Tuesday, January 3, 2023 – Edition: #7387

New Year . . . Same ol’ BS!

BS SUBSCRIBER NOTE:
Happy New Year!  All Bull Sheet subscribers have received account credits for non-service days over the holiday season. We’re all set for another great year of BS!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Prince Harry looks like he’s ready to reconcile with his family. But in a trailer for his upcoming interview with ITV 1, the Duke of Sussex says his efforts to mend his relationships with King Charles and Prince William seem fruitless. Harry says: “They’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile. I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back.” The royal indicates that he’s looking to have a “family” instead of an “institution,” though The Firm feels differently about him and his wife, Meghan Markle, preferring to keep them “as the villains”. The interview airs this Sunday.
-PageSix
★ “Hawkeye” star Jeremy Renner is most recently reported in “critical but stable” condition after being hospitalized in Reno, Nevada after suffering a snow plowing injury Sunday. A spokesperson for “The Avengers” star confirmed that Renner is with his family and “receiving excellent care” following the accident. The 51-year-old was airlifted from the accident earlier in the day. Renner, who has a home in the area, near Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, which is about 25 miles from Reno, which experienced a winter storm on New Year’s Eve.
-PopCulture
★ Paul McCartney is mourning Barbara Walters, who died Friday at the age of 93. And he has a few surprising connections to the legendary TV journalist. McCartney’s wife, Nancy, is Walters’ second cousin….and Walters actually played matchmaker for the couple, which eventually led to their 2011 wedding. Saturday on Facebook, McCartney wrote: “Nancy and I are so saddened by the news of her dear cousin Barbara Walters’ passing. The two of them enjoyed a deep loving relationship over many years, and I was proud to share some of those special moments.”
-NYPost
★ This week, “Avatar: The Way of Water” will probably become the highest grossing release of 2022, with industry estimates projecting its box-office haul to have hit $1.39 billion worldwide through Monday. At its current pace, The Way of Water will pass $1.5 billion worldwide sometime in the coming week, passing the $1.48 billion total of “Top Gun: Maverick” and becoming one of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time.
-TheWrap
★ Elon Musk sided with Greta Thunberg in her feud with right-wing internet personality Andrew Tate, who was recently arrested in Romania on suspicion of rape, human trafficking and organized crime. Before being taken into custody on Thursday, Tate tweeted a video response to Thunberg, featuring a “not recycled” pizza box from a local chain. Upon his arrest, Thunberg responded by tweeting “This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes”. Musk posted on Sunday: “Sometimes it’s just better to make pizza at home.”
-TheWrap
★ Nick Cannon has words for anyone who thinks he’s had too many kids … “My body, My choice!” He appeared on CNN’s New Year’s Eve show, and co-host Andy Cohen asked him if he’d consider getting a vasectomy. Cannon’s response to that question was vague, but Cohen pressed the father of 12, saying: “Do you want to hit 20?” Cannon’s honest answer: “Clearly, I don’t have a plan. That should’ve been clear from the jump.” Cannon welcomed baby #12 last month.
-TMZ

