THURSDAY, Nov 2 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR THURSDAY, November 2, 2023
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: BROUGHT TO YOU BY

TODAY IS …
(All days repeat annually on today’s date unless otherwise noted; days may or may not be called “National”/”International”/”World” depending on source; sources listed often have additional info. We generally do not list special days which were created by commercial companies for the purpose of marketing, or the hundreds of disease awareness listings which occur each year.)

COOKIE MONSTER DAY
The Punchbowl website says this:
“Today is Cookie Monster’s Birthday! Have fun as you celebrate the birthday of everyone’s favorite blue monster with a voracious appetite. Jim Henson created the original version of Cookie Monster for a General Foods commercial in 1966, and the beloved character appeared in the very first episode of Sesame Street in 1969. Cookie Monster’s googly eyes are never too big for his stomach, and he’s always ready to enjoy more cookies! Cookies are one of the most popular treats during the holiday season, which is fast approaching. Why not embrace your inner Cookie Monster and host a holiday cookie exchange this year?”

LOOK FOR CIRCLES DAY

NATIONAL DEVILED EGGS DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“National Deviled Eggs Day is today. All of you devils must go forth and consume deviled eggs on this very special day. You can use your favorite recipe, or (hopefully) find a restaurant serving them in recognition of this day. Make plans on getting your fill of Deviled Eggs on National Deviled Eggs Day!”

PLAN YOUR EPITAPH DAY
(some sources say April 6)
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Plan Your Epitaph Day is a day is a little bit morbid for my liking. My first thought was who would create this day? And, why? I don’t want to think about it, let alone plan it. However … When you stop to think about it, maybe it’s best if you do it. You never know what a relative or friend may put on your tombstone once you’re gone. Or, worse still, what if they don’t say anything? While we’re young, we think this is a long ways away. As we age, and get wiser, more of us consider getting directly involved with our epitaph, as well as all of the details of our demise. So, if you need a little nudge to plan your epitaph, let today be the day. Origin of ‘Plan Your Epitaph Day’: We believe Lance Hardie is the creator of Plan Your Epitaph Day. He is the author of ‘How to Write Your Own Epitaph – and Live Long Enough to Enjoy It.’ It was established November 2 to coincide with the Day of the Dead (All Souls Day).”

November is:

Adopt a Senior Pet Month
Great American Smoke Out Month
National Adoption Month
National Military Family Month
National Native American Heritage Month
Raisin Bread Month
Stamp Collecting Month
Vegan Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

WHAT TO WATCH – New and Returning Shows and Movies
Premiering Thursday through Sunday
Listings sourced from the TV Guide and EW websites.

THURSDAY, Nov 2

“All the Light We Cannot See”
Netflix – New Series
Synopsis: Follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl who escapes from German-occupied Paris with the goal of keeping a prized diamond safe and away from the Nazis. With Mark Ruffalo.

FRIDAY, Nov 3

“Fingernails”
Apple TV+ – New Movie
Synopsis: In a world where a “fingernail test” can reveal who you’re in love with, Anna – who knows from the fingernail test that she is in love with Ryan – comes to question this when she meets Amir at her new workplace, a center where couples prepare for the test.

Season Premiere:
“Invincible” – Prime Video

SUNDAY, Nov 5

“Lawmen: Bass Reeves”
Paramount+ – New Series
Synopsis: follows the journey of Bass Reeves and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as one of the first Black U.S. Deputy Marshals west of the Mississippi.

ALEC BALDWIN WANTS A REALITY TV SERIES NOW

Alec Baldwin now wants a reality show with his wife Hilaria Baldwin and their seven kids. Kelly Ripa suggested the idea on her podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera saying the family of nine “has reality TV written all over it.” Alec responded, “We’ve thought about that a lot. I’m desperate to work from home.” He says that, with seven kids, “It’s like I I can’t go anywhere for any length of time. I need 12 plane tickets. You know nannies, kids, my wife. They don’t even have 11 seats in the business class section of the plane.”
* That’s it, Alec. Endear yourself to America even more.
* Go ahead. Make a show. Take a shot.
* How about a show where he escapes from the family and travels the worlds?
* All of America wants to see an episode where Hilaria drags Alec Baldwin to the vasectomy clinic.

