Monday, July 22, 2024 – Edition #7759
Absolutely Full of Bull!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Richard Simmons continues to spread love as fans mourn his passing. A week after his death, the late fitness guru’s team shared a post that Simmons had prepared before he died at age 76 last Saturday. On his X profile, Simmons’ team wrote: “Richard worked very hard on his posts for you”, and explained that he would work on them in advance, preparing a pic with a caption to be posted each weekend, “So we have the post Richard planned to share with you last Sunday. We thought you’d want to see it.” The team then shared Simmons’ planned July 14 post, a photo of him in a NASA spacesuit, in front of a red rock backdrop, with the caption: “Let me fly you to the moon so we can gaze among the stars. Love, Richard”. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/y2rfjr6m
-Deadline
★ “Twisters” is spinning way ahead of forecasts. The sequel earned $80.5 million over the weekend, blowing way north of the industry estimates of $50-55 million prior to release. It’s the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million). Twisters also set a record for the biggest domestic debut for a natural disaster movie, exceeding the $69 million earned by “The Day After Tomorrow” in 2004.
-Variety
★ Clint Eastwood’s longtime partner, Christina Sandera, has died. He paid tribute to the 61-year-old on Friday, writing in a statement that “Christina was a lovely, caring woman.” The 94-year-old Oscar winner concluded: “I will miss her very much.” The couple had been together since 2014.
-PageSix
★ Jenny McCarthy revealed that she stole a sacred item from the Pope during a trip to Italy. McCarthy, who was raised in a devout Catholic family, made the confession on the “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa” podcast. She said: “I stole a cross from the Vatican and gave it to my mother. My mom’s like, ‘You know, this is not okay.’” McCarthy went on to clarify that she didn’t “personally” steal the cross but said it was taken by one of her girlfriends while they were receiving a tour of the Pope’s apartment in Vatican City. Ripa responded by informing McCarthy that “there was a penance due”.
-Fox
★ JoJo Siwa is sharing more details about how she plans to become a mother to triplets through surrogacy. In a video for Cosmopolitan’s “If It Were Me” series, she explains that because she is gay, she needs “to plan a pregnancy much different than a straight person, I actually want to take three eggs, fertilize three eggs, and have three surrogates”. The plan, she said, is that “technically, they’ll all be the same batch, but they would all be born separately…and they can be like triplets, but like, not.” The “Dance Moms” alum said earlier: “I got my three kids’ names picked out — Freddie, Eddie and Teddie.”
-PageSix
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Sebastian Maniscalco, Gillian Jacobs, Big Sean, guest host Lamorne Morris
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Ryan Reynolds, Tony Hale, Jimin
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Keanu Reeves, Charles Wesley Godwin
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Joe Mantegna, Zach Gilford, Laci Mosley
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Jesse Plemons, Diane von Furstenberg, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Mario Duplantier (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Dave Bautista, Ken Jeong
• “The Daily Show” (COM): TBA
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): The Political View with U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal
• “The Talk” (CBS): Whitney Cummings, Jason Oppenheim
• “Live with Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Ryan Reynolds, Tarek El Moussa
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Terry Crews
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff (R)
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): will.i.am, Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt
• “Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter” (CBS): Nischelle Turner looks at his 70-year career, including his final interview, from his home in LA.
• “61st Street” (CW): Season 2 premiere. Officer Logan becomes the subject of a departmental cover-up; Franklin launches a campaign to expose records of police brutality.
• “The Bachelorette” (ABC): Jenn whisks a man away for a date that could lead to soaring connections, then invites a group of suitors to a male dance revue; the men go for a high-speed race around the track.
• “History’s Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman” (HISTORY): Season 2 premiere.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• The Weeknd — After announcing a one-off stadium show in Brazil, he has now dropped a video teasing new music, the final installment of a musical trilogy that started with his 2020 album “After Hours.” With the caption: “There are 3 chapters in this tale,” it shows his red-suited character from After Hours, and the “Old Man” and younger characters from 2022’s Dawn FM.
