Wednesday, January 12, 2022 – Edition: #7144

Sheeters Always Prosper!

 

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Pete Davidson says the late Bob Saget helped him “through some rough mental health stuff.” In an Insta post, Davidson wrote that when he was younger, and throughout their friendship, Saget, quote: “stayed on the phone with my mom for hours trying to help in any way he can — connecting us with doctors and new things we can try. He would check in on me and make sure I was okay.” He ended by writing, “I love you, Bob. It was an honor to know you.”
-Yahoo
★ It’s time for a new Fresh Prince to take the throne. Peacock has released the first trailer for the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” spin-off series “Bel-Air”, giving fans a taste of what they can expect of the dramatic re-telling. The trailer shows ‘Will’, played by Jabari Banks, as he pulls up to his new home and reunites with his family after 10 years apart. The first 3 episodes of the series will be available to stream on Peacock on Super Bowl Sunday, February 13, with the remaining episodes released weekly. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/ykwpmzhk
-E!
★ ABC has renewed “Grey’s Anatomy” for another season, and star Ellen Pompeo will return as ‘Meredith Grey’. The 19th season will “explore the ever-expanding world of modern medicine through the eyes of beloved returning and new characters,” according to a statement from ABC. Grey’s Anatomy, which was created by Shonda Rhimes, premiered in 2005.
-TheWrap
★ Keanu Reeves continues to be one of the most generous stars in Hollywood. In the past, he gifted his “John Wick 4” stunt team Rolex watches and gave Harley-Davidson motorcycles to his “Matrix Reloaded” teams, while supporting various charitable and philanthropic events throughout his career. Now, Reeves has continued to show off his generous spirit by funding an all-expenses-paid trip for his team, friends and insiders to the San Francisco premiere of “The Matrix Resurrections” last month.
-ETCanada

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): David Spade, Alana Haim, Jay Wheeler
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Sarah Silverman, Lewis Black, Fontaines D.C.
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Keanu Reeves, Caitriona Balfe
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Isla Fisher, James Wolk, Bianca Richardson
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Katie Couric, Zach Woods, Dave Gahan & Soulsavers (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Emily Simpson, Adriana De Moura
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Alyssa Milano
• “The Talk” (CBS): Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Ari Parker
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Denzel Washington, Lindsey Vonn
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold, Oz Pearlman
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Josh Gad, Milky Chance
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Mason Gooding, Dylan Minette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sonia Ammar, Mikey Madison
• “The Price Is Right at Night” (CBS): An audience made up entirely of first responders are called to come on down and compete for amazing prizes.
• “The Amazing Race” (CBS): While racing through Scotland in February 2020, teams receive the shocking news that for the first time in the show’s history, production has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• “Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules” (E!): Series premiere. 8 celeb offspring live and work as ranch hands in Colorado, hoping to prove that they are more than their famous last names.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• The Weeknd – How did Jim Carey wind up guesting on the title track of his new “Dawn FM” album? The Weeknd told Variety: “‘The Mask’ was the first film I ever went to see in a theater — my mom took me when I was 4, and it blew me away.” The 2 were introduced via text last year, and Weeknd invited Carrey to hear some of his new music. A friendship developed from there.
• Kanye West — Netflix has unveiled the teaser for the documentary series “jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy”. It will take fans from his earliest days trying to break out in the music industry through to his current global superstardom. The doc will premiere Feb. 16, with new instalments each week. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yckwrw7w
• Metallica and Pink — will headline the BottleRock Napa Valley music festival set for May 27-29 at the Napa Valley Expo in Northern California. Tickets went on sale yesterday for the event, which will also feature Greta Van Fleet, The Black Crowes and Twenty One Pilots, among others.
• Weezer – will headline Day 1 of this year’s BeachLife Festival, May 13-15 in Redondo Beach CA. 311, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Steve Miller Band and Sheryl Crow will also headline. Other notable acts include Black Pumas, Cold War Kids, Milky Chance, Vance Joy, Stone Temple Pilots, Sugar Ray, Capital Cities, Lord Huron, UB40 (ft. Ali Campbell), the Allman Betts Band and more.
• Rush – To mark the second anniversary of Neil Peart’s death, drummer Brandon Toews shared an epic tribute to the late Rush timekeeper. In his Instagram post, Toews mashes up an incredible 175 tracks, drumming his way through the band’s entire discography. LINK:  https://tinyurl.com/2p9h7vsk
• Judas Priest – have announced they will play as a quartet for the first time since 1974 when they resume their “50 Heavy Metal Years” tour in March. Guitarist Andy Sneap, who has toured with the band since 2018, will not be joining them. Sneap released a statement saying he is “incredibly disappointed” but respects the decision.
• Morgan Wallen — The Grand Ole Opry is under fire after he made a surprise appearance during featured artist Ernest’s set on Saturday’s show. Some Twitter users reminded the Opry it denounced racism in a social media post in June 2020, with one writing: “Congratulations on telling everyone racism is still a big part of country music.”
• Mitchell Tenpenny — has announced a “part 2” of his 2021 headline tour, now named “2 Us It Did Tour.” The second leg adds 13 concerts from Jan. 21 in Denver through March 5 in Grand Rapids. Alana Springsteen is the featured opener.
• Scotty McCreery – was first inspired to become a singer because of George Strait . . .and now he’s singing ‘Damn Strait’. Quote: “The first country music concert I ever went to was George Strait, Reba, and Lee Ann Womack. When I saw that show I said ‘I’m gonna do that one day.’” The song Damn Strait is included on McCreery’s “Same Truck” album, which arrived last Fall.

