BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Despite all the smoke and mirrors, Kanye West & Kim Kardashian are still destined to wed this weekend, perhaps in Paris, perhaps in Florence, perhaps both. A few details that are known …
• Today designer Valentino is throwing a brunch for Kim, Kanye, and the entire bridal party at his chateau just outside of Paris.
• There are only 100 wedding guests invited, just closest friends and family, an insider claims.
• According to a leaked wedding agreement, Kim gets $1 million for every year she’s married to Kanye, capped at $10 million.
• The title of their Bel Air CA mansion remains in Kim’s name, and she’ll also keep all jewelry and gifts given to her by Kanye. What’s more, money she earns from her TV show, clothing line, and promotional appearances are to be considered her separate income.
• One of Kanye’s life insurance policies, said to be valued at $20 million, names Kim as beneficiary for life … even in the event of a divorce.
• The wedding is likely to figure large on the new season of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”, premiering Sunday, June 8th on E! Channel.
– RadarOnline.com
★ The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have launched an investigation into sex abuse allegations made by Pamela Anderson during an appearance in Cannes, France last week. The actress stunned guests at the launch of the Pamela Anderson Foundation by detailing the horrific sexual assaults she suffered as a child and in her teens. RCMP cops in her hometown of Ladysmith, British Columbia have now confirmed they are investigating her claims and have requested a meeting with Anderson. What they expect to discover after 30-odd years is unknown but this case clearly has more sex appeal than BC’s dozens of unsolved cases of missing and/or murdered aboriginal women that have recently come to light.
– WENN.com
★ And after months of speculation, Warner Bros has officially titled its upcoming sequel to “Man of Steel”. The superhero team-up film, starring Henry Cavill as ‘Superman’, Ben Affleck as ‘Batman’, and Gal Gadot as ‘Diana Prince’/’Wonder Woman’, will be called “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice”. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane are returning from “Man of Steel”; Jesse Eisenberg will be playing ‘Lex Luthor’; Jeremy Irons is ‘Alfred’; and Holly Hunter appears in a newly created role. Principal photography on the film is already underway in Detroit MI, with additional shooting scheduled in Illinois, Africa, and the South Pacific.  “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” opens May 6, 2016.
– Canoe.ca

WEEKEND SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “All-American Summer Concert Series” (FOX News) – The channel’s 6th annual Friday morning music series is kicked off by Sara Evans performing live in NYC. Her “Slow Me Down Tour” promoting her 7th studio album gets underway tomorrow night in Caruthersville MO.
• “Arsenio Hall” (syndicated) – Tonight Ziggy Marley (“Fly Rasta”). Rerun.
• Boston Calling (Boston MA) – This weekend the semi-annual music festival returns for a 2nd year with headliners Jack Johnson, Death Cab For Cutie, and Modest Mouse. Other notable acts in the 3-day lineup include Bastille, Brand New, The Head & The Heart, Jenny Lewis, The Neighbourhood, and Tegan & Sara.
NET: http://www.bostoncalling.com
• “Golden Gods Awards” (VH1 Classic) – Saturday an airing of the hard rock and metal awards taped April 23rd in LA. Joan Jett is recipient of the ‘Golden God Award’; Guns ‘N Roses frontman Axl Rose receives the ‘Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award’. Appearances by Alice Cooper, Dave Navarro, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Zakk Wylde and more.
•”Good Morning America” (ABC) – This morning the “2014 Summer Concert Series” begins with Lady Antebellum (“Bartender”) performing in NYC’s Central Park.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Tonight Jake Bugg (“Shangri La”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni1) – Tonight Real Estate (“Atlas”). Rerun.
• “Live With Kelly & Michael” (syndicated/CTV) – Today Phillip Phillips (“Behind the Light”).
• Sasquatch! Festival (George WA) – This 1st of 2 Summer weekends of entertainment includes performances by Foster the People, MIA, The National, OutKast, Queens Of the Stone Age and many more. Part 2 of the festival happens July 4-6 with a completely different lineup.
NET: http://www.sasquatchfestival.com
• “Today Show” (NBC) – This morning Tim McGraw (“Sundown Heaven Town”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Tonight Rascal Flatts (“Rewind”).

