Trending This Mornin'

 
 
Another really COLD morning.  Partly sunny with temps in the 30s today, but wind chills around zero.  Friday looks ugly for daytime travel.   Thursday, Partly sunny.  Hi 32.  Mainly snow, mixing with sleet. 1 to 4" but easier to shovel than the last one.  Highs Saturday will barely clip 30° with lows in the teens. Sunday is sunny, with highs in the upper 30s.  Temperatures slowly climb to the 40s early next week, and should actually flirt with 50s by midweek.

 

Lookin' Back
1849- English-born Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in America to receive a medical degree when she graduated from the Medical Institution of Geneva, NY.
1964- Ratification of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was completed. This amendment eliminated the poll tax in federal elections.
1977- The TV mini-series Roots, starring LeVar Burton, began airing on ABC. 
1977- Carole King's landmark album, Tapestry, became the longest-running album ever on the charts, as it reached its 302nd week on the album list. 
1983- The A-Team debuted on NBC and ran for five seasons. 
 

 
Cuttin' Cake
Tiffani Thiessen (Saved By the Bell, Beverly Hills, 90210) – 39
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) – 49
Gail O’Grady (NYPD Blue) – 50
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick is 60.
Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) – 63
Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) – 70
Chita Rivera (Sweet Charity, Chicago) – 80
 
 

Joke of the Day
A man is recovering from surgery when the Surgical Nurse appears and asks him  how he is feeling.

"I'm O. K. but I didn't like the four letter-words  the doctor used in surgery," he answered.

"What did he say," asked the  nurse.

"Oops!" 

 
Weird News This Mornin'
When the winner of a sea fishing contest proudly showed off the 13 pound bass he claimed to have hooked, the judges were impressed. But they began to suspect something fishy was going on when one of the fellow competitors claimed to recognize the unfortunate creature. Rather than pulling the prize-winning bass out of the English Channel as he had claimed, it turned out angler Matthew Clark had stolen it from a local aquarium. It was fellow entrant Shane Bentley who spotted the bass' distinctive markings and began to investigate. Clark was given 100 hours community service after admitting burglary and fraud

 
 
Of all the stupid things you could do when you’re drunk, attempting to hold up a Little Caesar’s is probably towards the top of the list.  Ryan Hopkins, 25, was wearing a ski mask and sunglasses when he stumbled into the pizza joint in Illinois last Thursday. But he apparently had a little too much liquid courage to gear him up for the crime. He appeared visibly intoxicated and told an employee, “this is a hold up,” while badly slurring his speech. The employee told him to leave the premises, and Hopkins walked out. He was later picked up by police and charged with public intoxication. He won’t be charged with attempted robbery because he didn’t even have a weapon. 
 

 
Smarter Than Question
Americans spend $13 billion a year on this.   What is it?  Congrats to Robert.  He got it.  The answer is "jeans".
 

 
Entertainment Buzz

 
Oh say can she sing?

Beyonce lip-synced the "Star-Spangled Banner" at Monday's inaugural ceremonies. A U.S. Marine Band spokeswoman said Tuesday, "We all know Beyonce can sing. We all know the Marine Corps Band can play. We do not know why she decided to go with the pre-recorded music at the last minute."  ... Another Band source says Beyonce felt she didn't have enough time to practice with the Marine Band and wanted to play it safe.  But now, the U.S. Marine Band is "backing off" from their earlier statements.   Hummmm

 

Actor Josh Duhamel will host Nickelodeon's 26th annual Kids' Choice Awards from Los Angeles on March 23.
 

Less than two months after Bethenny Frankel announced she  was divorcing husband Jason Hoppy, the Bravo star has been linked to hedge fund mogul Warren Lichtenstein, who has reportedly been supporting her during the split.
 

 
New Kids on the Block announced on The View yesterday they're going to tour with 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men.

Congrats to Shakira.  The new judge of The Voice gave birth to a baby boy Tuesday in Barcelona, weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces.  Nice name:  Milan Piqué Mebarak.   The name Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn), means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic;  in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification.     Both mother and child are fine.  The father - soccer star Gerard Pique - has got to be excited.  It's their first.   
 
 
More baby news: 
Travel Channel host Samantha Brown has given birth to twins.  She and hubby Kevin O'Leary welcomed a son, Ellis James, and a daughter, Elizabeth Mae, last week.   I'm thinking they'll be getting their baby passports soon.
 

 
It's the time of year when the rumors start to swirl about who's going to be on Dancing with the Stars. TMZ reports Lindsay Lohan was approached, but turned it down.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is quoted in an interview in Germany's top selling newspaper as saying he still loves estranged wife,  Maria Shriver.
 

 
Tonight,  American Idol visits Charlotte.  Meanwhile, former contestant and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson says 'American Idol' should end while it's on top.

 
 
TV Tonight
The Middle (ABC)   The Neighbors (ABC)   Modern Family (ABC)  Suburgatory (ABC)  Nashville (ABC)
Arrow (THE CW) Supernatural (THE CW)
American Idol (FOX)
Criminal Minds (CBS)   CSI (CBS)
American Horror Story (FX)
Chicago Fire (NBC)
Washington Heights (MTV)
Top Chef (BRAVO)
Necessary Roughness (USA)
 

News from Nashville


 
(Photo: Capitol Nashville)
 
Lady Antebellum released a new single, "Downtown," to country radio yesterday.   The track is the lead release from their upcoming album. No release date or title for that album has been announced. The trio will perform it on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Monday (Jan. 28) and The Talk on Feb. 6.  BTW: Lady A nearly lost the song to Miranda.  She had a hold on the song and had a hold on it.  They heard it last summer and wanted it badly.  Lady A's Charles Kelley explains, once she found out they were in love with the song, she gave it back and let them cut it.
 

