The Daily Dose/Tuesday, June 11, 2024
The Daily Dose/June 11, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow deals with a ghost. Today’s Diary.
…giving us time to note the call came from the “Out Pool” extension…Well, you don’t have to be Aquaman to deduce this is the phone at the outdoor pool, so we head out.
Nothing…GOA (gone on arrival) as we used to say in the private security racket…In fact, not only did we not catch the perp, we showed off our investigatory skills by not even finding the phone.
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———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1770 – The Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast of Australia is discovered by white people for the first time when British Royal Navy Captain James Cook runs his ship – the HMS Endeavor – aground on it. The reef, well-known to Aboriginal Australians, is roughly 1,400 miles long and consists of almost 1,400 reefs and islands. Endeavor was so badly damaged it required seven weeks of repairs.
In 1982 – Larry Holmes retains the WBC world heavyweight title, defeating Gerry Cooney of South Africa with a 13th-round TKO at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It was the 12th defense of the title for Holmes and remains the only title fight for Cooney. Holmes later vacated the WBC title and in 1983 was issued the first IBF heavyweight title, a title he would defend three times before losing to Michael Spinks in 1985.
In 2000 – Santana featuring The Product G&B is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the tenth and final consecutive week with Maria Maria. The song went to #1 in six other countries, including Hungary and Switzerland, peaked at #6 in Great Britain, at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 3rd-biggest song of the year and their 14th-biggest of the decade. Earlier, Santana had spent twelve weeks at #1 with Smooth and he remains one of seven artists to have at least two hits spend at least ten weeks at #1. It was the second and most recent #1 for Santana and remains the only Top 40 hit for The Product G&B.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Writers don’t make good husbands. They reserve their Eros for their art.
Saul Bellow
Ravelstein
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
In 1805, the US flag had 15 stripes and 15 stars, the last US flag to feature 15 stripes.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What other artists have had multiple #1 songs on the Hot 100 spend at least ten weeks at the top? – Answer next time!
The Diary of a Nobody/June 10
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Monday, June 10
Longtime readers of this crap may – or they may not – recall that we’ve discussed ghosts at the hotel before…Ex-Maintenance Guy Luke was a strong believer in them and we dismissed that until a couple of years ago when we were working a missing persons case with the local fuzz and the constable noticed the light in the fitness center was on.
The Daily Dose/Monday, June 10, 2024
The Daily Dose/June 10, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets the sleep week off to a good start. Today’s Diary.
It was a good rest, too…We’re mostly over our sickies, so we’re not waking up with plugged noses and mouths that feel yucky because we were breathing thru them…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
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 1805 – The First Barbary War comes to and with the signing of a treaty between the US and the Ottoman Tripolitania state. The war had started in 1801, mainly because of Ottoman piracy and the impressment of US sailors. The war included fighting in Derna, now in eastern Libya, marking the first time a US flag was raised after a victory on foreign soil. The Second Barbary War was fought over three days in June 1815 and resulted in another American victory.
In 1933 – Johnny Goodman of the US wins the US Open, shooting a final round 76 to beat Ralph Guldahl by one stroke north of Chicago. It was the first and only US Open and major title for Goodman and remains the only US Open runner-up finish for Guldahl, to go with championships in 1937 and 1938. Goodman, an Omaha insurance salesman, remains the last amateur to win a US major.
In 1972 – The Chi-Lites are at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Best Selling Soul Singles chart – for the second and final consecutive week with Oh Girl. The song also peaked at #14 and #5 in Great Britain in separate chart runs, had earlier spent a week at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, and was Billboard’s 13th-biggest song of the year. It was the second and final soul #1 for the group and remains their only pop #1. In 1980 a version by Paul Young peaked at #8 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
While only a few enjoyed the kind of luck many had taken for granted on leaving home, the rest sorted themselves according to their ambition and energy.
H. W. Brands
The Age of Gold
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Kenny Chesney’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 was Out Last Night, which peaked at #16 in 2009.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many stars and stripes did the US flag have in 1805? – Answer next time!
The Diary of a Nobody/June 9
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Sunday, June 9
Boy, the flooding at the hotel was worse than last night, and last nite’s was the worst we’ve seen here.
The Daily Dose/Sunday, June 9, 2024
The Daily Dose/June 9, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.
1. US Women’s Basketball – Decision to leave wonder girl Caitlyn Clark off Olympic team rather shortsighted, as team passes on opportunity to give uniform to world’s most popular player…Question who do you leave off valid, but, honestly, “anyone else” solid answer as 8th-straight gold medal at Paris Olympics remains a foregone conclusion for US women.
2. Sports Betting In US – This week’s lifetime ban – as well as four (4) one (1)-year bans – issued by major league baseball merely the latest since college and pro sports started sleeping with legal bookies…SB5 pollsters “pretty sure” only real question left is when the first fixed games start showing up.
3. USA! USA! – The new 3-hole staple, replacing Mass Shootings, which are suffering catastrophic decline in 2024…70 years into television being focal point of US life, Americans now totally delusional, unable to separate what they want from what really is…For example, America now convinced perpetual war is guarantor of long-term prosperity and that lying, ignorant blatherskite – and now a convicted felon! – is right person to once again lead country.
4. Benjamin Netanyahu – Israeli prime minister to address Congress next month…Might as well, because Congress could use first-hand update on genocide US remains complicit in because long after IDF gained tactical superiority, war in Gaza now nothing more than slaughter of civilians, a good definition of genocide.
