Trending This Mornin'
 
Wind advisory today.  Warm with wicked winds and heavy rain arriving by 4P.  Hi 69.  Tomorrow, sunny and breezy.  Hi mid 40s.  Snow showers Friday. Hi 33.   Partly sunny weekend.  Highs 42 - 45.  Monday, mostly cloudy.  Hi 51.  Tuesday, 40% chance of rain or snow. Hi 48.
 

Maya Angelou speaks to a packed house at Randolph College.

Toyota is recalling 1 million Corollas and Lexus IS sedans.  Corolla sedans and Corolla Matrix small crossovers from the 2003 and 2004 model years will be recalled for a faulty airbag control module. About 270,000 Lexus IS sedans from the 2006 to 2012 model years will be recalled to check for a loose nut on the front wipers. 

John Kerry confirmed as Secretary of State.

Famed tightrope walker Nik Wallenda crossed 200 feet over an oceanfront highway in Sarasota, Fla. on a wire without a safety harness or net.

Netflix Inc. has closed its Salem shipping hub for DVDs after five years in operation.  The company pulled out of the Chapman Street warehouse and shifted the work to Greensboro, N.C. earlier this month.

University of Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Lazor is leaving the Cavaliers to join the Philadelphia Eagles and Chip Kelly's staff. 


 
Lookin' Back
1835- The first attempt on the life of a U.S. president was made upon President Andrew Jackson in the rotunda of the Capitol. Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter from England, took two shots and missed.

1917- The Original Dixieland Jazz Band made its first recording in New York. The tune was "Livery Stable Blues."

1933- Adolf Hitler was named Chancellor of Germany.

1933- The first episode of the Lone Ranger was broadcast on radio station WXYZ in Detroit. A film version of the western starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer is set to be released later this year.

1969- The Beatles performed in public for the last time in a 45-minute gig on the roof of their Apple Records headquarters in London.
 

 
Cuttin' Cake Today
 

Gene Hackman (Oscars for The French Connection and Unforgiven) is 83; Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is 72; Musician Phil Collins is 62; Christian Bale (Batman films) is 39; Wilmer Valderrama (Awake, That '70s Show) is 33

Joke of the Day
Peter called his doctor’s office for an appointment. “I’m sorry,” said the  receptionist, “we can’t fit you in for at least two weeks.” 

“But I  could be dead by then!” 

“No problem. If your wife lets us know, we’ll  cancel the appointment.”
 
 

Weird News This Mornin'
There's a great photo online of a dad who had a creative punishment for his  daughter recently, when he caught her breaking curfew.  He had a t-shirt  made with his face on it, and the slogan, "Try me!"  Then he made her wear  it for A WEEK, including five school days.

It's not a John Deere -- but a deer in the john.   A deer jumped through a picture window of a home in Summit Township, Michigan. The resident locked the animal in the bathroom and called for help. Two sheriff's deputies and a sergeant responded. The Jackson Citizen Patriot reports the deputies managed get to deer out of the bathroom window.  **I have to ask, why didn't they use the door?

 

Smarter Than Question
We waste 43 days of our lives doing this.  What is it?  Congrats to Judy, she got it.  The answer is "waiting on hold."
 
Entertainment Buzz

Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep have been picked as the perfect leading man and woman. Eastwood got 28 percent of the votes cast by nearly 1,200 people in The Vanity Fair-"60 Minutes" poll.  

  • Denzel Washington was close behind with 23 percent, followed by Cary Grant's 12 percent. 
  • Jack Nicholson and George Clooney are tied with 9 percent, and Humphrey Bogart got eight percent.
  • Asked to name the perfect leading lady, Streep was named by 31 percent of those surveyed.
  • Next up was Julia Roberts with 24 percent and Elizabeth Taylor with 11 percent, Halle Berry is tied with Bette Davis with nine percent and Sophia Loren got seven percent of the votes.

 

Sick Bay:  Barbara Walters has left the New York hospital where she was treated for a fall and the chicken pox.   She hopes to return to The View soon.  

The tabloids say Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are getting married at the end of May.  **If the tabloids were fact, Brad and Ang would be on their 9th marriage.

