BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Is the new FX series “Fargo” the next big thing? The TV adaptation of the Coen Bros’ Oscar-winning 1996 film received strong critical reviews ahead of its 90-minute premiere last night. The show stars Billy Bob Thornton as a drifter by the name of ‘Lorne Larvo’, who arrives in Bemidji, Minnesota and immediately brings about major changes in the lives of locals, including a much put-upon insurance salesman (Martin Freeman). The show co-stars Alison Tolman and Colin Hanks, as well as a colorful cast of recurring characters. It’s shot in and around Calgary, Alberta. Season 1 runs for 5 episodes through May 13th.
– “Entertainment Weekly”
★ Oscar-winning filmmaker David Fincher has reportedly walked out on screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming biopic about late Apple founder Steve Jobs after Sony Pictures turned down his ‘aggressive’ demands for a $10-million payday as well as complete control of the movie’s marketing. Fincher was picked to helm the as-yet untitled drama after working with Sorkin on the Facebook movie “The Social Network”. But an insider says his salary demands were ‘ridiculous’. At the moment, Fincher has little on his schedule, apart from executive producing the Netflix production “House of Cards”.
– “Hollywood Reporter”
★ And Kim Kardashian & Kanye West’s upcoming ‘traditional wedding’ has run into a snag – French law makes it difficult to obtain a marriage license unless at least 1 person has lived in France for 40 days. Word has it Kim is now considering saying ‘I do’ before they head to Paris for the May 24th wedding party. Speaking of which – ‘Kimye’ have been spotted perusing a selection of chateaux, accompanied by their entourage and a guide. The mock chateau they are now rumored to be considering as a wedding venue is located 23 km (14 mi) outside of Paris. The fake ‘17th-century castle’ was built … 6 years ago.
– X17online.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – The finalists perform songs selected by their competitors.
• “Arsenio Hall” (syndicated) – Hot Chelle Rae (“Recklessly”). Rerun.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Bastille (“All This Bad Blood”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Frank Turner (“Tape Deck Heart”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Schoolboy Q (“Habits & Contradictions”). Rerun.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Two Door Cinema Club (“Changing Of the Seasons”). Rerun.
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV2) – Iggy Azalea (“The New Classic”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni1) – Ledisi (“The Truth”). Rerun.
• “The Talk” (CBS) – 1970s pop star Boy George.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Tim McGraw (“Love Story”). Rerun.
• Tribeca Film Festival (NYC) – The 12th annual Manhattan film competition, co-founded by Robert De Niro, reels today through April 27th. This year’s 33-member jury includes actors Jeff Goldblum, Lake Bell, Toni Collette, and Whoopi Goldberg.
NET: http://tribecafilm.com/festival/
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Christina Perri (“Head or Heart”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – Shania Twain and Faith Hill were both given the opportunity to record “Irreplaceable” before Queen Bey.
• Kelly Clarkson – “Since U Been Gone” was turned down by Pink and Hilary Duff before Kelly recorded it.
• Lana Del Rey – Last night she kicked off a 16-date North American tour in Phoenix AZ. She’ll also appear at the Coachella Festival’s 2nd weekend this Saturday. Her new album, “Ultraviolence”, is expected later this year.
• Muse – Drummer Dominic Howard tells KROQ Los Angeles that the band will begin working on their 7th album next month and hope to have it completed by the end of the year.
• Pharrell Williams – He broke into tears after being shown a montage of fans around-the-world dancing to his #1 hit “Happy” while being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on the latest edition of “Oprah Prime”.
• Rolling Stones – They’ve now rescheduled their Australian and New Zealand tour, postponed by the death of L’Wren Scott. The tour will now kick off October 25th in Adelaide and play 8 other dates through November 22nd in Auckland NZ.

