COUNTRY September 18, 2015

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Bits & Breaks • Country Prep • Datebook • Datebook Tomorrow • Entertainment • Fun & Games • Image of the Day • Joke of the Day! • Last Minute Items • News & Nuggets • News Attack • Number for the Day • Television • Video of the Day • Wacky-But-True

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DATEBOOK: SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

This is day 261 of 2015. There are 104 days remaining.

BIRTHDAYS

• Robert Blake is 82

• Fred Willard is 82

• Holly Robinson Peete is 51

• Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 48

• Lance Armstrong is 44

• Jada Pinkett Smith is 44

• James Marsden is 42

• Travis Schuldt (Scrubs) is 41

• Jason Sudeikis is 40

IT HAPPENED TODAY

• 1789: The American government took out its first ever loan, a total of $191,608.81.

• 1793: The first cornerstone of the Capitol building was laid by George Washington.

• 1830: A horse beat the first U.S.-made locomotive near Baltimore.

• 1851: The New-York Daily Times, which would become The New York Times, began publishing.

• 1895: Daniel David Palmer gave the first chiropractic adjustment.

• 1906: A typhoon with tsunami killed an estimated 10,000 people in Hong Kong.

• 1942: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was authorized.

• 1964: The Addams Family premiered on ABC. The sitcom is based on Charles Addams’ quirky New Yorker cartoon creations.

• 1975: Patty Hearst was arrested after a year on the FBI Most Wanted List.

• 1977: The Voyager I spacecraft took the first space photograph of Earth and Moon together.

• 1983: Rock band Kiss unmasked for the first time in an appearance on MTV to coincide with the release of the new album Lick It Up.

• 1984: Joe Kittinger completed the first solo balloon crossing of Atlantic.

• 1997: U.S. media magnate Ted Turner donated $1 billion to the United Nations.

• 1999: A husband and wife in western Hungary traded places and each underwent a sex change operation.

• 2000: A lonely 76-year-old ex-convict demanded two $50 bills from a bank teller and then announced he would be outside in his car smoking a cigarette — waiting to be returned to prison.

• 2004: Britney Spears married dancer Kevin Federline.

• 2005: An Austrian company delivered a $1.8 million camper van to an anonymous Arab oil sheik. The 40-foot-long vehicle had a large, lavishly furnished living room and a state-of-the-art kitchen. It held around 1,000 gallons of fuel and got just 5 miles-per-gallon.

• 2006: An Austrian strongman set a new world record after a 1.8-ton helicopter landed on his back. Franz Muellner supported the machine for almost a minute after it landed on his shoulders to secure his place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Ceiling Fan Day

• Cheeseburger Day

• Clean Up The World Weekend

• POW/MIA Recognition Day

UPCOMING

• September 23: First day of autumn

• October 6: Major League Baseball playoffs begin

• November 1: Daylight Saving Time ends

• More holidays – Updated with 2016 holidays.

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DATEBOOK WEEKEND

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

•  James Lipton (Inside the Actor’s Studio) is 89. Adam West (Batman) is 87. Jeremy Irons is 67. Joan Lunden is 65. Country singer Jeff Bates is 52. Country singer Trisha Yearwood is 51. Cheri Oteri is 50. Jimmy Fallon is 41.

• Big Whopper Liar’s Contest, New Harmony, Indiana. Fall Astronomy Day. Eat An Apple Day. International Coastal Cleanup Day. National Gymnastics Day. Talk Like A Pirate Day.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

• Sophia Loren is 81. Gary Cole is 59. Enuka Okuma (Rookie Blue) is 43. The Dream is 38.

• Puppy Mill Awareness Day. Worldwide Day of Play. Wife Appreciation Day. Women’s Friendship Day.

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NUMBER FOR THE DAY

26 billion: Life Savers candies produced each year.

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NEWS ATTACK!

Have you seen that video of that seal surfing on the back of a humpback whale? [It’s pretty cool that the seal knows how to surf, but it’s even cooler that the seal also knows how to video it and upload it to YouTube.]

A survey reveals that parents enjoy their kids the most when they are five years old. [That’s the age when the biggest celebrity in their lives is the guy who drives the ice cream truck.]

Miley Cyrus is reportedly now seeing Dane Cook. [Do celebrities simply pull names from a hat to decide who to hook up with?]

Fifteen people have been charged in Los Angles in connection with bilking insurance companies out of $150 million for medical care. Someone who had never attended medical school was performing operations. [During the procedures he would keep his smartphone logged into YouTube’s DIY Surgery Channel.]

