Born on this day!! Actor Frances Sternhagen is 92. Actor Charlie Brill is 84. Actor Billy Gray (“Father Knows Best”) is 84. Actor Richard Moll (“Night Court”) is 79. Guitarist Trevor Rabin of Yes is 68. Drummer Fred White of Earth, Wind and Fire is 67. Actor Kevin Anderson (“Nothing Sacred”) is 62. Actor Julia Louis–Dreyfus (“Veep,” ″Seinfeld”) is 61. Singer Graham “Suggs” McPherson of Madness is 61. Country singer Trace Adkins is 60. Actor Penelope Ann Miller is 58. Actor Patrick Dempsey is 56. Actor Suzanne Cryer (“Silicon Valley,” ″Two Guys and a Girl”) is 55. Actor Traci Bingham (“Baywatch”) is 54. Actor Keith Coogan (“Adventures in Babysitting”) is 52. Writer-Producer Shonda Rhimes (“Scandal,” ″Grey’s Anatomy,” ″Private Practice ”) is 52. Actor Nicole Eggert (“Baywatch,” ″Charles in Charge”) is 50. Actor Ross McCall (“White Collar,” “Band of Brothers”) is 46. Actor Michael Pena (“American Hustle”) is 46. Actor Orlando Bloom is 45. “Good Morning America” meteorologist Ginger Zee is 41. Actor Beau Mirchoff (“Good Trouble,” “Desperate Housewives”) is 33. Actor Liam Hemsworth (“The Hunger Games”) is 32.
THIS DAY IN GENIUS HISTORY
1898 – French writer Emile Zola published his “J’Accuse” letter, accusing the French of a cover-up in the Alfred Dreyfus treason case.
1941 – Novelist James Joyce died in Zurich.
1990 – Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the first elected African-American governor in the United States.
1999 – Michael Jordan announced his second retirement from the NBA. He would “unretire” again in 2001.
2002 – After 17,162 performances, The Fantasticks ended its almost 42-year off-Broadway run.
2004 – Joseph Darby, a U.S. soldier at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, reported U.S. abuses of Iraqi prisoners to the Army’s Criminal Investigations Division.
Today Is: Delta Sigma Theta Day, Korean American Day, Make Your Dream Come True Day, National Sticker Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day, Rubber Ducky Day, Stephen Foster Day
TODAY ON TV!
Primetime TV (All Times Eastern)
CBS – 8:00 – Young Sheldon 8:30 – United States Of AI / 9:00 – Ghosts / 9:30 – Be Positive / 10:00 – Bull
NBC – 8:00 – The Blacklist / 9:00 – Law and Order SVU / 10:00 – Law and Order SO
ABC – 8:00 – Women Of Movement / 10:00 – Let The World See
FOX – 8:00 – Joe Millionaire / 9:00 – Call Me Kat / 9:30 – Pivoting
CW – 8:00 – Walker / 9:00 – Legacies
TV Talk Shows
Jimmy Fallon: Willem Dafoe, Ariana DeBose, the Lumineers
Seth Meyers: Tracee Ellis Ross, Bridget Everett, Bianca Richardson
James Corden: Ansel Elgort, Jane Levy (R 12/7/21)
Watch What Happens Live: Isla Fisher, Nicole Ari Parker
The Talk: David Arquette
Live with Kelly and Ryan: Isla Fisher, Ginnifer Goodwin, Joanne Molinaro
Ellen DeGeneres: Christina Ricci, Ainslie MacLeod
The Real: Sierra Gates
Kelly Clarkson: Neve Campbell, Marcus Scribner, Lawrence Zarian
Drew Barrymore: Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Melissa Barrera
WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN’ ABOUT? Here are today’s PPM-Friendly Topics!
QUESTION: Ever dream you had an INSECT IN YOUR EAR? This Texas man WASN’T DREAMING!! It was alive, and doctors pulled out in the ER!
QUESTION: Are we REALLY doing this?? COACHELLA announces Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Kanye West to headline next year’s festival!!!!
QUESTION: Will YOU live to be 100 YEARS OLD?? Put your age and gender into this online calculator and see what your chances are!!!!!!!!!!
QUESTION: When will it STOP?? Now we’ve lost the iconic RONNIE SPECTOR, the woman who sang “be my little baby!!!” R.I.P., Ronnie!!!!!
QUESTION: Is it because he’s SLEPT WITH EVERY ACTRESS?? Pete Davidson is reportedly being considered to HOST THE OSCARS!!!!!!!
“A little less leg, please!!”
Nightmare On Elm Street House Sold
A Los Angeles home made famous by the 1984 slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street sold for almost $3 million — and it came with Bo Burnham’s guest house. The house, which served as protagonist Nancy Thompson’s home in exterior shots of the Wes Craven horror classic, sold for $2.8 million after being listed for $3.5 million shortly before Halloween 2021. The listing said the home terrorized by Freddy Krueger had its interior redesigned in the mid-2000s, before being sold in 2013 to Hustlers director Lorene Scafaria. The listing includes a guest house, which itself was made famous by comedian Bo Burnham, who filmed his pandemic-themed special, Inside, in the home.
*********You can buy the same house in Boise for $350,000!! That’s why everybody’s leaving California!!
*******Obviously the buyer has never seen the movie!!
Simon Cowell Engaged
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are engaged. They got engaged on Christmas Eve in Barbados, where they first met. He proposed to her as they were walking on the beach together. It took place during a family vacation with their 7-year-old son Eric and Silverman’s 16-year-old son Adam. The couple welcomed their son Eric in February 2014. Powell hinted that he would marry Silverman back in 2013 while she was pregnant. They announced her pregnancy before Silverman was officially divorced from Cowell’s friend Andrew Silverman, with whom she has a son. Cowell expressed his regrets about having an affair with Silverman while she remained married to his best friend but accepted the criticism that came along with it.
********Hey… don’t rush into anything!! Your kid is only 7!!!
********Being married comes in handy when your old man DIES!! The inheritance is less complicated.. and Simon isn’t getting any younger!!
*****She wants to make sure she gets his social security!!
UPDATE!! Page Six says he proposed seven years ago.. then CHANGED HIS MIND!! He had to do it now.. or she was leaving!! STORY HERE!!
Ben Affleck Was Told To Fix His Teeth
Ben Affleck underwent a physical transformation before starring in the 1998 blockbuster “Armageddon.” The actor, who is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s February issue, reflected on the requirements he had to meet before playing an oil driller who trains to be an astronaut. “I was a little naïve about the opinions people would form about me,” said the 49-year-old. “Or [director] Michael [Bay] and [producer] Jerry [Bruckheimer]’s focus on aesthetics, like, ‘You guys gotta go to the tanning bed!’” “They made me fix my teeth and work out and be sexy,” the star continued. “Be sexy, how do I do that? ‘Go to the gym!’ Running in the gym and putting oil on my body and stuff, and it just turned out to be a long-form version of one of those male topless calendars, in a garage, carrying a tire, kind of greased up.” According to Affleck, Bay “had a vision of a glistening male torso into the oil, and he was like, ‘That’s going to go in the trailer and sell tickets!’” “And you know, what can you say?” Affleck shared. “We could have made, I think, 400 ‘Chasing Amys’ for what we made ‘Armageddon’ for.” And despite his decades-long career, Affleck said it’s “Armageddon” that his children prefer watching. He shares daughters Violet and Seraphina, as well as son Samuel, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. “It’s funny because that’s the one movie of mine that my kids have watched and they’ll kind of all admit to liking, even though they relentlessly mock it and me,” said the Oscar winner. “’What are you, driving a tank on the moon?’ But they had fun, you know what I mean?’ They won’t even watch ‘The Town.’ So there you have it.”
********He agreed to “get sexy,” but he drew the line at breast implants!!!
*****It got weird when he greased up and got in the tanning bed with Michael Bay!!
*******Joe Exotic has watched that movie a million times!! Must be the fact that it’s set in Oklahoma??
*****All we remember is Bruce Willis and Steve Buscemi on an asteroid!! That was worth the price of a ticket!!
SAG Award Nominations
The Screen Actors Guild Awards revealed its nominees ahead of the 2022 show, which will be held Sunday, Feb. 27. After a brief issue without sound on the feed, Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Hudgens announced the nominations live on the SAG Instagram account Wednesday morning. In film, nominees for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture included “Belfast,” “CODA,” “Don’t Look Up,” “House of Gucci” and “King Richard,” with Golden Globe winner “The Power of the Dog” notably absent. Lady Gaga scored a nod for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role — a surprise given harsh critics’ reviews — up against Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Jennifer Hudson and Nicole Kidman in that category. Meanwhile, Javier Bardem, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield, Will Smith and Denzel Washington will compete for the outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role SAG Award. Television will see several co-stars battle for the win, such as “Succession” stars Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong — all three of whom were nominated for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series (along with Billy Crudup and Lee Jung-jae). The hit HBO show was also nominated for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series against “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Morning Show,” “Squid Game” and “Yellowstone.” “Succession” star Sarah Snook will face off against “The Morning Show” co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon along with Jung Ho-yeon and Elisabeth Moss in what will undoubtedly be a tight race for best actress in a drama series. The show will air live on TNT and TBS on Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT) from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California — a change in venue for the first time since 1997 after last year’s postponed, pre-taped ceremony.
*********They’re doing it in an airplane hangar… so they can fly out of there in case of a ‘rona outbreak!!
*******This low-rated show is the precursor to the low-rated Oscar show!!!
Steve Harvey Already In Trouble With ABC Bosses
Steve Harvey has already gotten in trouble with his bosses at ABC. His new Judge Steve Harvey show follows the standard daytime courtroom production style, with the added benefit of a comedic legend presiding over the cases. Apparently, ABC would prefer that its judges use friendly language. Harvey’s first case featured Kristin Jones suing David Ronca for $4,800 for the cost of a “Bachelor Knot” party. The couple has been together for 20 years, engaged for 16 years and share three children — the youngest of whom is 8 weeks old. Ronca filed a $2,300 countersuit, claiming Jones lost the engagement ring and he purchased a metal detector to try and find it. Despite the marriage issue, the couple is on good terms and plan to be together indefinitely. “You’re not on trial for your character, sir, you’re on trial because of stupidity,” Harvey told Ronca. “The reason you’re here is because you’re stuck on stupid.” Harvey blasted Ronca, who was unable to justify his newfound aversion to marriage with Jones. “I promise you, if you was my son I’d slap you right now,” Harvey said. At one point during the trial, Harvey stopped the proceeding to get a photo with Ronca. After he returned to his seat, he told the defendant, “I got to have that picture, ’cause you’re the stupidest dude I’ve ever met, and I don’t want to ever forget your face.” While some viewers thought Harvey’s interaction was funny, he revealed on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! that ABC executives weren’t fans of his name calling. “I said, this is the stupidest dude I’ve ever met and ABC had a little talk with me afterwards because you know, ‘Steve, it’s not politically correct to call anybody stupid.’” Harvey told Kimmel.
********Did anyone tell ABC that Steve is NOT a judge??
******After watching the Supreme Court last week, we think THEY may be the dumbest people in America!!
*******Steve is saying the things a lot of judges would like to say!!
*******Why doesn’t Judge Reinhold have a judge show???
Ripping The Tabloids (Throughout the week, we’ll give you the stories from that weeks tabs!)
**Please Credit Publication!
Hammer Fears Slammer!-(National Enquirer)
Lily-livered Armie Hammer is quaking in his boots about the looming possibility of trial and prison over accusations he was exually violent toward women! The “Lone Ranger” star denied any wrongdoing after multiple women claimed he sent them twisted messages-including “I need to drink your blood,” “I want to bite pieces off of you” and “I am 100 percent a cannibal.” Sources said since completing rehab in December, Hammer is taking a more sober view of the situation. “He’s scared stiff, and with his newfound sobriety has come clarity and a very serious realization he’s got a long and painful battle ahead of him,” said an insider. “For all his bravado, Armie’s a pampered, spoiled brat, and he’d go to pieces if that prison door slammed shut!”
