MONDAY, July 14 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR MONDAY, July 14, 2025
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: THE GILDED AGE FAIRE

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 – including “holidays” created by the National Day Calendar and Wellcat websites to drive traffic to their websites – or the hundreds of disease awareness listings which occur each year. We present only those specially designated days we feel your listeners would find most interesting or significant.)

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. In France Bastille Day is actually called Federation Day – Fete de la Federation, celebrated with military parades.”

NATIONAL GRAND MARNIER DAY
Celebrates the French orange cognac liquor created in the 1880s by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle.

NATIONAL MAC AND CHEESE DAY

NATIONAL NUDE DAY
Observed by nudist groups around the world.

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 Blueberries Month
National Grilling Month
National Hot Dog Month
National Ice Cream Month
Melon Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

WHAT TO WATCH – New and Returning Shows and Movies
Premiering Monday through Wednesday
Listings compiled from multiple sources

MONDAY, July 14

“Apocalypse in the Tropics”
Netflix – New Documentary
Synopsis: Through interviews with elected officials, spiritual leaders, and ordinary citizens, the film traces the rapid rise of Evangelical influence on Brazilian politics, culminating in the 2018 election of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

TUESDAY, July 15

“2025 MLB All-Star Game”
FOX – Special

“Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit”
Hulu – New Docuseries
Synopsis: Revisits the 1995 disappearance of Iowa-based TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit.

“Trainwreck: Balloon Boy”
Netflix – New Documentary
Synopsis: Revisits the 2009 media hoax in which a father claimed his son was trapped in a runaway homemade balloon. News helicopters followed the chase live and when the balloon landed it was empty, sparking outrage as the story became one of America’s most infamous hoaxes.

WEDNESDAY, July 16

“Amy Bradley is Missing”
Netflix – New True Crime Series
Synopsis: Delves into the disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley, who vanished during a family cruise in 1998, exploring the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the subsequent investigation, including potential sightings and leads.

“Low Life”
Hulu – New Series from Korea
Synopsis: Follows a pair of small-time schemers — an uncle and nephew — who stumble across a tantalizing rumor: a sunken treasure ship laden with riches has been found just off the Korean coast. With dreams of finally striking it rich, the duo plunges headfirst into a cutthroat race against rival fortune-seekers, opportunists and underworld figures.

Season Premiere:
Prime Video – “The Summer I Turned Pretty”

MICHELLE PFEIFFER WARNS THE WORLD ABOUT APEEL

Last Thursday, actress Michelle Pfeiffer took to Instagram to express concern over the FDA’s approval of Apeel, a new food coating meant to extend the shelf life of produce. Apeel was developed with a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It’s said to be an edible, plant-based coating designed to extend the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Apeel uses plant oils naturally found in fruits and vegetables and creates a coating applied “to the surface of fresh fruits and vegetables in order to retain moisture and reduce oxidation,” according to the company. Apeel says their coating technology can help reduce post-harvest food waste in developing countries and is ultimately aimed at combating famine and hunger. Pfeiffer expressed concern that, with Apeel, our “organic” produce will be “coated in something we cannot see or wash off.” Despite Pfeiffer’s comments, Apeel claims on its website that their coatings can be washed by rinsing the produce with water and scrubbing it.
* Relax. When has a large company messing with food ever caused any problems? Well, aside from microplastics, which are now embedded in everyone’s brain. But other than that…
* Cool! Now fruits and vegetables will go all soft and brown inside while the outsides stay bright and colorful and you won’t have any way of knowing which ones are actually still good.
* And if there’s one thing we’ve all learned in the past 5 months, is that billionaires always have the public’s best interest at heart.
* So it washes off. Wait’ll it starts gumming up the plumbing.

JEFF BEZOS GROWING HAIR

Famously bald billionaire Jeff Bezos is growing his hair out. The 64-year-old was spotted in Sun Valley, Idaho, sporting newly grown thick white-grey hair around the sides of his scalp. Bezos recently tied the knot with wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. During the couple’s festivities in Venice, Italy, Bezos was seen with some fuzzy hair around the sides of his head. His new look is a change from his decision to go bald more than 10 years ago. The last time Bezos was seen with hair was in 2013 in which it was dark brown.
* You can just hear the conversation: “Jeffy, I want a wedding in Venice. Jeffy, I want a new yacht. Jeffy, why don’t you grow your hair out.”
* Did he see a picture of Larry David and think “Hey, that would be a great look for me!”?
* Speaking as an “interested party,” it’s still good to know that all the money in the world will not grow hair on the top of your head.
* The hair really makes him look younger. Even though he’s 64, he looks 83, and the hair makes him look 75.

