TUESDAY, Dec 3 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR TUESDAY, December 3, 2024
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: SONG – PERVY SANTA AT THE MALL

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.)

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
The United Nations website says this:
“The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) has been commemorated since 1992 to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues relating to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development. The Day works to promote action to raise awareness about disability issues and draw attention to the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society for all.”

MAKE A GIFT DAY

NATIONAL DAY OF GIVING / GIVING TUESDAY – Tuesday after Thanksgiving
The Days of the Year website says this:
“National Day of Giving is organized and celebrated each year with the simple aim of encouraging individuals, families, schools, businesses, and other organizations to give to the less fortunate. ”

NATIONAL GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE DAY

NATIONAL ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD DAY

December is:

Exotic/Tropical Fruits Month
National Egg Nog Month
National Fruit Cake Month
National Stress-Free Family Holiday Month
National Write a Business Plan Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Tomato Month
Winter Squash Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

TED DANSON TO GET SPECIAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD

Television legend Ted Danson will receive the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes next month. Inaugurated in 2019, the award honors the lasting impact of career achievements in television. Danson starred as bartender Sam Malone on the sitcom “Cheers,” he also starred in the TV shows “Becker,” “Bored to Death,” “Damages,” “Fargo,” “CSI: Crime Scene,” “Mr. Mayor,” “The Good Place,” and can currently be seen on the Netflix comedy-mystery “A Man on the Inside.”
* And commercials for Consumer Cellular. I think he’s working so hard ’cause he’s being blackmailed.
* The award is given to the oldest comedian still alive and able to stand up without assistance.
* Sure, it’s easy to voted for an award when you’ve worked with literally every single actor in the business.
* His hair alone has won three Emmys.

THE BUZZ

DUMB CUSTOMER REQUESTS

It’s holiday shopping time, when people can get a little nuts. BuzzFeed asked readers, “What’s the dumbest customer request you ever got?” Some of the responses:
– “Woring on a cruise ship I was on got a call from a passenger. She said she was trapped in her cabin and couldn’t get out. How exactly was she trapped? She said there were two doors in her room — one went to the bathroom, and the other had a do-not-disturb sign on the door handle.”
– “I was working at a watch shop, and a customer came in demanding a refund because the watch she bought was defective. It turns out she mixed up the minute hand and hour hand and was reading the time wrong. She didn’t believe me and insisted the product was defective.”
– “A customer walked into the coffee shop I worked at and asked if they could sprinkle some of their deceased loved one’s ashes onto their latte. I politely declined.”
– “Working at a fancy restaurant waiting tables. Another server was carrying a woman’s shoes back to the kitchen. He said a customer asked him to microwave her shoes to warm them up because her feet were cold. He knew the answer would be no from the chefs, but he just carried them back out of sight, waited a couple of minutes, took them back to her and said he couldn’t because of food safety laws.”
– “I take reservations for various clubhouses and pools. I had a woman call and yell at me because she rented the pool over the weekend, and it rained. She insisted that she made that reservation well in advance and that rain shouldn’t have happened.”
– “I had a lady buy five bags of paper rolls for coins. After she bought these for $1 a piece, she just stood there. I asked her what she was waiting on and she replied, ‘Just waiting for you to tell me where to take these for you to fill.’ She thought the coin tubes came with coins in them.”
– “I was doing calligraphy on holiday ornaments at Disney. A guest walked up to me and pushed her finger into my forehead. I looked up and she screamed, turned to her friend, and asked, ‘How can they make the robots so real?'”
* PHONE TOPIC: What’s the weirdest customer request you ever got?

CARS THAT COST THE LEAST TO KEEP RUNNING

Consumer Reports recently published a list of automakers ranked based on how much it costs to maintain and repair their cars over a 10-year period. Here are the Top Ten cars that cost the least to keep on the road; a lot of this is based on the cost of car parts, which probably why the American cars rank so high:
10. Honda: First Five Years: $1,435 / Next Five Years: $4,400
9. Mazda: First Five Years: $1,400 / Next Five Years: $4,400
8. Nissan: First Five Years: $1,300 / Next Five Years: $4,400
7. Hyundai: First Five Years: $1,140 / Next Five Years: $4,500
6. Chevrolet: First Five Years: $1,200 / Next Five Years: $4,350
5. Ford: First Five Years: $1,100 / Next Five Years: $4,300
4. Lincoln: First Five Years: $1,100 / Next Five Years: $4,300
3. Toyota: First Five Years: $1,125 / Next Five Years: $3,775
2. Buick: First Five Years: $900 / Next Five Years: $4,000
1. Tesla: First Five Years: $580 / Next Five Years: $3,455
* This list brought to you by Tesla, maker of everybody’s favorite car, the Cybertruck.

