BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Hot-tempered British chef Gordon Ramsay has announced he is putting an end to his TV show “Kitchen Nightmares” after 10 years, 123 restaurants, 99 cities, and 10,197 swear words. An international success, the show has been released in 150 countries and adapted in about 30 others. He’s currently filming the final 4 episodes. But he’s not quitting TV in total … he’s still one of the jury members on “MasterChef” and continues to train young cooks in both the UK and US versions of “Hell’s Kitchen”. (Maybe he’s finally coming to the same conclusion as a lot of TV viewers … he’s waaaaay overexposed.)
– RelaxNews.com
★ Chicago has won the battle for a George Lucas museum, beating out competing bids from Los Angeles and San Francisco. The director/producer will now build the $700-million ‘Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’ there, using a portion of the $4-billion fortune he received from the sale of his “Star Wars” empire to Disney. It will house the movie mogul’s impressive collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia and other Hollywood artifacts. The museum is scheduled to open in 2018 near Chicago’s Soldier Field sports stadium. (San Fran was first choice, but blew it by refusing waterfront land.)
– WENN.com
★ And a rep for Kristen Bell (33) & Dax Shepard (39) has confirmed that the acting couple are now expecting a 2nd child, who’ll be a sibling for their 15-month-old daughter Lincoln Bell. “Hollywood Life” speculates that, especially if baby #2 is a girl, they might decide to name it after a character from the smash-hit Disney musical “Frozen” in which Kristen voices the lead role of ‘Princess Anna’. (Will it be ‘Elsa’, ‘Kai’, ‘Kristoff’, ‘Gerda’, ‘Hans’, ‘Olaf’ … or maybe ‘Grandpa’?)
– “Entertainment Tonight”.

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards – Tonight at the 27th annual gala in LA, Jermaine Dupri is presented the ‘ASCAP Founders Award’ for songwriters & composers who have made pioneering contributions to music. Ne-Yo receives the ‘ASCAP Golden Note Award’ for songwriters, composers & artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Nicki Minaj (“The Pink Print”). Rerun.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Spoon (“They Want My Soul”, out soon).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – MisterWives (“Reflections”). Rerun.
• Montréal Jazz Festival – The 35th edition of the largest in the world by most measures runs through July 6th. Names on the bill for the festival include Aretha Franklin, BB King, Beck, Diana Krall, Michael Bublé, St Vincent, and Tony Bennett.
NET: http://www.montrealjazzfest.com
• “Tavis Smiley” (PBS) – Bluesman Robert Cray (“In My Soul”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – A performance by the Broadway cast of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”. Rerun.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ed Sheeran – Tonight he’s making history in Britain with the 1st interactive TV commercial. Before “The Big Bang Theory” airs on E4, he’ll ask viewers to tweet which track from his new album “x” he should play live at the end of the show.
• Justin Bieber – Just days after he moved into his new Beverly Hills CA condo, he’s been in a car crash. This time, however, he was not behind the wheel but in the back of a black Cadillac Escalade that was hit by a BMW as it pulled out of a restaurant parking lot.
• Katy Perry – She’s reportedly offered to write and record Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign song should she decide to run for US president as expected. (Which previous Perry song would be appropriate: “Roar”? “Wide Awake”? “The One That Got Away”?)
• Metallica – The heavy rock legends have released their first new material in 3 years, “Lords of Summer”, to celebrate their festival shows over the next couple of months. This Saturday they’re headlining Britain’s Glastonbury Festival for the first time.
• Pharrell Williams – At a gig in London this week he made a rousing speech in support of women’s rights and also urged women to be more supportive of one another. Quote: “Women you need to support each other. It doesn’t matter what clothes she wears or what car she drives, you gotta stop tearing each other down.”

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Dragon Blade” – In this soon-to-shoot historical epic, John Cusack & Adrien Brody play Roman soldiers lost in China during the Han Dynasty. Jackie Chan co-stars as a Chinese commander. The film is inspired by the true story of a missing legion of Roman soldiers that travelled to China in 48 BC. “Dragon Blade” is scheduled for release on February 19, 2015.
• “Predator” – “Iron Man 3” director Shane Black has been recruited to reboot this sci-fi film franchise. The original 1987 movie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura. Ironically, Black appeared in a minor role. There have been 3 related films since: A 1990 sequel, a spin-off in 2010, and 2 “Alien vs Predator” movies (2004, 2007).
• “Rambo V” – German movie company Splendid Films has confirmed that Sylvester Stallone is currently writing the screenplay and will star in a 5th ‘Rambo’ film as one-man army ‘John Rambo’. This time he apparently goes up against a Mexican cartel. Stallone’s first ‘Rambo’ film, “First Blood”, was released in 1982. The last ‘Rambo’ film hit cinemas in 2008.
• “The Runner” – This now-shooting political drama is set in the aftermath of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and stars Nicolas Cage as an idealistic New Orleans congressman whose career is destroyed in a sex scandal. Co-star Sarah Paulson (“12 Years a Slave”) plays a PR consultant that the congressman hires to help him get back into politics.