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Seth Rogen, Diego Calva, Aoife O’Donovan featuring Allison Russell
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Ana de Armas, Luke Grimes, Protoje
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Michelle Obama, Quinta Brunson, Tom Papa
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Michael Shannon, Danielle Brooks, Maya Stepansky
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Nick Kroll, Florence Welch, Florence and the Machine (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Kenya Moore, Carson Kressley
• The View” (ABC/CTV): Quinta Brunson
• “The Talk”(CBS): Jenna Dewan
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Ana Gasteyer, Scott Caan, Dr. Sue Yarma
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Kit Hoover, Frida Gustavsson, Kelly Rizzo
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Zanna Roberts Rassi, Pilar Valdes
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Mario Lopez, Todrick Hall
• “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars” (NBC): Auditions 1 Part 2. Contestants from around the world perform for a panel of judges and superfans.
• “Surviving R. Kelly” (LIFE): The Final Chapter: Aaliyah (Jane Doe #1) becomes the cornerstone of the federal trial; a new survivor comes forward after nearly 30 years.
• “Will Trent” (ABC): Series premiere. When a murder investigation reveals there’s more to the story than meets the eye, Special Agent Trent relies on his keen instincts and unique experience to uncover the truth.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Miley Cyrus — While hosting her second annual “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party”, it was revealed that her new single ‘Flowers’ will drop Jan. 13. At one point, a video showing Cyrus strutting through a street played, and a snippet of the song we heard, while the words “NEW YEAR, NEW MILEY, NEW SINGLE. FLOWERS JANUARY 13” flashed across the screen.
• Drake — shared previously unseen footage of his run-in with Swedish cops last summer, sparking rumors that he had been newly arrested. In an Instagram post recapping his 2022, he is shown being detained by police. His caption: “The funds are useful/The lyrics are truthful/The suspects are usual/The opps are delusional/The finish line is beautiful/And the disrespect is mutual. See you in 23.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/4979n5xf
• Wham! – A British couple hate their 1984 hit ‘Last Christmas’ so much, they’ve raised over £51,000 (US $62,000) to buy the licensing rights so they can scrub it from existence. The problem? It’ll cost £15-20million to purchase the song from Warner. If successful, Hannah and Tomas Mazetti plan to send the master tapes to a nuclear waste site in Finland “where it’ll rest for at least 2 million years”.
• Foo Fighters – issued a New Year’s Eve statement saying they will continue as a group following the death in March of drummer Taylor Hawkins. The statement read, in part: “Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were – and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mu3suzfu
• Queen – guitarist Brian May was recognized in the 2023 New Year Honours List, a tradition celebrating the achievements and service of exceptional individuals from the UK. He received a knighthood for services to music and his charity work. May was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
• The Pointer Sisters — Anita Pointer, one of the group’s 4 sibling singers, died of cancer Saturday at 74. The Pointer Sisters are best-known for their 80s hits ‘I’m So Excited’, ‘Slow Hand’, ‘Neutron Dance’ and ‘Jump (For My Love)’.
• Blake Shelton – is leaving “The Voice” after its upcoming Season 23, but he hasn’t ruled out a return in the future. Under what condition? To mentor Team Gwen Stefani. He told “Entertainment Tonight”: I’d be honored to be Gwen’s mentor. Whatever she tells me to do, I’m gonna do.”
• Lainey Wilson – closed out the year by dropping 2 new songs on Spotify. The “Yellowstone” actress released a reimagined version of ‘Middle Finger’ and a cover of Rick Derringer’s ‘Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yayyuv8b
• Jelly Roll — Known for his round shape – hence the name – he plans to lost weight this year. Quote: “I’m going to spend the first couple months of the year just focusing on family and health. I lost some weight this year in 2022, but in 2023 I wanna finally conquer the demon.” At one point in the past, he lost about 180 pounds, but gained it all back.

SHOOTING THE BULL

WHY DRY JANUARY?
You’re familiar with “Dry January”, right. That’s when thousands of people around the world lie and say they won’t be drinking any alcohol for the entire month of January. What they usually end up doing is not drinking for a week or so – and then drinking “lightly” through the rest of the month. But many make it all the way through the month, with the plan of returning to their old, hedonistic drinking habits in February. But perhaps surprisingly, that’s often not what happens. Studies show that people who participate in Dry January and other sobriety challenges frequently experience lasting benefits. Often, they drink less in the long run and make other sustained changes to their drinking habits that lead to striking improvements in their health and well-being. So why does Dry January seem to have a lasting effect? A month of sobriety, however daunting it may sound, is not so long that it seems impossible. But it is long enough that it helps to form new habits — like turning down alcohol in social settings, which can be empowering. And taking a break from alcohol can trigger immediate health benefits, like weight loss, better sleep, and a boost to your mood and energy levels, which can reinforce the new habit. British and American researchers found that those who gave up alcohol for one month lost, on average, 4½ pounds (2kg), their blood pressure dropped, and they had a dramatic reduction in their levels of insulin resistance, a marker for Type 2 diabetes risk.
(Big reduction in headaches, too, I found!)
(I started Dry January early. I’m proud to say, I’ve been sober now for 43 days. Not in a ROW or anything…just in total!)
-WashingtonPost