SHOOTING THE BULL

DOGGY TALK:
Dogs don’t speak English, but they do know when you switch from one language to another, according to a study. Since family dogs are exposed to a continuous flow of human speech throughout their lives, researchers in Hungary conducted what they call the first research showing that non-human brains can distinguish between languages. They took MRI brain scans of 18 dogs while playing audio excerpts from “The Little Prince” in 2 different languages. The team also played scrambled versions of the book passages to test if dogs could tell the difference between actual speech and gibberish. The scientists found that the dogs indeed recognized these changes. However, it doesn’t appear that dog brains have a preference when it comes to hearing speech or non-speech sounds. One of the study’s co-authors said: “Dog brains, like human brains, can distinguish between speech and non-speech. But…whereas human brains are specially tuned to speech, dog brains may simply detect the naturalness of the sound.”
(Which is great news for me, in case we ever have to move to [***local hicktown***]!
(This isn’t news to me. I’m pretty sure my pup knows “walk” “car” and “bacon” in 4 or 5 languages!)
(So, what they’re saying is my dog understands what I’m saying to him on a normal day AND on Saturday night after last call?)
-CNN, NBC

TOURIST TRAPS:
⇒ Just 6 months after opening, London’s newest tourist attraction has shut its doors. The much-derided Marble Arch Mound, which cost a reported $8.2 million, closed Sunday after being the source of widespread mockery on social media since July. The Mound, which from the outside, looked like, well, a massive grass mound with stairs, had promised sweeping greenery, unique views of the city and a light exhibition inside, as part of a planned “smarter, greener” future for the area. But when it opened, visitors were shocked to discover elements of the attraction were clearly unfinished, with scaffolding still visible and the lush greenery that had been promised was sorely lacking. And the views? Although 130 steps up, sightlines were described as “underwhelming”. (How do you “close” a hill?)
⇒ The leader of Turkmenistan has ordered the Darvaza Gas Crater be extinguished. The crater is referred to by tourists as the “Door to Hell” because of its incredible and ominous burning pit. More than 50 years ago, Soviet scientists were on the hunt for oil in the region when their rig collapsed. Worried that dangerous gases would be released into the atmosphere, the team set it alight and thought the natural gas reserves would burn off in a few weeks. But the crater, 69 metres-wide and 30 metres-deep, is still burning as hot and bright as ever, with temperatures reaching over 1,000°C. The landmark is hidden deep in the Karakum Desert, and it’s easy to get to, but that never stopped a steady stream of curious visitors. Turkmenistan’s leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered the gas crater to be closed due to environmental and economic concerns. (If you’re still interested in visiting the Door to Hell, I’ll be happy to invite you along to my mother-in-law’s place next Christmas…)
-CNN, LADBible

