TUESDAY, June 1 – DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION

MORNING SIDEKICK DAILY PREP TEXT VERSION FOR TUESDAY, June 1, 2021
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COMEDY MP3s POSTED ON OUR PREP SITE FOR TODAY: CONTEST – MIXED-UP MOVIE

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.)

DARE DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Dare Day is a day to challenge someone, and to do a dare yourself. It’s a day that daredevils truly relish. Today is definitely a call to action. It is not a day for procrastinators or for hesitation. Dares take all forms and shapes. The type of dare is almost limitless. Whether it is a prank, a challenge to accomplish something, or a personal action (like asking someone out on a date), this is the day to make the dare. And, its the day to do the dare. We do suggest that dares be safe, and of course, legal. Daring to the max: To dare someone to do something risky or challenging is one thing. Declaring the “double dog dare” heightens the challenge. The highest degree of challenge is to “triple dog dare” someone. It should not be used lightly, or frequently.”

FLIP A COIN DAY
The Holiday Insights website says this:
“Flip a Coin Day is day when making decisions is as easy as flipping a coin. This tradition dates back to Julius Caesar. Caesar would take a coin and flip it to make decisions where the right choice was unclear. The correct answer was “heads”, which of course carried his image on the coin. Do you have any idea how to celebrate this day? You guessed it … Flip a coin. Use this method of decision making for all decisions, and for everything you do today.”

HEIMLICH MANEUVER DAY

NATIONAL GO BAREFOOT DAY

NATIONAL HAZELNUT CAKE DAY

SAY SOMETHING NICE DAY

June is:

NATIONAL DJ MONTH – Yeah!
National Adopt a Cat / Adopt a Shelter Cat Month
African-American Music / Black Music Appreciation Month
Corn Month
Great Outdoors Month / National Camping Month
International Men’s Month
Lemon Month
LGBTQIA Pride Month
National Candy Month
National Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Month
National Iced Tea Month
National Rose Month
National Seafood Month
Perennial Gardening Month
Women’s Golf Month

ENTERTAINMENT & CELEBRITIES

STEVEN SEAGAL JOINS RUSSIAN PATRIOTS

Hollywood actor Steven Seagal, a long-time admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has joined a pro-Kremlin party. On Saturday, Seagal received a party membership card for the “Just Russia – Patriots For Truth” party. The party was created out of three merging leftist parties, all of which support Putin. Seagal became a Russian citizen in 2016, to support a crackdown on businesses which damage the environment. Seagal, a U.S.-born martial artist, is best known for producing and starring in action movies, while Putin, who granted him the citizenship, is a fan of martial arts. They’ve appeared together at martial arts demonstrations.
* Because if there’s one thing Russia is known for, it’s protecting the environment.
* Hey, anything that keeps Steven Seagal too busy to make another movie is fine with me.
* Which bombs are bigger – the Russian nuclear arsenal or Steven Seagal’s movie catalogue?
* We’ve lost Steven Seagal to the Russians, and Dennis Rodman to North Korea, and Randy Quaid to Canada. Looks like a few apologies are in order, America.

THE BUZZ

WORLDWIDE SMOKING IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH

A study published in the Lancet last Thursday said smoking has increased worldwide, and the number of smokers has reached an all-time high of 1.1 billion. Though the prevalence of smoking has reduced globally over the past three decades, just 10 countries make up two-thirds of the world’s smoking population: China, India, Indonesia, the US, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines. One in three tobacco smokers (341 million) live in China (* And the people next door in Korea are pretty fed up with the second-hand smoke). The study’s authors said governments need to focus on reducing the uptake of smoking among young people, as 89% of new smokers were addicted by the age of 25 but beyond that age were unlikely to start.
* All that Public Service Announcement money well spent, gentlemen!
* This could explain all the smog in China.
* Why are we so worried about China taking over the world? Just challenge them to a footrace, they’ll never keep up.
* I’ve been meaning to quit… reading studies about smoking, I mean.

