Monday, May 15, 2023 Edition: #7474
Can You Believe This Sheet?
BS SUBSCRIBER NOTE:
The Bull Sheet will not be publishing on Monday, May 22 to observe the Canadian Victoria Day holiday. All subscribers will receive credit for the non-service day. The Bull Sheet will resume publication on Tuesday, May 23.
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Jamie Foxx “has been out of the hospital for weeks,” his daughter Corinne Foxx has confirmed, amid conflicting reports. She wrote on Instagram: “Sad to see how the media runs wild. My Dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday.” One outlet had reported that Jamie’s family was “preparing for the worst” following his mysterious health scare. Corinne also teased that the family has “an exciting work announcement coming next week too!”
-PageSix
★ Kelly Clarkson has issued a statement addressing rumors of a “toxic” behind-the-scenes environment at “The Kelly Clarkson Show”. Friday, Rolling Stone published a report in which 11 current and former employees complained about being “overworked” and “underpaid” and saying the show’s “toxic environment” was “traumatizing to their mental health.” Although they said Clarkson is “fantastic,” they indicated that a number of the producers make their lives “hell.” On Instagram, Clarkson said that she is committed to ensuring the show’s team is made up of the “best and kindest in the business” and “There is always room to grow and ensure we are all being/becoming the best version of ourselves…Especially when it comes to leadership, to ensure that any notion of toxicity is eradicated.”
-Variety, AVClub
★ The book club can’t topple comic books at the books office, as Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” easily held off the opening of “Book Club: The Next Chapter” to retain the top spot on domestic charts. “The Next Chapter” earned a projected debut of $6.5 million in its first weekend. Meanshile, James Gunn’s band of galactic rascals enjoyed one of the best second-weekends of any title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The threequel grabbed $60.5 million in its sophomore weekend, more than enough to crush the competition, and to cross the $200 million mark domestically.
-Variety, HollywoodReporter
★ David Tennant’s Doctor is back in a trailer for 3 upcoming “Doctor Who” specials celebrating the 60th anniversary of the popular TV series. In a tease of the pair’s reunion, Catharine Tate’s ‘Donna’ asks: “Why did this face come back to say goodbye?” Tennant was the 10th actor to portray the Doctor, doing so from 2005 to 2010, while Tate played his companion in 2006 and 2008-10. In her final episode, the Doctor wiped her memory in order to save her life. The 3 specials that star Tennant and Tate and air later this year are called “The Star Beast,” “Wild Blue Yonder” and “The Giggle.” LINK: https://youtu.be/CpHEh5ZnQMo
-TheWrap
★ “Fast & Furious” is on the road towards its end with “Fast X”, and even though star Vin Diesel has surprised everyone with the revelation that there will be 2 more movies to come, it seems that the successful saga wants to say goodbye in a huge way. The 10th installment of the action franchise hits theaters on Friday, and will feature…the return of Dwayne Johnson. After several conflicts between Johnson and the main protagonist of the saga, Vin Diesel, The Rock swore that he wouldn’t return even after starring in his own spinoff in 2019, “Hobbs & Shaw”. But Johnson appears in one of the post-credit scenes of the film, pointing to a prominent role in the next installment of the film series.
-MovieWeb
★ “Jeopardy!” host Mayim Bialik walked out of the game show’s final week of filming late last week in solidarity with striking writers. The show’s other host, Ken Jennings, will replace her on the last episodes of the season, set for taping this week. Jeopardy! uses Writers Guild of America writers, who are picketing over pay and working conditions. The show’s clues were written well before the union began its strike on May 2. A rep for Bialik had “no further comment at this time.”
-HuffPost
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Ben Affleck, Nicholas Braun, Chlöe (R)
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Elizabeth Banks, Kelsey Grammer, Jordan Andino (R)
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Michelle Yeoh, Riley Keough (R)
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Larry David (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Rachel Brosnahan
• “The Talk” (CBS): Cedric the Entertainer, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold, Marcel Spears, Sheaun McKinney, Hank Greenspan (R)
• “Live with Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Awkwafina, Rainn Wilson
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Vin Diesel, Quentin Plair
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton (R)
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Julianne Hough, Nina Dobrev
• “TMZ Investigates: Britney Spears: The Price of Freedom” (Fox): A look at her life a year and a half after being let out of her conservatorship.
• “The Voice” (NBC): The top 8 perform live for the first time for their chance at a spot in the finale.
• “9-1-1” (FOX): Season 6 finale
• “Street Outlaws: Locals Only” (DSC): Series premiere. Follows drivers as they race against each other in a single elimination challenge to win $5,000.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Rihanna – Reports are that she and partner A$AP Rocky named their firstborn, whom they welcomed May 13, 2022, “RZA Athelston Mayers”. The 1-year-old boy’s name was seemingly inspired by music producer and Wu-Tang leader RZA.
