Thursday, July 4, 2024 – Edition: #7747
Can You Believe This Sheet?
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ The reality television community is mourning the loss of a budding star. KeKe Jabbar, who appeared in “Love and Marriage: Huntsville”, has died at age 42. Social media persolality Marcella Speaks read a statement from the family saying: “She passed away peacefully at home surrounded by love.” Jabbar’s cousin, LaTisha Scott, who has starred in Love and Marriage since 2019, shared a statement to her Instagram, adding “This is hard for our family!!” No cause of death has been given. Jabbar, who joined the show in 2023, had been inactive on social media since May.
-E!
★ “Wicked,” the film adaptation of the hit Broadway show, will now land in theaters on Nov. 22 – 5 days ahead of schedule. It was scheduled to open on Nov. 27, the same day as Disney’s “Moana 2.” But with the new release date, Wicked will avoid a box office battle royale against another movie musical that appeals to a similarly female demographic. Plus, Wicked will get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday. This is the second date shift for “Wicked: Part One,” which was initially set for release on Christmas Day. But Universal moved it to Thanksgiving to dodge releases like Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”
-Variety
★ BFFs Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have found their next collab. The “Good Will Hunting” and “AIR” team will next star in “RIP,” a Netflix thriller from writer and director Joe Carnahan (“Narc,” “Smokin’ Aces”). The film will be produced by Artists Equity — the artist-led studio founded by Affleck and Damon. Plot details and release date haven’t been revealed.
-Variety
★ Shonda Rimes says “Bridgerton” is just getting started. After Netflix announced that all 3 seasons of the Regency-era romance appear on its most recent Most Popular English-language Series List, the exec-producer said she’s “grateful for the incredible response Bridgerton has received from fans all around the globe”, and “We look forward to bringing more of this beloved universe to screens for years to come.” Season 3 of the show just entered the list at #10, joining Season 1, which is at #4, and Season 2 at #9.
-Deadline
★ Cate Blanchett will be honored at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival with a Tribute Award, and will participate in an “In Conversation With” event. The Oscar winner will receive the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award on Sept. 8. Blanchett most recently starred in Canadian director Guy Maddin’s “Rumors”, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and is expected to have its North American debut at TIFF in September.
-HollywoodReporter
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Magic Johnson, Jo Koy, Doechii with JT (R)
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Will Ferrell, Meghan Trainor (R)
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Alicia Keys, Stephen Merchant, Laura Benanti (R)
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Colton Dunn, Jess McKenna, Ana Gasteyer (R)
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Will Forte, Ben Platt, Jon Theodore (R)
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Charlamagne Tha God (R)
• “The Talk” (CBS): Jerrod Carmichael, Tabitha Brown (R)
• “Live with Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Caroline Rhea, Five for Fighting
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Lester Holt; Lil Dicky (R)
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Honoring New York’s bravest with firefighter Darren Grant. (R)
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Kylie Minogue (R)
• “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” (NBC): Celebrating America’s birthday live from the Hudson River in New York. Performers include Lainey Wilson, Luis Fonsi, and more.
• “A Capitol Fourth 2024” (PBS): The 44th annual concert celebrating America’s 248th birthday features tributes to America’s military and Team USA, Motown’s 65th anniversary and the 100th anniversary of “Rhapsody in Blue.” Performers include Smokey Robinson, Sheila E, and Fantasia.
• “2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest” (ESPN2): The annual Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• BTS — Jimin and Jung Kook will return to the spotlight in the Disney+ travel reality show “Are You Sure?!”, premiering August 8. It follows the 2 youngest members of BTS as they spend time unwinding together in New York state, Korea’s Jeju Island and Sapporo, Japan. The 8-part show will see them eat, shop, cook, camp, canoe and road trip together, before embarking on their military service.
• Lily Allen — has launched an OnlyFans account…dedicated to her feet. She set up the account, which foot fans can subscribe to for £8 per month, days after joking that she could “make a lot of money selling foot content”. In her launch announcement, she joked: “What is this going to do to my algorithm?”
• Noah Kahan – His 2022 breakthrough hit ‘Stick Season’ has now been certified 4 times platinum and passed one billion streams on Spotify. Most recently, he is heard guesting on Kelsea Ballerini’s new single ‘Cowboys Cry Too’.