AUDIO: NEW BEATLES SONG DROPS TODAY

What’s left of The Beatles are releasing a song today (Thursday) in the Beatles’ name, titled “Now and Then.” The song was written by John Lennon, who recorded it as a rough demo on an audio cassette in his home. The song was one of several that the surviving Beatles – at the time it was Paul, George and Ringo – considered while working on a massive Beatles retrospective project for ABC TV. They attempted to turn several Lennon demos into studio-quality records, but the only two that worked at the time were “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love.” Now, 30 years after that, the technology exists to recreate John’s voice in full. Including some guitar parts that George laid down at the time. Paul and Ringo went into the studio last year and overdubbed new drums and bass, and a string section was added. They had told the string section that this was a new McCartney song, so word wouldn’t leak out that it was actually a Beatles song.
* Is this or is this not the band who said Let It Be?
* Knowing Paul, he probably snuck into the studio and re-recorded George’s guitar and Ringo’s drums himself.
* They thought about putting in a secret message you could hear if you played it backwards, but then they looked at each other and said… “Meh.”
* One of these days, they’re going to go back and fix up Bob Dylan’s vocals from, well, everything he ever recorded.
* So – did The Monkees not leave behind any demo cassettes?
CLIP: Here’s a bit of John Lennon’s reconstituted vocal. You can surely find the completed song today on YouTube.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)(com)/prep/wp-content/uploads/Beatles-NowThen-LennonIsolated(dot)mp3

OPRAH’S FAVORITE THINGS 2023

Oprah has released her annual catalogue of what she calls Oprah’s Favorite Things. It’s the usual assortment of clothes, jewelry, accessories, books, food… Overall, it’s not as over-the-top and ridiculous as, oh, say, Goop. Most of the items are in line with what you’d find in any boutique store. Although, there are the usual overpriced food items. Here are a few of the Oprah’s Favorite Foods that might make you gag:
– Zola Bakes Purple Ombré Rainbow Cookies: “Twenty miniature almond cakes, layered with a chocolate hazelnut spread and topped with a dark chocolate drip”: $49
– Original Mortgage brand Apple Cake: $90 for one cake
– Box of Kyri’s Large Cookies: 6 cookies for $95
– Stone Hollow Farmstead Blissful Breakfast Gift Box: pancake mix, syrup, infused jellies: $111
* I’d be blissful too if I could scam people into spending over $100 for a box of pancake mix.
– My Fabulous Food Luxury Salt: two small jars of salt: $80
* That $90 cake better be the Disneyland of cakes.
* The “Mortgage” name reminds you you’re going to need that $90 for more important things.
* But really, is a package of Oreos any less expensive these days?
* How good they can be if they’re not her favorite things just a year later?

THE BUZZ

DUMB HEADLINES

Time for another episode of Three Dumb Headlines. These are actual, word-for-word headlines of stories found on the internet. There’s no story, no context, just the actual headline. Discuss them amongst yourselves. Then, encourage listeners to vote for the Dumbest Headline on your station’s social media page. Maybe ask them to leave a comment. Reveal the results in the next break.
Today’s Dumb Headlines:
1. “Runners Share What They Had For Dinner Last Night”
2. “Mouse Embryos Grown in Space Offer Glimpse of What Might Happen if an Astronaut Got Pregnant”
3. “I Turned My Ruined Breast Milk Into A Soap And Lotion Business”
And here’s a spare, in case you don’t like one of those three: “The Fascinating Story Behind Princess Diana’s Mysterious Philadelphia Eagles Jacket”

