Tuesday, December 12, 2006        Edition: #3428
Here’s More Bull Roar!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
After not succeeding in making a baby the old-fashioned way, Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony are now looking to adopt a child from Puerto Rico (the latest celeb must-have) . . . “Dreamgirls” movie actor Eddie Murphy better watch out – the pregnant girlfriend he dumped, ex-Spice Girl Melanie Brown, is reportedly shopping for a top Hollywood lawyer to squeeze out some form of financial compensation . . . A panel of filmmakers, critics, and film scholars has selected the American Film Institute’s top films of 2006 and they are, in alphabetical order: “Babel”; “Borat”; “The Devil Wears Prada”; “Dreamgirls”; “Half Nelson”; “Happy Feet”; “Inside Man”; “Letters From Iwo Jima”; “Little Miss Sunshine”; and “United 93″ . . . According to movie website ‘Mr Skin’, the ‘Best Nude Movie Scene’ of 2006 was the skinny-dipping tryst between Salma Hayek & Colin Farrell in “Ask the Dust”, followed by Gretchen Mol’s portrayal of 1950s pin-up Bettie Page in “The Notorious Bettie Page”, and Jennifer Aniston’s buff work in “The Break Up” . . . Steven Van Zandt has already had successful careers as a rock guitarist (“E Street Band”); actor (“The Sopranos”), and in radio; and now he’s launching his own record label, Wicked Cool, which will specialize in garage rock bands . . . Neilsen ratings for daytime TV gabfest “The View” (ABC/CTV) are up 15% since Rosie O’Donnell joined the program, and in the key 18-49 female target audience they’re up a whopping 27% . . . Blues legend BB King is going to tour NEXT YEAR to celebrate his 60th anniversary in the music biz – he’s 81! . . . On the other end of the scale, movie actress Dakota Fanning (“Charlotte’s Web”, opening FRIDAY) says what she really wants to do is direct – she’s 12! . . . And the planned opening of NYC burlesque club Forty Deuce, partly owned by David Bowie & Sting, has been delayed after its Manhattan landlord reneged on a lease deal at the very last minute (leaving all those poor girls out in the cold).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Brad Paisley – TONIGHT he sings “Born on Christmas Day” on the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC).
• Emerson Drive – TONIGHT the Grande Prairie AB natives sing “O Canada” before the Edmonton Oilers @ Nashville Predators NHL game at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The group now makes their home in Nashville.
• The Fray – TODAY they guest on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CityTV).
• Gwen Stefani – TONIGHT she’s a guest on “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS).
• Neil Diamond – TODAY the oldies singer faces the panel on “The View” (ABC/CTV).
• Outkast – Andre 3000 will co-star in a basketball film with Will Ferrell, playing the star player of a fictional team called the Flint Michigan Tropics. Ferrell will play the team owner and coach.
• Rascal Flatts – “Me & My Gang” has been certified triple platinum for sales of more than 3 million units, the only album to reach that plateau THIS YEAR. It also remains the biggest debut of the year.
• Snoop Dogg – TODAY he’s due to appear in court to face charges on just one of his many recent drugs and/or weapons incidents.
• The Wreckers – THIS MORNING they’re on the “Today Show” (NBC).

TODAY’S VIDEO RELEASES:
• “Barnyard: The Original Party Animals” ( Animated Family ): A comedic look at what happens in a barnyard when the farmer is out of sight. That’s when the ‘lookout sheep’ shouts the all-clear and all of the animals spring up on 2 legs, walk, talk, watch TV, and orchestrate outrageous practical jokes. Features the voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, and Andie MacDowell.
• “The Devil Wears Prada” ( Comedy ): Meryl Streep stars as the iron-fisted editor of “Runway Magazine”, the most powerful woman in the world of fashion. Anne Hathaway co-stars as the unlikely young woman who becomes her assistant and tries to make herself over in the boss’ image. Based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger, who once worked for “Vogue” magazine editor Anna Wintour.
• “Material Girls” ( Comedy ): Sisters Haylie Duff & Hilary Duff play the faces of a cosmetics company their late father built from the ground up, and as a consequence they’ve never had to develop any skills beyond looking good. That all changes when their father’s arch-rival (Anjelica Huston) attempts a take-over. Warning: Could be toxic to any viewers over 12.
• “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” ( Comedy ): Will Ferrell plays one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history whose life hits an unexpected speed bump when he’s beaten by a flamboyant Euro-idiot (Sacha Baron Cohen). Features cameos by Elvis Costello, Mos Def, plus real-life race car drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr, Benny Parsons, and Wally Dallenbach. Cleaned up $163 million worldwide at the box office.
• “World Trade Center” ( Historical Drama ): Nicolas Cage & Michael Pena star in director Oliver Stone’s take on the true story of the heroic survival and rescue of 2 Port Authority policemen (John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno) who were trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center after they went in to help people escape on 9/11. Available in a ‘2-Disc Commemorative Edition’.
• Also on DVD TODAY: “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe 4-Disc Extended Edition Gift Set”; Disney’s straight-to-video “The Fox & the Hound 2”; “The James Bond Ultimate Collection – Volumes 3 & 4”; and Pamela Anderson fans might be interested in leering at her short-lived sitcom “Stacked: The Complete Series”.

FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A statistical breakdown of who we are and what we do …
• 56% of managers plan to buy gifts for their employees this season. Only 29% of employees intend to reciprocate.
• 54% of Americans live within 50 miles of a coast.
• 28% of men admit they’ve fantasized about being a mobster.
• 26% of employees feel obligated to attend their employer’s annual holiday party. 6% of workers say they have ‘embarrassed themselves’ at such a party.
• 25% of Canadians have more than 6 pairs of jeans.
• 12% of men feel the need to tell a neighbor when they make a big-ticket purchase.
• 10% of us say we have gone out and bought something special for a first date.

NAVEL GAZING:
Australian scientists at Sydney University have made the Earth-shattering discovery that belly button lint mostly moves UP from the underwear rather than DOWN from the upper body! This suggests that tummy hairs work like little arms on a conveyor to move fibers of fabric broken away from clothing up the curve of the belly and into the navel. Over 5,000 test subjects were asked to shave their bellies for the life-altering study. In most cases, production of belly button lint completely stopped. Other shocking discoveries in the study –
• Overweight men produce more belly button lint than slim, hairless women.
• A pierced navel will not collect fluff because pierced navels tend to be exposed.
– news.com.au

REALLY GREEN XMA$:
Highlights from the 23rd annual ‘Ultimate Gift Guide’ published by “Robb Report”, which answers the question of what to give when cost is no object. Among the jaw-dropping exclusive gift items that can only be ordered through the magazine …
• $115,000 – The world’s most expensive box of cigars, 100 Gurkha Black Dragon Edicion Especial cigars in a unique antique camel-bone humidor from northern India. Only 500 cigars passed the final inspection, and those 500 were then aged for 10 years.
• $1 million – A made-to-order, 806 horsepower Koenigsegg CCX. The supercar comes with a private tour of the Koenigsegg factory in Sweden and an invitation to drive the car in the Grande Parade at Le Mans in JUNE.
• $2 million – Give the legacy of perpetual care for the 550 endangered American Elms that line NYC’s Central Park along Fifth Avenue. Includes plaques in the park bearing your name.
• $3.45 million – A 20-day trip for 7 people to play 10 Scottish and Irish golf courses of your choice. A past PGA champion will complete the pair of foursomes. Also includes a round of golf at Scotland’s Carnoustie, site of the 2007 “British Open” and VIP tickets to the tournament.
• $4 million – A shipment of $200-worth of Michel Cluizel fine chocolate every week … for the rest of your life. You also receive a private tour of the Cluizel factory in Damville, France.
• $7.3 million – An extremely rare, 25-carat green diamond from Swiss jewelry house De Grisogono, set in a gold ring that features an additional 7 carats of black diamonds.
• $65 million – The 10,000-sq-ft, 3-story, Classical Revival-style mansion ‘Locksley Hall’ on Belvedere Island in California with stunning views of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
NET: http://www.robbreport.com/
– “Robb Report”

SAD CASE:
You’ve probably heard of the psychological syndrome called ‘SAD’ or ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’, a form of depression many are thought to suffer during the doldrums of winter when there’s fewer daylight hours. Psychiatrist Richard Morriss of the University of Liverpool is now questioning whether it really exists, and points out that the World Health Organization doesn’t recognize it as a distinct mental disorder. He suggests psychiatrists may have manufactured the diagnosis to explain away normal human misery. (Damn, another excuse to skip work down the drain!)
– PA News

HOLIDAY WEIGHT GAIN:
Conventional wisdom says we gain 10 lbs over the holiday season. Wrong! A study in the “New England Journal of Medicine” finds that holiday feasting causes an average gain of only 1 lb. The bad news is – most of us never drop it and over years those 1-lb gains can easily add up to a belly. (That shakes like a bowl full of jelly.)
– UPI

DID YOU KNOW?
• Humpback whales have a vocabulary of 35 sounds, roughly 3 times more than what scientists expected.
– LiveScience.com
• An unprotected human could survive for about 90 seconds in outer space. If they received pressurized oxygen within that time, they could recover with only minor injuries.
– DamnInteresting.com
• Male chimpanzees prefer older female chimps over younger ones. That’s because older females enjoy social dominance and have better access to food, making them more likely to produce offspring.
– Sci-Tech-Today.com

THE BULL SHEET 12.12.06

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1923 [83] Bob Barker, Darrington WA, ancient TV game show host (“The Price is Right” 1972-2006, “Truth or Consequences” 1956-1974)

1970 [36] Jennifer Connelly, Catskill Mountains NY, movie actress (“Blood Diamond”, “A Beautiful Mind”)

1977 [29] Bridget Hall, Springdale AR, fashion model (“Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show”) who’s appeared on more than 200 fashion magazine covers

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe”, one of Mexico’s major celebrations. The holiday has been observed since 1746 to honor the country’s patron saint, the ‘Dark Virgin of Guadalupe’ (and patron saint of Corona with lime). An estimated 10 million visit her basilica in Mexico City annually.

• “Ding-a-Ling Day”, to remind us that ‘ding-a-lings’ are wonderful, friendly, loving and desirable (but sooo dumb!).

• “Poinsettia Day”, honoring Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett (1799-1851), the American diplomat who introduced us to the Central American plant named for him in 1828. It’s now a favorite decoration during the holiday season. In fact, close to 60 million poinsettias are now grown in North America each year.
NET: http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntday.html

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2003 [03] Rolling Stones’ frontman (Sir) Mick Jagger is knighted at Buckingham Palace

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1899 [107] 1st ‘Golf Tee’ patented by George Grant of Boston (1st time he uses it, he forgets to pick it up and loses it)

1925 [81] 1st ‘Motel’ opens, the Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo CA (‘Mr & Mrs John Smith’ are 1st to check in)

1946 [60] ‘Tide’ detergent is 1st marketed (why does it cost so much more?)

2000 [06] US Supreme Court stops Florida vote recount, giving George W Bush the presidency over Al Gore

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
1919 [87] Record ‘cold snap’ in Vancouver & Seattle as temperature drops to -23 C (-10 F) and Fraser River freezes completely over so cars are able to drive across

1976 [30] Last NFL team to go ‘winless’ for an entire season as Tampa Bay Buccaneers go 0-14

1981 [25] Wayne Gretzky scores NHL’s quickest 50 goals (in just 39 games)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Bouillabaisse Day
[Fri] Underdog Day
[Fri] US Bill of Rights Day
[Fri] “Charlotte’s Web”; “Eragon”; “Pursuit of Happyness” open in movie theaters
[Sat] Hanukkah begins
[Sat] Chocolate Covered Anything Day
[Sat] Las Posadas begins (Mexico)
[Sun] National Maple Syrup Day
This Week Is … Human Rights Week
This Month Is … Safe Toys & Gifts Month

BULL’S BITS

MORE BS QUESTIONS PLAGUING HUMANITY:
• Why don’t they make prescription windshields?
• Do true friends stab you in the front, instead?
• Do they make silencers for staple guns?
• If ‘incline’ means to go up and ‘decline’ means to go down, then does ‘cline’ mean to stay even?
• Why don’t they serve Ritz crackers at the Ritz?

WORST POP SONGS OF ALL TIME:
According to a recent poll, the top (bottom?) 5 are …
5. “Popozao”, Kevin Federline
4. “Seasons In The Sun”, Terry Jacks
3. “Lovin’ You”, Minnie Riperton
2. “I’ve Never Been To Me”, Charlene
1. “MacArthur Park”, Richard Harris or Donna Summer
NET: http://www.PopCultureMadness.com/

BS SEASONAL TRIVIA:
Q: About how many homes will Santa visit on Christmas Eve?
A: There are 2 billion children (under 18) in the world, but since Santa doesn’t appear to handle Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total – 378 million, according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average world census rate of 3.5 children per household, that’s 91.8 million homes. With 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the Earth, this works out to 822.6 visits … per second.
– “Spy Magazine”

Q: According to “Miss Manners”, is it proper etiquette to send an annual newsletter about your family with holiday greeting cards?
A: Nope, it’s really tacky. And here’s why – people who are close to you should be kept aware of family events as they happen. No one else likely gives a hoot what your family did all year.
– “Washington Post”

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: When it comes to THIS, men are more afraid than women are.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Going to the dentist.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The only way to make a dream come true is to wake up and live it.