The Daily Dose/January 6, 2024 By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Son of Holmes by John Lescroart: There is an element of art known as pastiche, which is a work that imitates the work of another and, as you might expect, Son of Holmes is about the son of fiction’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. And while we’ve read Holmes – all of it – years ago, this wasn’t why we picked up the book.
Dry, Technical, Matter: Fans of the mystery genre know that Sherlock Holmes has long been suspected of being the father of another famous fictional detective, Nero Wolfe. (This is never mentioned in a Wolfe novel, though Wolfe keeps a picture of Holmes in his office.) We’ve been Wolfe fans for ages and picked up the book to see how Wolfe was portrayed.
For The Record: The answer is brilliantly, with mannerisms and traits Wolfe fans will immediately recognize and appreciate. As this was our reason for reading the book, we didn’t even notice any similarities to Holmes.
FunFact: Wolfe is known as Auguste Lupa in the book. Lupa is Italian for wolf.
Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: The setting is France in 1915. World War I has just started and Lupa is spying for the Allies. Someone gets murdered and Lupa solves the case, which isn’t easy because the dumb-dumb constables have tabbed him the prime suspect.
Fly In The Ointment: There is one glaring discrepancy: Lescroart has Lupa born in America and moving to Europe shortly after birth. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and is a naturalized US citizen. It is, however, believable that Wolfe was spying for the Allies in World War I.
Ladies And Gentlemen: Your Daily Dose Rating Scale: 1 – The very best; 2 – Very good; 3- Good; 4- OK; 5- A steaming pile.
Final Rating: 3: This is an objective rating. If it weren’t, we would have given it a 1 because of our long fandom of and affection for Nero Wolfe stories. This wasn’t the greatest mystery ever, but it was early in Lescroart’s career. In fact, the international intrigue angle that asserted itself at the end caught us by surprise but, frankly, this is hardly the Upset of the Year for us. Unless you are an ardent Holmes or Wolfe fan, it might not be for you.
We’re not entirely sure why, but we were exhausted when we woke up this morning…It was as if we’d never gone to bed: we woke up groggy and yawning…
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On This Date Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 2005 – Edgar Ray Killen is indicted for the murders a Black and two Jewish civil rights workers that occured in 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The three – who’d had the nerve to try and register Black voters – had been abducted, shot, and left in an earthen dam. The state declined criminal prosecution and Killen had no verdict returned in a federal civil rights trial. Killen would be convicted of three counts of manslaughter in June and died in prison in 2018 at age 93. History refers to the killings as the Freedom Summer Murders.
In 1980 – The Philadelphia Flyers win the last of their NHL-record 35-game unbeaten streak in a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers last loss had been to the Atlanta Flames on October 13 and they went 25-0-10 during the streak. They had broken the record of the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens, who went unbeaten in 28 straight games.
In 1990 – Phil Collins is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third of four consecutive weeks with Another Day In Paradise. The song went to #1 in ten other countries, including Zimbabwe and Norway, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 7th-biggest song of the year. It was the 11th of 16 Top 10 hits for Collins as a solo act and was his 5th of seven #1 songs. The song was written by Collins and featured backing vocals by David Crosby.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
He means well for his country, is always an honest man, often a wise one, but sometimes and in some things, absolutely out of his senses. Benjamin Franklin Regards John Adams
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
Two other Christmas songs have hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (2019-23) and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee (2023/24)
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who holds the NHL record the longest winless streak? – Answer next time!
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In a technical note, the 20 lb medicine ball we use for twists has a hole in it…
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On This Date Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1914 – The Ford Motor Company announces the implementation of a eight-hour workday and doubles wages to $5 a day, about $150 in today’s money. The move was not popular with rivals, though when it resulted in increased productivity and profits for Ford, most followed suit. The first eight-hour day in the US had been won by Boston ship carpenters in 1842 and the first eight-hour day had been implemented by King Phillip II of Spain in 1594.
