Friday, October 5, 2001 Edition: #2147
It’s October 2-4 Weekend!
TRULY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING DAY TRADITIONS:
• Making a big pile of leaves and jumping in ‘em (unless you’re in Whitehorse, where you make a big pile of snow and jump in).
• Pumpkin pie (made even better with liquid honey drizzled over the top).
• “Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade” nationwide on CTV.
• Street hockey (interrupted frequently by the warning “Car!”).
• ‘Closing up’ the cottage.
• Pick-your-own apples (do those signs mean pick your OWN, leave ours the hell alone?).
• Hunkering down with a ‘brown pop’ to watch CFL football (Saskatchewan @ Montréal, Hamilton @ Calgary) or NHL hockey (Anaheim @ Toronto, Phoenix @ Calgary), then realizing you should have gone to the beer store yesterday.
• Unbuckling your belt after dinner so you can breath.
(Have listeners add to the list!)
Sheet Happens!
BS THINGS YOU SAY THAT SHOW YOU’RE GETTING OLDER:
• “N64? PS2? Those aren’t video games! Now Pong! There was a video game!”
• “Junior High kids having sex? In my day, you waited until you were at least 15!”
• “Nine Days? 3 Doors Down? Train? Those are words, not band names! No style, no imagination! Ringo Boingo! Duran Duran! Wang Chung! Those are proper rock band names!”
• “Junior, come here and read this number out of the phone book to me.”
• “Razor scooters? It’s a skateboard with a damn handle! Sissies!”
• “Quit calling me ‘Mister’ [‘Ma’am’]!”
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Fredericton NB-raised “Survivor 2″ contestant Kel Gleason (the guy voted off for hoarding beef jerky) is now a ‘special correspondent’ for Global News, with weekly updates on “Survivor Africa” . . . Meantime, “Tahiti Presse” reports the “Survivor 4″ series will take place on the French Polynesian island of Nuku Hiva, 900 miles northeast of Tahiti, but so far there’s no confirmation from CBS-TV . . . As with her first son Charles, Jodie Foster is refusing to name the father of her new baby boy Kit (however, David Crosby’s been looking real smug) . . . “Weakest Link” meanie Anne Robinson has written a soon-to-be-published book called “Memoirs of an Unfit Mother” which industry types predict will be a hot-seller . . . Germphobic Jerry Seinfeld has taken to wearing a surgical mask whenever his 11-month-old daughter becomes sick, and says he picked up the idea from Michael Jackson (hey Jer’, Michael only wears one to hold his nose on) . . . And Destiny’s Child will release an album of holiday favorites called “8 Days Of Christmas” NEXT MONTH, featuring ‘updated versions of traditional songs’ (“Silent night, bootylicious night . . .”).
TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
Denzel Washington & Ethan Hawke play a veteran narcotics detective and a newly-promoted trainee in the cop thriller “Training Day” . . . A kid who’s always picked on finds out his family is moving, so he decides to use his last week at school to get revenge in the no-name family comedy “Max Keeble’s Big Move” . . . A decade after they first met, two potential soul mates are reunited in the romantic comedy “Serendipity”, starring John Cusack & Kate Beckinsale . . . Steve Zahn & Leelee Sobieski star in the horror flick “Joy Ride”, about a trio on a road trip who befriend a trucker on their CB radio who turns out to be a psychotic killer (are there still CB radios?).
2001 EMMY AWARDS NOTES:
• SUNDAY Ellen DeGeneres hosts TV’s award night live from LA and NYC, televised in almost 100 countries.
• The traditional opening monologue will be replaced by introductory remarks from retired octogenarian journalist Walter Cronkite.
• It’s estimated added security and the show’s postponement from September 16 cost an extra $1 million.
• Due to the show’s toned-down format, Joan & Melissa Rivers red carpet pre-show on E! has been canceled (thank god, no idiotic “Who are you wearing?” questions!).
• The scaled-back presentation means no formal wear on stars, no fans lining the red carpet entrance, and most post-show parties have been canceled.
• “NYPD Blue’s” Dennis Franz will do a special tribute to NYC police, fire and emergency services personnel.
• “The Sopranos” leads nominations with 22, its most yet. “The West Wing” follows with 18 nods. There are 83 categories and over 400 nominees.
MAKE YOUR OWN POWER:
Motorola researchers have successfully demonstrated a fuel cell powered by methane gas which can provide enough juice for a full month of cell phone calls. The fuel cell is essentially a miniature electrochemical plant that fits into a belt holster. Inside the cell, methane is stored in an area the size of a ballpoint pen’s ink holder. A chemical reaction releases oxygen, heat and
electricity. (In related news, [your co-host] has developed a method of using methane to heat an entire studio.)
LETTER CARRIERS BEWARE!
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that makes Viagra, is testing a new nasal-spray version of the drug — on dogs. (What’s a dog on Viagra called — a pointer?)
NO-STINK GARLIC:
THIS WEEK Italian scientists announced they’re close to creating a new form of garlic which keeps its flavor without causing stinky breath. Geneticist Corrado Fogher says they’ve isolated the component which creates odor and will soon be able to alter the make up of garlic so that it’s great for cooking, but won’t leave you scrambling for Mentos. (So far, there’s been no testing on it’s vampire-repelling ability.)
