Thursday, July 8, 2021 – Edition: #7024

Sweet Sheet!

 

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ In the trailer for his feature documentary “Val,” “Top Gun” and “Batman” actor Val Kilmer talks candidly about his slow recovery from treatment for throat cancer. But with his ability to speak hindered, he uses hundreds of hours of home movie footage that he’s shot over decades to tell his full story. In the trailer, he says: “I’m still recovering and it is difficult to talk and to be understood”, and at one point he speaks through a voice box, saying: “But I want to tell my story more than ever.” Val will be released in theaters on July 23, and on Amazon Prime in August.
-MSN
★ There has been perhaps no introduction this “America’s Got Talent” season that stopped the hearts and dropped the jaws of the judging panel like that of Matt Mauser on Tuesday — when the musician and father of 3 shuffled humbly onstage and stoically stated, “On Jan. 26, 2020, I lost my wife in the same helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant. … It’s been a rough year, but here I am.” He then dedicated his version of Phil Collins’s ‘Against All Odds’ to Christina, with his children standing in the wings. It seemed to take everything he had to get through the performance — which he almost did, until he broke into tears during that final “take a look at me now” line, and backed away from the microphone.
-Yahoo
★ Clues are mounting that someone is reviving the hit ABC reality game show “The Mole”, and fans are getting excited. According to a report, the project referred to in casting-calls as “The Insider” may well be a reboot of The Mole — which ran from 2001-2008 in the US. Casting notices for “The Insider” seem to match all the criteria for The Mole perfectly — calling for contestants who can think strategically, memorize information quickly and perform general feats of mental acuity. It asks for 12 people who will compete to win a pot of money, with eliminations leaving one person at the end to take it all. There is also one “insider” among the contestants working to sabotage their efforts, and they will not know who it is.
-PopCulture
★ If his latest Instagram post is to be believed, Hugh Jackman might be getting ready to sharpen his adamantium claws for another return as ‘Wolverine’. The Aussie star, who has played the mutant X-Men hero 10 times, sent Marvel fans into a tizzy when he posted a photo with Marvel boss Kevin Feige to his Instagram Stories, along with an image of Wolverine’s signature blades. Jackman last played Wolverine in 2017’s “Logan”, which he said would mark his final outing as the Marvel hero.
-Canoe

