FRIDAY, July 7 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR FRIDAY, July 7, 2023
(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: 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.)

BUILD A SCARECROW DAY

CHOCOLATE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Chocolate Day is the perfect opportunity to eat your favorite chocolates in ample portions. Do you really need another excuse to over indulge with your favorite food treat? Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor. It’s the flavor of choice in candies, ice cream, cakes, breakfast cereal, toppings, and a whole host of desserts. Unequaled in popularity, it certainly deserves a day in it’s honor. Did you know? Chocolate is a vegetable. It comes from the cacao tree found in tropical rain forests. We don’t need to tell you what to do to celebrate this day, do we? Eat chocolate!”

FATHER-DAUGHTER TAKE A WALK TOGETHER DAY

GLOBAL FORGIVENESS DAY

NATIONAL MACARONI DAY

NATIONAL STRAWBERRY SUNDAE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“National Strawberry Sundae Day is your opportunity to indulge yourself in this delicious dessert. Strawberries are one of America’s favorite fruits. When the strawberries ripen each year, it’s time to celebrate. Many communities hold strawberry festivals to celebrate the harvest. At the festivals, strawberries take center stage. They are in the ingredients of hundreds of recipes. After the harvest has come and gone, summer arrives with heat and humidity. This is the perfect time to add sweet, tasty berries to ice cream for a cooling summer treat. Don’t forget to add your favorite toppings. Whipped cream is a must. Celebrate today, with a Strawberry Sundae.”

TELL THE TRUTH DAY
* PHONE TOPIC: Have members of the morning show admit weird or embarrassing truths, then invite listeners to anonymously phone in with their contributions.

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

HOW MANY HOT DOGS HAS JOEY CHESTNUT EATEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?

Famed competitive eater (* His mother must be so proud) Joey Chestnut won the 2023 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, held annually on the Fourth of July at Coney Island. This year, Chestnut downed 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Chestnut has won 16 out of the past 17 years. Somebody at TheTakeout website did the math: the total number of hot dogs Joey Chestnut has consumed at the Nathan’s contest comes out to 1,131. In an interview with Insider in 2021, he said that his sweat even feels greasy and sticky after the contest, and that some people around him swear that they can even smell the hot dog scent emanating from his body.
* Can’t wait ’til he releases a signature cologne.
* After each contest, he goes home, pulls a lamb intestine casing over his body and sleeps it off.
* He’s probably also breaking a lot of records for cholesterol.
* At least he doesn’t have to eat again until November.
* And nobody ever wants to invite him to Thanksgiving, for some reason.

THE BUZZ

PET QUIRKS

Reddit asked “What is your pet’s pet peeve?” Some of the responses:
– “My old dog will not eat his food without ‘sprinkles’ You have to say ‘Oooh! Sprinkles!’ enthusiastically and he has to witness the sprinkling. ‘Sprinkles’ can be Parmesan cheese, treat crumbs, even torn up lettuce. He will sit next to a full bowl and glare at me if there are no sprinkles.”
– “Our dog doesn’t have the same dog food twice in a row. You need to give him food A, then later on food B, and if he’s still hungry it needs to be a blend of A and B.”
– “My dog hates Steve Harvey and she loses her mind if she hears Family Feud. At first, I thought it was kinda hilarious. But very quickly it became clear Steve Harvey’s mere presence causes her serious turmoil.” (* This one is totally understandable.)
– “My horse LOVES getting baths, but she absolutely HATES the feeling of water dripping off of her stomach. I have to scrape the water off quickly and then set her up with two industrial fans just to keep her happy.” (* The hard part is getting the horse to sit down in the bathtub.)
– “My dog will stop walking if I walk past him and will refuse to walk til I let him pass and go ahead of me again.”
– “My cat will hiss and growl if you dance and sing near him. He hates seeing people happy I guess.”
– “My cat likes his bed to be angled towards the tv, and if it’s moved he won’t get in it again until he’s pulled it how he likes it.”
– “My cat screams for beet juice.”
– “If you don’t give my dog a long enough belly rub she throws a tantrum. If you laugh at her tantrum she runs off, drags your pillow to you and humps it as an act of revenge.”
– “My boxer refuses to sleep on the left hand side of the couch, or on the left hand armchair, or on the left hand side of my bed.”
– “The patio got painted brown and it was brown before but this is a very slightly darker brown and now she barks at it when she sees it because the color’s wrong.”
* These can all be fixed with food. You realize that, right?
* PHONE TOPIC: Does your pet have a weird quirk?

U.S. NEWS

AUDIO: CHURCH BAND MANGLES THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Mega-church pastor and self-proclaimed “prophet” Hank Kunneman, pastor of the Lord of Hosts Church in Omaha, Nebraska, told his congregation that it was time to stand and honor God and country with a rendition of “our great National Anthem” played by the church’s band. Take it away, Mr. Guitar:
CLIP: Church guitarist clearly doesn’t know the Star Spangled Banner. (2:15 long, slightly edited here for time)
CLIP URL: morningsidekick(dot)(com)/prep/wp-content/uploads/MangledNationalAnthem(dot)
* “O, say, can you see… this cool effects pedal I just got!”
* Did the pastor try to heal him afterwards?
* Even the drummer could have gotten closer to the melody.
* Praise the lord, it’s Jimi Hendrix reincarnate!
* America’s Got Talent. Well, except for Omaha, Nebraska.
* Come on, give the guy a break. With just three guitar lessons, I think he’s doing pretty good.

