October 23, 2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008        Edition: #3885
Thanks For Being a Bull Market!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Thomas Riccio, the memorabilia dealer who led OJ Simpson to a Vegas hotel room where the infamous robbery occurred, has filed a lawsuit against the “Dr Phil” show claiming his remarks in an interview were spliced to change their meaning (c’mon, that would never happen – would it?) . . . “Redbook” magazine’s ‘Every Woman Counts’ campaign has enlisted country stars Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, and Taylor Swift to encourage women to vote . . . Will “Survivor” (CBS) survive? While it’s still #1 in its THURSDAY time slot, the audience has decreased by over 50% since its heyday (observers say there’s little chance advertisers will be willing to invest the big money they used to) . . . 19-year-old hacker Josh Holly of Murfreesboro TN has been raided by the FBI for allegedly breaking into teen-queen Miley Cyrus’ email account earlier THIS YEAR, stealing provocative photos, and then publishing them online (they tracked him down after he repeatedly bragged about it online – duh!) . . . Microsoft Corp has released new stats showing that “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” gamers buy 3.8 million songs a month on average, and have snapped up a total of over 45 million tracks to date (geez, why bother putting out CDs?) . . . The 2 planned sequels to the movie “The Golden Compass” (part of author Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” fantasy trilogy) have become Hollywood’s first major victims of the current economic downturn, with production now put on hold indefinitely . . . Professional dancer/wannabe country singer Julianne Hough has been checked out in hospital after THIS WEEK’s “Dancing With the Stars” results show to have worsening stomach pains investigated (diagnosis: never eat a burrito before ballroom).

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “BET Hip-Hop Awards” (BET) – The prerecorded 3rd annual awards are handed out in Atlanta. Lil Wayne leads nominations with 12, followed by Kanye West with 7. TI, who was arrested hours before he was to headline the show LAST YEAR, has 3 nominations.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Pop singer Lady GaGa (“Just Dance”) is onstage.
• “Johnny Cash’s America “ (Biography) – A new documentary on the late icon premieres on TV before being released as a CD/DVD package NEXT WEEK. It features a previously unheard recitation by Cash, “I Am the Nation”, which was found among his belongings after his death.
The project includes interviews with Bob Dylan, Snoop Dogg, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, and many others.
• “LA Ink” (TLC) – Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx reveals that his girlfriend, tattoo artist and show host Kat Von D, has created a portrait of bandmate Mick Mars on his leg. He surprises Mars with the ‘tribute’ during a Crue convention in Los Angeles.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Moby is the guest.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS) – Folk legend Pete Seeger performs.
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC) – Glen Campbell flogs his new album of rock covers, “Meet Glen Campbell”.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Paul McCartney – A $4,000-reward is now being offered for a waxwork version of his head which was accidentally left behind on a train while being transported to an auction.
• Ricky Martin – He’s collaborating with a digital media company to launch “Postcards From the Stars”, a new online service that allows users to send a personalized video greeting to a friend. Martin recorded messages for 100 names in Spanish and 100 names in English, from 100 cities, and for 50 different occasions. Those segments are edited together to fill each ‘personalized’ greeting which fans can then send on to their pals … for $3.99 a pop.
• Tim McGraw – As if he doesn’t have enough revenue streams gushing, THIS WEEK he’s published a kid’s book, “My Little Girl”, co-written with songwriter Tom Douglas. The twosome also collaborated on a song of the same name for the movie “Flicka”. Tim’s wife Faith Hill wrote the book’s foreword.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “The Bobo” – “The Office” star Steve Carell is reportedly in talks to remake this 1967 film by late comic Peter Sellers. The original movie starred Sellers as an unsuccessful singing bullfighter who fled from bulls but chased after a chick (Britt Ekland). Carell, a longtime fan of the “Pink Panther” funnyman, would play the lead role and Eva Mendes is said to be favored to co-star.
• “Bourne 4“ – Universal Studios is moving ahead with another ‘Jason Bourne’ film, hiring a writer to develop a screenplay that will continue the spy thriller series starring Matt Damon. The franchise seemed finished after LAST YEAR’s “Bourne Ultimatum”, which was adapted from the 3rd and final novel late author Robert Ludlum wrote about the amnesiac spy. But both Damon & director Paul Greengrass are signed to return, perhaps because the series has grossed close to a billion worldwide. “Variety” reports the next film will be set in South America.
• “Pirates Of the Caribbean 4“ – “High School Musical“ star Zac Efron will pick up the biggest fee of his career if he signs to co-star in the next sequel in the hit series, according to reports. Buzz has it Disney wants to groom him to eventually replace Johnny Depp as the ‘anchor’ of the franchise, and are offering him $10 million to star alongside ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ in the next installment. So far, this is all rumor and speculation as nothing’s been confirmed.

