Wednesday, August 11, 2021 – Edition: #7043

Have Another Sheetload!

 

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Christina Applegate revealed she’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She took to Twitter Tuesday to share the news, writing: “Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition.” In 2008, Applegate, who stars in the comedy “Dead to Me,” revealed she’d been battling breast cancer, before announcing she was cancer-free after having a double mastectomy.
-ETCanada
★ Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson are putting together a star-studded comedy show at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 12 to honor the 20-year anniversary of 9/11. The show will benefit 9/11 charities. “NYC Still Rising After 20 Years,” will feature Amy Schumer, Bill Burr, Colin Jost, Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, Dave Chappelle, Jay Pharoah, Jimmy Fallon, John Mulaney, Michael Che, Rony Chieng, Tom Segura and Wanda Sykes. Stewart has been an advocate for 9/11 first responders for years, and Davidson’s father, a city firefighter, died that day responding to the attacks.
-TheWrap
★ Johnny Depp will receive the San Sebastian Film Festival’s Donostia Award, its highest accolade. The festival described Depp as “one of contemporary cinema’s most talented and versatile actors”. The award is likely to raise some eyebrows, given the high-profile and ongoing legal entanglements for the “Pirates Of The Caribbean” star. But San Sebastian has not been afraid to zig when others have zagged. Last year, the event opened with Woody Allen’s latest film, “Rifkin’s Festival”. Depp’s ceremony will take place on September 22 at the festival’s Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastian, Spain.
-Yahoo
★ Mike Richards, the favorite to land the full-time “Jeopardy!” hosting gig, has addressed his time on the “Price is Right” a decade ago when he was involved in two harassment lawsuits. In a memo to staff, he said: “These were allegations made in employment disputes against the show. I want you all to know that the way in which my comments and actions have been characterized in these complaints does not reflect the reality of who I am or how we worked together on The Price is Right. Richards also confirmed reports that he is a contender to replace the late Alex Trebek.
-TheWrap

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Whitney Cummings, Jagger Eaton, Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen, guest host David Spade
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Billie Eilish, Abigail Breslin
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Stephen King, Winston Duke
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, John Stamos
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Sharon Stone, Matthew Rhys (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Michelle Collins, Lexi Wilson
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Richard Branson, Sirisha Bandla, Jamie Lee Curtis (R)
• “The Talk” (CBS): Roselyn Sanchez, guest co-host Terrence J
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Whitney Cummings, Melba Wilson, guest co-host Ali Wentworth
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Chris Pratt, Melissa King (R)
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Becca Stevens, Sharon Richardson (R)
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Iman, Max Greenfield (R)
• “America’s Got Talent” (NBC): Quarterfinals Results 1
• “Superstar” (ABC): Never-before-seen private video showcases Whitney Houston — a Black woman who broke barriers to become a modern pop icon — in a new light.
• “The Challenge” (MTV):  Season 37 premiere
• “MTV Cribs” (MTV): Season 18 premiere

