Wednesday, November 20, 2024 — Edition: #7839

Tomorrow’s Show Prep Today!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
[***UPDATED***] ★ Maria Georgas is nipping rumors in the bud. After rumors spread online that the “Bachelor” alum had dated Pete Davidson, Georgas took to Instagram to set the record straight. She wrote: “Never dated Pete. False rumor! I’m friends with his sister. Case closed.” She also addressed an article that suggested Davidson had recently checked into rehab following their (non-existent) breakup, writing that she had spoken with his sister to confirm that “he’s not in rehab and has been sober for months…He’s literally home.”
-E!
★ Moviegoers will be invited to channel their inner ‘Glinda’ and ‘Elphaba’ during sing-along screenings of “Wicked.” But they’ll have to wait. Interactive showings of the upcoming movie musical will be offered in roughly 1,000 North American cinemas starting Dec. 25 — about a month after Wicked lands on the big screen. Exact plans, including the location count and showtimes, have yet to be finalized. Wicked, which opens in theaters on Friday, stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, and features singalong tunes like ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity’.
-Variety
★ Javier Bardem will star in a series adaptation of “Cape Fear” for Apple+ TV. The show’s official logline says: “A storm is coming for happily married attorneys Amanda and Steve Bowden when Max Cady (Bardem), a notorious killer from their past, gets out of prison.” The series is based on both the John D. MacDonald novel “The Executioners,” which inspired Gregory Peck’s 1962 movie “Cape Fear,” as well as the acclaimed 1991 remake directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Steven Spielberg.
-Variety
★ “9-1-1: Lone Star” and “The Masked Singer” are coming back to Fox for the network’s winter season. Starting on Jan 20, the network will premiere new episodes for 2 of its buzziest dramas: Season 5 of 9-1-1: Lone Star and Season 1 of Rescue: HI-Surf. Lone Star will run until Feb. 3, which marks the finale of the series. Rescue: HI-Surf will continue to air new episodes on Mondays. Fox’s biggest event of the winter season happens on Feb. 9: That’s when Super Bowl LIX will premiere starting at 6:30pm ET. Whenever the big game concludes, it’ll will be followed by the Season 3 premiere of the Rob Lowe-hosted game show, “The Floor.”
-TheWrap
★ It turns out Nicole Kidman’s viral meme showing her seemingly celebrating her divorce from Tom Cruise is a ‘big little lie’. She revealed the truth behind the iconic 2001 image while speaking to British GQ. The Oscar winner said the widely-held belief that she is walking outside with her arms raised in relief after her divorce was finalized is “not true”, and clarified that the shot was taken from a film, and was not “real life”. She did not specify which movie. The meme made headlines again in September when Jenna Dewan posted it after she and Channing Tatum settled their contentious divorce. LINK: https://shorturl.at/qAIyz
-PageSix

