Tuesday, September 3, 2024 — Edition: #7784
If the Sheet Fits, Buy It!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon have gone red-carpet official. On Sunday, the Oscar winner and his girlfriend of 2 years stepped out for the “Wolfs” premiere at the Venice Film Festival. While making their highly anticipated debut on the red carpet, Pitt and de Ramon also posed with his costar George Clooney, and his wife, Amal. Pitt’s presence at the festivities has caused much buzz, not only because of his new project with his “Ocean’s” costar, but also because his ex, Angelina Jolie, has also been appearing at the festival to promote her latest movie, “Maria”.
-People
★ Jennifer Lopez shared a series of cryptic messages to her Instagram account on Saturday, which appear to give hints about her mindset following her decision to file for divorce from Ben Affleck. She shared a selection of pictures, including a poster that reads: “Everything is unfolding in divine order”. Another image showed a T-shirt printed with the words: “She’s in bloom and unbothered, out of reach and at peace.” Others showed J-Lo in a foaming bubble bath, eating ice cream, and smiling with her 16-year-old twins, Max and Emme. The overall post was playfully captioned: “Oh, it was a summer.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/rt6wnjpw
-People
★ Just like in the movies, ‘Deadpool’ can’t be killed. “Deadpool & Wolverine” ruled the box office on a weekend of low theater attendance as the summer movie season came to a close. With a take of $16 million, Marvel’s smash hit topped the charts for a second week in a row, and after 6 weeks in theaters, crossed the domestic $600 million mark. “Reagan,” a biopic starring Dennis Quaid, exceeded projections, raking in an estimated $9.2 million, to take 4th spot. Same as last weekend, “Alien: Romulus” placed second, earning $9.3 million. “It Ends With Us” ranked #3 for the third consecutive weekend.
-AP
★ Obi Ndefo, who starred as ‘Brodie’ in Dawson’s Creek, has died. He was 51. The actor and yoga teacher’s death was announced by his sister in a Facebook post on Saturday. No details of the cause of his death were given. Ndefo was a graduate of Yale University’s drama school, and TV shows including “The West Wing’, “Star Trek: Voyager”, “Stargate SG-1” and “The Jamie Foxx Show.” His death comes after he lost both of his legs after being hit by a car in 2019.
-People
★ “Yellowstone’s” upcoming season has teased Kevin Costner’s exit in a brand-new trailer. The long-awaited second half of season 5 will arrive on Paramount+ this November, though Costner’s leading man ‘John Dutton’ will be written out after the actor announced his exit from the show last year. The season’s newly-released trailer on Instagram begins with Costner’s patriarch narrating: “Legacy. You build something worth having, someone’s gonna try to take it.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/39a55bjs
-DigitalSpy
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/Global): Billie Eilish, Adam Kinzinger, Vance Joy
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Taraji P. Henson, Katie Ledecky, Tierra Whack
• “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, KAYTRANADA ft. Rayvn Lenae & Channel Tres
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Thomas Lennon, Kimia Behpoornia, Sandy Honig
• “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Chris Hayes, Edie Falco
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): The co-hosts return in the all-new downtown New York studio.
• “The Talk” (CBS): Miranda Cosgrove, Lisa Rinna guest co-hosts (R)
• “Live with Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Season 37 season kicks off with guests Taraji P. Henson, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Max Greenfield
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Kevin Bacon, Ego Nwodim, Kevin Quinn (R)
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Tallulah Willis
• “Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Anthony Anderson and Doris Bowman (R)
• “America’s Got Talent” (NBC): 11 acts take the stage, and for the first time, a live show golden buzzer sends one directly to the finals.
• “The Quiz With Balls” (FOX): Season 1 finale
• “The Bachelorette” (CBS): Season 21 finale
• “The Surreal Life” (MTV): Season 2 finale
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Adele — During the final show of her Munich residency on Saturday, she reiterated her plan to take a lengthy break from music, after her Las Vegas residency wraps this fall. She said to the crowd: “I just need a rest. I have spent the last 7 years building a new life for myself and I want to live it now.” Her Weekends With Adele residency at Sin City’s Colosseum at Caesars Palace picks back up in October for 10 more performances, and after that, she said: “I will not see you for an incredibly long time.”