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Nick Kroll, Chiney Ogwumike, Macy Gray & the California Jet Club, guest host Wanda Sykes
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Keegan-Michael Key, Zoey Deutch, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (R)
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Pete Buttigieg, Katja Herbers (R)
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Graham Norton, Zosia Mamet, Brandon Taylor, Kristina Schiano (R)
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Kal Penn, Josh Groban (R)
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Neil deGrasse Tyson (R)
• “The Talk” (CBS): Grant Show, Nischelle Turner, guest co-hosts Bill Bellamy & Bobby Bones
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Kelsey Grammer, Dr. Wendy Bazilian
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Regina Hall, Jimmie Allen, Parson James & JoJo, Sheopatra, guest host Stephen “tWitch” Boss
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Ryan Kaji
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Rachael Ray, Tiki Barber, Sharon Chuter (R)
• “NBA Finals” (ABC, TSN): Game 2. Milwaukee Bucks @ Phoenix Suns
• “The Croc That Ate Jaws” (NGC): Two of the deadliest predators go head-to-head.
• “Keeping Up With the Joneses” (LMN): Premiere. After the death of patriarch Theodore, his second wife assumed control of the family business; now, someone is trying to beat the family at its own game, using blackmail and even murder.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Taylor Swift — The fairy tale mansion featured in her ‘Blank Space’ music video — which has more than 2.8 million views on YouTube — is up for auction with a massive price cut. Initially up for $20 million, the 12-bedroom, 10-bathroom Long Island property is now available for a starting bid of just $7 million. At the time the home was constructed, it was considered the largest in the United States.
• BTS – Their hit ‘Butter’ has churned out its sixth week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. They also released a trailer for ‘Permission to Dance’ on Tuesday. That song, co-written by Ed Sheeran, will be included on the CD single of Butter. LINK: https://youtu.be/iLycuRm1V0Q
• Courtney Love – set aside some time in her ongoing beef with Olivia Rodrigo over the weekend to record a cover of Britney Spears’ 2000 hit “Lucky,” about the restrictions and isolation pop stars can face. In Instagram video, Love breaks into tears, saying “I hate it when this happens to me.”
• Tiffany – says she has the perfect person in mind to play her in a movie. On the new episode of “Behind the Velvet Rope with David Yontef”, she answered the question, saying she’s not sure who should play ‘younger Tiffany’, but for ‘older Tiffany’, “Let’s pick a fabulous redhead, like Julia Roberts, shall we. She is one of my favorites!”
• Whitesnake — has announced the first 2 concerts of its upcoming “farewell” tour. The group is scheduled to perform at next year’s Rock Imperium Festival, June 24-25, 2022 in Cartagena, Spain. The band will also play at Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 23.
• Bruce Springsteen – His daughter, Jessica, will compete at the upcoming summer Olympics. The 29-year-old has made the U.S. equestrian team for Tokyo Aug. 3-7. She will compete with her horse Don Juan van de Donkhoeve, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion owned by Stone Hill Farm, the 300-acre estate in Colts Neck, N.J., operated by her parents.
• Brett Kissel and Our Lady Peace — are among the Canadian acts set to headline a 5-weekend Ontario summer concert series billed as a step toward the return of live music. The Endless Summer Series near Barrie, ON kicks off July 30-Aug. 1 with a series of classic rock tribute bands. Subsequent weekends will feature Kissel, Jess Moskaluke, Tebey, The Trews, OLP, I Mother Earth and more. Strict COVID guidelines will be enforced.
• Blake Shelton – Despite the fact that he joked for months with former “The Voice” judge Adam Levine about having him sing at his wedding, Levine was apparently recording in Miami the day Shelton said “I do” to Gwen Stefani. They tied the knot in a small ceremony attended by 40 friends and family members, and some were said to be surprised that Levine didn’t attend the event at all.
• Tim McGraw — recently fulfilled 2 items on his bucket list. He finally got the chance to see Alabama in concert, and he joined the group’s Jeff Cook, Teddy Gentry and Randy Owen onstage. As the group headlined at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on July 2, McGraw joined them for a rendition of Alabama’s 1983 chart-topper ‘Lady Down on Love’.

SHOOTING THE BULL

HI-Q:
A 2-year-old girl with a jaw-dropping IQ has become the youngest American to join Mensa. Kashe Quest’s parents knew she was bright when at 18 months old and went from uttering her first word to speaking full sentences in just a few days. Before she was 2, Kashe could name every element on the periodic table, identify all 50 US states by their shape and location, and was learning Spanish. A psychologist tested her IQ and recommended her for Mensa. Mensa is a high IQ society open only to people “who score at the 98th percentile or higher. Kashe scored 146. For reference, the average American score is around 100, and that’s for adults! Now, the 2-year-old from Los Angeles is the youngest-ever American to earn membership in the prestigious organization.
(My kid got 90 on his IQ test. I was so proud. That’s his first-ever A-!)
(I scored the same as her on an IQ test I found on Facebook. Weird, though: The first question was “What’s your credit card number?”)
-InspireMore

SQUAT DOGS:
An enterprising New Jersey butcher shop claims to be reinventing the frankfurter with its new line of flat, round hot dogs, which it says can better retain condiments. A spokesperson for Rastelli’s says they set out to improve the hot dog in response to soaring customer deman for pre-cut dogs. The meat merchant says people were slicing their dogs down the middle anyway before grilling to increase surface area, resulting in increased caramelization and flavor, and that gave them idea to come up with a flat patty-style wiener that definitely can’t be served in a traditional hot dog bun. The company also dispensed with the traditional casings, which they believe present a choking hazard for children. They are selling eight 3-oz burger-shaped dogs for $18 online.
(Your Move, Joey Chestnut!)
(I had no idea that those things could be any shape but oblong, like they are found in nature!)
(Great idea, but they’re gonna be difficult to cook at a weenie roast!)
-NYPost

