BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Is there anyone left in Hollywood NOT starring in the “Twin Peaks” revival? The 200-strong cast of the upcoming David Lynch series has been announced in full, revealing not only the original actors set to return, but a whole bunch of new faces. Among the new cast members: Amanda Seyfried, Ashley Judd, Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Jennifer Jason Leigh, Laura Dern, Monica Bellucci, Michael Cera, Naomi Watts, Sky Ferreira, Tim Roth, and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). The upcoming new series is a continuation of the events of the 1990s drama’s 2 original seasons. It’s due for a limited 18-episode run on Showtime next year.
– Canoe.com
★ Jennifer Hudson and Broadway veteran Harvey Fierstein have joined the cast of the upcoming TV broadcast of “Hairspray Live!”. In the past NBC-TV has developed musical adaptations of “The Sound of Music”, “Peter Pan”, and “The Wiz” as TV specials, and how “Hairspray is next on the list. The story of an overweight teen who dreams of landing a spot on her favorite TV dance show first hit the bigscreen in 1988. It was subsequently developed into a Broadway show in 2002. In the TV reboot Hudson plays ‘Motormouth Maybelle’, while Fierstein stars as ‘Edna Turnblad’, a role he originated on Broadway and won a Tony Award for. The live TV event is scheduled for December 7th.
– WENN.com
★ And it seems Prince left no will behind with instructions on how to divide his fortune after his death. Insiders claim  various professionals advised him to consider laying out his final wishes in the event of his demise, but he just wasn’t interested in drafting a will. As a result his 6 brothers and sisters look set to benefit, as Minnesota law dictates a person’s closest living relatives can equally share an inheritance in the event a resident dies without a will. The estate is now estimated to be worth less than $150 million as Prince reportedly struggled with financial issues in his later years, allegedly spending more than he made. He adamantly refused to cash in on the rights to his music catalogue.
– TMZ.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – will.i.am (“The Angry Birds Movie”, out May 20th).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – John Mellencamp (“Plain Spoken”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Charlamagne tha God (“South Crack the Album”).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – The Wild Feathers (“Lonely Is a Lifetime”).
• “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global) – Catfish & The Bottlemen (“The Ride”, out May 27th).
• “The Talk” (CBS) – Country icon Reba McEntire chats about her 40-year career.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Fitz & The Tantrums (“More Than Just a Dream”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – Tonight the North American leg of her “Formation World Tour” gets underway in Miami FL. The 40-date concert series marks her 1st solo headlining tour since her 2013 “Mrs Carter” shows. The trek moves overseas to the UK and Europe from June through July.
• Blake Shelton – He tells “People” magazine: “I take a step back and think, ‘Wow, to me she’s Gwen, but she’s Gwen Stefani,’ you know what I mean? It’s like a self check every now and then. Whoa, I’m hanging out with literally the coolest girl in the world …”
• Desiigner – The NYC rapper and Kanye West protégé is set to top next week’s ‘Billboard Hot 100’ with “Panda”, ending Rihanna’s 9-week reign with “Work”. He’s the 1st American-born artist to top the countdown since Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth spent 12 weeks at #1 last Summer.
• Drake – He’s announced he’s hitting the road with his “Summer Sixteen Tour”, visiting 30 cities across North America. Future will open all dates, with additional special guests as well. The trek begins in Austin TX July 20th. His new album “Views From the 6” is out this Friday.
• John Mellencamp – Tonight he’s being honored by ASCAP with its ‘Founders Award’ at the 33rd annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles CA. It’s a salute to his 4-decade career.

