Search on for Yoda statue stolen from Steve’s Hot Dogs – LINK
Netflix viewers discover ‘life-changing’ hack by typing ‘9875’ into search bar – LINK
Google’s Year in Search 2022: Top Searches, News, Shortages, “How To Help . . .” Questions, and More – LINK
A new (and still muddled) frontier in Missouri’s history starts on Thursday with legalized pot – LINK
An Olive Garden Manager’s Insane Sick Day Policy Got Her Fired – LINK
Busch Light Is Giving Away “Bush Lights” for the Holidays – LINK
An Advent Calendar Has Been Recalled . . . for Possible Salmonella Contamination – LINK
A Police Officer on Vacation Was Arrested for Peeing in an Ice Machine – LINK
Google released their year-end search data yesterday. Here’s what people were searching for the most in 2022 . . .
People:
- Johnny Depp
- Will Smith
- Amber Heard
- Antonio Brown
- Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake
Actors:
- Johnny Depp
- Will Smith
- Amber Heard
- Chris Rock
- Julia Fox. . . She was briefly Kanye’s girlfriend.
Passings:
- Betty White
- Queen Elizabeth
- Bob Saget
- Anne Heche
- Aaron Carter
Movies:
- “Encanto”
- “Thor: Love and Thunder”
- “Top Gun: Maverick”
- “The Batman”
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
TV Shows:
- “Euphoria”
- “Stranger Things”
- “The Watcher”
- “Inventing Anna”
- “House of the Dragon”
Musicians and Bands:
- Adam Levine
- Mary J. Blige
- Lil Tjay
- Kendrick Lamar
- Migos
Songs:
- “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”from “Encanto”
- “Surface Pressure”from “Encanto”
- “Jiggle Jiggle”, Duke & Jonesand Louis Theroux
- “Unholy”, Sam Smithand Kim Petras
- “As It Was”, Harry Styles
This next category is the “Hum to Search” feature on the Google app. How it works is you tap on the mic icon, then click the “search a song” button. Then you hum a song for 10 to 15 seconds and it SHOULD be able to identify it.
Here are the Top Songs that were hummed:
- “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”, Backstreet Boys
- “Never Gonna Give You Up”, Rick Astley
- “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”from “Encanto”
- “Enemy”, Imagine Dragons
- “Seven Nation Army”, The White Stripes
Bridgerton has been dethroned as Netflix’s third-most watched English language series of all time. Now Bridgerton season 1 sits at number 5 and season 2 of Bridgerton sits at number four. Wednesday is now the third most watched Netflix and did it quickly in two weeks. Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is number 2. And Stranger Things season 4 sits pretty at number 1.
Jennifer Lawrence made a statement to “Variety” that she’s gonna need to backpedal on. It wasn’t really offensive or anything, but it was pretty dumb. She said, quote, “I remember doing ‘Hunger Games’, nobody ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn’t work . . . because we were told girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead.” Obviously, Jennifer is NOT the first woman to lead an action movie, and there are SOOOO many examples to prove her wrong. Like Sigourney Weaver in the “Alien” movies, Linda Hamilton in the “Terminator” franchise . . . Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, and Milla Jovovich in the “Resident Evil” movies. Or how about Uma Thurman in the “Kill Bill” movies, or Michelle Yeoh in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”? And you can go back even further than that . . . back to the ’70s with the luscious Pam Grier, star of “Foxy Brown”, “Coffey”, “Black Mama, White Mama”, and so many more. I would even take it back to 1965, with “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”, starring the goddess herself, Tura Satana. The point is, Jennifer’s way off, and It’s likely she’ll issue a clarification at some point, where she apologizes to all the female butt-kickers who came before her.
Speaking of female action stars… DC Studios is starting a new era with new bosses. One of them is “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn. So first thing’s first: “Wonder Woman 3” will not be moving forward and is considered “dead”. It’s unclear if the decision was made based on how “Wonder Woman 1984” did, or if it’s just not the right direction for the studio. On Tuesday, Gal Gadot randomly tweeted how grateful she is to play Wonder Woman and how she can’t wait to share her next chapter with everyone. So either she didn’t know about the sequel being killed, or there are other plans for her character. She was reportedly going to make $20 MILLION for “Wonder Woman 3”.