ROBOCALL STUDY: ANSWER, DON’T ANSWER – THEY’LL KEEP COMING

The Robocall Observatory at North Carolina State University just released the results of an 11-month study into all the unsolicited phone calls they received from February 2019 to January 2020. They monitored every phone call received by over 66,000 phone lines in their telephone security lab. They received 1.48 million unsolicited phone calls over the course of the study. Some of these calls were answered, while others they let ring. Here is what they found:
– More than 80% of robocalls come from fake numbers.
– Answering these calls or not has no effect on how many more you’ll get. The weekly volume of robocalls remained constant throughout the study.
– The main types of robocalling campaigns were about student loans, health insurance, Google business listings, general financial fraud, and a long-running Social Security scam.
– More than 80% of robocalls use fake or short-lived phone numbers to place their unwanted calls. Using these phone numbers makes it much more difficult to identify and prosecute unlawful robocallers.
– Some operations impersonated government agencies using messages in English and Mandarin to threaten victims with dire consequences. These messages target vulnerable populations, including immigrants and seniors.
– Phone service providers CAN identify the true source of a robocall using a time-consuming, manual process called traceback. They could identify large-scale robocalling operations. They could then block or shut down these operations and protect their subscribers from scams and unlawful telemarketing. THEY JUST DON’T.
* We’ve been calling and calling the school to try and get somebody to talk about this study, but for some reason they don’t answer.
* 1.48 million robocalls in one year is 4,054 robocalls each day. Seems kind of low.
* It’s nice of them to have done this study, although now North Carolina State University has 34,000 Google business listings.
* On the bright side, you can put your number on the national Do Not Call Registry. You can also flap your arms and try to fly to the moon.
* The irony of this whole thing is, all the students who helped perform the study will be graduating and they only jobs they can get are with robocall companies.

U.S. NEWS

MR. FLORIDA GOES ON A CRIME SPREE

A Zephyrhills, Florida man is behind bars after police say he went on a burglary spree. The man’s name: Lawrence Franklin King Florida. That’s right – “Mr. Florida.” Police say that early Sunday morning:
– Mr. Florida went into the back area of The Great Catch restaurant, opened the freezer, and threw all the White Claw alcoholic beverages and beers into a retention pond behind the business.
– Mr. Florida then walked to Massey Barbershop, broke a side window, entered the business, took a set of clippers, a charging stand, and some wireless earbuds.
– He then walked to Lisa’s Barber Shop, broke the front glass door and stole five clippers and two pairs of scissors.
– Next, Mr. Florida went to Carpet and Floor Source, broke a side window and went inside. Nothing was reported missing from that location.
– He then went to Living Foods Bakery and Cafe, broke a side door glass window (* He certainly has an m.o.!), went inside the business, and stole approximately $800 in cash, jackets, coins, cash bags, and keys.
– Next, he continued on to Zephyrhills Veterinary Clinic where he – Anybody? Anybody? – That’s right, he broke a window, which triggered an alarm. Nothing was reported missing from the veterinary clinic.
– And then, Mr. Florida went to Little Cat Rescue where he broke into a shed in the backyard and stole cat wormers, animal pain medication, and syringes. (* Cat wormers???)
– Florida then also broke into a truck and stole some tools in a briefcase.
– Police eventually responded to a report around 5:30 a.m. that someone pulled a homeowner’s Ring camera doorbell off the door. The homeowner identified Mr. Florida as the suspect, who is his neighbor. Police say Florida admitted to breaking into all the locations and agreed to walk officers around to where he dumped the stolen items.
* … on one condition: He wanted the cops to let him break the side window on the police station.
* I’m exhausted just reading about this guy.
* If he pulled the Ring camera doorbell off the door, how did the homeowner identify him? Do they have a second Ring camera to keep an eye on the first Ring camera?
* Does he now have to give up the title of Mr. Florida, with the duties and responsibilities going to the Mr. Florida runner-up?
* And a special shout-out to the Zephyrhills Police Department for their crack police work.

