FRIDAY, Oct 25 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, October 25, 2024
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: FIVE CHAMBERS OF HORROR – 2024; THE FRIDAY CLUSTERFLICKS

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.)

FRANKENSTEIN FRIDAY (The last Friday in October)
The National Today website says this:
“Frankenstein Friday was created to celebrate Mary Shelley and her famous novel “Frankenstein.”.Mary Shelley’s creation spawned an entire genre, countless movie adaptations, and widespread recognition. Frankenstein Friday aims to immortalize and honor this monster of a book right around the time the U.S. celebrates another scary holiday.” (Not to be confused with Frankenstein Day, which is the birthday of Mary Shelley, born on August 30, 1797.)

GLOBAL CHAMPAGNE DAY

INTERNATIONAL ARTIST DAY

NATIONAL BREADSTICK DAY

NATIONAL GREASY FOODS DAY

WORLD PASTA DAY

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

HALLMARK CHANNEL SUED FOR AGE DISCRIMINATION IN CASTING THEIR MOVIES

Hallmark Channel is being sued for age discrimination. A top executive from the channel is accused of trying to replace holiday stars like Holly Robinson Peete, 60, and Lacey Chabert, 42, because they didn’t want to cast “old people” as leads in their movies. The lawsuit was brought by 79-year-old casting director Penny Perry. The lawsuit accuses Lisa Hamilton Daly, executive vice president of programming at Hallmark, of wanting to stop casting actresses like Peete (20 Hallmark movies) and Chabert (more than 30) and bring in younger stars. The suit claims Daly also wanted to replace stalwarts like Elizabeth Mitchell, Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser, Kelly Martin, Nikki Deloach, Rachel Boston, Brennan Elliott, Cameron Mathieson, Paul Greene, Eric Close and Teri Hatcher.
* Isn’t it time to bring in some younger talent, like Rita Moreno or Helen Mirren or Barbara Eden?
* How about using de-aging special effects on all those actors and do prequels to all their Hallmark movies?
* Meanwhile, Liam Neeson’s 72 and complaining he still get hired for action movies.
* Here’s a joke that bears repeating: What has 15 actors, four settings, two writers, and one plot? 671 Hallmark Channel movies.

THE BUZZ

TOP 20 DEMOTIVATIONAL THINGS AT WORK

According to a survey from OnePoll.com, here are the Top 20 things staff find demotivating at work:
– Rude managers
– Poor technology to work with
– Constant calls/meetings with no time to do actual work
– Lack of flexibility
– Only ever getting negative feedback, rather than positive
– Hearing others got a pay rise when I didn’t
– Managers/senior staff not sharing any updates/news with me
– Not getting the recognition I deserve from a team project
– Colleagues regularly moaning about work
– Repetitive tasks
– Being stuck in the office when it’s nice outside
– Seeing others get promoted while I’m still in the same position I always have been
– A boring or long commute
– Rarely getting feedback from your manager
– When there’s a domino effect of people leaving to go elsewhere
– Having to work in silence – because chatting or music is banned
– Running out of annual leave too soon into the year
– A bland or outdated office space
– Seeing others get shoutouts on social media / internal emails while I don’t
– Eating lunch at my desk
* Yeah, I hate when everybody eats lunch at my desk, too.
* Well, if you weren’t feeling bad about your job, you are now.
* Oh, boo hoo. Suck it up, people. That’s is why it’s called a job! And I say that because our boss listens to the show.
* Hey – nobody complained about annoying co-workers. I guess they’re not all back to full-time working at the office yet.
* I hate repetitive tasks, too. What about you, (weather or traffic person), do you hate repetitive tasks?

AGE TEST: STAND ON ONE LEG

Want to know how well you’re aging? Try standing on one leg. A new study suggests that your ability to stand and balance on one leg could be the most reliable indicator of how much you are declining with age, outperforming traditional measures like grip strength, walking speed, or two-legged balance tests. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic conducted a comprehensive movement analysis on 40 healthy adults both under and over 65 years-old. They tested participants’ strength, balance, and walking patterns to understand how these abilities change as we age. Among all the tests, the ability to stand on one leg decreased most dramatically depending on the person’s age. What makes this finding particularly significant is that it doesn’t require specialized equipment or medical expertise; the one-leg standing test is something anyone can do at home. It’s as simple as timing how long you can balance on one leg while keeping your eyes open.
* Thank you, Dr. Flamingo.
* Having people over 65 stand on one leg. Do these researchers by any chance do hip surgery on the side?
* C’mon, folks, if you’re getting older, don’t fall for it.
* How many of us have a record of how long we could stand on one leg from ten years ago? Anybody? Twenty years ago? Anybody?
* So when grandma clutches her chest and says “I think this is it!” get her to stand on one leg before calling the ambulance, see how she does, maybe you can save a coupla bucks.
* My doctor has a test like this, only it’s a sitting test. He lets you sit in the waiting room. The longer you sit without complaining, the older you are.
* BIT IDEA: Have a one-legged standing contest amongst your morning team. Loser has to do the rest of the show without a chair.

