On Today’s Show

➢ A salvage company has been given the go-ahead to disturb the wreck of the Titanic in hopes of retrieving its “Marconi” device, the specialized telegraph that conveyed the last messages from the doomed ship’s crew before it sank in 1912. R.M.S. Titanic Inc., the company that has salvage rights to the Titanic, will cut into the ship’s hull in hopes of rescuing the telegraph before it disintegrates. The plan is to send an unmanned submersible into the wreck this summer to retrieve the device, despite outcry from some who want the site to remain undisturbed. R.M.S. Titanic Inc. plans to exhibit the telegraph along with stories of the crew members who sent the ship’s final messages, and hopefully restore the device to some form of working order.

➢ The sun has gone into “lockdown”, which is a term for a period of “minimum sunshine”, which could result in lower global temperatures, earthquakes and famine, according to scientists. Experts believe activity on the surface of the sun has fallen dramatically and we are about to enter the deepest period of sunshine “recession” ever recorded. NASA scientists fear it could be a repeat of the Dalton Minimum, which happened between 1790 and 1830 — leading to periods of brutal cold, crop loss, famine and powerful volcanic eruptions, as well as the so-called “Year Without a Summer” in 1816 — when there was snow in July.

➢ There is a very real possibility that if there is an NFL season this fall, there probably won’t be fans in attendance. According to announcer Joe Buck, if that is the case, Fox-TV is planning to use fake crowd noise, and will digitally insert virtual fans to make broadcasts less awkward for viewers at home.

➢ With MLB owners in agreement on a July 4 start to the baseball season, the next discussion will be with the player’s union to request a 50% reduction in players’ salaries to help mitigate the financial impact of the shortened season and fact that fans won’t be invited to buy tickets. Here’s the rub: That will make Prince Fielder, who hasn’t played the game since 2017, the highest-paid player in baseball! Baseball contracts are fully guaranteed, meaning the Texas Rangers, who released Fielder while he was injured, are on the hook for his entire $24 million 2020 payday, while active players may have to agree to a big pay cut in order to play.

➢ A YouTuber named Alexis Gay did a parody video of herself trying answer her parents’ tech questions over the phone.  She covers the typical stuff, from asking if they’ve googled it, to reminding them to “drag the mouse across the text.”

TODAY IS……………….

• “Canadian Immigrants Day”, celebrating the many contributions made by immigrants to Canada. Hey, if you go back far enough … we’re all immigrants.

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

Clint Black‘s second album, Put Yourself In My Shoes, was certified triple platinum in 1997.

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Five Things We’ve Failed at During Quarantine, Including Haircuts, Pedicures, and Piercings

A new study found the average person only lasted 12 days in lockdown before they tried to do something they’d normally pay for, like haircuts and pedicures.  And it has NOT always gone well.  Here are five things we’ve failed at.

1. A quarter of people who’ve had an at-home haircut ended up regretting it.

2. The same goes for 27% who’ve tried to color their own hair in quarantine.

3. 24% who’ve tried to give themselves a pedicure say it didn’t go well.

4. 22% of us have had a baking-related disaster during the lockdown.

5. Apparently do-it-yourself BODY PIERCINGS have even been a thing.  And 26% of those haven’t gone as planned.

The survey also found 75% of us want to make a bigger effort to support small businesses once the crisis is over, and plan to spend an average of 16% more.

And here’s one more random stat that’s encouraging:  Two-thirds of us feel more hopeful right now than we did a few months ago.

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FOUR RANDOM FACTS

1. The first movie with a CGI character as the lead role was “Casper”in 1995.

2. Canada has almost four times more coastline than any other country in the world.  Canada has 125,600 miles of coastline, while Norway is second with 36,100 miles.

3. “Ernest Goes to Jail”and “The Green Mile” were filmed at the same abandoned prison in Tennessee.

4. The reason karate belts go white, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown, red, black is because fighters used to only be able to afford one belt . . . so they would keep dying it darker and darker as they progressed.

GOOD NEWS

A garbage man in Kentucky noticed a 90-year-old woman hadn’t put her trash out in a while, and checked in on her.  It turned out she’d been low on supplies for weeks, and didn’t have any food.  So the sanitation company stepped up and bought her groceries.

A grocery store manager in England noticed an 87-year-old woman was only buying canned goods.  It turned out she didn’t have an oven or a microwave.  So he arranged to have hot meals sent to her house.  Then other people stepped up and donated some appliances to her.

A trumpet player near Sacramento, California has been driving around looking for lawn signs that say “2020 Graduate.”  Then he sets up outside each house and plays the graduation song “Pomp and Circumstance”.  One parent posted a video of their daughter CRYING as she watched him.  (Here’s the full video.)

A 6-year-old stopped a FedEx driver and asked him to send Tony Hawk an old beat-up skateboard as a gift.  The driver told the story on social media.  Tony Hawk saw it and is sending the kid HIS skateboard.