In 1971 – The Harlem Globetrotters 2,495 game winning streak comes to an end in a 100-99 loss to the New Jersey Reds (one of the names played under by the Washington Generals) in Martin, Tennessee. The Reds led by twelve with two minutes left before the Globetrotters realized what was happening and they led by one point with ten seconds left. The winning shot was made by Generals owner Red Klotz and Meadowlark Lemon missed a shot as time expired. It was the Globetrotters’ first loss since 1957.
In 1959 – The Chipmunks with David Seville are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the third of four consecutive weeks with The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late). It was the second of three Top 10 hits for the group and their second and final #1. The song won three Grammy Awards: for Best Comedy Performance, Best Children’s Recording and Best Engineered Non-Classical Record. The song also peaked at #5 on Billboard’s soul chart and was the first Christmas song to hit #1 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
Charles II became king when the English monarchy was restored in 1660. He was the son of Charles I.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What other Christmas songs have hit #1 on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!
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The Daily Dose/January 4, 2024 By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off will return. We’re not entirely sure when, though. It is not on hiatus, however.
Today At The Site Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow reports the VA has still lost its mind. Today’s Diary.
Recall last week we discussed the VA requiring voided checks for signing up for direct deposit…hopefully [we’ll] get this nonsense reversed because, as discussed last week, a lot of people don’t have checks anymore…It’s the third decade of the 21st century, after all…
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On This Date Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1649 – England’s House of Commons votes to put King Charles I on trial for treason. As the House Lords had rejected the measure and it did not have Charles’ assent, the king disputed the court’s jurisdiction. This did not stop them from convicting and condemning him and Charles was beheaded on January 30. The executioner and his assistant wore masks and wigs and their identity was never revealed. England would remain a republic until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
In 1984 – Adrian Dantley of the Utah Jazz ties the NBA record for most free throws made in a game in a 116-111 win over the Houston Rockets in Las Vegas. Dantly made 28 free throws – in 29 attempts – to tie the mark established by Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors in March 1962 and the record still stands. Dantley is also second on the list with 27 free throws made in a November 1983 game and finished his NBA career with a career free throw percentage of 81.8%
In 1960 – Marty Robbins is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with El Paso. The song peaked at #19 in Great Britain, was in its third of seven consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s country chart, and won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. It remains Robbins’ only #1 pop hit and was his sixth of 16 #1 country hits in a chart career that spanned from 1952-83.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits targets no one else can see. Arthur Schopenhauer
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
The NHL record for the quickest two goals by a team is two seconds, by the Montreal Canadiens on November 1, 2018, a 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals. The first goal came at 19:38 of the third period, with the following goal going into an empty net off the ensuing faceoff.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who became king when England restored the monarchy in 1660? – Answer next time!
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Not that we keep tabs on her arrival times – we’re not stalkers – tho you didn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to notice she generally favored the gym with her presence around 1700…Not today…In fact, we had written off seeing her when she showed up at 1733…
Friends, the NFL Bottom Ten will run on Thursday.
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———
On This Date Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1870 – Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge, which would span the East River and connect Brooklyn and Manhattan, then separate cities. The first tasks were constructing two caissons at each end on which the suspension towers would be built. A temporary wire was put up in August 1876 with a worker traveling the span in a chair, marking the first time the bridge was used for a crossing. The bridge opened on May 24, 1883.
In 1931 – Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons establishes a new NHL record for the fastest two goals in a 5-3 win over the Boston Bruins. Stewart scored four seconds apart in the third period, breaking the record of eight seconds established by Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators in December 1926. The record was tied by Deron Quint of the Winnipeg Jets in December 1995 and still stands.
In 2015 – Taylor Swift is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for sixth of seven consecutive weeks with Blank Space. The song went to #1 in six other countries, including Iceland and South Africa, peaked at #4 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 7th-biggest song of the year. It was the 14th of 49 Top 10 hits for Swift – mark good for second all-time behind Drake (76) – and her second of eleven #1s
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…but I thought of an older, a newer, and purer wine, of a more glorious vintage, which they had not got, and could not buy. Henry David Thoreau Walden
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
The NCAA all-division record for most points in a basketball game is 346 in a Division III game between Greenville (200) and Fontbonne (146) in February 2019.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the NHL record for the fastest two goals by a team? – Answer next time!
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