WEEKEND TV FINALÉS:
• Tonight … “Hannibal” (NBC) – Season 2 finalé.
• Sunday … “Mad Men” (AMC) – The finalé of Part 1 of the final season, or Season 7A as it’s being called.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beach Boys – They’re celebrating 50 years of their Summer hit “Fun Fun Fun” with an extensive tour of North America and Europe. The trek kicks off Sunday in Louisville KY and is currently scheduled through October 11th in Biloxi MS.
• Future – Tonight the new dad-rapper (w/Ciara) begins a 45-date headlining tour in Milwaukee WI. The trek wraps July 12th in Montréal QC.
• Guns ‘N Roses – Axl Rose is the greatest-ever vocalist. Wait, what? That’s according to travel website Concert Hotels, which used “Rolling Stone’s” 2008 list of ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time’ and cross-referenced it with Billboard Music Awards nominees and vocal range data curated by The Range Place. This what’s known as ‘data journalism’.
• Jack Johnson – Saturday he begins a Summer headline tour in support of his 6th studio album, “From Here to Now to You”. Support acts during the tour include Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Amos Lee, Michael Kiwanuka, ALO, and Bahamas.
• Rod Stewart / Carlos Santana – Tonight in Albany NY they kick off a joint tour called “The Voice, The Guitar, The Songs”, a series of shows which will cover the US and Canada.
• Toby Keith – Sunday his “Shut Up And Hold On Tour” opens in Forest City IA. It runs through late September, ending in Philadelphia PA. The tour draws its name from a track on his chart-topping “Drinks After Work” album.
• Zac Brown Band – Saturday in Lincoln NE they embark on their “Great American Road Trip Tour”, which introduces their new 8th member, Matt Mangano on bass. Longtime bassist John Driskell Hopkins is switching to a variety of different instruments.

TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
• “Blended” ( PG-13 Comedy ): Remember “The Wedding Singer” (1998) and “50 First Dates” (2004)? Well, get ready for yet another Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore rom-com. This time they play single parents who find themselves stuck together at a resort for families after a bad blind date. Surprise, surprise! Their attraction to one another grows as their 2 families meld.
NET: http://www.blendedmovie.com
• “X-Men: Days of Future Past” ( PG-13 Action Adventure ): In director Bryan Singer’s latest instalment, the ‘X-Men’ send ‘Wolverine’ to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants. Stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry.
NET: http://www.x-menmovies.com/#!/home
• Opening in limited release: “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn” (Dramedy); “Cold in July” (Thriller); “Stand Clear Of the Closing Doors” (Drama); and “Words & Pictures” (Romantic Comedy).

HOLLYWOOD’S FAVORITE COMIC-BOOK HEROES:
Ranked by total box office from all feature films …
5. “Superman” – $809 million over 6 movies, beginning in 1978. Last year’s “Man of Steel” earned a franchise-best $291 million.
4. “Iron Man” – $1 billion over 3 movies. Once considered a B-list superhero, ‘Tony Stark’ became a superstar at 2007’s Comic-Con, when director Jon Favreau teased his 2008 movie.
3. “X-Men” – $1.1 billion over 6 movies (#7 out today). The franchise hasn’t done itself any favors by hopscotching through time, but has still collected a healthy $178 million per film.
2. “Spider-Man” – $1.6 billion over 5 movies. Since filmmaker Sam Raimi’s first feature in 2002, the web-slinger’s movies have ensnared a whopping $310 million apiece.
1. “Batman” – $1.9 billion over 8 movies, averaging $237 million a film and the only winner of a major Academy Award (Heath Ledger as ‘Supporting Actor’ in 2008’s “The Dark Knight”).
– Sourced from USAToday.com

