BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
• Alt-rock band Nirvana, singers Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens, and pop duo Hall & Oates lead nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2014 class. Other nominees include rock group KISS, Brit rock bands Deep Purple, Yes, and the Zombies, plus rapper LL Cool J and rap pioneers NWA. Nominees must have released their debut album or single at least 25 years ago to be eligible. Fans have until December 10th to vote online. (Our prediction: Nirvana leads the voting.)
– Reuters.com
• “Vampire Diaries” actress Nina Dobrev has split with “Dancing With the Stars” dancer Derek Hough after just 6 weeks. The short-lived romance is being blamed on long distance. According to insiders, they couldn’t find enough time together as she films her TV drama in Atlanta GA, while Derek shoots the dance competition in LA. A source says the distance was ‘too much to handle’. (BS translation: They’ve found other pretty show biz people to boink.)
– “Us Weekly”
• Actress Natalie Portman says she’ll find it hard to relocate to Paris with her husband Benjamin Millepied next year because she loves everything about living in Los Angeles. Portman claims LA is one of the most exciting places to be in the world right now in terms of the arts. However, she’ll have to make the move to the French capital as Millepied has accepted a job with the Paris Opera Ballet. The couple wed in August 2012, 3 months after welcoming their son Alef. (Have no fear, my dear. When it comes to arts, you don’t give up much in Paris.)
– “Marie Claire Magazine”
• A stuntman working on the WWII movie “Fury” in Oxfordshire, England has been stabbed on-the-set … with a bayonet. A rep says the injury was simply the result of an accident that occurred while 2 professional stuntmen rehearsed an action sequence. The 35-year-old victim was airlifted to hospital where he is currently recovering from an injured shoulder. The movie stars Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf. (The stars get millions, this guy ends up with a few hundred bucks and a crudely carved collarbone.)
– WENN.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Jared Leto (30 Seconds to Mars); Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby (“Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby”).
• “Downton Abbey Revisited” (PBS) – Cast interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and a preview of what the ‘Crawleys’ may face in the program’s next season.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Jimmy Buffett (“Songs From St Somewhere”).
• “Jay Z Made in America” (Showtime) – Filmmaker Ron Howard follows the musical acts at the 2012 Made in America Festival in Philadelphia PA. Rerun.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Sleigh Bells (“Bitter Rivals”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Goldfrapp (“Tales Of Us”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/NTV/Omni1) – Selena Gomez (“Stars Dance”).
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/CTV2) – Cee Lo Green w/Goodie Mob (“Age Against the Machine”). Rerun.
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Selena Gomez again.
• “Wendy Williams” (syndicated) – TLC (“20”); the cast of “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story”.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Brad Paisley – His “Beat This Summer Tour” is continuing through November with a new Canadian leg that begins tonight in Hamilton ON. Special guests include Chris Young and Lee Brice.
• Britney Spears – In an interview on London’s Capital FM, she’s revealed that her upcoming album (December 3rd) will be called “Britney Jean”, the name she’s known by within her family. The title she says, is to reflect the fact that it’s a very ‘personal’ album.
• Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Today they launch “Big Top”, a 3-day circus experience at Los Angeles State Historic Park. As well as their performances, the event includes a farmer’s market, beer gardens, vaudeville comedy, acrobats and lots more.
NET: http://edwardsharpebigtop.com
• Elton John – He’s presented Hillary Clinton with the first ‘Founders Award’ for the Elton John AIDS Foundation at a charity event in NYC. Was it a political move? Oh yes. Quote: “I’ve always been a big Hillary fan. I hope she’s the next American president. I hope she runs.”
• Paul McCartney – Clips from his recent 90-minute performance at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens NY are now available for streaming at Yahoo! Music. McCartney just released the new album aptly named “New”.
• Snoop Dogg – He’s now changed his name to ‘Snoopzilla’ less than a year after renaming himself ‘Snoop Lion’. The name change is to reflect his new musical direction with the project “7 Days Of Funk”, out December 10th. Quote: “I’ve had funk influences in my music my whole career.” (BS translation: That brief tangent into reggae music didn’t work out.)