• Taylor Swift – settled a long-standing debate among Swifties during her Friday show in Philadelphia. Introducing the song ‘gold rush’, she said: “I have a lyric that says ‘with my Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door,’ and I saw some people wondering if it was the band Eagles or the team the Eagles. And I love the band Eagles, but come on guys, I’m from Philly. Of course it’s the team!” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3fudknet
• Bryan Adams – Friday, he released a new anti-war song ‘What if There Were No Sides at All’. In the acoustic ballad’s YouTube description, he wrote: “The locations are generic but are meant to represent conflicts in the world.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2p9uypxe
• Pearl Jam — Iron Horse, the bluegrass band that in the past has strummed, chicken-picked, and mandolin-ified songs by Metallica, Van Halen, and Kanye West, has released “Pickin’ on Pearl Jam”, featuring bluegrass version of 12 PJ staples. And the group’s music has never sounded happier. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2p876dps
• U2 — When the group opens the new MSG Sphere venue in Vegas this fall, it will be the most expensive entertainment building in Nevada, $2.3 billion – about $500 million more than originally expected. Us will be the first act to perform at the Venetian Resort venue, with 18 scheduled shows there.
• Bailey Zimmerman – says that if his just-released debut album “Religiously” sounds sad, that’s because it was written “when I was really sad every day and crying every day” due to a breakup. That would also explain the tears on the album cover. Thankfully, he’s not in that headspace anymore. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/34p336yy
• Morgan Wallen — has announced new dates for 10 of the 14 shows he canceled last week. Two festival dates cannot be made good, although in announcing he was on 6-week vocal rest, he said he’d aim to play those same festivals in 2024. Two more of the 14 shows are still marked as TBD. The remaining 10 will be spread out from this summer through mid-2024. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/nhpz7x3f
• Jimmie Allen — won’t be booked for any jobs for the foreseeable future. His reps United Talent Agency has suspended him after a lawsuit was filed by a former manager accusing him of assault and sexual abuse. This comes following a suspension by his record label and removal from next month’s CMA Fest in Nashville. Allen says his relationship with the woman, identified as Jane Doe, was consensual.
SHOOTING THE BULL
MEET PUPPETS:
Here’s a little food for thought on the first day of another long work week. A new report from Microsoft says that employees spend more time on emails, meetings and chats than doing the rest of their jobs. The company found that those functions are the #1 distraction for workers – and this type of communication takes up more than half of workers’ time. The info came from a survey of workers in various industries around the world, as well as usage data collected from the company’s apps, such as Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The report says the constant influx of data, emails, meetings and notifications has outpaced our ability to process that information – and there are 3 times as many meetings and calls per week than there were just 3 years ago. Nearly two-thirds of workers feel they have trouble maintaining the time and energy needed to do their jobs. Microsoft calls the idea that employees can’t keep up with emails, meetings and chats “digital debt.” The report says people spend more time trying “to get out of the red” and get caught up on communication than actually doing their jobs.
(Ah, remember back to simpler times, when the #1 distraction from work was Facebook?)
(I would have read the rest of this, but then I got called into a meeting…!)
-CTV
BLOCKBUSTER IDEA:
As you know, Blockbuster Video is now nothing but a memory…except for those in Bend, Oregon. For the most part, at least. Toronto’s Travis MacLachlan, a movie lover with a substantial DVD collection, has taken it upon himself to breathe new life into the once-mighty video distributor. Building upon the idea of neighborhood libraries used to swap books on community front lawns, Travis decided to apply the same concept to his video collection. He decided to move forward when he came across “Free Blockbuster”, a grassroots mission to “combat the myth of scarcity by providing free entertainment to as many people as possible.” That’s a movement, launched in 2018 by a former Blockbuster employee, who created a movie swap system in an abandoned LA Times newspaper dispenser. The idea spread across the US, and made its way to Canada in 2021. MacLachlan put up a royal blue box on his front lawn last week, officially launching the first Ontario Free Blockbuster location. He acquired a “rusty old bin” from a magazine company, fixed it up, and stocked it with about 10 DVDs “to start” on his front lawn, which quickly dwindled to just 4. He says he just hopes “people watch it and either bring it back or put some of their own out there.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3y9hvebj
(Sounds like someone in the neighborhood took “Batman Forever,” literally!)
(What? No free popcorn?)
-CTV
NEW GOOD NEWS:
➢ A loving daughter traveled 6,000 miles to surprise her dad for his birthday after he was diagnosed with cancer. Maria Correa, who is 29, made the trip from Dublin, Ireland, to Biguaçu, Brazil to celebrate her dad’s 66th birthday. She moved to Ireland for an exchange program last year, but when her dad Felisbino was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Maria knew she had to be there. To keep the visit a surprise, she told her family she would be visiting in March, but secretly organized to go in February just in time for her dad’s birthday. When she arrived, with the help of her brother, she planned a surprise where she would hide in the trunk of a car under wrapping paper. A video shows the emotional moment Felisbino ‘opens’ the present, only to find Maria hiding. Maria was able to stay with her family for 3 weeks and spend time with her dad, who is going through treatment.
➢ A galaxy of superheroes made a dying boy’s wish come true. 8-year-old Freddy Leitch, from England, had just days to live when his favorite Marvel and Disney characters knocked on his front door. Video shows the group of superheroes dancing and performing handstands for him and giving him the “best day of his life.” The boy was born with a rare genetic disease leaving him prone to infections. As Freddy’s illness progressed, his family strived to create as many memories as possible for him. Knowing his time was limited, he mom Kirsty put out an online appeal for people to visit him dressed as his favorite characters. Freddy was shocked when Spider-Man, Stitch, The Hulk, Supergirl and Power Ranger turned up. After telling his mother it was “the best day ever”, Freddy passed away 2 days later, surrounded by loved ones. LINK: https://dai.ly/x8krcyu
-Talker
MOST POPULAR BABY NAMES OF 2022:
The Social Security Administration in the US has released its official list of last year’s most popular baby names. Interestingly, the ‘fastest rising’ boys’ names were “Dutton” and “Kayce” — inspired by the Paramount Network series “Yellowstone.” Here are the top-10 most popular girls’ and boys’ names last year…
GIRLS: BOYS:
1. Olivia (4th straight year at #1) 1. Liam (6th straight year at #1)
2. Emma 2. Noah
3. Charlotte 3. Oliver
4. Amelia 4. James
5. Sophia 5. Elijah
6. Isabella 6. William
7. Ava 7. Henry
8. Mia 8. Lucas
9. Evelyn 9. Benjamin
10. Luna 10. Theodore
(This sounds exactly like the guest list at my kid’s birthday party last weekend. Except there were 2 Emmas and 3 Liams!)
-HuffPost, NYPost
DID YOU KNOW?
Sharing a bed ruins the quality of your sleep, according to science. Sleep expert and CEO of MattressNextDay Martin Seeley says that sleeping with a partner can cause you to wake regularly throughout the night, which “can lead to sleep deprivation, which has been linked to a variety of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.” And even if you don’t wake up, regular disruptions from your other half at night can still affect the quality of your sleep by interrupting your sleep cycles – so you can’t slip into a more restorative state. What’s more, if you share a bed, you’re also more likely to put yourself in an uncomfortable, cramped position, and you’re more likely to get ill if your partner is sick. (Still beats sleeping on the couch…Trust me!)
-HuffPost
BS CHRONOMETER 05.15.23
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Chocolate Chip Day”, Hey, any excuse to moww down on a dozen warm gooey cookies fresh out of the oven. Mmm, can’t you just smell ’em? (And, any excuse NOT to eat cookies with raisins in them!)
• “Nylon Stocking Day”, Many may not remember ever hearing the term “nylon stockings.” Introduced in 1940 by DuPont, nylon stockings (also known as hose) are a close-fitting, variously elastic garment worn the same as socks or tights.
• “Relive Your Past By Listening to the First Music You Ever Bought No Matter What It Was No Excuses Day”, C’mon…’fess up. What was yours? Maybe it was on a 45 rpm or LP record, perhaps it was on cassette or CD. Maybe it was an MP3 download. But chances are that what you listen to now sounds quite a bit different from the first music you ever bought. Today, bring back some memories (and guilty pleasures) by listening to that first music you ever bought. (People used to buy music?)
• “Peace Officers Memorial Day”, An annual observance by over 20,000 police departments across North America to honor colleagues killed in the line of duty.