WORKER RESCUED FROM SUGAR SILO

A man was rescued from a sugar silo in Billings, Montana last Friday morning. The employee of the Western Sugar Co-Op became buried up to his chest in sugar around 7:30 a.m., and the fire department was called for help around 9:30 a.m. Apparently it was a very delicate operation. Because the sugar in the silo is so fine, it continued to fill the area around the man as they tried to remove it, and him. The rescue crew built a wooden box on site that was placed around the worker. They then used a rope system to get him out of the silo from a small opening at the top.
* Then the ants attacked.
* His glucose level was up to his armpits.
* They have some video, but it’s pretty grainy.
* So did he ever find his contact lens?
* I’ve heard of Sugar Frosted Flakes but never Sugar Frosted Fred.
* Those silos can get so hot, it’s lucky he wasn’t caramelized.

LITTLE DEBBIE SNACK CAKES STOLEN, TWICE

In Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for the second time this year, a couple of bandits have broken into a locked storage unit and stolen multiple boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes. The first theft occurred on New Year’s Day, when a man and a woman broke into a storage unit and loaded eight cases of bagged donuts, three cases of Strawberry Shortcakes, two cases of Zebra Cake Rolls, three cases of Susie Q’s, two cases of Unicorn Cakes, and two cases of Birthday Cakes into the trunk of a Lincoln sedan and drove off. Despite the entire heist being caught on video, the suspects have remained at large. Then on May 22, two men broke into a different storage unit and walked away with multiple cases of Little Debbie snack cakes. Once again the suspects were caught on video, which local police have posted on the department’s Facebook page, along with a plea to the public for help in identifying the thieves. It is currently unclear if the two heists are connected.
* Well, in both cases, breaking into the storage units was a cakewalk.
* The suspects are described as armed and diabetic.
* Does nobody question why so many Little Debbie snack cakes were sitting in long-term storage lockers? No! And does that really make a difference in the taste of Little Debbie snack cakes? No!
* At least we’ve learned something important today. You can fit a hell of a lot into the trunk of a Lincoln sedan.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

MYSTERY SAFE OPENED, TREASURE FOUND

An Australian actor named Chrisiaan Van Vuuren wrote on Twitter that a friend of his had found a buried, locked safe five years ago. Since then, the two have been wondering what spectacular treasures could be hidden inside. Last week, they finally opened it with a metal grinder, only to find that the safe contained the most precious treasure of all: one single condom. But not just any condom – it was a promotional branded condom, from the 2002 movie “xXx” (or “Triple X”) staring Vin Diesel.
* Well, they always talk about safe sex.
* I’m surprised it wasn’t from the movie “Houdini.”
* These guys were almost as disappointed as the people who went to see “xXx.”
* Nineteen years ago, somewhere, there was a very frustrated safe owner who couldn’t remember the combination.
* A condom in a safe. Try carrying THAT around in your back pocket.

INVISIBLE STATUE SOLD FOR 15,000 EUROS

An invisible statue was sold for 15,000 euros (about $18,300). The statue, which – let’s get this out of the way right now – DOESN’T EXIST – is a conceptual piece of art. There’s a square of white tape on the ground, and the viewer is supposed to “imagine” a statue in the empty space. The artist is Italian sculptor Salvatore Garau. The buyer was given only a certificate of ownership by the artist. Garau said in a statement about the sale of his work, “The void is nothing but an energetic field, and according to Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty, even if we empty our void and nothing is left, nothing has weight. Therefore, it is condensed and, in short, within us. It has energy that turns into particles.”
* Yep, he’s an artist, alright.
* Even with Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty, I’m absolutely certain that was complete B.S.
* I would have paid him with a check written in disappearing ink.
* I’m confused – how does the buyer get it home?
* The guy’s a regular Michel-scam-gelo.
* That’s a lot of money for an imaginary statue. I hope nobody steals it.