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BIRTHDAYS

[52] Michael Kelly, actor (‘Doug Stamper’ on “House of Cards” 2013-18)

[50] Naomi Campbell, model, actress, activist

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SWIMMING POOLS SURGE IN POPULARITY

Many industries are taking a hit as the pandemic continues, but one surprising one isn’t: the swimming pool industry.

MarketWatch reports there is a surge in interest in home swimming pools. Sabeena Hickman, the president and CEO of the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance, says the 25 biggest pool builders in the alliance have seen a significant increase in consumer inquiries this spring, compared with last spring.

She explains, “With COVID, [and] the trepidation with travel, people are taking that money and investing it in a backyard pool. Most of the industry had shut down for a period of time. Now they’re saying their phones are ringing off the hook.”

Even Amazon has reported that sales of inflatable pools and pool-related products nearly doubled this April as opposed to the same time last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there is “no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water play areas.”

Five Things We’ve Failed at During Quarantine, Including Haircuts, Pedicures, and Piercings

A new study found the average person only lasted 12 days in lockdown before they tried to do something they’d normally pay for, like haircuts and pedicures.  And it has NOT always gone well.  Here are five things we’ve failed at.

1. A quarter of people who’ve had an at-home haircut ended up regretting it.

2. The same goes for 27% who’ve tried to color their own hair in quarantine.

3. 24% who’ve tried to give themselves a pedicure say it didn’t go well.

4. 22% of us have had a baking-related disaster during the lockdown.

5. Apparently do-it-yourself BODY PIERCINGS have even been a thing.  And 26% of those haven’t gone as planned.

The survey also found 75% of us want to make a bigger effort to support small businesses once the crisis is over, and plan to spend an average of 16% more.

And here’s one more random stat that’s encouraging:  Two-thirds of us feel more hopeful right now than we did a few months ago.

FRIDAY MAY 22^ND  

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

[52] Michael Kelly, actor (‘Doug Stamper’ on “House of Cards” 2013-18)

[50] Naomi Campbell, model, actress, activist

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1. A reporter in the U.K. interviewed a random guy who saidhe thinks the lockdown should be stricter, and no one should be allowed out.  He was standing on a crowded sidewalk at the time, and admitted he probably sounded like a hypocrite.

2. Good news stories about this year’s GRADUATES have started flooding in:  A dad in Memphis built a stage, and threw an elaborate graduation for his daughter.  A mailman in New Hampshire is handing out Dunkin’ Donuts gift cardsto graduates on his route.

A bakery in Minnesota is giving away HUNDREDS of graduation cakes.  And some high school band teachers in Texas spent three days going to every graduating band member’s home, just to play them their school’s fight song one last time.

A bunch of businesses near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania gave students a “Prom on Wheels” after their real prom got cancelled.  A truck with speakers and a DJ drove around playing music and took requests.  And girls got to wear their prom dresses.

3. Jim Gaffigan says the first thing you notice when you go hiking is that it’s a mistake . . . you’re walking, but you’re not walking toward anything in particular.

4. CDC recommendations for public pools, religious ceremonies, Pac-Man is 40, and Americans’ favorite way to relax.  (From Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers on Thursday, May 21, 2020)

PLASTIC SUGARY:
Some day soon, we could all be sipping beer and soft drinks from containers made of plant materials. A company in the Netherlands is looking for investors in their pioneering project that hopes to make plastics from sustainably grown plant sugars rather than fossil fuels. The plan, devised by renewal chemicals company Avantium, has the backing of Coca-Cola and Danone, and hopes to eventually tackle the environmental damage caused by the 300 million tonnes of plastic that is currently made from fossil fuels each year. Avantium’s plant plastic would decompose in one year using a composter, and a few years longer if left in normal outdoor conditions. They say their product could appear on store shelves by 2023.

John Rich and Cowboy Troy Talk About Facing Down the KKK

COWBOY TROY opened up about the time someone threatened to kill him if he performed at a show in Kennesaw, Georgia.  He revealed it in an upcoming episode of “The Pursuit! With John Rich”.

An anonymous person called in with the threat, and there was talk of canceling the show.  But Troy wanted to do it.  So they beefed-up security and dropped all the before and after stuff including the meet-and-greet.

In the interview Troy didn’t want to reveal who made the threat, so John took it from there.  He said, quote, “You don’t want to say it, but I’ll say it.  It wound up being the KKK.  You run into the most vicious, disgusting group of human beings that exist.

“But you went and did [the show] anyway because you’re like ‘this is my American dream and you ain’t getting in the way of it with your racist B.S. so I’m gonna take the stage and you’re going to have to deal with it.’

“Man, my respect level went through the roof for you when I watched you take that on.”  (“The Pursuit! With John Rich” is available on Fox Nation.  Here’s the link to the KKK part of the interview.)

