TUESDAY, Jan 7 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR TUESDAY, January 7, 2025
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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 – 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.)

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS DAY
Commemorating the first game played by the team on on January 7, 1927, in Hinckley, Illinois.

I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE DAY
The Checkiday website says this:
“That’s it, you’ve had enough, and today you are going to do something about it—you aren’t going to take it anymore. This holiday is for doing something about the things that are holding you back, for taking control of your life, for standing up for yourself and fighting back, and for telling those who have been holding you back that you aren’t going to take it anymore.”

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMER’S DAY
Observed: Usually January 7, but is also popularly celebrated on September 13, or on September 12 in leap years.

NATIONAL BOBBLEHEAD DAY
The Holiday Calendar website says this:
“Bobbleheads have been around since the early 1800s and were originally made from wood or porcelain. Today, they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, made out of plastic and featuring your favorite characters from TV shows, movies, sports teams and more.”
Learn more and start or add to your bobblehead collection at the website of the self-proclaimed National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There are also many websites where you can design and order your own custom bobblehead.

NATIONAL TEMPURA DAY
The National Day Calendar website says this:
“(Tempura is) a Japanese dish, made up of typically either seafood or vegetables that are battered and deep fried. Portuguese Jesuit missionaries introduced the recipe for tempura to Japan during the sixteenth century (around 1549). It is believed that Portuguese Jesuit Tokugawa Isyasu, founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, loved tempura. Today, chefs all over the world include tempura dishes on their menus using a wide variety of different batters and ingredients including the nontraditional broccoli, zucchini and asparagus as well as dry fruits.”

ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS DAY

January is:

Adopt a Rescued Bird Month
Be Kind to Food Servers Month
Family Fit Lifestyle Month
Financial Wellness Month
Get Organized Month
National Candy Month
National Clean Up Your Computer Month
National Hobby Month
National Skating Month
National Train Your Dog Month
Walk Your Pet Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

THERE WAS A MISS AMERICA PAGEANT LAST WEEKEND?

Was anybody aware of the Miss America Pageant on Sunday? The 2025 Miss America competition was held at Orlando’s Walt Disney Theater in Florida. The winner: Miss Alabama Abbie Stockard, 22, a nursing student at Auburn University (* Hellooooo, nurse!). During the Q&A portion of the pageant, Stockard was tasked with sharing her thoughts on unemployment. For her talent, Stockard performed a contemporary dance. Rounding out the Top 5: Miss Texas (talent: slam poetry!) was named first runner-up, Miss Tennessee was 3rd, Miss Florida 4th and Ohio was 5th.
* What they need is somebody whose talent is event promotion. Did anybody know this was happening?
* Right or wrong, you drop the swimsuit competition, this is what you get.
* Miss America, the OTHER contest featuring golden globes.
* Thank goodness we now have a Miss America for this year, to guide with a steady hand America’s supermarket openings, and give motivational speeches to our rotary clubs.

THE BUZZ

AMAZING GIZMOS AT THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

The Consumer Electronics Show begins today (January 7) in Las Vegas. Here are just a few of the marvelous toys that are being presented.
– Robot Vacuum With an Extendable Arm: The Roborock Saros looks like a regular robot vacuum. But if it sees something in its path, it extends a retractable arm to nudge it out of the way.
* Give me one that picks up dog doo in the yard and I’m sold.
– Kose Mixed Reality Makeup System: You sit in front of a small projector and, holding just a regular hand mirror, watch as realistic makeup looks flash across your face. Even if you turn your head or change expression, the projected eyeshadow, lipstick, and blush follow the contours of your face. Use it to quickly try out various looks without the effort and cleanup of actually rubbing the makeup onto your skin.
* Yeah, I’m a morning DJ. I do NOT have time to do all that in the morning.
– Spoon Shocks Your Tongue So You Can Taste Salt: The Kirin soup company has a spoon that delivers a minute electrical charge through the utensil to stimulate the sodium that’s already present in human saliva. If you have to cut back on your salt, this will help add flavor to your food.
* And blisters to your tongue.
– A Little Robot That Will Cool Your Hot Drinks: The Nékojita FuFu uses an algorithm system that randomizes various blowing modes. The gizmo, which looks like a little kitten hanging onto the side of your cup, can reduce the temperature of a hot drink from 190°F to 160°F and 151°F in just under five minutes.
* It blows. And that’s a feature, not a bug.
– Robot Table: The Jizai Mi-Mo AI six-legged robot table, about the size of a stool, looks like a piece of furniture but you can assign it to walk around the room on its own, delivering food or drinks or maybe just put itself away at the end of the day.
* Can it fetch me a piece of ice after I burn my tongue with that electric spoon?
– Bird Buddy, the smart bird feeder with a camera that recognizes all the animal movement in your yard – birds, bees, butterflies, squirrels, bears, bobcats, hobos – and captures it on video. And, it’s solar powered!
* Let me know when they add an integrated pellet gun.

