The Daily Dose/June 14, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

This will surprise you, but Leading Off remains in time-out.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow is going to start paying homage to Chris now. Today’s Diary. 

Chris has his paws in everything now, including payroll, because evidently, rascally ol’ Sparrow forgot to clock out, so he asked what time I’d left…

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

In 1777 – The first armed force in the United States is established when the Second Continental Congress establishes the Continental Army, the forerunner of today’s United States Army. The army was initially commanded by Artemis Ward until the arrival of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 3. The Continental Army was disbanded after the Revolution and was reformed in 1791. 

In 1992 – Ozzie Smith of the St Louis Cardinals establishes a new National League record for most career double plays by a shortstop in a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Smith participated in three double plays, breaking the record of 1,304 established by Roay McMillan from 1951-66. Smith retired in 1996 with  1,590 double plays, a National League record that still stands and the all-time record is 1,734, by Omar Vizquel from 1989-2008. 

In 1975 – America is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Sister Golden Hair. It was the seventh of eleven Top 40 hits for the group, their sixth of seventh Top 10 hits and was their second and final #1 in a chart career that spanned from 1971-2007. The song spent 16 weeks on the chart, including twelve weeks in the Top 40 and four weeks in the Top 10. The song also peaked at #11 in Canada and at #5 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

…vanity is the spur of development, and the secret of authorship.
Will & Ariel Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol X: Rousseau and Revolution

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The Beatles spent 59 total weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, currently good for third on the all-time list behind Rihanna (60) and Mariah Carey (91). Elvis spent 79 total weeks at #1 on assorted Billboard pop charts, including 22 on the Hot 100. 

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

Who holds the American League record for most career double plays by a shortstop? – Answer next time!

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

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off is MIA.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the hots for a hotel guest. Today’s Diary. 

Let me tell you something, tia was a looker…Aichiwawa…As we were walking her to the stairs we wanted to follow her up to her room, but we didn’t know how to say “throw down” in Spanish, so we just pointed up when we got to them…

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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 1966 – The US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, rules in Miranda v. Arizona that police must advise suspects of their rights to remain silent and to counsel while in custody. The case began in 1963 when Ernesto Miranda was arrested on suspicion of raping an 18-year-old girl and confessed without being advised of his right to an attorney. Miranda was later convicted of the same crime without his confession, was sentenced to 20-30 years, paroled in 1972, and murdered in a bar fight in 1976.

In 1890 – Ellen Roosevelt win the US National  Tennis Championship – now known as the US Open – defeating two-time defending champion Bertha Townsend 6-2, 6-2. It remains the only major singles title for Roosevelt and she and her sister Grace won the doubles title, the first of three sisters to do so at the US Open. Roosevelt was a cousin of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States.  

In 1970 – The Beatles are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the 20th and final time with The Long and Winding Road. The song spent two consecutive weeks at the top and also went to #1 in Canada, though it was not released as a single in Great Britain. The song was originally offered to Tom Jones, who had to decline it because he was contractually obligated to release another song first. The Beatles’ 20 #1 songs remain a Billboard Hot 100 record.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The first thing you felt was that there was a man who spoke honestly about how he felt and was not trying to put something across…(he) made things understandable for the foggiest brain and went to the core of things.
John Toland
Adolf Hitler

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The northernmost capital of Europe is Reykjavik, Iceland and the southernmost is Valletta, Malta.

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

How many cumulative weeks did the Beatles spend at #1 on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!

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

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off is on hiatus.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow mows the lawn. Today’s Diary. 

…there was still plenty of daylite and we seemed to recall hearing rain would be starting Monday and while it wasn’t forecasted to be a constant deluge, it would be off and on most of the week which would probably eliminate Thursday’s planned mowing.

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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 1550 – The city of Helsinki – then in Sweden, now in Finland – is founded by King Gustav I. Gustav was looking for a harbor, but Helsinki’s was too shallow for commercial shipping and the city remained small until its importance in naval defense grew. Helsinki began to grow after being named Finland’s capital in 1812, though growth has never been particularly quick there. Today it is Finland’s largest city, with an urban population of 1.5 million. 

In 1922 – The St Louis Cardinals establish a new major league record for most consecutive hits in a 14-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals had ten consecutive hits in the sixth inning, scoring seven runs, with one out coming on a single trying to be extended into a double and on a caught stealing. Research into whose record the Cardinals broke was inconclusive and the record is now twelve consecutive hits, done three times, most recently by the Boston Red Sox in 2018. 

In 2010 – Miranda Lambert is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then and now known as the Hot Country Songs chart – for the first of four consecutive weeks with The House That Built Me. It was the first of six country #1s for Lambert and her first of 17 Top 10 songs. The song also peaked at #28 on the Hot 100, was Billboard’s 11th-biggest country song of the year, and its 38th-biggest of the decade. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

KC & the Sunshine Band had four #1s on Billboard’s soul chart between 1977-79.

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

What are the northern and southernmost capitals in Europe? – Answer next time!