A SECOND STATUE OF LIBERTY COMING FROM FRANCE

France is going to be sending the U.S. a new Statue of Liberty. The statue will arrive in New York on the 4th of July, the U.S.’s Independence Day, and represents the historic links between France and the U.S. The statue will be much smaller than her big sister, reaching just 2.83 meters, or about 9 feet tall. When the idea of the second Statue of Liberty was conceived in July 2019, it was meant to show to the U.S. that “France stayed loyal to the spirit of friendship” between the two countries that originated in their shared history. As you all know, France supported what would become the U.S. in the American Revolutionary War (* but not to be friendly – mainly they just wanted to screw things up for England). The new monument will be placed in the garden of the French ambassador’s Washington, D.C. residence. France’s gesture comes as the U.S.’s approach to Europe feels the effects of Biden’s election. Relations are vastly improved.
* At 9 feet tall, that’s hardly going to alleviate the lines at the first Statue of Liberty.
* The first one, you can climb stairs inside up to the top. This new one you can put on like a costume.
* Also, ’cause it’s going in a garden, the torch will be citronella to keep away the ‘skeeters.
* Not to complain, but we already built our own second Statue of Liberty, out in Las Vegas, and it’s 100 feet tall. So, thanks anyway, France. We’ll take a couple cases of wine, though, if you’ve got any.
* In return, to show our thanks to France, the U.S. will send over a ten-foot high stack of French toast from IHOP.

TRENDING

SEATTLE NAMES ITS STREET SWEEPER “OK BROOMER”

The city of Seattle, Washington, had a contest to name its new street sweeping machine. The names submitted:
– Sir Sweeps-A-Lot
– Legion of Broom
– Sweeping Beauty
– Brush With Destiny
– Sweepless in Seattle
– Brush Hour
– Wheely Clean
– Sweep Dreams
– Sweepy McSweepface
– Broomba
– Seattle Sweephawk
– Zambroomi
– Sweep Caroline
– Baby Broomer
– Sweepheart
…and all of those lost out to the winning name: OK Broomer. The name was submitted by an 11-year-old boy named Pascal from Licton Springs, Washington.

NAOMI OSAKA PULLS OUT OF FRENCH OPEN OVER REQUIRED PRESS INTERVIEWS

Naomi Osaka, the 23-year-old World Number 2 tennis player from Japan, pulled out of the French Open after winning her opening match against Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday, but then refusing to talk to the media after the match, which is a requirement for playing in the tournament. The reason is her mental health. She wrote in a statement: “I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media. So here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences. I announced it pre-emptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that. I’m gonna take some time away from the court now, but when the time is right I really want to work with the tour to discuss ways we can make things better for the players, press and fans.”

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: May 28-31

1. A Quiet Place 2: $58 million
2. Cruella: $26.5 million
3. Spiral: $2.1 million
4. “Wrath of Man: $2 million
5. Raya and the Last Dragon: $1.9 million

TV TONIGHT

ABC – “Mike Tyson: The Knockout” – The finale, but it’s never really over with Mike, is it?

ABC – “To Tell the Truth” – Featuring Jimmy Kimmel doing some double-dipping.

CBS – “NCIS” – NCIS dives into the competitive world of food trucks after finding a man frozen to death in the back of one. Frozen in a food truck. That’s cold.

CBS – “FBI” – A bus with 26 students goes missing. Usually this kind of thing happens on spring break.

NBC – “America’s Got Talent” – NBC makes Heidi Klum work on her birthday.

NBC – “New Amsterdam” – Iggy finds himself in a very dangerous predicament; Reynolds treats a young heart transplant patient. Suddenly, Iggy’s predicament doesn’t seem that dangerous.

FOX – “LEGO Masters” – As long as they clean up when they’re done.

FOX – “Mental Samurai” – Are you smart enough to find something better to watch?

