Friday, June 6, 2002        Edition: #2558
Get Your Sheet Here, Hot ‘N Fresh!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
THIS WEEKEND “American Idol” winner Reuben Studdard returns home to Birmingham AL for the first time since winning the competition, in part to shoot a video for his single “Flying Without Wings” . . . Meantime “Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken’s CD single, a medley of “This Is the Night” & “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, has topped the Amazon.com sales chart since shortly after the show ended – and it won’t even be released for another week! . . . SATURDAY movie star Edward Burns & model-turned-yoga guru Christy Turlington will wed in San Francisco and U2’s Bono will walk her down the aisle . . . SUNDAY “X2″ star Hugh Jackman emcees the 57th annual “Tony Awards” live from NYC’s Radio City Music Hall on CBS-TV, as “Hairspray” dominates nominations with 13, including ‘Best Musical’ . . . Ozzy Osbourne has bought wife Sharon a dream beach house in Malibu CA as a reward for beating colon cancer and promised to keep it’s exact location secret . . . Word has it Eminem & ex-wife Kim have once again split up after recently patching things up and moving back in together . . . Filming on “Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban” in the Scottish highlands is plagued with problems – constant rain and swarms of gnats have reportedly left the cast and crew damp and itchy (not to mention PO-ed) . . . . And after Justin Timberlake revealed to “Heat” magazine that he changes his underwear 6 times a day & ALWAYS wears CK boxers, Calvin Klein fired off 50 freebie pairs with his compliments (wow, even Justin gets contra!).

TODAY’S MOVIE OPENING:
The original street-racing thriller “The Fast & the Furious” made $145 million in the summer of 2001 so there’s high expectations for TODAY’s sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious“ – even though it doesn’t star Vin Diesel (who wanted 2 much money). Paul Walker returns as an undercover cop on the run in Miami, where he infiltrates the street-racing circuit in order to bust the city’s underworld kingpin. Most of the film’s $100-million budget was used on car races, chases, and crashes.

AND THE GOLDEN BUCKET OF POPCORN GOES TO:
TOMORROW the 12th annual “MTV Movie Awards” (handed out last Saturday) air on MuchMusic. Presenters (including Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L Jackson, Hugh Jackman & Beyonce Knowles) all got goodie bags worth over $11,000, containing satellite radios, CD players, canine couture jewelry, the latest Apple iPod, a mobile phone & a pair of diamond earrings. Not bad for a few minutes work, eh? Performances include 50 Cent, Pink & Russian girl duo Tatu. Among the winners –
• Best Movie/Best Action Sequence – “The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers”
• Best Male Performance/Breakthrough Male Performance – Eminem (“8-Mile”)
• Best Female Performance – Kirsten Dunst (“Spider-Man”)
• Breakthrough Female Performance – Jennifer Garner (“Daredevil”)
• Transatlantic Breakthrough – Colin Farrell (“Phone Booth”)
• Best Comedic Performance – Mike Myers (“Austin Powers in Goldmember”)
• Favorite Villain – Daveigh Chase (“The Ring”)
• Best Fight – Yoda vs Christopher Lee (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones”)
• Best On-Screen Team – Elijah Wood, Sean Astin & Gollum (“The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers”)
• Best Virtual Performance: “Gollum” (“The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers”)
• Best Kiss – Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst (“Spider-Man”)

SUPER SUDS:
It’s like a stake to the heart of any Canadian beer aficionado but a Yankee brewer, Boston Beer Company, has brewed up what is likely the world’s strongest beer. ‘Samuel Adams Utopias’ has an alcohol content of – whoa! – 25%. The limited-edition brew is priced at a whopping $100 a bottle. The brewer says it’s meant to be served in small shots like cognac or brandy. (Instead of a ‘kegger’ party, you throw a ‘thimble’.)

CRUEL CRUEL SUMMER:
Are we in repeat mode this summer in the east? TODAY is the 187th anniversary of ‘the year without a summer’. Beginning on June 6, 1816 eight weeks of freezing temperatures and snowstorms left the eastern half of North America frigid and bewildered.

PLASTIC FANTASTIC:
According to a new poll by the American Academy of Facial & Plastic Reconstructive Surgeons, the number of men seeking cosmetic surgery is increasing at a faster rate than women. For instance, male use of Botox injections was up 88% LAST YEAR while female use fell by 8%. Male nose jobs were up 47% while female figures rose just 5%. But what’s the #1 cosmetic procedure guys are having done? Liposuction. (Also know as ‘Beergutectomy’.)

