Thursday, February 8, 2007        Edition: #3463
We’ve Got Our Sheet Together!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
TONIGHT “Survivor: Fiji” premieres (CBS/Global), the show’s 14th season in which the 19 contestants begin as 1 tribe and then eventually split up on day 3 (why not move the time slot away from “Ugly Betty” and “The Office”?) . . . TONIGHT on “CSI” (CBS/CTV), ‘Grissom’ (William Petersen) mercifully returns from his month-long sabbatical (thereby giving his fill-in ‘Keppler’, played by Liev Schreiber, time to perfect a second facial expression) . . . Movie star Jim Carrey is writing a self-help book entitled “Be Ready to Be OK”, which he promises will be very revealing about his beliefs (hey, he’s had a lot of time on his hands since “Fun with Dick & Jane” tanked) . . . “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul is being sued by a production company that claims she reneged on a deal for a reality TV show called “Hey, Paula” based on her wacky life, then stole both the idea and title and took it to Bravo TV (where it’s scheduled to debut sometime later THIS YEAR) . . . In an odd ruling, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned a radio ad for the DVD release of the creepy horror movie “Saw III” – but only during time periods when parents drive their kids to-and-from school (that way you can scare the crap out of them at night when they’re listening under the covers!) . . . And 42-year-old “Desperate Housewives” star Teri Hatcher tells “Glamour” magazine she’s completely stopped using Botox and collagen, and hasn’t had anything done to her face for – ‘over a year’ (in Hollywood, this is considered outstanding restraint!).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Barenaked Ladies – For their new video “Sound of Your Voice”, they  recruited several YouTube ‘stars’ to lip-sync, including the contributors behind the wildly popular creations ‘Diet Coke & Mentos’, ‘Barats & Bereta’, ‘Where The Hell Is Matt’, and ‘Evolution of Dance’.
• Finger Eleven – TODAY they’re on “MTV Live” (MTV Canada).
• The Game – TONIGHT he does “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” (CBS).
• Gwen Stefani/Fall Out Boy – TONIGHT they guest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC).
• Jon Bon Jovi – He’s collaborating with designer Kenneth Cole on a charity eBay auction through FEBRUARY 15th that offers 26 one-of-a-kind items and/or experiences, including a ‘Justin Timberlake VIP Concert Experience in London’; a ‘Detroit Pistons NBA Suite Package for 14′; and a ‘VIP Package to See Aerosmith in Germany’.
NET: http://www.rsvptohelp.org/test/home.php
• Keith Urban – He’s suing a New Jersey artist also named Keith Urban, accusing the painter of taking advantage of their same-name status to peddle his work online.
NET: http://keithurban.com/
• Rascal Flatts – TONIGHT they kick off the first 2007 engagement of their “Me & My Gang” tour in Charleston WV. The tour, which includes several dates in Canada, now features Jason Aldean (“Johnny Cash”) opening shows.
• Toby Keith – He’ll release his new album “Big Dog Daddy”, featuring the new single “High Maintenance Woman”, on JUNE 12th. For the first time, he produced the album by himself.
• White Stripes – Given the success of Jack White’s ‘side project’ The Raconteurs there was speculation his original duo with Meg White was dead, but Warner Bros is reportedly close to signing them to a new 1-album deal.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A selection of movies in the making …
• “The Flash” – Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum”) will direct this bigscreen adaptation of the Marvel comic book story. But so far, there’s no lead actor announced for the sci-fi adventure about a young man struck by lightning who gains the power of super-speed and uses it to fight crime. It’s due in theaters in 2008.
• “Mirrors” – Kiefer Sutherland will star in this supernatural thriller during down time between seasons of “24” (FOX). He’ll portray an ex-cop who discovers a mysterious mirror that brings out the worst in people who look at their reflection in it. The film will be shot entirely in Romania.
• “Pompeii” – Roman Polanski will direct this $200-million effort to recreate the last days of the Roman city of Pompeii on the eve of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Based on the 2003 Robert Harris novel “Pompeii”, it will be the most expensive movie ever filmed in Europe.
Production begins THIS SUMMER.
• “Robin Hood” – In this ‘revisionist’ take on the classic story, Russell Crowe will play the ‘Sheriff of Nottingham’ as a good guy, investigating a string of murders in which ‘Robin Hood’ is the main suspect. The movie is expected to start shooting at the end of THIS YEAR.
• “Wonder Woman” – This long-in-the-works superhero movie has run into another setback as writer/director/producer Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is now officially off the project and Warner Bros has commissioned a completely new screenplay . Whedon says he and the studio simply weren’t on the same page. Once planned for 2007, the film’s now likely a year or more away from getting made.

