Born on this day!! Actor Mitchell Ryan (“Dharma and Greg”) is 89. Director Joel Zwick (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”) is 81. Musician Robert Earl Keen is 67. Actor Phyllis Logan (“Downton Abbey”) is 67. Guitarist Vicki Peterson of The Bangles is 65. Actor Kim Coles (“Living Single”) is 61. Former child actor Dawn Lyn (“My Three Sons”) is 60. Guitarist Tom Dumont of No Doubt is 55. Director Malcolm D. Lee (“Soul Men,” “The Best Man”) is 53. Singer Mary J. Blige is 52. Musician Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers is 52. Actor Amanda Peet is 51. Actor Rockmond Dunbar (“Heartland,” “Soul Food”) is 50. Actor Aja Naomi King (“How To Get Away With Murder”) is 38. Reality star Jason Wahler (“Laguna Beach,” ″The Hills”) is 36. Singer Cody Simpson is 26.
THIS DAY IN GENIUS HISTORY
1935 – Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
1964 – The first government report regarding the dangers of cigarette smoking was issued by the U.S. Surgeon General, Luther Terry.
1973 – Baseball’s American League adopted the “designated hitter” rule which allowed another player to bat for the pitcher.
2002 – The first al-Qaeda prisoners arrive at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
2003 – Outgoing Illinois governor George Ryan cleared the state’s death row by commuting the sentences of 167 inmates.
2011 – The Arab Spring movement begins in Tunisia when demonstrators take to the streets to protest chronic unemployment and police brutality.
Today Is: Cigarettes Are Hazardous To Your Health Day, Girl Hug Boy Day, Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, World Sketchnote Day
TODAY ON TV!
Primetime TV (All Times Eastern)
CBS – 8:00 – The Price Is Right / 9:00 – Lingo / 10:00 – Tough As Nails
NBC – 8:00 – Chicago Med / 9:00 – Chicago Fire / 10:00 – Chicago PD
ABC – 8:00 – The Conners / 8:30 – The Goldbergs / 9:00 – Abbott Elementary / 9:30 – Home Economics / 10:00 – Big Sky
FOX – 8:00 – Name That Tune / 9:00 – Special Forces
CW – 8:00 – Penn and Teller Fool Us / 9:00 – Kung Fu
TV Talk Shows
Jimmy Kimmel: Bryan Cranston
Jimmy Fallon: Pedro Pascal, Finn Wolfhard, Drew & Jonathan Scott, Myke Towers
Stephen Colbert: Janelle Monáe, Jamie Oliver
Seth Meyers: Common, Nico Parker, Inhaler, Fab Moretti
James Corden: Alexandra Daddario, Paul Dano, Jenny Zigrino
Watch What Happens Live: Brandi Glanville, Michelle Buteau
The View: Steve Harvey, Drew & Jonathan Scott
The Talk: Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp
Live with Kelly and Ryan: Gerard Butler, Mel B
Kelly Clarkson: Andie MacDowell, Whitney Peak, Brad Meltzer, Scarlett Johansson, Deon Cole
Drew Barrymore: RuPaul, Anne Burrell
WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN’ ABOUT? Here are today’s PPM-Friendly Topics!
QUESTION: Ever date a MASS MURDERER?? She did!! A woman talks about her Tinder date with murder suspect BRYAN KOHBERGER!! “He kept trying to touch me!!”
QUESTION: Was Prince Harry really “bred to provide replacement organs for William???” That’s what HE thinks!! It’s all part of his never-ending gripe-athon!!!!!!!!!!!!
QUESTION: Ready for the AMERICAN VERSION?? Here are the top “ick” factors in the U.S.A., including SHARING FOOD on a first date and wearing a TACKY WATCH!!
QUESTION: Is sex just TOO DANGEROUS?? The most common injuries are revealed, with bruises, carpet burns and UTIs coming out on top, so to speak!!!!!!!!!!
QUESTION: Remember the first time YOU interviewed a celebrity? A young German girl was nervous.. but Kate Winslet made it all OK!! Check the heartwarming video!!!