WOULD YOU QUIT YOUR JOB FOR $25,000?
Riot Games, maker of the popular videogame “League of Legends”, will pay its employees 10% of their salaries (up to $25,000) to quit their jobs, even if they’ve only worked there for a single day. Other employers are offering similar deals: Zappos gives employees $2,000 if they want to leave; and Amazon is offering $3,000 to workers in its warehouses, and up to $5,000 for more experienced employees. Are they crazy? Nope. These companies are doing something smart. They’re using basic economic incentives to make sure they only employ people who are enthusiastic about their jobs. (Taking the money is easy. Finding another job might not be.)
– TheWeek.com

THINGS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BUY GENERIC:
✓ Batteries – While brand-name batteries may last longer, the lower cost of generics still make them the better deal.
✓ Breakfast Cereal – If you can get it past your kids, generic cereal is the way to go.
✓ Cleaning Products – A truly innovative product comes along every now and then, but the majority of the cleaning products we use aren’t really that different from each other.
✓ Infant Formula – Your baby will get the same nutrition from generic formula as he or she would from a more expensive branded version.
✓ Makeup – You’ll still look just as beautiful if you choose lower-priced generic cosmetics.
✓ Medications – All drugs, whether brand-name or generic, are held to the same government standards.
✓ Staple Foods – Generic staples like flour, sugar, and salt are virtually identical to their brand-name counterparts.
✓ Tools – Store-brand tools and implements are generally just as tough as pricier versions.
– HowStuffWorks.com

HOW TO HEAL AN ICE CREAM HEADACHE:
You may know it by one of its other names: Brain Freeze, a cold-stimulus headache, or sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (nerve pain of the sphenopalatine ganglion). But no matter what you call it, it hurts like hell. To prevent the pain, try the following …
• Slow down. Eating or drinking cold food slowly allows one’s mouth to get used to the temperature.
• Hold cold food or drink in the front part of your mouth and allow it to warm up before swallowing.
• Head to a meat locker. Brain Freeze requires a warm ambient temperature in order to occur, so it’s almost impossible for it to happen if you’re already cold.
– Sourced from MentalFloss.com

BAN ON MONKEY PARKING:
San Francisco CA has banned the use of apps which allow people to buy and sell public parking spaces. Parking is a huge problem in the city and a start-up called MonkeyParking thought it had come up with a solution. The app lets users auction off public parking spaces that they are using and wait for the buyer to arrive before pulling out. But the city says it is illegal to auction off public land and has threatened to fine anyone doing so. The company has been given until July 11th to stop operating in the city, after which it will be subject to fines up to $2,500 per violation. (Boo! If an innovation is useful and popular with the public, shouldn’t government stay out of it?)
– BBC News Technology

FOR THE RECORD:
Verrückt is the world’s tallest slide, as confirmed by Guinness World Records. Opening today at Schlitterbahn Kansas City water park, the ride sends 4-passenger rafts down a 17-story (169-foot) drop. Then massive water jets catapult the rafts up a second hill for another 50-foot drop. That’s insane! (No really, the German word, ‘Verrückt’ translates to ‘insane’.) The first Verrückt plunge goes this morning at 11:45 EST.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/lzs6y7y
– “USA Today Travel”

DID YOU KNOW?
• There is 1 Kalashnikov assault rifle in circulation for every 70 people on Earth.
– “Quite Interesting”
• The initial iPhone had the same computing power as NASA did in 1969 when it launched the 1st manned mission to the Moon.
– “UberFacts”

BS CHRONOMETER 06.26.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1969 [45] Colin Greenwood, Oxford UK, alt-rock bassist (Radiohead-“There There”, “Creep”)

1970 [44] Chris O’Donnell, Winnetka IL, TV actor (“NCIS: Los Angeles” since 2009)/movie actor (“Max Payne”, “Batman & Robin”)