• Camila Cabello — is teasing more new music. She announced on IG that she’ll be releasing an expanded edition of her latest album ‘C, XOXO”, along with a brand-new song. The “Magic City Edition” will arrive this Friday, and feature the new single ‘Godspeed’. She captioned a teaser video: “i wish you well, but far away from me.” (Gee – do you think it’s a breakup song?) LINK: https://tinyurl.com/2akye4jp
• Oasis – Music industry expert Professor Jonathan Shalit is quoted by The Daily Mail as saying the group’s reunion will gross more than £400million (US$525 million), netting the Gallagher brothers more than £50million ($65.6m) each – from the shows alone. Additional cash is expected from merch sales, sponsorship deals and other branding. And it’s expected that more shows will be announced.
• Tom Petty – The big announcement that his social media had been teasing has been revealed. A deluxe box set version of 1982’s “Long After Dark” will be released Oct. 18. It will include a remastered version of the album, plus 12 songs that have been newly mixed, and versions taken from French TV sessions, commentary from Jimmy Iovine and Cameron Crowe, and archival photographs.
• Bon Jovi – After scoring a 2006 by teaming up with Jennifer Nettles for a duet version of ‘Who Says You Can’t Go Home’, the band has dropped a duet version of ‘The People’s House’ featuring The War and Treaty. The song is about the current division that exists in the US. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mt47wd99
• Luke Combs – His “Bootleggers Bonfire” vacation getaway is set for Oct. 10-12 in Miramar Beach FL. Other artists who will be performing include Ashley McBryde, Tracy Lawrence and Craig Morgan. LINK: https://topeka.live/bootleggersbonfire24/
• Luke Bryan — has finally sold his stunning Florida oceanfront mansion. He initially listed the 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom, 4,645-square-foot beach house in Santa Rosa Beach for $18 million in December 2022. He dropped the price twice in 2023, then again to $12.95 million in May 2024, and real estate sites are now reporting it finally sold Aug. 27 for $11.5 million. That still works out to a monthly payment of $64,253.
• Shania Twain – celebrated her 59th birthday (a day late) on Thursday by having Boyz II Men join her onstage in Las Vegas. Shawn Stockman, Nate Morris and Wanya Morris accompanied her for performances of her 1997 hit ‘You’re Still the One’ and the Boys II Men song ‘I’ll Make Love To You’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/mshu25fx
SHOOTING THE BULL
FAST FOOD FACTS:
❑ “SpongeBob SquarePants” fans, rejoice! Fast-food restaurant Wendy’s is reportedly coming out with its own Krabby Patty burger – a menu mainstay at the Krusty Krab on the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon. The under-the-sea delicacy will become available on Oct. 8 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show, according to a supposedly leaked Wendy’s memo that was posted on Reddit. The sandwich will be part of a Krabby Patty meal, and is described as “a premium cheeseburger with Wendy’s fresh, never frozen beef, topped with fresh produce and a secret Krabby Patty sauce, capturing the magic of the iconic fictional sandwich for SpongeBob fans,” according to the memo. Wendy’s will also reportedly be selling a “Pineapple Under the Sea Frosty”, featuring the restaurant’s “Vanilla Frosty swirled with Pineapple Mango puree.” The boob-tube-inspired food will only be available until Nov. 11. (It had better come with Kelp Rings – or why even bother?)
❑ If you are one of the many who believe that putting pineapple on pizza is a culinary crime, you should hear about what they’re making in Sweden: a ‘za topped with curry, pineapple – and banana. No one knows exactly who came up with the idea for this unusual pizza, but according to a 2017 tweet by the Curators of Sweden, “Tropicana” pizza (also known as “Swedish” pizza) was then already known as the “most Swedish pizza there is”. Apparently, many Swedes find the combination of curry, pineapple, and banana — paired with the smoky, savory flavor of smoked ham irresistible, making banana-topped pizza one of the most popular pizzas there. And if that isn’t weird enough for you, check this out: Some pizza places in Sweden add their own ingredients to the Tropicana, including peanuts and shrimp. (OK, now I KNOW they’re just doing it to be weird!)