VIOLENT MOVIE TALK HAS GREATLY INCREASED OVER 50 YEARS

Researchers from the University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, and Ohio State University examined movie subtitles spanning five decades, from 1970 to 2020, to track how often movie characters discuss murder and killing. What they found was, people in crime movies reference murderous dialogue, as you’d expect, but even non-crime films show a clear upward trend in violent words. The researchers, looking at 166,534 movies over 50 years, found “increases in violence cross all genres.” They found that references to killing and murder in movie dialogue not only occur far more frequently than in real life but are also increasing over time. This suggests that casual discussion of lethal violence has become more normalized across all types of movies, potentially contributing to what researchers call “mean world syndrome” – where heavy media consumption leads people to view the world as more dangerous and threatening than it actually is.
* More dangerous and threatening than it actually is? Did all those researchers miss the news out of New Orleans on New Year’s Day? Morons!
* I’m more concerned with the drastic increase of dancing-in-the-kitchen scenes. Every damn movie that doesn’t have the word “Chainsaw” in the title has a dancing-in-the-kitchen scene.
* And while we’re at it, can we stop with the singing and dancing in pharmaceutical commercials? No one in this country sings and dances because they’re taking a medication that’s $350 a pill and not covered by their insurance. Especially when it has a list of 30 or 40 side effects.
* A lot of non-crime movies have violent words in the titles:
– Harry Potter and the DEATHLY Hallows
– AKILLah and the Bee
– Sh-WRECK
– Chitty Chitty BANG! BANG!

U.S. NEWS

TESLA DRIVES OWNER ONTO TRAIN TRACKS

In another self-driving car incident, a Tesla drove its owner onto a set of train tracks. Jesse Lyu, founder and CEO of an artificial intelligence company, turned on his Tesla’s self-driving feature for the 15-minute drive to his office in downtown Santa Monica, California. At a stoplight, the Tesla made a left turn, but it missed the lane for cars. Instead, it drove onto a street-grade light rail track. He couldn’t just move over because the tracks were buffered by a low concrete barrier. And an oncoming train had stopped about a block behind his car. He disengaged the Autopilot feature and ran the red light in the next intersection to get out of the train’s path as it followed behind him. Lyu said he was badly shaken by the incident. He posted a video of the incident in hopes that Elon Musk would see it and fix the left-turn issue in his cars.
* Oh, please. Elon is already moved on to artificially intelligent fruit, or some such nonsense.
* You can’t tell me this AI doesn’t know exactly what it’s doing. It’s testing to find the most efficient ways to kill us all.
* An AI-run Tesla trying to kill the CEO of an AI company? The AI’s are already working together.
* While they’re trying to fix this, how about every new Tesla comes with a life insurance policy?
* I believe A.I. actually stands for Annihilate Inhabitants.