DUMB TOURIST QUESTIONS

Here, from tour guides, is a collection of Dumb Questions That Tourists Ask:
– “I’m a tour guide in Alaska. The dumbest question someone ever asked me was, ‘At what elevation do deer turn into moose?'”
– “At 1 pm every day the ‘one o’clock’ gun is fired from Edinburgh Castle. I have been asked more times than I can count, ‘What time does the one o’clock gun go off?’ I also get asked, ‘When do Scottish people celebrate New Year’s Eve?'”
– “My dad used to do helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon. It is ridiculous how many people expect to see the Presidents of Mt. Rushmore while they’re there.”
– “This guy at Gettysburg saw the cannons pointing straight up as part of the entrance. He asked if they were anti-aircraft guns.”
– “Someone brought a live turtle they found in one of our botanical gardens to the front door and asked where they should put it. Like, maybe back where you found it?”
– “At the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, in the middle of November, waiting in line with other tourists, a couple is in matching bathrobes and sandals. They came from a nearby hotel, absolutely convinced that the baths were fully functional.”
– “I was on a tour of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The tour guide had to explain that Dubrovnik existed before Game of Thrones, and was not just built for the TV series.”
– “My mom used to be a tour guide in Greece. Someone asked, ‘Why did it never rain in ancient Greece?’ He noted that none of the buildings have ceilings, so clearly it never rained.'”
– I was on the Metro in DC, and this tourist was looking at the Metro map, obviously flustered. I asked him what stop he was looking for, and he replied, ‘Oh, I’ve found my stop, but I can’t find the You Are Here arrow ANYWHERE on this freaking map!’ We were on a moving train.”
– “I was taking people on a snorkeling tour. As I got to explaining the wetsuit, one of the participants says, ‘Wait, we’re going to get wet on this tour?'”
– “I work at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. The tour wraps up with a movie about the Battle of Lexington and Concord. A guest asked: ‘So who won?’ I start explaining that the Regulars suffered more casualties, but were ultimately successful. She cuts in: “No, no. I mean the war.”
– “At Niagara Falls, it’s really common to be asked what time they turn the Falls off and if they shut them off during the winter.”
– “Walking in Las Vegas and heard someone ask what months of the year New York gets the Statue of Liberty and what months Vegas does.”
– “I once had a woman insist that she needed to spray herself with my bear spray. I could not make her understand that it does not work the same as insect repellent.”

CATS HAVE 276 DIFFERENT FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

In a study published in the journal Behavioural Processes, two US scientists have determined that cats have 276 different facial expressions when interacting with one another. They filmed 53 cats at a local cat café, recording 186 feline interactions. The cats were adult domestic shorthairs of both sexes, all neutered or spayed. They came up with a coding system looking at the number and types of facial muscle movements. While they were not able to attribute a meaning to each expression they recorded, they found that 45.7% of coded expressions were friendly, while 37% were aggressive. In general, cats are showing a friendly expression when the ears and whiskers move forward while the eyes close, and an aggressive cat has constricted pupils, ears flattened against the head and a tongue-swipe of the lip.
* And it can turn in a microsecond, as all cat owners know.
* These scientists are lucky they can’t see the expression I’M making right now.
* “Interacting with each other.” What about other situations? Like the disgusted expression they give you when you try a different brand of cat food?
* Most of their human expressions pretty much amount to “I could care less.”

U.S. NEWS

DISNEY WORLD MONORAIL GETS A FLAT TIRE

The monorail at Walt Disney World had to be evacuated mid-station on Tuesday after the train got a flat tire causing it to stall on the tracks. The incident happened near the EPCOT parking lot toll plaza. One rider said there was a loud bang, and then a big flash of light. After that, the monorail slowed down. 71 passengers were evacuated, taking about an hour and 20 minutes
* Or half the time of the line at Space Mountain.
* Hey, it’s our newest Disney ride, Mickey’s Cherry Picker!
* How do they get a jack that reaches from the ground all the way up to the bumper of the monorail?
* Time to start weighing the tourists, just like the airlines do.
* Whoever designed that monorail should be run out of the park on a rail.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

89-YEAR-OLD MAN HAS BEEN TRYING TO DIVORCE HIS WIFE FOR 27 YEARS

In India, an 89-year-old man who has been separated from his wife for nearly 40 years and has been trying to divorce her for 27 years, had his request for divorce dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier this month. Divorce is a big no-no in India, usually granted only in cases of violence or cruelty. In this case, the couple married in 1963. They had three kids. The man was an officer in India’s Air Force and his wife was a teacher. In 1984, the husband was transferred to the city of Chennai. His wife refused to join him. The marriage fell apart, and in 1996 he filed for divorce. Four years later, he was granted the divorce, but that was quickly overturned after an appeal by his wife. Since then, the husband, long retired from the Indian Air Force, has been trying to get his case before India’s Supreme Court so he could finally get his divorce. Earlier this month, he got his wish, but the court ruled against him. His wife, now 82 year old, pleaded with the Court not to grant the divorce because she didn’t want to die with the “stigma” of being a divorcee.
* Besides, she’s too old to get a butterfly tattoo on her thigh and hang out by the pool at the club.
* Translation: She wants the money when he goes.
* Are they TRYING to get him to use violence or cruelty?
* “It’s complicated” doesn’t even begin to cover this relationship.
* He tried dating, but every time he tried to explain his situation to the new woman she fell asleep.
* Maybe the court wants them to stay together until the kids are, you know, dead.

ALMANACNOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Nov. 5, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Ends, turn clocks back 1 hour
Nov. 11, Saturday – Veterans Day
Nov. 23, Thursday – Thanksgiving
Dec. 21, Thursday – Winter begins, winter solstice occurs at 10:27 P.M. EST
Dec. 25, Monday – Christmas
Dec. 31, Sunday – New Year’s Eve
Jan. 1, Monday – New Year’s Day 2024

BIRTHDAYS

Nelly (rapper, real name Cornell Haynes, Jr.) … 49
Marisol Nichols (actress, “Riverdale”) … 52
David Schwimmer (actor, “Friends”) … 57
k.d. (Kathryn Dawn) lang (singer) … 62
Stephanie Powers (actress, “Hart to Hart”) … 81

BIRTHDAY QUOTE QUIZ – Ask your listeners “Who said it?” HINT: Today’s their birthday!

“I’ve purposely steered clear of relying on a trend, because my whole career has been sidestepping any sort of inevitability of getting caught in a rut and having to produce the same sort of records over and over.”

(A) Taylor Swift
(B) Justin Bieber
(C) k. d. lang

ANSWER: (C) k. d. lang

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2016 – The Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years, defeating the Cleveland Indians, 8-7, in game 7.
* Okay, fellas, you can relax until 2124.

2010 – Californians rejected a ballot measure that would have made their state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
* Thanks to heavy lobbying by the booze industry.

2000 – The first crew arrived at the International Space Station.
* And immediately started fighting over the top bunks.

1994 – Astronomers in Holland discovered a new galaxy, 10 million light years away from Earth. They named it Dwingeloo 1.
* And you thought the names you heard on “Star Trek” were ridiculous.

1993 – The U.S. Senate called for full disclosure of Senator Bob Packwood’s diaries in a sexual harassment probe.
* Unfortunately, many of the pages were stuck together.

1990 – Ivana Trump filed for divorce from millionaire husband Donald Trump. She claimed he’d been unfaithful.
* After she caught him kissing and cuddling his money one evening.

1990 – A Cornell University graduate student unleashed the first major computer virus in the country’s on-line system, clogging thousands of computers around the nation.
* This, of course, prompted graduates of other major schools to try much harder.

1959 – In a scandal that eventually made its way through the TV game show industry, “Twenty-One” contestant Charles Van Doren confessed that his winning streak was fixed.
* And I’ve heard the stars on “Hollywood Squares” were fed funny comeback lines.

1922 – Quantas, the Australian airline, launched their first flight.
* To make the Aussies feel at home on the long trip, every passenger was given their own handcuffs.

1920 – The first commercial radio station went on the air, KDKA, Pittsburgh, PA.
* Strangely enough, their format was Classic Rock.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2016 – Taylor Swift was the highest-paid woman in music, according to Forbes’ annual list, having earned more than double her nearest competitor Adele. The 26-year-old pop star had amassed earnings of $170m over the past year, mainly thanks to the world tour named after her “1989” album.

2015 – Adele went to No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Hello,” the lead track from her third album “25.” “Hello” became the first song to sell more than a million digital copies in a single week.

2007 – Led Zeppelin’s eagerly-awaited reunion concert in London was postponed for two weeks after guitarist Jimmy Page broke a finger.

2007 – Ozzy Osbourne was scheduled to play a gig in North Dakota. Police used the concert as a pretext for sending out over 500 invitations – to a fake party supposedly to be attended by Ozzy – to criminal suspects with outstanding arrest warrants. Over 30 showed up and were nabbed. Ozzy, who had no part in the sting operation, said it tarnished his reputation, and it was “insulting” that his name had been used.

2002 – Armed police arrested an international gang who were planning to kidnap former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and her two young children.

1985 – Stevie Wonder went to No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Part-time Lover,” his 9th U.S. No.1.

1985 – The TV soundtrack from Miami Vice went to No.1 on the U.S. album chart. It spent a total of 11 weeks at No.1.

1984 – The Rev. Marvin Gaye Sr. was sentenced to five years in prison for the manslaughter of his son, Marvin Gaye.

1979 – Mick and Bianca Jagger were divorced.

X-TREME TRIVIA CHALLENGE

Every installment of X-Treme Trivia Challenge includes three mystery factoids. Create your own “Impossible Question” contest – great for listener giveaways and phone interaction starters! Also a perfect sponsorship opportunity!

1. 20% of women surveyed said the best compliment they can receive is about THIS? What is it?
Their hair

2. 43% of women surveyed said buying THESE is stressful. What are they?
Jeans

3. 33% of women surveyed would change THIS about themselves if they could. What is it?
Their laugh

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