Pamela Anderson Gets Netflix Documentary
Netflix released a trailer for the film, Pamela, A Love Story, on Tuesday. It will explore Pamela Anderson’s life and career in her own words. “I wanna take control of the narrative for the first time,” she says in the teaser. The documentary will address Anderson’s much-publicized sex tape and misconceptions due to her public image. “I had to make a career out of the pieces left. But I’m not the damsel in distress. I put myself in crazy situations … and survived them,” she says with a laugh. Pamela, A Love Story is directed by Ryan White and produced by Jessica Hargrave, Julia Nottingham, Ryan White and Anderson’s son, Brandon Thomas Lee. The film is described as “an intimate portrait embedded in the life of Pamela Anderson as she looks back at her professional and personal path and prepares for the next steps on her journey.” Pamela, A Love Story premieres Jan. 31 on Netflix. See the video HERE.
*********Will she get into the ins and outs of her relationships???
*******Now, when someone says they’re “taking control of the narrative,” an alarm goes off in Buckingham Palace!!
*******One of the burning questions: does the carpet match the drapes?? Or does she even remember??
Bob Iger Orders Disney Employees Back To Work
Disney’s hybrid employees will now be required to be back in the office at least four days per week starting March 1, returning CEO Bob Iger said. In an email to employees on Monday, Iger said that he felt they could be more creative by working together. “As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with,” Iger wrote, according to CNBC. “As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.” Iger, who stepped down as chief executive in February 2020 to become Disney’s executive chairman, surprisingly returned to the position of CEO in November. He had been in charge from 2005 to 2020 and is credited with acquiring some of its biggest brands, including Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox.
********The only way this works is if the people only hang out with other employees who are just like them!! It’s the “woke way!!”
*******The Toy Story cast is coming back.. but Woody has his bandanna over his mouth and nose, and Buzz Lightyear refuses to open his helmet!!!
******One of two things can happen when you work from home: 1) They can forget you work there and just keep paying you, or 2) they can start asking themselves, “did we really need that person in the first place?”
Chris Harrison Opens Up About Leaving The Bachelor
Chris Harrison is speaking out for the first time after his unexpected exit from “The Bachelor” franchise. During the premiere episodes of his new podcast, the former dating show host revealed how his departure deeply impacted his health. “I was sick to my stomach. I lost 20 pounds. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat. I was scared to death, not of my job but of my family – my fianceé [Lauren Zima]… I worried about my kids…” Harrison said on his first episode of “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever with Chris Harrison.” “I’m a bit of an empath, and I am very loyal to a fault, and I am a team player.” He permanently stepped away from his role as the franchise’s host in June 2021 after 19 years. He left the show after he was accused of defending “Bachelor” winner Rachael Kirkconnell for attending an antebellum-themed party in college during an interview with Rachel Lindsay, the franchise’s first Black bachelorette. “I was embarrassed. I was mad at myself. I was disappointed in myself. The last thing in the world I ever wanted to do was be an agent of anything negative – whether it had to do with race or anything,” Harrison admitted on his podcast.
**********He got fired over the biggest nothingburger in history!!!
****And that’s kind of fitting, when you think about this show!!
King Charles III Does Half-Naked Headstands
King Charles III would perform half-naked headstands to manage his chronic pain from old polo injuries, Prince Harry claims in his new tell-all memoir. Harry details his father’s “constant neck and back pain” while explaining how he would dread accidentally opening the wrong door at Balmoral Castle in Scotland out of fear for what was on the other side. “Open the wrong door and you might burst in on Pa while his valet was helping him dress,” Harry writes in “Spare,” which hit bookstores Tuesday. “Worse, you might blunder in as he was doing his headstands. Prescribed by his physio, these exercises were the only effective remedy for the constant pain in Pa’s neck and back.” He shares that Charles carried out the headstands “daily, in a pair of boxers” while “propped against a door or hanging from a bar like a skilled acrobat.” “If you set one little finger on the knob, you would hear him begging from the other side, ‘No! No! Don’t open! Please, God, don’t open!’” It’s unclear whether Charles still performs the daily ritual.