U.S. NEWS

FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED FOR SPAGHETTI ASSAULT

A Largo, Florida, man is behind bars after being charged with assaulting his wife with spaghetti. Police say that Marquell Royal, 40, and his wife were arguing Sunday evening about Royal’s “abuse of alcohol” when the dispute turned violent. Mr. Royal became “irate” and threw his bowl of spaghetti at his wife, striking the 44-year-old woman on “the front of her body, on her stomach,” according to an arrest report. Officers found the victim “covered in the spaghetti sauce.” Mr. Royal was charged with enhanced felony battery.
* Enhanced with garlic and Italian spices?
* ♪♪ Uh oh, spaghetti throw. ♫
* That’s using the ol’ noodle, boy.
* He was hittin’ the sauce, and she was hit WITH the sauce.
* Coulda been worse. Coulda been a JAR of sauce.

AUDIO: WAR ON XMAS – NEIMAN MARCUS ELIMINATES “XMAS” FROM CATALOG

The War on Christmas marches on: Department store Neiman Marcus has removed the word “Christmas” from its iconic, 98-year-old annual gift catalog. For the first time ever, it’s calling the glossy catalog, famous for its extravagant gifts, the “Holiday Book” instead of the “Christmas Book.” A spokesperson for Neiman Marcus said the change was “in the spirit of inclusivity as it welcomes customers of all backgrounds, religions and traditions to celebrate the season.” Veteran employees – well, one employee anyway, who griped to the New York Post – complained, “If [CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck] and his team put as much time into running the business as they did on expressing viewpoints about DEI, we would be buying Saks or launching an IPO. Instead, my job is at risk because of our business failure.”
* So it’s changing the word “Christmas” and not the $66 rolls of wrapping paper or $1100 cotton pants that’s putting your job at risk?
* Look on the bright side – now customers of all backgrounds, religions and traditions are welcomed to spend extravagant amounts of money on ridiculously overpriced junk.
* I think Geoffroy van Raemdonck is the name of the villain in an unproduced Austin Powers sequel.
* I wonder if Geoffroy van Raemdonck will be dreaming of a White Holiday? Do you think he goes to the Rockefeller Center Holiday Tree Lighting?
CLIP: One of our “War On Christmas” sounders.
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)com/prep/wp-content/uploads/WarOnXmasSounder4(dot)mp3

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

BAT ESCAPES FROM ZOO IN VISITOR’S COAT

A bat escaped from a zoo in Germany by landing on a visiting woman and hiding in her clothes until she got home. Elina Öfele, 30, said she and her young son walked through the bat cave at Karlsruhe Zoo in southwestern Germany last week, and when she got home she removed her jacket and a bat fell to the floor. (* After the screaming died down…) … Frau Öfele contacted an animal expert who told her to put the bat in a box with honey water and a banana overnight to keep it fed and comfortable. Her husband and son returned the bat to the zoo the following day.
* These things rarely happen in the lion house.
* I’ll bet the guy who’s supposed to count the bats at the end of the day is in hot water.
* Is this the start of the Halloween-oriented news stories or just a coincidence?
* Do I now have to check my grocery store bananas for bats? Tarantulas, I know, but now bats?

CANADIAN TOWN HAS NOBODY RUNNING FOR MAYOR

A town in Saskatchewan, Canada, is facing a problem this election: no one is running for mayor. Officials in the town of Kyle – population 423 – said current Mayor George Williams is retiring this year and no candidates have come forward to seek the office. The town council has sent out two rounds of applications seeking nominations for mayor, but so far no one has signed up. If no one signs up by the election, which is November 13, the council will select a deputy mayor to handle the duties of the office.
* Canada, I like your style.
* So everyone who lives there is thinking “No way I want to deal with these jerks.”
* With 423 people, you don’t need a mayor, you need an R.A., a Resident Assistant, like in a college dorm. Somebody people can complain to and to tell the janitor if there’s a mess somewhere.
* Appoint a dog as your mayor. It’s free, it’s cute, you’ll get some good publicity out of it, no harm no foul.
* Mayor of last resort: A Magic 8-Ball.

