Friday, July 8, 2005 Edition: #3073
Sweet Sheet!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
SUNDAY Rosie O’Donnell’s 2nd annual R Family Vacations cruise for gay & lesbian travelers sets sail from NYC for Halifax NS & Martha’s Vineyard MA . . . “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria is learning French so she can speak to her NBA star boyfriend Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) in his native language (he was born in Belgium, grew up in France) . . . The ‘Batmobile’ in “Batman Begins” is a Hummer crossed with a Lamborghini Countach, designed by Deep Cove BC special effects engineer Andy Smith . . . “Batman Begins” actress Katie Holmes says she’s not ready to get married right now, despite her recent engagement to “War of the Words” star Tom Cruise (translation: both of our summer movies are now out, so we can quit this silly charade and move on) . . . Actress Lara Flynn Boyle (formerly on “The Practice”) will join the cast of NBC-TV’s “Las Vegas” THIS FALL, playing the new owner of the ‘Montecito Casino’ . . . Over the next week, online retailer Amazon.com is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a series of ‘special deliveries’ to unsuspecting customers – Harrison Ford delivering a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” DVD box set, Moby with his CD “Hotel”, and former “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander (the celebration culminates in live online performances by Norah Jones & Bob Dylan on JULY 16th) . . . “Live 8″ organizer Bob Geldof has been nominated for the 2006 “Nobel Peace Prize” by a Norwegian member of parliament . . . North American concert attendance is down 12% for the first half of 2005 compared to LAST YEAR, despite a decline in the average ticket price (Backstreet Boys are back – coincidence?).
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Coldplay – TOMORROW they’re on NBC-TV’s “Saturday Night Live”
• Eminem – SATURDAY he’s making a rare small venue appearance at the new House of Blues in Atlantic City NJ as part of its opening weekend events.
• 50 Cent – He’s reportedly dating Joy Bryant, his co-star in the movie “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, now shooting in Toronto. The former Tommy Hilfiger model previously briefly dated Usher.
• Garbage – TONIGHT they do the “Late Show With David Letterman”.
• Mariah Carey – TODAY she guests on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show”.
TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
• “Fantastic Four” (PG-13 Sci-Fi Adventure): After an accident in space, a team of scientists find that their DNA has been forever altered. The result? Superpowers, of course. Lead geek ‘Reed Richards’ (Ioan Gruffudd) transforms into ‘Mr Fantastic’, a man who can stretch his body. ‘Susan Storm’ (Jessica Alba) becomes the ‘Invisible Woman’, while her brother, ‘Johnny Storm’ (Chris Evans), finds that as the ‘Human Torch’, he can set himself ablaze. Finally, ‘Ben Grimm’ (Michael Chiklis) turns into ‘The Thing’, a creature made of rocks. Together, the ‘Fantastic Four’ take on the evil ‘Dr Doom’ (Julian McMahon). Partially filmed in Vancouver and Surrey BC.
NET: http://fantasticfourmovie.com
• “Dark Water” (PG-13 Horror Thriller): In the middle of a nasty divorce, ‘Dahlia Williams’ (Jennifer Connelly) packs up and moves with her young daughter into a run-down apartment building where they constantly hear mysterious noises and a strange liquid begins leaking through the ceiling. It’s all due to the ghost of a former resident. Partly filmed in Toronto.
NET: http://darkwater.movies.go.com
ARE YOU ON THE SPRITZER?
An experimental new contraceptive spray could prove to be a revolutionary new form of birth control for women. The once-a-day spray contains a drug that seeps through the skin into the bloodstream. A hand-held device is programed to deliver the same amount each time on the forearm. Tests show the spray dries in seconds, forming a waterproof film.
– “Daily Mail”
FAN FUNERAL:
THIS WEEK the family of 55-year-old James Henry Smith, who died of prostate cancer, organized a special send-off for the rabid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. The Samuel E Coston Funeral Home erected a small stage in a viewing room and arranged furniture to look much like Smith’s home on NFL game days. His body was laid out on a recliner, his feet crossed and a remote placed in his hand. He was attired in black & gold silk pajamas with a pack of cigarettes and a beer at his side while a hi-def TV played a continuous loop of Steeler highlights.