• Drake and Kendrick Lamar – Their feud has made the big time – “Jeopardy!”. In an episode last week, the $800 clue in the “Diss-Track-Tions” category was: “In May 2024, these 2 competitors went back and forth with tracks like ‘Family Matters’ and ‘Meet the Grahams.’” Competitor Isaac easily answered “Who are Kendrick Lamar and Drake?”
• Bruce Springsteen – is officially a billionaire. According to a “conservative” estimate by Forbes, his net worth is $1.1 billion. In 2021, he sold his music catalog for an estimated $500-$550 million, the biggest transaction ever for a single artist’s body of work.
• Rush – Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are both reissuing their first solo albums. Lifeson’s 1996 release “Victor” and Lee’s 2000 release “My Favorite Headache” will both drop again on Aug. 9. It’ll be the first vinyl edition for Lifeson’s Victor, and will include one side of bonus instrumentals.
• Nirvana – Bassist Krist Novoselic jammed with a Nirvana tribute band onstage. Shortly before FooVana’s gig in Vancouver WA, the group posted a pic of Novoselic, writing: “Get down here to Georgie’s Garage and Grill! Show’s about to start! Oh yeah that’s right… Somebody else is here!!!” Together, they played 3 Nirvana songs: ‘Blew’, ‘Lithium’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2u3k623n
• Luke Combs – Is the subject of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s new exhibit “Luke Combs: The Man I Am”. Among the items on display are: A yellow-and green#77 football jersey from his time at high school in Ashville NC – and playbills from the school’s productions of “Les Miserables”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Fiddler on the Roof”, all of which he was also a part of.
• Jade Eagleson and MacKenzie Porter – are the top-nominated artists for this year’s Canadian Country Music Association Awards, with 6 each. The Reklaws, and Josh Ross received 5 nods each, while High Valley, Owen Riegling and Dallas Smith got 4. Winners will be unveiled Sept. 14 in Edmonton.
• Jelly Roll – performed in Canada this month, his first-ever shows outside the US. He told Yahoo! Canada it was an “incredible experience”, and he is “officially a fan of poutine. Taking that home with me.” Friday, he released the video for his new song from the “Twisters” soundtrack, ‘Dead End Road’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3tmk6m54
SHOOTING THE BULL
ALEXA: NOW WITH MORE “RIZZ”:
If you sometimes feel like Gen Z is speaking a totally different language, a new Alexa update could be just the thing you need. Now, Amazon users can ask Alexa to “talk Gen Z to me”. This prompts the digital assistant to reveal one of 20 phrases using Gen Z’s favorite words. Those include phrases such as “the math isn’t mathing”, which Alexa defines as “something is incorrect or unreasonable, something doesn’t add up or make sense.” Other words in the update include: “Lowkey”, “Ick”, “Slaps”, and Rizz”. Add to those the phrases “Lives rent-free in my head”, and “Hot Girl Summer” and you should be able to “Slay” in your next conversation with a teen or 20-something, without causing any “Sus” whatsoever. A survey showed that 83% of Gen Z feel the older generation has trouble understanding them.
The remainder of Alexa’s new words and phrases:
• It’s giving — the tone something emulates
• Tea — gossip
• Mid — mediocre
• Ate — a showing of admiration for someone consuming success
• Cap — to lie
• Fam — short for family, similar to “bro”
• Lit — something is exciting or fun
• Drip — to be stylish
• Airing — to ignore
• In your ____ era — describing chronic emotions or preferences a person has
• Mother — a female status symbol
(It’s official: Alexa is now cooler than I am!)
(I hope Mr. Bezos is planning regular updates, because Gen Z is coming up with new words about every half-hour!)
-NYPost
GERMS DON’T REST – EVEN WHEN YOU DO:
It would seem that we can now add pillow cases to that list of items that harbor untold numbers of germs and bacteria — you know, like cell phones, dish rags, and fingernails. A media report quotes Dr. Gareth Nye, a program lead for medical science, as saying: “Your pillowcases could be considered dirtier than the toilet.” The good news? The good doctor also feels that since the bacteria on your pillowcase “are very likely to be from you to begin with, therefore (they) aren’t harmful.” That doesn’t mean, however, that you can just let your pillows bathe in your perspiration all summer long. Studies show that we can lose 500-700ml of sweat on an average night – which is absorbed by night clothing or bedding. Dr. Nye points to one study that found a typical pillow has as many as 16 different species of fungus and literally millions of fungus spores. He suggests we wash our sheets and pillowcases at least once per week – perhaps slightly less often if you sleep alone.