TESLA AND CHILL?
Perhaps in an effort at better emulating the driving styles of its customers, car manufacturer Tesla has added “chill” and “assertive” self-driving modes. The assertive setting is designed to follow other cars more closely, change lanes more frequently, not leave the passing lane, and perform rolling stops. It should be pointed out that this type of behavior by humans is often discouraged by safety groups. But on the other hand, it can sometimes be safer for an automated system to be more assertive, like a human driver, rather than being overly cautious, according to at least one safety expert. As you might imagine, “chill” mode features slower acceleration, relaxed braking and less aggressive driving in general. Tesla’s 3 driving profiles – chill, average, and assertive – were first added in the company’s October update. That update was quickly pulled because of other issues, but the driving profiles feature has now been restored.
(I’m holding out for the “road rage” option!)
(See, this is an option that BMW can never offer. Because no BMW driver is gonna pick anything other than “assertive”!)
(When are they coming out with “Afford” mode?)
-BBC

YE OLDE (REAL) COLD WEATHER WORDS TO GET YOU THROUGH WINTER:
• Crule – A verb meaning to shiver with cold, or to crouch by a fire to warm up.
• Ice-legs – Like sea-legs at sea, the ability to walk safely on ice without falling over.
• Meggle – An old Scots word meaning “to trudge laboriously through mud or snow”.
• Hogamadog – A snowball that gets bigger and bigger when rolled through a field of snow.
• Snow-bones – The leftover lines of snow at the sides of roads after the rest has melted.
• Moble – To wrap up your head with a hood.
• Mufflements – An old Lancashire dialect word for thick, warm, insulating clothes.
• Aquabobs – An 18th century word for icicles. Also known as ice-candles.
• Snow-blossom – An old word for a single snowflake.
• Clart – A single snowflake large enough to stick to your clothes.
-Condensed from MentalFloss

DID YOU KNOW?
During the period from Nov. 2019 to Nov. 2021, the usage of English swear words increased by 41% on Facebook and 27% on Twitter. (We’re not sure if that includes acronyms or not…)
-QuiteInteresting

BS CHRONOMETER 01.12.22

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “International Kiss a Ginger Day”, an annual event that encourages folks to pucker up and plant one on a redhead (um…with permission, of course!)
FAMOUS GINGERS:
✓ Movie star Emma Stone (“La La Land”)
✓ Movie actress Amy Adams (“Arrival”)
✓ TV host Conan O’Brien (“Conan”)
✓ Movie actress Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”)
✓ Movie actress Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”)
✓ Brit ex-royal Prince Harry
✓ Pop star Ed Sheeran (‘Shape of You”)
✓ Former US President Donald Trump (or at least he used to be one…)
• “Pharmacists Day”, honoring drug dealers everywhere
BS SIGNS YOUR PHARMACIST IS NUTS:
☞ Counts out pills, “One for you, two for me . . .”
☞ Claims he can’t read the doc’s writing so he’ll have to take a guess.
☞ Writes on the pill bottle, “Take a bunch a couple times a day.”
☞ Makes people with high blood pressure wait in line longer.
☞ Every day at 5pm, he yells “Happy Hour!”
☞ Wears a shirt that says “A day without Prozac is like . . . Depressing, man”.
• “Marzipan Day”, celebrating the sweet, mold-able treat made from mostly sugar and almond meal or paste. It can end up looking like a big ball of Play Doh that you can color with food coloring and then form into different shapes.
• “Stick To Your New Year’s Resolution Day”, more power to you if you made it this far!
• “Hot Tea Day”, celebrating the rich culture and history, diverse types, health benefits, and soothing qualities of tea, and encouraging ‘tea-totalers’ “to raise their cups in honor of the beloved beverage.”

COMING UP . . .
[Thurs] Rubber Ducky Day
[Thurs] Sticker Day
[Fri] International Kite Day
[Fri] Caesarean Section Day

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1951 [71] Kirstie Alley, Wichita KS, TV actress (“Cheers” 1987-1993, “Veronica’s Closet” 1997-2000)/movie actress (“Look Who’s Talking” movies)

1952 [70] Ricky Van Shelton, Danville VA, retired country singer (‘Life Turned Her That Way’, ‘Keep it Between the Lines’)

1954 [68] Howard Stern, New York City NY, satellite radio host (self-proclaimed “King of All Media”/judge on “America’s Got Talent” 2012-2015)

1964 [58] Jeff Bezos, Albuquerque NM, entrepreneur/internet billionaire (Amazon founder & CEO, Blue Origin founder with an estimated net worth of $188 billion, now 2nd in the world to Elon Musk)