EASY WAYS TO SPEND LESS MONEY:
• Get your gym membership reimbursed. Some health insurance plans will reimburse you for trying to stay healthy, either in part or in full.
• Pick the right bank account. Find a bank or credit union that offers relatively high interest rates on its savings accounts as well as low transaction fees.
• Get a credit card with great rewards. Whether it’s frequent flyer miles or cash returns, you might as well get something back for using your card.
• Hide money from yourself. If your employer has a direct deposit option, have a portion of your pay automatically diverted to a savings account or investment.
• Brew your own coffee. Those $4 lattes can add up.
• Eat fewer lunches out. Even bringing your lunch once a week more often can save you $40 or more by the end of the month.
• Line-dry your clothes. Why pay to have a machine dry your duds when the air will do it free?
• Get a smart thermostat. If you’re paying to heat or cool your home while you’re not there, you’re basically throwing money away.
– Allstate.com

BS BUZZWORDS:
Cutting-edge vocab …
• ‘Blesser’ – A single, rich man who spends lavishly on a woman in return for her companionship or intimacy. (In case you’re wondering, this isn’t quite a synonym for sugar daddy, since a blesser isn’t necessarily daddy-like.)
• ‘Chairdrobe’ – Discarded clothes piled on a chair. (If you’re that much of a slob you presumably also have a ‘bedrobe’ and a ‘floordrobe’.)
• ‘Clone Town’ –  A town or neighborhood where the main shopping area is dominated by chain stores, making it look identical to the shopping areas in many other towns. (This could be the name of any shopping mall.)
• ‘Whataboutery’ – The practice of deflecting attention from the difficulty under discussion by raising a separate, problematic issue. (“Never mind X, what about Y?”)

YOUR DOG HATES HUGS:
We’re sorry to break this to you, but it’s true. Every time you hug dogs, you’re stressing them out and making them miserable. Why? Basically, when a hug makes a dog feel trapped and unable to run away from danger. And that’s a canine’s first line of defense in times of stress or threat. If you take a look at pictures of dogs being hugged, you’ll see subtle indicators of anxiety: Turning the head away from whatever’s bothering it; showing the white edges of the eyes; or lowering the ears by the side of the head. So why do dogs let us do it then? Psychologists suggest they only put up with hugs because humans like them so much. If you really want to show your pooch how much you love them, try a belly rub, or maybe a good pat on the head. (Actually all you need to do is feed them and any pet will love you for life.)
– “Psychology Today”

RULES FOR DRESSING APPROPRIATELY AT WORK:
In the working world clothes matter, especially if your job involves lots of face time with co-workers or clients. Here’s a rundown of how to choose work wear and avoid fashion faux pas …
✓ ‘Business Formal’ – Men should suit up, wear a tie, and a pair of well-polished professional shoes. For women, a pantsuit or mid-length skirt-suit, black or neutral closed-toe pumps, and a conservative blouse.
✓ ‘Professional Attire’ is just want it sounds like. Guys should stick with dress pants and button-down shirts, but a sweater or sport coat can stand in for a suit jacket. For women, a coordinated suit is no longer required, but you’ll want to wear a conservative, subtle-colored dress, blouse, or sweater, with sleeves at least three-quarter length.
✓ ‘Business Casual’ – For women, short-sleeved and sleeveless tops are now acceptable as long as they’re made of office-appropriate fabric. Hemlines can climb a few inches above the knee; you can also wear a shift or shirtdress in a solid color. For men, jackets are now entirely optional and ties are completely unnecessary; as long as your shirt is tucked in, you’re fine.
✓ ‘Fully Casual’ – Basically, just about anything goes. Jeans are OK, but opt for your classiest pair. Men, collared shirts are now optional. For women, cropped pants (not tops), bold prints, and mid-thigh-length skirts are now OK.
Creative offices mean you can have more fun with fashion, but some articles of clothing are never acceptable, ie: sports jerseys, exercise wear, and – duh!?!? – pajamas. Here’s a simple rule of thumb: If you don’t know what to wear, look around you at others; if you still don’t know, ask. (What do you wear when you work at home?)
– MentalFloss.com

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical look at who we are and the things we do …
• 90% of people who try to become a vegetarian, fail.
• 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 per day.
• 58% of households still have a VCR.
• 22% of people have called or texted an ex while their current partner was in the shower.
• 17% of women say it’s a sure sign of insecurity when they see a guy driving a sports car.
• 6% of men have used Nair or other depilatory product that’s intended for women.