• Heart — Ann Wilson is battling cancer, and the band has postponed its 2024 tour. She posted: “I recently underwent an operation to remove something that, as it turns out, was cancerous…I’m feeling great but my doctors are now advising me to undergo…preventative chemotherapy.” She plans to “take the rest of the year away from the stage in order to fully recover.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/573ats4v
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Flea is among the stars guesting in the new revival of the beloved Nickelodeon kids’ show “Yo Gabba Gabbaland”, premiering Aug. 9 on Apple TV+. Also appearing are: Reggie Watts, Sam Richardson, Gillian Jacobs, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Chelsea Peretti, Lauren Lapkus, and Diplo. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/5ypuub67
• Flav Flav — After going viral in June when he ordered every item on the Red Lobster menu in an attempt to help the seafood chain, the rapper has teamed up with the company on a signature meal. “Flavor Flav’s Faves” features Maine Lobster Tail, Snow Crab Legs, Garlic Shrimp Scampi and Bacon Mac & Cheese, plus a side. In the official news release, Flav said: “This signature meal is hype, boy!”
• Melissa Etheridge – spoke to People about her decision to use late singer David Crosby as a sperm donor. Etheridge, whose docuseries “Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken” premieres July 9 on Paramount+, said that Crosby, who is the biological father of her daughter Bailey and late son Beckett, was the “perfect” choice, and “We’re still finding kids from David Crosby out in the world.”
• Post Malone – Not only does he turn 29 today, he owns 2 of the top 3 singles on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. His new Blake Shelton collab ‘Pour Me a Drink’ has debuted at #3, while ‘I Had Some Help’, featuring Morgan Wallen is at the top spot for a 7th week.
• Luke Bryan – still isn’t sure if he’s returning to “American Idol” in 2025. He told Billboard: “Disney has been really tight-lipped” about its plans for next season. While most fans have assumed that Lionel Richie and Bryan will maintain their roles when Season 23 kicks off, Bryan thinks the company is still deciding what they want to do, following Katy Perry’s departure.
• Jelly Roll – continues to be a force for good. During a show in Nashville, he spotted a young woman holding up a sign that read “Please pay my tuition.” He responded from the stage: “We’re gonna talk about what college you go to, what your GPA is, and if all of that checks out, we will help you get through school.” ABC reports that the girl says she’s “in complete shock” that he came through for her.
SHOOTING THE BULL
FINE WITH DINING EARLY:
It’s the new dining trend that your grandparents would love: According to those who know, residents who patronize New York’s famous restaurant scene are booking their tables, on average, at least an hour earlier than they did in 2019, before the pandemic. And, horror upon horrors, reservations for “as early as 5:30 to 6pm” are “a hot time”, according to Michael Lomonaco, the founding chef of Porter House Bar & Grill. Why so early, when before, it was nothing unusual to sit down with your dinner companions at 8 or 9 o’clock? It seems that when New Yorkers finally returned to full-capacity dining, they started and finished earlier due to work-from-home. And others moved out of the city, so they have a longer commute home to take into consideration. And “happy hour” has been affected too: Where you once could take advantage of deals on appetizers from 5-7pm, they are now offered from 4-6pm, for example.
(My grandparents eat so early, they have lunch at 10:30, dinner at 3, and breakfast the night before!)
(As far as I’m concerned, the earlier I eat, the better. Also, the later I eat, the better!)
-NYPost
TECH TALK:
❑ A British startup may have just put an end to one of the big drawbacks of driving an electric car — waiting for the battery to charge. Nybolt has developed a new 35kWh lithium-ion battery that was charged from 10% to 80% in just 4½ minutes in a live demonstration last week. Compare that to the 20 minutes or so it currently takes electric cars, using a fast charger. That’s also comparable to the 2 minutes it takes to fill up the average gasoline-powered car. The company says one key to its new batteries’ ability to be charged so quickly is a design that generates less heat. It also makes them safer, because overheating can cause a lithium-ion battery to catch fire and explode. (…the OTHER big drawback of driving an electric car!)
❑ Chinese researchers have come up with a robot that is controlled by human brain cells in what’s being called a breakthrough in biocomputation. Simply put, the technological advancement was described by the university as being a “brain on a chip.” When paired with an electrode on a computer chip, it is able to encode and decode to have the robot complete a number of tasks. In addition to driving the robot, the de facto brain implant can help it avoid obstacles, track targets, and use its arm to grasp things. This sounds a little creepy, but The South China Morning Post reported that it could lead to “the development of hybrid human-robot intelligence.” (Finally! Something to help me find the remote control!)