CW – “Superman & Lois” – Kyle encourages Sarah to audition for the musical revue at school. Whoa – throttle back on the excitement, will ya?

ALMANAC

NOTABLE DATES, UPCOMING U.S. OBSERVANCES

June 14, Monday – Flag Day / U.S. Army Birthday
June 19, Saturday – Juneteenth
June 20, Sunday – Father’s Day
June 20, Sunday – Summer begins, Solstice is 11:32 p.m. EDT
July 4, Sunday – U.S. Independence Day, federal holiday observed Monday, July 5
Sept. 6, Monday – Labor Day
Sept. 11, Saturday – Patriot Day
Sept. 22, Wednesday – Fall begins, Equinox is 3:21 p.m. EDT)

BIRTHDAYS

Amy Schumer (comedian, actress, writer, producer) … 40
Sarah Wayne Callies (actress, “The Walking Dead) … 44
Alanis Morissette (singer/songwriter) … 47
Heidi Klum (model, TV host, “America’s Got Talent”) … 48
Ronnie Dunn (half of country Music duo Brooks & Dunn) … 68
Ron Wood (guitarist with Rolling Stones) … 74
Jonathan Pryce (actor, “The Two Popes”, “Game of Thrones”) … 74
Morgan Freeman (actor) … 84
Pat Boone (singer) … 87

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

“There’s a basic rule which runs through all kinds of music, kind of an unwritten rule. I don’t know what it is. But I’ve got it.”

(A) Lady Gaga
(B) Justin Bieber
(C) Ron Wood

ANSWER: (C) Ron Wood

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

2009 – General Motors filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The filing made GM the largest U.S. industrial company to enter bankruptcy protection.
* They drove it into the ground, and it stalled.

1995 – At Disneyland Paris, the attraction “Space Mountain: From The Earth to the Moon” opened.
* ‘Cause we don’t have enough money to go to the moon for real anymore.

1980 – CNN, the Cable News Network, debuted.
* I wonder if they were their own lead story?

1880 – The first pay telephone was installed.
* It marked a great advance over earlier models, where instead of coins, you fed in a sack of grain.

1869 – Thomas Edison patented a voting machine.
* And it’s still yet to be perfected, obviously.

1831 – Admiral James C. Ross became the first person to reach the magnetic North Pole.
* And his arthritis pain went away!

1638 – The first recorded earthquake in America occurred at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
* The Pilgrims figured either kinetic energy was being discharged by shifting tectonic plates, or that new girl off the boat was a witch.

1495 – The first Scotch whisky was distilled by friar John Cor.
* How good was it? He missed vespers for a week.

THIS DAY IN MUSIC HISTORY

2017 – The sale of Jerry Garcia’s favorite guitar, named Wolf, raised millions of dollars for civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center, when an auction of the custom-made guitar fetched a total of $3.2 million.

2013 – “Modern Vampires of the City” by Vampire Weekend went to No.1 on the US album charts. Their sophomore album “Contra” also debuted at No.1 in 2010, making this the first time an independent rock band had entered at No.1 with two consecutive releases.

2005 – White Stripes singer Jack White married his girlfriend, British model Karen Elson, in a canoe on the Amazon in Brazil.

1991 – Sting appeared on the first airing of a new Soviet TV rock show, called “Rock Steady”.

1985 – Prince & The Revolution started a three-week run at No.1 on the U.S. album chart with “Around The World In A Day”.

1972 – The first day of recording took place at Abbey Road studios, London on what would become Pink Floyd’s album “Dark Side Of The Moon”.

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 survey asking women the top 3 things that can ruin their day, THIS was Number 3. What is it?
When clothes fit too tight

2. In a survey asking women the top 3 things that can ruin their day, THIS was Number 2. What is it?
A co-worker

3. In a survey asking women the top 3 things that can ruin their day, THIS was Number 1. What is it?
An argument with their significant other

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