BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
According to “New York Times”, the producers of “Mad Men” paid a quarter-million dollars to use The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” at the end of Sunday’s episode (Beatles covers are commonplace on TV and in films, but not the actual original tracks) . . . The new movie comedy “LOL”, starring Miley Cyrus & Demi Moore, has grossed only an estimated $46,500 in its opening weekend (crushed by “The Avengers” steamroller) . . . Meantime, Walt Disney Co has announced it plans to follow up its blockbuster movie “The Avengers” with a sequel at a future date that is not yet determined (well no sheet, Sherlock!) . . . Early reports had the superhero movie at $200.3 million for its opening weekend domestically, but according to website Box Office Mojo, over $7 million has now been added to that figure (it’s a big year for movies with “The Amazing Spider-Man”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” yet to come) . . . The rift between Teri Hatcher and her “Desperate Housewives” (ABC) co-stars is apparently widening, with her notably absent from the show’s wrap party as well as the more public farewell party at Hollywood’s Hotel W (good thing the show’s ending Sunday before someone gets hurt!) . . . The Broadway revival “How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” debuted last year with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role and has run over 500 performances, but now producers have announced its closing May 20th rather than in July due to sluggish box office (maybe due to the latest lead, Nick Jonas?) . . . And acting couple Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell have reduced the asking price for their beachfront Malibu, California home from $14.8 million to a paltry $11.2 million after failing to make a sale (in case you’re wondering how this B-list couple managed to afford this – they bought 20 years ago).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – Jennifer Lopez performs; “Idol” alumnus David Cook performs; the contestants face elimination.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – The Wombats (“The Wombats Proudly Present… This Modern Glitch”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Nicki Minaj (“Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CHCH) – Carrie Underwood (“Blown Away”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – AWOLNATION (“Megalithic Symphony”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (“Here”).
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Sara Watkins (“Sun Midnight Sun”).

TONIGHT’S TV SEASON FINALÉS:
✓ “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
✓ “The Secret Circle” (CW)
✓ “The Vampire Dairies” (CW)

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Against Me! – 31-year-old frontman Tom Gabel tells “Rolling Stone” he is preparing to become a woman by taking hormones and having electrolysis treatments. He says he’ll take the new name ‘Laura Jane Grace’, but plans to remain married to his wife Heather.
• Barbra Streisand – Rumor has it she’s one of the artists set to fill the new Barclays Center arena this Autumn, home of Jay-Z’s newly-renamed Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team. The 70-year-old singer has not performed in her native Brooklyn NY in more than 50 years.
• Jake Owen – At sunrise on Monday, the country star married girlfriend Lacey Buchanan in a beach-side ceremony in his hometown of Vero Beach, Florida. Owen proposed during a benefit concert in April.
• Lionel Richie – His country duets album “Tuskegee” has been certified Platinum for 1 million sales, making it the best-selling country album of 2012. He joins Ray Charles as the only artists in history to have #1 albums on both “Billboard’s” ‘Country Albums’ and ‘R&B Albums’ charts.
• Nicole Scherzinger – She’s set to play ‘Mary Magdalene’ in the upcoming UK tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s  “Jesus Christ Superstar”. The stage revival opens this Summer at London’s O2 Arena.
• One Direction – Niall Horan’s rumored new Irish girlfriend Ali McGinley (17) says the 18-year-old boy-band heartthrob is one of the ‘nicest men’ she has ever met. They’re from the same town (Mullingar) but didn’t really know one another until a few months ago.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Avatar 2-to-4” – Filmmaker James Cameron tells “New York Times” he intends to make nothing but “Avatar” films for the remainder of his career. Currently he’s working on the first follow-up, with pre-production already underway. The initial 2009 film became the highest-grossing movie of all-time, making $2.78 billion at the box office.
• “Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony” – Rob Lowe has signed on to star in this upcoming Lifetime TV movie detailing the trial of Casey Anthony, the Florida woman who was cleared of killing her young daughter in a headline-grabbing court case last year. Lowe will play real-life prosecutor Jeff Ashton, whose book is the basis for the film.
• “Mission: Blacklist” – “Twilight Saga” actor Robert Pattinson will star in this true-to-life story of the capture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The film is based on the novel “Mission: Black List 1”, written by military interrogator Eric Maddox. The movie is described as ‘a gripping, edge of your seat thriller’.
• “Quartet” – 74-year-old actor Dustin Hoffman has roped in veteran actors Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon to star in his directorial debut, a comedy set in a home for retired opera singers. The cast also includes Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, and Tom Courtenay. Hoffman will also serve as executive producer on the project.
• “School Dance” – Nick Cannon (Mr Mariah Carey), the “America’s Got Talent” host who’s previously directed TV films for Nickelodeon, is making his feature film directing debut with this upcoming comedy that centers on a high school freshman who dreams of becoming part of the popular dance clique in his school. Shooting is scheduled to begin in June.
• “Ten” – Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will star in this action movie directed by David Ayer. The story follows an elite Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) task force which deals with the world’s deadliest cartels. After the squad pulls off a massive theft during a raid, they escape with millions in cash. But then, one by one, they begin to be assassinated.

