Wednesday, April 3, 2024 — Edition: #7690
The BS Press!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ [***UPDATE***] Joe Flaherty, the actor, writer and comedian known as a founding member member of the Canadian sketch comedy series “SCTV”, died on Monday. He was 82, and passed “after a brief illness”, according to his daughter. He was introduced to later generations through memorable turns as a jeering heckler in the 1996 film “Happy Gilmore” and as an old-fashioned dad in the TV comedy “Freaks and Geeks,” which ran from 1999-2000. Joe Flaherty, who was born in Pittsburgh, spent 7 years at The Second City in Chicago before moving north of the border to help establish the theatre’s Toronto outpost. Flaherty maintained deep ties to Toronto, serving as an artist-in-residence at Humber College. He won Emmys in 1982 and 1983 for SCTV.
-CTV, Variety
★ Shannen Doherty is setting herself free from her material possessions as she battles breast cancer. The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star, who has stage 4 cancer, revealed on her podcast “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty” that she’s getting rid of her belongings so her mother doesn’t have to deal with them when she dies. Doherty said: “The cancer, for me, has really made me take stock of my life and shift my priorities, and my priority at the moment is my mom.” She told her listeners that she doesn’t want her mother “to have 4 storage units filled with furniture because I have a furniture obsession.”
-NYPost
★ Instacart says it has suspended the delivery driver who apparently shot and killed Angie Harmon’s dog. The actress and model posted that an Instacart shopper sent by the company shot her dog Oliver during a grocery delivery. According to her, police “let him go because he claimed self defense”. Police said the driver told them that a dog attacked him, and he defended himself by firing a single gunshot. Instacart’s statement says: “We have no tolerance for violence of any kind…We have been in direct contact with the customer and are cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.”
-ET
★ “Schitt’s Creek” star Catherine O’Hara and “WandaVision’s” Kathryn Hahn have joined a new comedy series from Seth Rogen titled “The Studio”. The pair will appear alongside Ike Barinholtz and Chase Sui Wonders in the show, which is, a parody of “a legacy Hollywood movie studio trying to survive in a world where it is increasingly difficult for art and commerce to live together.” The Studio, which Rogen will star in, co-write, co-direct and executive produce, will come to Apple TV+. No date has been announced.
-DigitalSpy
★ Felicity Huffman has been cast as a ghost from the past in season 2 of “Criminal Minds: Evolution” on Paramount+. The “Desperate Housewives” actress will guest star as ‘Dr. Jill Gideon’, a biological psychiatrist who also happens to be the ex-wife of Mandy Patinkin’s ‘Jason Gideon’ from the early years of “Criminal Minds”. Criminal Minds: Evolution is a continuation of the CBS series that ran from 2005-2020.
-Deadline
★ Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Road House” remake debuted to a record-breaking 50 million worldwide viewers on Prime Video over its first 2 weekends. That’s the best movie debut for an Amazon MGM Studios-produced original in the streamer’s history, according to Amazon. The movie premiered to a raucous reception at Austin’s SXSW Film Festival in March, and was marketed heavily in the sports world, as Gyllenhaal’s character is a washed-up UFC fighter.
-TheWrap
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Cailee Spaeny, Kim Gordon
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Dwayne Johnson, Roman Reigns, Emma Roberts, Grupo Frontera
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Gillian Anderson, Sonequa Martin-Green, Remi Wolf
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Maria Bamford, Jackie Kashian, Laurie Kilmartin
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Jerrod Carmichael, Stephanie Ruhle, X Ambassadors
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Elizabeth Hurley, Brooke Shields
• “The Daily Show” (COM): Alison Brie, host Desi Lydic
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, Chef Michael Symon
• “The Talk” (CBS): Utkarsh Ambudkar, Phil Rosenthal
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Bryan Cranston, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Michelle Ebbin
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Carol Burnett and Kristen Wiig, Delaney Rowe, Tomorrow X Together
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Zoe Saldana and Marco Perego-Saldana, Lisa Whelchel
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Tarek El Moussa
• “The Masked Singer” (Fox): Group C Finals: Shower Anthems Night
• “The Amazing Race” (CBS): Teams paraglide their way to the start of this leg in Colombia, where they must choose between detours getting in sync or decoding a rebus puzzle.
