INTERPREP ★ DECEMBER 16, 2019

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Audio • Bits & Breaks • Country Prep • Datebook • Datebook Tomorrow • Entertainment • Fun & Games • News & Nuggets • News Attack • Number for the Day • Television • Wacky-But-True • User’s Guide    Facebook Group

DATEBOOK: DECEMBER 16, 2019

BIRTHDAYS

• Lesley Stahl (60 Minutes) is 78

• Benjamin Bratt (Law and Order) is 56

• Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings films) is 52

• Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones, Breaking Bad) is 38

• Stephan James (Race, Selma) is 26

IT HAPPENED TODAY

• 1770: Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany.

• 1773: The Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped more than 300 chests of tea overboard to protest tea taxes.

• 1998: President Bill Clinton ordered a sustained series of air strikes against Iraq by American and British forces in response to Saddam Hussein’s continued defiance of UN weapons inspectors.

• 2000: President-elect George W. Bush selected Colin Powell to become the first African-American secretary of state.

• 2003: President George W. Bush signed the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law. The law established the United States’ first national standards for the sending of commercial email and requires the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its provisions.

• 2010: Larry King concluded his CNN talk show after 25 years.

• 2014: Astronauts on the International Space Station created a specialized wrench in their 3D printer using a custom-designed blueprint emailed from engineers on Earth. Previously, objects had been printed from pre-loaded design files.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Gluten-free Baking Week

• Cookie Exchange Week

• Chocolate-covered Anything Day

• Day of Reconciliation

NUMBER FOR THE DAY

50: U.S. states that have Christmas tree farms (yes, Hawaii too).

NEWS ATTACK!

A new study finds that any amount of running significantly lowers one’s risk of death from any cause. [Like, when being chased by a bear. Don’t walk… run.]

In a survey of restaurant managers, three-quarters say going up to an all-you-can-eat buffet more than three times is not right. [So I guess pitching a tent over my table and laying out a sleeping bag is off limits?]

A study shows that marriage reduces the risks of depression and anxiety. [Oh, I’m sorry, that study was for chocolate.]

Frozen 2 has made a billion dollars at the box office. [Disney is going to take this animated franchise as far as it can. It has just announced Frozen: Endgame will be in theaters next year.]

Nine shopping days until Christmas. [109 days until your credit cards are paid off.]

Does this sound fishy to you? My kid sent an email to Santa and got one back saying Santa is stuck in Nigeria and needs my bank account number.

NEWS & NUGGETS

MEGA MILLIONS _ There was no Friday winner in the Mega Millions multi-state lottery so the jackpot Tuesday night will be $372 million.

ANY AMOUNT OF RUNNING LINKED TO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RISK OF DEATH _ Runners of the world have reason to smile, according to a new international study. Researchers (Australia, Austria, Finland, Thailand) performed a comprehensive analysis on available evidence, and concluded that any amount of running significantly lowers one’s risk of death from any cause.

… All in all, 14 studies were included, encompassing 232,149 people who had had their health tracked for periods of time between 5½ and 35 years. Researchers determined that any amount of running was associated with a 27% lower risk of death from all causes, in comparison to participants who reported never running. This held true among both genders. Any amount of running was also associated with a 30% lower chance of dying due to cardiovascular disease, and a 23% lower risk of cancer-related death.

WOMAN LEAVES THREE KIDS ALONE IN BUS OVERNIGHT TO SMOKE POT ON BOAT _ A Florida woman was charged with neglect for leaving her three children alone in a bus overnight before going on a boat to smoke marijuana. Andrea L. Kerins was charged with three counts of felony child neglect for leaving her children, ages 3, 6 and 9 years old, unattended in a mini-bus before leaving for the night. An officer on routine patrol spotted the mini-bus in a municipal beach parking lot early Thursday morning. After inspecting the vehicle, he found the children inside. They told the officer their mother had left at approximately 9PM on Wednesday night to go out on a boat.

PACKAGE THIEF TAUNTS VICTIM WITH THANK YOU NOTE _ A package thief who made off with a woman’s delivery in St. Paul, Minnesota, decided to leave something behind for the victim — a handwritten thank you note taunting her for the package. Homeowner Hilary Smith said she found the note on her porch after she got home from work, hours after she received a text saying that her package had been delivered. The note said: “So just a quick little thank you for leaving me the opportunity of stealing your package. Very nice of you. Thank You.” It was signed: “The new owner of your package.”

