The Daily Dose/April 9, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off remains in time out while we work on a project. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow celebrates his third anniversary as VSO. Today’s Diary. 

I can still remember Stanko and Rick corralling me after a Legion post meeting and them telling me Natalie…will be resigning as VSO and they demanded I put in for it…Well, that’s not completely accurate but, on the other hand, it wasn’t completely false, either: there was Stanko holding the national colors in one hand and the POW flag in the other while Rick hummed The Battle Hymn of the Republic and ol’ Sparrow, still married at the time, knew an order when he heard one. 

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It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
History’s long march. 

Editor’s Note: today’s entries are from April 8 as April 9 entries ran yesterday. Apologies are issued. 

In 1908 – Harvard University establishes the Harvard Business School (HBS). Women began receiving instruction in 1954 when the school took over an administration course from Radcliffe University and first received admission into the full MBA program in 1962. Today HBS is located in Boston and has its own endowment of $3.5 billion and is consistently ranked amongst the best business schools on the planet.  

In 1995 – Bruce Seldon defeats Tony Tucker for the vacant WBA heavyweight title via a TKO when the fight doctor stopped the fight after the 7th round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Seldon would defend the title in August but lose it to Mike Tyson in a first-round KO in 1996. It was the fourth of five heavyweight title fights for Tucker, who had held the IBF heavyweight title in 1987. The WBA had stripped George Foreman of the title after he had refused to fight Tucker. 

In 2000 – Santana featuring The Product G&B is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of ten consecutive weeks with Maria Maria. The song went to #1 in six other countries, peaked at #6 in Great Britain, was in its first of three consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was its third-biggest song of the year and its 14th-biggest of the decade. Maria Maria was the 14th song to have spent at least ten weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, a figure that is now up to 30, and was the second and most recent #1 song for Santana and remains the only Top 40 hit for The Product G&B. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

I recognized at once the look of the official who does not know if one is about to be executed or raised to the throne.
Gore Vidal
Julian

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The first non-European to win the British Open was Walter Hagen of the US in 1922. The year before Jock Hutchison, a naturalized US citizen born in Scotland, had won it.  

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

What was the most recent song to spend at least ten weeks at #1 on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!

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

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off remains in time out while we work on a project. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s quest to do as little possible was neither arduous nor unrewarded. Today’s Diary. 

…ol’ Sparrow really wasn’t in too much of a mood to leave the house and after further consideration of the day’s plans, ol’ Sparrow turned out to be completely open to not doing whatever he didn’t want 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
History’s long march.

Editor’s note: each of today’s entries happened on April 9. We regret, though are not completely surprised by, the error.

In 1388 – Severely outnumbered Swiss troops defeat Austrian troops at the Battle of Nafels in northwest Switzerland. After retreating following earlier reverses, four hundred Swiss troops caught approximately sixteen hundred Austrians by surprise after emerging from snow and fog while the Austrians plundered after their presumed victory. The win was one in a series of battles between the two and proved decisive, with a peace treaty being concluded the following year. 

In 1880 – Bob Ferguson of Scotland wins the British Open by five strokes over fellow Scot Peter Paxton at the Musselburgh Links in northeast Scotland. It was the first three – all consecutive – British Open wins for Ferguson and was the third of six Opens played at the course. Musselburgh’s influence on golf remains, as they were the originator of the four-and-one-quarter-inch diameter golf hole that was made standard in 1893. 

In 1966 – The Righteous Brothers are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration. It was their ninth of eleven Top 40 hits, their fourth of six Top 10 hits, and was their second and final #1 song. The song also peaked at #15 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s 12th-biggest song of the year. In 1978 a version by Donny and Marie Osmond peaked at #38 on the Hot 100 and in 1991 a version by the Oak Ridge Boys peaked at #31 on Billboard’s country chart.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Every man is to be respected as an absolute end in himself; and it is a crime against the dignity that belongs to him as a human being, to use him as a mere means for some external purpose.
Immanuel Kant

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The most claimants the Catholic Church has had to the papacy is three – a Roman pope and antipopes in Avignon and Pisa – from 1409-15. 

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

Who was the first non-European to win the British Open? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/April 7, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off remains in time out while we work on a project. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has a moderate thrill counting a cash drawer. Today’s Diary. 

…the cash in both the left and right drawers was one five-dollar bill away from being identical…I am not making that up, either…There are two twenties, one ten, and 29 ones in each drawer, the only fly in the ointment being the right drawer had 19 fives while the left drawer only had 18.

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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
History’s long march. 

In 1449 – Felix V renounces his claim to the papacy, ending his reign as antipope and acknowledging the primacy of Pope Nicholas V. Felix, also known as Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, had been elected by the Council of Florence in 1439 during the papacy of Pope Eugene IV due to a dispute that is, thankfully, beyond the scope of this feature. Felix V remains the last of the antipopes, a phenomenon that had first surfaced with Natalius late in the second century. 

