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It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Wednesday, December 27
The Front Desk Supervisor (FDS) was, by his own admission, a failure tonite…First, there were ten arrivals waiting for me, a direct and flagrant violation of the unofficial Sparrow policy (USP) which dictates that all arrivals be in-house when we report for duty.
The Daily Dose/December 27, 2023
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.
Everything is on the house today. Enjoy.
The Diary of a Nobody -Dr Sparrow is in the house. Today’s Diary.
Consider taping an ankle…Sure, your ankle is going to be sturdier, but the force it would normally absorb is distributed to the knee, which isn’t designed to take it…We could feel this using the sleeve, too…When we did hammer curls we could feel it in the shoulder, and the shoulders felt it, too, when we didn’t cable pulldowns…
The Bottom Ten/NFL Week 17 – The race for the most coveted trophy in sports – The Dan Henning Trophy, symbolic of NFL ineptitude – is winding down.
Presuming Cardinals don’t lose next two (2) games by combined 17,000-2 score, Panthers first B-10 title there for the losing…
Titans proof that you count out team that once won consecutive B-10 titles at your peril, as Titans back in familiar haunts: a late-season B-10 survey…
Coach that can’t lose the big one stigma sure to follow Bill Belichick forever as Patriots win ends dream of Belichick becoming first coach to win Super Bowl(s), B-10 title…
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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.
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1831 – English biologist Charles Darwin begins a voyage on HMS Beagle, that would result in the promulgation of his theory of evolution. The voyage, mainly a survey expedition to update nautical charts, sailed around South America to Australia, around Africa, and back to Brazil before returning to England in October 1836. Darwin’s diary would result in the 1859 book On the Origin of Species, which introduced the theory of natural selection, where species evolve throughout generations, which remains a landmark work in human letters.
In 1987 – Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks establishes a new NFL record for most career receptions in a 41-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Largent’s fifth reception of the game gave him 751, breaking the mark of 750 established by Charlie Joiner from 1969-86. Largent would retire in 1989 with 819 receptions, a mark that has been surpassed many times and is now held by Jerry Rice with 1,549.
In 1980 – John Lennon is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of five consecutive weeks with (Just Like) Starting Over. Lennon had been shot death on December 8 and the song was from the album Double Fantasy which was in its first of eight consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The song went to #1 in five other countries, including Austria and Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 4th-biggest song of 1981. It was the second and final #1 song for Lennon as a solo act and was the fourth of eight posthumous #1s on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
At last I had the authority to give direction over the whole scene. I felt as if I were walking with Destiny, and that all my past life had been but preparation for this hour and this trial.
Winston Churchill
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The Soviet Union was established in 1922.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was the most recent posthumous #1 song on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!
The Bottom Ten is on the house this week.
The Bottom Ten/NFL Week 17
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
A two (2)-win team, a three (3)-win team, and a four (4)-win team that has lost six straight…It’s not the losingest Bottom Ten medal stand ever, but the race for The Dan Henning Trophy – symbolic of professional Bottom Ten ineptitude – promises to deliver key turnovers, false starts, and missed tackles right up to the final losses.
And the reign of the NFC South has been blown wide open, with the Pete Rozelle Award – issued to the NFL’s worst division – replaced by conference honors for the first time in 2023: the Ray Malavasi Pin (NFC) and the Marv Levy Broach (AFC).
This week’s mess, as the nags limp down the home stretch:
1. Carolina Panthers (2-13; lost to Green Bay 33-30) – Gut-check, thrilling close loss moves Panthers back into B-10 top spot…Presuming Cardinals don’t lose next two (2) games by combined 17,000-2 score, Panthers first B-10 title there for the losing…Next Loss: at Jacksonville
The Diary is free for the rest of the year.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Sunday, December 26
Here was the Coke Order (CO) for the week:
The Daily Dose/December 26, 2023
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.
Read Free Week continues at The Diary.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s Christmas prime rib ends up OK after a rough start. Today’s Diary.
Following specific, supposedly expert directions, we put it in the oven for 42 minutes at 500° and then shut the oven off and left it in for two hours…This produced a prime rib that was so rare it all but mooed when we stuck a knife in it…
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Click here to get 4Ever & Ever access for only $8.99 before the January price increase to a whopping $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 1991 – The Soviet Union formally ceases to exist, when its highest body – the Supreme Soviet – votes itself and the country out of existence. The day before Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had resigned and ceded authority to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, with the Russian flag replacing the Soviet flag over the Kremlin. The result gave independence to the 15 constituent republics of the former USSR, though some had already declared and assumed independence.
In 1943 – The Chicago Bears win the NFL title with a 41-21 victory over the Washington Redskins at Wrigley Field. It was the sixth of nine NFL championships/Super Bowl titles for the Bears and the second of five runner-up finishes for the Redskins. The Bears had made the championship game by winning the Western Division, while the week before the Redskins had defeated the New York Giants in a tie-breaker for the Eastern Division title.
In 2021 – Mariah Carey becomes the second act to hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with the same song in different chart runs when All I Want For Christmas Is You is at #1 for the first of three consecutive weeks. The song had first gone to #1 in 2020 and would return to #1 in 2022 and this past Saturday and to date has spent nine weeks at #1. Carey and Walter Afanasieff wrote it and remains the only song to hit #1 more than twice. The first song to go to #1 in separate chart runs was The Twist by Chubby Checker (1960, 1962).