-CNN, NYPost
COMING CLEAN ON HOUSECLEANING:
A new survey has revealed a surprisingly thing that is likely to turn-on your partner: housecleaning. The poll of 2,000 adults found that 69% agree that the simple act of seeing their partner clean can ‘rev up their engine’, so to speak. The survey also found that both Gen Z and millennials would rather receive the gift of a clean house than an expensive purchased present. And twice as many women find the smell of a clean home appealing than those who prefer the smell of flowers. And going back to the most important part of the poll, 67% of people even said a clean, fresh-smelling home would make them more likely to “get fresh” with a partner.
(…and a subsequent survey found that 99% of women just SAID that, so their guy would finally start doing some housecleaning!)
(I know! Because what turns on a woman more than a stinky, grouchy man with holey socks and trackpants, wandering around the place, sweating and swearing and spilling the vacuum cleaner receptacle all over the place?)
-SWNS
IT’S GONE, GIRL:
A Reddit user recently asked: “What disappeared silently and nobody noticed?” And people were happy to jump on the nostalgia train. Here are some of the things they had to say…
⇒ “Those shoes with the little wheels in them.”
⇒ “Pay phones.” (Well, duh!)
⇒ “Do ringtones even still exist? I just realized that whenever my phone rings, it buzzes silently.”
⇒ “The prizes in cereal boxes.”
⇒ “3D TVs and to a lesser extent, 3D in cinemas. For a while, so many movies in the cinema had a 3D option.”
⇒ “AOL messenger (and ICQ).” (OK, Boomer!)
⇒ “So much in games: cheat codes, unlockable cosmetics, and downloadable content that isn’t just a veiled micro-transaction.”
⇒ “Lifetime licenses — everything is a subscription now.”
⇒ “Does anyone remember the coin-operated horses outside of grocery stores? I suddenly realized they’re nowhere to be found now.” (Maybe because no one has coins anymore?)
⇒ “Voiceovers in movie trailers. For some reason, I can’t think of when exactly they died out. I just remember that they were a thing, and then they weren’t.” (In a world…where…all the voiceover guys have gone missing…)
-BuzzFeed
DID YOU KNOW?
Strawberries and cream is the signature dish of Wimbledon, but no one is exactly sure how that came to be. Spectators at the tennis tournament, which began this week, will aim to beat last year’s more than 50 tons of strawberries and nearly 15,000 liters of cream consumed over 2 weeks. And the stuff comes at a price that people “love”, too. Strawberries and cream is England’s version of Costco’s hot dog-and-a-soda combo. It has remained at £2.50 (US$3.17) since 2010. (How much would you expect to pay for something like that at the Super Bowl?)
-MorningBrew
BS CHRONOMETER 07.04.24
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “U.S. Independence Day”, also known as the Fourth of July, it takes place on the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, and celebrates the United States and its independence from Great Britain. It is a patriotic holiday extolling themes such as freedom and liberty. (And road trips, fireworks, mattress sales and competitive eating contests!)
• “Barbecue Day”. Almost everyone loves the taste of freshly grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and steak! (So, gather up the gang and celebrate the time-honored tradition of singeing your eyebrows and arm hair…)
• “Country Music Day”, celebrating the roots music movement that began in America with the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and first-ever commercial country record, Fiddlin’ John Carson’s ‘Little Log Cabin in the Lane’, in 1923. Country is actually a mishmash of several other styles, including folk, Celtic, blues, gospel, hokum, and old-time music. (***See “BS Web Goodie”, below***)
• “Alice in Wonderland Day”, commemorating Lewis Carroll’s first telling of the famous children’s story to his young inspiration, Alice Liddell. It is the day on which Carroll sent his child friend, Alice, down a rabbit hole in his far-fetched tale, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”.
• “Sidewalk Egg Frying Day”. it’s July, the middle of summer. It’s hotter than blazes. Why, it’s so hot that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Here’s your chance to go ahead and prove it! (What if I wanted it poached?)
• “Invisible Day”. If you could be invisible for just one day, what would you do?