OPENING IN MOVIE THEATERS TODAY:
“Heaven is For Real” ( PG Drama ): Based on the “New York Times” best-seller, the true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son’s extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world. Stars Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Thomas Haden Church. Shot in Manitoba.
NET: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/heavenisforreal/

SIGNS IT’S TIME TO QUIT YOUR JOB:
It’s generally not a good idea to quit without another job lined up, career experts say, but here are the red flags you should watch for that say ‘it’s time to go’ ….
✗ You hate the work.
✗ It’s stressful enough to make you sick.
✗ You don’t fit in.
✗ You have the boss from hell.
✗ You’re overqualified.
✗ You’re asked to do something unethical or illegal.
✗ The company – or your department – is on shaky financial footing.
– TIME.com

BS CUTTING-EDGE VOCAB:
New terms leaking into our lingo …
• ‘Dark Sky Park’ – A nature preserve designed to enhance star watching. International dark sky parks are areas where the night sky is protected and lighting controls are in place to prevent ‘light pollution’.
• ‘Hyper-documentation’ – The exhaustive recording of the details and events of one’s life, particularly when these are shared on social media. The digital age (and the resulting hyper-documentation of our lives) appears to have ushered in a new era of early-onset nostalgia.
• ‘Voluntold’ – To be told to volunteer for something; to be compulsorily or forcibly volunteered. Can also refer to a person volunteered in this way.

WEIRDEST BS TRADES IN SPORTS HISTORY:
• Walter Restrepo was traded from the  North American Soccer League’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers to the San Antonio Scorpions in exchange for … ‘free lodging and transportation during Fort Lauderdale’s two road trips to San Antonio in 2014’.
• Baseball player Cliff Dapper was traded from the Brooklyn Dodgers to the Atlanta Crackers in 1948 for … broadcaster Ernie Harwell. Harwell later moved to Detroit to become the voice of the Tigers for more than 30 years.
• Western Hockey League player Tom Martin got traded from the Seattle Breakers to the Victoria Cougars for … a used bus. The Breakers needed one after theirs had broken down.
• In 1890, one of the greatest baseball pitchers of all time, Cy Young, was sent to the Cleveland Spiders from a minor league team in Canton, Ohio in exchange for … $300 and a new suit.
• In July 2005, MLB player John McDonald was traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Detroit Tigers for a ‘player to be named later’. In turns out that ‘later’ was November 2005 and the ‘player’ was once again McDonald, who was sent back to the Jays.
• The trade between NY Yankees Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich is the most insane in sports history. In 1973 they decided that their marriages would be a lot better if they switched. And that’s exactly what they did: Kekich took Peterson’s wife, kids, and even pets, and vice-versa.
– Condensed from Maxim.com

PASSENGERS PICK BEST AIRPORTS:
They may not have the glamour of the Academy Awards but if you’re a frequent flyer you might be more interested to know the winners of this year’s ‘World Airport Awards’, based on customer satisfaction with various amenities, including check-in, shopping, transfers, etc.
WORLD:
5. Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
4. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong.
3. Flughafen München, Munich, Germany.
2. Incheon International Airport, Seoul, South Korea.
1. Changi Airport, Singapore (thanks to a rooftop pool, movie theater, butterfly garden, free foot massages, etc).
NORTH AMERICA:
5. Pearson International Airport, Toronto ON.
4. San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco CA.
3. Denver International Airport, Denver CO.
2. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, Cincinnati OH.
1. Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver BC.
– Excerpted from NationalPost.com

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 76% of us like to eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.
• 75% of workers think employees should not lose their jobs if the employer is making a profit.
• 70% of kids say they eat their Easter jellybeans one-at-a-time.
• 65% of us prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate.
• 40% of us possess an air freshener that no longer works.
• 10% of office workers admit they are ‘afraid’ of the photocopier.