American Airlines flights were delayed Thursday due to technical issues. [It may be called a technical issue, but you really don’t want to take off without a full can of air freshener in the bathroom.]

American Airlines flights were delayed Thursday due to technical issues. [Unruly passengers were forced to wait and cause disturbances on later flights.]

The other day we heard about an escape artist who almost died from being buried in the ground. Now an escape artist has almost died from drowning in a tank. But he’s fine now, recuperating in the hospital. [He keeps bugging the nurses: “Take an insurance card, any insurance card, but don’t tell me what it is.”]

A Texas man who earned only $50,000 a year was sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzling over $16 million. [His company finally caught on when the man became bored with his job and began sending his butler to sit in for him at staff meetings.]

We know that coffee can keep you awake, but a new study finds that it can do even more. It can throw off your body’s internal time clock. [So, be careful because in Texas your internal time clock can get mistaken for a bomb.]

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NEWS & NUGGETS

THEY HIRED A HOUSESITTER AND HE RENTED THEIR PLACE ON AIRBNB _ A San Francisco couple got an unpleasant surprise on their way to Burning Man this year. As they were on their way to the annual arts festival in the Nevada desert, they received an email from one of their friends, thanking the couple for renting their apartment on Airbnb. But the couple hadn’t actually put their apartment on the home-sharing site. Instead, they had hired a professional housesitter they’d found on the site TrustedHousesitters.com, who had then listed the apartment on Airbnb himself —  for a price of $2,000 for five days. TrustedHousesitters removed the offending housesitter’s profile from the site, and Airbnb banned that person’s profile as well. The couple is also pursuing a civil lawsuit against the housesitter.

Start it on Facebook, take it to the phones: What happened at your house when you were away on vacation?

BEST TIME FOR A BREAK MIGHT BE MID-MORNING, NOT THE AFTERNOON _ The afternoon is when most of us hit a productivity wall and feel the need for a break, but a new study suggests that it might be better to conserve your energy earlier in the day. The study (published in the Journal of Applied Psychology) analyzed over 900 surveys regarding breaks at work — lunches, coffee, socializing with co-workers, and personal email. The results suggested that it’s better to break before you’ve used up your mental resources in order to refresh and actually recuperate some of those resources.

… Researchers found that workers should take a break mid-morning, before lunch. Morning breaks were the most effective at restoring resources of all breaks across the day. Your mental resources decline throughout the day, so when taking a mid-morning break you’re replenishing a small amount of lost resources better as opposed to afternoon, when it’s harder to get back to your pre-break state.

U.S. AND CHINA MADE A DEAL TO BUILD HIGH-SPEED RAIL BETWEEN LA AND VEGAS _ Americans could one day soon cruise between two major cities in the western U.S. on a mega-fast train at 150 mph. It’ll be called XpressWest, and it’ll link the 230 miles separating Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The train will get you there in 80 minutes, versus a four-hour car ride. Construction’s set to kick off next September, and comes on the heels of four years of negotiations. It’s China’s first high-speed rail project in the US

SWEDEN’S TRIAL WITH 6-HOUR WORKDAY GETTING THUMBS-UP _ Full-time workers in the US spend an average of 47 hours a week punched in for a paycheck. But a retirement home in Sweden has been reaping positive results from an experiment in the opposite: a six-hour workday in which nurses receive full-time pay for their shorter shifts. And by anecdotal accounts pouring in since the workers at the Svartedalens home in Gothenburg switched from their eight-hour shifts in February, employees are enjoying a better quality of life, which ups their well-being and allows them to take better care of their elderly patients, their families, and themselves.

… Other employers in Sweden are doing a shorter workday as well, including a Toyota repair shop, which says it’s seen less turnover, as well as greater productivity and profits since instituting the six-hour day 13 years ago.

DATING APP FOR BACON LOVERS MIGHT BE THE NEXT NEW THING _ Are bacon lovers about to find their one true love? Looks like it, because the Tinder for bacon lovers is finally here. The app, which is from Oscar Meyer, was released this week. The way it works is that it asks the user a few questions about bacon — namely his or her bacon likes and dislikes. For instance, does anyone really like Canadian bacon? Would you split the last piece of bacon with your date? Do you like your bacon crispy? Do you prefer pork or turkey bacon?

