The Daily Dose/March 12, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. FOX News – In documents from their defamation lawsuit, it turns out not even FOX believed the nonsense they were spewing during Trump Era…Then why broadcast it???…Well, to increase wealth, influence, and power, of course…Our media is like our government: we get what we choose to accept and tolerate.  

2. Cyclone Freddy – Zany oceanic storm  had so much fun during February visit to Madagascar it turned around and went back after stop on African mainland and is now longest tropical cyclone ever…Storm formed northwest of Australia (check your atlases, folks) on January 30, and is now northwest of Madagascar, preparing for second invasion of east Africa. 

3. USA! USA! – The 3-hole staple…Far-right looking to make America great again, but how about we work our way up to ‘average’ first as partisan, fractured, debt-ridden US remains far closer to the oblivion that awaits it than to the respect and prosperity she once enjoyed…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters still “strongly suspect” America has until half-century is out to show it can govern itself before someone comes in and does it for us. 

4. World Baseball Classic – A nice little tournament in theory, but a classic yay/boo situation…Yay: the concept, having some games in Asia, the finals at the gorgeous Marlins’ stadium in Miami…Boo: no one is in midseason form plus it’s the first in six years and be honest, you never really missed it.

5. President Joe Biden – Hardly ray of hope US is looking for in 2024 race…In speeches in Kyiv and Warsaw he tended to sound like a conqueror in Russian/Ukraine war, despite fact war is far from over, much less won and US is half-assing their support of Ukraine anyway. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

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

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow enjoys multiple technical problems at the hotel. Today’s Diary. 

…we got an error message we didn’t understand at all; we didn’t even bother staring at it crossly with our hands on our hips, going strait to tech support on this one. 

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

Editor’s Note: Due to time constraints, today’s On This Date is from 2019. Apologies are issued.

In 1933 – Franklin Roosevelt addresses the United States for the first time as president, eight days after his inauguration, the first of his fireside chats. Mired in the Great Depression and facing the failure of many American banks, Roosevelt had closed all American banks on March 6 and on the 9th Congress had passed the Emergency Banking Act.  Roosevelt spoke for 13 minutes from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in front of assorted members of the press. Between 1933 and 1940 Roosevelt would give 30 such fireside chats.

In 1992 – Don Nelson, then in his first stint as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, becomes the first person to participate in 2,500 NBA games as a player and a coach when the Warriors lose to the Detroit Pistons 119-112. Nelson would retire in 2010 having played and coached in 3,451 NBA games, 2,398 as a coach, and 1,53 as a player.

In 1983 – Billie Jean by Michael Jackson is at # on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second of seven weeks. It was the first of two #1s from the album Thriller and the fourth of 13 #1 songs Jackson had as a solo act. The song went to #1 in nine other countries, including Great Britain, and was also in its fifth of nine weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart. Billie Jean was Billboard’s second biggest hit of 1983.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has. She is the Devil’s greatest whore.
Will and Ariel Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. VI: The Reformation

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Queen Anne’s husband was Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland. 

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

What was Billboard’s #1 song of 1983? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/March 11, 2022
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’s potentially convoluted goes rather well. Today’s Diary. 

Everything worked out for the best, as it usually does if you let it…

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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 1708 – The Scottish Militia Bill of 1708 is refused royal assent by Queen Anne. The bill would’ve rearmed the Scottish militia following the union of Scotland and England the year before, however Anne feared the Scots would not be loyal during an anticipated invasion by France that never happened. It remains the last time a monarch vetoed a law in Great Britain. 

Editor’s Note: due to time constraints, the following two items have run previously in this feature. 

In 1979 – Randy Holt of the Los Angeles Kings establishes new NHL records for most penalties and penalty minutes in a period in a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Holt had nine penalties totaling 67 minutes in the first period: one for holding, three for fighting, two for misconduct and three game misconducts. Holt broke the records of seven penalties and 44 minutes established by separate players and his records still stand. The team marks of 49 penalties and 362 minutes also established NHL records for one period, though both records have since been broken. 

In 1972 – Nilsson is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the fourth and final consecutive week with Without You. The song also went to #1 in five other countries, including Ireland and Great Britain, and was Billboard’s fourth-biggest song of the year. It was the fourth of eight Top 40 hits for Nilsson, his second of three Top 10 hits, and remains his only #1 song. Mariah Carey charted with the song in 1994, where it returned to #1 in Great Britain and peaked at #3 on the Hot 100. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

I grew fond of her company, and at this time being under no religious restraints, I attempted familiarities (another erratum), which she repulsed with proper resentment.
Benjamin Franklin
Autobiography

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The NHL record for most goals in a game by a defenseman is five, by Ian Turnbull of the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 2, 1977. 

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

Who was Queen Anne’s husband? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/March 10, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Friends, your Daily Dose will return.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow is down to his last two quick picks in the lottery. Today’s Diary. 