WHY ARE YOU HOLDING YOUR WRIST TO YOUR EAR?
Microsoft is set to market ‘smart watches’ THIS FALL that can receive news, weather, sports scores & instant messages. The hi-tech wristwatches will receive info from a new wireless service called ‘MSN Direct’ that’s transmitted via FM radio signal. The service will cost $9.95 per month. (Correct time not included.)

SAMMY PROMO:
LAST NIGHT the Fort Myers Miracle, Minnesota’s Class A affiliate in the Florida State League, handed out free pieces of cork to the first 505 fans through the gate. 505 is the career home run total of Chicago Cubs’ infamous bat corker Sammy Sosa. The team also offered free admission to anyone with the words ‘Sammy’, ‘Sosa’ or ‘Corky’ in their name. (Seeing as Sammy’s other 76 bats examined by MLB had NO cork, doesn’t it seem likely he was just making a desperate attempt to turn around a slump? Why doesn’t he just tell the truth?)

STERILE WATERS:
According to scientists in Washington state, women taking birth-control pills may be drastically reducing the fertility of male rainbow trout and other fish. Their research indicates that synthetic estrogen, a common ingredient in oral contraceptives, is showing up in rivers, lakes and other waterways – after being pumped into the water from sewage-treatment plants. (Wow, now you can have safe sex while swimming!)

WHAT KIND OF TREE WOULD YOU BE?
A UK woman in her 60s has volunteered to be the first person to have her DNA implanted in a tree as a ‘living gravestone’ when she dies. The idea was hatched by 2 students at the Royal College of Art in London. The ‘humanized’ tree wouldn’t look any different but would carry the ‘biological essence’ of its human donor. The artists intend to use either an oak or an apple tree. (Here, have a bite of grandma.)

BS SHOCKING FACTS:
• According to retired Yale professor Robert K Adair, author of “The Physics of Baseball”, using a corked bat is highly overrated. In fact, because it’s slightly lighter, it hits the ball LESS far.
• According to environmentalist group Sierra Club, the average fuel efficiency of Ford Motor Co vehicles is worse now – on its 100th birthday – than back when it was making the Model T. The Model T got 25 miles per gallon while Ford’s average vehicle now only gets 22.6 mpg.

THE BULL SHEET 06.06.2K3

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1954 [49] Harvey Fierstein, Brooklyn NY, playwright/Broadway actor (2003 Tony Award nomination as housewife ‘Edna Turnblad’ in “Hairspray”)/movie actor (“Death to Smoochy”, “Mrs Doubtfire”)

1973 [30] Lisa Brokop, Surrey BC, country singer (“I’d Like to See You Try”, “Undeniable”)

1974 [29] Uncle Kracker (Matt Shafer), Mount Clemens MI, pop singer (f/Dobie Gray-“Drift Away”, “Follow Me”)

SATURDAY’S BIRTHDAYS . . .
1929 [74] John Turner, Richmond ENG, 17th Canadian PM (for 80 days June-September 1984)

1940 [63] Tom Jones, Pontypridd WALES, oldies singer (“It’s Not Unusual”)/underwear collector

1946 [57] Jenny Jones (Janina Stronski), Bethlehem PALESTINE [grew up London ON], TV talk show host (“Jenny Jones” 1991-2003)

1952 [51] Liam Neeson, Ballymena N IRE, film actor (“Gangs of New York”“, “Star Wars: Episodes I & II”, “Schindler’s List”)

1958 [45] Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson), Minneapolis MN, 5′-2″ has-been pop/rock singer (“Purple Rain”, “When Doves Cry”)

1981 [22] Anna Kournikova, Moscow RUS, pro tennis player (one of biggest money-makers even though she rarely wins) who has a thing about hockey players (may or may not have ‘secretly’ wed NHL star Sergei Federov but definitely dated him & Pavel Bure)  FACTOID: Her nickname is ‘Murzik’, Russian for ‘my little pet’.  QUOTE: “I’m beautiful, famous and gorgeous. I’m like a menu at an expensive restaurant – you can look at me, but you can’t afford me.”