• “Straw Hat Day”, dating back to the 1800s, when it was strongly suggested that gentlemen retire their fedoras and homburgs for the season, substituting them with their skimmers and panamas. (Which we believe are alternate names for straw hats…) LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2ymc34ba
• “Bring Flowers To Someone Day”, why give flowers only on Valentine’s Day? Flowers have always been a popular way of showing appreciation, expressing love, remembering a loved one, or apologizing to someone you treasure dearly.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Tues] Biographer’s Day
[Tues] Mimosa Day
[Wed] Pack Rat Day
[Thurs] Brown Bag it Thursday
This Week Is…National EMS Week
This Month Is…Skin Cancer Awareness Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1948 [75] Brian Eno (Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno), Woodbridge England, rock musician (Roxy Music-‘Love is the Drug’)/music producer/songwriter (U2, Coldplay)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2019
1956 [67] Dan Patrick (Pugh), TV sportscaster (“Football Night in America” 2006-18, “Sportscenter” 1989-2006/radio host since 2007/sportswriter (“Sports Illustrated”)
1969 [54] Emmitt Smith, Pensacola, FL, ex-NFL player (Dallas Cowboys running back with a record 18,355 rushing yards)
1972 [51] David Charvet, Lyon France, TV actor (“Melrose Place” 1996-1998. “Baywatch” 1992-1996)/married to Brooke Burke 2011-20
1974 [49] Russell Hornsby, Oakland CA, TV actor (‘Hank Griffin’ on “Grimm” 2011-17)
1981 [42] Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jericho NY, TV Actress (‘Meadow Soprano’ on “The Sopranos” 1999-2007, “Big Sky” since 2021)
1987 [35] Andy Murray, Glasgow Scotland, pro tennis player (Olympic gold 2012, 2016, Wimbledon singles champ 2013, 2016)/$63.5 million career winnings
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2008 [15] Shania Twain and producer Robert “Mutt” Lange announce they are separating after 14 years of marriage. Lange’s affair with Twain’s best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud, triggered the split. Twain later marries Thiébaud’s ex-husband, Frédéric (and no one wrote a country song about this??)
2022 [01] Kourtney Kardashian and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker marry in Santa Barbara, for real this time, shortly after marrying in Las Vegas without a licence
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1982 [41] The racial-harmony anthem ‘Ebony and Ivory’, by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, hits #1 in the US
2009 [14] Randy Bachman of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive is presented with Canada’s highest civilian honor, Officer of the Order of Canada
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1940 [83] Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald’s restaurant, in San Bernardino, California
1995 [28] The first casino gambling website is launched on the Internet (Now? There are a gazillion.)
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2010 [13] 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around-the-world
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ In the classic novel, Frankenstein’s creature clearly states that he is vegetarian.
✓ Bees can fly higher than Mount Everest.
✓ Eggplants are berries.
✓ The corpse flower was the official flower of the Bronx for 60 years.
✓ The verb “unfriend” appeared in 1659.
✓ In Ancient Egypt, people put a dead mouse in their mouth to treat a toothache.
-RandomFactGenerator, ReadersDigest
Best of BS . . .
BS TAKING THE ‘ACTION’ OUT OF ACTION FILMS:
• Ironing Man
• Sigh Hard
• Gently and Very Slowly Ease Mother From the Train
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Balloons
• Dude, My Car Was Here All Along!
• Just a Classic Park
• The Empire Smiles Back
• Slow and Curious
• Inglorious Math Nerds
• Jackson
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2018
TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ A recent survey revealed the top worries women have about their appearance. They include: hair loss, sagging skin, and waist size. (And, of course, being seen in public with a morning Radio Guy…)
➠ NBCUniversal announced that revenues fell by over $704 million in the first quarter of 2023. (Fortunately, no one’s heard the news yet — since the announcement was made on NBC…)
➠ Starbucks has revealed 2 new chilled drinks to cool down your summer. (This couldn’t have come at a better time. My cardiologist JUST told me I need I need more caffeine and artificial flavoring…)
➠ There is an app that allows drivers to turn their phone into a breathalyzer. (Here’s how it works: If a cop sees you blowing into your phone, he knows you’re drunk…)
➠ In a survey, 1 in 3 moms said they wanted to be alone for Mother’s Day. (…And their wish came true if they went to a theater showing “Big George Foreman”.)
BS WEB GOODIE:
I was not expecting that: https://tinyurl.com/mr38795m
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I took my Mom to a buffet on Mother’s Day, and I ate so much I had to loosen my Fitbit…
BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• In what country was tea invented?
a) England
b) USA
c) China [CORRECT]
d) Argentea-uh
• What is the world’s fastest bird?
a) Golden eagle
b) Peregrine falcon [CORRECT]
c) Grey-headed albatross
d) Penguin
• Which app has the most total users?
a) TikTok
b) Snapchat
c) Instagram [CORRECT]
d) Friendster
-Mentimeter
BS PHONE STARTER:
If you woke up tomorrow and discovered that everything in life is free, what’s the first thing you would do?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: The average family throws away 70 of these perfectly edible items every year. What are they?
Answer: Bread loaf end crusts (heels)
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Surround yourself with those who will speak up for you when you aren’t there.
