THURSDAY, Apr 11 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR THURSDAY, April 11, 2024
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: TAXACO; PROMOS-TO-GO

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.)

BARBERSHOP QUARTET DAY
The Days Of The Year website says this:
“On April 11, 1938 the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, marking the official celebration of Barbershop Quartet Day. The image of four wearing straw hats singing together with complex harmonies could be considered a cultural cornerstone of the 1940s. However, Barbershop Quartet is by no means an American invention; the popularity of barbershops in England amongst men during the time of Shakespeare extended as far as in-house entertainment, often taking the form of a lutist providing a melody to which the queuing patrons could harmonize with. This idea and practice became popular in America in the West during the late 1800s, though a banjo was often used instead of a lute.”

EIGHT TRACK TAPE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Eight Track Tape Day brings back fond memories of the sixties and seventies. During this era, eight track tapes ruled the music world. America’s love of the automobile was a driving force in creating the demand for musical cassette formats. For those who grew up in this era, an eight track tape player in your home and your car was an essential. It was eventually replaced by cassette and other formats for storing music. If you still have tapes and a player, by all means enjoy the day listening to some great music. If not, just spend a few minutes looking back in time to when you loved your eight track tapes! Did you know? Eight track tapes were created by the jet maker William Lear.”

NATIONAL CHEESE FONDUE DAY

NATIONAL PET DAY

April is:

Adopt a Greyhound Month
Car Care Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
D.E.A.R Drop Everything and Read Month
International Guitar Month
Jazz Appreciation Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
National Card and Letter Writing Month
National Garden Month
National Humor Month
National Poetry 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, Apr 11

“Baby Reindeer”
Netflix – New Series
Synopsis: Follows the writer and performer Richard Gadd’s warped relationship with his female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark buried trauma.

“Fallout”
Prime Video – New Series
Synopsis: A story of survival in a post-nuclear apocalypse, in a retrofuturistic, alternate Los Angeles full of mutants, mech suits, and opportunists. Based on the video game.

“Patti Stanger: The Matchmaker”
The CW – New Reality Show
Synopsis: Patti Stanger, third-generation matchmaker, helps people find love by working with them in person and teaching them the real tools and rules to become the most eligible versions of themselves.

Season Premiere:
Netflix – “Heartbreak”

FRIDAY, Apr 12

“Franklin”
Apple TV+ – New Series
Synopsis: In December 1776, Benjamin Franklin is world-famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when he embarks on a secret mission to France, with the fate of American independence hanging in the balance.

“Good Times”
Netflix – New Animated Series
Synopsis: Animated reboot of the 70s sitcom.

“The Greatest Hits”
Hulu – New Movie
Synopsis: Harriet finds art imitating life when she discovers certain songs can transport her back in time – literally. While she relives the past through romantic memories of her former boyfriend in an attempt to avert the terrible car accident that took his life, her time traveling collides with a burgeoning new love interest in the present. As she takes her journey through time, she must consider whether or not she should change the past. No, seriously, that’s the plot.

SUNDAY, Apr 14

“24 in 24: Last Chef Standing”
Food Network – Yet Another Culinary Competition
Synopsis: 24 talented and fearless chefs take on 24 food challenges in 24 consecutive, non-stop hours to win $50,000 and a trip of a lifetime.

“Bluey: The Sign”
Disney – Special
Synopsis: Extended episode of the global hit animated pre-schoolers series that follows Bluey, a lovable and inexhaustible Blue Heeler dog who lives with her Mum, Dad, and little sister, Bingo. Bluey uses her limitless energy to play games that unfold in unpredictable and hilarious ways, bringing her family and the whole neighborhood into her world of fun.

“The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden”
CBS – New Special
Synopsis: Concert special shot at Joel’s record-breaking 100th consecutive performance at Madison Square Garden as part of his franchise run on March 28.

“The Sympathizer”
Max – New Series
Synopsis: Follows a conflicted spy for the Communist party in Vietnam over the course of his life and mixes dark humor with espionage thrills during the Cold War.