***********Update: He still does half-naked handstands, but now the bottom half is the naked part!!
********And he doesn’t need his hands to hang onto the bar!!!
*****The only thing worse than Charles being half-naked.. is Charles being completely naked!!!
Gwyneth Paltrow Talks About Her 90’s Fame
Gwyneth Paltrow reflected on the crazy decade that benefited from a society without cellphone cameras and social media, meaning she and other people could get away with illicit activities. “It was great. I mean, talk about doing cocaine and not getting caught!” Paltrow said on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” Monday, laughing. “Like, you could just be at a bar and be, like, having fun, dance on a table, you could — no camera phones, especially in New York. “Interestingly enough, there were no paparazzi,” she continued. “You could stumble out of a bar and go home with some rando and no one would know.” She has kept an open mind about drugs, sharing in 2019 that she believed psychedelics were the future for treating mental health. “I think how psychedelics affect health and mental health and addiction will come more into the mainstream,” she told the New York Times.
*********Are we really gonna take mental health advice from Gwyneth Paltrow???
TOPIC: What did you do in the 90s that you could never do today??? Because of cell phones and social media??
Ripping The Tabloids (Throughout the week, we’ll give you the stories from that weeks tabs!)
**Please Credit Publication!
Horsing Around: Snow Much Fun!-(Star)
Aspen Colo., Dec. 21
Saddle up! Kate Hudson and future sister-in-law Sara Foster attended the annual St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship at Rio Grande Park. Every year, the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star, who’s engaged to Sara’s stepbrother, musician Danny Fujikawa, spends the holidays with her extended family in Colorado, where mom Goldie Hawn and stepdad Kurt Russell own a lodge called Home Run Ranch in Snowmass Village. “There’s something, for me, about being in the mountains. The family time we have up here is more plentiful,” Kate’s said. “Slowing things down and simplifying-it’s really important to our spirit.”
STUPID NEWS
Deer Crashes Thru Butcher Shop
Security cameras were rolling at a Minnesota butcher shop when a deer crashed through the glass front door and ran wild through the business. Melissa Evans, owner of the She Said Butcher Shop in Moorhead, said she and her daughter were in a back room at the business when the doe crashed through the glass door. Evans posted a video to the business’ Facebook page showing the deer running wild inside the store. The deer kicked a hole in a wall and knocked over some plants before exiting through the shattered door. “This was truly an ordeal and I am really not sure who was more scared at the time me or the deer, but it was a pretty terrifying experience overall,” the post said. “Other than a smashed door, a hole in the wall and a few broken plants, everything else came out unscathed and I am thankful, because it could have been so much worse, not only with damages, but potentially could have seriously hurt someone,” Evans wrote. See the video HERE.
**********The deer wasn’t very smart, either!! What kind of animal runs into a butcher shop???
Florida Dating Gets Deadly
A man’s bondage sex date turned deadly when the partner he met online took offense to being bitten on the genitals, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators discovered a motive when they tracked down “the last person who had been in contact with the victim,” according to a news release. It took four months to arrest the 34-year-old suspect, who has been charged with manslaughter and possession of methamphetamine, officials said. On September 5, 2022, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office responded to an address in Kissimmee, Florida, regarding a suspicious death,” the sheriff’s office said. “The deceased victim was wearing bondage gear and appeared to have trauma to his body. … The Medical Examiner’s office has ruled the death was caused by blunt force trauma and strangulation.” Detectives identified Bryant Scott Demelo as the last person to see the victim alive, officials said. Demelo was arrested Jan. 3 in Seminole County, located north of Orlando, and he has since given detectives “detailed information” about how the bondage sex game went bad, officials said. “Demelo told detectives he and the victim met on an online chat group for sexual encounters, and the two arranged to meet in person,” officials said. “According to Mr. Demelo, during oral sex, the victim bit down on his penis, which caused Mr. Demelo to beat the victim. The victim suffered severe injuries and was knocked unconscious.” Demelo then left “without calling 911 or rendering aid,” officials said.
*********Sounds like victim was having a ball at the time!!
*****So you’re getting naked with a random person and playing bondage sex games?? What could go wrong??
Woman Receives Over 100 Heaters
A California woman is trying to get to the bottom of an unusual mystery after being inundated with about 100 packages, each containing a portable heater. Connie Mathews said she has received about 100 space heaters in the mail at her Sacramento home and the mysterious packages started arriving earlier this month. “They started coming Friday, two weeks before Christmas, and every day I would get sometimes two boxes, sometimes more,” she told KXTV. “Yesterday, there were seven boxes waiting on the porch for us.” Mathews said the packages come from multiple locations across the country, including Iowa and North Carolina. The couple said their research revealed they were likely receiving the packages as part of a scheme to get fraudulent reviews marked as “verified” on Amazon.