TREE-HUGGER TOME:
THIS MONTH a new bible is hitting the bookshelves boasting soy-based ink and partly recycled paper. Appropriately called “The Green Bible”, the book indexes all references to animals, land and water, and highlights in green ink all verses of the ‘New Revised Standard Version’ that speak to stewardship of the planet. Publisher Harper Collins says the new version is an apt edition because the scriptures themselves contain 1,000 references to the planet, more than twice as many as references to heaven. (Today’s debate: Was the Garden of Eden organic or had chemicals already been ‘created’?)
– “Chicago Tribune“

BORN AGAIN BOINKING:
A website called ‘Christian Nymphos’ has been set up to encourage young wives to embrace intimacy in their marriages. The site dispenses advice on how couples can spice up their love life without breaking biblical law. Suggestions for new positions, scenarios, and games are posted alongside links to Bible study websites. The site’s slogan is “Married sex: Spicy, the way God intended it to be!”. The site, which includes sections entitled “Froggy Style”, “Camping Sex”, “Chair Position”, “Costumes” and “The Italian Chandelier”, has had more than 800,000 hits since launching LAST YEAR. (We’re betting the anonymous person behind it turns out to be a guy.)
NET: http://christiannymphos.org
– “Daily Telegraph”

BS SOCIAL STUDIES:
• A recent Swedish study has found that golfers live about 5 years longer than the rest of the population. (Unfortunately, they spend all the extra time chasing a little white ball.)
– “Oxygen Magazine”
• If someone asks you a difficult question, look away before answering. Studies show it will improve your concentration. That’s because brains have a hard time ignoring others’ faces, so you need to block the distraction. (This is why husbands look off into the distance while wives talk.)
– “Psychology Today”
• University of Illinois medical students have discovered the perfect tool to help keep the proper rhythm when trying to jump-start a heart using CPR. It turns out the terrible old disco tune “Stayin’ Alive” by The BeeGees has the perfect cadence of 103 beats per minute – the exact speed needed to resuscitate a heart attack victim. (“Stayin’ Dead” would be less annoying.)
– CNN

BS LAW & DISORDER:
• A  33-year-old Michigan man has been arrested for reckless driving in Connecticut after nearly crashing into a parked patrol car. His excuse? He told cops singer Beyoncé was waiting for him at the George Washington Bridge in New York and that a teddy bear and flowers inside his vehicle were meant for her. Then things got even weirder. After refusing to leave his car when ordered, he asked for directions to Detroit and suddenly took off again. Further charges of speeding, interfering with an officer, failure to obey an officer’s signal, and failure to obey a stop sign have been added. Not surprisingly, he’s been taken to a local hospital for observation.
– “Metro”
• A Romanian woman has had her driver licence application disqualified after she failed a Breathalyzer during the driving test … the written test. The 20-year-old from the city of Arad was found to have a reading twice the legal limit. She admits she’d downed ‘only 4 gins’ to cope with nerves. Administrators became suspicious when she started giggling during the exam and began shouting out test answers to other applicants.
– Ananova News Service
• A prisoner awaiting trial at a Jacksonville, Florida prison is now facing additional charges after guards found marijuana hidden in … his stomach rolls. The 25-year-old, who was arrested in MAY and charged with forgery and possession of cocaine, now faces additional charges of introduction of contraband into a detention facility and possession of marijuana after guards at the Montgomery Correctional Center found 2 bags of marijuana and tobacco tucked into the stomach fat of the 290-lb prisoner, who’s described as having a ‘heavy build’. Ya think?
– UPI

A REAL MOBILE HOME:
Artists at the Wysing Arts Center in Denmark have teamed up with scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create the world’s first … walking house. The 10-ft-high home is solar- and wind-powered and can stroll at a walking pace across all terrains. It has a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bed, woodstove, and mainframe computer, which controls the 6 hydraulic legs. But what’s the purpose? The collaborators say it’s the ultimate home for getting away from flooding or maybe … the neighbors from hell.
– “Daily Telegraph”

BS BY THE NUMBERS:
• Just 4% of an apple is made up of minerals and vitamins; over 80% is water.
• Of all the oxygen that a human breathes, 20% goes to the brain.
• 66% of home-based businesses are owned by women.
• 95% of tropical fish sold in North America originate from Florida.
– GreatFacts.com