• “Chicago Med” (NBC): Ripley and Charles treat members of a cult; Ahmad’s suspension takes an unexpected toll on Marcel. Followed by new eps of Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Billie Eilish – denies she was “singling out” Taylor Swift when she criticized artists who release multiple variations of the same album. She posted a statement saying that most do this, including herself. She claimed “These are industry-wide systemic issues”, and her point was “about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better — sheesh.”
• Rihanna – A new Billboard article makes the argument that we many never see new music from her. Quote: “Rather than continuing to hope for (a new album) …it would be easier to accept that (it) might never materialize. Although she’s never officially announced her retirement, her career moves over the last few years have strongly suggested that no new music is on the horizon.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/484kkbpv
• St. Vincent – The shape-shifting, envelope-pushing artist has shared another song from her new album “All Born Screaming”, which arrives April 26. ‘Flea’ features St. Vincent on all instruments except drums (provided by Dave Grohl) and bass (Justin Meldal-Johnsen). (She couldn’t have got RHCP’s Flea to play bass on ‘Flea’?) LINK: https://tinyurl.com/52pftnk7
• The Black Keys — With their new album “Ohio Players” dropping on Friday, they’ve announced the “International Players Tour” — a worldwide run that will cover North America this fall. It gets underway September 17 in Tulsa OK. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2tp2fc68
• Nickelback – The documentary “Hate To Love: Nickelback” will premiere on streaming platform Veeps on April 12, following a weekend of theater showings across 30 countries. Tickets to view “Hate To Love: Nickelback” are on sale now for $9.99 at veeps.com.
• Bruce Springsteen – made a guest appearance on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on Sunday. In it, he “revealed” that he avoids calls from the Eagles’ Don Henley. In another scene, Larry David discovered that he seemingly gave COVID to the Boss, forcing him to cancel the final show of his fictional sold-out Farewell tour.
• Sam Hunt – has announced his summer “Locked Up Tour”, a 20-city trek of amphitheaters and similar venues, named after his new EP, which arrives this Friday. Russel Dickerson and George Birge will open the US dates, while Dalton Dover will open in Canada. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2w5dnaev
• Dylan Scott – is proud that his cover of Whitley’s ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’ received a CMT Music Awards nod. Quote: “Keith Whitley was my hero growing up. I mean, I literally sat on the edge of my bed with his greatest hits album and learned how to play guitar and sing.” Scott’s version is up for Digital-First Performance of the Year at the 2024 CMT Music Awards this Sunday.
• CMT Music Awards – The 6 finalists for the Video of the Year category have been revealed. Ashley McBryde (‘Light On In The Kitchen’), Cody Johnson (‘The Painter’), Hardy (‘Truck Bed’), Jelly Roll (‘Need A Favor’), Kelsea Ballerini (‘If You Go Down [I’m Going Down Too]”) and Lainey Wilson (‘Watermelon Moonshine) can all be voted on by fans now. The CMT Music Awards are set for this Sunday. LINK: https://www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards/vote/
SHOOTING THE BULL
HOURLY WORKERS:
It’s not the working trend that I expected to see: Workers these days are putting in about 4 fewer hours per week than they were in 2021, on average. A new report by ActivTrak found that in the past 3 years, the average length of a workday fell by 15%, or 47 minutes. And our weekends are starting earlier: The average employee now clocks out of work on Fridays at 4:03pm, a full hour earlier than they did in 2021. The stats come from a study of 135,000 North American workers across almost 1,000 companies. And the best news? The overall efficiency of employees has remained flat, even as our workdays shrank by 47 minutes.
(Uh, that’s what the workers said, at least…!)
(The funniest part of this to me is: All those ‘work from home’ types who told the survey guys that they work until 4 o’clock on Fridays!)
