BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ One of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters has announced it will soon begin screening … drone races. ESPN will kick off its coverage with a 3-day International Drone Racing Association event to be held in New York August 5th to 8th. A network rep says drone racing is poised to become the next behemoth racing sport alongside NASCAR and Formula One.
– BBC Sports
★ Up till now, Amazon customers who forked over the annual fee for Prime could also exclusively enjoy its streaming video. Now Amazon is opening its streaming library to the masses with a stand-alone monthly subscription for $8.99 … directly competing with Netflix. That eliminates convincing people to hand over $99 up front to commit for an entire year. However, paying for a year on a month-to-month basis will cost a consumer almost $35 more.
– “Wall Street Journal”
★ And Oscar nominee Naomi Watts is heading back to TV for a new psychological thriller series for Netflix. She’s set to star in “Gypsy”, a drama about a therapist who develops dangerously close relationships with the people in her patients’ lives. “Fifty Shades of Grey” director Sam Taylor-Johnson will take charge of the first 2 instalments of the 10-episode series, set to premiere on the streaming service next year.
– Deadline.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Oh Wonder (“Oh Wonder”).
• “Daily Show” (Comedy Central/CTV) – Sturgill Simpson (“A Sailor’s Guide to Earth”).
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Meghan Trainor (“Thank You”, out May 13th).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Of Monsters & Men (“Beneath the Skin”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Plague Vendor (“Bloodsweat”). Rerun.
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Pharrell Williams (“The Voice”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Santigold (“Banshee”). Rerun.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• AC/DC – In 1989 the US military blasted the band’s music at General Noriega’s compound in Panama for 2 days until he surrendered.
• Carrie Underwood – This week’s “Storyteller World Tour” gig in Houston TX has been moved to next Monday as a safety precaution after flash floods have swept through the area. Carrie is expected to continue her tour in Bossier City LA on Friday.
• Gwen Stefani – She’s unveiled dates for her “This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour” via social media. The US/Canada trek begins July 12th in Mansfield MA and rolls out for 27 dates, ending at The Forum in LA on October 15th. Her former collaborator Eve is the support act.
• Jack White – He’s sliding into the baseball business, joining forces with MLB player Ian Kinsler (Detroit Tigers) to co-invest in Warstic, a sporting goods company which designs baseball bats, gear, and apparel. The firm was founded in 2011.
• Kanye West – He’s being sued for lying about his new album’s exclusivity. After stating “The Life of Pablo” would only be available on Tidal, it has since been released on Apple Music and Spotify. Justin Baker-Rhett is proposing class-action status for his suit, claiming Kanye (who has a stake in Tidal) defrauded millions who signed up for Tidal in order to stream the album.
• New Radicals – “You Get What You Give” is their only hit because they disbanded in 1999 before the release of their 2nd single.
• Rihanna – She’s now edged ahead of The Beatles for career weeks at #1 on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’. “Work” has scored a 9th week at the top, giving her an overall tally of 60 weeks at #1 with 14 songs. That’s one more than The Beatles but still 19 weeks behind Mariah Carey, who holds the record with 79 weeks on top.

HOMEMADE VR:
In the tech world, 2016 is shaping up to be the year of virtual reality, and now GoPro is getting in on the action, recently announcing the launch of a new VR platform called simply GoPro VR. It allows GoPro camera users around-the-world to share their content in immersive 360-degree glory. The launch coincides with the release of GoPro’s Omni, an aluminum rig with 6 synchronized cameras that shoot in 8K resolution. GoPro has a unique advantage in the field as it’s already established itself as a platform for extreme sport photography … the kind of content that would make for great 360-degree VR experiences. (Surfing in Tahiti anyone?)
– Mashable.com

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 92% of women say it’s a huge turn-off when a guy wears silk boxers. (Unless he is a boxer.)
• 75% of women that have hair extensions don’t want anyone to know. (Try non-pink then.)
• 36% of us don’t like it when co-workers take off their shoes. (75% their pants.)
• 33% of women will buy sandals this month. (Then spend $150 on a pedi.)
• 30% of us vacation in the same place every year. (The cottage again? Boring!)
• 25% of us hide our valuables when preparing to host a party. (Like the good Scotch.)