GIVE THE GIFT OF WOOF:
Demand for pet blood has skyrocketed in the last year as animal clinics perform more and more procedures on pets. North America’s largest animal blood supplier, the Animal Blood Bank in Dixon CA normally ships up to 2,000 units a month to 3,000 clinics across the US and Canada. But like other blood banks it’s experiencing back orders, with a 2-month waiting list for cat plasma and up to 6 weeks for dog plasma. (Do pets get a cookie after donating like we do?)
THE BULL SHEET 10.05.01
TODAY’S CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS . . .
1922 [79] Bil Keane, Philadelphia PA, comic strip cartoonist (“Family Circus”, since 1960)
1943 [58] Steve Miller, Milwaukee WI, classic rock guitarist/singer (“The Joker”, “Fly Like an Eagle”)
1954 [47] David Bryson, rock guitarist (Counting Crows-“Hangin’ Around”, “Mr Jones”)
1962 [39] Michael Andretti, Bethlehem PA, Indy-car race driver/son of racing legend Mario Andretti
1965 [36] Mario Lemieux, Montréal PQ, NHL player/owner (consecutive Stanley Cup titles ’91 & and ’92-Pittsburgh Penguins)
1965 [36] Patrick Roy, Québec City QC, NHL goalie (2001 Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, 2 Stanley Cup titles-Montréal Canadiens)
1972 [29] Grant Hill, Dallas TX, All-Star NBA player (Detroit Pistons)
1975 [26] Kate Winslet, Reading ENG, movie actress (“Titanic”, “Sense and Sensibility”) NEXT FILM: The Mick Jagger-produced WW2 code-cracker film “Enigma”
SATURDAY’S BIRTHDAYS . . .
1955 [46] Tony Dungy, NFL head coach (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1963 [38] Elisabeth Shue, Wilmington DE, movie actress (“The Saint”, “Leaving Las Vegas”)
1966 [35] Tim Rushlow, Arlington TX, country singer (Little Texas-“The Call”, “What Might Have Been”)
SUNDAY’S BIRTHDAYS . . .
1951 [50] John Mellencamp, Seymour IN, rock singer (“Little Pink Houses”, “Jack & Diane”)
1968 [33] Toni Braxton, Severn MD, pop/R&B singer (“Spanish Guitar”, “Unbreak My Heart”)
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
TODAY is “National Apple Betty Day” (the dessert aka “Apple Brown Betty”, “Apple Crisp”, “Apple Crumble” or
“Apple Cobbler”). So here’s a . . .
BS APPLE QUIZ:
• True or false – apples were a favorite food in ancient Greece? [T]
• How many pounds of apples does the average American eat annually – 2, 20, or 200? [Americans average
19.6 lbs a year.]
• Apple blossom is the state flower of which US state? [Michigan]
• True or false – apples are a member of the rose family. [T]
• Which is the top apple-producing state in America? [Washington]
• What’s the official name for apple growing — ‘pomology’, ‘coropathy’, or ‘appletemy’? [It’s called ‘pomology’.]
TOMORROW Baltimore Oriole superstar Cal Ripkin Jr plays his final game before retiring from baseball (Boston @ Baltimore 7:05pm ET). Special celebrations are scheduled before, during and after the game. So what’s so special about Ripkin’s 20-year career?
• 19 All-Star Game appearances, 2-time All Star MVP.
• Over 400 HRs, 300 hits, 5,000 total bases.
• 2,216 consecutive starts, the MLB ‘iron man’ record.
• 4th all-time in games played with a single team, surpassing 3,000 this weekend.
MONDAY is “Thanksgiving Day” in Canada, thanks to a 1957 act of parliament making the 2nd Monday in October ‘a day of general thanksgiving for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed’. The first Canadian Thanksgiving is a matter of contention, but many historians believe it was the harvest feast celebrated by English explorer Martin Frobisher during his failed attempt to find the northwest passage. That would put it just over 40 years BEFORE the Pilgrims landing in Massachusetts in 1620. Others claim the first Canadian Thanksgiving was celebrated in Halifax in 1763.
ONE YEAR AGO . . .
2000 In the fervor of Trudeau tributes following his death, PM Jean Chrétien announces Canada’s highest peak Mt Logan will be renamed Mt Pierre Elliott Trudeau (dissension causes plan to eventually be dumped)
2000 “Beatles Anthology” book released worldwide, the ‘definitive band biography’ with 368 pages and 1,300 personal photos contributed by surviving Beatles and Yoko Ono
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1969 [32] “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” premieres (45 episodes produced before the troupe leaves BBC-TV in 1974 to make movies)
1982 [19] 1st Canadian to conquer Mt Everest (Calgary’s Laurie Skreslet)
1984 [17] 1st Canadian in space (Marc Garneau, aboard shuttle “Challenger”)
1985 [16] 1st AL East title for Toronto Blue Jays
1970 [31] PBS-TV debuts (the begging begins)
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Sat] German-American Day
[Mon] Columbus Day (USA)
[Wed] Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day
[Nov 25] 89th Grey Cup (Montréal)
National Higher Education Week
International Doll Collectors’ Month
Computer Learning Month
BULL’S BITS . . .
BS PHONE STARTERS:
• “What are the advantages and disadvantages of working at home?” (THIS WEEK is “National Work From Home Week”.)
• “What’s the most amazing service you’ve ever received from a business?” (THIS WEEK is “National Customer Service Week”.)
BS TRIVIA:
Q: If you mail a letter to US zip code 10048, it won’t arrive and it won’t be returned. Why?
A: That’s the now defunct zip code for the World Trade Center’s twin towers. Thousands of pieces of mail continue to accumulate every day, while the US Postal Service decides what to do with it.
BS TAG LINE:
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