U.S. NEWS

MAN WITH CHAINSAW THREATENS SENIOR LIVING RESIDENTS

In St. Charles, Illinois, a man wielding a chainsaw inside a senior living community was shot and killed by police early Sunday. The man had been attempting to cut down a tree on the facility’s property at about 8:45 a.m. on Sunday. At one point, the man, shirtless, walked into the lobby of the building and began confronting residents with the chainsaw. Officers arrived and tried to deescalate the situation, but the man “continued his attempts to use the chainsaw against residents of the building,” as well as against responding officers. Officers used a taser on the man, but his attack continued, so they shot him. Officers and residents of the assisted-living facility were treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said.
* The old folks then grabbed the chainsaw so they could cut the tough meat in the dining hall.
* Someone shouted “Leatherface!” and all the residents looked at each other going, “Where? Where?”
* Someone else was shouting “Go back to Texas!”
* The cops should have cranked that taser up to 11.
* At least now there’s something for the residents to talk about besides their medications.

PASTOR SUBDUES ROBBER WITH KARATE

A Baptist pastor in Antioch, California, used martial arts to fight off a burglar who broke into his church. Pastor Nick Neves told the congregation, while delivering his sermon Sunday, that an axe-wielding burglar broke into the First Family Church just after midnight on Thanksgiving, setting off the alarm. The pastor quickly arrived to find a broken window and a man who didn’t belong there. The man ran out into the parking lot where Pastor Neves grabbed him and they tussled for a little while. The pastor said he relied on his martial arts training to fend off the alleged thief in a battle that lasted for about 15 minutes. Pastor Neves still managed to call 9-1-1 during the scuffle. Police arrived and took the suspect into custody. “He’s a very humble man, our pastor,” said congregant Tania Watkins.
* Yeah. Although, like everyone who knows karate, they HAVE to tell you they know karate.
* Hey – the guy’s a real Bible-basher!
* The sermon was supposed to be about “turning the other cheek,” but the pastor moved that one to another day.
* Baptist clergy aren’t the only ones who know martial arts. The Rabbi next door knows Jew-jitsu.

FLORIDA MAN ROBS STORE TWICE IN 15 MINUTES

A Florida man was arrested for robbing a supermarket twice within 15 minutes. On November 12, Andrew Sylvester, 42, allegedly stole several hundred dollars worth of products from the same Publix supermarket in Lakeland, Florida. When deputies arrived, they located Andrew outside of the store with a shopping cart full of groceries worth $243. A store employee said Sylvester had pulled off a similar stunt less than 15 minutes earlier — stealing another cart full of items worth $206.
* It’s muscle memory, that’s what it is.
* If at first you DO succeed, try, try again.
* It was a supermarket, but to this guy it was more of a convenience store.
* Usually when someone returns to the scene of the crime they wait awhile.
* Maybe he thought it was Steal One, Get One Free Day.

GIRL SCOUT SAVES DAD WITH CPR ELEVEN DAYS AFTER LEARNING IT

A Girl Scout saved her father’s life with CPR just 11 days after learning the skill at a meeting. Vada Carawan, 11, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, sprang into action after seeing her dad Clint having a heart attack on the floor of their home. She says at first she was in complete shock, not realizing what was happening. And then it kicked in: “Heart attack … heart attack, 911.” Once she realized the gravity of the situation, Vada began doing chest compressions while on the phone with paramedics, who helped her revive her dad. A week and a half before, she had first practiced CPR on a dummy during a Girl Scout training session. She said, “I was actually the only person in my whole class to successfully save our dummy because when you do CPR, the dummy has lights, and if it’s green, you’re doing it correctly.”
* In real life, you’re doing it correctly if the dummy isn’t blue.
* Well, now Dad has to pretty much get her ANYTHING she wants for Christmas, right?
* At least he has time to rest before he has to clean out the garage for their new pony.
* For saving his life, they wanted to give her a cookie, but those don’t come out until February.
* So is that an automatic Lifesaving Badge, or does she still have a bunch of stupid requirements to complete?

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

AIRBUS: HEY, LET’S PUT A TOILET IN THE COCKPIT

European airplane manufacturer Airbus is working on ways to reduce operations costs, and one way of doing that would be to eliminate the need for a co-pilot. How will they do it? The aerospace company is proposing putting a toilet in the cockpit to allow for single-pilot flying. Airbus hopes planes fitted with cockpit toilets would appeal to airlines for its long-haul routes. Those routes typically require three or four pilots to share flight duties, allowing pilots time to sleep off-duty. With a toilet, one pilot can be alone in the cockpit while one other pilot sleeps. Airbus says the technology is ready now (* Technology?) and they could be on planes by 2027.
* Even cheaper would be adult diapers, but they figured that wasn’t gonna fly, so to speak.
* They’ll save a little more money ’cause to make room for the toilet, they’re going to tear out the back-up navigation computer.
* What’s the difference between an American Boeing and a European Airbus plane pilot? If you’re piloting an Airbus, You’re a-peein’.
* I’m just imagining a pilot sitting on the can in the cockpit checking his Instagrams for a half-hour.
* God forbid the next pilot comes into the cockpit at 30,000 feet and decides to crack a window.