STARS ABOVE:
A first-of-its-kind meteor shower is expected to occur tonight. People in North America will get the best view, with peak activity from 2-to-4 am ET Saturday morning. The Camelopardalid meteor shower is a first because Earth has never run into the debris from this particular comet before. The comet, 209P/LINEAR, is a very dim comet that orbits the Sun every 5 years and was discovered in 2004. Unlike other meteor showers expected to be visible around the same time each year, this one’s unique because its debris is strongly influenced by Jupiter’s gravity. Although NASA is confident when the meteor shower will occur, it’s unclear what the shower will look like. A spokesperson says it could be ‘practically nothing’ or it could be ‘a couple hundred meteors per hour’. (Well that about runs the possibilities.)
– @JolieLeeDC

UBER BRAND:
Google has beaten out Apple as the world’s most valuable brand name. According to new stats from communications company Millward Brown, Apple has fallen to #2 in the new ranking of the ‘Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands’. Observers say that may be because Apple’s reputation as the brand that created an Earth-shattering tech revolution has slowed down. The top 4 companies on the list are all in the technology field: Google, Apple, IBM, and Microsoft. Facebook is among the companies making the largest leap in the rankings, moving up 10 spots from last year to #21. Meanwhile, fellow social network Twitter has notched its debut on the list, coming in at #71. (Which brand name do you trust most?)
– AdWeek.com

THE GAP FOR MONEY:
Based on figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development, the least equitable nations in the developed world, with the widest gap between rich and poor …
5. Israel – Taxes and government programs continue to have a relatively weak impact on the inequality between the nation’s richest and poorest.
4. USA – Despite being one the world’s wealthiest nations with the 3rd-highest GDP per capita in the OECD, the US still has one of the developed world’s largest income gaps.
3. Turkey – Although still considered an emerging economy, Turkey has struggled in recent years with slowing growth and rising debt levels.
2. Mexico – Total public spending on Mexican families equaled just 1.1% of GDP in 2009, less than half the average for the OECD.
1. Chile – Its wealthiest residents enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Latin America, but social services are still a relatively small expense in the country.
– 247WallStreet.com

HOW TO PICK A PASSWORD:
It’s time for another reset, thanks to the recent security breach at eBay. Security expert Alan Woodward offers these tips on creating and using passwords …
✓ Don’t choose one obviously associated with you. Hackers can find out a lot about you from social media so if they are targeting you specifically and you choose, say, your pet’s name, you’re in trouble.
✓ Choose words that don’t appear in a dictionary. Hackers can precalculate the encrypted forms of whole dictionaries and easily reverse engineer your password.
✓ Use a mixture of unusual characters. You can use a word or phrase that you can easily remember but where characters are substituted, eg: Myd0ghaS2B1g3ars!
✓ Have different passwords for different sites and systems. If hackers compromise one system you do not want them having the key to unlock all your other accounts.
✓ Keep passwords safe. With multiple passwords it is tempting to write them down and carry them around with you. Better to use some form of secure password vault on your phone.
– BBC News

DID YOU KNOW?
Since 1990, more people have been killed by sandcastles than by sharks.
– “Quite Interesting”

BS CHRONOMETER 05.23.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1958 [56] Drew Carey, Cleveland OH, comedian/TV host (“The Price is Right” since 2007)/TV producer (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?” 1998-2006)/TV actor (“Drew Carey Show” 1995-2004)

1958 [56] Lea DeLaria, Belleville IL, TV actress (‘Big Boo’ on “Orange Is the New Black” since 2013)

1967 [47] Phil Selway, Abingdon UK, alt-rock drummer (Radiohead-“There There”, “Creep”)

1970 [44] Matt Flynn, LA CA, pop drummer (Maroon 5-“Moves Like Jagger”, “She Will Be Loved”)

1973 [41] Maxwell (Gerald Maxwell Rivera), Brooklyn NY, neo-soul singer-songwriter-producer (“Pretty Wings”, “Fortunate”)

1974 [40] Jewel (Kilcher), Payson UT, country/folk/pop singer (“Intuition”, “Standing Still”)

SATURDAY –
Legendary folk-rock musician Bob Dylan (“Like a Rolling Stone”) is 73; Country-rock singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash (“Runaway Train”) is 59; Movie actress Kristin Scott Thomas (“Nowhere Boy”) is 54; Rock bassist Jimmy Ashhurst (Buckcherry) is 51; Rock guitarist Rich Robinson (Black Crowes) is 45; Rock drummer Cody Hanson (Hinder) is 32; Dancer Mark Ballas (“Dancing With the Stars”) is 28.