-Insider, MorningBrew
CATS AND DOGS:
❑ It’s definitely a bad idea to stare at the sun during the upcoming solar eclipse. But what about our pets? Fortunately, according to a specialist in animal eye disorders, your pets are unlikely to bother looking up. Dr. Marnie Ford, professor of veterinary ophthalmology at Ontario Veterinary College says that there is a slim chance that a pet cat might look up “if a crow flies in front of their face,” but “they’re not looking at the sun.” Dogs? They are only likely to look if their owners point “and make a big deal about it”. And while protective solar viewers for humans are easy to find, you’ll have trouble locating eclipse glasses designed for our furry, feathered or scaly friends. And don’t even think of giving a set of made-for-people eclipse glasses to a dog – Dr. Ford says they’re more likely to eat them then wear them. (Same with regular glasses. Trust me on that!)
❑ Dogs can understand that certain words refer to specific objects, suggesting they may understand words in a similar way to humans, a recent study from Hungary found. It has long been known that dogs can learn commands like “sit,” “stay,” or “fetch”, but proving their understanding of nouns is more difficult. The scientists observed that brain activity in 14 of the 18 dogs studied was different when they were shown an object that matched with a word they knew, compared to one that mismatched. They said that the resulting brain activity was the same as those produced by humans in similar experiments. The researchers say this is the first evidence of brain activity for this comprehension in a non-human animal. (Of course, any dog owner who has ever said the word “treat” already knew this!)
-TheSpec, CNN
COWBOY CHIC:
It looks as though cowboy hats are going to be the hottest fashion accessory this summer, and depending on how you feel about that, you can either thank – or blame – Beyoncé. According to those who know, the pop-star-turned country singer is adding momentum to a ten-gallon trend that was already in progress, thanks to the lids worn prominently in last summer’s “Barbie” movie. There has also been a spike in popularity of western-inspired designs on fashion runways, and in the men’s fall/winter 2024 line from Louis Vuitton. Now that Beyoncé has released her highly-anticipated country album “Cowboy Carter”, the look is expected to become impossible to ignore. The “coastal cowgirl” aesthetic, featuring cowboy boots and linen garments, trended last summer as stylish riding boots became a wardrobe staple for some fashionistas. And when Queen Bey announced her new country album during the Super Bowl, Google searches for “cowboy hat” surged more than 212%. So, get set for a summer full of hats, boots, bolos and belts, as members of the Beyhive – enter the age of “cowgirl couture”.
(I’m pretty sure the Kardashians are kicking themselves for not getting on this horse sooner. Careful with those spurs, girls!)
(Fine, But I’ve gotta say, after seeing Bey’s album cover: No one will be able to wear it quite like her!)
-NYPost
COFFEE QUESTIONS:
According to a survey of 2,000 coffee drinkers in the US…
⇒ Those who prefer cold brew and iced coffees are more likely to prefer sunny weather and binge-watch science-fiction shows.
⇒ Cold coffee lovers are also more likely to be introverted and travel more than those who prefer hot coffee. And are more likely to enjoy the music of artists like Megan Thee Stallion.
⇒ Hot coffee drinkers, then, are more likely to be extroverts. They are also more likely to prefer overcast weather, enjoy comedy shows, and to listen to artists like Taylor Swift.
⇒ Hot coffee drinkers are also more likely to be a baby boomer. In fact, 94% of people over the age of 56 prefer a hot mug of joe.
⇒ 42% of have tried to recreate their specialty coffee order at home.
⇒ Coffee drinkers would rather give up social media (22%), television (18%), alcohol (16%), and video games (4%) than coffee.
⇒ Whether it’s oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, or regular dairy, 1 in 4 coffee drinkers would rather go without their cup of joe altogether if their preferred whitener isn’t available.
(But believe me, their family and co-workers would prefer they go ahead and have that coffee anyway!)
-StudyFinds
DID YOU KNOW?
Have you ever wondered where the term “Wi-Fi” came from? The term Wi-Fi isn’t an abbreviated version of ‘wireless fidelity’, as many people believe. Wi-Fi is a pun on “Hi-Fi”, which was coined in the 1950s by audio equipment manufacturers as a shortened version of “high fidelity.” But really, there’s no such thing as wireless fidelity. It’s just a snappy name invented by marketers.