1970 [44] Nick Offerman, Minooka IL, TV actor (‘Ron Swanson’ on “Parks & Recreation” since 2009)

1973 [41] Gretchen Wilson, Pocahontas IL, country singer (“Homewrecker”, “Redneck Woman”)

1974 [40] Derek Jeter, Pequannock NJ, MLB baseball shortstop (NY Yankees)/13-time All-Star/5-time World Series champ/girlfriends have included Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Mariah Carey, Minka Kelly, Scarlett Johansson

1979 [35] Nathan Followill, Oklahoma City OK, alt-rock drummer-vocalist (Kings of Leon–”Use Somebody”, “Sex on Fire”)

1979 [35] Ryan Tedder, Tulsa OK, pop-rock singer (OneRepublic-“Good Life”, “Apologize”)/songwriter-producer (Adele, Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Lopez, etc)

1984 [30] Aubrey Plaza, Wilmington DE, TV actress (‘April Ludgate’ on “Parks & Recreation” since 2009)

1993 [21] Ariana Grande, Boca Raton FL, pop singer ((f/Iggy Azalea-“Problem”, f/Mac Miller-“The Way”) /TV actress (“Sam & Cat” since 2013)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Beautician’s Day”, your chance to show your appreciation to those who make you look beautiful and stunning. That includes your hairstylist, manicurist, esthetician (… and the makers of Adobe Photoshop).

• “Chocolate Pudding Day”, celebrating the ooey-gooey dessert treat every toddler likes to eat … with their hands.

• “International Day Against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking”, a UN observance established in 1987 with the goal of achieving an international society free of drug abuse. (Let’s see, has it worked yet?)

• “International Day in Support of Torture Victims”, created by the UN General Assembly to demonstrate solidarity with all those whose mind, body, or spirit have been impacted by torture. (A holiday at Guantanamo Bay?)

• “National Canoe Day” in Canada. The canoe has been chosen as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Canada’. (Author Pierre Berton once claimed that a Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe.)
NET: http://www.nationalcanoeday.net

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2012 [02] Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Nora Ephron (“Silkwood,” “When Harry Met Sally”, “You’ve Got Mail”) dies of leukemia at age 71 in NYC

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1959 [55] St Lawrence Seaway is officially opened, creating a navigational channel from the Atlantic Ocean to all of the Great Lakes of North America

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1981 [33] ‘Most Coupons Used In a Single Purchase’ as Virginia Campbell of Mountain Home, Idaho buys $24,460 worth of groceries in a supermarket and uses clipped coupons and rebates to cover all but 67 cents of the bill (wow, someone even cheaper than your boss!)

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] “Transformers: Age of Extinction” opens in movie theaters
[Fri] Decide to Be Married Day
[Fri] Industrial Workers Of the World Day
[Sat] “Glamour” Date Night
[Sat] Ramadan begins (Muslim)
[Sun] BET Awards
This Week Is … Mosquito Control Awareness Week
This Month Is … Potty Training Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

BS FLIGHT ATTENDANT SLANG EXPLAINED:
Like every occupation, the airline industry has its own lingo. A few samples of terminology you might overhear from your airliner’s galley …
• Concourse Shoes – High-heels worn in airports by female attendants, which are then changed out for comfortable flats once in the air.
• Lounge – The room for airline employees where attendants sign in and get briefed for trips.
• Dinosaurs – Very senior flight attendants, who under ‘seniority rules’ are given the longer, better paying flights. Flight attendants only get paid while they are in the air.
• Jumpseat – The uncomfortable fold-down chairs attendants sit on during takeoff and landing.
• Sharon Stone Jumpseat – A jumpseat that faces passengers, which requires extra caution while wearing a dress. This goes back to the movie “Basic Instinct”.
• Blue Juice – The lavatory water, which is blue. If you hear “We’re out of blue juice”, you might want to hold it until you land.
• Mini Me – A small trash cart that is half the size of the big trash cart.
• Landing Lips – The snappy gorgeousness you see after female attendants reapply lipstick before landing in order to look fresh for the ‘buh byes’.
– Condensed from Yahoo Travel

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you on the day you graduated?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I’m writing a book about reverse psychology. Please don’t buy it.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: According to a recent study, you’re least likely to do THIS between 8 am and 11 am.
Answer: Lie.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
To err is human, to forgive is highly unlikely.