THE ANGRY BIRDS CAFE

Way back in 2009, there was a game for your cellphone called Angry Birds. You may still have it. Angry Birds was a big deal, for about a year. Now, 14 years later, somebody decided this would make a good theme for a restaurant. The – and this is the official name – “iSwii by Angry Birds Cafe” is opening Saturday in Flushing, New York. The cafe’s menu will include seasonal holiday cakes & pastries. There is a private room for birthday parties that includes the ability to play the VR versions of the game. There’s also a ton of Angry Bird merchandise.
* “Well, you bugged me for weeks, kids, but here we are: The iSwii by Angry Birds Cafe.”
* Somebody noticed there was a warehouse full of unsold Angry Birds crap, did the math, and figured the cheapest way to unload it was to sell it out of a cheap retail space in Flushing along with some cupcakes and cookies.
* You can find it right across the street from the Pokemon Go Diner.
* The real angry birds are the seagulls from the East River dive bombing you as you come out of the restaurant with your cookies and cupcakes.

WOMAN NEVER MISSED A DAY’S WORK IN 74 YEARS

A 90-year-old woman in northeast Texas is retiring from a Dillard’s department store after working 74 consecutive years without taking a single sick day. Melba Mebane of Tyler, Texas, started working as an elevator operator for the Mayer & Schmidt department store in 1949, then moved on to the men’s clothing and cosmetology departments. The store was acquired by Dillard’s in 1956. Said Melba, “I loved everybody there, and I loved to go to work every day.” The company also issued Mebane a certificate of excellence for being its longest-working employee.
* Just a certificate of excellence? Not even a participation trophy? What kind of cheap-ass store is this?
* She’s being replaced by some young whippersnapper who’s 78.
* She worked a very long time, earning regularly scheduled raises over the years, so by the end she was earning $800,000 a year.
* 74 years without missing a day, yet the chain is still struggling and underperforming. What a difference she’s made by showing up for work every day!

TRENDINGDRAKE HIT BY THROWN PHONE

Drake is now the latest artist to get hit with an object thrown at him onstage. He was performing Wednesday night in Chicago when a cell phone came flying, hitting Drake in his lower arm while he was performing. He kept rapping without stopping to address what happened. It is unclear who threw the phone. (* Or who their next of kin is.)

BABY OWLS FOUND UNDER GASTONBURY STAGE NAMED “AXL” AND “SLASH”

A pair of baby owls discovered at the site of the Glastonbury Festival in England are now safe and under the care of a local rescue agency. The two owls were found beneath the Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage during the Guns N’ Roses set. For that reason, the Secret World Wildlife Rescue agency decided to name them Axl and Slash. The agency says the owls are both still doing well and have moved into a large aviary to stretch their wings.

THE EAGLES ANNOUNCE FINAL TOUR

The Eagles on Thursday announced that their upcoming tour will be the last: The band will kick off “The Long Goodbye” tour on Sept. 7 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. So far, just 13 dates have been announced, but more are in the works.

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

Kirsten Vangsness (actress, “Criminal Minds”) … 51
Jorja Fox (actress, “CSI: Vegas,” “CSI”) … 55
Jim Gaffigan (comedian, actor, author) … 57
Shelley Duvall (actress, “The Shining”) … 74
Ringo Starr (drummer, The Beatles, real name Richard Starkey) … 83

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

“I am about peace and love. I am about non-violence. And so I’ve just got to express that every chance I get.”

(A) Vladimir Putin
(B) Simon Cowell
(C) Ringo Starr

ANSWER: (C) Ringo Starr

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1999 – In the first class-action lawsuit by smokers to go to trial, a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for making a defective product that causes emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses.
* The next step: make the cigarette companies cough up some cash.

1980 – The “Solar Challenger” became the first solar-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel.
* But solar aircraft never caught on so they ended up digging a tunnel under it.

1957 – The first package of “Sweet’N Low” sugar substitute was served at a restaurant.
* Over 50 years of sugar substitutes and Americans are more obese than ever.

1930 – Construction began on what is now the Hoover Dam. It was originally named Boulder Dam.
* Then the vacuum cleaner company made an offer for naming rights.

1802 – The first comic book, “The Wasp,” was published in Hudson, NY.
* Parents thought comic books would lead to juvenile delinquency. Actually, the real problems start when kids move on to the hard stuff – video games!

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2010 – Paul McCartney joined Ringo Starr onstage at a concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to help celebrate the former Beatle drummer’s 70th birthday. With Ringo’s All Starr Band joined by Yoko Ono, Joe Walsh, Angus Young and Steven Van Zandt, Paul belted out “Birthday” and Ringo delivered “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

2009 – Michael Jackson’s family and fans said farewell to the pop superstar at an emotional memorial service.

2007 – The Live Earth concerts took place around the world with The Police closing the days events in New Jersey. The concerts were organized by former US Vice-President Al Gore, as part of his campaign to “heal the planet.”

2006 – Syd Barrett died from complications arising from diabetes at age 60. The singer, songwriter, guitarist was one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, active as a rock musician for only about seven years before he went into seclusion.

2000 – Eminem’s wife, Kimberly Mathers, was hospitalized after she slit her wrists following her husband’s show as part of the Up in Smoke Tour at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

1984 – Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the U.S. album chart with “Born In The USA.” The album went on to spend a total of 139 weeks on the U.S. chart.

1984 – Prince started a five week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “When Doves Cry,” his first U.S. No.1 which went on to sell over 2 million copies.

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. In a recent survey, 65% of people who have done THIS admitted they regretted it afterwards. What is it?
They had plastic surgery

2. Over 15% of people surveyed said they dream about THIS on a regular basis. What is it?
Their pets

3. 25% of people surveyed said they use one of THESE that is at least 5 years old. What is it?
Their online profile picture

(c) 2023
MORNING SIDEKICK RADIO SHOW PREP & COMEDY
8062 West Massey Circle
Littleton, CO 80128
USA
morningsidekick(at)gmail(dot)(com)
Tel: 303-727-9111