• “Caesar Salad Day”. It’s not named after Julius Caesar. It’s actually named after the chef who created it – Caesar Cardini. He first concocted it at Caesar’s Place Restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Bikini Day
[Fri] Workaholics Day
[Sat] Kissing Day
[Sun] Tell the Truth Day
This Week is…Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness Week
This Month is…Independent Retailer Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1943 [81] (Gerald) Geraldo Rivera, New York NY, TV news personality (“Geraldo” 1987-98, “20/20”, “The Five” 2022-23)
1952 [72] John Waite, Lancaster England, rock-pop singer-guitarist (‘Missing You’, The Babys-‘Every Time I Think of You’, Bad English-‘When I See You Smile’)
1958 [66] Kirk Pengilly, Sydney Australia, rock guitarist-saxophonist (INXS-‘Need You Tonight’, Devil Inside’)
1961 [63] Andrew Zimmern, New York City NY, restauranteur, celeb chef (co-host of “Bizarre Foods” 2006-18)
1971 [53] Al Madrigal, San Francisco CA, TV actor (“About a Boy” 2014)/comedian (correspondent on “The Daily Show” 2011-16)
1981 [43] Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, New York NY, reality TV star (“Jersey Shore” 2009-12, “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” since 2018)
1983 [41] Melanie Fiona (Hallim), Toronto ON, R&B singer (w/Cee Lo Green-‘Fool for You’, ‘It Kills Me’)
1995 [29] Post Malone (Austin Post), Syracuse NY, rapper (w/Morgan Wallen-‘I Had Some Help’, ‘Circles’)
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1999 [25] Victoria Adams, AKA ‘Posh Spice’ of The Spice Girls, marries soccer star David Beckham
2015 [09] Ashton Kutcher marries his “That 70s Show” co-star Mila Kunis in Los Angeles
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1982 [42] Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne marries his manager, Sharon Arden
1992 [32] The king of all booty songs, Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Baby Got Back’, hits #1 in America
2015 [09] Ariana Grande touches off a social media firestorm when she is caught on camera licking some donuts on a display counter at Wolfee Donuts in Lake Elsinore, California
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1996 [28] ‘Hotmail’, the free internet email service, makes its debut, one of the first webmail services. The name was chosen because it contains the letters ‘HTML’, the language used to create web pages. Microsoft acquired Hotmail in 1997, and it was replaced by Outlook.com in 2012
2009 [15] The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public in NYC’s harbor after 8 years of closure due to security concerns following the 9/11 attacks
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2021 [03] Competitive eater Joey Chestnut wins his 14th championship at the annual ‘Nathan’s 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest’ at NYC’s Coney Island, by eating a record 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes (He won his 16th championship last year, but is banned from competing in 2024, due to a competing sponsorship.)
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ The filling in Kit Kats is made from damaged Kit Kats.
✓ The use of the abbreviation “OMG” can be traced back to 1917.
✓ The Square Dance is the official state dance of 24 US states.
✓ Only ¼ of the Sahara Desert is sandy.
✓ The Starbucks store located at CIA headquarters doesn’t put names on the cups.
✓ The majority of your brain is fat.
-MentalFloss, BestLife
Best of BS . . .
BS BAD STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
• Couldn’t we just do this via email?
• Does anyone know how to get past this level on Roblox? I’m stuck!
• Do I need a lawyer?
• You mean everyone EXCEPT me, right?
• Does anyone have some toenail clippers I could borrow?
• What exactly do you mean by “crippling layoffs?”
• Don’t you feel like you’re overpaying us?
• Can you wake me when this is over?
• Can you guys smell that?
• Any question asked right as the meeting is ending.
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2018
TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ Today is the Fourth of July. (It’s a great day to sit back and watch things explode. But thanks to the election campaign, we’ve been doing that for months…)
➠ Psychologists examined internet trolls, and found that the majority of them are narcissistic, psychopathic and/or sadistic. (Also: CEO’s of Tesla and/or SpaceX…)
➠ A chef on the Internet has created a deep-fried Big Mac. (. . . which is good. Because the main problem with a normal Big Mac is that it lacks taste and is WAY too healthy…!)
➠ This week marks the 39th anniversary of the release of “Back to the Future”. (Wow, it seems like only yesterday that it aired 3 times in a row on TBS. Wait – it WAS yesterday!)
➠ Research shows plants can do a form of arithmetic. (Which unfortunately only adds more credence to my long-standing theory that my teenage son is dumber than the fern in our living room…)
BS WEB GOODIES:
• Copy-dog: https://tinyurl.com/2s4zrfhb
• It’s “Country Music Day”. Why beat your brains out trying to write a country hit? You can instantly create clever lyrics for a new country song with the online ‘Country Song Lyrics Generator’ …
https://www.song-lyrics-generator.org.uk/country/
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I’m not stubborn, I’m just reluctant to change.
BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ In 40 years, what do you think people will be nostalgic for?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
During a one-week vacation, we spend an average of 4½ hours doing THIS. What is it?
Answer: Napping
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The secret to getting ahead is getting started.