-Gizmodo
BS CHRONOMETER 04.03.24
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Don’t Go to Work Unless It’s Fun Day”, an annual observance encouraging us to lighten up at the office and actually enjoy work, not just endure it. (I’d much prefer “Don’t Go to Work Day”…)
• “Chocolate Mousse Day”, recognizing the decadent dessert that gained popularity in France in the 1800s (Just in case you haven’t had enough chocolate lately…)
• “Find a Rainbow Day”, although I’m sure you would rather find the pots o’gold at the ends!
• “American Circus Day”. Englishman John Bill Ricketts promised to open a circus in the newly formed United States, and on April 3, 1793 he produced the first performance in Philadelphia. This early circus emphasized equestrian feats and was geared toward adults, unlike today’s “family” shows.
• “National Walking Day”. The American Heart Association sponsors this day to remind people about the health benefits of taking a walk. Wear your sneakers (or take them with you) to work, and at some point today, you’re encouraged to take a 30-minute walk. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/bdefuhpv
• “Tweed Day”. This holiday celebrates one of 2 things: Either it celebrates the warm, fashionable woolen clothing that originated in Scotland – or William “Boss” Tweed, a corrupt New York politician, who was born on April 3, 1823. (One has to do with an overcoat, and the other with the underworld, I guess?)
• “Pony Express Day”, celebrating those brave souls who made up the unique mail delivery system of the same name. Back in the days of the wild west, there was no Fed Ex, no Postal Service that ran that far west, no planes, and deliveries by ship were likely to take months — if they ever got there at all.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Vitamin C Day
[Thurs] Ramen Noodle Day
[Fri] Caramel Day
[Sat] DIY Day
This Week is…Dark Sky Week
This Month is…Celebrate Diversity Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1934 [90] Jane Goodall, London England, zoologist (iconic British primatologist, ethnologist, and anthropologist who lived with and studied the chimpanzees of East Africa)/UN Messenger of Peace/founder of the “Jane Goodall Institute”
1942 [82] (Carson) Wayne Newton (“Mr. Entertainment”), Vegas lounge lizard/pop singer (‘Danke Schon’)/movie actor (“Sharknado”)
1944 [80] Tony Orlando (Cassavitis), New York NY, pop singer (Tony Orlando and Dawn-‘Tie A Yellow Ribbon’, ‘Knock Three Times’)
1958 [66] Alec Baldwin, Massapequa NY, TV actor (“30 Rock” 2006-13, “Knot’s Landing” 1984-85, ‘President Trump’ on “Saturday Night Live” 2016-20/movie actor (“The Hunt for Red October”)
1959 [65] David Hyde Pierce, Saratoga Springs NY, TV actor (‘Niles Crane-Fraiser’ on “Frasier” 1993-2004, “The Good Wife” 2014-15)/movie actor (“Sleepless in Seattle”)
1961 [63] Eddie Murphy, Brooklyn NY, movie actor (“Trading Places”, “Beverly Hills Cop”)/TV comedian (“Saturday Night Live” 1980-84)
1968 [56] Sebastian Bach (Bierk), Freeport Bahamas (raised in Peterborough, ON), rock singer (Skid Row-‘I Remember You’, ’18 And Life’)
1972 [52] Jennie Garth, Urbana IL, TV actress (“Beverly Hills, 90210” 1990-2000, “90210” 2008-10, “BH90210” 2019)
1973 [51] Adam Scott, Santa Cruz CA, TV actor (“Parks and Recreation” 2010-2015, “Severance” since 2022)/movie actor (“Madame Web”)
1982 [42] (Jacoba) ‘Cobie’ Smulders, Vancouver BC, TV actress (“How I Met Your Mother” 2005-14)/movie actress (“The Avengers”)
1985 [39] Leona Lewis, London England, pop singer (‘Bleeding Love’)/“X Factor UK” winner, 2006
1986 [38] Amanda Bynes, Thousand Oaks CA, movie actress (“Easy A”, “Hairspray)/TV actress (“What I Like About You” 2002-06)
1998 [26] Paris Jackson, Beverly Hills CA, model/media personality/singer (‘Let Down’)/movie actress (“The Space Between”)/daughter of Michael Jackson
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2009 [15] “Fast & Furious”, the 4th film in the franchise, has a record-breaking $72.5 million opening weekend
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2007 [17] The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards denies to MTV his own earlier claim that he snorted the ashes of his late father (maybe he smoked them?)