– CNEWS
SINGING SILENCES SNORING?
British music teacher Alise Ojay is so confident that singing will stop snoring that she’s convinced the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital to conduct a clinical trial to prove it. Why singing? One of the causes of snoring and sleep apnea is thought to be weak muscles in the soft palate and upper throat. Singers, especially those who sing professionally or frequently in a choir, use various singing exercises to strengthen these muscles.
– BBC News
GROW ME A BURGER:
New tissue engineering technology may soon produce meat that is healthier for consumers and also reduces the pollution caused by factory farming. While NASA engineers have grown fish tissue in lab dishes, no one has seriously proposed a way to grow meat on commercial levels – until now. A new study at the University of Maryland suggests there are at least 2 possible ways to do it, both involve growing cells from the muscle tissue of cattle, pigs or poultry. The synthetically-produced product has been dubbed ‘Cultured Meat’
– news.com.au
NEW BS GIZMOS & GADGETS:
• PalmOne claims its new handheld “LifeDrive” is the first PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with a hard-drive. So what? Its 4 gigs of storage space means it can hold your entire MP3 music collection, as well as movies, games, photos & documents. It’s positioning itself as the latest challenger to Apple’s iPod. The downside – the MSRP of $499.
– “NewsTimes”
• A new ‘Talking Wine Label’ could soon tell consumers in Italy everything they want to know about a particular bottle, from its production history to the kind of food it should accompany.
Tuscan company Modulgraf is putting the final touches on the computer chip-based gizmo which is expected to launch in NOVEMBER.
– Reuters
FROM THE BS POLL VAULT:
A BS snapshot of who we are and what we do …
• 76% of all golf balls used are recycled.
• 50% of adult men have played golf while intoxicated.
• 42% of women wish they had long hair, but only 19% do.
• 37% of women think it’s ‘creepy’ for a man to have a tattoo over the age of 35.
• 28% of us go to bed with doors to our home unlocked.
• 26% of Canadian kids aged 12-to-17 are either obese or overweight, according to new figures from StatsCan.
• 20% of men think they could make a living at gambling if they devoted all their time to it.
• 20% of women keep spare underwear in their vehicle’s glove compartment.
FOR THE RECORD:
THIS WEEK at the ‘Canadian National Conference of Handbell Players’ in Penticton BC, Joe Defries of Abbotsford BC has set a new world record for a ‘Solo Handbell Marathon’ by playing for close to 28 hours, drawing from some 1,300 different songs that he’s mastered. (The person in the next hotel room was heard yelling, “Hey Joe, does the word shut-up ring a bell?”)
BS AMAZING FACT:
The National Hockey League is the first major pro sports league to lose an entire season to a labor dispute.
THE BULL SHEET 07.08.2K5
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1944 [61] Jeffrey Tambor, San Francisco CA, TV actor (‘George Bluth Sr’ on “Arrested Development” since 2003)
1948 [57] Raffi (Cavoukian), Cairo, Egypt (raised Toronto), children’s singer (“The Wheels on the Bus”)/Order of Canada (1983)
1951 [54] Anjelica Huston, Santa Monica CA, movie actress (Oscar-“Prizzi’s Honor”)
1958 [47] Kevin Bacon, Philadelphia PA, movie actor (“Mystic River”)/Hollywood Walk of Fame (2003)
1961 [44] Toby Keith, Clinton OK, country singer (“As Good as I Once Was”) FACTOID: According to new RIAA stats, he’s racked up his 9th and 10th platinum album awards during JUNE (“Boomtown”, “Honkytonk University”).
1968 [37] Billy Crudup, Manhasset NY, movie actor (“Almost Famous”)
1970 [35] Beck (Hansen), LA CA, alt-rock singer (“Girl”)
1970 [35] Drew Womack, Brownwood TX, country singer (Sons of the Desert-“Whatever Comes First”)
SATURDAY’S BIRTHDAYS . . .