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Captive” – This true-life thriller is based on a 2005 escape from an Atlanta GA courthouse jail, when a felon (played by David Oyelowo) shot dead the judge assigned to his case as well as 3 others. While eluding a manhunt, he held a meth-addicted single mother (played by Kate Mara) hostage in her own apartment, with surprising results. Principal photography begins this month.
• “Frankenstein” – This retelling of the epic monster tale based on Mary Shelley’s novel stars James McAvoy as ‘Victor Von Frankenstein’ and Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Igor’. The fright flick is now scheduled to open in January 2015, pushed back several months so as not to face off with another monster remake, “Dracula Untold”.
• “Gone Girl” – David Fincher’s high-profile thriller stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. The film, based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, is about a couple that moves from New York to a small rural town only to have the wife go missing. Production on the film is already underway.
• “Stalingrad” – Fedor Bondarchuk’s war epic has broken Russian box office records for a local pic with an opening weekend gross of $16.1 million. The 3-D World War II action film will be Russia’s entry in the foreign-language category at the Academy Awards. It was shot on a comparatively modest budget of $30 million. It next opens in China October 31st.
• Untitled Rom-Com – 63-year-old Bill Murray is in talks about co-starring in writer/director Cameron Crowe’s upcoming romantic comedy. Bradley Cooper stars as a defence contractor who falls in love with an Air Force pilot (Emma Stone) as she helps oversee the launch of a weapons satellite. The cast also includes Alec Baldwin, Danny McBride, and Rachel McAdams.

JUST A SPOONFUL OF PB:
Sniffing a teaspoon of peanut butter can help detect if you are in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Researchers at the University of Florida have found that patients lose sense of smell in their left nostril faster than their right. To that end, they’ve developed a ‘sniff test’ to determine patients’ loss of smell in one nostril compared to the other. In experiments, Alzheimer’s patients could smell peanut butter on average at about 20 cm from their right nostril vs 10 cm from their left. Peanut butter is used in the tests because it’s one of the most recognizable smells. (Time for a studio experiment!)
– “Mail Online”

STARS MISALIGNED:
With the news Charlie Hunnam has quit “Fifty Shades of Grey”, here’s a look at several other movie casting near-misses …
• “Gravity” … Angelina Jolie & Robert Downey Jr out, Sandra Bullock & George Clooney in.
• “Knocked Up” … Anne Hathaway out, Katherine Heigl in.
• “Panic Room” … Nicole Kidman out, Jodie Foster in.
• “The Paperboy” … Sofia Vergara out, Nicole Kidman in.
• “Precious” … Helen Mirren out, Mariah Carey in.
• “Raiders Of the Lost Ark” … Tom Selleck out, Harrison Ford in.
• “Star Trek: Into Darkness” … Benicio Del Toro out, Benedict Cumberbatch in.
• “The Matrix” … Will Smith out, Keanu Reeves in.
• “Titanic” … Reba McEntire out, Kathy Bates in.
• “X-Men” … Dougray Scott out, Hugh Jackman in.
– Condensed from “Hollywood Reporter”

NEW TRICK FOR TWEETS:
Twitter users can now let anyone send them a Direct Message, whether they follow them or not. Previously, both parties had to be following each other to send a private message over the service. The policy change means the network’s 218 million users can get DMs from anyone, once the feature is enabled in their settings. The downside is that if a person enables the option, they could be harassed by anyone, although the option to block them remains. (The change is likely all about ads. As Twitter prepares to launch its IPO, rumored to be happening next month, it’s looking for ways to increase revenue.)
– TheStar.com

FOR THE RECORD:
According to “Rap Genius”, Eminem doesn’t figure in the top 10 fastest rappers in the world. It ranks Twisted Insane as tops, followed by Busta Rhymes. Meantime, the “Guinness Book of World Records” cites Spanish rapper Chojin (aka Domingo Moreno) as fastest-ever, for rapping 921 syllables in 1 minute back in 2008.
– ContactMusic.com

BS AMAZING ANIMAL FACTS:
• Elephants seems to be the only wild animal that understands humans pointing.
— BBC News
• A protein called myoglobin allows marine mammals, including whales and seals, to hold their breath underwater for up to an hour.
– Telegraph.co.uk
• Swifts can stay airborne for up to 6 months at a time.
– “New Scientist”

BS CHRONOMETER 10.17.13

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1958 [55] Alan Jackson, Newnan GA, country singer (w/Zac Brown Band-“As She’s Walking Away”, “Don’t Rock the Jukebox”)