It doesn’t matter of course; it’s a lottery and it’s all random and there’s the same chance of winning the thousand dollars a day for life tonite as there was earlier and it’s rare when we’ve been shutout four strait drawings so, naturally, hope springs eternal…Plus, the change of scenery for tonite’s drawing can’t hurt, either. 

Ggggg

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Click here to get in on the laughs.
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Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.

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The Daily Dose/March 9, 2022
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 drives a fellow vet to a doctor’s appointment. Today’s Diary. 

I’m hardly your go-to guy here, but even I know “renal failure” ain’t Prognosis of the Year…

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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 1959 – The Barbie doll debuts at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. It was invented by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, who was inspired by her daughter playing with paper dolls and Barbie was modeled after a German fashion doll named Bild Lilli. The Ken doll first appeared in 1961 and to date over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide. Ken and Barbie parted in 2004, but got back together in 2011. 

In 1975 – Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins establishes a new NHL record for most goals in a season by a defenseman in a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Flames. Orr had one goal, giving him 38 on the season breaking the record of 37 he had done twice before. Orr would finish the season with 46 goals, a record that stood until Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers had 48 in 1985-86. 

In 1985 – REO Speedwagon is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Can’t Fight This Feeling. It was the eighth Top 40 hit for the group, their fourth and final Top 10 hit, and their second and final #1 (Keep On Loving You, one week, 1981). The song also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #89 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 13th-biggest song of the year. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

History and our own conscience will judge us harshly if we do not now make every effort to test our hopes by action.
John F Kennedy

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The first song in the Hot 100 Era to be both the number one pop and number one soul song for a calendar year was Tossin’ and Turnin’ by Bobby Lewis in 1961. 

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

Who holds the NHL record for most goals in a game by a defenseman? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/March 8, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience. 

WE’RE IN FOR SOME DRY TECHNICAL MATTER, AREN’T WE?: Almost as much fun as doing the research that goes into certain aspects of your Daily Dose is telling you about it. 

Here We Go: The inspiration for our latest round of exciting research was today’s Billboard chart history entry for our popular On This Date segment, which reports that on this date in 2003 50 Cent was at #1 on the Hot 100 for the first of nine consecutive weeks with In da Club. 

If Dry, Technical Matter Is Inevitable…: The usual research turned up the usual tidbits you either love or completely despise – there is no middle ground, we’ve found – about the song: other countries the song went to #1 in, some brief chart history for 50 Cent, plus the fact that In da Club was the #1 song for the year on both the Hot 100 and Billboard’s soul chart. 

Oh Yeah: (We realize “soul chart” is a bit of an anachronism and that hip-hop would probably be more appropriate, so sue us. We are still working under a special dispensation in this regard from St Casey Kasem himself.)

In The Wheelhouse: A song that is both the biggest pop and soul song of the year? Oh, baby, regular readers of this crap know a tidbit like this is right up our alley. Hell, we were surprised we hadn’t thought of this before and soon enough we were looking into when else, if ever, this had happened before. 

FunFact: As it turned out, this was the fourth time in the Hot 100 era it had happened – more than we would’ve thought – and it also happened in 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2020. 

The Bottom Line: The research was fun, and not really that hard because once you got to the 20th century you could automatically dismiss some year-end #1 pop songs…For example, songs by Olivia Newton-John, Wilson Philipps, and the Bangles didn’t demand soul chart consultation and we were pleased to have been able to add to your collective general fund of knowledge. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow shoots some baskets after his workout. Today’s Diary. 

We still aren’t any good at shooting baskets, but we are getting better and even made consecutive free throws for the first time since the Reagan Administration. 

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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 2014 – Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, service from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappears. The flight took off at 12:41 am local time with the last communication from the crew coming 38 minutes into the flight. Civilian radar lost contact over the Gulf of Thailand while military radar later had it traveling southeast, back over Malaysia and over the Gulf of Malacca before losing contact at 2:22 am. A communications satellite lost contact with the plane at 8:11 am and though some wreckage was later found, the cause of the disappearance still isn’t known. 

In 1900 – The National League drops four teams, dropping from twelve teams to eight. Gone are the Cleveland Spiders, Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, and the Washington Senators, leaving teams in Chicago, New York, Brooklyn, Boston, St Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. Cleveland, Baltimore, and Washington would get American League teams the following year, while Louisville has had minor league teams since. 

In 2003 – 50 Cent is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of nine consecutive weeks with In da Club. It was the second chart single for 50 Cent and his first of four #1 songs. The song went to #1 in eight other countries, including Croatia and Switzerland, peaked at #3 in Great Britain, and was in its fourth of eight consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart. In da Club was Billboard’s #1 pop and soul song for 2003, the fourth song to accomplish the feat and the first since I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston 1993 and When Doves Cry by Prince in 1984. It has been accomplished four times since.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

To do nothing…is an immense spiritual labor.
Gore Vidal
Creation

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Elisha Gray, instrumental in the development of the telephone – is considered the father of the synthesizer, holding over 70 patents for the instrument. 

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

What was the first song in the Hot 100 era that was the #1 pop and soul song for a calendar year? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!