WOMAN GETS REVENGE ON PORCH PIRATES BY STUFFING DECOY BOXES WITH GARBAGE _ A fed-up Colorado Springs woman figured out the perfect way to exact revenge on porch pirates: tricking them into taking out her garbage. Christine Hyatt’s family has had packages — including one containing her daughter’s diabetes medication — stolen off their porch more than 20 times. One day a few weeks ago the family missed trash day, and Hyatt had a stroke of genius. She stuffed two decoy packaged with household garbage and used kitty litter. Thieves took them. So she did it again… and again… and again… and the thieves keep taking her fake, stinky boxes.

MAN ARRESTED BY FBI AFTER POSTING PHOTOS OF CASH ON SOCIAL MEDIA _ If you’re stealing money from a bank vault, it may not be a good idea to post the evidence on your social media pages. A bank employee in Charlotte, North Carolina, allegedly stole $88,000 from the bank’s vault. Authorities allege the man stole cash out of the vault in separate allotments on at least 18 different occasions this year. And he used a social media account to post several pictures of him holding large stacks of cash.

THIS IS HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OUR FURRY FRIENDS _ They say dogs are man’s best friend, and a new survey (YouGov) about pet ownership and how Americans feel about their pets suggests that might be true. Most (69%) Americans have at least one pet in their home, with dogs (45%), cats (35%), and fish (9%) being the most commonly owned pets among adults.

… And it seems these dogs, cats, fish, birds, and other animals are quite well-loved: 88% of American pet owners say they consider their pets to be members of their family.

… These stats explain how we feel about our dogs and cats:

• Allowed my pet to sleep in bed with me: 66%

• Bought my pet a holiday present: 54%

• Allowed them to lick my face: 50%

• Celebrated my pet’s birthday: 44%

• Cooked food specifically for my pet: 37%

• Dressed my pet in some type of clothing: 32%

• Take my pet to work with me: 16%

UPDATE: WOMAN FOUND OUT HER HUSBAND WAS CHEATING IN RESTAURANT REVIEW LIED _ A couple of weeks ago (December 3) I told you about the Washington Post restaurant critic who was holding an interactive chat with readers when an anonymous chatter said her cheating husband was caught thanks to one of the critic’s restaurant reviews. The woman wrote: “Well Tom your latest review is accompanied by a picture of my husband dining with a woman who isn’t me! Once confronted with photographic evidence, he confessed to having an ongoing affair. Just thought you’d be amused to hear of your part in the drama.”

… Turns out the woman lied. The woman sent a follow-up email last week to food critic Tom Sietsema. In it, she confessed that she had made up the story and sent the comment, with no expectation that it would be posted — let alone that it would go viral. She thought it was funny, she said, and that it might get a laugh out of whoever read it.

MEN: DRINK COFFEE _ According to a Harvard Medical School study, “men who drank the most coffee had a 60 percent lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer than men who did not drink any coffee.” Researchers (at Channing Laboratory) said the caffeine in coffee doesn’t pay a role in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Instead, coffee’s “many biologically active compounds, like antioxidants and minerals” could be responsible.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: THIEF DROPS HOTEL KEY _ In Vietnam a guy was visiting the country from Nigeria. Guess he must have been running short on cash because he broke into a computer store and lifted a laptop and a little money. Unfortunately for him, he dropped his hotel key, which gave the cops a big clue to be able to track him down.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: POLICE ARREST MAN WITH HOMEMADE LICENSE PLATE DRAWN WITH CRAYON _ A man with a homemade license plate was arrested in Indiana. Officers were driving along I-80 Thursday afternoon when they saw a man standing next to a Toyota Corolla on the side of the road tending to a flat tire. But when the Indiana State Troopers pulled over to help the man, things began to quickly unravel. The 20-year-old from Rochester, New York, told the officers that he was unable to change the tire and needed a tow truck. But when the officers were about to oblige his request, they noticed that the license plate was hand-written in crayon on a paper grocery bag.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: INTRUDER DUCT TAPED TO POLE _ In Guyana a teenage girl screamed when two men entered her home. She and her grandma were wrestling with the intruders when neighbors came to their rescue. The outraged citizens caught one of the men and used their own duct tape to stick him to a utility pole until police arrived.

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: WANTED WOMAN DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS PREGNANT _ In the UK police arrived at a woman’s home to arrest her for theft at her place of employment. But they discovered the woman was too busy to go to jail because, moments before the cops arrived, she’d given birth. The woman, unaware that she was pregnant and startled by the birth of her first child, told police the baby “just fell out. I thought it was my intestines!”