BS CHRONOMETER 10.23.08
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [66] Michael Crichton (‘CRY-ten’), Chicago IL, novelist (“Timeline“, “Jurassic Park”)/screenwriter (“Twister”, “Rising Sun”)/TV series creator-executive producer (“ER”)

1954 [54] Ang Lee, Chaochou, Taiwan, movie director/producer/writer (“Brokeback Mountain”, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”)
 
1956 [52] Dwight Yoakam, Pikeville KY, country singer (“Fast As You”, “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere”)/movie actor (“Wedding Crashers”, “Sling Blade”)

1959 [49] Sam Raimi, Royal Oak MI, movie director/producer/writer (“Spider-Man” movies, “The Evil Dead”)

1959 [49] (Alfred Matthew) ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Lynwood CA, parody singer (“White & Nerdy”, “Eat It”)

1964 [44] Robert Trujillo (Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Perez de la Santa Concepcion Trujillo Veracruz Batista), Santa Monica CA, rock bassist (Metallica-“Death Magnetic”, “St Anger”)

1976 [32] Ryan Reynolds, Vancouver BC, movie actor (“Smokin’ Aces”, “Van Wilder”)/wed to actress Scarlett Johansson (SEPTEMBER 2008)/engaged to singer Alanis Morissette (2004-06)  COMING UP: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)

1976 [32] Cat Deeley, Sutton Coldfield UK, TV personality (“So You Think You Can Dance” since 2006)

1986 [22] Jessica Stroup, Anderson SC, TV actress (‘Silver’ on “90210” 2008)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Canning Day”, honoring the 1752 birth of French chef/chemist Nicolas Appert, who came up with the concept of sealing perishable food in jars. For this, he is known as ‘the father of canning’, but he also came up with many other inventions … including the bouillon cube.

• “Do-It-Yourself Day”, celebrating all the handy folks who spend time, money, and sweat on home repairs … just before calling in someone who knows what they’re doing. What’s the worst repair job you ever did?

• “TV Talk Show Host Day”, to celebrate those ‘gifted with the personality and intellect to enable them to bring out the best in their guests’. Based on that, which current TV host is best? And which should get canned? (An annual observance on the birth anniversary of late talk show host Johnny Carson in Corning, Iowa in 1925.)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2001 [07] Apple releases the first ‘iPod’ MP3 player

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1814 [194] 1st ‘Cosmetic Surgery’ performed (repairing the unsightly scar from an arrow through the head?)

1930 [78] 1st ‘Miniature Golf Tournament’, in Chattanooga TN (1st golfer swears at a windmill)

1993 [15] 1st team to win the MLB World Series outside the USA (Joe Carter hits a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning at Skydome to give Toronto Blue Jays an 8-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies and their 2nd championship in-a-row)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1977 [31] Wesley Paul runs the NYC Marathon in 3 hours & 31 minutes, about 48 minutes behind the winner … but 15 minutes faster than any other 8-year-old ever has!

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Frankenstein Friday
[Fri] United Nations Day
[Fri] Bologna Day
[Sat] Cartoonists Against Crime Day
[Sat] International Rock-Paper-Scissors Championships (Toronto)
[Sat] World Pasta Day
[Sat] International Greasy Foods Day
[Sun] Mother-In-Law Day
This Week Is … Canadian Healthy Workplace Week
This Month Is … International Doll Collectors Month

BULL’S BITS
BS SIGNS YOU’RE THE BIGGEST GEEK AT YOUR CLASS REUNION:
• As an ice breaker, you talk about the font used on the name tags.
• Nobody seems to be returning your ‘Vulcan’ salutes.
• You’ve been put in charge of the PowerPoint slide show because you’re the only one from the ‘A/V Club’ who showed up.
• You IM all your classmates on your Blackberry, even though you’re in the same room.
• No one actually remembers you as being part of the graduating class.
– Adapted from BBSpot.com

BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s the biggest kissing mistake people make?

BS WORD OF THE DAY:
In the interest of promoting more erudite language as well as general goofiness, here’s a truly weird word for you to toss around for the day (award callers for tying it in with whatever they’re talking about) …
• ‘Wonderclout’ … something that is showy but useless.
– “Oxford English Dictionary”

BS RANDOM JOKE:
Sure, I’m high on life now … but who’s to say that I won’t develop a tolerance?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: The average length of time most of us hold onto THIS is 2-to-3 years.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Our first job.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Money is like a promise, easier made then kept.

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