-NYPost, OddityCentral
BROOCHING THE SUBJECT:
Grandmas, it might be time to lock up your jewelery box – because Gen Z has decided that brooches are back. That’s right, the once-dated accessory pin is fast-becoming a hot item for style on the street, and on red carpets and runways. Second-hand retail site The RealReal is reporting sales increases on brooches over the past 2 years, and a spokesperson notes that buyers aren’t just wearing them as a traditional holiday accessory, but expanding their use to everyday wear, such as “clipping the brooch on (a) scarf to close it” or pinning it to a suit lapel. And on the fall and winter runways, beloved Gen Z brands such as Tory Burch, Miu Miu and Schiaparelli pinned glittering brooches to lapels, coats and sheer blouses. One creative director believes the brooch’s new-found popularity among the young is “driven by a reimagined vintage kind of fashion.”
(…which is exactly how I’ve been describing my wardrobe choices for years!)
(I’m just not sure if a brooch looks right unless you’re also wearing a “Waltons” dress, or carrying a shotgun like ‘Granny’ on “The Beverly Hillbillies”!)
-NYPost
SIRIOUSLY NICE:
Do you speak politely to Siri – or Alexa, or whatever type of AI that you use? Do you say “please” and “thank you” when they come up with the answer you were looking for? According to a new survey, 48% of us believe that AI deserves to be spoken to politely. In the poll, it was found that younger generations are more likely to extend common courtesies to their digital assistants: Over half of Gen Z (56%) said that politeness is their default style when interacting with AI. And 29% of those who describe themselves as “polite” when speaking with AI went even further, feeling that “everyone deserves to be treated with manners, whether human or not.” And 39% of respondents said that they feel our past behavior when speaking with our robotic helpers might affect how they respond to us in the future.
(I used to be very polite to my digital assistants. Then I remembered all the terrible things computers have done to me — like crashing, or freezing at the worst-possible moment, or deleting stuff that wasn’t supposed to be deleted – and now, well, I think it would hypocritical for me to be nice to them!)
(What’s embarrassing is when I say “Thank you”, and then she doesn’t have the courtesy to say “You’re welcome”!)
-StudyFinds
NEW GOOD NEWS:
➢ In a plot twist worthy of an awesome video game, new research suggests that gaming can actually improve your mental health. Researchers at Japan’s Nihon University say their findings “challenge common stereotypes about gaming being harmful or merely providing temporary euphoria.” In studying survey responses from 10,000 people between ages 10 and 69, they found that “gaming can improve mental health and life satisfaction across a broad spectrum of individuals.” One caveat, though: Those benefits fade after playing video games for more than 3 hours at a time. (Also, no benefit if you’re playing GTA – or any of a million other violent or misogynistic games that are probably seriously messing up our children!)
➢ You don’t hear of THIS happening very often: A company announces record profits – then immediately outlines plans to decrease its profits by going green. But that’s exactly what’s been happening with Lego. Lego profits increased 26% over the first half of the year to $1.2 billion, while revenue jumped 13% to nearly $5 billion. Now, it is planning for increased costs in the future as it pledges to make all products from renewable and recycled materials by 2032. Objectives include switching out raw virgin plastic with renewable resin, which comes from biowaste like cooking oil, and is 40-60% more expensive than plastic made from crude oil. It’s Lego’s latest attempt to make its iconic bricks without the use of fossil fuels. Thanks to the recent profit boom, CEO Niels Christiansen said the company will absorb all cost increases stemming from these changes, instead of passing them on to consumers. (But if you step on one and litter the air with foul language – that’s still on you!)
-StudyFinds, MorningBrew
DID YOU KNOW?
Some timely advice for those heading back to the classroom – or to the office this fall: Avoid mid-thickness paper, if you’re concerned about getting a nasty paper-cut. Three physicists in Denmark carried out experiments to determine the likelihood of slicing your skin using different thicknesses of common paper. The paper most likely to cause a cut was mid-thickness, which includes printer paper, newspaper, and Post-it notes. Thicker paper usually had too flat an edge to slice, while thin tissue paper and photo paper buckled against the gelatin material used as a stand-in for skin in the experiments. Some printer paper was so sharp that the scientists were able to use it to cut vegetables and meats. (Apparently our copy-paper has been copying Ginsu!)
-MorningBrew
BS CHRONOMETER 09.03.24
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “National Flag Day” in Australia, celebrating this date in 1901, when the new flag, known as the Commonwealth blue ensign, was flown for the first time, over the dome of the Exhibition Building in Melbourne. It was later renamed the Australian National Flag. (***See “BS Stupid Questions for Australians”, below***)
• “Skyscraper Day”, to appreciate and admire the world’s tallest buildings. By definition, a skyscraper is any structure that clearly stands out above its surrounding environment. A loose agreement in North America & Europe puts the lower limit of a skyscraper at 150 meters (500 ft). A skyscraper taller than 300 meters (984 ft) is referred to as ‘supertall’.
WORLD’S TALLEST BUILDINGS:
5. Ping’an Finance Centre (Shenzhen, China) …599m (1,965ft)
4. Makkah Royal Clock Tower (Mecca, Saudi Arabia) … 601 m (1,971 ft)
3. Shanghai Tower (Shanghai, China) … 632 m (2,073 ft)
2. Merdeka 118 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) … 679 m (2,227 ft)
1. Burj Dubai (Dubai UAE) … 828 m (2,717 ft)
• “Telephone Tuesday”, based on the clear spike in telephone calls experienced on the day after Labor Day by businesses and organizations. The high number of calls are partly due to unmanned telephones during the long weekend. Also, summer is ending, school is starting, and people want to take care of things they’ve been putting off since spring. (Also, Little Johnny’s teacher is already calling about his bad behavior…)
• “Welsh Rarebit Day”, saluting the traditional dish that, explained simply, is melted cheese on bread. But anyone who’s had it knows it’s far more exotic than that, incorporating butter, flour, cheddar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and – optionally – beer.
• “US Bowling League Day”, primarily an outdoor sport until around 1840, the game was called ninepins and was popular with gamblers. To snuff out the gambling, Connecticut banned the game in 1841. To circumvent the law, indoor lane owners added one pin to their alleys.
• “Another Look Unlimited Day”, when you’re supposed to look around your home for things you don’t need, but instead of throwing them out, give them to a charity or to friends — or find some way to repurpose the item. (It’s a bit easier to ‘clear things out’ now, with the kids back in school!)
• “Baby Back Ribs Day”. These are the small ribs that come from the rear of the spinal column. They contain a higher proportion of meat to bone than spareribs, and aren’t as fatty. Some people like them better than spareribs, and some say they’re inferior. (But really, when prepared correctly, how bad can any type of ribs be?)
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Wed] Eat an Extra Dessert Day
[Wed] Newspaper Carrier Day
[Thurs] Cheese Pizza Day
[Fri] Barbie Doll Day
This Week is…Waffle Week
This Month is…Sourdough September
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [82] Al Jardine, Lima OH, pop-rock guitarist/singer (Beach Boys-‘Help Me, Rhonda’)
1955 [69] Steve Jones, London England, punk rock guitarist (Sex Pistols-‘God Save the Queen’)
1965 [59] Charlie Sheen (Carlos Estevez), NYC, TV actor (“Anger Management” 2012-14, “Two & A Half Men” 2003-11)/movie actor (“Major League” movies, “Platoon”)/son of Martin Sheen, brother of Emilio Estevez. COMING UP…”Ramble On”
1975 [49] Redfoo (Stefan Gordy), LA CA, pop singer-DJ-rapper (LMFAO-‘Sexy & I Know It’, ‘Party Rock Anthem’)
1979 [45] Tomo Miličević, Sarajevo Bosnia & Herzegovina, alt-rock guitarist (30 Seconds to Mars-‘This Is War’, ‘Kings & Queens’)
1986 [38] Shaun White, San Diego CA, snowboarder/skateboarder (3 Olympic golds, 13 X-Games gold medals, more than any other competitor)
2001 [23] Kaia Gerber, Los Angeles CA, model/TV actress (“Palm Royal” 2024)/daughter of Cindy Crawford
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1966 [58] The TV show “Star Trek” debuts with a private showing at the “World Science Fiction Convention” in Cleveland, Ohio (and the modern-day “nerd” is born!)