YOUR OWN PRIVATE MOVIE THEATER

From the man who brought you Alamo Drafthouse movies theaters comes a new concept in cinema: Metro Private Cinema, a soon-to-open 20-screen complex in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. The Metro allows you to choose your theater – they have rooms that can seat between four and 20 people. Then you choose your movie, your gourmet food menu, and you’re off to the movies. You’ll be able to choose from current movies like F1 or Superman, or choose from the theater’s library of older movies. If you want to screen a movie that isn’t in their library, they’ll get it for you, for an extra fee. Tim League, who created Alamo Drafthouse and now Metro Private Cinema, says, “If you want to have a very special experience with dinner, friends and a movie, I think there’s an audience for it here.” The cost: The four-person theater runs $200 for a four-hour booking while the 12-person theater costs $600. Food costs an additional $100 a person. If you want alcoholic beverages, that will be at least $50 more.
* Going out to a movie – yet another thing the wealthy can rub in our faces.
* Look, if I want to pay $400 for dinner and a movie, I’ll just go out to dinner and then a movie. Have you seen the prices lately?
* There used to be a name for something like this. Oh yeah – Netflix.
* The only reason I might do this is if I didn’t want anyone to know I went to see the new Lilo and Stitch.
* Wait – Metro Private Cinemas aren’t IMAX? Well, forget it, then.

THE BUZZ

PARENTING MISTAKES 101

This is from Slate magazine’s Care and Feeding parenting advice column:
“Dear Care and Feeding,
I have a 2-year-old son who recently developed a problem going to sleep in his own bed. One night, after our bedtime routine of reading stories, his dad and I were saying good night and his dad added the ‘don’t let the bedbugs bite!’ saying. Immediately, a look of horror crossed my son’s face and he sat up and pointed at the bed asking ‘Bite? Bite?’ over and over. Ever since then, he refuses to lay down in his bed and go to sleep. I usually have to hold him until he falls asleep in my arms and then lay him down. For what it’s worth, he does seem really scared of the bed, so I have a hard time forcing him to lay in his bed. What can we do?”
* Move into a better motel?
* This isn’t what she’s looking for, but it WOULD be hilarious to fill his bed with those wind-up chomping teeth.
* Why is this your problem, mom? Dad started it. Let him rock the kid to sleep each night.
* How do you “don’t let the bedbugs bite” anyway? Stay up all night with a flashlight and a can of Raid?
* Tell him don’t worry, the monsters under the bed eat all the bedbugs.
PHONE TOPIC: What did your parents say that scared the bejeezus out of you as a kid?

U.S. NEWS

DRUGS FOUND IN BAG LABELED “DEFINITELY NOT A BAG FULL OF DRUGS”

Last Monday, July 7, police in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, located a vehicle in connection with a wanted person. Conducting a search, they found a bag labeled, literally, “Definitely Not a bag full of Drugs.” Inside the bag were drugs: cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Two 37-year-old men in the car were arrested on the scene.
* I’d get my money back on that bag if I were them, as soon as they get out of jail.
* Originally they were going to hide the bag labeled “Definitely Not a bag full of Drugs” in a cardboard box labeled “There is No bag of Drugs in this Box” but that would have been stupid.
* “No, officer, there is definitely no contraband hidden in my rectum. Hey! No! What are you doing? Why don’t you believe me?!”
* It’s the same reason insurance companies should be arrested. for the slogan, “Customers are our number one priority.

NURSE AMPUTATES MAN’S FOOT WITHOUT PERMISSION

A Wisconsin nurse has pleaded no contest to abusing a patient after she amputated a man’s foot without his permission. In May 2022, Mary K. Brown was employed as a nurse at a senior living home in Spring Valley. One resident, Doug McFarland, 62, had contracted severe frostbite in his feet, which both became necrotic, and he had been moved to hospice care. Nurse Brown thought amputation would “make the quality of life better for him, and she amputated McFarland’s right foot, but didn’t get permission from McFarland or his physician beforehand. Mr. McFarland died days after the amputation. Afterwards, another nurse told investigators Brown had mentioned that her family had a taxidermy shop and she wanted to preserve the necrotic foot in the shop with a sign reading “Wear your boots, kids.”
* And that would be for all the kids who constantly stream into the taxidermy shop?
* Just don’t ask why the eyes in the taxidermied animals are so realistic.
* A necrotic foot. Of all the rotten luck.
* Isn’t that just like some health care givers? Give them an inch, they take a foot.
* Just before taking his foot, Nurse Mary was heard to say, “I’m your biggest fan.”
* Taxidermy shop, my foot!

MAN’S FINAL WISH: DROP MONEY OVER A CROWD

A Detroit man’s dying wish was to have thousands of dollars fall from the sky by helicopter as his “last blessing” to his community. Last month, his family did just that. Darrell Thomas, a 58-year-old car wash owner in East Detroit known for his generosity, died after a battle with Alzheimer’s on June 15. Before he died, he planned to have a dramatic send–off. At his funeral on June 27, his sons organized a helicopter to drop $5,000 and rose petals on unsuspecting mourners as they honored their father at the event, which was held at one of his car washes. Traffic along the road came to a standstill for several minutes as funeral goers and onlookers rushed to grab some of the cash. The crowd remained calm as they went for the money. Said one witness, “Everybody got a little bit.”
* Luckily, his car wash prices were so high, he was able to make so much money he could give a little back.
* Although the people who really made out well were the helicopter company.
* Sadly, the $5,000 money drop was all in quarters, and many people went to the hospital.
* And then, for a big finish, he had the helicopter spray the crowd with hot wax.