WACKY-BUT-TRUE: THIEF TRIES TO OUTRUN RUNNING COP _ In the UK a suspected thief ran three miles trying to escape an officer. Whatever he did, the thief couldn’t shake the officer, who chased him over railroad tracks, over fields and a stream, and through woods. What the thief didn’t realize was that he was never going to wear out the police officer because the cop is an experienced cross-country runner.

ON TELEVISION

THE VOICE (8p ET, NBC) — New. The Final 4 perform on Part 1 of the season finale.

FINALE: THE GREAT CHRISTMAS LIGHT FIGHT (8p ET, ABC) — A new, 2-hour edition.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD (8p ET, CBS) — New. The Johnsons’ Christmas present for Grover is stolen, so Calvin and Dave team up to get it back.

NICK CANNON’S HIT VIRAL VIDEOS – HOLIDAYS 2019 (8p ET, FOX) — Nick Cannon and celebrity guests Kelly Osbourne, Jeannie Mai and J.B. Smoove showcase the funniest and most unbelievable viral videos, including comical holiday mishaps, adorable pets, mischievous kids.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (8p ET, ESPN) — NFC South champion New Orleans (10-3) plays its final regular-season home game of the 2019 season against the Indianapolis Colts (6-7).

GREATEST HOLIDAY COMMERCIALS COUNTDOWN 2019 (9p ET, CW) — Kevin Frazier and Keltie Knight host this countdown of the world’s best holiday commercials.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR FEATURING KRISTIN CHENOWETH (9p ET, PBS) — Kristin Chenoweth joins the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a Christmas celebration featuring carols and seasonal favorites.

BULL (10p ET, CBS) — New. Bull and the team take a difficult pro bono murder case and realize the presiding judge has a grudge against Bull.

JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE AFTER DARTH: A STAR WARS SPECIAL (10p ET, ABC) — Jimmy Kimmel welcomes the director and cast of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran and Keri Russell.

HOLIDAYS WITH THE HOUGHS (10p ET, NBC) — Derek and Julianne Hough host and perform a variety of holiday-themed dance numbers and comedy sketches, featuring special appearances by popular recording artists and celebrities.

A VERY BRADY RENOVATION (10p ET, HGTV) — The Brady Bunch cast reunites for a holiday celebration in the renovated Brady house. Along with Ree Drummond and Jasmine Roth, they create treats inspired by the ’70s.

ENTERTAINMENT

JUMANJI: THE NEXT LEVEL UNSEATS FROZEN 2 _ For the second time this year, Dwayne Johnson is in the biggest movie in the United States and Canada. After leading the summer box-office hit Hobbs & Shaw, he now stars in Jumanji: The Next Level, an adventure comedy that grossed an estimated $60.1 million Friday through Sunday. The film unseated Frozen 2 to claim the top spot at the domestic box office.

… Frozen 2 crossed the $1 billion mark over the weekend and is now Disney’s sixth billion dollar movie of 2019.

… Captain Marvel, Aladdin, The Lion King, Avengers: Endgame and Toy Story 4 have also surpassed the billion-dollar mark this year for Disney.

  1. Jumanji: The Next Level, $60.1 million
  2. Frozen 2, $19.1 million
  3. Knives Out, $9.2 million
  4. Richard Jewell, $5 million
  5. Black Christmas, $4.4 million
  6. Ford v. Ferrari, $4.1 million
  7. Queen & Slim, $3.6 million
  8. A Beautiful Day, $3.3 million
  9. Dark Waters, $2 million
  10. 21 Bridges, $1.1 million

… One year ago this week the number one movie was Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
… Five years ago this week: Exodus: Gods and Kings
… Ten years ago this week: e Princess and the Frog
… Twenty years ago this week: Toy Story 2.

… Opening Friday: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (PG-13); Cats (PG); Bombshell (R)

TRANSFORMERS REBOOT WILL REPORTEDLY BE SET IN 1980s _ It looks like the Transformers franchise is officially starting over. A few weeks back we heard the news that a soft reboot of the series is in the works — now a source says the next film in the franchise will be set in the 1980s and act as a continuation of sorts of Bumblebee, with star Hailee Steinfeld returning as Charlie.

WHAM!’s LAST CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN REMASTERED IN 4K _ Christmas has arrived early this year, in the form of a 4K remaster of Wham!’s iconic Last Christmas music video. The track was originally released 35 years ago in December 1984, and Sony Music Entertainment has now remastered the original footage in 4K.

CHUY BRAVO FROM CHELSEA LATELY DEAD AT 63 _ Chuy Bravo, Chelsea Handler’s sidekick on the E! talk show Chelsea Lately, has died. He was 63. The fan-favorite Mexican-American performer passed away suddenly on Saturday night. Chuy had worked on Chelsea Lately from its 2007 debut until 2014, when it ended its eight-season run.