SUNDAY –
Movie actor Ian McKellen (“Lord Of the Rings”) is 75; Movie actor Mike Myers (“Shrek”) is 51; R&B singer Lauryn Hill (“Doo Wop [That Thing]”) is 39; Movie actor Cillian Murphy (“The Dark Knight”) is 38; Rock guitarist-singer Joe King (The Fray) is 34.

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Taffy Day”, celebrating the ooey-gooey soft candy that sticks to your dental fillings. Salt water taffy was originally produced in Atlantic City NJ back in 1883.
• “World Turtle Day”, initiated in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, a turtle & tortoise conservation organization founded in 1990 in Malibu CA. The observance highlights ways each of us can help protect these gentle but jeopardized animals. A few dos & don’ts listed here …
NET: http://www.tortoise.com

SATURDAY –
• “Asparagus Day”, honoring the only ‘spears’ most of us ever eat. What’s your secret recipe?
• “Brothers Day”, a day to give them a quick punch on the arm … just to let ‘em know you care.
• “Escargot Day”, celebrating the gourmet food you can harvest off your driveway. How come we’ll eat snails but not slugs? Aren’t they the same thing?
• “International Tiara Day”, a day for women to celebrate their leadership powers. Real or virtual tiara-wearing is optional.

SUNDAY –
• “African Liberation Day”, when many African countries celebrate the hard-fought achievement of their freedom from European colonial powers.
• “Geek Pride Day”, a day for sci-fi fans and techno-nerds to stand tall. The date coincides with the release of the first “Star Wars” movie. What is a geek? The Geek Pride Organization says ‘you know one when you see one’.
• “Heat Awareness Day”, promoting safe practices during extreme temperatures. Heat is the #1 weather-related killer in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/74fxyo3
• “Indianapolis 500”, the 98th running of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’. 3-time winner Dario Franchitti drives the pace car; outspoken and controversial owner of the Dallas Mavericks and “Shark Tank” reality star Mark Cuban serves as the honorary starter.
NET: http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/
• “International Missing Children’s Day”, promoting awareness of the problem and safety tips for kids and parents. We’re encouraged to turn on porch lights in observance as a way to show hope and support for missing kids and their families.
• “Tap Dance Day”, honoring the birthday of Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, ‘King of Tap Dancers’, in 1878. (You can do an on-air tap dance using 2 pencils on the microphone … gently.)

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2005 [09] Tom Cruise infamously leaps on the couch and pumps his fist in the air to express his love for Katie Holmes during an appearance on “Oprah”

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2007 [07] The US Library of Congress hands out its 1st ‘Gershwin Award’ to singer-songwriter Paul Simon

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1982 [32] Colin Wilson rides a surfboard a record 294 miles (473 km)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Mon] Memorial Day (USA)
[Mon] World Lindy Hop Day
[Mon] Rolling Stones tour resumes (Oslo, Norway)
[Tues] Cellophane Tape Day
[Wed] Sierra Club Day
[Wed] World MS Day
This Week Is … Safe Boating Week
This Month Is … Motorcycle Safety Month

BULL’S BITS

INVENTIONS THAT WILL NEVER NEEDED UPDATING:
✓ Barbed Wire
✓ Bubble Wrap
✓ Flyswatter
✓ Lego
✓ Mouse Trap
✓ Paper Clip
✓ Rocking Chair
✓ Teapot
(Can you add to the list?)
– MentalFloss.com

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Do you trust the reviews you read on ‘Trip Advisor’? The travel-rating service is currently being investigated in Italy over concerns it’s not doing enough to prevent fake reviews. Even if they aren’t fake, aren’t reviews likely skewed by hotheads who always like to complain? After all, who ever writes a review of something that they rate as OK?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Marriages are 75% more likely to end in divorce if one person does THIS.
Answer: Smokes cigarettes.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Listen more; speak less.