On Today’s Show

• “Remembrance Day”, commemorating the end of WWI at 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. It’s observed in Canada, the UK, and Australia…and in Belgium & France as “Armistice Day”. The original tradition is to observe 2 minutes silence at 11 am.

• “Veterans’ Day” in the USA, the 102nd annual observance originally called “Armistice Day”, then renamed in 1954. The day now honors all American military veterans.

➢ Transportation officials in the Netherlands said no one was injured when a subway train crashed through a barrier and came to rest on a giant sculpture of a whale’s tail. The subway train jumped the tracks and crashed through buffers. Officials said the train would have crashed to the ground about 30 feet below if it hadn’t landed atop one of two whale tail sculptures next to the tracks. The sculpture is appropriately named “Saved by the Whale’s Tail.” The company said the operator was the only person on board the train at the time of the crash and he was not injured. Maarten Struijs, who installed the whale tail sculptures 20 years ago, said he was surprised to see the train had not damaged the plastic artwork.

➢ In case you didn’t hear, Scotland’s prime minister recently reassured kids that Santa is an essential worker, and he’ll still be able to make his deliveries this year.

➢ A retirement home in Iowa did a “Booze N’ Tattoos” event last week where residents could get a temporary tattoo and a REAL beer.  One guy got pistols on each bicep to show off his “guns.”  He joked that he’d always wanted a tattoo, and got a pair of them just so he could have TWO beers.

➢ An Idaho man has been blacklisted by Yellowstone National Park authorities after attempting to cook chickens in the hot springs of the off-limits thermal area. Rangers were alerted after receiving reports of people hiking toward the to the parks largest geyser region with cooking pots in tow. A subsequent investigation revealed two whole birds in a burlap sack resting in a hot spring with cookware nearby.

➢ When it comes to heroics on a movie set, it’s hard to top TOM CRUISE at ANYTHING.  But KATE WINSLET just did.  While filming an underwater scene for “Avatar 2”, she held her breath for SEVEN MINUTES AND 14 SECONDS.

Before that, Tom held the record for longest breath hold while filming underwater.  He went SIX MINUTES while filming “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”.

Neither Kate nor Tom will break the world breath-holding record anytime soon.  It’s currently held by a guy named Aleix Segura Vendrell, who did it for 24 minutes and 3 seconds.  (!!!)

COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

Montgomery Gentry earned their first gold single for “Gone” in 2005.

_____________________________________________________________________________

COVID NEWS

1. Following news that Pfizer’s vaccine is 90% effective, an Oxford professor on the U.K.’s vaccine taskforce sayshe thinks the vaccines will work.  And we might start getting back to normal this spring.  He was specifically talking about the U.K.  But if he’s right, we’re not far behind.

2. Would you be willing to risk catching coronavirus for a free cruise?  Royal Caribbean is looking for, basically, guinea pigs to take a cruise to test their new coronavirus protocols.

3. A new survey found two-thirds of people in the U.S. would support their state instituting a one-month lockdownwith only essential businesses open.

4. If you thought toilet paper hoarding was bad, imagine what people would be like with BACON HOARDING.  The pandemic has caused a bacon shortagein the U.K after they limited imports from Denmark, which supplies 25% of their pork products.

5. Have your kids forgotten how to use a knife and forkduring the pandemic?  A new report found lots of kids have regressed . . . which can mean anything from having trouble paying attention when they read to forgetting basic life skills.

that has effects on people, but it’s very mild compared to opium.

FOUR RANDOM FACTS

1. Samuel L. Jacksononly has one Oscar nomination in well over 100 films.  He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for “Pulp Fiction” in 1994 . . . and he lost to Martin Landau for “Ed Wood”.

2. There are only two words in the English language that end in “gry” . . . angry and hungry.

3. It’s illegal to only own one guinea pig in Switzerland.  Guinea pigs get lonely if they’re alone, so the law requires you to own at least two.

4. Shell Oil Company got the name “Shell” because when it started in 1833, it was a store that sold imported seashells.  It didn’t get into the oil business for another 50 years.

GOOD NEWS

Remembrance Day in Canada toady and Veterans Day in the U.S. and this is a great story.

A retired contractor in Acton, Massachusetts named Mark Starr has been staying busy during the pandemic by building a disabled veteran a new home.

He got his town to sell him the land for $1, and people have donated around $40,000 in time to help make it happen.