HERE SHE COMES, MISS ATOMIC ENERGY:
Russia has launched a search for the ‘Sexiest Nuclear Power Plant Worker’. The competition is open to all female nuclear plant employees between the ages of 18-and-35. Voting takes place online and the winner and runners-up will be honored during an awards ceremony at Russia’s atomic energy agency in Moscow. (“Isn’t she lovely? Her skin is simply glowing!”)
– MosNews

TRY TO ACT UNAVAILABLE:
New research suggests that wannabe daters who appear too desperate or too indiscriminate are overwhelmingly rejected. The study, to be published in the journal “Psychological Science”, investigated the results of various approaches in ‘speed dating’ sessions. The findings go against the conventional wisdom that the best way to get someone to like you is to make it clear that you like them. Bottom line: It pays to play hard to get. (Apparently [co-host] has been doing it for about 22 years now.)
– UPI

ALL-TIME MOST-WATCHED TV SHOWS IN AMERICA:
Final stats show THIS YEAR’s Super Bowl had one of the largest average audiences in TV history …
3. “Super Bowl XLI”, Indianapolis Colts vs Chicago Bears – 2007 (93.15 million viewers)
2. “Super Bowl XXX”, Dallas Cowboys vs Pittsburgh Steelers – 1996 (94.07 million)
1. “M*A*S*H” series finalé – 1983 (105.97 million)
– Nielsen Media Research

NAKED WORKOUT:
A gym in the Netherlands is set to offer naked fitness sessions on Sundays. The Dutch Naturist Federation says the fitness center in Heteren will be the first anywhere to offer the service. Gym owner Patrick De Man admits that hygiene will be a major concern. For that reason, every piece of gymnastic equipment will be disinfected after each session and seat covers will be used on exercise bikes.
– “GQ”

WEIRD WORLD OF BS:
• A man  carrying more than $3,000 in cash has been rescued from a rubber raft after spending 5 hours in sub-zero temperatures on the Niagara River separating Ontario from the US. The 40-year-old claims he regularly floats across from his home in Fort Erie, Ontario to Buffalo, New York in order to … avoid bank charges. He says he’s charged an $85-fee if he mails in credit card payments. (That’ll seem like nothing after he gets the bill for emergency rescue!)
• A Chinese college student who has hired herself out for weddings 3 times is starting up a business providing ‘professional bridesmaids’. Xu Lisha is recruiting candidates online, asking for university students who are ‘slim, generous looking, and who deal with wedding incidents with wisdom and quick reactions’. She reasons that if the positions of wedding emcee, video recorder and make-up artist can be professionalized … why not bridesmaids? (That way there’s no complaints about the ugly fuchsia dresses they’re forced to wear.)
• A Calgary hockey fan claims she’s been saved from serious injury by … beer. While watching an NHL game at the SaddleDome beer splashing on her head caused her to sit back quickly and look up, just as a man fell from 20 feet above onto her lap. Without the beer warning, she figures he would have landed on her head. It seems the man slipped and fell over a railing while carrying a brewski back to his seat. (We’re guessing it wasn’t his first of the night.)
• A 76-year-old woman from southern Thailand has been reunited with her family after 25 years. She ended up living 750 miles (1,200 km) away at the other end of the country after boarding the wrong bus … in 1982. (How bizarre … most people you meet traveling long distance on a bus are so normal and well-adjusted.)

SHE SAID IT:
“I’m too pale. And I don’t drive.”
– NYC-based movie star Anne Hathaway (“The Devil Wears Prada”) on why she has no plans to move to Los Angeles.

THE BULL SHEET 02.08.07

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1941 [66] Nick Nolte, Omaha NE, movie actor (“Hotel Rwanda”, “Affliction”) who was pictured in some of the most horrific-looking Hollywood mug shots of all-time (2002)

1955 [52] John Grisham, Jonesboro AR, lawyer-turned-novelist (“The Broker”, “The Firm”)

1961 [46] Vince Neil (Wharton), Hollywood CA, rock vocalist (Motley Crue-“If I Die Tomorrow”, “Girls Girls Girls”)

1977 [30] (David) ‘Phoenix’ Farrell, Plymouth MA, rock musician (Linkin Park-“Numb/Encore”, “In the End”)

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Boy Scouts of America Founding Anniversary”, celebrating its 1910 organization by William Boyce. America’s Boy Scouts are based on the work of Sir Robert Baden-Powell who earlier founded the original Boy Scout Association in the UK.
NET: http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=mc&c=fs

• “Funeral Service Education Week”, certainly a highlight on our calendar. To become an undertaker these days, you need to take a course in Funeral Service Education, known as ‘FUNS’. Today’s lesson is on the difference between a coffin and a casket. The word ‘casket’ is a century older than ‘coffin’, and to funeral directors refers to a burial case with a rectangular design. The term ‘coffin’ is applied to one with a more traditional tapered shape. Learning is such fun, eh?