… So how do you match? Well, you can decide how much “sizzle” a person has on a picture photo, by placing your finger down on a heart button on the screen. The screen then vibrates and features bacon-like colors. Those that have mutual matches with each other can converse with each other.

JIMMY CARTER WATCHED OVER 400 MOVIES WHILE IN THE WHITE HOUSE _ Ronald Reagan is known as the movie junkie president. But do you know who watched even more movies than Reagan while in office? Jimmy Carter. And Carter only served a single term. After painstakingly going through the President’s daily journal, which outlined his tasks for each day, someone made a list of every movie Carter watched while in office from January 20, 1977 until January 20, 1981.

… Carter watched the major movies of his time that dealt with energy concerns like 1979’s nuclear-phobic The China Syndrome. He was also screening plenty of war films. The former president hosted an early private White House screening of Apocalypse Now with director Francis Ford Coppola and about 75 other people on May 10, 1979. It wasn’t released in theaters until August.

… Jimmy and the First Lady, Rosalynn, watched plenty of Westerns like Shane and A Fistful of Dollars. And they’d watch a goofy comedy now and again — Animal House, Airplane, Caddyshack and Meatballs are all on the list.

… On February 4, 1978 Carter watched Star Wars with Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt.

SWEDISH MAN’S ROAR SCARES OFF CHARGING BEAR _ A Swedish man out training his new hunting dog was caught on camera warding off a charging bear with a scream emulating a ferocious roar. Ralph Persson said his dog’s bark indicated there was danger nearby. A bear ran straight toward Persson, who responded by trying to intimidate the predator. He said, “I screamed as much as I could and made myself very big.” The bear, apparently startled by Persson’s actions, turned and ran back into the woods.

TOASTED COCONUT OREOS _ In a much-needed break from the annual fall pumpkin spice flavor mania, Oreo has surprised shoppers with a new limited-edition cookie inspired by a cake. The new Toasted Coconut Oreo is a vanilla cookie with a toasted coconut crème, which contains actual “flakes of toasted coconut.”

… 2015 has been a big year for novelty Oreo flavors. This year alone, they’ve blessed us with Brownie Batter, Cotton Candy, and Key Lime Pie.

SEATTLE AQUARIUM TRAINS OTTER TO USE INHALER FOR HER ASTHMA _ The Seattle Aquarium believes it has diagnosed the first case of a sea otter with asthma and is training the animal to use an inhaler. The trainer of Mishka the otter uses food to teach the 1-year-old to push her nose on the inhaler and take a deep breath. The medication in the otter’s inhaler is exactly the same as what humans use.

UNIVERSITY FEELING HEAT FOR BLANKET PUNISHMENT _ A university in China sparked debate on social media after female students were forced to wrap themselves in blankets in the hot sun as a form of punishment during the school’s compulsory military training. Drill instructors ordered the group of 20 students to lie down on a paved athletic track and cover themselves in heavy quilts as a penalty for their “unkempt dormitory.” Drills and disciplinary action are part of China’s military education program, which requires all university freshman to undergo stints of training designed to toughen up students and foster patriotism. A school official defended the instructor’s actions, saying the punishment lasted “only five minutes.”

