THURSDAY, Oct 24 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR THURSDAY, October 24, 2024
(Print button is at bottom of post. To print with larger type, cut and paste content into a document, and print that document.)

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.)

40 HOUR WORKWEEK DAY
The Business Insider website says this:
“In 1890, the US government began tracking workers’ hours. The average workweek for full-time manufacturing employees was a whopping 100 hours. On June 26, 1940, Congress amended the Fair Labor Standards Act, limiting the workweek to 40 hours. The act went into effect on October 24, 1940.”

FOOD DAY
The Food Day website says this:
“Food Day inspires Americans to change their diets and our food policies. Every October 24, thousands of events all around the country bring Americans together to celebrate and enjoy real food and to push for improved food policies.”

NATIONAL BOLOGNA DAY

UNITED NATIONS DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“This day recognized the United Nation organization and all who serve and participate in this world organization. The United Nations is dedicated to world peace and to the betterment of humanity through a wide range of programs from world hunger to environment and health issues. Almost all of the more than 100 countries in the world are members of this organization.”

October is:

Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
American Cheese Month
Car Care Month
Child Health Month
Consumer Information Month
Cookbook Month
Country Music Month
Fire Prevention Month
National Pizza Month
National Popcorn Month
National Service Dog Month
Vegetarian Awareness 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, October 24

“Beauty in Black”
Netflix – New Series
Synopsis: A stripper’s fate takes a turn when she crosses paths with the wealthy, dysfunctional family behind a cosmetics dynasty and a devious trafficking scheme.

“Canary Black”
Prime Video – New Film
Synopsis: A top CIA operative is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. With Kate Beckinsale.

“Like a Dragon: Yakuza”
Prime Video – New Series
Synopsis: Follows a group of friends as they rise up the ranks in the organized crime syndicate known as the Yakuza, with stories set across two timelines — 1995 and 2005. Based on the Sega games, but with none of the games’ weird and wacky trademark silliness.

“Territory”
Netflix – New Series
Synopsis: When the world’s largest cattle station – in Australia – is left without a clear successor, everyone scrambles for a piece of the pasture, including rival cattle barons, Indigenous neighbors, developers, and more. Think Yellowstone Down Under. With Anna Torv.

Season Premiere:
Paramount+ – “Star Trek: Lower Decks”

FRIDAY, October 25

“Before”
Apple TV+ – New Limited Series
Synopsis: Billy Crystal stars as in this psychogical thriller as Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn, encounters a troubled young boy who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past.

“Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band”
Hulu/Disney+ – New Documentary
Synopsis: An in-depth look at the creation of their legendary live performances featuring unprecedented, behind-the-scenes access to their 2023-2024 world tour.

“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”
Netflix – The limited theatrical release comes to streaming.
Synopsis: The vast and secret online life of a young World of Warcraft gamer born with a fatal disease is vividly reimagined when his online friends contact his family after his death.

“Trap”
Max – New Movie
Synopsis: M. Night Shyamalan’s latest follows a father and daughter as they attend a pop concert, which is revealed to be a trap for the police to catch a notorious serial killer who is hiding somewhere in the audience.

SUNDAY, October 27

Season Premieres:
HBO – “Somebody Somewhere”
Prime Video – “Lioness”

LIAM NEESON WANTS TO QUIT ACTION MOVIES

Liam Neeson has said (* for at least the third time) that he’s ready to stop doing action movies. The actor addressed when he’ll retire from acting in physically-demanding projects in an interview with People magazine published Wednesday. He said, “I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage. You can’t fool audiences. Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it.” At this point in his career, Neeson still does his own fight scenes but lets his longtime collaborator, Mark Vanselow, do the more extensive stunt work. Neeson has played the leading man in countless action films, including the “Taken 1,” “Taken 2: Takener,” “Taken 3: Took,” as well as “The A-Team,” “The Grey,” “Wrath of the Titans,” “Run All Night,” “The Commuter,” “Cold Pursuit,” “Saints and Sinners,” “Retribution,” “Memory,” “Blacklight,” “Ice Road,” “The Marksman,” “Honest Thief,” and his latest film, “Absolution.”
* He also starred in “Love, Actually” where he walked quickly in one scene.
* Look, Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills. And one of those skills is signing his name to the bottom of multi-million dollar contracts to star in crappy action movies.
* Meanwhile, Steven Seagal is thinking “What’s he got that I haven’t got?”
* Two words, Liam: A and I. You can keep doing this forever.