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1926 [81] Walt Disney Studios formed (“The Mouse House”)

1994 [13] In a fit of road rage, movie star Jack Nicholson uses a golf club to attack a car (it was a 7-iron)

1999 [08] Televangelist Rev Jerry Falwell tries to ‘out’ “Tinky Winky”, suggesting the purple, purse-toting “Teletubbies” character is gay

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1992 [15] “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred peaks at #1 on pop singles charts

2002 [05] Sting, Dixie Chicks, LeAnn Rimes & Robbie Robertson share the stage with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the opening ceremony of the “Salt Lake City Winter Olympics”

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1816 [191] 1st ‘Police Dog’ used to make an arrest (a Bull Terrier in Britain)

1998 [09] 1st Olympic ‘Women’s Hockey Game’ (Fins beat Swedes)

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] Develop Alternative Vices Day
[Fri] “Hannibal Rising” and “Norbit” open in movie theaters
[Sat] NFL Pro Bowl (Honolulu HI)
[Sun] 49th Grammy Awards (LA)
[Sun] Inventors Day
[Sun] Satisfied Staying Single Day
[Sun] Pro Sports Wives Day
[Sun] British Academy of Film & Television Arts BAFTA Awards (London UK)
This Week Is … Consumer Protection Week
This Month Is … Black History Month

BULL’S BITS

BS ‘FINISH LINES’:
Have a crew member/studio guest/phone contestant (kids work great!) try to finish the following lines of nursery rhymes …
• ‘Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, eating her … […curds and whey.’]
• ‘Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating a … [… Christmas pie.’]
• ‘Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, had a … [… wife and couldn’t keep her.’]
• ‘Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to fetch … [… her poor dog a bone.’]
• ‘Three little kittens, they lost their … [… mittens and they began to cry.’]
• ‘Little Boy Blue come blow your horn, the … [… sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.’]
• ‘Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John, went to bed with his … [… trousers on.’]
• ‘There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many … [… children, she didn’t know what to do.’]
• ‘Little Bo Peep has lost her … […sheep and can’t tell where to find them.’]
• ‘Georgie Porgie, puddin’ and pie, kissed the … [… girls and made them cry.’]

BS ‘BEFORE FAME GAME’:
They weren’t always household names. See if you can match the stars to their pre-fame jobs …
• Which job did Brad Pitt NOT hold down at one time or another?
a. Dressing up in a chicken suit and handing out free cigarette samples.
b. Driving strippers to bachelor parties and collecting their fees.
c. Posing in underwear in a department store window as a live mannequin. [CORRECT]

• Which celebrity was once a ‘Laker Girl’ cheerleader for the LA basketball team?
a. Paula Abdul. [CORRECT]
b. Christina Aguilera.
c. Jessica Alba.

• Which was Pamela Anderson’s first job in Vancouver?
a. Schoolmarm.
b. Fitness instructor. [CORRECT]
c. Call girl.

• Which singer’s first job was scrubbing floors at Dairy Queen?
a. Faith Hill.
b. Gwen Stefani. [CORRECT]
c. Mariah Carey.

• Which job did “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart NOT perform?
a. Busboy in a Mexican restaurant.
b. Orangutan-pee collector at the Central Park Zoo. [CORRECT]
c. High school soccer coach.

• Singer Fergie once made money doing voice-overs for animated films. Which character did she play?
a. ‘Yosemite Sam’ in “Bugs Bunny” cartoons.
b. ‘Charlie Brown’s sister ‘Sally‘’ in “Peanuts” cartoons. [CORRECT]
c. ‘Bo Peep‘ in “Toy Story” 1 and 2.

• “Deal or No Deal” host Howie Mandel was once fired from which job?
a. Amusement park ride operator for making jokes to riders about the ride’s safety. [CORRECT]
b. Birthday party clown for dropping his pants as a gag.
c. Hospital orderly for staging bed races in the ER corridors.

• Which job did Kenny Chesney have before hitting it big on the country charts?
a. Valet parking attendant.
b. Telemarketer.
c. Mail sorter. [Trick question … he did them all!]
– “Hardly Famous”

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: Studies show that THIS is generally wider for women than for men.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Peripheral vision.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.