The Daily Dose/Saturday, January 29, 2022
The Daily Dose/January 29, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently right now.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the veterans service office (VSO), Sparrow fields a phone call. Today’s Diary.
…and he regularly calls me about things that are beyond the scope and interest of a VSO…Today he was in rare form, announcing he’d received a letter from Social Security declaring his checks would be getting withheld at a 15% rate…Why is this, he wondered his tone, as always, implying it’s in my hands now.
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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.
———
On This Date
History’s long march.
In 1856 – Queen Victoria of Great Britain establishes the Victoria Cross for valor by members of the British military in the Crimean War, which would end the following month. Since its inception, a total of 1,355 men have won the award, including three who have won it twice. The Victoria Cross is awarded for “conspicuous bravery…in the presence of the enemy” and the Victoria Cross has been awarded only 15 times since World War II, most recently in 2013 for valor in Afghanistan.
In 1964 – The 9th Winter Olympics open in Innsbruck, Austria. The Soviet Union won the most gold medals (11) and the most total medals (25) and the only US gold medal was won in 500-meter speed skating by Terry McDermott. As sometimes happens, sufficient snow refused to fall and the Austrian Army had to import snow from a pass near the Italian border. The Winter Olympics would return to Innsbruck twelve years later when the original host city, Denver, backed out.
In 1966 – The Beatles are at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the fourth of six consecutive weeks with Rubber Soul. It was the seventh of 19 #1 albums for the group and the North American release produced zero chart singles. The album sold 1.2 million copies in its first nine days, an unprecedented total in an era when singles generally outsold albums and the record also spent eight weeks at #1 in Great Britain.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
I only learned all this from the losses. Losses turn to lessons.
Wes Watson
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Billboard’s #1 song of 1989 was Look Away by Chicago, which spent two weeks at #1, eight weeks in the Top 10 and 24 weeks in the Hot 100.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many nations participated in the 1964 Winter Olympics? – Answer next time!
The Diary of a Nobody/January 28
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Friday, January 28
Madam Public Health Director was by for our sort-of-weekly meeting in the hot spring this morning…She had a variety of talking points this morning and, because I asked, she told me conditions on the mountain were starting to deteriorate because we haven’t had decent snow in a while…She’s an avid skier and she noted that she and her husband were up there this past weekend and it was still OK, but there was more ice than anyone liked to see and the first brown patches are starting to be seen.
The Daily Dose/Friday, January 28, 2022
The Daily Dose/January 28, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently right now.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow is so committed to a strong day off he doesn’t even clean house. Today’s Diary.
In the interests of hygiene, however, dishes were washed and the cat’s stuff attended to…Laundry, however, was not done and, of course, you can forget about vacuuming…
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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 1896 – History’s first speeding conviction is handed down in Kent, England when one Walter Arnold – a local automobile dealer – is fined one shilling plus court costs for driving his “horseless carriage” 8 mph in a 2 mph zone. Speed limits had first been introduced in Great Britain with the first Locomotive Act in 1861 and it is estimated that worldwide 1.3 million people die in traffic accidents every year. Speed limits are almost universal now, though there are roads in, among other places, Germany, the Isle of Man, and India that do not have speed limits.
In 1940 – Les Cunningham of the Chicago Blackhawks ties the NHL record for most points in a period in an 8-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Cunningham had five points on two goals and three assists in the third period to tie a mark done twice previously. The mark was tied on many other occasions before being broken by Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders who had six points in the second period of a December 1978 win over the New York Rangers. That mark was tied in March of last year by Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers.
In 1989 – Phil Collins is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second and final week with Two Hearts, the sixth of seven #1 songs for Collins. The song also went to #1 in Denmark, Japan, and Canada, peaked at #6 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 220th-biggest song of the year. The song was from the soundtrack to the movie Buster and earned the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for Collins and co-writer Lamont Dozier.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcoming…
Theodore Roosevelt
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Billy Joel has had four #1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Billboard’s #1 song of 1989? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Thursday, January 27, 2022
The Daily Dose/January 27, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently right now.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the veterans service office, Sparrow has trouble sending a fax. Today’s Diary.
He called to apologize and give me the correct prefix and we had an appropriate laff over that and then BOOM the two or three times I tried to send it to that number there wasn’t any answer, either…I even called it on the office phone just for funsies and after several dozen rings, the phone line got worn out and said the hell with it and stopped ringing …The line didn’t cut off and return to the dial tone, it merely went dead…
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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 1776 – Knox’s Expedition – a caravan led by Col. Henry Knox carrying heavy weaponry captured from the British at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga – arrives outside Boston to aid the Continental Army. Long regarded as a paramount feat of military logistics, Knox’s unit moved 60 tons of armament 300 miles in the dead of winter. Knox, then 25, was a bookseller in Boston before the Revolution and would later serve President Washington as secretary of war before retiring in 1794.