KANE BROWN’S SUCCESS GIVES HIM ABILITY TO ‘HELP PEOPLE’ 

Kane Brown has had nothing but success since signing his record deal with Sony Nashville in 2016. He’s set all kinds of Billboard chart records, charted several Number One hits and sold out headlining shows around the country, and yet, according to Kane, very little has changed about his life. He tells us: [“It hasn’t changed for me at all. I have a nicer house for myself but that’s it. You know, I get to take care of my family and my friends. If anybody ever needs anything I can help them out, stuff like that. That’s the only thing that’s changed in my life is just being able to help people and be in a good place and just love and enjoy life.”] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . and enjoy life.)

Kane continues climbing the charts with his latest single, “Cool Again.”

The song will be included on an upcoming project.

FAST FACTS

Kane has teamed up with Thomas Rhett on a song featuring Ava Max called “On Me” which was released as a single from the soundtrack of the new animated movie Scoob!.

Kane recently appeared on NBC’s The Voice to perform “Cool Again.”

BLUEBIRD CAFÉ DOCUMENTARY

If you haven’t seen the amazing documentary “Bluebird”, you’re missing out.  It’s about Nashville’s historic Bluebird Café.  Yes, the place where all the now-famous country stars begged to get on stage when nobody knew who they were.  You may recognize it from the show “Nashville”.

The General Manager of the Bluebird is Erika Nichols and she talked about some of the famous people who got their start at the Bluebird

The movie features Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Steven Tyler, and tons of others.

Feel-Good, “Behind the Scenes” Hollywood Stories

There’s plenty of negativity in the news these days . . . so Cracked.com put together a list of 16 “life-affirming behind-the-scenes stories” out of Hollywood.

1. Chris Evans’mom cried after seeing him as the OLD Steve Rogers in “Avengers: Endgame”, because apparently, he looked exactly like HER father.

2. Thanks to “Rocky”, Sylvester Stallonegot his dog back.  Stallone said that before he made it big, he was so poor that he was forced to sell his dog, Butkus, for $40.  When he sold his “Rocky” script, he immediately went to buy him back, but had to pay $15,000.  Butkus went on to play Rocky’s dog in the movie.

3. Director Martin Scorseseput his own mom in “Goodfellas”.  She played the mother of Joe Pesci’s character.  And Mrs. Scorsese also made the spaghetti and meatballs in the scene.  (His mom actually appeared in several of his movies.)

4. Robin Williamshelped Steven Spielberg get through “Schindler’s List”.  Spielberg had a really tough time while filming it . . . so once a week, Robin would call him and perform 15 minutes of stand-up to cheer him up.

5. The creator of “Grey’s Anatomy”, Shonda Rhimes, sent everybody from the show on a luxury vacation to celebrate the 350th episode.  That included the cast AND the crew.

6. In an interview before “Guardians of the Galaxy”came out, Chris Pratt admitted that he walked away with some Star-Lord gear . . . specifically so that if the movie was a hit, he could visit children’s hospitals in character.

7. Director Michael Bayhelped find a home for Britain’s “loneliest dog.”

Michael was in the U.K. filming “Transformers: The Last Knight”, and he heard about Freya, an epileptic dog that spent over six years in an animal shelter without finding a home.

Michael put Freya in the movie . . . where she shared a scene with Anthony Hopkins . . . and immediately afterward, the dog was adopted.

8. Viggo Mortensenowns two horses he rode in “The Lord of the Rings”.  He bought one after striking up a friendship with it on the set, and then bought the second one so the first wouldn’t be lonely.

Viggo also bought the horse from the movie “Hidalgo”.

9. When James Gandolfinifound out that he was the only actor on “The Sopranos” who was getting money from DVD sales, he gave every other actor a cut of his DVD profits.

10. Sophie Turnerand her family fell in love with Lady, her character’s “dire wolf” on “Game of Thrones”.  So, when Lady was done “acting,” Sophie’s family adopted her.  FYI:  Lady’s real name is Zunni.

The 10 Hottest Country Artists of 2020, so Far

Taste of Country put together their 10 Hottest Country Artists of 2020.  Yes, we haven’t reached the halfway point yet, but when you add up the metrics, it tells you who’s killing it now, and who will continue to dominate the rest of the year.

They based it on streaming and music sales, touring, radio airplay, awards show love, and overall exposure.  So, the artists who did well in the most categories, scored the highest.  Here’s the list:

1. Luke Combs. His albums rule the charts and his songs are among the most played.

2. Luke Bryan.  No one on this list sells more concert tickets.  Plus, “American Idol”.

3. Blake Shelton.  A best-selling album, plus “God’s Country”and “Nobody But You”.

4. Thomas Rhett.  Ticket sales and “Center Point Road”turned him into a legit A-lister.

5. Kane Brown.  His songs always shoot up the radio and streaming charts.

6. Maren Morris.  A crossover star with the extraordinary single and album “Girl”.

7. Jason Aldean.  Consistently a Top Three touring artist.

8. Dan + Shay.  The hottest country act on Spotify.

9. Keith Urban.  Huge on social media, and he’ll be hosting the ACMs.

10. Sam Hunt.  Comeback tour interrupted, but album “Southside”still debuted at #1.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer