FRIDAY, July 14 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP EMAIL AND TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, July 14, 2023
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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.)

BASTILLE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Bastille Day commemorates modern France and French democracy. Bastille Day is a French holiday recognizing the end of the constitutional monarchy and the beginning of the democratic republic of France. To the French, Bastille Day is viewed as their liberation. Bastille Day is actually called Fete de la Federation. In France, it is a holiday that is celebrated with military parades. Happy Bastille Day and ‘Vive la France!'”

NATIONAL GRAND MARNIER DAY
The National Day Calendar website says this:
“National Grand Marnier Day is observed annually on July 14th. An 1880s French invention by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, Grand Marnier adds a splash of orange liquor to mixed drinks or desserts. Also enjoyed neat, this cognac concoction blended one of the most expensive fruits of the time with a strong spirit. The result was truly grand. Grand Marnier is used in a long list of desserts including liquor cream buns, Yule log, cranberry sauce, Crepes Suzette and Grand Marnier souffle creme brulee’. Grand Marnier is also used in the sauce of the roasted duck dish, Canard a l’Orange. Some examples of the mixed drinks including Grand Marnier are: Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Sidecar, Dirty Harry, Grand Mimosa, B-52, the Grand Marnier Smash, the Grand Smash, the Smash Marnier, the Bloody Smash, the Maced Marnier, the Ace Marnier Smash, the Frosty Smash, the Smace, the Grand Hound, the Blood Pug, the Clarke, the Nogley and the Grand Marnier Fireball.”

NATIONAL MAC AND CHEESE DAY

NATIONAL NUDE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“National Nude Day is a way to keep cool on a hot, sticky summer day. So, take it off … take it all off. National Nude Day is a serious event. There are a sizable number of nudist groups around the world. They are not perverts. Rather, nudists believe that the body is a beautiful thing, and meant to be displayed. Nudist colonies, nude beaches, and other venues exist to cater to the preferences of individuals who seek to walk around ‘au natural.’ We will not speak to whether this is right or wrong. We simply desire to make you aware of all of this holiday. Interestingly, we found a lot of sites promoting Nude Day T-shirts. But, isn’t this problematic? How can you wear a T-shirt on National Nude Day!??”

PANDEMONIUM DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Pandemonium Day is a day of sheer bedlam, and utter chaos. If ever there was a wild and whacky, unorganized day, today is that day. Everyone has a day like this once in while. Its a day when all sort of unexpected things occur. Its a time when everything is happening at the same time, and at a very fast pace. Celebrate and embrace Pandemonium Day. Don’t let today, or any other day shake you up. If Pandemonium prevails, just go with the flow in a calm, cool manner. Sanity will return soon enough … we hope.”

July is:

Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month
Air Conditioning Appreciation Month
Baked Bean Month
Cell Phone Courtesy Month
Family Reunion Month
International Blondie and Deborah Harry Month
National Anti-Boredom Month
National Blueberries Month
National Grilling Month
National Hot Dog Month
National Ice Cream Month
Melon Month
Wild About Wildlife Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

AUDIO: DISNEY CUTTING BACK ON MARVEL, STAR WARS

Disney has announced that they are cutting back on movies and TV series for its Marvel Studios and Star Wars franchises. CEO Bob Iger said Thursday that the company is looking to cut costs during a time when its recent films, from Marvel to animation, have underwhelmed at the box office. He called out Marvel as being a particular example of the company’s “zeal” to pump up its original content on Disney+ streaming, admitting that the amount of Marvel content “diluted focus and attention.”
* Ramp up the Avatar, Disney. I’m stelling you, THAT is all the kids want these days. Avatar, Avatar, Avatar.
* Avatar, and more live-action remakes, like Pinocchio and Little Mermaid. Those have been terrific. Disney-rific, as it were.
* And more movies based on rides. Where’s my Tiki Room movie?
CLIP: It’s also been noted that attendance at DisneyWorld is down this summer. Here’s an ad to counter the downturn.

ACTORS ANNOUNCE STRIKE

SAG-AFTRA’s National Board officially called a strike Thursday against major film and television companies as contract talks with studios and streamers broke down without a deal. The work stoppage will impact 160,000 union members and began at midnight Friday. Union president Fran Drescher – yes,, that one – said that the studios “plead poverty” describing the studios offer as “there was nothing there, it was insulting.” Drescher said, “The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI. This is a moment of history that is a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble, we are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines.”
* “…machines with squeaky, nails-on-a-blackboard voices.”
* The actors are striking, the writers are striking. If the directors strike, they could all make movies together on the picket line.
* This is really going to affect the literally dozen people left who watch TV.
* Get ready – another 600 podcasts are on the way from unemployed actors desperate to stay in the public eye.

THE BUZZ

NEW TREND: WOMEN NOT SHAVING ‘DOWN THERE’ FOR THEIR BIKINIS

A trend has reportedly emerged online of women rallying against the idea that they should have to shave their nether regions before wearing a bathing suit at the beach. Two “influencers” named Sara Puhto and Bella Davis posted a joint post on Instagram of themselves in bikinis. Unshaven. Said Puhto in the video to other women: “You deserve to see body hair and bumpy bikini lines represented. You deserve to feel seen, empowered, and a little less alone in your body.”
* This is, as they say in the vernacular, all bushwa.
* I don’t want to see this in a bikini. I don’t want to see it in a thong, either. But that’s just splitting hairs.
* Trim the sails before you sail the trim. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter.
* PHONE TOPIC : Ladies, is this something you would dare to do?

U.S. NEWS

MAN STEALS POLICE CAR WITH POLICE DOG IN IT

Authorities in Paulsboro, New Jersey are looking for a man who stole a police vehicle with a K-9 inside on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred as multiple area police departments were conducting an operation in the borough. As police dealing with several individuals, one man jumped into the police SUV and drove off, probably unaware there was a K-9 in the car. (* I bet he found out quick, though.) The vehicle was later found abandoned. The doggo was unharmed.
* The suspect is described as male, possibly covered in drool.
* I hope he left the window cracked for the dog when he abandoned it. You know how hot it’s been.
* If only there was someone or something who could track this suspect by, I don’t know, his scent maybe?
* This police “operation”… it wasn’t being conducted near a donut shop by any chance, was it?

19-FOOT PYTHON CAPTURED IN FLORIDA

A group of Burmese python hunters in Florida have captured a massive snake that set a new record for the longest specimen ever captured in the Sunshine State. The previous record for a Burmese python ever captured was18 foot, 9 inches. On July 10th, a group of python hunters in Big Cypress National Preserve captured one that was 19 feet even, and 125 pounds. Burmese pythons are an invasive species in Florida. They have flourished throughout the Florida Everglades over the past several decades as they are perfectly adapted to the ecosystem.
* 19 feet. That’s 1/10,853rd Rhode Islands.
* Another true fact: The Burmese python has only one known natural predator, and that would be the nuclear bomb.
* So, if these things are from Burma, what’s the population of Burma? I’m guessing around 10.
* 125 pounds, but it was a lot heavier before they removed the goat from it.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

SIX-INCH WORM REMOVED FROM MAN’S HEAD

A Russian man walked into a hospital in Novorossiysk, Russia, experiencing extreme pain coming from a painful lump above his left eye. He thought is was an infected mosquito bite. Surgeons pullout out a 6-inch (15cm) parasitic white roundworm that had been burrowing under his skin around his temples. The worm resembles a thick piece of thread. They are caused by poor sanitation and hygiene. The staff at the City Hospital No.1 have since put the worm on display, in a jar. The patient is said to be doing better.
* As soon as he can shake a severe case of the willies, he’s free to go.
* They did ask the man to come back in 15 days, after the eggs hatch.

TRENDING

ACTORS’ STRIKE: THE STUDIO’S PROPOSAL

One of the more contentious issues underlying the actors’ strike is the use of AI and CGI in filmmaking. The actors’ union chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has reported what the movie studios came to the table with regarding the AI issue: The reported proposal hinged on the ability for background actors to be “scanned, get paid for one day’s pay” and for that company to “own that scan of their image, their likeness, and to be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation.” Many actors, of course, get into the business as background actors while they are working to break into the business. It allows them to learn how a set operates, meet fellow actors and industry connections, and eventually can lead to qualifying for SAG-AFTRA membership, which in turn can help land bigger roles.If that actor were now to have his or her image scanned and belonging to a studio, there would be no need for that person to pursue a career in the business.

RICHARD SIMMONS BREAKS SILENCE!

Yesterday, Wednesday, was Richard Simmons’ 75th birthday. Simmons, for all you kids out there, was a fitness guru, popular for encouraging people to get up and exercise. He created “Sweatin’ to the Oldies”, the biggest-selling fitness home video of all time. But in 2014, he quietly disappeared from public view, and hasn’t been seen since. People – and by people we mean people at People magazine and virtually no one else – have been desperate to know how Simmons is doing. Well, at last he broke his silence. Finally, we know how Richard is doing because, on Wednesday, he made a rare public statement. Well, HE didn’t actually make it, his spokesman did. And that spokesman said that Richard Simmons, on his 75th birthday, is “happy.” That’s all.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Sept. 4, Monday – Labor Day
Sept. 11, Monday – Patriot Day
Sept. 23, Saturday – Fall begins (Autumn Equinox is 2:50 a.m. EDT)

BIRTHDAYS

Dan Reynolds (singer with Imagine Dragons) … 36
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (comedienne, actress, “Fleabag”) … 38
Jamey Johnson (country singer) … 48
Jane Lynch (TV game show host, “Hollywood Game Night,” actress, “Space Force,” “Glee”) … 63

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

“If I’m going to hang my hat on something, I want it to be good.”

(A) Melissa McCarthy
(B) Will Ferrell
(C) Jane Lynch

ANSWER: (C) Jane Lynch

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2000 – A Florida jury ordered five major tobacco companies to pay smokers a record $145 billion in punitive damages.
* It was the tobacco companies’ turn to cough it up!

1952 – Pilots on a Pan Am flight approaching Norfolk, Virginia, spotted a group of UFOs traveling at an estimated 10,000 miles per hour.
* 10,000 miles an hour? Nice attitude on those aliens. Not only do they rub it in our noses that they’ve got flying saucers, they have to hot dog in front of a passenger jet and show how fast they can go.

1946 – The famous baby book “The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care” by Dr. Spock was first published.
* By the way, Spock recommends that if your baby behaves illogically, try a Vulcan mind meld.

1868 – Alvin Fellows patented the first tape measure.
* What did he care? He had a 32-inch waist. The bastard.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2009 – Michael Jackson fans from all over the world congregated at London’s O2 arena, where the recently deceased star had been due to begin his run of 50 concerts. Fans left messages on a wall of tributes, conducted Jackson sing-a-longs, and held a minute’s silence to mark the time when the doors to the concert would have opened.

1989 – At The Peach Festival in South Carolina, 432 guitarists broke the world record for the most guitar players appearing in unison for the longest period of time, when they performed “Louie Louie” for 30 minutes.

1982 – Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” had its movie premier in London, England.

1980 – Bryan Ferry collapsed in his hotel room in France and was flown to London suffering from a kidney infection.

1980 – Allen Klein, ex-manager of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, began serving a two-month prison sentence for falsifying tax returns.

1977 – Elvis Costello and The Attractions made their live debut as a supporting act in Cornwall, England.

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. The average person will spend two weeks of their lifetime waiting for THIS. What is it?
Waiting for traffic lights to change

2. The average person also spends two weeks of their life doing THIS. What is it?
Kissing

3. We spend about 4 hours a year waiting for THIS. What is it?
Waiting for change from a purchase

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