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WACKY-BUT-TRUE

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BURGLARS GRAB DUMMY PHONES FROM STORE _ A Columbus, Ohio, Verizon store was the victim of an overnight break-in, but the thieves didn’t get away with what they thought they did. Police say one or more people used large rocks to break the glass in the store’s back door and gain entry. Once inside, several phones were cut or ripped from the displays. Lucky for the store, all of the display phones are dummy phones and are of no value to the thieves. The store has been the victim of theft in the past so all the real phones are locked in a vault every night.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN GETS CAR BACK FROM POLICE WITH DRUGS INSIDE _ Courtney Pickering’s car was stolen in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A couple of days later, police told her they’d found her car and she could have it back after forensics had finished with it. When Courtney got her car from the impound lot, she was surprised to find a knife in the door. And a lead pipe on the floor. And four stolen I.D. cards in the glove box. And a small bag of cocaine in the cup holder. And a and a crack pipe on the back seat. Whens he asked the impound guy what to do with the stuff he told her, “Just throw it on the ground.” Courtney left the vehicle for another check, but the next time she went to pick it up she found a gun under the seat. Police have launched an investigation.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN HIDES CELL PHONE UP THERE _ (CAUTION) Police in Romania caught a female cell phone thief by dialing the stolen phone number — and hearing it ringing from inside her. A doctor at the police station extracted the phone and sprayed it with disinfectant before handing it back to its owner.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN FINDS IGUANA IN TOILET _ A woman found a surprise in her Hollywood, Florida, home. She went to use the toilet, opened up the lid, and there was what she thought was an alligator. The alligator turned out to be an iguana that animal experts believe got in through a roof vent, and when it got stuck tried to get out through the largest possible opening — the toilet.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BLIND, DOUBLE-JOINTED WOMAN ESCAPES HANDCUFFS _ In Scotland Georgina Malcolm was arrested after trouble erupted at her birthday party. She was placed in a police van with handcuffs. But she’s double-jointed and was able to release the cuffs. The 47-year-old then spit at the officers. When one officer opened the van door she hit his hands with the cuffs. When another officer tried to secure Malcolm’s legs, she bit him on the rear.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WOMAN’S HOME HAD THOUSANDS OF BLADED WEAPONS _ A Florida woman was arrested this week after she tried to stab a deputy with a large sword or machete inside a mobile home filled with thousands of other bladed weapons. Authorities said Dykema advanced toward deputies armed with several more weapons and she was shot with a bean bag after she refused to drop them. Deputies said they removed more than 3,500 “bladed instruments” from the home.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: BRITISH ISIS MEMBER COMPLAINS OF ‘RUDE ARABS’ _ A British Isis member living in Syria has complained in a blog post about the “bad manners” of fellow militants. Omar Hussain, a former security guard at a supermarket, said other jihadists invade his space, talk loudly when he is trying to sleep and behave like children by stealing his shoes. Hussain wrote on his blog: “In the West, it is common knowledge [that you] walk out of a room wearing the same pair of shoes that you wore while entering the room. However, here our Syrian brothers … believe that everyone can share each other’s footwear.”

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ON TELEVISION

ELEMENTARY (8p ET, CBS) — Repeat

BEST TIME EVER WITH NEIL PATRICK HARRIS (8p ET, NBC) — If you missed the premiere this week, see it tonight.

LAST MAN STANDING (8p ET, ABC) — Repeat

GOTHAM (8p ET, FOX) — A 2-hour repeat

MASTERS OF ILLUSION (8p ET, CW) — New

SEASON FINALE: COLD JUSTICE (8p ET, TNT) — The team travels to White Settlement, Texas, to investigate two different murder cases.

ABC FALL PREVIEW SPECIAL (8:30p ET, ABC) — Ken Jeong hosts a preview of the network’s new fall lineup, including The Muppets, Blood & Oil, Quantico, Wicked City, and Dr. Ken.

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (8:30p ET, CW) — Repeat

HAWAII FIVE-O (9p ET, CBS) — Repeat

SHARK TANK (9p ET, ABC) — Repeat

DATELINE (9p ET, NBC) — A new, 2-hour edition

PENN AND TELLER: FOOL US (9p ET, CW) — Repeat

COLD JUSTICE: SEX CRIMES (9p ET, TNT) — New

BLUE BLOODS (10p ET, CBS) — Repeat

20/20 (10p ET, ABC) — New

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ENTERTAINMENT

HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCHED THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE? _ Twenty-three million people watched the GOP debate on CNN Wednesday night. About 1 million viewers were watching online.

STEVE JOBS MOVIE HAS NEW TRAILER _ Steve Jobs just got a new trailer release. The film will get to theaters in the United States on October 9, but it’s already impressed critics at film festival screenings. The film is based off the official biography Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson. • VIDEO

MICHAEL FASSBENDER SINGLE? _ Actor Michael Fassbender is reportedly single again. Us Weekly reports that the Steve Jobs actor broke up with his girlfriend, actress Alicia Vikander, after spending nine months together. Fassbender first met Vikander on the set of their film The Light Between Oceans and dated long after the film wrapped. The 38-year-old actor and 26-year-old actress were last photographed together in May when they attended the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco.

THE VIEW LOSES SPONSORS AFTER NURSE COMMENTS CONTROVERSY _ The View has gotten itself into hot water following major fallout from comments Joy Behar made about Miss Colorado’s appearance at the Miss America Pageant on Sunday. During a segment on The View, the ladies discussed Kelley Johnson’s attire, which included nurse scrubs and a stethoscope. During her speech on the Miss America Pageant, the contestant discussed her experience as a nurse caring for a patient with Alzheimer’s.