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. “Wearing Only A Pair Of White Shoes, This Photographer Spent Years Posing Nude In New York City”
2. “The Restaurant Asparagus Trick I Always Do”
3. “People Who Don’t Make Their Bed Every Morning Have Cleaner Sheets, According To Science”
And here’s a spare, in case you don’t like one of those three: “The Cat Poop Parasite That Will Make You More Attractive”

DON’T LEAVE YOUR BUTTER OUT

Should you leave your butter out on the counter or refrigerate it? Land O’Lakes Butter culinary content specialist Tonja Engen has the answer: Butter should not be left out for more than four hours. Engen says to “always return any unused butter to the refrigerator. Leaving butter unrefrigerated can affect its color and flavor.” Even storing butter in a covered butter dush at room temperature does not help extend its shelf-life, she says.
* Butter has been around since prehistoric times and now is the first time we’re hearing about this?
* So … why exactly do butter dishes exist?
* Butter sales must be down, they’re just trying to scare us into buying more.
* I suppose this know-it-all also has a problem with kids running while holding scissors.
* I don’t care what she says, I’m not tearing up my toast in the morning with hard butter.

WACKY PET NAMES

Nationwide Insurance has listed the wackiest pet names from their database of pet insurance clients. The public is welcome to vote for the Wackiest Pet Name from these finalists.
– Dogs: Boots With the Fur, ChugChug Pickles, Lil’ Richard Simmons Sweatin’ to the Oldies, Lord Waddles, Lulu the Conqueror, Molly From Corporate, Mr. Pizza Puff, One Love Tiny Dancer Princess Margaret Rose Windsor, Team “The Bandit” Player and The News.
– Cats: Balsamic Vin, Car Alarm, Itty Bitty Kitty Committee, Meownnaise, Minerva Meowgonagall, Necronomicat, Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator, Skullcrusher, Steph Purrrry and Tony “Scarface” Baloney.
– Exotic Pets: a rabbit named BeezelBun, a ferret named Boo Boo Bean, a snake named Boop Noodle, a guinea pig named Cowpig, a tegu lizard named Frosted Mini Wheats, a macaw named Magic Nugget, a tortoise named Midsize Sedan, a ferret named Mumbo Jumbo, a pig named Snoop Hoggy Hogg and a rabbit named Thor Odinbun God of Bunder.
* PHONE TOPIC: Nationwide, these are really lame. Do you have a pet with a funny, odd name?

INTERNATIONAL NEWSWINNING OLYMPIC ATHLETES TO GET MONEY

This year’s Olympic track & field winners will get more than a cheesy gold medal – they’ll also get cash. Gold medalists in each of the 48 track events will take home $50,000, although winners of team relay races will have to split the cash. World Athletics, the governing body for track and field, is introducing prize money for Olympians for the first time.They say it’s intended to ensure the revenues generated by the athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned “to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is.” However the decision clearly blindsided the International Olympic Committee, which has never awarded money for participating or winning a medal, as it believes that to compete at a Games is reward enough.
* Sure. It’s like the two “Dune” movies have brought in over a billion dollars – but Timothée Chalamet should just be grateful to be in them.
* Besides, says the Olympic Committee, it would cut into their phenomenal bribe money.
* If the amount of money you can win on “Deal or No Deal Island” was the size of the Earth, $50,000 would be a pea. Sad.
* The amount of sex those athletes can have at the Olympics should be payment enough.
* I, for one, can’t wait to see who wins the $50,000 Dollar Dash.

MCDONALD’S SMELLBOARDS

McDonald’s restaurants in the Netherlands have debuted a new advertising gimmick: billboards that smell like McDonald’s food. The billboards are small, about 5×8 feet, one is just a blank red rectangle and the other a blank yellow rectangle. They sit on the ground where people can walk past them. As they do, the unique smell of McDonald’s wafts out. How do they do it? There’s a large tray in the billboard frame that hold a bunch of McDonald’s French fries, and a ventilator blows out the aroma. The boards are strategically placed within 600 yards of a McDonald’s so customers can follow the scent trail to the source.
* Kind of low-tech, no? Who invented this? Thomas Edison?
* In the Netherlands, anything that doesn’t smell like fish attracts attention.
* Of course, to smell the fries, you’ll have to push your way through the crowds of seagulls.
* “Mmmm…French fries and cardboard. Let’s go get a McDonald’s hamburger and fries.”
* Cinnabun did it first, didn’t they? Sending the smell of cinnamon buns through the mall?
* Heinz Pickles should do this. Call them Dillboards.