THAT’S A WRAP:
Scientists from NYC’s Columbia University are re-imagining the way we capture images with a ‘Flexible Sheet Camera’ that uses elastic lenses to wrap around curved surfaces. Not only are the lenses flexible but the camera itself. Strips of the camera sheet could be wrapped around cars to eliminate blind spots. Amateur photographers using a pocket-sized model could widen the perspective of an image by simply bending the camera. And as virtual reality continues to gain popularity in the mainstream, it’s easy to imagine the camera as an alternate to the devices currently being used to capture 360-degree imagery. (All sides of your head in a selfie.)
– Gizmodo.com

BS THINGS EVERY WOMAN HAS SECRETLY DONE:
• Left your most creative hair paintings in the shower, as a priceless gift.
• Hidden your underwear inside the pile of your clothes at the gynecologist’s office.
• Used the men’s room when the women’s line was just too damn long.
• Scoured your cleavage for stray Doritos.
• Put off washing your hair because you didn’t want to deal with it.
• Almost pulled a muscle trying to change after the gym.
• Gotten a fancy gel manicure, and then eventually peeled it off even though it destroys your nails.
• Planned on going into the salon for a major haircut, then chickened out and asked for ‘just a trim’.
• Tried on a top or dress at a store, then realized it was too small and freaked out about how you are going to get out of it.
(And your secrets, guys?)
– Condensed from BuzzFeed.com

BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Adblockalypse’ – The predicted demise of online advertising due to the increased consumer use of ad-blocking software. (This is why more and more sites are refusing to show extra content until ad-blocking is turned off.)
• ‘Lampshading’ – Wearing thigh-high boots with a baggy top or miniskirt, thereby creating a look that resembles a lamp with a shade, according to “Elle”. (Or maybe a mushroom.)
• ‘Muppet Arms’ – A physical manifestation of extreme happiness in which straightened arms are raised high over the head. (And you yell “Yay!!!”)

LONG WEEKEND EVERY WEEKEND:
A new study finds that a 3-day workweek may be ideal for those over 40. While holding a job can help keep the brains of older adults stimulated, working too much can cause fatigue and mental exhaustion. The 3-day workweek solution evolved after researchers from Japan and Australia analyzed the impact of working hours on the cognitive abilities of some 6,500 men and women aged 40+. The study has found that working approximately 25 hours a week has a positive impact on cognitive functioning, while not working at all, or working more than 25 hours a week, has a negative impact. Interestingly, researchers note that full time work (circa 40 hours) seems to be less damaging than not working at all. (You can only do jigsaw puzzles for so long.)
– “The Telegraph”

MALE NAMES RANKED BY SEXINESS:
One ranking of the hotness of guys’ given names …
10. Jake
9. Dylan
8. Aiden
7. Luke
6. Dwayne
5. James
4. Nicholas
3. Luca
2. Anthony
1. Liam (with examples like Liam Neeson and Liam Hemsworth, it’s said to undeniably be #1)
– Bravadonna.com

NEXT WAVE MOVIE SNACKS:
Bored with the candy and food options at your local theater? In the future, you might have more unique snacking options. At least, if any of the new technologies and products displayed this past weekend at CinemaCon in Las Vegas NV catch on. At the annual convention for theater owners, studios, and theater-related brands, vendors also present the latest in concession fare and other theater-related products. This year, food highlights from the trade show include soybean snacks, non-alcoholic drink flavor enhancers, a robot popcorn maker, and a ‘Hands Free Popcorn Bucket’, which has a base that fits into a cup holder. (How about an update on the prices, say, popcorn for under 20 bucks?)
– TheVerge.com

BS AMAZING LIFE EXPECTANCY FACTS:
• Your probability of living to more than 110 years old is 1-in-7 million.
• Sleeping less than 7 hours per night reduces your life expectancy
• Human life expectancy has increased more in the past 50 years than in the last 200,000 years.
– Excerpted from List25.com

BS CHRONOMETER 04.20.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1949 [67] Jessica Lange, Cloquet MN, movie actress (Oscars-“Blue Sky”, “Tootsie”)/TV actress (“American Horror Story: Freak Show”)

1964 [52] Andy Serkis, Ruislip UK, 5′-6″ movie actor (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”)

1970 [46] Shemar Moore, Oakland CA, TV actor (‘Derek Morgan’ on “Criminal Minds” since 2005)

1978 [38] Clay Cook, Snellville GA, country musician (Zac Brown Band-“Toes”, “Chicken Fried”)

1983 [33] Miranda Kerr, Sydney, Australia, fashion model (Victoria’s Secret)/wed to movie actor Orlando Bloom (2010-13)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “420” or “Pot Smokers Day”, the unofficial holiday of potheads. A few facts …
– ‘Four-twenty’ became an emblematic number for dopers in the 1970s. It comes from the time 4:20 pm, the secret ‘burn time’ originated by a group of pot-smoking students at California’s San Rafael High School back in 1971. (“High Times”)
– Marijuana is the most lucrative domestic crop in the USA, worth almost $36 billion … more than corn and wheat combined. (DrugScience.org)
– More than 1 person every minute is arrested for marijuana possession in the US. (“Washington Post”)

• “Lima Bean Respect Day”, encouraging us to recognize the protein power offered by the tasteless, mealy morsel that most of us avoid at all costs.

• “Look-Alike Day”, a day for people who are constantly mistaken for rich and famous celebrities to have some recognition of their own. So who do people say you look like?

• “Volunteer Recognition Day”, honoring the legions of people who dedicate themselves to causes and helping others, thereby making both big and small differences in the lives of millions worldwide.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2002 [14] In a dispute over who owns rights to Nirvana’s recordings former members Dave Grohl and Kirst Novoselic ask a Seattle WA court to prove that Courtney Love is mentally stable (they claim she’s “irrational, mercurial, self-centered, unmanageable, inconsistent and unpredictable”)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2008 [08] Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300, becoming the 1st female driver to win an Indy car race

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2010 [06] ‘Deepwater Horizon’ drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and beginning an oil spill that lasts 6 months (“Deepwater Horizon”, a movie version of the disaster starring Mark Wahlberg, opens September 30th)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Bulldogs are Beautiful Day
[Thurs] High Five Day
[Fri] Earth Day
[Sat] Talk Like Shakespeare Day
[Sun] “Game of Thrones” season debut (HBO)
This Week Is … Work Zone Safety Awareness Week
This Month Is … Pest Management Month

BULL’S BITS

SLIGHTLY ODD THINGS ALL DOG OWNERS HAVE DONE:
• Flopped doggy ears back and said admiringly, “I love your new hairstyle!”
• Used the front camera on your phone to show them what they look like.
• Congratulated them for doing their business outside, several years into them being housebroken.
• Come up with a name for your dog completely unrelated to its actual name, ie: Noogy Woogy.
• Taken it personally when your dog sits next to someone other than you.
• Watched your dog’s reaction when other dogs are on TV to see if they care.
• Covered your dog’s eyes when anything that might upset them comes on TV.
• Said “Bless You” whenever your dog sneezes.
• Held your dog’s paw while relaxing on the sofa.
• Petted them with your feet more than you do with your hands.
• Laid on the floor with your eyes shut to see if they will come and help you.
• Listened to people talk about their dog while secretly thinking about how your dog is better.
– Adapted from BuzzFeed.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Heat causes things to expand. Thus, in Spring the days grow longer.

MORE BS QUESTIONS PLAGUING HUMANITY:
• If a hearse is transporting a dead body, can it drive in the car-pool lane?
• In the word ‘scent’, is it the ‘s’ or the ‘c’ that is silent?
• How many people has the water you just drank been through?
• Can really small surfers ride microwaves?
• Do you realize that the year 2000 is further away than the year 2030?
• What happens if you get scared half to death … twice?

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Should you be allowed to use a phone in the cinema?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: When THIS flies, it rotates 100 times per second.
Answer: A golf ball.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Everyone poops.