JAMES ‘RADIO’ KENNEDY DEAD AT 73 – James “Radio” Kennedy — the inspiration behind the movie Radio, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., has died. James, who was mentally challenged, was a true inspiration for decades. He was an unofficial 11th grader at T.L. Hanna High School in South Carolina since 1965, where he attended football games and often led the team onto the field. Radio — who he got his nickname because he was rarely seen without his trusty transistor radio — got national attention back in 1996 when Sports Illustrated ran a story about him and the football coach, Harold Jones. The story was the catalyst for the movie Radio, which debuted in 2003.

TWO NEW STAR TREK MOVIES IN THE WORKS _ The Star Trek franchise has stalled on the big screen over the past few years, with it instead expanding on its traditional home of TV. However, things are now looking up for the movie series, too, as it’s been confirmed that two separate Trek films are in the works. Namely, Quentin Tarantino’s R-Rated take on Trek and Star Trek 4, which now has a writer/director.

… No release dates have been set yet and it remains to be seen which one will arrive in theaters first.

HALLMARK CHANNEL PULLS ADS FEATURING TWO BRIDES KISSING _ The Hallmark Channel pulled four TV ads featuring brides kissing each other for the wedding planning website Zola. Asked to explain why the ads were pulled, an employee of Hallmark’s parent company (Crown Media) said the cable channel did not accept ads “that are deemed controversial.” A spokesman for Hallmark told the New York Times the women’s “public displays of affection” violated the channel’s policies.

THE 2020 MOVIES (UPDATED) _ While there will no doubt be a number of original ideas in movie theaters next year, 2020 will definitely be a big one for reboots and sequels. Here’s an updated list of some of what’s coming to theaters next year. (When available, links go trailers.)

AUDIO

Find these audio files on the PRO AUDIO PAGE.

  KIDS: We asked kids what they put out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Good for launching a phoner, a Facebook topic, or for some mushy Christmas Day promos in between the tunes.

  PHONER: Gifts you shouldn’t buy kids! Use one or all four of these real callers to get your own phones going.

  DROPS: Our huge Christmas clips package.

BITS & BREAKS

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN

• Nearly 7 out of 10 men like the way they look naked, compared with only 2 out of 10 women.

• Men tell more jokes than women.

• Men lean back in their chairs while women lean forward.

• Men talk more in public, women talk more in private.

WINTER WEATHER CRISES COME IN 5 STAGES
Michael Smith is an educator in Illinois who has a blog called The Principals Page. One of his most popular posts was about the hassle of snow days:

For a school administrator, the first snow of the year is always the worst. An inch can cause people to go completely ballistic: The phone rings off the hook at school just as soon as the first snowflake hits the ground (sometimes days in advance… and I’m not kidding). Winter weather crises come in five stages:

Stage One — The initial news reports (a week in advance) saying we could get between a single flake and 1 inch of light snow.

Stage Two — Sheer panic by the general public that if school is not dismissed, literally thousands of people will die on the streets in car accidents or by starvation (hence the run on stores for food… which usually means cookies, soda and renting a movie).

Stage Three — School is canceled and everyone survives to go sledding or shopping by 10AM.

Stage Four — Later that same winter (after 8 other storms) an actual blizzard drops 29 inches of snow in 30 minutes.

Stage Five — Parents call the school, begging the administration not to dismiss because they are sick of having their children at home and they need to go to work.”

SUPERSTITIOUS HOLIDAY GIFTS

There’s a whole lotta gift giving going on all over the world during the holidays. Different cultures have different taboos about gifts. Here are some feng shui superstitions about gift giving, from FfengShuiDiva.com.

DON’T GIVE:

• SHARP OBJECTS like a knife, scissors, or letter opener. It sends harsh energy to the receiver and is said to sever the friendship.

• WATCHES AND CLOCKS are popular gifts in America but in eastern culture they suggest a limited life span.

• EMPTY WALLETS AND PURSES. Always include a small amount of money.

• HANDKERCHIEFS. They suggest that you expect the recipient to be doing a lot of crying in the future or wiping away sweat from frustration.

• LONG STEMMED RED ROSES WITH THORNS are a no-no because they are said to cause the relationship to suffer. Yellow, cream or pink roses with no thorns would be a better choice.

• SWEETS ARE A GREAT GIFT. They represent that you wish the person to have a sweet life, so they symbolize good fortune. And thank goodness there is a variety of low carb sweets these days so dieters don’t have to be left out.