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
TODAY is “Couple Appreciation Day”. Which celebrity couple is cutest – Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston? Tim McGraw & Faith Hill? Calista Flockhart & Harrison Ford? Freddie Prinze Jr & Sarah Michelle Gellar? Pam Anderson?

TOMORROW is “Chocolate Ice Cream Day”, celebrating one of the most popular flavors, but not THE most popular flavor. That honor still goes to vanilla, favorite of 29% of us. Chocolate is #2 at 8.9%.

SUNDAY is “Name Your Poison Day”, the origin of which remains a mystery, but we’ll drink to that!

THIS WEEKEND is “Take a Kid Fishing Weekend”, aka ‘Dad, Will You Put the Ooey Gooey Worm on the Hook? Weekend’.

THIS WEEK is “Headache Awareness Week”. Studies show 93% of us suffer from headaches at one time or another. Ancient headache remedies have included draping reptile skins over the head, wearing the head of a dead vulture around the neck, rubbing the forehead with a live toad, and drinking tonics made of cow manure, powdered flies and beaver sex organs.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1998 [05] “The Boy is Mine” by Brandy & Monica hits #1 on “Billboard’s” pop chart & stays 13 weeks

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1844 [159] 1st ‘YMCA’ founded by George Williams in London ENG (“It’s fun to play at the …”)

1882 [121] 1st ‘electric iron’ (later that day, 1st white shirt with a big brown splotch on it)

1933 [70] 1st ‘drive-in theater’ opens, in Camden NJ (25¢ per person or $1 a car to see “Wife Beware”/1st drive-in theatre in Canada opens in Hamilton ON in 1946)

1978 [25] 1st edition of “20/20″ news magazine on ABC-TV (1st show is such a disaster, co-hosts Harold Hayes & Australian Robert Hughes are fired and replaced by Hugh Downs)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Sat] Belmont Stakes (can Funnycide win the Triple Crown?)
[Sat] National Family Day
[Sun] Children’s Sunday
[1 week from today] Friday the 13th
This Week Is . . . Fishing Week / International Volunteer Week
This Month Is . . . Pest Control Month / International Men’s Month

BULL’S BITS . . .
BS OFFICE PRAYER:
Let us all bow our heads and recite together –
“God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run
into the ones that I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference. Amen.”

BS ADVERTEST:
Match the ad slogan to the company …
• “We Are Driving Excitement” [Pontiac (CORRECT), BMW or Yugo?]
• “Make Yourself Heard” [Ericsson (CORRECT), Motorola or Rogers AT&T?]
• “____ Inside” [Compaq, Intel (CORRECT) or Trojan?]
• “It Keeps Going and Going and Going …” [Tic Tac, Energizer Batteries (CORRECT) or Viagra?]
• “Flick Your ____” [Bic Lighters (CORRECT), GE Light Bulbs or Maybelline Nail Polish?]
• “One Leg at a Time” [Dockers (CORRECT), Levi’s or The Gap?]
• “Bring Out the ____ and Bring Out the Best!” [Heinz Ketchup, Hellman’s Mayonnaise (CORRECT) or Kraft Dinner?]
• “The Best Seat in the House” [Fruit of the Loom, Jockey (CORRECT) or Preparation H?]
• “Break Me Off a Piece of that _____” [Snickers, Kit Kat (CORRECT) or Prozac?]
• “Some of Our Best Men are Women” [US Army (CORRECT), WNBA basketball league, or The National Ballet of Canada?]

HOLLYWOOD’S MOST RECLUSIVE CELEBS:
• Michael Jackson
• Keanu Reeves
• Jodie Foster
• Johnny Carson
• Marlon Brando
• Michelle Pfeiffer
Source: “Entertainment Tonight”

AMERICA’S MOST ROMANTIC CITIES:
1. San Juan
2. Honolulu
3. San Francisco
4. New Orleans
5. San Diego
Source: “Travel & Leisure” magazine.

2003’S HOTTEST WOMEN IN SHOW BIZ:
1. Christina Aguilera
2. Shania Twain
3. Kristanna Loken (“Terminator 3″)
4. “Charlie’s Angels” (all 3 of them)
5. Jennifer Lopez
Source: “Maxim” magazine

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: You’re lucky, guys. 56% of women think THESE are actually kinda cute.
Answer to Give Out Tomorrow: Love handles.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Life is a near death experience.