______________________________________________________________________________

BIRTHDAYS

[60] Stanley Tucci, actor (“The Hunger Games” films, “The Devil Wears Prada”)

[58] Demi Moore, actress (“G.I. Jane”, “Ghost”)

[46] Leonardo DiCaprio, actor

LEST WE FORGET . . .
Six things you probably didn’t know about poppies:

➢ There are more than 70 kinds:  The one in Flanders Fields is called “common poppy”, also known as “corn poppy” or even “Flanders poppy.” It is different from the kind of poppy that produces opioids, called the “opium poppy”

➢ Poppy seeds lie dormant until the ground is tilled:  When the soil is tilled to plant, say, corn, poppies often come up too (hence the name ‘corn poppy’). Presumably the digging of graves in Flanders Fields did the same.

➢ The poppy seeds in your bagel are mostly cultivated from the opium poppy. That’s why poppy seeds are banned in several countries, including China — the worry is that they’ll be used to grow drugs.

➢ The 25-cent coin with the red poppy released by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2004 was the first circulated coin in the world to have color.

➢ About half of all legally grown poppies (for medicine) are grown in Tasmania.

➢ Poppies have been used by humans for thousands of years as traditional medicine. The remains of Neolithic humans in the Alps have been found with a pouch containing wheat, barley, and poppy. All poppies produce compounds that can have medicinal effects. The Flanders poppy makes a compound called rhoeadine that has effects on people, but it’s very mild compared to opium.

____________________________________________________________________________

NOT SO HOT:
Engineers at Purdue University have unveiled a revolutionary “radiative cooling” white paint that they say can keep surfaces up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit (7.8 degrees Celsius) cooler than their ambient temperature.

It works by absorbing almost no solar energy and actually sending heat away from the surfaces it covers. The say that currently available white paint reflects just 80-90% of sunlight and can’t achieve temperatures below its surroundings, but the new reflective white paint reflects 95.5% of sunlight and radiates infrared heat much more effectively.

They estimate that the new reflective white paint would be cheaper to produce than commercial white paint, and save homeowners about a dollar a day per floor on air-conditioning.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11^TH  

1. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and three of his teammates — linebacker Vince Williams, running back Jaylen Samuels and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins— were put on the reserve/Covid-19 list Tuesday (November 10th). It came one day after tight end Vance McDonald was put on the list following a positive test, and the four were put on as close contacts. It’s uncertain if Roethlisberger and the other three will be available for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Under the NFL’s protocols, they must quarantine for five days and must pass Covid tests throughout the week in order to be able to play. The 8-0 Steelers are the NFL team that’s still undefeated.

Saturday’s (November 14th) scheduled football games between Number 1 Alabama and LSU and between Number 5 Texas A&M and Tennessee have been postponed because of COVID 19 issues. There have now been three SEC games postponed this week due to the virus. On Monday, Auburn’s game against Mississippi State was postponed.

2. A woman in labour was refused to go to the hospital until she was able to vote.

3. This guy set up a video system so he can watch AND talk to his dog when he’s not home.  Here’s one of their exchanges.

4. Here’s comedian Sebastian Maniscalco on making the decision to get an Uber.

JUSTIN MOORE SALUTES THE MILITARY BOTH PAST AND PRESENT

Justin Moore has grown up in a patriotic family. Dozens of his relatives served in the military, so he has always had a sense of pride and appreciation for those who have fought for our country, past and present.

[“One of my grandpa’s retired out of the Navy, the other was in the Air Force. I was super close to both of them. I mean my entire family was pretty patriotic in that sense, and, you know, I have countless uncles and cousins and that kind of stuff who’ve served  You know, it was well known that, ‘Hey, we need to be really thankful for these men and women and what they do for us on a daily basis.’  At times I’m sure it can feel like they’re taken for granted but certainly that’s not the case with me.”]

Prior to COVID, Justin made a point to thank the military from stage during every show.

JON PARDI’S CMA ALBUM NOD TELLS HIM TO ‘STAY ON TRACK’

Jon Pardi heads into this week’s CMA Awards with a nod for Album of the Year for his 2019 release, Heartache Medication. Jon tells us that this nomination sends him a very positive message. [“Having a CMA Album of the Year nomination is amazing. Just being acknowledged by my peers and all of the people in the industry is so awesome, and we worked so hard on this record and we’re still working hard on all our albums, and it’s just awesome, and so, as I get ready to make the fourth record, this is just telling me to stay on track. So, thank you for everybody for getting me this nomination, and it’s pretty awesome, and I will try to do the best fourth record I can, again.”]

