Friday, February 2, 2007        Edition: #3459
It’s Super Bull MMMCDLIX!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
SATURDAY online service AOL is giving away movies for 1 day as a special promotion (members can download 1 apiece from a choice of 30) . . . SATURDAY at the 59th “Directors Guild of America Awards”, Martin Scorsese (“The Departed”) is up for ‘Director of the Year’ for the 7th time; and Hollywood veteran Carl Reiner receives the “2006 Honorary Life Member Award” . . . SATURDAY “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2007” (CBS) features all-time classic Super Bowl spots (surrounded by a whole bunch of non-Super Bowl spots) . . . SUNDAY the hyped-to-the-extreme 5-episode Canadian version of “Deal or No Deal” debuts (Global), as host Howie Mandel takes to a Canadian stage with Canadian briefcase babes, and a Canadian banker in the balcony (unfortunately, the prize money is also Canadian) . . . On American TV, “Criminal Minds” (CBS) has the coveted time slot after “Super Bowl XLI” with an episode about a Super Bowl party that turned deadly (LAST YEAR the special post-game episode of ABC-TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy” drew circa 38 million viewers) . . . SUNDAY “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (CBS) gets Super Bowl exposure with a game-night, late-night broadcast from Miami . . . Taking advantage of the clamor over Kevin Federline’s appearance as an unhappy fast-food worker in a “Super Bowl” ad for Nationwide Insurance (airing during the 3rd quarter), Taco Bell has offered him a real-life job to show him how exciting a career in fast-food can be (he’d likely get dumped from that, too) . . . Billionaire author JK Rowling has announced “Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows”, the last of the 7-book series, will be published JULY 21st (so it’s not ‘Harry Potter & the Well-Deserved Ass-Kicking’ then?) . . . Comedian Al Franken has decided to make a 2008 run for US Senator from Minnesota (couldn’t be any worse than the other clowns in Washington) . . . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is offering the services of 3 professional writers to help Oscar nominees with their speeches (all they needed to do was watch the “SAG Awards” – smooth, witty, and mercifully brief) . . . Rogers Cable is in discussions with UK-based ‘Baby TV’ about bringing the first 24-hour channel for infants & toddlers to Canada (thereby lowering the country’s average IQ by 20 more points) . . . And newly-rehabbed ‘Miss USA’ Tara Conner is now reportedly in talks to pose for “Playboy” magazine (good idea, that’ll really help your cokehead party girl image, hon!).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – She’s just been named ‘Most Desirable Woman of 2007′ in a poll of askmen.com readers (followed by actresses Scarlett Johansson & Jessica Alba).
• Billy Talent – TODAY they’re on “MuchOnDemand” (MuchMusic)    
• The Game – TONIGHT he appears on the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/A Channel).
• Jennifer Lopez – TODAY she’s a guest on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CityTV).
• Lily Allen – TOMORROW the English pop artist is the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” (NBC), hosted by actress Drew Barrymore (“Music and Lyrics”).
• Nas – TONIGHT he’s on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC).
• Nickelback – They’re donating all proceeds from digital sales of their new single/video “If Everyone Cared” to Amnesty International and International Children’s Awareness Canada.
• Rascal Flatts – They’re appearing in a 30-second Super Bowl ad for the NFL Network called “Hanging With Chad”, which features Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson.

TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
• “Because I Said So” ( PG-13 Comedy ): Diane Keaton stars as a meddling mother who, along with her 2 oldest daughters (“Gillmore Girls” mom Lauren Graham & Piper Perabo of “The Prestige”), tries to set up the baby of the family (sometime singer Mandy Moore) with the right guy.
NET: http://www.becauseisaidsomovie.com/index_intro.htm
• “The Messengers” ( PG-13 Horror Thriller ): After a city family moves to North Dakota to farm sunflowers, a mysterious drifter shows up on the doorstep and sets off a series of suspicious circumstances that threatens to tear them apart. Stars Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller & Kristen Stewart. Shot entirely in Regina and Indian Head SK.
NET: http://sonypictures.com/movies/themessengers/index.html

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?
SUNDAY “Super Bowl XLI” determining the NFL championship is played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens FL. A few highlights …
– Game time for the Indianapolis Colts vs Chicago Bears is 6 pm EST but the actual kick-off will be approximately 6:25 pm EST.
– The game airs on CBS (Global in Canada), the first Super Bowl on that network since the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction 3 years ago.
– The pre-game TV show, “Super Bowl Today” (CBS), will run 4-and-a-half hours.
– Pre-game entertainment features Cirque Du Soleil; the anthem will be sung by Bill Joel; the halftime show is by Prince (great, we’re gonna party like it’s 1999).
– TV’s highest-rated show annually (141 million Americans watched LAST YEAR’s game).
NET: http://www.superbowl.com