(…but keep in mind – if you DON’T wash them more often than that, you’ll CONTINUE to sleep alone!)
(Just looking at this, it’s amazing to me that ANYONE survives college!)
-WalesOnline
NEW GOOD NEWS (GOOD ‘GREEN NEWS’ EDITION…):
➢ NASA has unveiled an experimental aircraft they hope will help achieve a net-zero aviation emissions goal by 2050. In a $725 million partnership agreement, Boeing will construct the full-scale prototype aircraft featuring extra-long, thin wings supported by diagonal struts — a design known as the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept. This new X-plane is anticipated to inspire a new generation of sustainable single-aisle aircraft, the backbone of passenger airlines globally. Scientists say it’s a vital step in addressing climate change. (They’re leaving it to another company to design the doors, I understand…!)
➢ Dubai, already the home of the world’s tallest building, the deepest pool and the highest hotel, now hopes to add the world’s “greenest” highway. Urban design firm URB has released designs for a 64km-long road that would see one of the city’s main traffic belts transformed into a “Green Spine,” complete with autonomous, solar-powered trams and smart traffic management. Above the tram line, a network of green areas, parks and overpasses would increase connectivity and walkability of the city. The highway would also integrate smart technology to manage traffic and optimize energy use. 300-megawatt solar panels embedded in the tracks would power the tram line, plus generate clean energy for 130,000 homes. The green spaces will house one million trees, helping cool the city, and improve air quality.
-GoodNewsNetwork, CNN
WHAT TO DO BEFORE VACATION:
According to psychologist Roger Hall, you should do these 5 things in order to disconnect from work BEFORE you punch out for some much-deserved time off…
☞ Set expectations: Prime yourself and your co-workers for what to expect while you are away. Can you unplug completely? Who will cover your responsibilities? Do they have everything they need so they won’t need to contact you? (Will they even notice I’m gone?)
☞ Mute notifications: This is essential if you truly want to unwind. And if you still won’t be able to resist checking in, take the even more drastic measure of deleting all work apps from your phone. (Fine. But once I’ve escaped work, how am I gonna escape my family?)
☞ Set up an emergency plan: If you’re required you to stay in touch in case of emergencies, have a plan in place with your coworkers. Yes, they should call you if a situation arises, but there should be a clear course of action regarding how to handle these things. (There is. Call me!)
☞ Distract yourself deliciously: It is so important to find absorbing activities that enrich time away from work, enabling you to disengage from the daily grind. Whether it is outdoor activities, trying new foods, or exploring a new environment, get your mind off work. (That’s exactly what I try to do while I’m AT work!)
☞ Forgive yourself: We’re wired to work, so unplugging can be a challenge. So, forgive yourself if you need to do some work on vacation, as it may stave off the anxiety of returning to a full inbox, and a stressful first day back. (You know, when you’re also scheduled to cover for the 3 co-workers who are off next week!)
-NYPost
DID YOU KNOW?
It turns out that “Hello Kitty” isn’t a cat. Japanese company Sanrio has set the record straight about its beloved character, ahead of Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary. On the “Today” show, senior vice president of marketing and brand management Jill Koch said: “She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs in London. She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Minnie, who is also her best friend. She enjoys baking cookies and making new friends.” Need more? Koch also indicated that Hello Kitty “weighs 3 apples and is 5 apples tall.” She also revealed the shocking news that Hello Kitty has a pet cat named ‘Charmmy Kitty’. (This is starting to sound a lot like the ‘Mickey Mouse’, ‘Goofy’, and ‘Pluto’ scenario!)
-People
BS CHRONOMETER 07.22.24
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Hammock Day”, honoring the most relaxing thing you can have in your backyard. It’s the perfect excuse to slow down and chill during the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ (…and keep your “banana hammock” jokes to yourself!).
• “Summer Leisure Day”, for an idea of how to observe it, see “Hammock Day”. (Or, why not spend your leisurely day arguing with someone about the proper pronunciation of ‘leisure’?)