… The women of The View, instead of highlighting the achievement, asked why she was wearing a stethoscope since she wasn’t a doctor. Comedian Michelle Collins said, “… there was a girl who wrote her own monologue and I was like, ‘Turn the volume up, this is going be amazing, let’s listen.’ She came out in a nurse’s uniform and basically read her emails out loud and shockingly did not win … it was hilarious.” Since the comments on The View, nurses have come forward with the hashtag #nursesunite to combat the View’s recent comments, and posted photos wearing stethoscopes. In response to the controversy, two huge sponsors, Johnson & Johnson and Eggland’s Best, have decided to pull their ads from The View’s airing over the insensitive comments.

KATE GOSSELIN: I WAS NOT DUMPED _ Kate Gosselin says she was NOT dumped, despite reports. The “Kate Plus Eight” star took to Twitter on Thursday to shoot down the claims. The supposed split was first claimed by Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, which announced “Kate Gosselin Dumped by Millionaire Boyfriend Jeff Prescott for 26-Year-Old Woman.” The outlet said Gosselin was “no longer dating” the business mogul, after he “got cold feet” over Labor Day weekend about appearing on her TLC reality series.

… She tweeted on Thursday night, “Sorry guys. You’ve been ‘duped’ by the tabloids again! There was no breakup recently/at all. Gotta b in a relationship in order 2 ‘break up!’”

AMY POEHLER WORKING WITH NBC AGAIN _ NBC is back in business with Amy Poehler. The network on Thursday ordered a pilot episode for Dumb Prince. The half-hour family comedy is about a reluctant Crown Prince’s attempt to run the family business his way, thereby throwing his highly publicized and dysfunctional family into chaos.

MEGAN FOX TO RENT ZOOEY DESCHANEL’S ‘NEW GIRL’ ROOM _ Zooey Deschanel, who recently gave birth to her first child, will be sitting out a few episodes of Fox’s New Girl when it resumes filming in a few weeks — but the comedy won’t be for want of a female presence in the loft. Megan Fox has booked a recurring part on the upcoming fifth season. Fox will appear in multiple episodes as pharmaceutical sales rep who rents out Jess’ (Deschanel) room during a long business trip. She’ll make her debut in the sixth episode.

… As for Deschanel, she’ll be off camera for four episodes of the upcoming season — with the writers accommodating her absence by writing Jess into a sequestered jury.

PAMELA ANDERSON POSES NUDE ON THE COVER OF FLAUNT _ Two decades removed from her star-making role on Baywatch, Pamela Anderson still has a body most gals would kill for. And she’s showing it off — in the buff! — on the cover of Flaunt magazine.

STAR TREK BEYOND DELAYED TWO WEEKS _ Paramount Pictures has shifted its schedule and, as a result, has had Star Trek Beyond delayed by two weeks. It will now hit the big screen July 22, 2016 instead of the originally planned release date of July 8, 2016.

TAKEN PREQUEL COMING TO NBC _ NBC has ordered a Taken prequel series. The 2008 thriller, which spawned two sequels, starred Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA agent on a mission to save his kidnapped daughter. NBC’s adaptation will follow a young Bryan as he acquires the very skills he uses to save his future daughter.

EMILY BLUNT MAY JOIN THE NEW MARY POPPINS _ Emily Blunt may be our next Mary Poppins. A source says Disney has the Into the Woods actress on their radar to play the magical, musical nanny.

MICHAEL BAY IN TALKS TO SCREW UP ANOTHER TRANSFORMERS _ Michael Bay is currently in talks to direct Transformers 5. The 50-year-old director confirmed the news on Twitter on Thursday afternoon but said the deal was not official yet.

THE ROCK’S GIRLFRIEND IS PREGNANT _ Soon, we can expect a chip off the old Rock.
Fast & Furious and Ballers star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his girlfriend of nine years, Lauren Hashian, are expecting their first child together. Johnson and Hashian have been together since 2007. The Rock is also dad to a 14-year-old daughter from his first marriage.

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BITS & BREAKS

NEW IN THEATERS TODAY

EVEREST (PG-13)

A climbing expedition on Mt. Everest is devastated by a severe snow storm.

• Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal.

• website, trailer, reviews

BLACK MASS (R)

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

• Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon

• website, trailer, reviews

CAPTIVE (PG-13)

A single mother struggling with drug addiction is taken hostage in her own apartment by a man on the run after breaking out of jail and murdering the judge assigned to his case.