BS AMAZING MUSIC FACTS:
• Cows produce more milk when listening to relaxing music.
• The ‘Mere Exposure Effect’ says that we prefer songs that we have already heard before. In other words, you don’t tend to like music just because it’s good but also because you’ve already been exposed to it.
– BuzzFeed.com

BS CHRONOMETER 04.27.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1978 [38] Jim James (James Edward Olliges Jr), Louisville KY, indie rock singer-guitarist (My Morning Jacket-“Friends Again”)

1978 [38] Patrick Hallahan, Louisville KY, indie rock drummer (My Morning Jacket-“Holdin’ On to Black Metal”)

1979 [37] Joseph Pope III, Denver CO, blues rock bassist (Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats-“SOB”, “Look It Here”)

1984 [32] Patrick Stump, Glenview IL, pop-rock singer-guitarist (Fall Out Boy-“Centuries”, “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race”)

1986 [30] Nick Noonan, Old Town ME, pop-dance musician (Karmin- “Brokenhearted”, “Hello”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Administrative Professionals Day” (“Secretaries Day” in ancient times), the 64th annual observance saluting those dedicated souls in the office who do the work in the trenches.

• “International Guide Dogs Day”, celebrating the importance of guide dogs and how they help the blind and visually impaired live their daily lives. Stats show 70% of guide dogs are Labrador Retrievers, 15% Golden Retrievers, and 15% German Shepherds. It takes them 2 years to complete training.

• “Morse Code Day”, in case you want to embrace a technology that has pretty much disappeared. Dash-dot-dot-dot … dot-dot-dash …

• “Freedom Day”, a South African public holiday celebrating the country’s first post-apartheid elections held on this day in 1994.

• “Little Pampered Dog Day”, created in order to celebrate owners who truly care for and love their dogs. It’s also to bring attention to the fact that not all dogs are so lucky.

• “Prime Rib Day”, a food holiday honoring what may be the best cut of beef you can get. Only one way to celebrate … with a big, thick, juicy cut of prime rib, cooked perfectly to your liking. Don’t forget the au jus and the fully-loaded baked potato!

• “Tell a Story Day”. If you don’t have children to tell a story to, a friend will probably loan you theirs for a couple of hours. Gladly.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2014 [02] Movie star George Clooney and his girlfriend, Brit attorney Amal Alamuddin, announce their engagement

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2006 [10] 63-year-old Keith Richards falls from a tree while vacationing in Fiji, landing on his head and causing a hemorrhage that requires doctors to drain his skull (eventually makes a full recovery … we think)

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
2005 [11] The ‘super jumbo’ Airbus A380 aircraft makes its debut flight from Toulouse, France

2006 [10] Construction begins on NYC’s Freedom Tower (now named One World Trade Center)

2014 [02] Popes John XXIII and John Paul II are declared saints in the 1st papal canonization since 1954

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1986 [30] Andoni Dominguez of Vizcaya, Spain sets a world record by eating 2.4 lbs of snails (a little over a kilo) in 65 seconds

COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Hot Docs International Documentary Festival begins (Toronto ON)
[Thurs] Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day (USA)
[Fri] International Dance Day
[Sat] iHeart Country Festival (Austin TX)
[Sat] Spank Out Day
This Week Is … Air Quality Awareness Week
This Month Is … Autism Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

WORST BS PLACES TO START AN IMPROMPTU CONGA LINE:
• Funeral Home
• Courthouse
• Men’s Room
• Maternity Ward
• Lifeboat
• Team Locker Room
• World Conga Championships
– Thanks to Dale Shaw

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Most study-abroad programs should be renamed ‘party abroad’ as they are a waste of time and money. Agree or disagree?

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
We all love to pay our taxes, but did you know that people weren’t always given this pleasure and privilege that we now take for granted? Where was ‘income tax’ first imposed?
a. In post-revolutionary France, 1792.
b. In Elizabethan England, 1585.
c. In Saladin’s Damascus, 1187.
d. In Xin Dynasty China, 10 AD. [CORRECT. The only emperor of the short-lived Xin Dynasty was Wang Mang. The program of income tax he imposed on professionals and workers, amounting to 10% of their profits, was perhaps just one unpopular feature of his reign, which lasted only 14 years until the restoration of the Han Dynasty.]
– TriviaPark.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn’t it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, and dry cleaners depressed?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Half of people polled admit they can’t remember THIS from high school.
Answer: Their prom song.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
You miss 100% of the shots you never take.