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ed Sheeran, Nile Rodgers, Annie Lennox — and other entertainment figures including Steven Spielberg will feature in the “We For India: Saving Lives, Protecting Livelihoods” livestream. The virtual event will be broadcast via Facebook this Sunday to raise funds for coronavirus missions in India. It will feature musical performances, stand-up comedy, messages of support, immersive fitness challenges and games.
• Lorde — planned for her upcoming “Solar Power” album to be a “big acid record”, but it turned into a “weed album”. She says after one bad acid experience, she was “like, meh, it’s a weed album.” Her hotly-anticipated third studio effort drops later this month.
• Limp Bizkit — have cancelled their concerts for the rest of the month due to coronavirus concerns. They made a triumphant return to the stage at Lollapalooza on July 31, but after cancelling a gig in New Jersey on Friday, they have now decided to pull their remaining 8 tour dates for safety reasons.
• Scorpions – have released a short video of the band rehearsing a brand-new song, apparently titled ‘Seventh Sun’, at their studio in Hannover, Germany. Drummer Mikkey Dee uploaded the clip to his Instagram, writing: “SCORPIONS – rehearsing new songs for upcoming Tour. Pretty damn heavy.” Scorpions recently completed work on a new album scheduled for release early next year. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/wbbeec3p
• Fleetwood Mac — Christine McVie, who wrote the band’s iconic hits such as ‘Little Lies’ and ‘Don’t Stop’, is the latest artist to sell her song catalogue to Hipgnosis. She sold the copyright of 115 songs to the London firm for an undisclosed fee, which gives investors the chance to take advantage of future royalties.
• Gordon Lightfoot — is recovering from a broken wrist after a fall at his Toronto home. He’s been forced to postpone a number of upcoming tour dates after undergoing surgery. A rep says the 82-year-old is “doing just fine,” but is expected to take 8 weeks to recover.
• Maddie & Tae – have been tapped by the Country Music Hall of Fame for the second season of its “Words and Music at Home” songwriting program. Breland, Charlie Worsham, Ruby Amanfu and Sam Ashworth will also be featured on the program, premiering on YouTube Thursdays through Aug. 26.
• Michael Ray — has announced a new EP, “Higher Education”, set for release on Aug. 27. He’s currently previewing the new song ‘Just the Way I Am’. LINK: https://youtu.be/RnfiwXJSrHo
• Garth Brooks — Two young fans attending their first-ever concert in Kansas City left with an autographed guitar. Video from Brooks’ show there on Saturday shows 12-year-old Giada on her father’s shoulders, holding a sign that says, “Garth … it’s our 1st concert.” He points out Giada, her sister, and he all have names starting with “G”, and decides to send them home with something else that starts with the same letter. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/33f2pvsv

SHOOTING THE BULL

DOES THIS ADD UP?
Improving physical education classes at school could be the key to students’ getting higher grades, especially in math, according to a new study. It was found that dance, martial arts, and high-intensity team sports have a big impact on children’s academic prowess because they are “cognitively challenging”. Spanish researchers say instead of increasing the number of PE classes per week, schools should consider improving the quality of the lessons. The analysis, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, shows that boosting the quality of PE lessons increased brainpower, and academic results, primarily in math. The results were largely observed among primary school students.
(All I know is this: Once they eliminated dodgeball from gym class, I was able to think MUCH clearer!)
(Of course, you can get the same results by making the gym coach take over math class. Or will that just make the kids SEEM smart to the teacher?)
-StudyFinds

THERE’S A CAT APP FOR THAT:
Cat owners who love to take pictures of their furry friends now have a new excuse to pull out their smartphone and snap a photo: it could help the cat. Calgary, Alberta animal health technology company, Sylvester.ai, has developed an app called “Tably” that uses the phone’s camera to tell whether Fluffy is feeling pain. After the owner takes a picture, the app looks at ear and head position, eye-narrowing, muzzle tension, and how whiskers change, to detect distress. A 2019 study found that the so-called ‘feline grimace scale’ is a reliable tool for acute pain assessment in cats. It is hoped that the app could also one day be used to train young veterinarians.
(Because you know that even if cats COULD talk to you – they wouldn’t!)
(Well, it’ll be great to know that Fluffy’s feline OK!)
-Reuters

WISE GUY:
There’s nothing as American as apple pie. And hot dogs. And baseball. So, why not combine the 3? That seems to be the thinking behind what TV host Guy Fieri has put together for tomorrow’s “Field of Dreams” baseball game at a pop-up baseball diamond in the middle of Iowa corn country. For the New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox matchup in Dyersville, the host of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” has come up with what he calls ‘hot dog apple pie’. It’s a lineup of one juicy beef hot dog smothered in Fieri’s own bacon jam, “enveloped” in flaky pie crust, then topped with an apple mustard drizzle, demerara sugar and apple pie spice. Fans at tomorrow’s much-anticipated cornfield game will be the first to sample Fieri’s concoction.
(Very handy for anyone who wants the convenience of getting their high cholesterol and diabetes in one place…)
(Makes it kinda hard to deny dessert to your misbehaving kids, though…)
(Is this heaven? Or Flavortown?)
-NYPost