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

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. Donald Trump – The I’s have it: Indictment, Impeachment, Ignorance…Hardly a surprise, as Trump too stupid to take expert advice on the matter…Of course, he remains the GOP front-runner for their 2024 presidential nomination…From Lincoln, to Reagan to Trump…Plot it on a graph and you have a perpendicular line and it ain’t going up folks. 

2. PGA Tour/LIV Merger – Why shouldn’t the PGA Tour take Saudi blood money, everyone else does…Saudi crown prince expected to announce new rules for all non-majors, including  beheadings for double-bogies, making all tee boxes face Mecca and forcing chick media members to wear burkas…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters still “pretty sure” there will never be a Daily Dose brought to you by the Saudi Wealth Fund. 

3. Mass Shootings – The 3-hole staple…A relatively light week in Shooting Gallery USA, with only 12 shootings that injured/killed at least four, featuring nine (9) deaths and a mere 52 wounded…Forecast for this week strong, as victory celebrations in Denver and Las Vegas could set off fun-spirited shootings in crowded streets.

4. Testify AI, Testify! – Go in peace, serve the ChatGPI…AI sermon at Lutheran church in Germany not really a surprise – you figured some preacher would someday say “screw it” and channel Holy AI Spirit- but having Lutherans set the pace is really the Upset of the Year…Lutherans never set the pace in anything, unless it’s being the first to apologize for something they didn’t do. 

5. Fake News – Click here for fake stuff some wizards amongst us were believing this week…Runs occasionally when Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters can’t come up with sufficient material…Courtesy of the AP. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Sure, it’s Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow reports to the gym to find someone blasting some music. Today’s Diary. 

Other people’s music is as noxious as their smoke and we would’ve objected had he been blasting The Sparrow Playlist, much less some crap that would sterilize frogs at a thousand yards…As it was tho, he had the rugrat turn it off as we walked in, which was the courteous thing to do…

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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 1944 – The USS Missouri (BB-63) is commissioned, the last battleship built by the US Navy. She fought in World War II and Korea, was the site of Japan’s surrender in 1945, and was decommissioned in 1955. The ship was reactivated and modernized in 1986 as part of the Navy’s plans for an 800-ship fleet, and was decommissioned for good in 1992, and today is a museum ship in Pearl Harbor. 

In 2012 – The Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup, defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 to win the series four games to two. It was the first of two Stanley Cup titles for the Kings and was the second and most recent finals defeat for the Devils, who have won the Stanley Cup three times. The Kings had finished the regular season with a 40-27-15 record and became the first number eight seed to win the Stanley Cup. 

In 1977 – KC & the Sunshine Band is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with I’m Your Boogie Man. The song also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #41 in Great Britain, at #3 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was their 11th-biggest song of the year. It was the fourth and penultimate #1 song for the group and was their fourth of six Top 10 hits and their fifth of the ten Top 40 hits. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

It is not the first steps but the last ones that are most difficult.
Jean-Francois Steiner
Treblinka

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Besides Czechoslovakia, Hungary (1938, 1954) and the Netherlands (1974-78; 2010) are the other countries that have appeared in multiple World Cup finals without winning. 

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

How many #1s did KC & the Sunshine Band have on Billboard’s soul chart? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

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

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience. 

Leading Off remains in time-out.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the latest MPG figure for the new ride. Today’s Diary. 

Like you, we were wondering how, or even if, the new all-weather tires would affect gas mileage and the jury is still out on that…

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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 1854 – The United States Naval Academy graduates its first class. The six students were known as passed midshipmen and were obliged to wait to enter active duty as the practice of immediately commissioning graduates as ensigns didn’t start until 1912. The school had been founded in 1845 as the Naval School on an old army fort in Annapolis. Previously, the academy had sent officers to the fleet, but not as part of a graduating class. 

In 1934 – Italy wins the second World Cup, defeating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time in the final in Rome. It was the first of four World Cup titles for the Italians and was the first of two runner-up finishes for the Czechs. The tournament featured 16 teams, ten of whom had not played in the first World Cup four years earlier in Uraguay, and consisted solely of a 16-team, single-elimination tournament. Italy had beaten the US, Spain, and Austria to reach the final, and Germany defeated Austria for third place. 

In 1967 – Aretha Franklin is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second and final consecutive week with Respect. The song also peaked at #10 in Great Britain, was in its fourth of eight consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboad’s biggest soul song of the year. It was the first of two pop #1s for Franklin and her second of a then-record 20 #1 soul hits, a mark once shared with Stevie Wonder and now held by Drake (27). The song was written by Otis Redding, whose own version had peaked at #35 in 1965.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

…a deity…cannot be proved by reason, he can only be postulated as a practical necessity, offering peace to our limited intellects, and encouragement to our fragile morality.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol I: Our Oriental Heritage

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The Soviet Union occupied North Korea before the founding of the current People’s Democratic Republic in 1948. Before the end of World War II, it was ruled by Japan. 

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

Besides Czechoslovakia, what other countries have played in multiple World Cup finals without winning? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!