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Blake Shelton, Ralph Macchio
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Richard Gere, Bowen Yang, Jin
• “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Taul Mescal, Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett, The Coward Brothers
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Johnny Pemberton, Nichole Sakura, Matt Braunger
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Brian Williams, Bridget Everett
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert
• “The Daily Show” (COM): Joey McIntyre, host Desi Lydic
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Ronan Farrow
• “The Talk” (CBS): Paul Reiser, Fitz
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Richard Gere, Jim Gaffigan, Monica Mangin, Yumna Jawad
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Josh Brolin, Melissa Rauch, John O’Hurley, Yola
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Ron Funches, Gwen Stefani, Rosemarie DeWitt
• “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis
• “The Masked Singer” (Fox): Miley Cyrus Night
• “Chicago Med” (NBC): Goodwin’s troubles persist; Charles clashes with his former resident over a depressed patient. Followed by new eps of Chicago Fire and Chicago PD.
• “The 58th Annual CMA Awards” (ABC): Performers include Luke Combs, Post Malone ft. Chris Stapleton, Brooks & Dunn w/Jelly Roll and Kacey Musgraves. Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson host.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – Netflix has announced that she’ll perform during halftime of the NFL Christmas Day matchup as her hometown Houston Texans take on the Baltimore Ravens. The streamer also said that Bey’s show will likely feature guest appearances from her “Cowboy Carter” album. Guests on the album include Shaboozey, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, and Linda Martell.
• Taylor Swift – To celebrate her “Eras Tour” hitting Canadian cities, McDonald’s Canada has launched a new meal deal to fuel Swifties before or after the show. The “Bestie Bundle” features 2 Junior Chicken sandwiches, 2 small fries, 2 small drinks – and 2 friendship bracelets. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3wt5r6mz
• Sammy Hagar — is bringing the “Best of All Worlds” tour to Las Vegas for a residency next year, beginning April 30. It’ll feature a new “only in Las Vegas” set list with shows running until May 17. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3ur9kvw8
• Rod Stewart — has confirmed new North American dates on his ongoing “One Last Time” tour, following shows across Asia and Europe. The 20 new concerts mostly feature Cheap Trick, and begin March 7 in Austin TX, before an already-announced Las Vegas residency. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/34euxprx
• Paul McCartney — wrapped the latest leg of his “Got Back” tour on Sunday with a show in Mexico City, and he brought out some special guests to end the evening. Video shows him performing The Beatles song ‘The End’ with the help of Jack White and St. Vincent on guitar. St. Vincent had joined Macca earlier for ‘Get Back’.
• Carrie Underwood — In celebration of her “REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency,” she will be featured in a concert special coming to Hulu in January. “CARRIE UNDERWOOD: REFLECTION” will feature the show she has performed during her 3-year-plus run at Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas.
• Tim McGraw – His daughter Gracie has made her musical theater debut. She appeared in the New York off-Broadway production “Babe” on Sunday, and dad couldn’t be prouder. He shared a pic of her standing in front of an ad for the show, and wrote: “So proud of our daughter Gracie!!!!! Her billboard in Times Square for her play BABE.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/bdvs3m5m
• Blake Shelton – continued his good-natured ribbing of Luke Bryan in a recent interview. When asked who would win in an arm-wrestling match between the 2, Shelton answered: “I dunno, man … Luke could probably beat me at arm wrestling, because he’s so into his looks and he’s so vain like that. I know he ‘roids’ a lot, so he could probably beat me.”

SHOOTING THE BULL

WORK – AND SLEEP – FROM HOME:
Since the pandemic, the terms “hybrid working” and “working from home” (WFH) have become commonplace. And while we’re all aware of some of the benefits of being able to save at least a few trips to the office each week, here’s one that you might not have thought of: More sleep. Newly released stats show that Brits who work from home at least some of the time get an extra 24 minutes of sleep or rest per day, compared to their office-working counterparts. They also get to spend an average of 15 extra minutes on exercise, sports and wellbeing activities. And as you may be aware, science has shown a link between sleep, productivity, and mental and physical health. So, if you’re lucky enough to be able to work from home, count your blessings!
(…and some of us get that extra 24 minutes of rest while pretending to be on a Zoom call!)
(The downside to working from home? When the cat decides to puke, you’re the only one around to clean it up!)
-YahooLife

SEASONAL SUBJECTS:
(***Caution: “Santa Spoiler Alert”***) ❑ An company is offering kids the chance to speak to Santa Claus over the phone this year – or at least an A.I. Santa. The Artificial Intelligence-powered company SantaPhoneCalls.com says on its website that parents will be able to “Watch children’s faces light up as Santa knows their name, wishes, and favorite things in a one-on-one conversation they’ll never forget.” It works like this: Kids write out their wish list to send to the North Pole, and parents fill out the info online. Then, for $9.95, the child will receive a one-time call from Santa. For $14.95, they can chat with “him” for 5 minutes, AND receive a recording to “relive the magic and cherished memories of this moment for years to come.” Cyber-Santa will also talk to the whole family in a “personalized” call for $19.95. (I can’t wait to hear about whatever “Whoops!” thing that AI Santa blurts out to some poor kid, ruining his Christmases forever!) LINK: https://santaphonecalls.com/
❑ If you simply CANNOT wait to put up your Christmas tree, you might be a narcissist. That’s according to psychologist Carmen Harra, who said that putting up your decorations early can reveal “concealed emotions and subconscious behavioral tendencies” – and, you guessed it, one of those might be narcissism. Why? Or how? Harra said: “Narcissists derive a sense of high satisfaction from being the center of attention, from being praised and applauded. And that these character traits can easily be fulfilled by turning one’s house into a winter wonderland for the entire neighborhood to admire.” On top of giving them a chance to “Show off”, it also gives them an opportunity to portray a “picture-perfect family”. (Not me. I just want to show my neighbors that I’m waaaay better than them!)
-NYPost