THE PACE OF HI-TECH:
New figures show that the use of smartphones has outpaced nearly any comparable technology in the leap to mainstream usage. It took land-line telephones about 45 years to increase from 5% to 50% penetration among households. Mobile phones took around 7 years to reach a similar proportion of consumers. Smartphones have gone from 5% to 40% penetration in about 4 years … despite a recession. The only other technology that moved as quickly to the mainstream was television between 1950 and 1953. (Pads may soon eclipse both.)
– TechnologyReview.com

CRUISE SAFETY:
Going on a cruise? A few simple ways to stay safe in case of a maritime emergency …
✓ Locate your life vest in your cabin as soon as you arrive; practice putting it on.
✓ Don’t wait for the required safety drill to memorize the location of your assigned lifeboat.
✓ Pack a couple of flashlights in case there’s a power outage.
✓ Recognize the evacuation signal. The standard alert is 7 short horn blasts followed by 1 long one.
– “Popular Mechanics”

iTUBE:
Apple’s much-rumored TV set will look like its Cinema Display monitor ‘only much larger’, says a source who’s seen a prototype. The set features Apple’s Siri voice-recognition software that can be used in conjunction with an Apple iSight camera to make free phone calls. Presumably the Siri feature will also allow viewers to ‘tell’ the TV which shows or movies they wish to watch live, record, or play back. No info yet as to the device’s name, shipping date, screen size, or pricing. (Apple changed how we listen to music and use a phone, and now seems likely to change how we watch TV.)
– CultofMac.com

ADULT PLAYGROUND:
Glossy exercise machines are cropping up in public parks in the UK alongside the regular swings & slides for kids. It’s the latest bit of government ‘nudge theory’. Outdoor gyms – or adult playgrounds – have been growing in popularity in recent years. The Great Outdoor Gym Co, which specializes in the equipment, launched in 2007.The main idea behind nudge theory is that humans are innately lazy and are more inclined to take the default choice. A ‘nudge’ is something intended to gently guide us in the right direction. (Unfortunately, many of us can’t feel the nudge due to the thick layer of blubber covering our ribs.)
– “BBC News”

HOW YOUR COMMUTE IS KILLING YOU:
We spend an average of 38 minutes-a-day getting to and from work. That’s 165 hours a year. Here are just a few of the things all that time on the road is doing to you …
✗ You worry more. A recent study finds the longer your daily commute, the more likely you are to worry.
✗ Your risk of heart attack triples.
✗ You’re angrier: 34% honk; 27% yell; 19% ‘flip the bird’; 17% flash headlights; 2% have actually tried to run someone off the road.
✗ Every 10 minutes spent commuting results in 10% fewer social connections.
✗ You’re less happy. 45% of couples in which one partner commutes longer than 45 minutes are 40% more likely to divorce.
✗ The longer your daily commute, the more likely you are to experience recurrent neck and/or back pain.
✗ The more time spent commuting the more your cholesterol rises, the fatter you get, and the more sleep you lose. (So … have a nice drive this morning.)
– MNN.com