***********On the plus side, their house is toasty warm!!!
STUFF THAT’S COOL AND VIRAL
VIDEO: NEW ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA TRAILER.
VIDEO: DETROIT LIONS JAMAAL WILLIAMS GETS EMOTIONAL THEN FUNNY IN ONE INTERVIEW.
A LIST FOR TUESDAY
The 5 Best Ways to Sell Gift Cards Online
THE PENNY HOARDER
- CardCash
Founded in 2009, CardCash is a no-frills marketplace to buy and sell gift cards. It accepts cards from more than 1,100 different retailers — all types of popular department stores, restaurants, grocers and more. While the website states that you can earn up to 92% of a gift card’s value, each card is given a unique quote that could be lower. CardCash pays you directly if your card is accepted.
Use CardCash’s quote tool to see how much cash your gift card is worth and to find out if you need to physically mail it in. You also have the option to swap the gift card for one at another store, possibly exceeding the value of your current gift card. Gift cards must have a balance of at least $10.
Get started: www.cardcash.com
- ClipKard
According to its website, ClipKard accepts physical gift cards from more than 100 retailers – including partially used ones. Fast food restaurants and department stores are especially popular.
ClipKard’s quote tool will let you know if your card is currently being accepted and, if so, how much it’s worth in cash. If you like the quote, you can ship your gift card to ClipKard using the prepaid USPS shipping label provided to you. If you’re in a rush, you can choose to upgrade to priority shipping, and the price will be deducted from your payout.
If you don’t see your gift card brand on the list, you can email support@clipkard.com for an evaluation. All cards must have a value of at least $15.
Get started: www.clipkard.com
- Gameflip
Gameflip is a unique way to get rid of your unwanted digital gift cards and other items. The e-commerce site is a blend of eBay and Upwork for gamers. When selling gift cards, like any other product or service on the site, you’ll have to make a listing, which requires you to first make a Gameflip profile.
You can sell any unused prepaid and non-reloadable gift card for gaming platforms or other retailers. Popular gift cards include Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, iTunes, Google Play and more. With Gameflip, you have full control over the price, though it’s recommended you list your card at a discount of 2% to 15% of its value.
When someone buys your gift card, Gameflip transfers the funds into your Gameflip wallet, which you can withdraw from using Wise, Payoneer, Skrill or Bitcoin. (PayPal is no longer supported.) Gameflip takes an 8% cut of all listings and a further 2% cut of digital-only listings. Each wallet withdrawal method has its own associated fees.
Get started: www.gameflip.com
- GiftCash
GiftCash is a straightforward way to sell digital and physical gift cards from more than 150 accepted brands. And you can earn up to 92% of the value for in-demand brands.
As with other gift card exchange sites, you can get a quote from GiftCash before you choose to sell it. However, GiftCash does not allow gift-card swapping.
All gift cards must have a value of at least $25. Some brands require a higher minimum value, such as $100 for Air Canada, Apple, iTunes and Petco. Maximum value for all gift cards is $2,000.
Get started: www.giftcash.com
- Raise
Raise is a mobile payment app and e-commerce platform launched in 2013. Among many things, Raise allows you to sell your unwanted gift cards with a balance of at least $5 on its marketplace. That means you’ll need to create a Raise account and a listing for your gift card.
As with any product, the more demand, the more you can ask for it. Gift cards for major retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy tend to sell on the marketplace for about 95% of their value.
You also maintain control over your listing. If your card doesn’t sell in the first couple of days, you can always adjust the price to attract more buyers. Or you can unlist it if you change your mind. Once it sells, Raise charges a 15% seller fee, and for physical cards, it charges an additional $2.75 or 1% fee for shipping — whichever is greater.
If you lost track, that means the maximum you can earn on a digital gift card is 85% of its value, if it sells for 100% of its value.
Get started: www.raise.com
To help you determine the best place to sell your unwanted gift cards, we’ve compared several price estimates from popular stores in fall 2022. Here’s how the five gift-card sites stack up.
The preceding material was compiled and edited by Brandon Castillo. The Editor-In-Chief is Gary Bryan. The Radio Genius Show Prep Service is licensed for use on-air only by subscribing radio stations. Other means of redistribution is forbidden.
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