NFL Hall of Famer OJ Simpson is 58; Musician-radio personality John Tesh is 53; TV actor Jimmy Smits (“The West Wing”) is 50; Movie actor Tom Hanks (“The Da Vinci Code”) is 49; Classic rock singer Marc Almond (Soft Cell) is 48; Classic rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 46; Movie actress/rock singer Courtney Love (“People vs Larry Flynt”) is 41; Pop singer Dan Estrin (Hoobastank) is 29.
SUNDAY’S BIRTHDAYS . . .
TV personality Roger Abbott (“Royal Canadian Air Farce”) is 59; Classic rock singer Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) is 51; Country singer Gary LeVox (Rascal Flatts) is 35; Pop singer Jessica Simpson (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”) is 25.
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
TODAY is “Video Games Day”, a day for kids to appreciate both the games … and the parents who buy them. Actually, one of the fastest growing segments of the video games market is now – adult women!
TODAY through July 17th is the “Calgary Stampede”, a tradition in ‘cow-town’ since 1912 and famous in the rodeo world for the $50,000 prize money in each rodeo event final. Approximately 1,850,000 mini-doughnuts and 125,000 hotdogs are consumed each year at the Stampede.
PHONER: 403.261.0101 (Media Department)
NET: http://calgarystampede.com
TODAY is “Intern Appreciation Day”, a day to express gratitude to those dedicated young people who are attempting to kick off their careers by sweating it out on-the-job for free. (Now let’s see, how can we get even with the little b*stards?)
THIS WEEKEND the 33rd annual “Moose Dropping Festival” hits the fan in Talkeetna, Alaska. The most unusual event is the dropping of a thousand ‘moose nuggets’ from a hot-air balloon. The moose poop’s numbered and whoever holds the number of the dung dropped nearest a target wins $1,000. Don’t worry, it’s sanitary. Local craftspeople use enamelled dung to create souvenir moose poop jewelry and artwork. Other festival events include the ‘Mountain Mother Contest’ and the famous ‘Moose Nugget Toss’.
PHONER: 907.733.2487
NET: http://www.talkeetnachamber.org/event-moosedropping.html
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1990 [15] 1st TV broadcast to generate 1 billion viewers (World Cup of soccer)
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1881 [124] ‘Ice Cream Sundae’ invented (Edward Berner, Two Rivers WI)
COMING UP . . .
[Sun] Barn Day
[Sun] Don’t Step on a Bee Day
[Mon] Pet Photo Day
[Mon] UN World Population Day
[Mon] Orangemen’s Day
[Mon] International Town Criers Day
[Tues] MLB All-Star Game (Detroit MI)
[Wed] Gruntled Workers Day
[Wed] “Hustle & Flow” opens in movie theaters
[Wed] Embrace Your Geekness Day
This Week Is . . . Music For Life Week
This Month Is . . . Blueberry Month
BULL’S BITS . . .
BS SIGNS SHE’S NOT THAT INTO YOU:
• She says she’s not ready for a relationship.
• You’re always the one calling her, and she doesn’t return your phone calls.
• She avoids eye contact and physical proximity.
• She mentions other guys she finds attractive.
• She tries to set you up with another woman.
• She doesn’t laugh at your jokes.
• She is always vague about making plans, then regularly cancels them.
• Her description of the perfect man sounds nothing like you.
– AskMen.com
ALL-TIME MOST OVERRATED SONGS:
1. “American Pie” – Don McLean
2. “Light My Fire” – The Doors
3. “Free Bird” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
4. “Hey Ya!” – Outkast
5. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – Def Leppard
NET: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/06/100215.php
– Blogcritics.org
BS PHONE STARTERS:
• What everyday little annoyance really sets you off? (A 17-country “Reader’s Digest” poll finds ‘littering’ upsets 86%, ‘dog droppings’ 82%, ‘spitting in public’ 76%, ‘tailgating’ 73% and ‘hard-to-open plastic wrapping’ 57%.)
• If you had to have one piece of music softly playing in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: Twice as many women as men have THIS physical ability.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Touching the nose with the tongue. (“The Ladies Room Reader”)
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