• Kate Mara, David Oyelowo, Mimi Rogers

• website, trailer, reviews

MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS (PG-13)

After having escaped the Maze, the Gladers now face a new set of challenges on the open roads of a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles.

• Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster

• website, trailer, reviews

NEW ON DVD THIS WEEKEND

• Furious 7
• Cinderella
• Love & Mercy
• Monkey Kingdom
• Fast & Furious 1-7 Collection – Limited Edition
• Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers
• Big Bang Theory: Season 8
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – The Final Season
• Empire: Season 1
• NCIS: Season 12

OPENING NEXT WEEK

The Green Inferno; Hotel Transylvania 2; The Intern; Sicario

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FUN & GAMES

TRIVIA: Just over one in four U.S. homes have what on the outside? (A deck)

TRIVIA: 80% of these are made by men. (Holes-in-one)

MYSTERY VOICE

I found an old clip from the Oprah show where she asked a famous person to read from the phone book. Listen to it and be the first person to tell me who this guy is. » download

Answer: Anthony Hopkins

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JOKE OF THE DAY

A guy walks into a (town) bar with a dachshund under his arm. The dog is wearing a (bad team) jersey and helmet and is festooned with (bad team) pom-poms. The bartender says, “Hey! No pets are allowed in here! You’ll have to leave!” The guy begs him, “Look, I’m desperate. We’re both big fans, my TV is broken and this is the only place around where we can see the game!” After securing a promise that the dog will behave and warning him that he and the dog will be thrown out if there’s any trouble, the bartender relents and allows them to stay in the bar and watch the game. The big game begins with the (bad team) receiving the kickoff. They march down field, get stopped at about the 30 and kick a field goal. With that the dog jumps up on the bar, and begins walking up and down the bar giving high-fives to everyone. The bartender says, “Wow, that is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! What does the dog do if they score a touchdown?” The owner replies, “I don’t know, I’ve only had him for 4 years.”

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VIDEO OF THE DAY

Tiny goat parkour.

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IMAGE OF THE DAY

Bacon Chewbacca

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LAST MINUTE ITEMS

• Wedding day from the bride’s perspective.

• A quick personality test called What Did You See First?

• iSkelter Tab lap desk looks like an interesting new way to work with your iPad.

• A database of paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions.

• 10AppsManager is a tool to uninstall Windows 10 pre-installed Store apps.

• I had no idea you could make a challenging game out of tic-tac-toe.

• The Guide to Practicing How to Win Friends and Influence People.

• The 7 Most Moving Podcasts Ever.

• Handy CheatSheet app for Mac users.

• Married since 1952, she’s a Giants fan, he’s a Cards fan. The two teams played August 17 in St. Louis. (Cards won.)

• Guy plays 100 TV theme songs on his guitar in 11 minutes.

• Chair Capes: Be the hero your office deserves.

• Ghostbusters theme gets metal makeover.

• Prepared to be terrified after you use your smartphone as a blacklight.

• Steal these bits from Morning Show Boot Camp.

• Make your images stand out on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with animated text using the Legend app.

• Random useful websites.

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COUNTRY DATEBOOK: SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

• 1947: New York’s Carnegie Hall hosted its first country concert with ERNEST TUBB and ROY ACUFF as headliners.

• 1949: HANK LOCKLIN made his debut on the country charts with Same Sweet Girl.

• 1974: MERLE HAGGARD recorded the number one hit Kentucky Gambler.

• 1989: WILLIE NELSON’s Pretty Paper album was certified platinum.

• 1992: CLINT BLACK’s album The Hard Way was certified gold and platinum. Hits included Burn One Down, When My Ship Comes In and We Tell Ourselves.

• 1995: TIM MCGRAW began a five week stint at the top of the country singles chart with I Like It, I Love It.

• 2002: The original taping of the NBC special Faith Hill: When The Lights Go Down was postponed because of safety issues in the building. The taping was rescheduled to a couple of days later and aired on the network in November.

• 2006: WILLIE NELSON and several members of his band were charged with misdemeanor drug possession in Louisiana after police pulled Willie’s tour bus over for a routine inspection. After smelling a suspicious odor inside they discovered marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.

• 2007: REBA MCENTIRE’s Reba Duets was released. It included pairings with Kelly Clarkson, KENNY CHESNEY, RONNIE DUNN and RASCAL FLATTS.

