The Daily Dose/July 13, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off will return. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow compares the hotel’s month-to-date numbers with figures from last July. Today’s Diary. 

…longtime readers of this crap know we are missing the summer baseball tournaments, which fled after getting into a p*ssing match with the town over some minor details like behavior at fields and hotels.

This is a valid concern.

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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1973 – Alexander Butterfield, a deputy assistant to President Richard Nixon, reveals the existence of the White House taping system while testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee. The question stemmed from where detailed quotations in written notes could’ve come from with Butterfield later saying that he presumed the committee had known about the taping system based on prior testimony from other White House officials. 

In 1963 – Bob Charles of New Zealand wins the British Open, defeating Phil Rogers of the US by eight strokes in a 36-hole playoff. It was the first Open title for Charles and remains his best finish in a major. It was also the last 36-hole playoff in British Open history as playoffs became 18-holes through 1988 and have been four-hole aggregate competitions since. Charles remains the only Open champion from New Zealand. 

In 1985 – Duran Duran is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with A View to a Kill. The song went to #1 in five other countries, including Denmark, peaked at #1 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 35th-biggest song of the year. It was the ninth Top 40 hit for the group, their seventh of ten Top 10 hits, and was their second and final #1 song. A View to a Kill remains the only song from the soundtrack to a James Bond movie to reach #1 on the Hot 100.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Then, too, not all of them were equally alert mentally, particularly Megaffin, who had been on such a fourth-dimensional plane of unaccustomedness all evening he couldn’t tell menace from hospitality, even when a gun was mentioned.
William Irish
After-Dinner Story

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Besides France in 1998, the other host countries to win the World Cup were Uraguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), West Germany (1974), and Argentina (1978). 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

What was Billboard’s #1 song for 1985? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/July 12, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off will return. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets to watch Chris prepare the weekly Coke order. Today’s Diary. 

…we were able to catch some of the brilliance…when we saw him sitting on a lobby couch peering into the storage cabinets on one side of the sundry stand refrigerator, seeing what needed to be ordered…Good gravy, this was like watching Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel: a master was doing his work, and all there is to do is stand and admire it. 

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4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1962 – The Rolling Stones – then known as the Rollin’ Stones – perform together for the first time, at the Marquee Club in London’s West End. The band signed with Decca Records the following year and have had nine #1 albums and eight #1 songs in the US. Of the five members who performed that night, only Mick Jagger and Keith Richards remain with the band and the Rolling Stones last appeared in concert last year in Berlin.  

In 1998 – France wins the World Cup defeating Brazil 3-0 at the Stade de France in Paris. It was the first of two World Cup titles for France (2018) and the second and most recent runner-up finish for Brazil, to go along with five titles. France became the seventh nation to win World Cup and this was the sixth and most recent instance of a host country winning the title.  

In 1965 – The Rolling Stones are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of four consecutive weeks with (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. The song went to #1 in nine other countries including Finland, Norway, and Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 3rd-biggest song of the year. It was the first of eight #1s for the group, and was their third of 23 Top 10 and fifth of 41 Top 40 hits. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

…change and growth are not in all things and places alike…the passing seasons are but ripples ever repeated in the long long stream.
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The following players have won both Olympic tennis gold medals in singles and Wimbledon singles titles: Laurence Doherty, Arthur Gore, Suzanne Lenglen, Charlotte Cooper, Hellen Wills, Andy Murray, Lindsay Davenport, Steffi Graff, Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Which are the other host countries to win the World Cup? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/July 11, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off will return. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow runs into a pretty gal at the hotel. Today’s Diary. 

She was built and stacked and dressed for something that we strongly suspect wasn’t Mass…

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Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1405 – Admiral Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty leaves China with 255 ships and 27,800 men on the first of several voyages History refers to as the Ming Treasure Voyages. The expedition, of unknown size, made it as far as southwest India and returned with an unspecified amount of treasure and several ambassadors from other countries. The voyages ended, for no apparent reason, in 1433.

In 1900 – Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain becomes the first individual female Olympic champion, winning the tennis gold medal at the Paris Summer Olympics. Cooper defeated Helene Prevost of France 6-1, 6-4 and also won the mixed doubles gold medal with Reginald Dougherty of Great Britain and Cooper also won five Wimbledon singles titles. Tennis left the Olympic program after 1924 and returned in 1988. 

In 1970 – Woodstock: Music From the Original Soundtrack and More, by various artists, is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the first of four consecutive weeks. The album had been recorded the previous August at the Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York, with the exception of two songs recorded in both Los Angeles and New York. The album also peaked at #35 in Great Britain and a follow-up album in 1972, Woodstock Two, peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

When the time comes for truth to speak, it may choose an unfamiliar tongue; the task is to heed what is said.
Robertson Davies
The Lyre of Orpheus

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The players who have won the most Wimbledon titles are Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, who have each won 20. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

How many players have won both Olympic tennis singles gold medals and Wimbledon singles titles ? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/July 10, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off will return. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow aims for productivity. Today’s Diary. 