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…all natural inclinations are either without God or against Him.
Martin Luther
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The first #1 song on a Billboard country singles – the Most Played Juke Box Folk Records Chart on January 8 – was Pistol Packin’ Mama. There were five versions of the song – all involving Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, and Al Dexter – that were combined into one entry and spent seven weeks at #1.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
When was the Soviet Union founded? – Answer next time!
Read Free Week (RFW) continues at The Diary. It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Monday, December 25
The AGM said I could be late tonite…Everybody was working shorter shifts today and while it wasn’t particularly practical to let ol’ Sparrow come in whenever the hell he wanted, last nite the AGM said I could come in at half-past if I wanted to…Well, that wasn’t particularly practical either…Ol’ Sparrow likes his routine and it wasn’t as if the extra half-hour would’ve done any good…Besides, it would’ve just thrown me a half-hour my usual schedule.
The Daily Dose/December 25, 2023
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 is free through the end of the year.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow procures the holiday prime rib. Today’s Diary.
Plus, we’ve made pretty good prime ribs in the past and while we didn’t get that boxed deep-fried shrimp like we have in the past, we did get those tin biscuits we like, so it shouldn’t be too bad of a meal…
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Click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever access is only $8.99, steal. It goes up to $24.99 on Jan 1.
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 1776 – General George Washington and Continental Army troops cross the Delaware River from Bucks County, Pennsylvania to a bit north of Trenton, New Jersey where the following day they would attack and defeat mostly Hessian troops fighting for Great Britain. The Battle of Trenton was a decisive American victory, with about two-thirds of the enemy surrendering or being captured. The victory followed several defeats in New York for the Continental Army, which spurred morale and enlistments.
In 1971 – The Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs play the longest game in NFL history in a 27-24 Dolphins win in the opening round of the NFL playoffs. The Dolphins won the game on a field goal in the second overtime after 82 minutes and 40 seconds of play. The Chiefs’ Ed Podolak had 350 all-purpose yards, still the NFL playoff record and the following week the Dolphins would beat the Balitmore Colts for the AFC title and would later lose to the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl.
In 1961 – Leroy Van Dyke is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot C&W Sides chart – for the tenth of a then-country chart record 19 non-consecutive weeks with Walk On By. Van Dyke would break the record of 14 weeks which had been done twice since Billboard consolidated their country charts in October 1958. The record stood until 2013-14 when Florida Georgia Line spent 24 weeks at #1 with Cruise and the record is now 50 weeks, but Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line with Meant To Be. It was the second of three Top 10 hits for Van Dyke and remains his only #1 song.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
But for the chosen there is no choice.
Saul Bellow
Ravelstein
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The NBA record for fewest rebounds in one game is 19, by the Seattle SuperSonics on April 14, 1999.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was the first #1 song on a Billboard country singles chart? – Answer next time!
Friends, it’ Read Free Week (RFW) at the site.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Sunday, December 24
The AGM was there when we reported for duty at the hotel tonite…He reported the key system still wasn’t working properly tho – in an upgrade from last nite – AGM said you could make keys on the right station – Sparrow’s home station – and why others thought differently wasn’t clear…(This proved to be true when we made some keys for a walk-in.)…He noted tho, that whenever Home Office Tech Support (HOTS) favors him with a callback, there will be no small amount of work to do, tho the technical specs he gave more or less went right over my head.
The Daily Dose/December 24, 2023
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.
The Sunday Bottom 5 will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
Yay for Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow sees an assortment of pretty girls at the gym. Today’s Diary.
…including one whose paperwork for admittance into the Sparrow Wheelhouse (SW) was about to be submitted when it was discovered she had hair under her arms.
———
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 1968 – Man arrives at another terrestrial body for the first time when the crew of Apollo 8 – Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders – go into lunar orbit. The crew would orbit the moon ten times, returned to Earth on Dec 27, and the crew was chosen as Time magazine’s Men of the Year. Though humans would walk on the moon the following July, Apollo 8 remains a landmark in human exploration. Due to a NASA edict, their spacecraft was never named.
In 1960 – The Boston Celtics establish a new NBA record for most rebounds in a game in a 150-106 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics had 109 rebounds to break the record of 105 they had established in January and the record still stands. Of the nine times a team has gotten at least 100 rebounds in a game, the Celtics and Bill Russell have done it six times and the other three games involved the Philadelphia Warriors and Wilt Chamberlain. Some sources list the mark as 112 rebounds.
In 1983 – Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the third of six consecutive weeks with Say Say Say. The song went to #1 in six other countries, including Italy and Norway, peaked at #2 in Great Britain and on Billboard’s soul chart, was Billboard’s 3rd-biggest song of 1984 and its 8th-biggest of the decade. It was the second and final hit for the duo and remains their only #1 song together.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
A cosmos without known cause or fate is an intellectual prison; we long to believe that the great drama has a just author and a noble end.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. VI: The Reformation
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Chic’s last appearance on a Billboard singles chart came in 2015 when I’ll Be There spent one week at #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What team holds the NBA record for fewest rebounds in a game? – Answer next time!
Sure, it’s Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary. Enjoy.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, December 23
The big news at the hotel is not only is the key system still down it is, in fact, worse off than when we left Wednesday morning…I am not making that up.