BS AMAZING FACT:
If you do not have a child, you will be the first in your direct lineage, all the way back to beginnings of human history, not to do so.
– List25.com

BS CHRONOMETER 04.16.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1952 [62] Bill Belichick, Nashville TN, NFL head coach (New England Patriots since 2000, Cleveland Browns 1991-95)/3X NFL Coach Of the Year/5 career Super Bowl championships

1964 [50] David Pirner, Green Bay WI, alt-rock singer-guitarist (Soul Asylum-“Misery”, “Runaway Train”)

1965 [49] Jon Cryer, NYC, TV actor (‘Alan Harper’ on “Two-and-a-Half Men” since 2003)

1965 [49] Martin Lawrence, Frankfurt-am-Maim, Germany, movie actor (“Big Momma’s House” films”, “Bad Boys” films)

1976 [38] Lukas Haas, West Hollywood CA, movie actor (“Lincoln”, “Inception”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Eggs Benedict Day”, a day to enjoy heart-attack-on-a-plate – poached eggs, topped with back bacon, served on toasted English muffins, and slathered in Hollandaise sauce … made of even more egg-yolks and butter.

• “Healthcare Decisions Day”, the 7th annual designed to inspire and educate the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.
NET: http://www.nhdd.org

• “Save the Elephant Day”, launched in 2012 to raise awareness of the threats to their future in both Africa and Asia, ranging from ivory poachers and traffickers to loss of habitat.

• “Stress Awareness Day”, focusing on one of the world’s leading health problems. A highlight of “Stress Awareness Month”. Stressed out? Research shows housecleaning for 20 minutes can help.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2013 [01] Legendary TV sportscaster Pat Summerall (CBS Sports, FOX Sports, ESPN) dies of cardiac arrest at age 82 in Dallas TX

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2007 [07] Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” wins ‘Video Of the Year, ‘Best Female Video, and ‘Best Video Director’ at the fan-voted CMT Music Awards

2013 [01] Cape Breton Island folk-country singer Rita MacNeil (“Flying On Your Own”) dies in Sydney NS from complications of surgery at age 68

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1964 [50] “The Rolling Stones”, the debut album by the Brit rockers, is released in the UK (the North American edition, with a slightly different track list, arrives May 30th)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2002 [12] 6 foot-11 inch Jon Rauch of the Chicago White Sox becomes ‘Tallest Player in Major League Baseball History’

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] High Five Day
[Fri] “Bears”; “A Haunted House 2”; “Trailer Park Boys 3: Don’t Legalize It”; “Transcendence” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Good Friday (Christian)
[Fri] International Amateur Radio Day
[Sat] Husband Appreciation Day
[Sat] Record Store Day
This Week Is … Paperboard Packaging Week
This Month Is … Defeat Diabetes Month

BULL’S BITS

GOOGLE EASTER EGGS:
In the tech sector, an ‘Easter egg’ is a prank or joke hidden in a web page, videogame, or a general application. To find Easter eggs you just have to know the right commands. Here are a few you can activate using the Google search engine …
• Search the word ‘Tilt’ and watch what happens to your screen image. Same is true if you search ‘Askew’.
• Key in ‘Do a Barrel Roll’ at Google search, then hang onto your seat!
• Search ‘define anagram’ and check out Google’s ‘did you mean’ alternative.
• Key in ‘Once in a Blue Moon’ and find out what it equals.
• Google ‘The Answer to Life the Universe and Everything’ and you’ll find out it is … ‘42’.

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which you can die.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s the most useless piece of advice that everyone seems to believe? How about …
✗ “You can do anything you set your mind to.” (OK, go ahead … fly.)
✗ “Things could always be worse.” (Things are sometimes as screwed up as they can be.)
✗ “You’re entitled to your opinion.” (Not if its ill-informed, bigoted, or just plain stupid.)
✗ “Money can’t buy happiness.” (One thing sure … the lack of it certainly can’t.)

BS WEB GOODIE:
There’s an all new way to get classic kids’ TV show “Sesame Street”. Sesame Workshop is bringing ‘Big Bird’ on-demand with a new streaming subscription service called ‘Sesame Go’. For $29.99/year you can watch all the ‘Cookie Monster’ you want in ‘a secure, ad-free, and child-friendly environment’.
NET: http://www.sesamego.com

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
Which country consumes the most apples per capita?
a. China.
b. Denmark [CORRECT]
c. USA.
(Morocco has the highest orange, tangerine, and mandarin consumption.)
– “The Economist”

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Stats show you are most likely to accidentally do THIS at work on a Wednesday.
Answer: Fall asleep.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Cologne should be discovered, not announced.