In 1896 – Robert Garrett of the United States wins the shot put at the first modern Olympiad, the Athens Summer Olympics. Garrett threw the shot 36 feet, 9.7 inches to beat a field that included two Americans, two Greeks, two Germans and one Dane. The day before Garrett had won the discus, becoming the first of two men two win both events at the game Games. (Bob Hauser, US, Paris, 1924.)  Garrett also won silver medals in the high jump and long jump and in 1900 at Paris took bronze medals in the shot put and standing triple jump. 

In 1990 – Taylor Dayne is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Love Will Lead You Back. It was the sixth of seven Top 10 hits for Dayne – all consecutive – her sixth of nine Top 40 hits and remains her only #1 song. The song also peaked at #2 in Canada, at #69 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 28th-biggest song of the year. Dayne’s last appearance on a Billboard chart came in 2011 when Floor on Fire peaked at #7 on the dance chart. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

He was content to wait for history, and the rest of the Continental Congress, to catch up with him.
Walter Isaacson
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The California Highway Patrol was founded in 1929. It absorbed the California State Police in 1995. 

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

What are the most claimants to the papacy the Catholic Church has had at any one time.? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/April 6, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off remains in time out while we work on a project. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – At the hotel, Sparrow reports the creamers situation has stabilized somewhat. Today’s Diary. 

…there are now satisfactory supplies of half & half, French vanilla, and hazelnut, tho it must be noted that French vanilla is now the same CoffeeMate brand that hazelnut recently switched to…The great unknown, tho, is whether our regular supplier is providing this or whether we’ve found another creamer guy.

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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
History’s long march. 

In 1970 – Four California Highway Patrol officers are shot to death within five minutes of each other in Valencia, north of Los Angeles. Officers Walt Frago and Roger Gore had pulled over Bobby Davis and Jack Twinning, who opened fire after a few minutes. Backup officers George Alleyn and James Pence were shot on arrival and Davis and Twinning escaped, with Davis later arrested after stealing a car, while Twinning killed himself. It remains the deadliest day in the history of California law enforcement. 

In 1988 – Pat Borders of the Toronto Blue Jays ties the major league record for most RBIs in a major league debut in an 11-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Borders went 3-for-4 with a triple and five RBIs to tie the record established by Walter Mueller of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1922 and later tied by Joe Cunningham of the St Louis Cardinals in 1954. The record is now six, by Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs, on May 7, 2010.

In 1974 – Blue Swede is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Hooked on a Feeling. It was the first of four chart singles for the group, their first of two Top 40 and Top 10 hits, and remains their only #1 song. The song also peaked at #2 in Canada and was the first #1 song by a Swedish act on the Hot 100. The song was written by Mark James, who had also written Suspicious Minds, and in 1969 a version by B.J. Thomas had peaked at #5 on the Hot 100. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

He was of the opinion that many matters took care of themselves as long as one didn’t stir them up. And he was not often wrong about this.
John Toland
Adolf Hitler

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Billboard’s biggest soul song of 1980 was Let’s Get Serious by Jermaine Jackson, which spent six weeks at #1. 

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

When was the California Highway Patrol founded? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/April 5, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

Leading Off remains in time out while we work on a project. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s Morning Coffee Service travails continue. Today’s Diary. 

So you go tactical and infiltrate the restaurant – easy when you have the key – and scrounge their coffee supply…It’s the same coffee and, fortunately, they had the same size packets we use…Longtime readers of this crap may – or they may not – recall this isn’t always the case; sometimes they have those large, industrial-size packets…

———

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
History’s long march. 

In 1879 – Chile declares war on a coalition consisting of Bolivia and Peru, over coastal lands Chile wants but are possessed by the other two countries. The war ended in a Chilean victory in 1883 that resulted in both Peru and Bolivia ceding territory to Chile, though some territories were returned in the 20th century, though Bolivia remained landlocked. History refers to this as, among other names, the War of the Pacific. 

In 1981 – The Philadelphia Flyers establish a new NHL record for most penalty minutes in a season in a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers. The Flyers had four penalty minutes, to finish the season with 2,621 penalty minutes, breaking the record of 1,967 minutes they had established in the 1975-76 season. The record has been broken four times since and is now held by the Buffalo Sabres, who had 2,713 penalty minutes in the 1991-92 season.

In 1980 – Stomp! By the Brothers Johnson is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Soul Singles chart – for the first of two consecutive weeks. The song also went #1 pop in New Zealand, peaked at #6 in Great Britain, and peaked at #7 on the Hot 100. It was the fourth of 17 soul hits for the duo, their third and final soul #1, and their fourth of six Hot 100 hits. The brothers, Louis and George, broke up in 1982 to pursue solo projects and Louis died in 2015. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The priest did not create religion, he merely used it; Religion arises…out of the persistent wonder, fear, insecurity, hopefulness, and loneliness of men…The priest…consoled the weak in their inevitable exploitation by the strong and he…propped up with supernatural aid the precarious structure of human morality.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol I: Our Oriental Heritage

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The NHL record for most points in a season by someone not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux is held by Steve Yzerman, who had 155 points in the 1988-89 season. The total is good for 14th on the all-time list. 

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

What was Billboard’s biggest soul song of 1980? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!