Jon is set to perform a tribute to the late Joe Diffie during the CMA Awards

DARIUS RUCKER SAYS SONGWRITING, GOLF HELPED HIM THROUGH QUARANTINE

Like his fellow musicians, Darius Rucker is champing at the bit to get back out on the road. He has been largely spending his quarantine time during the pandemic in Nashville, where he tells us how he is coping during this stressful time. [“The toughest thing is looking at the calendar and not knowing when you’re gonna play again. Even if you were off for a month or two months, you always had that date where you know you were gonna start playing shows again, and not having that is tough, and then being home . . . Like everybody else you fight a little bit of depression and everything but I had songwriting to keep me going, plus I started writing this record. That was exciting to me because the songs were so good and I was so happy. Having golf helped me, too. I’m not gonna lie to anybody. If they had shut the golf courses down I’d probably be in the home right now (laughs) but they didn’t.”]

Darius is also scheduled to perform with Lady A and again with Reba during the live broadcast.

CARLY PEARCE SAYS AUDIENCE OR NO AUDIENCE, A CMA WIN WOULD BE ‘AMAZING’ –

Carly Pearce has a shot at taking home four trophies at tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 11th) night’s CMA Awards, including New Artist of the Year and Video, Collaboration and Song of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”  Like most of the other award shows this year, the CMA Awards will not include a live audience of fans, which definitely changes the tone of the show.

While she’s like to have a crowd cheering for her should she win an award, Carly tells us she’ll still be just as thrilled and excited. [“Here’s how I feel about it. Sure, would I love the huge experience of an arena full of people? Yes. Am I still getting to wear the dress and go and sit in the audience and hope and pray that my name gets called? Yes, which is amazing.  And would it make it any less amazing to win?  Absolutely not, because to me the award still stands and I’m sure the feeling would be the same.”]

Carly was originally scheduled to perform “I Hope You’re Happy Now” with her duet partner, Lee Brice, at the CMA Awards, however he tested positive for COVID over the weekend and had to bow out. Lady A‘s Charles Kelley will step in for Lee during the live broadcast.

LUKE COMBS’ LATEST CROCS COLLAB IS AVAILABLE NOW

Luke Combs‘ 3^rd collaboration with Crocs is available now. The special Luke Combs x Crocs LC3 clogs were officially released yesterday (Tuesday, Nov. 10th) online at Crocs.com and Amazon and retail for $65. The first 2 sold out within hours.

Perhaps Luke will be wearing his new Crocs when he hits the CMA Awards tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 11th) in Nashville. He is nominated in six categories, including Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, Single, twice in the Song category and the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year.

If — or should we say when — Luke wins one or several trophies tonight, he tells us the lack of live audience at Nashville’s Music City Center won’t dimish his excitement. [“I think I’m just as thrilled, you know? Obviously we all wish there could be fans and an audience of our peers there to watch us win but also when I won at Billboard (awards) for Top Country Artist, it wasn’t top country artist of the quarantine, it was the top country artist of last year. I remember thinking, ‘man, we have earned this,’ and so it still feels great, you know, and you just don’t get to go out and have a big party afterwards and have drinks with everybody. That’s the only difference.”]

The CMA Awards airs tonight on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

KEITH URBAN VIES FOR ENTERTAINER AT TONIGHT’S CMA AWARDS

Keith Urban heads into tonight’s (Wednesday, Nov. 11th) CMA Awards with three nominations, including Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year. Keith has already taken home the CMA’s Entertainer title twice before. He tells us that he loves to perform and thinks that being good at that is the definition of “entertainer.” [“Well, I know the criteria isn’t purely about live performance, but I’ve always felt that that’s what it is, otherwise I thought it probably should be called Artist of the Year, but I always thought it’s called Entertainer of the Year. I’ve always loved putting on concerts and tours and shows and really tried to put on something that’s incredibly entertaining and engaging. I probably obsess about that part of what I do equal to making records.”]

In addition to performing live tonight, Keith is also nominated for Musical Event of the Year for “Be A Light” with Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Miranda Lambert’s Unique Take on this Year’s Entertainer of the Year Criteria

Yesterday was MIRANDA LAMBERT’s 37^th birthday and she was on “Extra“ talking about how this year’s CMA Entertainer of the Year award will be judged differently than usual.  She pointed out that since there’s no touring, it’ll be a more well-rounded category.

Quote, “It’s about your whole image and the whole thing that you encompass and how you represent yourself in the industry and what you mean to country music.  I think that’s a cool way to celebrate Entertainer of the Year.”

The 54th CMA Awards, hosted by Reba and Darius Rucker, will air live from Nashville at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer