BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ It’s official,  Tom Hanks is our favorite movie star … again. According to a Harris poll of over 2,200 adults, Hanks is tops for the 5th time (he also won in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2013). Other actors on the list include Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock, and Jennifer Lawrence. While most of the actors on the list have appeared in a major film in the past year, a couple of entrants have not: Clint Eastwood, who last acted in 2012’s “Trouble With the Curve”; and John Wayne, who hasn’t appeared in a film for 4 decades and has been dead since 1979. He’s the only actor to make the top 10 list every year since the poll began in 1994.
– AVClub.com
★ Hit alert! Ratings for Showtime’s new Sunday drama series “Billions” keep growing. The Wall Street thriller starring Damian Lewis & Paul Giamatti started fairly solidly in the ratings, and has grown with its 2nd and 3rd episodes … exactly what a network hopes to see. And it seems many people are catching up on the series via DVR, On Demand, and online. The growth streak will almost certainly break this week however when Showtime plows ahead in airing a new “Billions” up against the Super Bowl. At any rate, the show is in no danger of going away anytime soon as it has already been renewed for a 2nd season.
– EW.com
★ And 48-year-old former “Friends” star Matt LeBlanc is lined up to be the first non-British “Top Gear” host in the show’s 39-year history. He’s joining the BBC’s Chris Evans in fronting a new incarnation of the automotive program. LeBlanc twice appeared as a guest on the show in its ‘Star In a Reasonably Priced Car’ segment, and holds the record for fastest lap by a celebrity around the test track. Meanwhile, the show’s former presenters Jeremy Clarkson,  Richard Hammond, and James May are preparing their new Amazon Prime show to rival “Top Gear”, after Clarkson was sacked following a well-publicized meltdown last March.
– ContactMusic.com

WEEKEND SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Today Panic! At the Disco (“Death Of a Bachelor”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Tonight Banners (“Banners”). Rerun.
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/M3) – Tonight Coldplay (“A Head Full Of Dreams”). Rerun.
• “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global) – Tonight Charles Kelley (the Lady Antebellum singer releases his debut solo album, “The Driver”, today).
• “NAACP Image Awards” (ONE) – The 47th annual honors recognizing African-American excellence in the arts. Among the musical categories, Janet Jackson leads with 6 nominations, followed by The Weeknd with 4, Pharrell Williams with 3. John Legend is presented with the ‘President’s Award’.
NET: http://www.naacpimageawards.net/
• “NFL Honors” (CBS) – Saturday the 5th annual awards saluting the best athletes and performances of the 2015 NFL season.
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC/Global) – Host Larry David; musical guest The 1975 (“I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It”, out February 26th).
• “Super Bowl 50” (CBS/CTV) – Sunday Carolina Panthers vs Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara CA. Lady Gaga sings the pre-game anthem; Coldplay headlines the halftime show, participation from Beyoncé, and (rumored) Bruno Mars, and Rihanna.
• “Super Bowl’s Greatest Halftime Shows” (CBS) – Tonight a review of the best halftime performances in Super Bowl history.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Tonight Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (“Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ariana Grande – She’s the new face of Brit womenswear brand Lipsy. The 22-year-old is fronting the label’s latest campaign and also collaborating on a Spring collection which will debut in early March. There are already plans for a Summer line, to launch in May.
• Jay Z & Alicia Keys – The “Empire State of Mind” collaborators have been invited to discuss issues regarding community, business ownership, and diversity, among other topics at the 44th annual Harvard Student Conference event taking place this weekend in Cambridge MA.
• Madonna – Her custody court date has been delayed by a month. She and ex-husband Guy Ritchie were due in NYC court this week to settle their feud over living arrangements for their teenage son Rocco. That’s now been put off until March 2nd. No reason has been given, but it may have resulted from last-minute negotiations between the former couple and their son.
• Miley Cyrus – She’s been signed to serve as a key adviser for the upcoming 10th season of the NBC-TV talent show “The Voice”. Cyrus follows in the footsteps of Rihanna and Taylor Swift, who’ve recently served as key advisers to aspiring singers on the show.
• Outkast – Big Boi has landed a year-long Las Vegas residency that begins Saturday at the Wynn Las Vegas. The once-a-monthly gig continues throughout the next 11 months. Big Boi has a busy 2016 planned. He’s also heading out on the road with indie pop duo Phantogram.
• Taylor Swift – She’s teaming with Glu Mobile for an as-yet-untitled app that is slated for a global release later this year. It’s thought to be some form of mobile game, though no details have been announced as yet.
• Wiz Khalifa – His new album “Khalifa” is out today. The lead single, “Bake Sale”, features Travis Scott. The album also includes contributions from the likes of Juicy J, Ty Dolla $ign and others.

TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
• “The Choice” ( PG-13 Romantic Drama ): ‘Travis’ and ‘Gabby’ first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town. They wind up in a relationship that is tested by life’s most defining events. Stars Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Alexandra Daddario, Maggie Grace. Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.
NET: http://www.thechoice.movie
• “Hail, Caesar!” (PG-13 Dramedy ): The latest Coen brothers film is a musical set in 1950s Hollywood, where a studio ‘fixer’ works to keep its movie stars in line. The ensemble cast includes George Clooney, who plays a star whose kidnapping threatens to derail a big-budget film. Co-stars Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson.
NET: http://www.hailcaesarmovie.com
• “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” ( PG-13 Action Horror ): Jane Austen’s classic tale of tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is insanely mashed up with an army of undead zombies. Stars Lily James (“Downton Abbey”), Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), plus Lena Heady & Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”).
NET: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/prideandprejudiceandzombies
• Opening in limited release: “Eisenstein in Guanajuato” (Biographical Comedy); “Regression” (Crime Drama); “Southbound” (Horror Thriller); and “Tumbledown” (Romantic Comedy).

IT’S THE PITS:
Applying deodorant or antiperspirant clearly alters your body’s smell, but it may also alter your body’s bacteria. A new study finds that the organisms that live in and on your skin are drastically changed by what you put under your arms. Researchers recruited a sampling of antiperspirant users, deodorant users, and those who go au naturel and swabbed their armpits twice a day for 8 days. It’s been found that deodorant users have more microbes than those who don’t use any products. Participants who use antiperspirant, which blocks sweat glands, have hardly any. Most surprising, however, is that the armpits of all 3 groups remain strikingly different even after all participants go product-free for 5 days. More work is needed to understand the differences, but the experts speculate that antiperspirants kill off typical armpit microbes, allowing less common bacteria to propagate. (Pit-swabbing … and you thought your job sucked.)
– “Quartz”

ENGLISH WORDS THAT MEAN SOMETHING ELSE IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
• Fart – In Norwegian, fart means ‘speed’, ie: how fast you are traveling.
• Bra – In Swedish, it means ‘good’.
• Die – In Italian, this literally translates to ‘from’ but colloquially it means ‘come on!’.
• Trombone – In French, this is a paperclip.
• Kiss – In Swedish, ‘kiss’ means ‘pee’.
• Handy – This means ‘cellphone’ in German.
• Hammer – Also in German, this means ‘awesome’. (Das ist so hammer!)
• Pet – In French this means ‘fart’. When in Paris, be careful when talking about your pets.
• Barf – In Hindi, Urdu, and Farsi, this means ‘snow’. (Six inches of barf predicted today.)
• No – In Polish, Czech and some other Slavic languages this can actually mean ‘yes’. (No means yes? This can’t be good.)
– Condensed from List25.com

MMM, SMELLS LIKE MOUSE:
It’s hard not to get nostalgic for the sights and smells of Disney parks. Research has shown that smell is strongly linked with memory, so Anthology Candles has come up with a line of candles to take you back to the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’. Anthology’s new ‘Disneyland’ line features familiar smells like ‘The Black Pearl’, ‘Churros’, ‘Dole Whip’, ‘Haunted Mansion’, and ‘Main Street Bakery’. On top of the more straightforward olfactory treats, the company is offering up candles with more musical Disney smells, such as ‘Let it Go’ and ‘Part of Your World’. Each candle is made with natural soy wax and poured into a reusable glass jar. (Mmmm … take a whiff of ‘Goofy’.)
NET: https://www.facebook.com/anthologycandles
– Nerdist.com

DO WE HAVE CLOCK GENES?
Are you a morning person or night owl? Your genes may decide. Researchers have checked out the genomes of nearly 90,000 subjects, then compared their findings to answers the test subjects provide to a simple survey on whether they feel more drawn to day or evening activity. The scientists have found 15 regions of the human genome that are linked to those who claim they are earlybirds. Out of those 15 regions, 7 are close to genes noted for their role in our circadian rhythms, the so-called body clock. The study also finds that self-described morning people are less likely to suffer from insomnia, not as likely to be depressed, and more likely to have a lower BMI than their midnight-oil-burning counterparts. (They are also far more likely to yawn in your face continuously.)
– TheVerge.com

BS AMAZING FACT:
If everyone on Earth properly washed their hands, nearly 1 million lives would be saved every year.
– Google Facts on Twitter

BS CHRONOMETER 02.05.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1934 [82] Don Cherry, Kingston ON, “Hockey Night in Canada” commentator (“Coach’s Corner” since 1980)/former NHL coach (Boston Bruins 1975-76)

1964 [52] Duff McKagan, Seattle WA, rock bassist (Velvet Revolver-“Fall to Pieces”, Guns N’ Roses-“Sweet Child o’ Mine”)

1969 [47] Bobby Brown, Roxbury MA, R&B singer (“Every Little Step”)/widower of Whitney Houston/father of the late Bobbi Kristina Brown

1969 [47] Michael Sheen, Newport, Wales, TV actor (‘William H Masters’ on “Masters of Sex” since 2013)/movie actor (“The Twilight Saga”, “Frost/Nixon”)

1971 [45] Sara Evans, Boonville MO, country singer (“A Little Bit Stronger”, “Suds In the Bucket”)

1984 [32] Tyler Farr, Garden City MO, country singer (“A Guy Walks Into a Bar”, “Redneck Crazy”)