5. Chinese Lunar Probe – Chinese spacecraft lands on far side of the moon, with second craft lifting off with lunar samples, something US astronauts last did a half-century ago, though it should be noted flag not planted on lunar surface, merely raised from body of landing craft….SB5 pollsters “strongly suspect” only way they will be impressed is when someone returns American flag from lunar surface and presents it to joint meeting of Congress.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
Sure, it’s Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow sets a PB in the sack. Today’s Diary.
I am not making that up: it was a historic week in the sack for ol’ Sparrow…God bless all of you…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
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 68 AD – Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, reportedly by stabbing himself in the throat, though History also suggests a servant helped him with this. Nero ascended the throne at 16 in 54 AD after the death of his grand-uncle Claudius and remains known for killing his mother, wife, and stepbrother. Nero’s succession was not clear, civil war ensued, resulting in a period known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
In 1901 – The New York Giants establish a major league record for most hits in a game in a 25-13 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants had 31 hits, but research into whose record they broke was inconclusive. The record was broken in 1932 when the Cleveland Indians had 33 hits in an 18-game, and the 9-inning mark was tied in 1992 by the Milwaukee Brewers. The all-time major league record is 36 by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1894.
In 2001 – Kenny Chesney is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart – for the only week with Don’t Happen Twice. It was the eleventh of 52 Top 10 country hits for Chesney and his fourth of 23 #1s. The song also peaked at #26 on the Hot 100 – his fourth of 27 Top 40 pop hits – and was Billboard’s 3rd-biggest country song of the year.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Talent is that which is in a man’s power, genius is that in whose power a man is.
James Russell Lowell
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
England (2010, 2022) and the West Indies (2012, 2016) are the countries/areas that have won multiple T20 Cricket World Cups.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Kenny Chesney’s biggest hit on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!
The Diary of a Nobody/June 8
Yay for Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, June 8
The big news at the hotel is the parking lot was about half flooded…I am not making that up.
The Daily Dose/Saturday, June 8, 2024
The Daily Dose/Friday, June 7, 2024
The Daily Dose/June 7, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
PLAY BALL…OR WHATEVER THEY DO: We know very little about cricket, but even we knew the significance of this headline:
US Defeats Pakistan In Cricket.
USA! USA!: The win came at the T20 World Cup, which we’d never heard of, either, until this week. Some research shows T20 cricket is an abbreviated form of real cricket – which we also don’t understand – and there has been a T20 World Cup for most of this century.
USA! USA! II: Ignorance does not diminish this feat at all: it’s as big an upset as if Pakistan had beaten us in baseball, basketball, ice hockey, or any other sport except cricket and, perhaps, field hockey.
Dry, Technical Matter: Cricket is a bat-and-ball game. That’s really all but 23 people in America know about it. It developed in England in the Middle Ages and was popular in America from colonial times until the emergence of a man’s sport – baseball – made people forget about cricket.
Leaderboard: The US is in Group A with, among other teams, Pakistan and India, both international cricket powers, which seems a tad unsporting. But after an opening win against Canada, the Americans are in grave danger of advancing to the Super 8 round, where the top two teams from each group play another round robin, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals.
Make Your Ticket Plans Now: The 2024 T20 World Cup is being hosted by both the US and the West Indies and the US/Pakistan match was played in Dallas. The semifinals are scheduled for Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana and the gold medal match, or game, or fiesta, or whatever the hell they call it, is on June 29 at Kensington Oval in Barbados, more or less the St Andrews or Wrigely Field of Western Hemisphere cricket.
The Bottom Line: You don’t have to be on the International Cricket Council to know the US beating Pakistan in any form of cricket is as big a sports upset as we’ve produced. It’s right up there with beating the evil Soviet Union in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics and our defeat of mighty England in soccer at the 1950 World Cup. If the US cricket team keeps this up, we might actually have to learn more about it.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has trouble buying a lottery ticket. Today’s Diary.
We hand the wizard behind the counter our play slip and $20 and we might as well have handed him some nuclear codes…He stared at it blankly…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
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 1694 – Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divides land discovered in the New World. The treaty established a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Senegal and the treaty did not specify the length of a league, though as a practical matter, North America went to Spain and Brazil to Portugal. The treaty superseded an earlier decree by Pope Alexander VI and was later superseded by the Treaty of Madrid in 1750.
In 1936 – Red Ruffing and the New York Yankees establishes an American League record for the longest game without recording a strikeout in a 5-4, 16-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians. Ruffing pitched all 16 innings without recording a strikeout, gave up ten hits, and walked six in the game. The team record was tied by the Chicago White Sox in 1943 and the all-time record is 17 innings, done twice in the National League, by Ice Box Chamberlain of Cincinnati in 1893 and by Art Neff of New York in 1920.
In 1975 – John Denver is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Thank God I’m a Country Boy. It was the sixth of seven Top 10 hits for Denver and his third of four #1s. The song also went to #1 in Yugoslavia and Canada, had spent its only week at #1 on Billboard’s country chart the week before, and was Billboard’s 11th-biggest song of the year.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
A secret to being more revered than resented, he learned, was to display a self-deprecating humor, unpretentious demeanor, and an unaggressive style in conversation.
Walter Isaacson
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Serena Williams is the woman who has won the most Grand Slam titles, 23.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Two teams have won multiple T20 Cricket World Cups. Name them. – Answer next time!