DEADLY DIAMONDS:
The Pet Crematorium in Thiplow UK is now offering pet owners the opportunity to turn their dead animals into … diamonds. The gems are made using carbon from the pet’s ashes. The crematorium charges $4,000-to-$30,000 depending on the size of the diamond (and presumably the pet). Company spokesman Duncan Francis says the service provides an ‘everlasting link’ which some people find very comforting. (And others, kinda creepy!)
– “Metro”

A ROOM WITH A VIEW:
California’s Worldwide Aeros Corporation is developing an airship the size of 2 football fields to be used as the world’s first ‘flying luxury hotel’. ‘Aeroscraft’ will accommodate up to 250 passengers and feature a restaurant, casino and glass walkways. As the dirigible will travel lower than airliners (circa 8,000 feet) there’ll be no need to pressurise cabins. The craft will be filled with helium and capable of flying thousands of miles without refuelling. A prototype is scheduled for completion within 18 months. The project’s spokesman, Edward Pevzner, claims Aeroscraft will revolutionize luxury passenger travel. (One word for you, sir – ‘Hindenburg’.)
PHONER: 818.344.3999 (Tarzana CA)
NET: http://tinyurl.com/bft3t
– “GQ”

GOLFER’S NIGHTMARE:
A 50-year-old Taiwanese golfer was playing a round with friends at a course in Xinzu when he teed off a ball that dropped directly into a par-3 hole. But when his partners picked up the ball and came to congratulate him they found him muttering on a hill asking, “Why am I here?” He was taken to hospital immediately and doctors diagnosed him as suffering from temporary memory loss. After a couple hours of rest he was back to normal, but even a week later he has no memory of the hole-in-one. (And fortunately for his foursome, the thousand-dollar bet!)
– “Taiwan News”

GOING LA-LA:
The LA Galaxy soccer team is bracing itself for an invasion of hopefuls wanting to play alongside $250-million superstar David Beckham. THIS MONTH the club is holding an open trial and applicants from as far afield as Japan, Honduras and Nigeria have written in wanting to participate. Applicants must pay a $130 tryout fee, plus travel and accommodation costs. Some observers are calling this the soccer equivalent of “American Idol”. (But with better singing.)
– “Los Angeles Times”

HIGH STAKES:
A poker player in Murmansk, Russia who ran out of money offered up his wife instead of cash to stay in a game. After he lost and his opponent showed up to claim his ‘winnings’, the wife was so angry she decided to divorce her loser husband and started up a relationship with the winner. She has since married the man and says she has no regrets about leaving her first husband. (The winner only had a pair of aces but ended up with a ‘full house’.)
– MosNews

DID YOU KNOW?
64% of married women sleep on the left side of the bed.

SHE SAID IT:
“Short of letting everybody have a feel, I don’t know what else to do. I really am pretty happy with what God gave me.”
– Actress Jennifer Aniston to “People” magazine, denying rumors that she had a boob job.

THE BULL SHEET 02.02.07

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [65] Graham Nash, Blackpool UK, oldies singer (Crosby, Stills & Nash-“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, Hollies-“Bus Stop”)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1997)

1971 [36] Ben Mize, San Francisco CA, pop drummer (Counting Crows-“Accidentally In Love”, “Big Yellow Taxi”)

1977 [30] Shakira (Ripoll), Barranquilla, Columbia, pop singer (f/Wyclef Jean-“Hips Don’t Lie”, “Whenever, Wherever”)/philanthropist  FACTOID: Shakira is Arabic for ‘full of grace’.

SATURDAY –
Movie actress Blythe Danner (“Meet the Parents”) is 64; Broadway actor Nathan Lane (“The Producers”) is 51; TV actress Maura Tierney (“ER”) is 42; Reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee (“Gasolina”) is 30.

SUNDAY –
Country singer Clint Black (“When I Said I Do”) is 45; Rock musician Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 32; Pop singer Natalie Imbruglia (“Torn”) is 32; Pop singer Gavin DeGraw (“I Don’t Want To Be”) is 30.