TRENDING

SNL’S FINAL THREE SHOWS OF 2024

Saturday Night Live has announced the hosts for the last three shows of the year. Paul Mescal will host the Dec. 7 show with musical guest Shaboozey. Former castmembers Chris Rock (Dec. 14) and Martin Short (Dec. 21) are set for the final shows of 2024, with musical guests Gracie Abrams and Hozier.

STEPHEN KING SHUTTING DOWN HIS LOCAL RADIO STATIONS

Author Stephen King’s radio stations are signing off for good at the end of the month. He announced Monday morning that after 41 years of King’s ownership, Bangor, Maine, stations WZON, WKIT and WZLO will sign off on Dec. 31. In a press release, King cited losses in the millions of dollars and his advancing age as reasons for the shut down. He writes, “While radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, I’ve loved being a local, independent owner all these years. I’ve loved the people who’ve gone to these stations every day and entertained folks, kept the equipment running, and given local advertisers a way to connect with their customers. Tabby and I are proud to have been a part of that for more than four decades.” The Kings bought WZON in 1983, and named it as a nod to Stephen King’s best seller The Dead Zone.

BRITNEY SPEARS NOW TOTALLY DIVORCED

Britney Spears got good news on her 43rd birthday Monday – she is now legally single from her prior marriage to Sam Asghari. A Los Angeles court gave her divorce filing the final sign-off on Monday, finally marking the end of her union with Asghari. The two separated in July 2023, just 13 months after their wedding, with Asgari filing one month later, citing irreconcilable differences with Spears.

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

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

Amanda Seyfried (actress, “Mama Mia” movies, 2017’s “Twin Peaks”, voice of Daphne in “Scoob!”) … 39
Brendan Fraser (actor, “The Whale,” “Doom Patrol”, “Condor”, “The Affair”) … 56
Julianne Moore (actress, “The Woman in the Window,” “The Hunger Games,” “Still Alice”) … 64
Daryl Hannah (actress, “Sense8”, “Kill Bill”, “Splash”) … 64
Mickey Thomas (singer with Jefferson Starship) … 75
Ozzy Osbourne (singer, Black Sabbath frontman, MTV star) … 76

Today’s Birthdays grade: Two Oscar winners AND Ozzy Osbourne, A+; Daryl Hannah’s immortal for “Splash” and “Kill Bill,” B; but we also have and actress and singer from the “Mama Mia” movies AND a co-lead singer from “We Built This City,” called by some the worst song ever, so today’s birthdays grade is dragged down to a C. And that’s being kind.
[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!

“I was a bookworm, and very skinny with big, thick glasses. I never went on dates and guys were afraid of me because I was smart. So I got contact lenses, started to dress a little better and tried not to talk about Plato with boys. It worked!”

(A) Ariana Grande
(B) Kim Kardashian
(C) Julianne Moore

ANSWER: (C) Julianne Moore

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2017 – The first pizza party in space was held by astronauts of the International Space Station.
* “It’s not delivery – it’s DiGiorno!” “No duh!”

1931 – Alka-Seltzer was first marketed.
* Which has made it possible for countless radio DJs to get through their morning shows the day after the station’s Christmas Party.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2014 – Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was named the most-streamed artist in the world by Spotify. The 23-year-old had racked up more than 860 million streams on the service, beating Eminem and Coldplay, who came second and third respectively.

2007 – Diana Ross and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson were both celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors, attended by President Bush. Hootie and the Blowfish paid tribute to Brian Wilson with a medley of some of the Beach Boys’ best-known songs.

2003 – A Los Angeles court ruled that the privacy of singer Barbra Streisand was not violated when a picture of her Malibu estate was posted on a website. Streisand had filed a $10m action against software entrepreneur Kenneth Adelman after he posted a photo of her home on his conservation site.

1979 – During a concert by The Who at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum, eleven people were killed in a crush of fans.

1966 – Ray Charles was fined $10,000 and put on probation for possessing cannabis and heroin.

1965 – Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was knocked unconscious on stage by an electric shock when his guitar made contact with his microphone.

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 have 30 of THESE before they turn 40. What are they?
Pairs of sunglasses

2. According to a recent survey, 38 percent of Americans own one of THESE. What is it?
A passport

3. 2 percent of Americans are going through life without THIS. What is it?
A middle name

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