PYTHON HUNTING TIME IN FLORIDA

The annual Florida Python Challenge is starting soon. The state is asking interested hunters to sign up now to euthanize as many invasive Burmese pythons as possible in 10 days to help protect the Everglades. Prizes are awarded for the most pythons removed and the longest python removed in different categories such as professionals, novices and the military. The big prize is $10,000 for the participant in any category who removes the most pythons. There were 209 snakes caught during last year’s challenge with the big prizewinner bringing in 20 Burmese pythons. The 10-day event takes place in eight locations in South Florida. The snakes must be killed humanely, and guns are prohibited. Also banned: dogs, drones, traps and off-road vehicles.
* A bazooka is not technically a gun, right?
* Can you feed them fried food until their arteries clog and they eventually die of heart failure?
* If they really want to make it a fair fight between people and snakes, they need to handcuff the hunters behind their backs.
* The hard part is learning the snake call.
* I keep thinking that Joey Chestnut, the champion hot dog eater, is going to show up at this thing.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

FRENCH MAN FORGETS WIFE AT GAS STATION, NOTICES 3 HOURS LATER

A 62-year-old man in France forgot his wife at a highway gas station and couldn’t remember which one. On July 5th, the couple from Paris left on vacation for Morocco with their daughter in the family car. After a rest stop at a gas station around 4:30 in the morning, the man left without realizing he had left his wife behind. He didn’t realize it until 180 miles later, and quickly called emergency services for help. He had trouble remembering which gas station it was. The couple’s 22-year-old daughter was in the car, but she was no help because she was asleep the whole time. Police were able to locate the gas station with the missing woman by tracking her phone.
* And he almost got away with it!
* Hello, Man Hall of Fame? I got one for you.
* Luckily, they all had a good laugh about it and went on to have a wonderful vacation together that wasn’t awkward at all.
* Did dad and the daughter not have their own cell phones? Could they not have called? This is a clear case of dumping. Catch “le clue,” lady.
* As they say in France, “Allez oops!”
* Time to start keeping a pack of Post-It notes and a pen in the car.

PRISONER SMUGGLES HIMSELF OUT IN A SUITCASE

A 20-year-old prison inmate in France made a unique escape: He packed himself into the bag of another inmate being released. Authorities at the Lyon-Corbas prison aren’t saying how big the suitcase was, or whether the inmate being released may have been in on the ruse.
* My guess: in on it, but don’t hold me to it.
* How big was the French suitcase? Was it a big bag, or just a baguette?
* Boy, those French prisons are classy. When you leave prison they give you a lovely parting gift of a new set of luggage.
* How much stuff do you accumulate in prison that you need a suitcase for it when you leave?
* He should be able to fully straighten up by August.

TRENDING

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (July 11-13)

1. Superman – $122 million
2. Jurassic World Rebirth – $40 million
3. F1 – $13 million
4. How To Train Your Dragon – $7.8 million
5. Elio – $3.9 million

KEITH URBAN SENDS HIS AWARDS TO HIS MOM

Keith Urban says that when he wins an award, he does not display them in his house. Urban was a guest on Australian an Australian radio show – Fitzy & Wippa With Kate Ritchie (* Fitzy and Wippa?) – and they asked him where each physical award that he wins ends up. He said that almost every award he wins gets mailed out to his mom. She puts them on display.

JEFF LYNNE CANCELS FINAL ELO SHOW

Jeff Lynne has had to cancel the final and farewell ELO concert. It was scheduled for Saturday in London’s Hyde Park. Lynne, 77, said he is suffering from a “systemic infection.” The concert will not be rescheduled. A statement provided to press said that Lynne “is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule. The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today — and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time.”

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

Sept. 1, Monday – Labor Day
Sept. 11, Thursday – Patriot Day
Sept. 22, Monday – Fall begins (Autumn Equinox is 2:19 p.m. EDT)

BIRTHDAYS

Dan Reynolds (singer with Imagine Dragons) … 38
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (comedienne, actress, “Fleabag”) … 40
Jamey Johnson (country singer) … 50
Jane Lynch (actress, “Only Murders in the Building,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Glee”) … 65

Today’s Birthdays grade: A good day for Imagine Dragons fans – and hasn’t Jane Lynch been pretty good in everything she’s done? Grade: B-minus.

[Want to try something different with the daily birthdays? Try grading them! Some days have “good” celebs, some have “great” celebs, some have “lousy” celebs. For fun, give the group an arbitrary grade: A-plus through F-minus. Sidekick will give you our take on it; you can to take the concept and run with it.]

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. According to a recent survey, 60 percent of Americans would rather have THIS than a raise at work. What is it?
A new boss

2. 8% of people surveyed said THIS is their top stressor at work. What is it?
Lack of job security

3. A Yahoo Jobs survey found that 70% of people admitted to stealing office supplies. 40% said they usually steal THIS. What is it?
Sticky notes

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