In 1991 – The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium. It was the second of four Super Bowl wins for the Giants and the first of a record four consecutive Super Bowl defeats for the Bills. The national anthem was performed by Whitney Houston and the Florida Orchestra and the halftime show was headlined by the New Kids on the Block, though ABC aired it after the game, preferring to air an update on Operation Desert Storm, which had begun on Jan 17.
In 1979 – Billy Joel is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the eighth and final non-consecutive week with 52nd Street. The album also went to #1 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, peaked at #10 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s biggest album of the year. 52nd Street also earned Joel Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Album of the Year and yielded three chart singles, including the #3 hit My Life. 52nd Street refers to the street in New York City where both Joel’s record company his recording studio were located.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Mere longevity is a good thing for those who watch life from the sidelines. For those who play the game, an hour may be a year, a single day’s work an achievement for an eternity.
Gabriel Heatter
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The record for the most points scored in a US high school, college or professional game is 138 by Jack Taylor of Grinnell College in Iowa on November 20, 2012. Taylor shot 108 total field goals, a bit more than two-and-a-half per minute.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many #1 albums has Billy Joel had on the Billboard 200 album chart.? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Wednesday, January 26, 2022
The Daily Dose/January 26, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently right now.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the hotel, Sparrow fields a complaint about the coffee. Today’s Diary.
She might have a point…It’s a light European roast designed to alert you to your day’s duties and not prepare you to build an overpass…Typically, ol’ Sparrow apologized and noted we try to keep it mellow here at the hotel, not really wanting to put hair on your chest.
———
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 1966 – Three children – Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont, ages nine, seven and four – disappear from a beach in southeastern Australia. Witnesses reported seeing the children with a man in his 30s and while there were later sightings of them, they were never found and are presumed to have been kidnapped and murdered. Though there were a variety of suspects, there were never any arrests in the case, which has since fascinated Australians and has long been considered close. Mr and Mrs Beaumont later separated, with Mrs Beaumont dying in 2021.
I960 – Danny Heater of Burnsville High School in West Virginia establishes a new high school record for most points scored in a game in a 173-43 win over Widen High School. Heater had 135 points in the game to break the record of 120 points done by Dick Bogenrife of Canaan, Ohio in 1953. The total might have been more, but Heater didn’t really want to set a record and didn’t shoot for the first couple of minutes. Heater later attended Richmond University but, homesick, left after six weeks. Still alive, Heater lives in eastern West Virginia retired after a long career with Delta Airlines,
In 1974 – Ringo Starr is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with You’re Sixteen. It was the fourth Top 40 hit for Starr as a solo act, his fourth of eight Top 10 hits and his second and final #1 song (Photograph, one week, 1973). The song also went to #1 in New Zealand, peaked at #4 in Great Britain and a version by Johnny Burnette peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 in 1960.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
It is undeniable, however, that despite the suddenness of his advent, he had been long preparing for this emergence.
John C Miller
Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The longest-running show in worldwide broadcast history is The Grand Ole Opry, which has been on the air on WSM Nashville since 1925.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the record for the most points scored in an American prep, collegiate or professional game? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Tuesday, January 25, 2022
The Daily Dose/January 25, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently right now.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the hotel, Sparrow fields a complaint from a guest. Today’s Diary.
– What’s wrong, ma’am???
Yours truly has some zero clue what to expect because he’s taking her seriously.
– There isn’t a doggie here for me to play with!!!
———
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 1937 – The Guiding Light debuts on NBC Radio, a 15-minute originating in Chicago. The show would move to CBS Radio in 1947 and to CBS TV in 1956 where it aired until its cancelation in 2009. The show would expand to 30 minutes in 1968 and to an hour-long show in 1977. With an on-air history spanning 72 years, The Guiding Light remains the 5th-longest-running show in broadcast history and the title refers to a lamp placed in an early character’s window so people could find his house.
In 1924 – The first Winter Olympics – then known as the International Winter Sports Week – begin in Chamonix, France. 258 athletes from 16 nations competed, with the first gold medal won by Charles Jewtraw of the US in 500-meter speed skating. Previously, winter sports had been contested at the Summer Olympics and the Winter and Summer Olympics would be held in the same year through 1992 when the Winter Games were then held two years after the Summer Games.
In 1992 – Color Me Badd is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with All 4 Love. It was the third and final Top 10 hit for the group and their second and final #1 song, following I Adore Mi Amor, which had spent two weeks at #1 the previous September. The song also went to #1 in New Zealand, peaked at #5 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s 9th-biggest song of the year.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
I grant you there are gods, but they don’t care what men do, else it would go well with the good and ill with the bad – which rarely happens.
Ennius
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980 was won by Fame. written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the longest-running show in worldwide broadcast history? – Answer next time!