• “BLT Sandwich Day”. The bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with mayonnaise, often served as a triple-decker on toast, is a fav in many countries. While toast, bacon and lettuce have been enjoyed at tables since Roman times, the BLT (also including a slice of turkey, so actually a “Club Sandwich”) first appeared in a US cookbook in 1903.
• “Ratcatcher’s Day”, observed on the anniversary of the fabled ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin’ (Germany) piping the town’s rats into the Weser River in 1376.
• “Spooner’s Day”, honoring the 1844 birth of William Archibald Spooner in London, who accidentally invented ‘spoonerisms’ – slips of the tongue like ‘queer old dean’ instead of ‘dear old queen’ or ‘swell foop’ for ‘fell swoop’. (Now you’re just pit-nicking…)
• “Lion’s Share Day”. A “lion’s share” is an idiom meaning “the largest part of something divided amongst others.” The expression comes from an Aesop’s fable, where a lion asks animals to help him hunt, and afterwards tells them why he should get to keep all parts of the spoils.
• “Pi Approximation Day”. Today’s date, written in the date/month format, is 22/7. That’s an approximate value for pi. Don’t confuse today with Pi Day, observed on March 14th. (Any chance a nerd came up with this?)
• “Mango Day”, there’s an international mango festival that has been held in Delhi, India annually since 1987. Some Fun facts about mangos:
-20 million tons of mangos are grown annually.
-They are related to cashews and pistachios.
-A mango provides 100% of your daily vitamin C requirement.
-In India, a basket of mangos is considered a gesture of friendship.
-Mango trees can grow as tall as 100 feet!
-Most of the mangos sold in the US come from Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, and Haiti.
-There are also mango festivals held in Canada, Jamaica, the Philippines, and the USA.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Tues] Hot Enough For Ya Day
[Tues] Vanilla Ice Cream Day
[Wed] Cousins Day
[Thurs] Chili Dog Day
This Week is…Zoo Keepers Week
This Month is…Horseradish Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1940 [84] George Clinton, Kannapolis NC, funk singer (Parliament/Funkadelic-‘Give Up the Funk [Tear the Roof off the Sucker’])
1944 [80] Rick Davies, Wiltshire England, rock singer-keyboardist (Supertramp-Goodbye Stranger’, ‘Bloody Well Right’)
1946 [78] Danny Glover, San Francisco CA, movie actor (“Lethal Weapon” films, “The Color Purple”)
1947 [77] Albert Brooks (Einstein), Beverly Hills CA, comedian/movie actor (“Finding Nemo”, “Broadcast News”) COMING UP… “Ella McCay”
1947 [77] Don Henley, Linden TX, classic rock singer-drummer (‘The Boys of Summer’, Eagles-‘Hotel California’)
1955 [69] Willem Dafoe, Appleton WI, movie actor (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”, ‘Green Goblin’ in “Spider-Man” films) COMING UP…”Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”, 2024
1961 [63] Keith Sweat, Harlem NY, R&B-new jack swing singer (‘I’ll Give All My Love to You’, ‘Twisted’)
1964 [60] John Leguizamo, Bogota Colombia, movie actor (“Moulin Rouge!”, “Spawn”)/TV actor (“ER” 2005-06) COMING UP…”Tin Soldier”, 2024
1964 [60] David Spade, Birmingham MI, movie actor (“Joe Dirt”, “Grown Ups”)/TV actor (Saturday Night Live” 1990-95) COMING UP…”Outcome”
1989 [35] Keegan Allen, Gold Hill OR, TV actor (‘Toby Cavanaugh’ on “Pretty Little Liars” 2010-17)
1992 [32] Selena Gomez, Grand Prairie TX, pop singer (‘Hands to Myself’, ‘The Heart Wants What It Wants’)/movie actress (“Spring Breakers”, “The Muppets”)/TV actress (“Wizards of Waverly Place” 2007-12)
2013 [11] Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Lewis), London England, British royal (First son of Prince William and Princess Catherine/second in line to the throne, following his father
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2019 [05] “Avengers: Endgame” becomes the world’s highest-grossing film at $2.8 billion, overtaking “Avatar.” (Not so fast…a Chinese re-release saw Avatar retake the top spot in March, 2021)
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1999 [25] Woodstock ‘99 music festival begins at Griffiss Park, Rome NY (till the 25th), with performers including Metallica, Creed, Kid Rock, Dave Matthews and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Attended by 400,000, it would end due to violence.