THE LATEST WORD ON WOMEN…AND MEN:
☞ No matter where they live in the world, no matter what their cultural or family influences: Women are better at empathizing with other people than men, according to a study from the University of Cambridge. Researchers used empathy test results from 306,000 people across 57 countries, and found that in 36 countries, women scored significantly higher in their cognitive empathy scores than men did. In 21 of the countries, women’s and men’s scores were similar. There wasn’t a single country in which men scored better, on average, than women. The results held across 8 languages and were consistent across all ages, between 16 and 70 years old. (Sounds like a lot of work for those researchers…not that I care!)
☞ Single men are stinkier than guys in relationships, according to the results of a sniff test. But while pungent body odor and being single might seem like they go hand-in-hand, researchers at Macquarie University in Australia say that a strong whiff may actually help unattached men signal their availability to women. 91 men were supplied with a plain white T-shirt and instructed to exercise enough that “a significant amount of sweat was absorbed onto the underarm of the T-shirt.” The shirts were then passed beneath the nostrils of 82 women. The lucky girls determined that single men’s BO smells stronger than the BO of partnered men. The study authors concluded: “From an evolutionary perspective, it may be advantageous for women to be able to detect the chemosignals that connote coupledom and ultimately avoid courting partnered males (especially with offspring) due to the relatively reduced resources they can offer.” (Yup. Especially the guys with teenagers…!)
-CNN, IFLScience

DISCOVERIES THAT BLEW OUR MINDS IN 2022:
✓ Woodpeckers have small brains, which is why they can smash their heads against trees unharmed.
✓ The most common phrase on Facebook in several French-speaking countries is “Have a nice day!”
✓ Beyond a certain temperature — As low as 95°F (35°C), by some estimates — fans do more harm than good.
✓ Sour or curdled milk is often perfectly safe to consume.
✓ It takes at least 7 years to train the muscles and tendons in your elbow that will make you a great arm wrestler.
✓ Rats can learn to play hide-and-seek, and they have fun doing it.
✓ In 2021, 95 of the United States’ 100 most-watched telecasts were sporting events.
✓ The oldest clam ever lived to 507.
✓ Saturn’s trademark rings will disappear in about 300 million years.
✓ Reindeers’ eyes change color — from blue to gold, and then back to blue again — twice a year to cope with the Arctic’s strange light schedule.
✓ Parrot theft is weirdly common.
-TheAtlantic

WORDS AND PHRASES BANNED FOR 2023:
Michigan’s Lake Superior State University has released its 2023 “List of Words Banished From the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse & General Uselessness”. Here is this year’s crop — and why they are no longer to be used, effective immediately…
✗ G.O.A.T:  The acronym for ‘Greatest of All Time’ doesn’t require a genius to determine the literal impossibility and technical vagueness of this wannabe superlative. (Greatest. Addition. To. This. List. Of. All. Time.)
✗ Inflection point:  This mathematical term has entered everyday parlance and lost its original meaning. Really, it’s just a pretentious way of saying “turning point”. (You might say the inflection point has reached its saturation point!)
✗ Quiet quitting:   Trendy but inaccurate. Not an employee who inconspicuously resigns – but an employee who completes the minimum requirements for a position. (A fancy way of saying “work to rule”?)
✗ Gaslighting:  On one hand, its overuse has watered-down its connection to the real concern it used to identify: dangerous psychological manipulation that causes victims to distrust their thoughts, feelings, or perception of reality. On the other hand, people are now using the term incorrectly to refer to any conflict or disagreement.
✗ Moving forward:  This overused term is often used by politicians and other leaders for their own self-interest, evasion or disingenuousness. (Also, if we aren’t going to ‘move forward’, where else would we go?)
✗ Amazing:  A worn-out adjective used by people who are short on vocabulary. (Also, not everything is amazing – and when you think about it, very little is!)
✗ Does that make sense?  Saying that phrase is needy, scheming and/or cynical. And passive aggressive. (Here’s an idea: When you say stuff, make sure it makes sense!)
✗ Irregardless:  Uh, it’s not a word. Is that a good enough reason? ‘Regardless’ is sufficient. (Irregardless, it IS in the dictionary…)
✗ Absolutely:  Or, just say “yes”.
✗ It is what it is:  This phrase was also ‘banned’ in 2008 because of its pointlessness, and the fact that using it is basically a “cop-out”. (I mean, of course it is what it is. What else would it be?)
(This list of banned words “is what it is”. What would you like to add?)
-LSSU

DID YOU KNOW?
Monty Python’s famous “silly walk”, popularized over 50 years ago by the British comedy troupe, is an ideal exercise for burning calories, according to researchers at Arizona State University. Using John Cleese’s walk as the focus of its study, the research team, in a bit of year-end fun, concluded in its nevertheless exhaustive research that adults could reap the benefits of having done the equivalent of “75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week by walking in ‘Teabag style’ (demonstrated in the sketch), rather than their usual style, for about 11 minutes per day.” (It could be worse…they could’ve told us to do the “Fish Slapping Dance”!!) LINK: https://youtu.be/FhRLg0IDyhM
-DigitalTrends

BS CHRONOMETER 01.03.23

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “J.R.R. Tolkien Day” (***Pron: Toll-KEEN***), recognizing the birth date of the author of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”. The Tolkien Society asks fans to honor his 1892 birth with a toast.
• “Chocolate Covered Cherry Day”, celebrating the traditional dessert. Variations include cherry cordials with liquid fillings, often including cherry liqueur, chocolate-covered candied cherries and chocolate-covered dried cherries. (Go ahead…wasn’t one of your resolutions to eat more fruit??)
• “Drinking Straw Day”, celebrating the patent of the first artificial straw on this date in 1888. Drinking straws were hand-rolled until 1905. (How on earth were kids able to enjoy juice in their minivans before the invention of the straw?)
• “Festival of Sleep Day”, as declared by some anonymous walking zombie somewhere. Thanks to a combination of late hours, alcohol, rich foods, exposure to unfamiliar surroundings, and artificial light deep into the night over the holiday season, experts say most of us build up ‘sleep debt’, a condition which can affect how well we sleep for weeks afterward.
• “Humiliation Day” No, it is NOT a day to humiliate someone! Today, we recognize the negative effects that humiliation can have on people or groups of people (And dogs forced to wear onesies…)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Wed] Trivia Day
[Wed] Spaghetti Day
[Thurs] Bird Day
[Fri] Take Down the Christmas Tree Day
This Week Is…Diet Resolution Week
This Month Is…Be Kind to Food Servers Month

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1945 [78] Stephen Stills, Dallas TX, folk-rock singer/guitarist (Crosby, Stills & Nash-‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’, Buffalo Springfield-‘For What It’s Worth’)

1946 [77] John Paul Jones, Kent England, bassist/multi-instrumentalist/producer (Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, Them Crooked Vultures-‘New Fang’)

1950 [73] Victoria Principal, Fukuoka Japan, TV actress (“Dallas” 1978-1991, “Titans” 2000-2001)

1956 [67] Mel Gibson, Peekskill NY, movie producer/director (“Braveheart”, “The Passion of the Christ”)/movie actor (“Lethal Weapon” series, “Mad Max” series) COMING UP… “Boys of Summer”, 2023