TRENDING

KEVIN COSTNER IS VAGUE ON “YELLOWSTONE”

Kevin Costner finally said a bit more about Yellowstone. The actor told Entertainment Tonight that he’d “like to be able to do” the remaining episodes of the fifth and final season, “but we haven’t been able to—I’m not sure how it’s being worked out.” Costner continued, “I’ve loved making that series. I made five seasons of it. I thought I was going to make seven, but right now we’re at five. So how it works out—I hope it does—but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. … Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with it, I’d love to do it.” The show is still set to air in November, after which it will spin off into new series “2024.”

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

April 15, Monday – U.S. Tax Day
May 12, Sunday – Mother’s Day
May 27, Monday – Memorial Day
June 14, Friday – Flag Day
June 16, Sunday – Father’s Day
June 20, Thursday – Summer begins (The June solstice occurs at 4:50 P.M. EST)

BIRTHDAYS

Joss Stone (singer, songwriter, actress) … 37
Tricia Helfer (actress, “Lucifer,” “Battlestar Galactica”) … 50
Louise Lasser (actress, “Girls,” “Mart Hartman, Mary Hartman,” ex-wife of Woody Allen) … 85
Joel Grey (actor, “The Old Man,” played the MC in “Cabaret”) … 92

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

“I always felt … like girls were supposed to be stupid or something … like it was somehow unfeminine or something to be smart. So I tried to play dumb until I believed it myself.”

(A) Kim Kardashian
(B) Lindsay Lohan
(C) Louise Lasser

ANSWER: Louise Lasser

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1986 – Kellogg’s stopped giving tours of its breakfast-food plant. The reason for the end of the 80-year tradition was said to be that company secrets were at risk due to spies from other cereal companies.
* Although more secrets were actually let out when Snap, Crackle and Pop got drunk at parties.

1985 – Scientists in Hawaii measured the distance between the earth and moon within one inch.
* Hey, close enough for government work.

1970 – The ill-fated Apollo 13 mission was launched to the Moon. An accident forced its return to Earth.
* The heroic tale inspired a book, a movie and an annoying catch phrase about “having a problem.”

1906 – Professor Albert Einstein introduced his Theory of Relativity.
* It goes like this: “Relatives are like fish. Don’t keep them in your house more than three days.”

1814 – French Emperor Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the Island of Elba.
* Some days that actually doesn’t sound so bad.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2014 – Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of KISS and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. REM’s Michael Stipe inducted the group, saying: “Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard. Nirvana were kicking against the mainstream. They spoke truth and a lot of people listened.”

2006 – A member of Eminem’s rap collective D12 was killed in a nightclub shooting in Detroit after an argument broke out at the CCC nightclub. Proof, (real name Deshaun Holton), was shot at a club on Eight Mile Road, made famous in Eminem’s autobiographical film “8 Mile.” Holton was a longtime friend of Eminem.

1981 – Valerie Bertinelli married Eddie Van Halen. They would separate 2001 and divorce in 2007.

1981 – Hall and Oates started a three week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Kiss On My List,” the duo’s second U.S. No.1.

1977 – Alice Cooper played to an audience of 40,000 in Sydney, Australia, the largest crowd to attend a rock concert in the country’s history.

1972 – Paul McCartney was fined for taking drugs into Sweden.

1970 – Peter Green quit Fleetwood Mac while on tour in Germany. To avoid breach of contract he agreed to finish the current tour.

1970 – The Beatles started a two-week run at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Let It Be.”

1961 – Folk singer Bob Dylan performed in New York City for the first time, opening for John Lee Hooker.

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. Just under 40% of people say they get the urge to do THIS after watching people do it on TV. What is it?
Eat

2. 14% of people say they’re are addicted to eating THIS. What is it?
Cucumbers

3. According to a recent study, 57% of home-cooked meals in America have THIS in common. What is it?
No vegetables

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