2021 [03] Megan Thee Stallion is one of 3 cover models on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, along with Naomi Osaka and Leyna Bloom.
2023 [01] A Taylor Swift concert in Seattle shakes the ground so hard it registers equivalent to magnitude 2.3 earthquake (The next night – same thing).
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2013 [11] A study reveals that dolphins have unique names for one another, much like humans (…except they’re all called ‘Ack Ack Ack Ack’!!).
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2017 [07] South African golfer Branden Grace records the lowest round for a men’s major championship, shooting a 62 in the 3rd round at British Open, Royal Birkdale, England (since equalled 4 times, never beaten).
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ In poker, a card combination of a 9 and a 5 is called a “DollyParton”.
✓ Statistically, once you file something, there’s a 98% chance you’ll never look at it again.
✓ Superglue will not stick to Teflon.
✓ Scientists say the higher your IQ, the more you dream.
✓ Some English words exist only in plural form, such as glasses, binoculars, scissors, tongs and pants.
✓ Ironically, the most commonly misused word in the English language is “ironic”.
-FactSlides, BathroomReadersInstitute
Best of BS . . .
BS SIGNS IT’S BEEN A HOT SUMMER:
• Hot dog vendors dabbing sweat from forehead with open buns.
• Arsonists taking week off to set fires at seashore.
• Chefs placing cool salmon fillets under their arms.
• Only convertibles being used for drive-by shootings.
• Drivers spraying themselves with ‘Pam’ to keep from sticking to car seats.
• Kids using asphalt instead of ‘Play-doh’.
• Before telling you the temp, your thermometer says, “My friend, you better sit down.”
• Heatstroke making you so delirious you find watching golf exciting.
-First published in BS in 1998
TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ San Diego Comic Con begins on Thursday. (Once at Comic Con, I witnessed people in homemade Darth Vader outfits argue with people in store-bought Darth Vader outfits over whose was better. It was one of those fights where it was hard to call anyone a “winner…”)
➠ Hulk Hogan ripped off his shirt during the Republican National Convention. (It has gone down in history as the first time someone tore their clothes off on purpose in front of Marjorie Taylor Greene!)
➠ An Ohio man made up a story about being robbed to avoid telling his wife he lost their wedding ring. (This is a situation where even if he is found innocent, he’ll STILL get life in prison!)
➠ A recent study found that one of every 3 people in a current relationship is cheating. (Great. Now, I have to figure out if it’s my wife or my girlfriend!)
➠ Fact of the Day: There’s a law in China that REQUIRES adult children to visit their elderly parents. (Here, on the other hand, we don’t need a law like that. We have Thanksgiving!)
BS WEB GOODIE:
Every Monday: https://tinyurl.com/4bpjdckt
BS RANDOM JOKE:
Courage is knowing it might hurt – and doing it anyway. Stupidity is the same. And that’s why life is hard.
BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• What is the name of the boy band formed by Simon Cowell On “The X Factor” in 2010?
a) ‘NSYNC
b) One Republic
c) One Direction [CORRECT]
d) Guns N’ Roses
• What singer is known as the “Queen of Pop”?
a) Cyndi Lauper
b) Aretha Franklin
c) Madonna [CORRECT]
d) Freddie Mercury
• What is rapper Eminem’s real name?
a) Curtis Jackson III
b) Marshall Mathers [CORRECT]
c) Calvin Broadus Jr.
d) Slim Shady
• What Is The Name Of Beyoncé’s Alter Ego?
a) Sasha Fierce [CORRECT]
b) Kid Destiny
c) Tyler the Creator
d) Ziggy Stardust
-EverythingTrivia
BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s something that you’re still looking forward to this summer?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Two-thirds of us have had dreams about THIS. What is it?
Answer: Falling
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The work you do when you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.