1960 [53] Rob Marshall, Madison WI, movie director (“Pirates Of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, 2002 Oscar-“Chicago”)/stage director-choreographer (“Cabaret”, “Damn Yankees”)

1969 [44] Ernie Els (‘The Big Easy’), Johannesburg, South Africa, pro golfer (winner of 4 majors)/World Golf Hall of Fame (2011)

1969 [44] Wyclef Jean, Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, R&B/rap artist (w/Shakira-“Hips Don’t Lie”, The Fugees-“Killing Me Softly”)

1969 [44] Rick Mercer, St John’s NL, TV comic (“The Rick Mercer Report” since 2002, “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” 1993-2001)/Governor General’s Performing Arts Award (2004)

1971 [42] Chris Kirkpatrick, Clarion PA, former pop singer (*NSYNC-“Bye Bye Bye”, “Pop”)

1972 [41] Eminem (Marshall Mathers III), St Joseph MO (raised Detroit MI), rapper (“Berzerk”, “Lose Yourself”)/sometime movie actor (“8 Mile”)  BS FACTOID: His new single, “Rap God”, is more-or-less 6 minutes of continuous rapping, much of it at super-high-speed.

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence”, when students across America are asked to voluntarily sign a ‘Pledge Against Gun Violence’.
NET: http://www.pledge.org

• “International Day For the Eradication of Poverty”, a UN observance since 1993. (How’s it workin’ so far?)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/8u53r39

• “Mulligan Day”, a day to give yourself or someone else a do-over – a 2nd chance at something botched – like bad golfers give themselves.

• “Wear Something Gaudy Day”. (Well, nice to see [co-host] is dressed for the occasion!)

• “Work on Your Charisma Day”. How do you do that? Experts suggest …
– Learn to like yourself.
– Have goals you are working towards.
– Be honestly interested in others.
– Model yourself on someone you consider really charismatic.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1998 [15] “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies reaches #1 on pop singles chart for … one week

2000 [13] At a charity auction in London, pop singer George Michael pays £1.5 million ($2.4 million) for the upright piano on which John Lennon wrote his iconic 1971 hit “Imagine”

2007 [06] The section of West Grand Blvd in Detroit, Michigan that once housed the Motown recording studios is officially renamed ‘Berry Gordy Jr Boulevard’

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1989 [24] Game 3 of World Series between Oakland Athletics & San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park is postponed due to an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
1943 [70] Detroit Lions set an NFL rushing record with minus-53 yds vs Chicago Cardinals

1990 [23] In Highland IL, the ‘World’s Largest Tablecloth’ measures 1,502 ft by 4.5 ft (imagine ironing the damn thing!)

2003 [10] The pinnacle is fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur by 56 m (184 ft) and become (briefly) the world’s tallest building (Burj Khalifa in Dubai is currently the tallest building in the world at 828 m/2,717 ft)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] “Broadway Idiot”; “Carrie”; “Escape Plan”, The Fifth Estate”; “12 Years a Slave” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Full ‘Hunters’ Moon
[Fri] Mammography Day
[Fri]  World Menopause Day
[Sat] Evaluate Your Life Day
[Sun] Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (Washington DC)
This Week Is … Food & Drug Interactions and Awareness Week
This Month … Bat Appreciation Month

BULL’S BITS

YOU KNOW YOU ARE ADDICTED TO COFFEE IF …
• You chew on OTHER people’s fingernails.
• You’ve built an entire miniature city out of little plastic stirrers.
• You have a picture of your coffee mug … on your coffee mug.
• You HELP your dog chase its tail.
• You soak your dentures in java overnight.
• You answer the door before people knock.
• You haven’t blinked since the last solar eclipse.

BS PHONE STARTER:
You’re up against it financially. What do you have that you could sell to make some extra cash? “Bloomberg News” reports some Americans are selling their most personal possessions, such as their hair, breast milk, and kidneys. While selling kidneys is illegal, selling hair, eggs, and breast milk is legit, and can bring big bucks. Younger women can make $7,000 for 1 egg donation cycle at a fertility center. Hair, however, is only valuable if it is ‘virgin’, which means it has never been dyed or bleached, and the owner is a non-smoker.

BS RANDOM JOKE:
No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: According to sensory experts, coffee is the most familiar scent in the world and THIS is runner-up.
Answer: Peanut butter.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
People who are resistant to change cannot resist change for the worse.