RING A BELL?
The California-based personality assessment company, Truity, has developed a test to help people determine if they…are the problem. The “Toxic Person Test” helps people find out what bad behaviors they may have and if they’re actually the toxic person everyone is trying to avoid. The test uses principles of the Big Five model of personality and unpopular behaviors on social media to analyze participants and give them feedback. The “Toxic Person Test” includes ranking how accurate these statements are to participants:
☞ It is simply a fact that I am smarter than the average person.
☞ I often have to push people to do things in a way that meets my high standards.
☞ I do not like to be treated like one of the crowd.
☞ The best way to avoid being disappointed is to expect the worst.
☞ Everyone lies—I’m just better at it than most.
The Truity team have also identified the 7 main types of toxic people:
1. The Karen:  Wants special treatment and becomes aggressive when it doesn’t appear.
2. The Mansplainer:  Believes they are intellectually superior to others.
3. The Drama Llama:  Demands outsized attention to their volatile emotions.
4. The Slacker:  Are the lazy people who refuse to do their part and let others pick up the slack.
5. The Con Artists:  Are manipulative people who use deception and dishonesty to get ahead.
6. The Debbie Downer:  These negative people drag others down with their relentless pessimism.
7. The Control Freak:  They try to impose their own inflexible ideas about right and wrong.
(Well, I guess we’ve just about covered everybody that I work with…except for ‘Happy Heather’ in sales…and nobody can stand her either!)
LINK: https://tinyurl.com/25fk283k
-NYPost, Truity

DID YOU KNOW?
Many people who are reluctant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine struggle to present valid reasons for their hesitation. Polish researchers surveyed 492 people who considered themselves either ambiguous towards or opposing vaccination, and found that most attributed their aversion to their own or other peoples’ negative experiences. When asked to actually explain such occurrences, almost all of them fell back on vague explanations, commonly saying they simply couldn’t remember where they heard that vaccines are harmful. Others parroted common anti-vax claims such as vaccines cause autism, allergies, or birth defects, without citing any research or proof to back up their beliefs.
-StudyFinds

BS CHRONOMETER 08.11.21

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1950 [71] Steve (“Woz”) Wozniak, San Jose CA, Apple Computer co-founder (with Steve Jobs in 1976)/Inventors Hall of Fame (2000)/philanthropist/net worth: $120 million (2021)

1953 [68] Hulk Hogan [Terry Bollea], Augusta GA, retired pro wrestler (5-time WWF champ, 6-time WCW champ, first to win consecutive Royal Rumbles [1990, 1991])/WWE Hall of Fame (2005)/reality TV star (“Hogan Knows Best” 2007-08, “Brooke Knows Best” 2008-09)

1954 [67] David Ian “Joe” Jackson, Staffordshire England, pop-jazz singer-musician (‘Is She Really Going Out With Him?’, ‘Steppin’ Out’)

1965 [56] Viola Davis, St Matthews SC, TV actress (‘Professor Annalise Keating’ on “How to Get Away with Murder” 2014-20)/movie actress (“Suicide Squad” movies, “The Help”)

1967 [54] Joe Rogan, Newark NJ, TV personality (“Ultimate Fighting Championship” since 2002, “Fear Factor” 2001-06, 2014)/stand-up comedian/podcast host (“The Joe Rogan Experience”)

1968 [53] Anna Gunn, Santa Fe NM, TV actress (“Breaking Bad” 2008-13, “Deadwood” 2005-06, “Shades of Blue” 2017-18)

1976 [45] Ben Gibbard, Bremerton WA, rock singer (Death Cab for Cutie-‘Black Sun’, ‘You Are a Tourist’)

1983 [36] Chris Hemsworth, Melbourne Australia, movie actor (“Ghostbusters”, “Thor”) COMING UP…”Thor: Love and Thunder”, 2022

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Perseid Meteor Shower” the annual celestial event peaks in the early hours of today through Friday, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. If you’re lucky, you could see 60 meteors per hour at times, and as a special bonus this year, in the early morning hours there will be no moonlight to distract from the show. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/tu4vw46f

• “Annual Medical Check-Up Day”, a yearly reminder to take care of your health by booking a checkup appointment today. (And if you’re lucky, your Doc will be able to see you by this time NEXT year!)

• “Play in the Sand Day”, and before telling the kids about this, it might be a good time to remind them of the difference between “sandbox” and “cat-box”.

• “Son & Daughter Day”, a day to pay special tribute to your offspring by giving them the gift of your time together. If they are teenagers, they’ll no doubt respond: “Yeah right … whatever.”