1969 [54] Michael Schumacher, Hürth West Germany, retired Formula One driver (7-time F1 champion who continues to receive private rehab after a 2013 traumatic brain injury suffered in a skiing accident)

1975 [48] Thomas Bangalter, Paris France, electronica musician (Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams-‘Get Lucky’, The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk-‘Starboy’)

1975 [48] Danica McKeller, San Diego CA, TV actress (“The Wonder Years” 1988-1993, “Inspector Mom” 2006-2007)

1981 [42] Eli Manning, New Orleans LA, retired NFL quarterback (2X Super Bowl Champ and MVP-NY Giants)/brother of Peyton Manning/son of NFL veteran Archie Manning

1996 [27] Florence Pugh, Oxford England, movie actress (“Don’t Worry Darling”, “Little Women”) COMING UP… “Oppenheimer”, 2023

2003 [20] Greta Thunberg (***Pron: GRAY-tah TOON-bairyeh***), Stockholm Sweden, environmental activist (known for her work to halt climate change and global warming)/Time’s Person of the Year, 2019

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2013 [10] Actor Gerard Depardieu is granted citizenship by Russian president Vladimir Putin after renouncing his French citizenship due to the country’s high taxes

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1987 [36] The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first female artist, Aretha Franklin. Also among those inducted: Roy Orbison, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Carl Perkins

2002 [21] Liam & Noel Gallagher of Oasis top a poll on the celebrities that people would least like to live next to, with 40% of the vote

2004 [19] Britney Spears weds hometown pal Jason Alexander at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, and 55 hours later, has the union annulled

TODAY’S FIRSTs . . .
1977 [46] Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs incorporate Apple Computer, Inc

2009 [14] The Bitcoin network is created, as the first block of the digital currency is mined by a person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1992 [31] Bernard Moeller of Pennsylvania gets his 14,000th tattoo, leading to a Guinness record as the “Person with the Most Individual Tattoo Designs”

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ More couples separate or divorce in January than any other month of the year.
✓ You do not need a driver’s license to be a NASCAR driver.
✓ The use of seat belts in F1 racing wasn’t mandatory until 1971.
✓ Adult cats only meow at humans, not other cats.
✓ Millionaires who earned their wealth are happier than those who inherited it, according to a study.
✓ Latin had about 800 obscene words; English has only about 20.
-RandomFactGenerator, TheFactSite

Best of BS . . .
BS REALISTIC NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:
• Exercise regularly . . . for the first two weeks of January
• Wake up by noon every day
• Get out of the house at least twice
• Gain 20 pounds
• Make time to work on my procrastination
• Not to be that guy who says his New Year’s resolution is “not to make any New Year’s resolutions”
• Drink more wine
• Think about going to the gym 3-5 times per week
• Never leave a package of cookies unfinished
• Quit smoking at least 5 times
• Not to change a thing. Because whenever someone dies, people always say “Oh man, and just when he was starting to get his life together…”
• Be more realistic
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2019

Best of BS . . .
BS SIGNS YOU’VE JOINED A BAD GYM:
More people sign up at fitness clubs this week than any other time of the year. Beware if …
• The door to the front desk has a slot in it that slides open to verify your membership.
• There’s a KFC between the aerobics area and the free weights.
• The personal trainer claims that carrying his groceries up 30 flights is much better than a Stair-Master.
• It’s not actually carpet in the locker room, it’s really thick shower mould.
• On the way to the workout area, you pass several members’ memorial plaques.
-First Published in BS in 2017

BS WEB GOODIE:
Why I didn’t make it to midnight on New Year’s Eve:  https://tinyurl.com/p36x6rsy

BS RANDOM JOKE:
After Christmas morning, my wife said our children are spoiled. I said: “Nah. I think all kids smell like that.”

BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s one thing you’re excited about that’s coming up in 2023?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  A survey says that 15% of adults regret THIS about 2022. What is it?
Answer:  Who they kissed to ring in the New Year

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.