A.I. CAN INTERPRET PIGS

European scientists have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of interpreting pig sounds. The scientists, from universities in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Norway and the Czech Republic, used thousands of recorded pig sounds in different scenarios, including play, isolation and competition for food, to find that grunts, oinks, and squeals reveal positive or negative emotions. The algorithm could potentially alert farmers to negative emotions in pigs. Farmers can eventually have an app on their phone that can translate what their pigs are saying in terms of emotions, and take steps to make them happier.
* Like what? Installing Jacuzzis and big flatscreen TVs?
* Pigs are smart. Why not just teach them to text directly? “I’m not happy”: Sad face emoji. “I am hungry”: pizza emoji. “I don’t want to be eaten”: Bacon emoji, fork emoji, red circle with a diagonal line emoji.
* You know what this means, right? Another remake of “Dr. Doolittle.”
* I understand there was a lot of grunt work by university students in this project.
* Was the report sloppy?
* With a little tweaking, they say the program will be able to decode the language of teenagers.

TRENDING

AUDIO: JACK JONES, “LOVE BOAT” SINGER, DIES AT 86

Grammy-award winner Jack Jones, who sang the iconic Love Boat theme song, has died at age 86. The singer and actor passed Wednesday night, his family announced, following a two-year battle with leukemia. In addition to the Love Boat theme song, Jones also released the popular tracks “Wives and Lovers” (♫ “Hey! Little Girl/ Comb your hair, fix your makeup/Soon he will open the door…” ♪♪ the most sexist song of the 60’s!) and “Lollipops and Roses.” Jones earned two Grammy awards during his career and made frequent appearances on variety shows throughout the 60s and 70s. On top of singing the Love Boat theme, Jones was also an actor with credits in 1982’s Airplane II: The Sequel and 2013’s American Hustle.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE 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

Katy Perry (singer) … 40
Chely Wright (Country singer) … 54
Samantha Bee (comedian, TV host) … 55
Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart on “The Simpsons”) … 67
Jon Anderson (singer, “Yes”) … 80
Marion Ross (actress, “Happy Days”) … 96

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

“Besides my big boobs, it is probably my hourglass shape that is my best feature. I play off of that a lot. I like that I have a lot on top and a lot on the bottom.”

(A) Shaq
(B) Danny DeVito
(C) Katy Perry

ANSWER: (C) Katy Perry

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2018 – Christie’s became the first auction house to put an artwork generated by AI up for bid. The painting, titled “Portrait of Edmond de Belamy,” was created by Paris-based art collective Obvious, and was sold for for $432,000 by the company’s New York branch.
* Don’t tell the buyer we can now do AI artwork on our phones.

2001 – Microsoft released the Windows XP operating system.
* But since it worked way too good, they had to replace it with Vista.

1955 – Microwave ovens went on sale for the first time.
* They sold like hot cakes. Well, like hot cakes with a cold patch in the middle where they haven’t heated through properly.

1954 – The Air Force announced to the world that UFOs did not exist.
* Well, that takes care of that.

1924 – The comic strip Little Orphan Annie debuted.
* And she’ll always be known as having the scariest looking eyes on the
comics page.

1881 – Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday challenged the Clanton gang and the McLowery’s to the legendary “Gunfight at the OK Corral.”
* But they had ballet class that night so it was put off for a few days.

1873 – The first postcard was mailed in the United States.
* Ought to be arriving any day now.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2022 – Adidas cut ties with American rapper and fashion designer Kenye West over anti-Semitic remarks he made in interviews and on his social media.

2012 – Forbes magazine reported that Michael Jackson topped their list of highest-earning dead musical celebrities by earning $145 million in 2011. Elvis Presley ranked No.2 with $55 million in earnings, and Bob Marley No.3 with $17 million.

2003 – Johnny Cash’s step-daughter, Rosey Nix Adams and her fiddle player Jimmy Campbell were found dead on their tour bus in Clarksville, Tennessee from carbon monoxide poisoning. Heaters that had been left on were blamed for the accident.

2001 – 13 law firms were involved in dealing with claims to Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia’s $10 million estate six years after his death. Former wives and girlfriends continued to fight over how to distribute his estate and annual royalties of $4.6 million.

1997 – After falling over on stage when reaching for a guitar pick, Johnny Cash announced during a gig in Michigan that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

1986 – Bon Jovi went to No.1 on the U.S. album chart with “Slippery When Wet,” featuring two U.S. No.1 singles, “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Livin’ On A Prayer.” The album went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide.

1986 – Cyndi Lauper started a two-week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “True Colors.”

1986 – Dire Straits Mark Knopfler broke his collarbone after crashing in a celebrity car race before the Australian Grand Prix.

1974 – While Al Green was taking a shower at his Memphis home, his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and poured boiling hot grits over the singer, then shot herself dead. Green suffered second-degree burns.

1970 – Speaking at a U.S. radio conference, President Nixon asked programmers to ban all songs containing drug references.

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. When men were asked the question “What do you think heaven is like?” 49% of them said they think THIS exists in heaven. What is it?
Baseball

2. According to a recent study, men who keep THIS clean are more likely to have an organized life. What is it?
Their email inbox

3. According to a recent report, men consume over 80% of THIS product. What is it?
Potato chips

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