SCIENTISTS SAY:
➢ Spanking children just doesn’t work…and it isn’t good for parents, either. That’s according to a recent study by a corporal punishment expert at University of Texas at Austin. Their analysis of 67 previous studies lead to the conclusion that physical punishment increases child aggression and other behavior problems, including psychological complications later in life. And, perhaps more notably, the study revealed that parents who spank their children showed increasingly violent and erratic behavior over time as well.
➢ Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness never knew the joy of seeing a dog’s excitement when receiving a new toy. Researchers from Elmhurst University in Illinois found that buying your pet a gift triggers greater happiness than buying something for yourself. The researchers asked people to recall a time they spent money on themselves, on their pet, and on someone else, and rank the resulting happiness level each purchase gave them. Next, they gave participants $5 and assigned them to spend it on themselves, their pets or someone else. They were then also asked to rank the resulting happiness they experienced. In both cases, people who spent money on their pets were found to be happier than those who spent money on themselves, or others. (On the other hand, you can always buy bacon and make you, your friend AND your dog happy!)
-NYPost, MentalFloss

FUNNIEST TWEETS OF THE WEEK FROM PARENTS:
⇒ My kids are playing grown-up. From what I can tell, it involves running around yelling “I’m late for work!” and going to the eye-dentist – meghan
⇒ Tonight our 4-year-old ate his dinner in a record time of 4 hours 27 minutes — threetimedaddy
⇒ My toddler clapped while I was eating my second piece of cake and this is the encouragement that’s been missing from my life. — Jessie
⇒ 5: mom, you’re six years old. me: did you just count the wrinkles on my forehead like rings on a tree? 5: look! you just got older again! – mom mom mom mom mom
⇒ My kid addressed my boyfriend as “big sexy beard man” and I felt like I should reprimand him for not being respectful but unfortunately I was laughing too hard – andi zeisler
…AND A FEW FROM PET OWNERS:
⇒ my cat’s buddies with a possum and now i know what its like to be the parent of a teenager who falls in with the wrong crowd – grim value
⇒ took the dog to the vets to find out if she’s going deaf and the vet said no she can hear perfectly she’s just choosing to ignore you – joe
-HuffPost

DID YOU KNOW?
When national football (soccer) teams do well in international competitions, birth rates drop nine months later, according to a study. The authors of the study, by Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, speculate “these results might be explained by individuals’ time allocation choices.” (Oh well…there’s “always next year” for the birth rate…)
-QuiteInteresting

BS CHRONOMETER 07.08.21

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1944 [77] Jeffrey Tambor, San Francisco CA, TV actor (‘Maura Pfefferman’ on “Transparent” 2014-17, “Arrested Development” 2003-06, 2013, 2018)/movie actor (“Hangover” films)

1951 [70] Anjelica Huston, Santa Monica CA, TV actress (“Smash” 2012-13)/movie actress (“Prizzi’s Honor”, “The Addams Family”)

1958 [63] Kevin Bacon, Philadelphia PA, movie actor (“Apollo 13”, “Footloose”)/TV actor (“The Following” 2013-15)/Hollywood Walk of Fame (2003)

1961 [60] Toby Keith, Clinton OK, country singer (‘Red Solo Cup’, ‘I Love This Bar’)/sometime movie actor (“Beer For My Horses”, “Broken Bridges”)

1970 [51] Beck (Hanson) [Bek David Campbell], LA CA, alt-rock singer (‘Loser’, ‘Devils Haircut’)

1977 [44] Milo Ventimiglia, Anaheim CA, TV actor (‘Jack Pearson’ on “This Is Us” since 2016)

1982 [39] Sophia Bush, Pasadena CA, TV actress (“Chicago P.D.” 2014-17, “One Tree Hill” 2003-12)

1985 [36] Jamie Cook, Sheffield UK, indie rock guitarist-songwriter (Arctic Monkeys-‘Do I Wanna Know?’, ‘I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor’)

1998 [23] Jaden Smith, Malibu CA, movie actor (“The Karate Kid”, “The Pursuit of Happyness”)/son of Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith

1998 [23] Maya Hawke, New York City NY, movie actress (“Stranger Things”, “Little Women”)/daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Be a Kid Again Day”, when we’re encouraged to participate in activities we enjoyed as a child and to introduce them to a kid we know. (“OK, Zachary, this is known as ‘playing outdoors’ …”)

• “Ice Cream Sundae Day”, a day to create your own sundae from all your favorite toppings. The first sundae was purportedly created on this date in 1881 by Edward Berner in Two Rivers WI. (FUN FACT: Though there are many supposed sundae origin stories, most of them agree that the sundae’s original spelling was “Sunday”, but it was changed to avoid religious connotation.)