ANOTHER ‘BORING’ STUDY:
According to a new study, people are more bored than ever before – and in spite of the fact that we have more entertainment options at our fingertips than ever before, digital media is to blame. The data, published by Communications Psychology in a study named “People Are Increasingly Bored in Our Digital Age”, showed that there’s a higher rate of people reporting experiences of boredom. In particular, adolescents and college students are feeling bored more frequently since 2009. The researchers believe that digital media is a major reason for the uptick in boredom, because it creates “great stimulation”, and thereby makes people uninterested in activities that provide less stimulation, like reading a book or attending a lecture. They also argue that digital media fragments our attention, meaning people have a harder time focusing on one activity. And we all know that our smartphones create a ton of distractions, which can definitely disrupt our focus. The researchers said that earlier studies have proven that frequent interruptions decrease satisfaction and people’s ability to engage in one task, which leads to increased boredom.
(I know! And there’s nothing worse than being interrupted by something dumb, like my boss, when I’m trying to watch a TikTok!)
(I know what they’re saying. I was soooo bored all weekend. Not bored enough to clean house, but still bored…)
-NYPost

THE MOST-VISITED WEBSITES OF 2024 (so far):
Please note that our information source advises us that they went ahead and removed any NSFMS (Not Safe For Morning Show) web addresses, with the goal of retaining a family-friendly atmosphere…
1. Google.com: 164.57 billion monthly visits
2. Youtube.com: 110.29 billion
3. Facebook.com 17.89 billion
4. Wikipedia.org: 9.8 billion (A kid’s gotta do their homework somehow!)
5. Twitter.com (“X”): 8.99 billion (Yes, it is still also found at twitter.com!)
6. Instagram.com: 8.02 billion
7. Reddit.com: 7.76 billion
8. Duckduckgo.com: 4.41 billion
9. Amazon.com: 4.26 billion (…but my wife is doing her darndest to vault it into the top-5!)
10. Yahoo.com: 4.18 billion
(And because you need to know, #11 is TikTok.com, with 3.64 billion monthly visits, or in the case of my kids, just one month-long visit each month!)
(I think the lesson to be learned here is that if you want to have a popular website, don’t buy one of those cheapo “.org” addresses!)
-Backlink

DID YOU KNOW?
New research says that eating at least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables per day can help lower your stress levels, especially for women. A team at the University of Sydney in Australia conducted a study on more than 60,000 people, ages 45 and up. In general, eating between 3 and 4 servings of fruits or veggies a day was linked to an 12% lower risk of stress, compared to those who ate no servings; for women, this percentage jumped up to 18%. (Great. ANOTHER thing to stress about every day!)
-StudyFinds

BS CHRONOMETER 11.20.24

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Beautiful Day”. Beauty surrounds us. It is in music, pictures, flowers, people, and pretty much everything else. It is in the smallest and most mundane things we walk past on the street, and in Earth’s most magnificent landforms. Today, we celebrate all things of beauty. (A beautiful opportunity to call in sick today?) LINK: http://www.giftypedia.com/Beautiful_Day
• “Absurdity Day”, a chance to put your hair in pigtails or wear that shirt you like, but haven’t, because it is too ‘loud’. Today you don’t have to explain anything … just do it. (As long as you won’t be asked to explain it to a judge later…)
• “African Industrialization Day”, an annual UN initiative to encourage deployment of new technologies in order to raise living standards on the continent, and build industries of the future.
• “Globally Organized Hug a Runner Day” (GOHARD), the 14th annual day of support for those who challenge themselves through long-distance running. The day’s motto: ‘Hug a Runner and Share the Sweat!’. (Ewww!)
• “Name Your PC Day”. What name have you bestowed on yours? (And does it come when it’s called?)
• “Peanut Butter Fudge Day”. Who cares why? Bring it!
• “Transgender Day of Remembrance”, the 26th annual, commemorating those who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender bias, prejudice, or hatred.
• “Universal Children’s Day”, first proclaimed by the UN in 1954 to initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of the world’s children.
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Thurs] Pumpkin Pie Day
[Thurs] World Hello Day
[Fri] Go For a Ride Day
[Sat] Dr. Who Day
This Week is…Restorative Justice Week
This Month is…Fun with Fondue Month

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [82] Joe Biden, Scranton PA, American politician (US President since 2021/US Vice President 2009-17/US Senator [Delaware] 1973-2009)

1947 [77] Joe Walsh, Wichita KS, classic rock guitarist-singer (‘Life’s Been Good’, Eagles-‘Hotel California’)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1998/brother-in-law of Ringo Starr