…our goal today was to spend the morning – and part of the afternoon, if necessary – reading, a mission was neither arduous nor unsuccessful.

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Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1985 – The ship Rainbow Warrior, owned by Greenpeace, is bombed in the harbor at Auckland, New Zealand by the French foreign intelligence service DGSE. The ship was in New Zealand waters to protest French nuclear testing in the South Pacific and two French agents were later arrested and imprisoned before being transferred to French custody with international arbitrators later awarded Greenpeace $8.1 million. The only fatality was Fernando Periera, a Portuguese-Dutch freelance photographer. 

In 1877 – The first Wimbledon tennis tournament begins at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club outside of London. The tournament was organized to compensate for waning interest in croquet and stats showed that the server won two-thirds of the games, resulting in the target area for the server being reduced from 26 feet to 22 feet for the 1878 tournament. The tournament was later won by Spencer Gore and the 136th edition of the Wimbledon tournament, known in Great Britain as The Championships, is in progress. 

In 1982 – The Human League is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second of three consecutive weeks with Don’t You Want Me. It was the first of six chart singles for the group, their first of three Top 10 hits, and their first of two #1s (Human, one week, 1986). The song also went to #1 in seven other countries, including Israel, Norway, and Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 6th-biggest song of the year.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

History will hand out the medals. Our problem is to win the battle.
Jean-Francois Steiner
Treblinka

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The last team outside of the US to play in the Triple-A International League was the Ottawa Lynx in 2007. They are now the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Who has won the most combined Wimbledon titles? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/July 9, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. Fair Tax – Act that would replace income tax with national sales tax a thing in Congress again…Three (3) problems that come to mind concern rebate check that would be sent to everyone at the first of the month: 1) having every American home waiting for a government check every month is not what this country stands for; 2) it would be a fraud magnet, and, 3) if you really need to help citizens pay a tax the tax is probably excessive in the first place 

2. The Failed Promise by Robert S Levine – Book about BFFs abolitionist Frederick Douglass and noted racist President Andrew Johnson and how Johnson did his part to screw Blacks almost as much as slavery did…A decent account of Johnson’s impeachment, too…Final Rating: 2, Very Good…(Scale is 1-5, with one being mankind’s finest hour, 3 being Good, and 5 being a Steaming Pile.  

3. Mass Shootings – The 3-hole staple…Triumphant numbers from American shooting gallery last week, with no less than 26 (26) shootings with at least four (4) injuries or deaths…A whopping 144 were injured, most in celebrating American independence on the 4th, though only 24 deaths less than one (1) death per shooting, a number NRA pledges to increase…100 years from now all new people will marvel at how America stood by and did nothing about the slaughter. 

4. Global Warming – Three (3) hottest days in human history were this week with 63° F mark six (6) degrees above average for past 12,000 years…Even Antarctica getting into the act, with some temperatures above zero in the dead of winter, though Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters remain “pretty sure” that Vostock Station low of minus-97 still “like, you know, really cold and stuff”. 

5. Russian Mutiny – Russia tough to fathom right now: be its neighbor and mind your own business and get invaded, but head up a mercenary force that conducts a mutiny – like Yevgeny Prigozhin – and you’re not so much as scolded.   

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Sure, Read Free Sunday (RFS) is a thing at The Diary today.

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow is looking forward to getting back to normal in the sack. Today’s Diary. 

Indeed, the forecast is for routine weeks for the foreseeable future, and we’re looking forward to the sleep numbers returning to normal…We know you are, too…

———

Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1762 – Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia after overthrowing her husband Peter III. Catherine had been born into the Prussian ruling family and had arrived in Russia at age 16, eager to make herself worthy of the throne and she married Peter the following year. Peter had assumed the throne in January and would died on July 17, though History is unclear as to how. Catherine never remarried, though she had many lovers, and reigned until 1796. 

In 1960 – The Havana Sugar Kings of the Triple-A International League (IL) are moved to Jersey City, New Jersey following the nationalization of all American businesses by Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution. The Sugar Kings had started in the Florida International League (Class C) in 1946 and joined the IL in 1954. The team would later move to Jacksonville and today are still in the IL as the Norfolk Tides. 

In 1955 – The Rock Era in American popular music begins when Bill Haley and His Comets are at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor to the Hot 100 – for the first of eight consecutive weeks with Rock Around the Clock. It was the third of 15 Top 40 hits for the group and remains their only #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Australia and Great Britain, peaked at #4 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s second-biggest song of the year. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Quality is achieving and reaching for the highest standard as against being satisfied with the sloppy or fraudulent. It is honesty of purpose as against catering to cheap or sensational sentiment. It does not allow compromise with the second rate.
Barbara Tuchman

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The last military draft in the US ended in 1973. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Which was the last team outside of the US to play in the International League? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!