• 2010: DIERKS BENTLEY raised $50,000 with his Miles & Music For Kids charity motorcycle ride and concert in Washington, starting the trek in Tacoma and ending in a downpour at the Puyallup Fair.

• 2012: HUNTER HAYES scored his first number one hit with Wanted.

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COUNTRY AUDIO

Visit the country audio archive for over 2,000 audio cuts.

TRISHA YEARWOOD on her favorite cooking gadgets. » download page

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COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS

MIRANDA LAMBERT and the late JOHNNY CASH will receive stars on the Nashville Walk of Fame during a ceremony October 6.

TIM MCGRAW’s 14th studio album will be called Damn Country Music. Hitting stores November 6, the album will have eleven tracks in regular form including collaborations with Tim’s daughter, Gracie, and BIG & RICH. The deluxe edition of the album will have 14 tracks.

TIM MCGRAW’s 2015 Shotgun Rider Tour wraps up tomorrow night (Saturday) in Irvine, California with special guests BILLY CURRINGTON and CHASE BRYANT.

MARTINA McBRIDE stunned the audience and viewers Thursday when she made a surprise appearance on ABC’s The View, singing I’m Gonna Love You Through It with students from the PS22 choir in Staten Island. The song gained another wave of attention earlier this summer when the choir’s emotional rendition went viral. A video shows the choir singing the song in honor of teacher Adriana Lopez, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. As the students serenaded her again during their television performance Thursday, Martina joined in mid-song surprising the viewers, audience and teacher. • VIDEO

With Crash and Burn, THOMAS RHETT has his fourth No. 1.

THOMAS RHETT has teamed with Give the Gift of Music to send a lucky fan to the 49th Annual Country Music Association Awards. Check out givethemusic.info for more details.

On October 2 and 3, CARRIE UNDERWOOD, TRACE ADKINS, LITTLE BIG TOWN and members of the cast of ABC’s Nashville will play the Grand Ole Opry as part of the Opry’s 90th birthday celebration.

BRAD PAISLEY has added five more schools to his Country Nation College tour in October: Florida State University; University of Auburn; University of Georgia; Wake Forrest University and University of South Carolina. ERIC PASLAY will open the concerts.

SHANIA TWAIN has a new horse she named Prince Salvador.

ZAC BROWN BAND’s Chicken Fried is the most popular tailgating song, according to Spotify’s analysis of its more than 4,200 tailgating playlists. Country music dominated the top 20, taking 17 spots.

On December 11-12, GARY ALLAN will play the Joint at Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas for two shows with special guest CLARE DUNN.

Two stars of the television series Nashville, CONNIE BRITTON and CHARLES ESTEN, will sit down with Dan Rather for AXS-TV’s The Big Interview, September 26 to talk about the first three seasons of the show, which will begin re-airing on the AXS network that same night.

Pop singer Cyndi Lauper plans to release a country album next year. The 62-year-old hopes to work with producer Tony Brown, who has produced for GEORGE STRAIT, REBA MCENTIRE, VINCE GILL and WYNONNA among others. Cyndi says the album should be out sometime next year.

NEW AND OUT TODAY: ALABAMA’s Southern Drawl, their first album of new material since 2001. It includes a guest appearance by ALISON KRAUSS. A special deluxe edition will be available through Cracker Barrel with two bonus tracks. The guys say the album has a bit of a different sound than fans are used to, but still contains elements of their signature style.

THE WEEK’S TOP SINGLES – RADIO AIRPLAY

1. THOMAS RHETT – Crash And Burn
2. KEITH URBAN – John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
3. CHRIS JANSON – Buy Me A Boat
4. KENNY CHESNEY – Save It For A Rainy Day
5. BRETT ELDREDGE – Lose My Mind
6. DUSTIN LYNCH – Hell Of A Night
7. SAM HUNT – House Party
8. LUKE BRYAN – Strip It Down
9. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE – Anything Goes
10. MADDIE & TAE – Fly

THE WEEK’S TOP SINGLES – RADIO AIRPLAY, DOWNLOADS & STREAMING

1. SAM HUNT – House Party
2. CHRIS JANSON – Buy Me A Boat
3. THOMAS RHETT – Crash And Burn
4. KEITH URBAN – John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16
5. LUKE BRYAN – Strip It Down
6. BRETT ELDREDGE – Lose My Mind
7. KENNY CHESNEY – Save It For A Rainy Day
8. CAM – Burning House
9. MADDIE & TAE – Fly
10. LUKE BRYAN – Kick The Dust Up