1965 [57] Rob Zombie [Cummings], Haverhill MA, movie director (“Halloween” films, “The Devil’s Rejects”)/metal rocker (White Zombie – ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65′, ‘More Human Than Human’)

1968 [54] Rachael Harris, Worthington OH, TV actress (“Lucifer” 2016-2021, “Suits” 2012-2019)

1970 [52] Zack de la Rocha, Long Beach CA, rock singer (Rage Against the Machine- ‘Killing In the Name’, ‘Guerrilla Radio’)

1974 [48] Mel C [Melanie Chisolm] “Sporty Spice”, Lancashire England, pop singer (Spice Girls – ‘Wannabe’, ‘Spice Up Your Life’)

1993 [29] Zayn [Zain Malik], Bradford UK, pop singer (‘Pillowtalk’, w/Taylor Swift-‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’, One Direction-‘What Makes You Beautiful’)

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2002 [20] Conan O’Brien weds Liza Powell, a Seattle ad executive he met when she made an appearance on his show

2004 [18] The satirical TV newsmagazine show “Rick Mercer Report” debuts on CBC

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1998 [24] Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, The Mamas & The Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana, and Gene Vincent are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

2003 [19] While awaiting emergency intestinal surgery, Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees dies unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 53

2013 [09] The 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow used by Freddie Mercury until his 1991 death is sold at auction for £74,000 (about $90,000), more than 5 times the pre-sale estimate

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1967 [55] Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation. He remains preserved (if a bit freezer-burnt…)

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ Earth is closest to the sun in January.
✓ The Southern Hemisphere typically has milder winters than the Northern Hemisphere because it has less land and a more maritime climate.
✓ Every winter, at least one septillion (that’s 1 followed by 24 zeros) snow crystals fall from the sky.
✓ The average snowflake falls at about 3 mph.
✓ One inch of snow will produce just less than 1/10 of an inch of water when melted.
✓ There’s at least one instance of identical snowflakes. In 1988, two snowflakes collected from a Wisconsin storm were confirmed to be twins by an atmospheric research center.
-FactRetriever

Best of BS . . .
WHY CATS ARE BETTER THAN DOGS:
• Cats are smarter … you can’t get 8 cats to pull a sled through snow.
• Dogs have owners, cats have staff.
• Cats don’t insist on playing tug-o-war with dad’s undies while he’s on the ‘throne’.
• Dogs come when they’re called, cats take a message and get back to you later.
• Cats don’t go wacky when they hear a doorbell … on TV.
• Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are gods.
• Cats don’t suddenly stand up straight when lying under the coffee table.
• As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.
-First published in BS 2002

TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ According to a study, nearly 80% of people sometimes suspect their coworkers are lying and not really ill when they use a sick day. (You know what those people are called? Correct.)
➠ According to a survey, the top things women worry about regarding their appearance are hair loss, sagging skin, their hips, and belly. (Plus, of course, being seen in public with a burned-out insecure radio DJ…)
➠ (***Caution – “Ass”***) A poll asked people to name things that aren’t as good as they used to be. Some of the answers were stuff like schools, TV and manners. (I wish they had asked me. I would have just been an ass and said “pollsters”.)
➠ Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is 58 today. (If only there were a website where I could order him an overpriced gift with same day delivery…)
➠ Fact of the Day: Drinking alcohol improves your ability to speak a foreign language. (FINALLY! . . . an explanation for Johnny Depp getting all those roles.)

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• Calista Flockhart played a lawyer on which TV show?
a) Ally McBeal [CORRECT]
b) L.A. Law
c) Law & Order
d) CHiPs

• A ‘bibliophile’ is someone who enjoys which activity?
a) Eating
b) Drinking
c) Reading [CORRECT]
d) Filing

• Who is credited with the invention of jeans?
a) Levi Strauss [CORRECT]
b) Calvin Klein
c) Ethan Lee
d) Willy Wrangler
-Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

BS WEB GOODIE:
This might be what you need to see today:  https://tinyurl.com/2p85cpx2

BS RANDOM JOKE:
If you want to be sure that you never forget your wife’s birthday, just try forgetting it once.

BS PHONE STARTER:
What ridiculous thing has someone tricked you into doing or believing?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  The average parent says THIS almost 600 times per year. What is it?
Answer:  “Hurry up!”

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
It’s good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.