Voice coach Adam Levine is on the cover of Men's Health.  Inside, he credits yoga with making him more successful.  Adam will host SNL this Saturday.

Melissa Gilbert is engaged to actor Timothy Busfield.

Welcome to Splitsville. Ashley Judd and her racecar driver hubby Dario Franchitti have decided to separate. They were married 11 years.

Is Megan Fox's Hollywood career over? The new mom tells Marie Claire magazine her job is to be with her son.   Noah - her first - was born back in September. 

Ashton Kutcher says that his role as Apple icon, Steve Jobs, was a challenge.  He ended up in the hospital for two days because he was following a fruit died and his “pancreas levels were completely out of whack.” 

NBC continues to treat Ann Curry badly. After they booted her off the Today show, Curry has been filing reports for shows like Rock Center with Brian Williams, but sources say the network has barred her from doing any live interviews, according to the New York Post.
 

 
News from Nashville

 
Tim McGraw is EVERYWHERE.  He'll perform on location at the Super Bowl in New Orleans on "Good Morning America" on Friday. He'll appear on "Austin City Limits" on Saturday and "CBS Sunday Morning" on Sunday.   He'll be on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Tuesday, then play that night on the USS Midway in San Diego for "Ram Country on Yahoo!"  He's a guest on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" next Wednesday,  "Jimmy Kimmel Live" next Thursday,  then "Chelsea Lately" on February 11.   It's to promote his new album, "Two Lanes of Freedom," out next Tuesday.  You can pre-order the album now.
 
If you're excited about the fourth season of 'The Voice,' then we have some good news for you: Blake Shelton has picked his mentor for the show next season -- the one and only Sheryl Crow.
If Blake Shelton really wants to make up for his recent comments about classic country fans being "old farts," it looks like he's going to have the chance.  Country legend Ray Price - rather his promoters - have offered Blake the opportunity to be the opening act for an upcoming concert in Branson on June 8. Price went to Facebook to say, “I gave no one my permission to issue such a statement” and adding that he would “never insult him [Shelton] in such a manner.”  The set would only be 30 minutes.  Go ahead Blake, do it "For The Good Times."
 
Release day for Kenny Chesney's "Pirate Flag". 
 
 
Congrats to Gary Allan.  His song "Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)" is his 5th Number One.
 
Carrie Underwood's "Two Black Cadillac's" video was just released.   Now she's thinking how to make it into a movie, with writer Stephen King's blessings.   His 1980s best-selling book Christine was what inspired her idea to have the car actually do the killing, just like the possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury does in King's book.  BTW:  Carrie's mom is a huge King fan.
 

Diet Coke says Taylor Swift has signed on to star in its new advertising campaign.

In case you missed their appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, it's Lady Antebellum's "Downtown."  Hillary looks great for a mom-to-be.
Little Big Town's Kimberly Schlapman invited her band mates, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook into her kitchen to tape an episode of Kimberly's Southern Kitchen that will air at a later date on GAC. 

Stephen Barker Liles of Love and Theft thought his birthday would be an ordinary day at the office. Then he came home to find his house full of balloons. Barker celebrated his 29th birthday last week. He and bandmate Eric Gunderson spent the day writing with The Warren Brothers.  Afterwards, Liles went home and found his friends had filled his house with balloons, and each one had a handwritten message. Liles says they put so much thought into showing they cared and "it was incredible."
Jake Owen's "The One That Got Away" has been certified gold by the RIAA for 500,000 downloads.

Kenny Chesney will headline the 4th of July concert at the PGA's Greenbrier Classic golf tournament in West Virginia.
 
CMT Crossroads featured Stevie Nicks and Lady Antebellum last night. The show coincided with the re-release of the album “Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac.

 

 
Lar's This & That
 
IT'S SUPER BOWL TIME
You can bet on how long ALICIA KEYS' National Anthem will last, whether both Super Bowl coaches will wear hats, and what color Gatorade will be dumped  on the winner.  (Buzzfeed)
 
SUPER BOWL ADS SHOWN BEFORE THE GAME GET MORE VIEWS
Is putting your Super Bowl ad on YouTube before the big game a good idea? It is if you want to get more views for your video.
 