 
Tonight, Scotty McCreery returns to American Idol for an appearance during the audition rounds.  **I'm thinking he just wants to hang with Keith Urban.
 

 
Eli Young Band set the mood for a special date on ABC's The Bachelor Monday night. The group performed their hits "Say Goodnight" and "Even if It Breaks Your Heart" during a private concert for bachelor Sean Lowe and his date for the evening AshLee F. 

 
 
Journey and Rascal Flatts will headline the Super Bowl XLVII CMT Crossroads concert at the New Orleans Sugar Mill on Feb. 2.
 
 

Before Jana Kramer will say "I do," she just needed to say "yes." And she did, on fiancé Brantley Gilbert's 28th birthday of all days.  Jana tells People Magazine,  she was not expecting this popping of the question at all.  

 

Carrie Underwood's video for "Two Black Cadillac's" comes out today on Vevo and tonight on Entertainment Tonight.

 

What's going on here?  Toby Keith - rugged, 6'3", who doesn't seem like he'd back down from anything - has canceled all upcoming 'meet and greets' at his concerts, due to security concerns.

 

Lar's This & That
 
10 Things That Will Make Us Happy
If money can't buy happiness, then why do we get so excited when we find $10 in our pocket? According to a new survey, there's nothing that will boost your day more than that!

A survey of Brits discovered the 10 'little successes' that provide us with the greatest moments of happiness.

1. Discovering money you didn’t know you in an old coat – 59%
2. Winning a competition you forgot you entered – 46%
3. Getting a refund or rebate you didn’t know was due – 41%
4. Saving money on household bills – 31%
5. Finding a winning lottery ticket – 28%
6. Going to the till at the shops and realising your item has been marked down – 26%
7. Losing 1/2lb – 18%
8. Finding money in a supermarket automated till – 13%
9. Not having a hangover after a big night out – 5%
10. Getting a seat on the train into work – 3%

 

Everything old is new again

That seems to be the case with baby names, according to Parenting.com’s forecast of the most popular monikers of 2013.  The site looked at the most-searched names of 2012 to come up with the list, which includes such throwbacks as Betty and Ellie for girls and Bertie and Gus for boys.

 

 

Are you overweight...for realzies?

Good news, the official Body Mass Index may be adjusted giving tall people a break on what is defined as "overweight." Oxford University says the current BMI is flawed showing tall people too fat and short people too thin. For example, someone who is 6'2 would be considered overweight at 195 pounds. The revised BMI for someone 6'2 is 224 pounds. A 5'10 inch person would be considered overweight under the old standards at 185 pounds. Now it's 192 pounds.

But the smaller you get, the more weight you have to lose, according to the revised method of calculating BMI. For example, someone who is 5'4 used to be overweight at 146 pounds... now it's 143.

more


What Do Women Prefer: A Guy in a Suit, or a Guy in Casual Clothes?

A new survey asked women whether they prefer a man in a suit or a man in casual clothes.

33% said their favorite look is a man in a suit AT ALL TIMES.  21% prefer a guy in casual clothes.

story

 

Worst Thing Ever For Your Relationship

Even worse than Facebook, the worse thing for your relationship is lack of sleep. A study suggests that lack of sleep tends to prioritize ourselves over our partner and become complete jerks. We forget the little things, like saying "thank you." The study, out of UC Berkeley, found that if "you slept like a baby, but your partner didn't, you'll probably both end up grouchy."

 

Super Bowl Ads

The first Super Bowl commercial is out or "leaked".  It feature's model Kate Upton doing a Mercedes-Benz ad.  Leaked?  OK, Mercedes-Benz posted their spot on YouTube.  It's a funny commercial.

 

Checking Your Bucket List

No, not that bucket.  A new survey has found the 50 most common items on people's BUCKET LISTS. Although the first one is kind of a cheat: Become a millionaire. The rest of the top five are: Travel the world . . . see the Northern Lights . . . walk the Great Wall of China . . . and completely pay off your mortgage. (Daily Mail)

 

 

Pizza Night - original crust, pepperoni, cheese and mayo

Apparently, in Japan, the hot new trend at Domino's Pizza is MAYO as a topping. Like . . . they even sell a meat lover's pizza covered in mayo. There's no word on Domino's bringing this to the U.S. (Buzzfeed)

 

Good News Story 

San Diego's Reggie Smith loves organic gardening, going to the Old Globe Theatre, watching the ducks paddle around the San Diego River and being a grandmother. She does not love genetically engineered tomatoes and discussing her age. And she really, really does not like talking about herself unless she is also talking about the causes she believes in.

One thing this 80 year old enjoys talking about is her volunteer work on behalf of a multitude of San Diego organizations. Her volunteering career started in the mid-60s, when she founded the Mark Twain Elementary School PTA. A few decades and many nonprofits later, she is still advocating on behalf of children and families still doing it for free.

Volunteering is what she does and does it well. Smith says she believes "with a little effort, anyone can make a change in the world.”

 

Lar's Thought of the Day 

"Although no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."   Carl Bard