1956 [68] Bo Derek, Long Beach CA, movie actress (“10”, “Tommy Boy”/TV actress (“Fashion House” 2006)

1971 [53] Joel McHale, Rome Italy, comedian-TV actor (“Community” 2009-2015, “The Soup” 2004-2015)/movie actor (“Spider-Man 2”, “Ted”) COMING UP… “California King”

1975 [49] (Frederick) Dierks Bentley, Phoenix AZ, country singer (‘Somewhere on a Beach’, ‘Drunk on a Plane’, Hot Country Knights-‘Pick Her Up’)

1977 [47] Josh Turner, Hannah SC, country singer (‘All Over Me’, ‘Why Don’t We Just Dance’)

1983 [41] Future (Nayvadius Wilburn), Atlanta GA, rapper (w/Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar-‘Like That’, w/Drake-‘Life is Good’)

1986 [38] Jared Followill, Mt Juliet TN, indie rock bassist-pianist (Kings of Leon-‘Use Somebody’, ‘Sex on Fire’)

1995 [29] Michael Clifford, Sydney Australia, pop rock guitarist/singer (5 Seconds of Summer-‘Good Girls’, ‘She Looks So Perfect’)

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1982 [42] Drew Barrymore hosts “Saturday Night Live” … at age 7.

2009 [15] Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey announces she’ll end her highly successful daytime talk show “The Oprah Winfrey Show” at the end of its 25th season, on May 25, 2011.

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2003 [21] Famed “Wall of Sound” producer Phil Spector is formally charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his LA home.

2015 [09] “25”, the 3rd studio album by Adele, is released (Grammy for Album of the Year 2017, Billboard Album of the Year 2016).

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1985 [39] Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.

BULL’S BITS

BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ You share your birthday with about 21 million people (unless you were born on Feb. 29…).
✓ Blue whale tongues can weigh as much as an elephant.
✓ The world’s smallest wasp is smaller than an amoeba.
✓ There’s no such thing as a Cornish game hen – they’re just young chickens (2 lbs. or less).
✓ Cucumber slices can fight bad breath.
✓ The world’s smallest park, in Portland OR, is 452 square inches, and was designed for snail racing.
-BathroomReadersInstitute, ReadersDigest

Best of BS . . .
BS STUPID QUESTIONS AT THE DRIVE-THRU:
• Do you guys deliver?
• Can I take your order?
• Can we start with an appetizer?
• What do you mean, you don’t serve spinach here? This is Popeye’s, right?
• Can I drive back thru when I need a refill?
• How much are the ‘dollar menu’ items?
• Can I get some rum in my Coke?
• Is this healthy?
• Could I get 10 mayo packs, 7 relishes, 16 Ketchup packets and a napkin please?
• . . . And can I get that to go?
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2018

REALLY BAD BS WRITING:
A collection of excerpts from actual high school English compositions …
• “He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.”
• “Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.”
• “He was as tall as a 6-foot, 3-inch tree.”
• “She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.”
• “The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.”
• “McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.”
• “From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and “Jeopardy” comes on at 7pm instead of 7:30.”
• “Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.”
• “The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.”
• “The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.”
-ThatsRich, first published in BS in 2009

BS WEB GOODIE:
How it’s going:  https://tinyurl.com/2zjz66mz

BS RANDOM JOKE:
In case you’re wondering about my culinary skills, on more than one occasion, I’ve been asked to bring paper towels to our family gatherings.

BS WOULD YOU RATHER?
(***You run down the list while your caller decides which choice is more palatable …***)
• Would you rather never be allowed to leave your home, or only be allowed to be there for one hour at a time?
• Would you rather be poor and work at a job you love, or be rich and work at a job you hate?
• Would you rather never feel hot again, or never feel cold again?
• Would you rather walk barefoot in a public restroom, or walk barefoot through poison ivy?
• Would you rather have all your teeth fall out, or have all your hair fall out?
• Would you rather live in your dream home in an undesirable location, or live at your dream location in an average home?
• Would you rather have really smelly feet all the time, or have really bad breath all the time?
• Would you rather punch someone in the face for no reason, or BE punched in the face for no reason?
• Would you rather be a clumsy ninja, or be a giggly mobster?

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Yes, it does have some negatives, but what is the BEST thing about social media?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
A little over 20% of people try to hide THIS from others. What is it?
Answer:  How old their phone is

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them.