According to YouTube's research, ads that ran online before the Super Bowl last year got 9 million views, on average. Those that waited? 1.3 million. 

 
 

BUDWEISER-CLYESDALES
A sweet young thing will be the star of a Super Bowl commercial. A newborn Clydesdale is featured in a Budweiser Super Bowl ad. Yesterday, Anheuser-Busch tweeted photos of the foal, saying it was just seven days old when the commercial was filmed. It will be the 23rd Super Bowl ad featuring the Clydesdales.

 

 
CHEAPEST SUPER BOWL FOOD
There will be 100 chefs and 1,000 servers at the New Orleans Superdome for this  Sunday's Super Bowl. 
 
The most expensive food fans at the game will be able  to order is a Gulf shrimp cocktail that will run you $30 . . . and the CHEAPEST  is an order of small nachos, which will cost EIGHT dollars.  (The  Post Game)
 
 
A GUY THING
According to a new survey, 8% of WOMEN say they plan to give their guy  flowers for Valentine's Day. 
 
57% of men plan to give flowers to a  woman.  Fella's will spend 75% more than  women this year, $84 to $48.  (Digital  Journal)
 
 
PET NAMES
According to a new survey, the most popular pet name couples have for each other  is "Baby" or "Babe".  It passed "Darling" . . . which is now in third place  . . . because it's what the couple called each other in "50 Shades of  Grey".  "Love" was in second place.
 
 

 
DOG STUFF
Because the Puppy Bowl is Sunday... It's estimated that the family dog is the cause of at least 150 family arguments a year. Of all the money they spend on their dog, 56% is for food and treats.
 
2001 was the first year that pet cats out numbered pet dogs in the U.S. Every president since Harry Truman has owned a dog at some point while living in the White House. Police dogs have been used since the early 1800s. 
 
 

 

FAKE YOUR WAY THRU THE SUPER BOWL 

Yay for the Super Bowl. Booo for people that no NOTHING about football! Not  saying you need to be an expert, but at least know what a first down means. 


If this will literally be the first game you've watched all year, then here  are some tips that will help you fake your way through the evening...

  1. Avoid being too specific with stats/trivia.  You may screw up and  that's bad.
  2. Avoid being too vague: At least know who is playing in the game.
  3. Make sure your knowledge of the players goes beyond the front page of the  paparazzi rags
  4. If all else fails, stuff as much food in your gullet as humanly possible: If  you feel like you're about to be outed as a football fraud, float over to the  food table and start shoveling snacks into your mouth.
  5. Have a good time. Enjoy a brew; have a few laughs; eat a pint of potato  salad. Who knows, you actually enjoy the game.
 
HOT TOPIC, OFFICE TEMPERATURE
Research may explain why so many offices keep the thermostat turned down to a deep freeze year-round.  Most office temperatures are based on a building code called Ashrae 55. Created by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, this standard was determined based on the ideal temperature for men wearing business suits.  There are a few problems with this: one, Ashrae 55 is used worldwide, despite the fact that traditional work attire varies in different countries, and two, most women don’t wear suits to work every day. 
 
 

 
Good News Story 
A family in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil got the surprise of their lives when their pet tortoise that went missing 30 years ago turned up unharmed. 
 
The Almeida family bought the tortoise Manuela for their daughter Lenita when she was just a child, but in 1982 the pet went missing. The family had always assumed she ran away when builders working on the home left a front door open, and no matter how hard they searched, they simply couldn’t find her.
 
But when patriarch Leonel died earlier this month, the family decided to finally clear out a locked second floor room that was littered with  broken electrical items their father had hoarded.  It was there son Leandro discovered Manuela alive and living inside a box with an old record player. “I put the box on the pavement for the rubbish men to collect, and a neighbor said, ‘you're not throwing out the turtle as well are you?’,” he explained. “I looked and saw her.
 
A local vet believes Manuela survived -the three decades - by eating termites in the home’s wooden floors. 
 

 
Lar's Thought of the Day 

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.    --Maya Angelou