Thursday, February 17, 2005        Edition: #2972
We’re Bullish on Radio!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
TONIGHT the 10th season of “Survivor” debuts, this time with 20 castaways on the South Pacific island of Palau competing for the million, including 3 lawyers, a firefighter, a dolphin trainer, a nanny, a personal trainer, and a Vegas showgirl (wouldn’t it be fun to vote a lawyer off?) . . . Publisher Random House is suing Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, alleging he never returned a $300,000 advance for memoirs that he never  finished (pocket change for him) . . . “Star Wars” director George Lucas will make a cameo appearance in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith”, playing the character ‘Baron Papanoida’ in the opera house scene . . . Ashley Olsen has filed a $20-million lawsuit against “National Enquirer” over a story that claimed she was involved in a drug scandal (proving you don’t P-O the twins or you’ll pay for it!) . . . 41-year-old “National Treasure” star Nicolas Cage & his 20-years-younger former sushi waitress wife Alice Kim are expecting a child . . . Bruce Willis is praising Justin Timberlake for his ‘really great’ acting skills in the upcoming movie “Alpha Dog” (isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle shiny?) . . . NEXT MONTH yet another FOX-TV ‘unscripted sitcom’ starts shooting at producer/songwriter David Foster’s Malibu estate, focusing on the party lifestyle of his kids (wow, spoiled rich kids acting like a-hos – what a fresh idea!).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Backstreet Boys – They’re attempting a comeback with a new album due in LATE SPRING that will reportedly feature more of a rock feel. It will include writing and/or recording collaborations with Boyz II Men, Darren Hayes (formerly Savage Garden), and Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik.
• Coldplay – Their as-yet-untitled 3rd studio album is now likely to see a JUNE release as the band continues to tweak the final product.
• Garth Brooks – His rare appearance SATURDAY at a fundraiser in Fort Worth TX reportedly helped raise more than $2 million for a local hospital.
• Jessica Simpson – She’ll duet with her “Dukes of Hazzard” co-star Willie Nelson on at least one tune for the movie’s soundtrack.
• Jimmy Buffett – TONIGHT he opens his “A Salty Piece of Land 2005 Tour” in Columbia SC.
• Kid Rock – He’s been arrested,  charged with simple assault (punishable by a up to a year in jail), and released on $3,000 bond after a club DJ was punched in a Nashville TN strip joint during an argument over the music being played.
• Lee Ann Womack – TONIGHT she’ll sing “I May Hate Myself in the Morning” on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien”.
• Melissa Etheridge – Before losing all her hair to chemotherapy treatment for cancer, she had her kids cut off a pigtail each as a memento.
• Motley Crue – TONIGHT the reunited rockers kick off their scheduled year-long “Red, White & Crue Tour 2005 … Better Live Than Dead” in Fort Lauderdale FL.
• Snoop Dogg – His weekend concert in Nottingham UK was cut short after someone tossed a beer bottle at his head … and was bang on target!

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
Shooting is scheduled to begin THIS SPRING on “Miami Vice” starring Jamie Foxx & Colin Farrell, which will be written & directed by Michael Mann, a producer on the popular NBC-TV cop show that ran 1984-89 . . . The 1973 horror classic “The Exorcist” is heading back to the bigscreen yet again (there have already been 3 sequels), with 10-year-old actress Dakota Fanning in talks to play the possessed, vomiting lead . . . Meg Ryan is set to star in “The Role of a Lifetime”, a romantic comedy about a Hollywood actress who falls for a British director . . . Ed Harris is polishing up his acting chops for another challenge, the role of composer Ludwig van Beethoven in the upcoming period drama “Copying Beethoven” . . . And the chief of the Carib Indians on the island of Dominica is upset with how his ancestors are to be portrayed in a soon-to-shoot sequel to “Pirates of the Caribbean” (starring Johnny Depp, with Keith Richards as his father) and is demanding all mention of cannibalism be edited from the script (or alternatively that he gets a point or two of the box office gross).

MARRIAGE & MONEY:
An Ohio State University poll finds husbands and wives have very different ideas about how much money they have. A survey of 1,200 married couples finds that husbands usually say the couple earns 5% more income and has 10% more total wealth than their wives report. Wives, on the other hand, generally say the family has $500 more debt than their husbands admit to. Half the couples report incomes that are at least $5,000 a year apart, and 10% differ by more than $15,000. (Men overestimating size – what a surprise!)
– “Washington Post”

ONLINE DATING WORKS?
The dating game on the Internet is proving to be a much more successful way of finding long-term romance than other methods. A new study of online dating site members finds that when couples who have built up a significant relationship by e-mailing or chatting online meet for the first time, an amazing 94% choose to see each other again. (That’s 94% of the ones who don’t take one look and bolt!)
– ANI

ART HAS GONE TO THE DOGS:
Ever seen those tacky pictures of dogs playing poker? Turns out they’re actually worth something – at least to somebody. THIS WEEK two of the paintings (“A Bold Bluff” and “Waterloo”) from the famous series by artist Cassius Marcellus Coolidge fetched nearly $590,400 at auction. The goofy series was originally commissioned for a Minnesota advertising company in 1903. The sale was part of the Doyle auction house’s yearly “Dogs in Art” auction, which coincides with the annual “Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show”. (Great trivia question: Which dog wins the pot? Answer: The St Bernard.)
– CNEWS

WE TOLD YOU SO:
A few weeks back we recommended the new ‘Firefox’ Web browser, which is considerably faster and less prone to pop-ups and viruses than Microsoft’s Explorer. It was created by Blake Ross of Miami FL, a 19-year-old former child prodigy who first landed a job at Netscape when he was just 14. While nearly every computer in the world (around 700 million) is loaded with Explorer, about 20 million users have already downloaded Firefox which has only been around since NOVEMBER. One observer of hi-tech trends says, “It’s Microsoft’s worst nightmare.” (Until Gates buys the kid out for 50-mill and tells him to go away.)
– “National Enquirer”

SCIENTISTS SAY:
A BS compendium of recent ‘discoveries’ …
• Scientists say … 75% of men who die of a heart attack during sex are having extramarital affairs. (The British study fails to note that 99.9% of them die smiling.)
• Scientists say … the male Sagebrush Cricket only copulates once in its sorry life. McMaster University psychologist Andrew Clark says that’s because the first encounter is so vicious – the female chews off the ends of the male’s wings, then ingests the fluid seeping from the wounds. (Eww! Makes the female Praying Mantis seem humane – she just eats her mate.)
• Scientists say … married men are more likely to become obese than never-wed or previously married men. (The Cornell University study is published in the journal “Letting It All Go”.)

BS AMAZING FACT:
The FCC received complaints again this year about the Super Bowl halftime show. Among them, 2 viewers who complained that Paul McCartney bored them.
– “Hollywood Reporter”

THE BULL SHEET 02.17.2K5

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1954 [51] Rene Russo, Burbank CA, movie actress (“Tin Cup”, “Get Shorty”)

1956 [49] Richard Karn, Seattle WA, TV game show host (“Family Feud” since 2002)/former TV actor (‘Al Borland’ on “Home Improvement” 1991-99)

1962 [43] Lou Diamond Phillips, Subic Bay Naval Station, Philippines, movie actor (“Hollywood Homicide”, “Courage Under Fire”)

1971 [34] Denise Richards, Downers Grove IL, movie actress (“Fat Albert”, “The World Is Not Enough”)/Mrs Charlie Sheen since 2002

1972 [33] Billie Joe Armstrong, Rodeo CA, rock singer/guitarist (Green Day-“American Idiot”, “Time of Your Life”)

1974 [31] Bryan White, Lawton OK, country singer (“Look At Me Now”, “How Long”)

1981 [24] Paris Hilton, NYC, TV reality star (“The Simple Life”)/sometime movie actress (“The Cat in the Hat”)/amateur video actress/great-granddaughter of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton & co-heir to the Hilton Hotel empire  UP NEXT: Appears in the horror thriller “House of Wax” opening MAY 6th.  FACTOID: “In Touch Weekly” is reporting that Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis popped the question to Paris Hilton over dinner at LA’s L’Orangerie, hiding a ring in a chocolate soufflé. But her rep denies it.

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
TODAY is “Random Acts of Kindness Day”, honoring ‘the easiest gift to give and the best gift to receive’. (An annual observance by the ‘Association of the Sickeningly Nice’.)
NET: http://www.actsofkindness.org

TODAY is “National PTA Founders’ Day”, commemorating the parent-teacher group’s 1897 founding.

THIS WEEK is officially “National Pet Dental Health Week”. (Good luck teaching your pit bull to floss.)

THIS WEEKEND is “Second Honeymoon Weekend”, set aside for all couples to spend quality time together away from ‘the grind and routine of their daily lives’.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1976 [29] The Eagles album “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975″ is released, which has now sold over 28 million copies to become #1 all-time

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1998 [07] World’s first ‘Talking Beer Cans’ as Venezuela’s Brahma Beer puts out a can with a chip that tells drinkers if they’ve won prizes

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2003 [02] Tauranga NZ man is sentenced to 200 hours of community service for speeding … without a license or registration … on a motorized barstool … semi-naked … while intoxicated … with his butt on fire

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Thumb Appreciation Day
[Sat] Student Volunteer Day
[Sun] East Coast Music Awards (Sydney NS)
[Sun] Hoodie Hoo Day
[Mon] Presidents’ Day
[Mon] Family Day (Alberta)
[Tues] Spay Day USA
[Wed] Curling is Cool Day
This Week Is . . . Kraut & Frankfurter Week
This Month Is . . . Celebration of Chocolate Month

BULL’S BITS . . .
BS HORRIBLESCOPES:
Use ‘em all at once or one-at-a-time as the zodiac reading of the day …
• Aries – Buried alive, eaten by a shark, decapitated with a sword. Pick 2.
• Taurus – You’ll get to know the UPS man very well this week as you discover why heavy drinking and online shopping don’t mix.
• Gemini – You will have a hunch today. Perhaps you should try a firmer mattress?
• Cancer – It’s true, the world loves a winner! Unfortunately for you.
• Leo – Today you’ll find out that “Everything’s better with Blue Bonnet on it” doesn’t necessarily apply to DVDs.
• Virgo – It’s time to quit wearing that ridiculous goatee. Why not try a sheepee instead?
• Libra – You will unfortunately validate e-mail spam by losing 10 inches in 2 hours, making $250,000 in one month and having an erection for the entire week.
• Scorpio – Beware! Although you are normally renowned for your dry wit you may be a bit soggy today.
• Sagittarius – Today you’ll discover the old saying ‘what goes around comes around’ is true when you get whacked in the back of the head while twirling a sock full of pennies.
• Capricorn – Today you will learn the hazards of taking on a dare after having a live weasel strapped to your leg.
• Aquarius – It’s okay to give up after 10 years of trying. It’s time to shave off that peach fuzz moustache you’ve been working on since high school … Wanda.
• Pisces – On second thought that’s NOT ‘Spring’ in the air, it’s you co-worker ‘Gassy Gord’. Time to evacuate!

BS PHONE STARTERS:
• Is Chris Rock too outrageous to host the Oscars, or are his antics just a way of hyping the show?
• What are you doing to fill time during this ‘winter without hockey’?

BS BLATANT JOKE:
A guy goes into a drugstore and asks the pharmacist if he can give him something for the hiccups. The pharmacist promptly reaches out and slaps the guy’s face. “What did you do that for?” the guy asks. “Well, you don’t have the hiccups anymore, do you?” The guy says, “No, but my wife out in the car still does!”

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: THIS is the #1 thing airline passengers complain about.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: People kicking their seat.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
When in doubt, smile. It makes people wonder what you’re thinking.