Forbes released their list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. At #1 is Ursula von der Leyen . . . she’s the president of the European Commission. She earned the top spot for her leadership during the Ukraine war. Now here are the names you WILL recognize, and their rank:
- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Melinda Gates
- MacKenzie Scott(Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife)
- Oprah Winfrey
- Nancy Pelosi
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
- Rihanna
- Taylor Swift
- Beyoncé
- Reese Witherspoon
- Shonda Rhimes
- Dolly Parton
Instead of rushing to find a permanent new host for The Daily Show, Comedy Central will bring in guest hosts to cover stories of the day. Long-time host Trevor Noah’s last show will be tonight. The fill-ins will begin when the show returns from holiday hiatus. People like Al Franken, Chelsea Handler, D. L. Hughley, Leslie Jones, John Leguizamo, Kal Penn, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and Marlon Wayans have already been named to step in.
‘Nevermind’ baby will NOT go away! After his “child porn” suit against Nirvana was tossed out for the third and final time due to its statute of limitations expiring, Spencer Elden has filed an appeal. Spencer Elden’s lawyers now say the judge who tossed the suit did so “in error” because of the “harm” their client still suffers from appearing on the cover of Nirvana’s album, ‘Nevermind”, when he was a baby. His lawyers add that Elden is still suffering from the “ongoing psychic or emotional injury for which he is entitled to damages and an injunction. Although this remedy will not rid the world of his sexualized image, it will provide him the means to get mental health treatment and give him the benefit of knowing that the distribution and repeated violation of his privacy… will finally stop.” The judge tossed the case for the last time earlier this year because Elden failed to respond to Nirvana’s request for dismissal of the case. It’s also worth mentioning that Elden has celebrated his part in grunge history by recreating the cover 2016 for the album’s 25th anniversary. He also has a ‘Nevermind’ tattoo.
Red Hot Chili Peppers had an outstanding 2022 releasing a pair of studio albums and they’ll carry over that momentum to 2023, announcing a new batch of shows in both North America and the U.K. and Europe. The group just added 23 more shows to their touring schedule, starting this spring with a March 29 performance in Vancouver and concluding May 25 in Houston. After that, they’ll cross the pond for shows in June and July in Europe and the U.K. In addition, it should be noted the acts that will be joining the Chili Peppers on the newly announced shows, with The Strokes, Iggy Pop, The Roots, The Mars Volta, St. Vincent, City and Colour, Thundercat and King Princess all appearing on select bills throughout the North American and U.K. and European run.
What would you do for Metallica tickets? The New York City classic rock station Q104.3 held a contest for two tickets, asking listeners to call in and sing any song they want in the style of James Hetfield. The guy who won sang Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero”. . . which he was familiar with because his fiancée is a Swiftie. He got tickets to see Metallica at Metlife Stadium on August 4th and the 6th . . . with “Pantera” and Mammoth WVH opening the first night, and Five Finger Death Punch and Ice Nine Kills playing on the second. The guy who came in second came up just two votes short. He sang Van Halen’s “Panama”.
The man who shot and wounded Lady Gaga’s dog walker while stealing her French bulldogs last year took a plea deal and was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday, officials said. The man, James Howard Jackson, reached a deal with prosecutors under which he pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder. Jackson was one of three men and two accomplices who participated in the violent robbery. The dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was walking Lady Gaga’s three French bulldogs on February 24, 2021, when he was attacked and shot in the chest. The attackers fled and stole two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav. A third bulldog, Miss Asia, ran away and was later found by police. The police had said that the robbers, who grabbed the dogs and fled in a car after the shooting, were not targeting the French bulldogs because they belonged to Lady Gaga. Evidence instead suggested that the men knew that the breed was valuable.
Some people become huge stars after appearing on “Saturday Night Live”. But others get REJECTED by “SNL”, and make it anyway. Here are some examples:
- Jennifer Coolidge. She tried out in 1995, with Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, and Chris Kattan. Four years later, she was on her way, after appearing as Stifler’s Mom in “American Pie”.
- Jim Carrey. He auditioned in 1980, when he was 18. It would be another 10 years before he blew up on “In Living Color”.
- Lisa Kudrow tried out in 1990. Three years later, she was cast as Ursula on “Mad About You”. . . which led to her playing Ursula’s sister Phoebe on “Friends”.
- Geena Davis auditioned in 1984, between her gigs in “Tootsie” and “The Fly”.
- Zach Galifianakis. He tried out in 1999. He ended up writing for the show . . . for two weeks.