• “Presidential Joke Day”, when you’re encouraged to make fun of the Commander-in-chief. Unless you’re “ForBiden”.

• “Raspberry Tart Day”, honoring the popular baked dessert that consists of a fruit filling over a pastry. Tarts have been around since the Middle Ages. Early tarts typically had savory fillings such as meat, while modern tarts are usually based on fresh fruit, sometimes with custard.

COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Youth Day
[Thurs] Vinyl Record Day
[Fri] Filet Mignon Day
[Fri] Left-Handers Day

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2014 [07] Comedian/actor Robin Williams dies at home in Paradise Cay CA, the victim of suicide at age 63.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2009 [12] Lady Antebellum release ‘Need You Now’, a song about drunk dialing. A huge crossover hit, it goes to #1 on the Country chart, #2 on the Hot 100, and sells 9 million digital downloads.

2019 [02] Miley Cyrus and actor Liam Hemsworth announce their separation and intention to divorce.

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2015 [06] For the first time in Major League Baseball history, all 15 home teams win their games (previous record was 12 in 1914).

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2012 [09] 25-year-old Jamaican runner Usain Bolt wins his 3rd gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, raising his all-time total to 6 (he won three more in 2016, raising his total to 9, but an earlier gold was taken away due to a teammate’s doping offences).

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ All coffee is grown within 1,000 miles (1,600km) of the equator.
✓ On some Caribbean islands, the oysters can climb trees.
✓ Kids are more likely to trust attractive adults.
✓ When you walk down a steep hill, the pressure on your knees is equal to three times your body weight.
✓ It is impossible to imagine a new color.
✓ Dead people can get goosebumps.
-WhattheFFacts, HumansofTumblr, RandomFactGenerator

BS NEW NAMES FOR A HAMMOCK:
• The impossible chair
• Nuthin’ butt net
• Napster
• Somewhere else for me to suffer insomnia
• Dog trap
• Less comfy than they look
• Gigantic face mask
• Thong
-Twitter

Best of BS . . .
BS MY LESSER-KNOWN LIFE GOALS:
• To clap in time with everyone else.
• To not forget garbage day.
• To leave a few Pringles in the can.
• To one day actually have all my laundry done.
• To watch an entire movie and not fall asleep and miss the ending.
• To retire before someone “retires” me.
• To open my closet and not have something fall out on me.
• To finish watching Netflix. All of it.
• (***CAUTION – ‘Damn’***) To get one damn ‘Final Jeopardy’ question right.
• Get out alive.
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2019

TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ Megan Fox says she would be an archaeologist if she weren’t an actress. (So, I guess she’s an archaeologist.)
➠ A woman gave birth in a gas station bathroom last week. (No clue how she was able to wrangle the key from the front counter…)
➠ The Olympics are FINALLY over. (Sorry, I couldn’t watch. My Xbox controller didn’t seem to work on any of the games.)
➠ A study suggests that TV binge watching could cause depression. (Especially if the show is “The Masked Dancer”.)
➠ Fact of the Day:  80% of people keep their feelings to themselves because they believe it’s hard for others to understand their pain. (The other 20% are on Twitter.)

BS TRADEMARKED OR NOT:
Are the following words registered trademarks…or generic terms for products?)
• Ping Pong (Yes, in 1901)
• Jet Ski (Yes, by Kawasaki)
• TV dinner (No. But it used to be)
• Jacuzzi (Yes, but ‘hot tub’ is generic)
• Yo-yo (No. It was, until 1965)
• Bubble wrap (Yes)
• Crock-pot  (Yes, by Sunbeam)
• Escalator (No. Hasn’t been since 1900)
• Chapstick (Yes. ‘Lip balm’ is the generic term)
• Olympics (Yes…duh!)
-MentalFloss

BS WEB GOODIE:
Helicopter parents…or balloon baby?  https://tinyurl.com/kpnrrmrw

BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s one thing the world needs more of right now?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I thought the dryer was shrinking my clothes. Turns out it was the refrigerator all along.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  If you’re going to do THIS at work, the most likely time is Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. What is it?
Answer:  Shop online

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Playing it safe is the riskiest choice you can make.