• NEVER RECYCLE (REGIFT) GIFTS. When you recycle a gift, it symbolizes that you are giving away your friendship with the person who gave you the gift.

THE GROSSEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE TO SAVE MONEY

What is the grossest thing you have done to save money? What the internet said:

• “I’d save the excess milk from my cereal in the morning to be used the next day (and maybe the next).”

• “I called fast food 800 number to complain about their horrible dining experience so I could get free meals.”

• “I’d eat rice with cinnamon for breakfast, rice with soy sauce for lunch, and rice with ketchup for dinner. If I was feeling very saucy I would mix the soy sauce and ketchup.”

• “I drove from Washington to Alaska one summer. I bought a sleeping bag in Canada, used it every night for nearly a month, then returned it on the way home.”

• “I picked popcorn buckets and drinks out of the trash at the movie theater to get refills for 25 cents.”

• “I took a night job at the grocery store to make some extra money and because I thought I would be able to sneak some food home. Getting food out of the store ended up being very difficult because they were careful to watch you while leaving. It was pretty easy to eat stuff while in the store though, you just needed a decent hiding spot — mine was the bathroom. I once ate a whole blueberry pie while sitting in a toilet stall.”

SHOWER THOUGHTS

From reddit

• Grapefruit is a fruit named after a fruit.

• If only 1% of the Earth’s population likes you, 75 million people like you.

• Skin care brands always talk about their ‘revolutionary technology’ yet, for some reason, none of their scientists have ever won a Nobel prize.

• No adults own hamsters as pets. They’re like an animal with a built-in age limit.

• If there is a dead body in the living room, it is technically not a living room.

• 85 mph in the driver’s seat and 85 mph in the passenger’s seat are very different.

• “Watching your phone” 30 years ago was probably a sign you were mentally unstable.

• Children will celebrate every other holiday before celebrating their birthday.

• The only way to get really good at something is by neglecting other things.

FUN & GAMES

TRIVIA: Americans eat 300,000 tons of this each year. (Yogurt)

TRIVIA: U.S. President Andrew Jackson spent most of his adult life with one of these in him. (A bullet, the result of a duel he fought before becoming President. It rested about two inches from his heart.)

TRIVIA: Seventy of parents think it’s easy to do this but 80% do it incorrectly. What is it? (Install a child car seat)

TRIVIA: 62% of wallets have this in common. (The bills are are in order)

HALLMARK OR HALLMISS?
I’ll give you the names of holiday movies… you have to guess if they were Hallmark Christmas movies or not.

• Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen (Hallmark)

• Silent Night Deadly Night (HallMISS)

• Santa Claus vs. Cupid (HallMISS)

• Time for You to Come Home for Christmas (Hallmark)

• New Year, New Me (Hallmark)

• Blue Christmas, Bluer New Year’s Eve (HallMISS)

• Christmas Scavenger Hunt (Hallmark)

DATEBOOK: DECEMBER 17, 2019

BIRTHDAYS

• Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) is 74

• Eugene Levy is 73

• Bill Pullman is 66

• Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead) is 50

• Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) is 45

• Giovanni Ribisi is 45

• Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) is 44

• Emma Bell (The Walking Dead) is 33

IT HAPPENED TODAY

• 1969: The United States Air Force closed its study of UFOs, stating that sightings were generated as a result of “A mild form of mass hysteria, individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity, psychopathological persons, and misidentification of various conventional objects.”

• 1989: The Simpsons debuted on Fox-TV.

• 2003: A bank robber in Tularosa, New Mexico, lost a bid to overturn his conviction by arguing the stupidity of the crime proved he was too drunk to be responsible. The defendant argued  his attempt to rob the same bank teller who moments before had refused to cash his check was stupid enough to show he was inebriated. A compelling argument, but the court didn’t buy it.

• 2005: In Ireland, a hazardous slick of broken eggs caused traffic chaos on a rural road after a truck carrying thousands of hens lost its load. Chickens that were freed by the accident began laying eggs right in the road. Some 7,000 chickens were loose.

• 2008: Time magazine named Barack Obama as its Person of the Year.

• 2014 : After a number of major movie theater chains said it would not show The Interview, Sony announced it was pulling it’s planned Christmas Day release. Theaters had received threats from hackers over the planned showing of the Seth Rogen film. The “comedy” stars Rogen and James Franco as journalists who set up an interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• A Christmas Carol Day

• Clean Air Day

• Wright Brothers Day

• Maple Syrup Day

HAVE A GREAT SHOW!