ROBO-CAR PERMIT:
The future is officially here! Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles has approved the 1st-ever ‘autonomous vehicle license’, allowing for vehicles that drive themselves. The premiere permit went to Google and its fleet of self-driving Prius hybrids, which were rigorously tested in a number of real-world situations, including cruising the famous Las Vegas strip. Autonomous vehicles in Nevada will be tagged with a red license plate that features an infinity symbol on the left side. (Someday soon, your car can be your ‘DD’.)
– LeftLaneNews.com

BS AMAZING FACT:
For the first time, advertisers are spending virtually as much on cable-TV programming as they are on broadcast TV, according to a new report by Nielsen Research.
– ContactMusic.com

BS CHRONOMETER 05.10.12

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1955 [57] Chris Berman, Greenwich CT, ESPN/ABC-TV sportscaster (“SportsCenter”, “Monday Night Countdown”, “Sunday NFL Countdown”, “Baseball Tonight”)

1960 [52] Bono (Paul Hewson), Dublin, Ireland, rock singer (U2-“Vertigo”, “Beautiful Day”)/only person nominated for an Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, and Nobel Prize  BS FACTOID: He took his name from a billboard advertising ‘Bono Vox’, a hearing aid store.

1965 [47] Linda Evangelista, St Catharines ON, fashion model (1 of the 5 original ‘supermodels’)/Canadian Walk of Fame (2003)/VH1 Fashion Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (1996)

1990 [22] Lauren Potter, Inland Empire CA, TV actress (‘Sue Sylvester’s’ assistant ‘Becky Jackson’ on “Glee” since 2010)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Clean Up Your Room Day”. What, once a year? Were you born in a barn?

• “Mom’s Nite Out”, the ultimate celebration of motherhood, because every Mom deserves a night out … even if it takes place at home.
NET: http://www.momsniteout.com

• “Trust Your Intuition Day”, a day to listen to your ‘gut feelings’ and act upon them. Is it true … are women better at this than men?

• “World Lupus Day”, to create awareness of the potentially fatal auto-immune disease capable of damaging virtually any part of the body. 9-out-of-10 people with lupus are women.
NET: http://www.worldlupusday.org

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1986 [26] TV actress Heather Locklear (“TJ Hooker”, “Dynasty”, “Melrose Place”) weds Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee (they divorce in 1993)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2007 [05] Pink Floyd’s original members gather for the first time since 1980 to perform a concert at Barbican Centre in London, a tribute to their recently deceased ex-frontman Syd Barrett

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2002 [10] Soft drink Dr Pepper announces it’s introducing a new flavor for the first time in 117 years … ‘Red Fusion’

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1990 [22] ‘World’s Largest Painting’ is unveiled in Armidale, Australia, a 72,437 sq ft smiley face created by Robb College students

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Eat What You Want Day
[Fri] Child Care Provider Day
[Fri] Military Spouse Appreciation Day
[Sat] Birthmothers Day
[Sat] Babysitters Day
[Sun] Mothers Day
This Week Is … Etiquette Week
This Month Is … Arthritis Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

RESPECTFUL YO MAMA JOKES:
Just in time for “Mothers Day”, BS presents a collection of ‘snaps’ to salute mom …
• Yo mama is so healthy her BMI is probably exactly within the ideal range for a woman her age.
• Yo mama is so well respected within her profession that I bet she’ll get another raise and promotion this year.
• Yo mama is so good at cooking she should open her own restaurant. I’d be the first customer.
• Yo mama is so attractive she could be on the cover of “Prevention”.
• Yo mama is so Internet-savvy she should start her own social-networking site designed specifically for moms. It would be really popular.
• Yo mama is so well read she could teach a course on literature at an accredited university.
• Yo mama is so good at listening she makes you feel like she’s put everything aside to focus all her attention on you. That’s a really great trait to have.
• Yo mama is so skilled at coaching basketball she should apply for a job in the WNBA.
• Yo mama is so supportive of you and your efforts that I wouldn’t be surprised if you were incredibly successful as a result.
– Thanks to Lucas Klauss.

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I once dated a female firefighter. Everyone knew she put out. Sadly it was only fires.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Complete this sentence: “You know you’re a mother when … “ (Your kid throws up and you catch it?)

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: The average person will receive 17 of THESE this year.
Answer: Bug bites.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
When in trouble, delegate.