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. “If You’re Not Using Vodka In Your Pie Crust, What Are You Doing?”
2. “Navy Developing Flying ‘Rubber Octopus’ To Thwart Terror Attack”
3. “Dung Beetles Inspire Next Generation Of Navigation Systems”
And here’s a spare, in case you don’t like one of those three: “The Dark Side Of The Houseplant Boom”

MOST POPULAR BABY NAMES FOR 2024

The Baby Center has released the most popular names for babies in 2024. And it’s only October!
Girls: Olivia, Amelia, Emma, Sophia, Charlotte, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Ellie, Luna
Boys: Noah, Liam, Oliver, Elijah, Mateo, Lucas, Levi, Ezra, Asher, Leo
* If you named your child any one of these names, you are unoriginal and derivative.
* Remember when people used to name their kids after their grandparents and other beloved relatives? Me neither.
* Wait – I’m sorry, those are the names of K-Pop band BTS.
– Names that declined in popularity and fell off the Top 100 list include Drake, Justin, Stanley, Sarah, Kayden, Dominic, Aaron, Eva and Jasmine.
* No one’s going with “Diddy,” huh? Go figure.
* Anyway, welcome to the planet, kids. Sorry about the national debt.

THE 5-4-3-2-1 PACKING METHOD

Do you always wonder how many clothes to take on a trip? Blogger Geneva Vanderzeil has popularized on TikTok something called the 5-4-3-2-1 method, especially for women. She says you should be packing five tops, four bottoms, three pairs of shoes, two dresses and one set of accessories. If you do the math, this gives you 60 different outfit combinations.
* Each of which the woman will try while the guy waits on the couch playing Solitaire on his phone.
* So, zero underwear?
* How many quarters do you pack, for the inevitable trip to the laundromat with so few clothes?
* Thanks, Geneva. We could have used this back in May.
* The 5-4-3-2-1- method for men:
– 5 socks, because you’re going to lose one.
– 4 video games
– 3 more video games
– 2 shoes, and they should match
– 1 condom, just in case.

U.S. NEWS

WOMAN FALLS OFF TAYLOR SWIFT CRUISE

A passenger fell overboard while on a Taylor Swift-themed Royal Caribbean cruise in the Bahamas. The passenger, a 66-year-old woman, went overboard around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday. She fell from the Allure of the Seas ship when it was 17 miles north of Nassau, Bahamas. Crews from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard were still searching for the missing woman as of Wednesday morning. Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans departed from Miami on Monday on the Allure of the Seas as part of a fan-sponsored event. The agenda for Swifties on the cruise includes making friendship bracelets, Taylor trivia and “Eras”-themed outfit nights, according to the tour information.
* Maybe she really, really felt the allure of the sea.
* I know people go overboard for Taylor Swift, but this is too much.
* A couple days of making friendship bracelets and I’d snap, too.
* We’ve had cruise ships since the 1800s. What are we still doing wrong with railings?
* I’m sure Taylor Swift wants everybody to know how sorry she is this tragic event happened, and also that she is in NO WAY legally connected to this cruise.

AUDIO: T.G.I. FRIDAYS SHUTS MORE RESTAURANTS

TGI Fridays has quietly closed six more of its restaurants, which adds up to more than a dozen Fridays closures this month alone. In January, Fridays closed more than 30 locations. This time last year, the restaurant chain had over 270 locations; now the chain is down to 200 or so locations as they look for a new buyer as they prepare to enter into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. TGI Friday’s began in 1965. It is only the latest in failing restaurant chains; Red Lobster had some well-publicized troubles in the past year. Some Pizza Hut franchisees are also having financial problems.
* If you work at a TGI Fridays you’d better get to an ATM Thursday.
* Frankly, the place has been sittin’ under the heat lamp a little too long, if you know what I mean.
* Do people understand that Fridays is open the other six days of the week, too?
* If only there were some other place in America to get variations on a hamburger.
CLIP: Our classic “Tough S*** It’s Monday” parody spot.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/TSIMondays-Restaurant(dot)mp3

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

RASH OF BUTTER THEFTS

There has been a rash of butter thefts in Guelph, Ontario, with at least seven large-scale butter thefts in the last 10 months. Two more large thefts were reported last week. In one theft, on October 12, two men entered a grocery store, placed a number of items in a cart – including three cases of butter with a value of $936 – and left out a shipping door. Four days later, two men entered a different grocery store, placed four cases of butter with a value of $958 in a cart and left through an emergency exit. It is not known if all the incidents are related.
* Good detective work, there, Guelph police.
* Sounds like the butter thieves are pretty slippery.
* Does that Mrs. Fields cookie lady have an alibi?
* It is getting near time for those annual PTA Christmas cookie sales.
* What a weird butter story. Spread it around.

ALMANACNOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Oct. 31, Thursday – Halloween
Nov. 3, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Ends, turn clocks back 1 hour
Nov. 11, Monday – Veterans Day
Nov. 28, Thursday – Thanksgiving
Dec. 21, Saturday – Winter begins, winter solstice occurs at 4:21 a.m. (EST)
Dec. 25, Wednesday – Christmas
Dec. 31, Tuesday – New Year’s Eve
Jan. 1, Wednesday – New Year’s Day

BIRTHDAYS

Drake (rapper, actor) … 38
Monica (singer, songwriter, actress) … 44
B.D. Wong (actor, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”) … 64
Kevin Kline (actor) … 77
F. Murray Abraham (actor, “Homeland”) … 85
Bill Wyman (ex-bass player with The Rolling Stones) … 88

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

“The truth is, I’m really bad at taking compliments. I’m really self-conscious about my music. Even if I do a good job, I always wonder how I could have done it better.”

(A) Taylor Swift
(B) Madonna
(C) Drake

ANSWER: (C) Drake

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2017 – Albert Einstein’s “Theory of Happiness,” written as a note for a bellboy instead of a tip in Tokyo in 1922, sold for $1.56 million. Einstein wrote: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
* So if you followed Einstein’s Theory of Happiness, you’d never have enough money to buy Einstein’s Theory of Happiness.

1962 – The United States began a blockade of Cuba after spy planes detected nuclear missiles from the Soviet Union being assembled there. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. military forces went on the highest alert in the postwar era in preparation for a possible full-scale war with the Soviet Union.
* President Kennedy successfully defused the situation, because he wanted to save the world from nuclear annihilation, and because he had a couple of hot babes lined up for later that afternoon.

1940 – In the U.S., the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
* Somebody forgot to tell my boss.

1939 – Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time.
* It was the boon the bank robbing industry really needed.

1929 – The Great Stock Market Crash happened in New York. Millions of shares were sold in the crash that led to a worldwide panic.
* The Roaring Twenties ended with a scream.

1904 – The New York Subway System opened to the public.
* It was really quite nice, since it would be at least 40 or 50 years until spray paint would be invented.

1901 – Mrs. Ann Taylor became the first woman to go over Niagara falls in a barrel. She did it to help pay off her mortgage.
* Usually, it’s the mortgage company that has you over a barrel.

1836 – Alonzo D. Phillips received a patent for the phosphorous friction safety match.
* He invented it after wondering how to get that stink out of the bathroom.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2019 – During an interview with Zane Lowe for his Apple Music Beats 1 show, Kanye West declared that he was “unquestionably, undoubtedly the greatest human artist of all time.” The 42-year-old rapper also predicted that he will one day be president of the U.S.

2006 – Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut studio album. Swift was 16 years old at the time of the album’s release and the album topped the Country Albums Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks selling over seven million copies. The album also became the longest-charting album on the Billboard 200 of the 2000s decade, remaining on the chart for 277 weeks in total.

2005 – Madonna gave a surprise lecture at a New York university, discussing her career and new film after she arrived unannounced at City University’s Hunter College as part of the MTV series Stand In. Students expected a screening of her new documentary “I’m Going To Tell You a Secret,” but they were also given the chance to question the singer.

2004 – George Strait was at No.1 on the U.S. album chart with “50 Years of Hits.”

1987 – Michael Jackson started a two week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Bad.”

1979 – Paul McCartney received a medallion cast in rhodium after being declared the most successful composer of all time. From 1962 to 1978, McCartney had written or co-written 43 songs that had sold over a million copies each.

1977 – Rolling Stone Keith Richards pleaded guilty to possessing heroin to a court in Toronto. He was given a one year suspended sentence and ordered to perform a benefit concert for the blind.

1973 – Rolling Stone Keith Richards was fined after admitting having cannabis, Chinese heroin, mandrax tablets and a revolver at his Chelsea, England home.

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. 45% of women surveyed said THIS is their favorite thing to borrow from their man. What is it?
Their car

2. When women were asked, “If you could be any woman in history, who would you choose?” – THIS was the #1 answer. Who is it?
Cleopatra

3. Close to 50% of women surveyed said they do THIS on Sundays. What is it?
They go makeup-free

(c) 2024
MORNING SIDEKICK RADIO SHOW PREP & COMEDY
8062 West Massey Circle
Littleton, CO 80128
USA
morningsidekick(at)gmail(dot)(com)
Tel: 303-727-9111