Batty Rob Channels Rocker Kurt Cobain-(Globe)
When it came to choosing the next big screen Batman, Rob Pattinson rocked! Director Matt Reeves says the “Twilight” bloodsucker’s moody Kurt Cobain vibe is perfect for the Capped Crusader. Reeves explains: “It came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse-the idea of this fictionalized version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor. He’s also got that Kurt Cobain thing, where he looks like a rock star, but you also feel like he could be a recluse.” As for Rob’s grungier Batsuit, the 35-year-old star explains: “He’s been out every single night for two years, getting beaten up and shot and stabbed and burnt, and it shows. There’s a bullet graze on the cowl, right at the beginning. I don’t think that’s been done before.” Sounds, well, bats!
Rebel’s New Man-(Star)
It’s love-love! Game, set, match! Rebel Wilson and Australian tennis ace Matt Reid made their first red carpet appearance as a couple on Dec. 8 at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards in Sydney. According to a source, the actress, 41, and her new beau, 31, were set up in August by a mutual friend. The Bachelor: Australia’s Brittany Hockley, whose boyfriend is fellow tennis pro Jordan Thompson. “Rebel really likes Matt. She lights up whenever he’s around. They get along so well and share the same sense of humor,” says a source. “Matt makes Rebel laugh and they joked around a lot. He’s helping her improve her tennis game, too. She loves the sport and is a regular at Wimbledon. But really, it’s just a way for them to spend as much time as they can together.”
Say What?!-(Life & Style)
“I have a theory that people who were born in the daytime are most alive in the day, and people who were born at night feel most creative and alive at night.”-Madonna, who says she goes to bed at 4 a.m. every day.
“A lot of really great guitarists have come up to me over the years and said they picked up the guitar because of the ‘Johnny B. Goode’ scene in Back to the Future. If I did anything in this life, I got John Mayer to pick up the guitar!”-Michael J. Fox on his legacy.
“My friends and I talk in accents all day long [or] baby voices.”-Vanessa Hudgens, on how her pals “support each other’s quirks.”
Engaged: Jo Jo & Dexter Darden-(People)
On Dec. 25 the “Leave (Get Out)” singer, 31, revealed that the Maze Runner actor, 30, had popped the question. “Forever with YOU? Sign me UP,” she wrote on Instagram.
Lady In Red-(In Touch)
Dec. 24
The princess is a pianist! Kate Middleton surprises-and wows-everyone by accompanying [on the piano] Scottish singer Tom Walker on his song “For Those Who Can’t Be Here” on ITV’s Royal Carols: Together at Christmas. “She absolutely nailed it,” he raves.
STUPID NEWS
College Course On Being Happy
A Yale University professor said her free online course on the science of living a happy life has seen enrollment spike by about 3,000% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology, started teaching her class, Psychology 157: Psychology and the Good Life, in March 2018, and the next semester she made the class available for free online via Coursera under the title “Science of Well-Being.” Santos said the COVID-19 pandemic led to enrollment in the course spiking to 3,000% of what it was in 2019. “I do think people wanted to do more to protect their happiness during the pandemic,” Santos told The Hill. “I think people were getting great evidence-based advice about how to protect their physical health — mask up, socially distance, get a vaccine — but people were struggling with what to do to protect their mental health. The class provided that evidence-based advice for improving well-being.” The 10-week course features science-based examinations of well-being contrasted with common misconceptions about happiness. Students learn to develop and implement strategies to increase their own well-being and are given “happiness-boosting challenges” as homework.
*******Science has proven that when people are “happy,” they’re not really happy. Uh.. right??
*****Just play “I’m Only Happy When It Rains,” by Garbage!!!
TOPIC: What makes YOU happy?? It’s different for different people!
