Is It Any Wonder”, “Somewhere Only We Know”)

1979 [37] Andy Ross, Worcester MA, rock guitarist (OK Go-“Here It Goes Again”, “Get Over It”)

1982 [34] Kat Von D (Katherine von Drachenberg), Monterrey, Mexico, tattoo artist/reality TV star (“LA Ink” 2007-11, “Miami Ink” 2005-06)/formerly engaged to club DJ Deadmau5

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Girls Write Now Day”, celebrating female writers worldwide as part of “International Women’s Day”.

• “Healthy Office Day”, focusing on the many types of pollutants that effect office workers: environmental, equipment, and stress-related. (Not to mention co-worker-related.)

• “International Women’s Day”, first suggested at a 1910 women’s conference in Copenhagen by activist Clara Zetkin. The first “IWD” was observed in Germany the next year. It’s a national holiday in China and Russia, where female workers are presented with flowers and gifts.
NET: http://www.internationalwomensday.com

• “Organize Your Home Office Day”. Get people with home offices to call in, then ask “What are you wearing right now?” Studies show an inordinate number of those who work at home still dress in office attire every day in order to ‘get into work mode’.

• “Proofreading Day”, to promote accuracy in written messages. If you hate typos and grammatical errors, thIs iS yer dae.

• “Unique Names Day”, a day to appreciate people who have unusual names as part of “Celebrate Your Name Week”. Many of those saddled with the most unusual names are the offspring of celebrities such as: ‘Apple’ (Chris Martin & Gwyneth Paltrow); ‘Blue Angel’ (U2 s The Edge); ‘Fuchsia’ (Sting); ‘Gulliver’ (actor Gary Oldman); ‘Jazz Domino’ (The Clash’s Joe Strummer); ‘Lark Song’ (actress Mia Farrow); ‘Memphis Eve’ (U2’s Bono); ‘Pilot Inspektor’ (actor Jason Lee); ‘Poppy Honey’ (chef Jamie Oliver); and ‘Seven Sirius’ (singer Erykah Badu).
NET: http://www.namesuniverse.com

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1993 [23] MTV airs the first episode of the animated series “Beavis & Butthead”, which goes on to become the network’s highest-rated series to date

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2003 [13] The Police reunite for their 1st concert in 18 years at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1998 [18] Surgeons in Chongqing, China remove 2 of a 32-year-old farmer’s 3 tongues to allow him to speak and eat normally for the first time in 20 years (he’d grown a 2nd tongue at age 5 and a 3rd by age 12)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1985 [31] John McPherson of Newcastle, England sets a new record by kissing 4,444 women in 8 hours (ew, how’d you like to be sloppy number 4,443?)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Wed] Barbie Day
[Wed] Get Over It Day
[Wed] Registered Dietitian Day
[Thurs] International Bagpipe Day
[Thurs] World Kidney Day
This Week Is … Professional Pet Sitters Week
This Month Is … Sing With Your Child Month

BULL’S BITS


BS THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR ENGLISH DEGREE:
• Fold it into a paper airplane and throw it at your high school English teacher for inspiring you.
• Crumble it up near your phone’s speaker. Apologize to the student loan officer for the static. Promise to call back when you have better service.
• Use it to write down orders at work after asking “Do you want fries with that?”.
• Collect 9 more of them and trade them in for a Computer Science degree.
• Bury it deep in the forest as restitution to the tree that needlessly died for it.
• Craft it into a beautifully intricate origami crane. Name the crane. Blame it for everything.
• Set it in a fine wooden frame and hang it prominently in your home. Light home on fire and collect insurance money.
• Discreetly cross out the word ‘English’ and write in something else. Anything.
– Thanks to Cody Ziler

BS WHAT’S ITS:
What’s the meaning of this?
• Solidus …
a. The oblique stroke used between words or in fractions, also called a ‘diagonal’ or ‘slash’. [CORRECT]
b. A holder for a handleless coffee cup.
c. How my spouse describes our marriage.

• Quarrel (as a noun) …
a. The projecting prong on a tool or instrument.
b. The part of a ponytail-style hairdo that’s beneath the retaining clasp.
c. A small, diamond-shaped pane in the glass. [CORRECT]

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ If all your furniture sprang to life, “Beauty & The Beast”-style, which piece would scare you most?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
It’s obvious you’re very open-minded … I can feel the draft from here.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: A new study has found that most of the happiest people have THIS random thing in common.
Answer: Good teeth.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
When all other means of communication fail, try words.

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