PASSENGER IN WAYMO CAR STUCK IN A LOOP

A few weeks ago, there was a story of an empty Waymo driverless car that was stuck on a parking lot roundabout – the robot car just kept going in circles, about 30 or 40 times; it didn’t know what to do. Now, it’s happened again, only this time there was a passenger in the back seat. In Scottsdale, Arizona, Mike Johns hopped into a Waymo for a driverless ride to the Sky Harbor International Airport, but then the car got stuck circling a roundabout in the parking lot for several minutes. He was stuck in the back seat. Johns called Waymo for help. They instructed him to perform an “edit my ride” function on the Waymo app on his cellphone himself to reprogram the car out of the loop, rather than having somebody at the company do it. In the end, Johns said the ride was only delayed five minutes. He did receive a refund for the trip.
* Did they charge him to clean up the barf from going in circles so much?
* That clinches it. The Waymo software is loopy.
* The old saying “Let’s go for a spin” takes on new meaning with these robot cars.
* Looks like we’re gonna be circling back to Waymo once a month.

AMERICA HAS NAMED ITS OWN BABY HIPPO

America has entered a dangerous Adorable Baby Pygmy Hippo Race against Thailand with our own new baby hippo. The Richmond, Virginia, Zoo had a baby pygmy hippo born back on Dec. 9. On Monday, they announced the winning name determined by a worldwide online poll. With more than 100,000 votes from all 50 states and 165 countries, most voters selected the name Poppy. The rejected names were Iris, Juniper, Omi and Hammie Mae. Little Poppy comes in response to internet sensation Moo Deng, a newborn hippo at a zoo in Thailand who last year captured the hearts of people far and wide.
* I might have gone with Buscemi.
* The thing resembles an eggplant that the neighbors left on your doorstep.
* ♪♫ “Bay-by hippo doo doo-doo doo-doo / Bay-by hippo doo doo-doo doo-doo…” ♫
* Poppy better catch up. Moo Deng already has her own line of skin care cosmetics.
* Do you think it could swing a deal with Ozempic?
* Meanwhile, all those mini-pigs that were popular a few years ago are wondering where all the love went.

NEW JERSEY WON’T REQUIRE TEACHERS TO BE ABLE TO READ OR WRITE

Teachers in New Jersey will no longer be required to pass a basic reading, writing and mathematics test to be eligible to work in public schools. A new law which just went into effect aims to tackle teacher shortages in the state by removing what the New Jersey Education Association called a “barrier” to certification. Teaching candidates no longer have to take a test of basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills in order to receive a standard instructional certificate. Teachers may still be required to pass specialized tests regarding their fields. They will also require a minimum GPA as well as a bachelor’s degree.
* And, of course, they’re still required to know jiu-jitsu and have their concealed carry permit.
* So if teachers can’t read or right, every student essay will automatically earn class credit without being graded. Cool!
* Don’t raise the money, lower the standards!
* They do still require teachers to be able to spell Rahway, Hopatcong, Moonachie and Metuchen.

ALMANACNOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

January 9, Thursday – National Day of Mourning for Jimmy Carter
January 20, Monday – Inauguration Day
January 20, Monday – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 27, Monday – Int’l Holocaust Remembrance Day (UN)
January 29, Wednesday – Chinese New Year (The Year of the Wood Snake)
February 2, Sunday – Groundhog Day
February 12, Wednesday – Lincoln’s Birthday
February 14, Friday – Valentine’s Day
February 17, Monday – Presidents Day / Washington’s Birthday
March 9, Tuesday – Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras
March 9, Sunday – Daylight Saving Time Begins
March 17, Monday – St. Patrick’s Day
March 20, Thursday – Spring begins, Spring Equinox is 5:01 a.m. EDT

BIRTHDAYS

Marcus Scribner (actor, “black-ish”) … 25
Lauren Cohan (actress, “The Walking Dead”) … 43
John Rich (Country musician, Big and Rich) … 51
Jeremy Renner (actor, “Mayor of Kingstown,” “Hawkeye,” “The Avengers”) … 54
Kevin Rahm (actor, “Madame Secretary”, “Lethal Weapon”) … 54
Nicholas Cage (actor) … 61
Kathy Valentine (bassist for The Go-Go’s) … 66
David Lee Murphy (country singer) … 66
Katie Couric (TV anchor) … 68
David Caruso (actor, “CSI: Miami”) … 69
Kenny Loggins (singer) … 77

Today’s Birthdays grade:

Today’s Birthdays grade: A lot of solid names on today’s birthday list, but head and shoulders above them all is Nicholas Cage. Gifted Oscar winner, entertainingly unpredictable on the screen, sometimes just plain goofy ’til you can’t help but smile when you hear his name. The world is more fun with Nic Cage in it! Grade: A … maybe even A-plus.