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2009 [15] A private funeral for Michael Jackson is held at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, more than 2 months after his death on June 25th.
2017 [07] Steely Dan co-founder and guitarist Walter Becker dies of esophageal cancer at 67.
2022 [02] At London’s Wembley Stadium, music stars including Paul McCartney, and members of Rush, Queen, Metallica, AC/DC, and Oasis join Foo Fighters in a tribute concert for their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, who died 6 months earlier. A second tribute show was staged in LA on Sept. 27.
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1895 [129] The first ‘professional football game’ is played. (Latrobe, Pennsylvania YMCA beats Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0).
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1970 [54] The ‘largest hailstone’ lands in Kansas … 17.5 inches in circumference, weighing 1.67 pounds and estimated by scientists to have struck the ground at 105 mph.
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK BACK-TO-SCHOOL SCHOOL FACTS:
✓ The largest school in the world in terms students is the City Montessori School in Lucknow, India. It boasts more than 62,000 students and over 4,500 staff.
✓ In 2014, there was an elementary school in Turin, Italy that had just one teacher and one student.
✓ Children aren’t required to start school in Finland until they turn 7.
✓ In Bangladesh, there are more than 100 boat-schools.
✓ A school in the Philippines is made entirely of recycled pop bottles.
✓ In a remote area of Colombia, kids have to travel to school on a zip-line.
-SchoolAdvisor
Best of BS . . .
It’s “National Flag Day” in Australia, so we present…
BS STUPID QUESTIONS FOR AUSTRALIANS:
• What do you didgeridoo for a living?
• Why do you throw shrimp on a helpless doll?
• Is Paul Hogan related to Hulk Hogan?
• How do you throw away your old boomerangs?
• Is that Men at Work song your National Anthem?
• Vegemite is just a joke you trick us foreigners with, right?
• Is a lazy kangaroo called a ‘pouch potato’?
• Every time I attempt your accent I sound like an extra trailer park-y Mama June, and yours sounds so cool. Why is that?
• What g’day is it?
• Is THIS a knife?
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2019
BS STUPID STUFF MEN DO:
• Add hot sauce to spicy food.
• Watch the news 8 times a day, and expect something new.
• Think Axe body spray is an effective substitute for a shower.
• Tell her to calm down.
• Get married. I’ll hide now.
• Mansplain. That means a man explaining something to a woman in a condescending manner, ladies.
• Just hold my beer and I’ll show you…
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2020
TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ The 2024 NFL season kicks off on Thursday. (I don’t have great hopes for my team. They used their only draft pick to get some “Miller Genuine”…)
➠ The Redhead Days Festival took place in the Netherlands last weekend. (This year’s theme? “Look Out, it’s the Sun!”)
➠ Social critics say we’re experiencing a narcissism epidemic. (But I disagree. Which means, of course, that we’re not.)
➠ A study claims that the antioxidant resveratrol found in red wine and chocolate doesn’t actually help you live longer, after all. (The study was, of course, performed by the National Buzzkill Institute.)
➠ FACT: 200 years ago, the treadmill was used as a torture device. (Today? Yup. For hanging your dry cleaning!)
BS WEB GOODIE:
I’ll do the other half of my workout later: https://tinyurl.com/2uy5b77j
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I’m not even delusional. I’m fully aware of all the dumb things I’m doing.
BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• In bowling, 2 strikes in a row is nicknamed a what?
a) Fred Flintstone
b) Wilma
c) Barney Rubble [CORRECT]
d) O and 2
• The Iditarod race features what?
a) Horses
b) Dogs [CORRECT]
c) Ostriches
d) Wheels of cheese
• Which music artist was born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye?
a) Drake
b) The Weeknd [CORRECT]
c) Jay-Z
d) Johnny Rotten
-Stuff
BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ If you could work remotely from anywhere, where would that be?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: 49% of college students will do THIS at least once this semester. What is it?
Answer: Pull a study all-nighter
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.