- David Cross failed his audition in 1992, which was an AWESOME thing for comedy . . . because he went on to co-create the far-more-brilliant “Mr. Show” with Bob Odenkirk.
- Tiffany Haddish tried out in 2013.
- Kevin Hart auditioned in the early 2000s, before becoming one of the biggest standups of all time.
- Ellie Kemper tried out in 2008, a year before she got “The Office”.
- Stephen Colbert auditioned in 1992.
CELEBRITIES CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY
Country singer Sam Hunt is 38.
Nicki Minaj is 40.
Former San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers is 41.
Charlie on “Lost” and the hobbit Merry in the “Lord of the Rings” movies, Dominic Monaghan is 46.
Corey Taylor from Slipknot is 49.
Sinéad O’Connor is 56.
Teri Hatcher is 58.
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is 65.
Kim Basinger is 69.
Kacie Castle
Today’s birthday girl has been in 145 fine films, including:
– Blacked Out 8
– Daddy’s Dirty Dozen
– Daddy’s Dirty Girls 3
– Everything Butt the Kitchen Sink
– Gym Class Zeroes
– It’s Ok She’s My Stepdaughter
– My Wife Has A Girlfriend
– Vday Party
– And who can forget her role in 2017’s Fear of a Black Penis 4
Kacie Castle is 35 years old.
The Cardinals have their catcher! The Cardinals and Willson Contreras reached agreement Wednesday on a five-year, $87.5 million deal. The deal will be finalized in the coming days after Contreras, 30, passes a physical. The contract, which includes a no-trade clause according to a source, is the largest completed by the Cardinals with a free agent who was not previously on the team. The Cardinals outbid the Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros, the defending World Series champions who made a compelling offer to Contreras. Twice in the past six months the Astros have attempted to acquire Contreras. Contreras has been in the Cubs organization since he was 16 years old, joining the Cubs run academy in his native Venezuela at an early age. He would go on to play 734 games for the big-league club and will now make the jump to Chicago’s historic rivals in St. Louis. In doing so, Contreras joins an exclusive club of players like Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean and Bruce Sutter to play for both clubs. Signing a $87.5 million dollar deal with the Cardinals, Contreras became the highest paid free agent player who has never been a Cardinal to be signed by the club in franchise history. The deal surpasses Dexter Fowler’s five year, $82.5 million dollar contract signed in 2017. Fowler was also brought over from the Chicago Cubs (LINK)
KA-JERSEY! The XFL announced Wednesday that Under Armour will serve as the league’s official uniform partner and will be the exclusive provider of all on-field uniforms, including jerseys, base layer, sideline and training apparel for all XFL teams. And the league unveiled its jerseys for the upcoming season. The XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks will kick off the new season on Feb. 18, 2023. The home jersey will be blue and the road jersey is grey. Each jersey features a “Blood, Sweat, Respect” mantra — a personal message from league ownership to the players. The XFL has yet to announce its schedule for the 2023 season, but the Battlehawks will again play its home games at The Dome at America’s Center downtown (LINK)
Aaron Judge will stay in Yankee pinstripes. On Wednesday, the free agent reportedly signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay in New York. Last season, Judge broke the American League home run record by hitting 62. He also earned his first MVP award by hitting .311 with 113 RBI. Four talented quarterbacks are nominees for the Heisman Trophy. The award for the best player in college football will come down to Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, TCU’s Max Duggan, and USC’s Caleb Williams. The Heisman presentation takes place Saturday night in New York.
Luis Enrique was replaced by Luis de la Fuente as Spain’s coach on Thursday, two days after the national team was eliminated in the round of 16 at the World Cup. Spain lost to Morocco 3-0 in a penalty shootout (LINK) after a scoreless draw in regular and extra time. The Spanish soccer federation thanked Luis Enrique, but said it was time to “start a new project” to keep the growth achieved by the coach in recent years. It said the change was made after a recommendation by its sporting officials.
Mills Lane has passed away. The Hall of Fame boxing referee was 85. He died on Tuesday at his home in Reno, Nevada. Lane refereed over 100 championship fights, including the infamous “Bite Fight” between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Lane was the animated referee in the claymation seriesCelebrity Deathmatch. He also had his own daytime show, Judge Mills Lane. Mills would give out the instructions to the boxers and end with his catchphrase, “Let’s Get It On!” Lane suffered a stroke in 2002, which left him paralyzed and unable to speak.