[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’ve made it my purpose to embrace every style of expression in my acting.”

(A) Kristen Stewart
(B) Vin Diesel
(C) Nicholas Cage

ANSWER: (C) Nicholas Cage

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2022 – The first successful transplant of a pig’s heart into a human took place when a genetically modified pig’s heart was given to a inserted into a 57-year-old man in Baltimore, Maryland. Previously kept alive by machine, he lived for seven weeks.
* Th-th-th- that was all, folks!

2018 – Sydney, Australia had its hottest day in 80 years as Penrith reached 117.14 F degrees. On the same day, it snowed in the Sahara desert, with 15 inches reported in Aïn Séfra, Northwest Algeria.
* I guess the Sahara didn’t get the memo about global warming.

1999 – President Clinton’s impeachment trial began in the Senate.
* He was accused of having way too much fun while in office.

1998 – Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying she had an affair with President Clinton.
* I see her point. Two and a half minutes and one ruined dress is hardly an affair.

1990 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa, which was recently re-opened, was closed to the public on this date because it had bent over so much it had become dangerous. It was the first time it had been closed in 807 years.
* Well, when you’re that old, it’s bound to droop a little, isn’t it?

1984 – The first all-female commercial airline crew took Frontier Airlines Flight 244 from Denver to Lexington, Kentucky.
* And they were MORTIFIED that they were all wearing the SAME OUTFIT!

1953 – President Harry Truman announced in his State of the Union address that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.
* “Listen, I hate to drop this on you, but …”

1927 – Commercial transatlantic phone service between New York and London was inaugurated, with 31 calls made the first day.
* “Hey, what’s with your funny accent?” “MY funny accent? What’s with YOUR funny accent?!!”

1894 – One of the earliest motion picture experiments took place at the Thomas Edison studio in West Orange, N.J., as comedian Fred Ott was filmed sneezing.
* It’s weird what people back then thought was funny.

1890 – The fountain pen was patented by W.B. Purvis.
* Just try using one and you’ll see why they call it “fountain.”

1789 – The first national presidential election in the U.S. was held.
* Things were so primitive back then, when they started mudslinging, they were slinging real mud!

1785 – The first crossing from England to France in a balloon took place. The balloonist and passenger had to toss their clothes overboard to keep the balloon from dropping.
* Naked up in the air in January. Imagine the goosebumps.

1782 – The first commercial bank opened in the United States.
* I guess you could say it generated some interest.

1610 – Italian astronomer Galileo discovered four of Jupiter’s satellites, naming them Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
* Just a tad classier than Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2010 – According to Nielsen SoundScan’s final 2009 figures, Michael Jackson was the best selling artist of the year, moving 8,286,000 units. Forty years after their break-up, The Beatles were still the best selling group, thanks to their remastered catalog which sold 3,282,000 copies. Digital downloads however, were a different story. Lady Gaga was the queen of the downloads, selling 15,297,000 digital tracks. The Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift all finished in the vicinity of 12 million digital units.

2006 – Pink married her motocross racer boyfriend Carey Hart on a beach in Costa Rica. More than 100 people attended the singer’s big day, including Lisa-Marie Presley. Pink proposed to him during one of his races in Mammoth Lakes, California, by holding up a sign that read “Will you marry me?” Hart pulled out of the race to say yes.

1994 – Nirvana played their last U.S. show, at the Seattle Arena.

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. Americans spend about $7 billion each year on THIS. What is it?
Tax preparation

2. 73% of people surveyed wish they had enough money to do THIS on a weekly basis. What is it?
Hire a cleaning person

3. When you buy THIS, you’re paying a mark-up of around 900%. What is it?
Movie theater popcorn

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