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Full Moon” of February, known as the “Snow Moon” and sometimes the “Full Hunger Moon” or “Storm Moon”.
• “Groundhog Day”, when we gullibly rely on a normally hibernating underground rodent to indicate whether we’ll have a so-called ‘second winter’. The groundhog is pulled out of its electrically heated burrow at 7:25 am ET, looks for its shadow and utters a prediction to a Groundhog Club representative in ‘groundhogese’. The rep then translates the prediction for the general public. And people have been buying into this for 120 years!
NET: http://www.groundhog.org/
• “Imbolc” (pronounced ‘IHM-bulk’), the ancient Wiccan festival also known as ‘Candlemas’, ‘Brighid’ (‘breed’), or ‘Oimelc’ (‘EE-mulk’) which means ewe’s milk. The celebration signals the middle of the season of long nights and anticipates the upcoming season of light. Celebrants make ‘Corn Maidens’ from corn and wheat and place them in a cradle known as a ‘Bride’s Bed’.
• “Job Shadow Day” in America, the 10th annual that’s expected to include 1 million students shadowing workplace mentors on-the-job. (Similar to “Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day”)
NET: http://www.jobshadow.org
• “Men’s Grooming Day”. Yeah it’s here again already, your annual day to clean up your act.
• “Winterlude” through February 18th, the 29th annual celebrating the season outdoors in the capital region of Ottawa-Gatineau. Highlights include ice sculptures, a playground made of snow, and best of all, the Rideau Canal – world’s longest skating rink.
PHONER: 800.465.1867 (National Capital Commission)
NET: http://www.ottawastart.com/winterlude.shtml
NET: http://www.capcan.ca/winterlude
• “Wear Red Day”, the 4th annual observance for women created by the Heart Association to raise awareness about heart disease, the #1 cause of death among women in North America.
NET: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/wrd/index.htm

SATURDAY –
• “Tu B’Shevat”, the Jewish arbor day observance also known as the ‘New Year for Trees’. The traditions include eating the fruit of trees such as figs, pomegranates, olives & dates.

SUNDAY –
• “Carnival Season” begins, the annual worldwide blow-out leading up to “Mardi Gras”, which this year falls on FEBRUARY 20th.
• “Midpoint of Winter”, at least statistically speaking. It may not seem like it but Winter is the shortest season, lasting 88 days, 23 hours, 57 minutes. Yee-haw! We’re halfway through the sneezing, wheezing, scraping, shovelling … and whining.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1912 [95] Using a parachute, Frederick Law jumped from the torch of NYC’s Statue of Liberty in the first-ever movie stunt

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1876 [131] Baseball’s ‘National League’ is founded (Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, NYC, Philadelphia, St Louis, Louisville & Hartford)

    1964 [43] 1st ‘GI Joe’ is marketed (they’re called ‘action figures’ because it’s thought there’s no market for guys and ‘dolls’)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1977 [30]  NHL record ‘Most Goals in a Game by a Defencemen’ (Toronto’s Ian Turnbull scores 5 as Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings 9-1)

COMING UP . . .
[Mon] Weatherman’s Day
[Tues] Juno Awards nominees announced
[Tues] Pay-A-Compliment Day
[Wed] “Lost” returns (ABC)
[Wed] Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day
[Wed] Dump Your Significant Jerk Day
[Thurs] “Survivor: Fiji” premieres (CBS)
This Week Is … Junior Achievement Week
This Month Is … Children’s Dental Health Month

BULL’S BITS

SUPER BOWL FACTOIDS:
• The Colts and Bears scored exactly the same number of points this season – 427.
• Peyton Manning is the 1st Super Bowl QB to wear #18.
• The city of Danville has the only radio station in Illinois that carries Colts games. Everywhere else it’s Da Bears.
• There have been 16 Super Bowl teams that had 0 turnovers in the game; 14 of them won.
• The team that is ahead at the half has won 31 of 40 Super Bowls.
• The Lombardi Trophy is 21-inches-tall and weighs 7 lbs with a regulation-sized football atop its 3-sided base. It costs $25,000 to make.
• The advertising rate for the 1st Super Bowl was $42,000 for a 30-second spot. THIS YEAR it is $2.7 million.
• The top ticket price for the 1st Super Bowl was $12. THIS YEAR it is $700.
– NFL.com

BS POP CULTURE QUIZ:
Are the following statements true or just a load of hogwash?
GAME #1 –
• The ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin is singer Whitney Houston’s godmother. [TRUE]
• Movie actor Tommy Lee Jones is a champion polo player. [TRUE]
• TV actor Patrick Dempsey, ‘Dr McDreamy’ on “Grey’s Anatomy”, has 7 toes on his left foot. [BS]
• Screen star Nicolas Cage ate a live cockroach in the movie “Vampire’s Kiss”. [TRUE]
• Actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood & late actor Marlon Brando both became fathers after age 60. [TRUE]

GAME #2 –
• Soap actress Eileen Davidson, who plays ‘Ashley Abbott‘ on daytime drama “The Young & the Restless”, is a transgender. She used to be a man. [BS]
• Former tennis star Anna Kournikova, former figure skater Tonya Harding, and former pop star hottie Britney Spears have all had computer viruses named after them. [TRUE]
• The country of Finland once banned Disney cartoon character ‘Donald Duck’ because he wears no pants. [An urban legend that’s total BS.]
• Before becoming famous, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was a hospital porter. [TRUE]
• Actress Jodie Foster was George Lucas’ 2nd option to play ‘Princess Leia’ in “Star Wars”. [TRUE]

BS PHONE STARTER:
It might seem like it but not everybody will be watching the “Super Bowl”. What will you be doing instead?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: THIS is the #1 most shoplifted item in North America.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Meat.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Some things have got to be believed to be seen.