*****For example: Joy Behar boils rabbits in her backyard, while Kathy Griffin pretends she’s beheading people!!
Siblings Find Each Other Thru EBay Purchase
A pair of Scottish siblings who grew up in the same city met for the first time in their 30s thanks to an eBay purchase that led to a family connection. Ross Colquhoun, 37, who shared his story on Twitter, said he and his sister, Erin, 31, met Monday. Colquhoun said the story of the reunion began two years earlier, when he bought a Hearts vs. Liverpool soccer game program on eBay. He said he received a message from the seller saying his purchase was being refunded, and the seller then explained why — he was the father Colquhoun had never met. Colquhoun said the eBay purchase led to his getting to know his father’s side of the family, but the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way of his meeting his sister until Monday. “We laughed, we cried, and we shared stories. It felt like we’d known each other our entire lives,” Colquhoun tweeted. “I was extremely nervous, but it was an absolutely beautiful and life affirming experience.”
*********And since it was Scotland, they were both wearing kilts!!
*********How about the back story??? Why hadn’t they met???
*****It’s nice to get together over a hot haggis and catch up!!!
Intruder Rescued From Chimney
Maryland firefighters rescued a suspected home intruder over the weekend after the man got stuck inside a chimney, officials said. The rescue happened Saturday morning at a home in Silver Spring, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer said in a tweet. A resident of the home had heard rustling coming from outside around 3:30 a.m. and called police, WRC-TV reported. But responding officers found no signs of an attempted break-in and left. The resident told the station that an hour later he heard moans coming from inside a wall and called police again. It was then discovered that an unknown man was trapped inside the home’s chimney. Piringer posted photos of firefighters working to rescue the man. In one photo, the man’s legs could be seen dangling through a hole firefighters made through the brick wall. In another photo, firefighters could be seen removing bricks from the wall, which created a mess of dust a debris inside the home.
**********We would have left him in there. The smell goes away after awhile!!
****Cops told him: “If you’re not wearing a red suit with a bag full of toys, you’re in trouble!!
*****You shouldn’t come down a chimney… you could catch the flue!!!
Women Arrested For Glitter Bombing
Two Clearwater, Florida, women are facing felony charges of burglary with assault or battery after throwing glitter on a man during an argument, according to local reports. Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office records show Sarah Franks, 29, and Kaitlin O’Donovan, 27, were arrested Monday on burglary charges and held on $75,000 bond. They have since been released. The two women were accused of showing up to the victim’s apartment on Monday around 3 a.m., at which point they began to argue with him from his ground-level patio, FOX 13 reported, citing an arrest affidavit. At that point, Franks and O’Donovan allegedly threw a container of glitter at the victim, hitting his head and torso. Investigators said Franks then jumped over a fence onto the victim’s patio and threw more containers of glitter at him. O’Donovan, meanwhile, reportedly walked to the front door of the apartment so that Franks could let her in, and they threw more glitter at the man. Franks is also accused of kicking and breaking a lower window in the victim’s apartment.
**********Detective Ru Paul is in charge of the case!!
********Next time, try a REAL bomb!!
*******If you’re a real man, you CAN be incapacitated by glitter.
STUFF THAT’S COOL AND VIRAL
VIDEO: THE SOPRANOS WITH ZOO ANIMALS!!
VIDEO: AUTONOMOUS INDYCAR RACE!
A LIST FOR THURSDAY
8 Things Therapists Personally Do When They Feel Lonely
HUFFINGTON POST
- Acknowledge what you’re feeling.
As with most feelings, you can’t address loneliness unless you recognize it’s there.
“Loneliness is a signal to acknowledge the vulnerability and ask for help,” said Nicole Villegas, a wellness coach and founder of Take Action for Self-Care. By simply labeling these feelings, you’ve already taken the first step toward making it better, she added.
- Seek connection.
When dealing with feelings of loneliness, Ibinye Osibodu-Onyali, a licensed marriage and family therapist at The Zinnia Practice in California, said she takes the time to connect with others in real and meaningful ways.
“I reach out to others either via social media or I send them a text to check in with them. I love having deep conversations with others. I genuinely like to know how they are doing and how I can support them,” she said.