• “National Milk Chocolate with Almonds Day”, celebrating what happens when these two fantastic tastes come together into a mind-bendingly delectable whole. Today, have some brownies, cupcakes, or muffins made with milk chocolate and almonds. Or just eat some almonds covered with milk chocolate. (Not if I get to them first!)

• “Math 2.0 Day”, celebrating math and technology, specifically the intersection between the two. Today, mathematicians, educators, innovators, and policymakers come together to raise awareness about math literacy and education. (Figures…)

• “SCUD (Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama) Day”, to remind people of the benefits of spending more time in the ‘Comic Zone’ and less in the ‘Drama Zone’. Today, step back, relax and laugh, and leave the drama alone. (I particularly enjoy those who claim they hate drama, and feel the need to dramatically complain about it…)

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] Call of the Horizon Day
[Fri] Fashion Day
[Sat] Kitten Day
[Sat} Teddy Bear Picnic Day

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1999 [22] “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” the third book of the series by J. K. Rowling, is first published (exactly one year later, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is published)

2020 [01] “Glee” actress-singer Naya Rivera drowns at age 33 near Santa Clarita, California, while swimming with her 4-year-old son Josey, who was found alone on their rented boat

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1996 [25] Spice Girls release their debut single ‘Wannabe’ in the UK. It shoots to #1, setting Spice-mania (and Girl Power) in motion. The single is released in North America in January 1997, and climbs to the top there as well

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1947 [74] It is reported that a UFO crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico. Although the Air Force explains it was actually a downed weather balloon, the Roswell Incident spurs numerous conspiracy theories about alien activity and government cover-ups

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1977 [44] Sabra Starr finishes the longest-ever recorded belly dance (100 hrs)

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ The town of Waterproof, Louisiana has been flooded numerous times.
✓ A full bladder is about the size of a softball.
✓ Mallard ducks have 360-degree vision.
✓ Kleenex tissues were originally used as filters in gas masks.
✓ Brazil produced a coffee-scented postage stamp in 2001.
✓ Oklahoma declared watermelon a vegetable, then made it their official state vegetable.
-Twitter, RandomFactGenerator

Best of BS . . .
BS FEMALE SUPERHERO PROBLEMS:
• Their costumes were all designed by Victoria’s Secret.
• Having to ‘friend zone’ at least one male superhero a week.
• They can save the universe, and still, they get called ‘girl’.
• Super‘mansplaining’.
• Supervillains telling them to calm down.
• Receiving a text while diverting an asteroid from colliding with earth that says “U up?”.
• Can’t fight crime on Mondays at 8pm because “The Bachelorette” is on.
• Can’t hang out in groups or their super-powers sync up and things get real ugly for the male superheroes.
• Same problem as male superheroes. No pockets.
• No privacy when you want to join the Mile-High Club in your invisible jet.
-Twitter, first published in ‘BS’ in 2018

TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ Taste of Chicago has just begun. (It’s a huge food fest where you can taste soups at Grant Park, sandwiches on Michigan Avenue, and bitter defeat at Wrigley Field…)
➠ Shark Week begins on Sunday. (All I know is Shark Attacks still kill way fewer people than Big Mac attacks…)
➠ Scientists say Neanderthals went extinct long before modern humans arrived. (Wait. If Neanderthals and humans never co-existed, how do you explain “The Situation”?
➠ Harvard administrators are worried too many students are receiving straight-A’s. (So, go ahead and file this under “Problems that will never burden the admins at Arizona State University”.
➠ Fact of the Day: Prostitutes in northern Spain are required to wear reflective vests for safety.  (See kids!?? Protection is IMPORTANT.)

BS WEB GOODIE:
This dog is WAY cooler than I’ll ever be:  https://tinyurl.com/3uvbta6x

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Revenge sounds so mean. I prefer to call it “returning the favor”.

BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s the worst summer job you ever had?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question:  58% of women say it is a turn off if a guy owns THIS. What is it?
Answer:  Ripped jeans

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.