1985 [31] Cristiano Ronaldo (dos Santos Aveiro), Funchal, Portugal, soccer star (Real Madrid, Portugal National Team)

1988 [28] Kyle Simmons, London UK, indie rock musician (Bastille-“Of the Night”, “Pompeii”)

1999 [17] Graham Sierota, Chino CA, indie pop drummer (Echosmith-“Bright”, “Cool Kids”)

SATURDAY –
Rock vocalist Axl Rose (Guns ‘N Roses) is 54; Country singer Richie McDonald (Lonestar) is 54; Rock singer Gordon Downie (Tragically Hip) is 52; Oldies singer Rick Astley (“Together Forever”) is 50; TV host Amy Robach (“Good Morning America”) is 43; Pop singer Tinashe (“On”) is 23.

SUNDAY –
TV actor James Spader (“The Blacklist”) is 56; Country singer Garth Brooks (“Man Against Machine”) is 54; Classic rock keyboardist David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 54; Academy Awards host/comedian Chris Rock is 51; Rock guitarist Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit) is 41; Rock bassist Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket) is 38; TV actor Ashton Kutcher (“Two-And-a-Half Men”) is 38.

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Bubble Gum Day”, an annual FUN-draising idea in which kids and teachers who donate to a charity get to chew bubble gum at school.
• “Wear Red Day”, the 13th annual observance on the 1st Friday of February, created by the Heart Association to raise awareness about heart disease, the #1 cause of death among women in North America.
• “Weather Forecasters Day”, commemorating the 1744 birth of Boston MA physician Dr John Jeffries, one of the first to keep detailed records of weather conditions (from 1774-1816).
• “Western Monarch Day”, celebrating the stunning orange & black migratory butterfly.
• “World Nutella Day”, the 10th annual celebration of the chocolate-y hazelnut spread that’s best eaten right out of the jar … by the handful.
NET: http://www.nutelladay.com

SATURDAY –
• “Canadian Maple Syrup Day”, initiated in 2010 to celebrate the upcoming ‘running of the sap’. About 75% of the world’s supply of maple syrup is produced in the province of Québec.
• “Girl Guide/Girl Scout Cookie Day”, the kickoff to the organization’s annual fund-raising drive. The cookie sign-up sheet has probably already appeared in your office break room. While you’re mulling over how many boxes to buy website Vivino has already figured out which wine you should pop open to go with each variety of the sweet treats.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/z2486b4
• “Ice Cream for Breakfast Day”, a tongue-in-cheek holiday on the 1st Saturday of February intended to brighten up the dreary days of Winter.
• “Take Your Child To the Library Day”, the 5th annual event when many libraries plan special family-oriented events.

SUNDAY –
• “Ballet Day”, an annual celebration of the artistic dance-form that keeps people on their toes.
• “Dump Your Significant Jerk Day”, the beginning of “Dump Your Significant Jerk Week”, when you’re encouraged to terminate your jerk relationship before “Valentine’s Day”, thereby saving the money and awkwardness involved in faking romance.
• “Fettuccine Alfredo Day”, an annual appreciation of the pasta dish that involves tossing fettuccine noodles with heavy cream & cheese. (Which sits in your stomach like a bowling ball.)
NET: http://www.punchbowl.com/holidays/national-fettuccine-alfredo-day
• “Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbors Day” … instead of just the middle one. (And they’ll be wondering, “What the heck does that idiot want now?”)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2006 [10] Rolling Stones play 3 songs during the half-time show of Super Bowl 40 in Detroit MI (afterward they express displeasure over Mick Jagger’s microphone being turned down during graphic lyrics in “Start Me Up” and “Rough Justice”)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1992 [24] For the first time, an animated feature is nominated for a ‘Best Picture’ Oscar (Disney’s “Beauty & The Beast”)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1981 [35] World’s ‘Largest Jell-O’ contains 9,246 gallons of watermelon-flavored mix (Brisbane, Australia)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Mon] “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” debuts (TBS)
[Mon] Family Day (BC)
[Mon] Chinese New Year
[Tues] Mardi Gras
[Tues] International Pancake Day
This Week Is … School Counselling Week
This month Is … Children’s Dental Health Month

BULL’S BITS

TOP SUPER BOWL ATTRACTIONS BESIDES THE GAME:
If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to check out these NFL fan attractions …
✓ The 3-D NFL Shower Experience
✓ The Get Rejected By an NFL Cheerleader Booth
✓ Beer-on-a-Stick Concession
✓ Have Your Picture Taken Sitting on a Bench with Brock Osweiler
✓ Blow an Official Game-Used Whistle
✓ The Super Bowl of Mascot Fights: Bronco vs Panther
✓ Have a Legitimate NFL Equipment Manager Inflate Your Balls

BS RANDOM JOKE:
He has a small piece of brain lodged in his skull …

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s the most romantic movie scene involving a meal?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: If you have one of THESE, odds are you spend about $792 a year on it.
Answer: Cat.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Life is something to do when you can’t get to sleep.