These connections don’t always have to be with folks you already know and love; you could take the opportunity to meet new people. Angela Amias, a licensed social worker in Iowa City, Iowa, said she enjoys finding ways to connect in brief interactions.
“It’s easy to overlook small opportunities to connect with others,” she said. “I read a study several years ago that found casual interactions with strangers improved people’s moods for the rest of the day. Since the pandemic, I especially appreciate my encounters with vendors at the farmer’s market, with cashiers at the local grocery, with people I cross paths with during my daily walk.”
- Brain-dump your feelings.
Amias also shared that sometimes when she feels lonely she tries to connect with herself as well. She said her loneliness often indicates that she’s not as connected to herself as she should be, and she uses journaling as an antidote.
“Journaling helps me reconnect with myself. There’s something about sitting down with a cup of coffee, my journal and my favorite pen that lets me slow down and really listen to myself,” she said.
- Venture outside for a few minutes.
“When I feel a sense of loneliness, I often turn to the natural world for support,” Amias said, adding that taking a moment to absorb everything around her helps her remember she’s a part of it all.
Research shows going outside and walking can give a slight mood boost, too, which may ease some of the sad feeling associated with loneliness.
- Try a quick thought exercise.
For Kate Ecke, a therapist in New Jersey and founder of The Unconventional Therapists, mindfulness is the go-to practice while experiencing moments of feeling alone.
“I think about the amount of people who are in my immediate vicinity (so maybe, the town I’m currently in), then I go out a little further and think about the county, then state, then country, then continent and then the world,” she explained. “I think about how each of these people is a living, breathing person. That each of one of them has hopes, dreams and fears. That they all love someone else deeply. That they have all lost something profound.”
Her goal here is to remind herself that there are millions of people having the same human experience as she is in this very moment. “And suddenly — I don’t feel so alone,” she added.
- Figure out where the feelings are coming from.
According to Danita Morales Ramos, a licensed professional counselor in Virginia Beach, Virginia, “feelings are not finite. They are simply an experience.”
By checking with yourself to identify whether your feeling of loneliness is linked to the past or present, you’ll be able to better manage.
“I ask myself if these feelings relate to something that is happening in the present or if it relates to my view of the past or future. Identifying why I have these feelings helps me to properly address them,” Morales Ramos said. “If my feelings are rooted in the past, I focus on what I am dealing with in the present. Focusing my attention on the present alleviates the feelings of loneliness that are rooted in the past. If the feeling of loneliness is rooted in the future (i.e., anxiety), I also use mindfulness as well as positive self-talk to help me return my focus to my current circumstances.”
- Learn a new skill.
Another way to deal with feeling alone is by keeping your mind busy with new and interesting things. Jason Drake, a therapist in Katy, Texas, said when he opened a private practice during the pandemic he realized he needed to learn how to optimize his website. He decided to reach out to a search engine optimization expert for lessons.
“For 12 weeks, she walked me through and showed me the ins and outs of optimizing a website. For those 12 weeks, I was kept busy learning this new skill and implementing it,” he said. “Learning a new skill kept my brain focused on a task instead of my thoughts wandering to the feelings of loneliness. A busy mind is one of the best ways to get the inner dialogue to quiet down, which led to decreased feelings of loneliness.”
- Pay attention to how you speak to yourself.
Drake also said that positive self-talk is key when experiencing loneliness. Since our brains tend to have a negativity bias, it means that our thoughts naturally drift toward negative things about ourselves or about our life.
“One way to help manage feelings of loneliness is to look at these feelings realistically. When you feel lonely, it may feel in that moment that these feelings will last forever. Yet when I would remind myself that these feelings were temporary and that nothing, including feelings, lasts forever, it helped the feelings of loneliness decrease in strength,” he said.
The preceding material was compiled and edited by Brandon Castillo. The Editor-In-Chief is Gary Bryan. The Radio Genius Show Prep Service is licensed for use on-air only by subscribing radio stations. Other means of redistribution is forbidden.
© 2021 – Radio Genius Show Prep