2008 [16] Mariah Carey’s ‘Touch My Body’ goes to #1, beating Elvis Presley’s old solo artist record of 17 chart-topping singles (she now has 18; only The Beatles have more with 20)
2009 [15] A Malawian court rejects Madonna’s attempt to adopt a second child from the African nation after local rights groups protested her adoption of David Banda 2 years earlier (but she did manage to adopt a girl that year, and twin girls in 2017)
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1973 [51] The first portable cell phone call is made in New York City
2010 [14] Apple releases its multi-touch tablet computer, the ‘iPad’ (3 million devices are sold within the first 80 days of its release)
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2007 [17] A French TGV train sets an official new ‘Conventional-Train World Speed Record’ … 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph)
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ Weeks have 7 days because the ancient Babylonians had one day for each known celestial body: the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.
✓ NASA estimates that the value of minerals in the asteroid belt equals nearly $100 billion per person alive.
✓ The word “mafia” is never mentioned in the film version of “The Godfather” because the actual mafia demanded it.
✓ ‘Yoda’, from “Star Wars”, was modeled after the appearance of Albert Einstein.
✓ A man actually looked for and found a single needle hidden in a haystack. It took him 18 hours.
✓ In 2007, Georgetown University banned the possession of multiple ping pong balls in an effort to eliminate the playing of beer pong.
-FactRepublic, FactSlides
Best of BS . . .
BS SIGNS YOU’RE ABOUT TO GRADUATE FROM BUSINESS SCHOOL:
• You decide to ‘re-org’ your family into a ‘team-based organization’.
• You refer to dating as ‘test marketing’.
• You can spell ‘paradigm’.
• You write ‘executive summaries’ on your love letters.
• You believe you never have problems in your life, just ‘improvement opportunities’.
• You ask the waiter what the restaurant’s ‘core competencies’ are.
• You refer to your significant other as ‘my co-CEO’.
• You use the term ‘value-added’ without falling down laughing.
• You can explain the difference between ‘re-engineering’, ‘downsizing’, ‘right-sizing’, and ‘firing people’s asses’.
-First published in BS in 2012
IF THE PERSON WHO NAMED ‘WALKIE TALKIES’ NAMED EVERYTHING:
• Stamp = Lickie Stickie
• Defibrillator = Hearty Starty
• Bumblebee = Fuzzy Buzzy
• Bra = Breasty Nestie
• Fork = Stabby Grabby
• Sock = Feetie Heatie
• Nightmare = Screamy Dreamy
• Pregnancy Test = Maybe Baby
-First published in BS in 2018
BS WEB GOODIE:
Cuteness overload: https://tinyurl.com/5n8z8t59
BS RANDOM JOKE:
The first rule of Vegan Club: You tell EVERYONE about Vegan Club.
BS THREEZER:
(Give contestant the clues, they tell you what all 3 have in common…)
• Barcode, Zebra, Crosswalk
Answer: They all have stripes
• Walking, Broom, Drum
Answer: They are all types of sticks
• Ear, Telephone, Onion
Answer: They all have rings
• Sea, Shoe, Race
Answer: The word “horse” can be added to them, to make a common word
• Guitar, Giraffe, Flamingo
Answer: They all have long necks
-ESLVault
BS PHONE STARTER:
What technology isn’t available yet – that should be? The results of a survey included these answers: Dustpans that don’t leave that one line of dirt, the ability to “unpress” an elevator button, quiet microwave doors, resealable cereal packages (which are available, though not commonly)
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Men are 3 times more likely than women to lie about THIS. What is it?
Answer: Their salary
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.
