Thursday 7/13/23
Celebrate:
Barbershop Music Appreciation Day
Bean 'n' Franks Day
Embrace Your Geekness Day
Fool's Paradise Day
Go West Day
Gruntled Workers Day - yes it's a word - pleased, satisfied, and contented.
National Beef Tallow Day
National French Fry Day
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Just a bit of Taylor Swift tour news for you. With the international leg of her tour coming up next year, a familiar issue with Ticketmaster presented itself. Tickets for shows in France were set to go on sale on Tuesday but a site glitch kept prospective attendees from logging into their accounts.
More than 700,000 fans were in the queue at one point, with many unable to snag tickets. A similar issue happened on the first day of U.S. sales, which ultimately forced Ticketmaster to delay the sale, sent prices surging, and led to heated hearings on Capitol Hill.
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The FBI Tweeted out a plea to the public to help them out by reporting federal crimes. But for some reason, it seems "tailored" . . . you'll see what I did there in a second . . . to appeal to Swifties.
It's a graphic with a pink background and the words "Speak Now", which is the name of the re-recorded album Taylor just released. Then it says, "Do you have a tip about a federal crime?"
Under that, there are several crimes, numbered as if they're songs on an album. There are nine of them, including "terrorism", "weapons of mass destruction", and "organized crime".
After each crime, it says "(FBI's Version)" in parentheses, just like on those re-recorded "Taylor's Version" albums.
Also, the caption says, quote, "Justice is better than revenge. You may not be Superman, but you can help the FBI protect the country. If you have information about a federal crime, speak now."
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Kristen Kish has been named the new host of "Top Chef," succeeding Padma Lakshmi. Kish was the winner of the competition show's tenth season and has returned as a guest judge.
"'Top Chef' is where I started my journey — first as a competing chef, then a guest judge," Kish said in a statement, per The Hollywood Reporter. "Now as host, I have the honor of helping to continue to build this brand." She'll officially assume the role for season 21. The relatively fast decision comes after Lakshmi announced in June that she would be leaving the show after 17 years. She said Tuesday she is "so proud" of Kish and "over the moon" that she'll be taking over as host, adding, "I'll be rooting for you and our whole crew next season." The announcement also confirms that there are, in fact, still shows not hosted by Ryan Seacrest.
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Britney Spears will soon be spilling the tea wherever books are sold. Gallery Books has revealed the singer's highly anticipated memoir will be titled "The Woman in Me" and debut on Oct. 24. The book's website described it as a "brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope" written with "remarkable candor and humor."
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Barbenheimer mania is sweeping the nation, but Christopher Nolan is allegedly none too pleased.
The director "was upset" when Warner Bros. scheduled "Barbie" to open on the same day as his film "Oppenheimer," sources told Insider. Nolan famously had a long relationship with the studio, but that fell apart after Warner Bros. movies were sent directly to HBO Max during the pandemic. Nolan, a big believer in the theatrical experience, was so angry that he took his next film, "Oppenheimer," to Universal instead. So some wondered if Warner Bros. was trying to get back at Nolan by releasing "Barbie" the same weekend as "Oppenheimer."
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We are getting to that point of the summer when the rumors surrounding Dancing with the Stars start coming out.
Let's talk season 32. First, it's back at the network (ABC) after being on Disney+ last season.
Tyra Banks is out and Julianne Hough will be taking her place as host, along with Alfonso Ribeiro.
It will be back to three judges, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba. Also watch for guest judges.
You have to wait till September 13th for the full cast announcement but....
Ariana Madix from Vanderpump Rules is a confirmed celebrity.
And one rumor.
Gina Rodriquez from Jane the Virgin and the ABC show Not Dead Yet.
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Burger King is selling a new burger in Thailand that's not really a "burger" at all.
They're calling it the "Real Cheeseburger," but there's no meat . . . just a bun with twenty slices of American cheese on it. That's roughly a pound of cheese.
The photo in their ads makes it look melted. But there's a YouTube video of a guy eating one, and it looks like they barely even heated it up.
For its initial run, they're only charging $3.00. But they'll eventually sell it for $11. So it sounds like they plan to make it a permanent menu option in Thailand.
No word on whether they're bringing it to the U.S. or not, but you can already get one if you want. Just order a cheeseburger . . . no ketchup, mustard, pickles, OR meat . . . and ask for 19 extra slices of cheese.
See a video of a guy eating it here.
https://youtu.be/wpQra2GdECs
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The first trailer for "Wonka" dropped yesterday, featuring Timothee Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka.
Director Paul King calls it a "companion piece" to the 1971 classic "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", starring Gene Wilder. The best part of the trailer is easily the end, where we see Hugh Grant as an Oompa Loompa.
King cast him in that role for a very specific reason. He says, quote, "So I was really just thinking about that character; somebody who could be a real [poop] . . . Because he's the funniest, most sarcastic [poop] I've ever met."
King also did the "Paddington" movies, and Hugh was the villain in "Paddington 2".
Oh, and he doesn't seem as creepy as Oompa Loompas can seem.
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The Hallmark Channel announced their own Christmas-themed cruise from Miami to the Bahamas in November 2024. It's called the Hallmark Channel Christmas Cruise.
It'll include crafts, the world premiere of a new movie, a tree lighting ceremony, photo ops, panels with Hallmark Channel stars, cookie decorating, "Christmas Carol-oke", an ugly sweater contest, and wine tastings.
An executive, who calls fans "Hallmarkies", says, quote, "Leave your puffy jacket and grab your Christmas spirit and passion for Hallmark Channel movies as we set sail on the most heartwarming, holly jolly experience on the high seas."
Sign-ups for the presale are open until the 19th. Then booking officially opens on the 21st.
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Lawnstarter.com recently conducted a study to determine the American cities that are the best for naked bike riding.
They compared 200 cities based on 11 metrics, like naked biking events . . . interest in nude cycling . . . bikeability . . . weather . . . and legal barriers, like public nudity laws.
In the end, Philadelphia came out on top. Portland, Oregon was the runner-up, followed by Seattle . . . New York City . . . Austin, Texas . . . L.A. . . . Chicago . . . San Francisco . . . and two Wisconsin cities: Madison and Milwaukee.
They also found that Orlando, Florida has the highest percentage of nudists.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - It's been over 21,700 days since JFK was shot . . . which is the longest the U.S. has ever gone without a president dying in office. The old streak was 18,966 days, from George Washington to William Henry Harrison.
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