The Daily Dose/January 26, 2025
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 tolerates some blabbing at the hotel. Today’s Diary. 

Boy, Madam Blab was in rare form tonite…She blabbed so much she made the Gabby Chat Vortex (GCV) – itself a credible standard for measuring yappiness – seem like a mausoleum…

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Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
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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
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1967 – What would later be called Apollo 1 catches fire and kills all three astronauts during a cabin fire during a launch test at Cape Kennedy, Florida. Killed were commander Gus Grissom, plus pilots Roger Chaffee and Ed White. The cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction that rapidly spread due to combustible materials and high-pressure pure oxygen in the cabin. The mission had been scheduled to lift off on Feb 21, and manned Apollo missions were grounded until October the following year. 

In 1991 – The New York Giants win Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Tampa. It was the second of four Super Bowl titles for the Giants and their sixth of eight NFL titles. For the Bills, it was the first of four consecutive Super Bowl losses, an NFL record that still stands. It remains the only Super Bowl decided by one point and was the first of two Super Bowls with zero turnovers (SB XXXIV, St. Louis/Tennessee).

In 1962 – Joey Dee & the Starlighters are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with Peppermint Twist. It was the first of five Top 40 hits for the group, their first of two Top 10s, and remains their only #1 song. The song also peaked at #33 in Great Britain, at #38 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 25th-biggest song of the year.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The cat does not negotiate with the mouse.
Robert K Massie
Peter the Great

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Italy has hosted the Olympics three times: Winter Games in 1956 and 2006, and the Summer Games in 1960. They will host the Winter Games again in 2026. 

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

Who are the only space explorers to die in space? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/January 26, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. Donald Trump – One week in and hold on to your hats, Trump is already well on the way to forcing the People’s Republic of America down our throats…We survived his first term and we might survive this one, but enough of this ignorance and eventually America will be cast aside the scrap heap of history along with, among others, the USSR and the Roman Empire. 

2. Elon Musk – Aryan Nation members can only stand back in amazement as Musk executes a Nazi salute that would’ve had Hitler achieving and maintaining a state of arousal usually only found on porn sets…Regardless of the intent, anyone with half a brain would know not to do that, but Musk, like Trump, doesn’t have half a brain. 

3. USA! USA! – The 3-hole staple…America starts right in where it left off four years ago, accepting Donald Trump’s blather as legitimate political rhetoric, as they continue to take Trump seriously despite lying and ignorance unprecedented in a US president…US media doing it’s part, too, because Trump means ratings and clicks and nevermind there was a time when Woodward and Bernstein and Walter Cronkite would’ve had Trump out of the race before the 2016 primaries.  

4. Pete Hegseth – Few are as unqualified for a job as Hegseth is for defense secretary, but at least he’s promised not to drink on the job, which is about as good as we are going to get out of a cabinet whose sole qualification for office appears to be fitting into the slots assigned by President Trump. 

5. Donald Trump Fact Check: – Click here for the Week 1 lies and misinformation as the Ignorant-in-Chief returns to office…Courtesy of the AP. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow declines to make a joke. Today’s Diary. 

A funny line, of course, immediately popped into our head – “What, you couldn’t get into the Navy???” – but something – call it the instincts all the great ones have if you must – told me this would no go over well…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $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 1863 – US Army Major General Ambrose Burnside is relieved as commander of the Army of the Potomac by President Abraham Lincoln. The removal followed losing the Battle of Fredericksburg in December to Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E Lee. He was replaced by Major General Joseph Hooker, who lasted until June before being replaced by Major General George Meade.

In 1956 – The VII Winter Olympics open in Cortina d’Amepezzo, Italy. Thirty-two nations sent 821 athletes, and the Games marked the first Winter Olympics appearances by the Soviet Union, Bolivia, and Iran. The Soviets won the most gold (7) and overall (16) medals, with the US earning two gold medals, in men’s and women’s figure skating singles. Cortina had originally be awarded the 1944 Games that were canceled due to World War II and will, along with Lombardy and Milan, host the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

In 2002 – Usher is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second of five consecutive weeks with U Got It Bad. The song also peaked at #5 in Great Britain, peaked at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was there 64th-biggest hit of 2001 and their 18th-biggest hit of 2002. It was the third of nine #1 pop songs for Usher, who was born Usher Raymond IV in 1978. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

If the single man plants himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The Carpenter’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 was (They Long To Be) Close to You, which spent four weeks at #1 in 1970. 

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

How many Olympic Games has Italy hosted? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/January 25, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: The ignorance of President Donald Trump is as appalling as it is unsurprising. His recent skirmish with the 14th Amendment is only the most recent example. We strongly suspect it will not be the last. 

USA! USA! Earlier this week, as part of his Government by Executive Fiat program, Trump signed an executive order mandating the end to birthright citizenship. This is where anyone born in America is entitled to US citizenship, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents. Trump’s order would end this if at least one parent wasn’t a citizen. 

Fly In The Ointment: Birthright citizenship, however, is protected by the Constitution, the 14th Amendment being very clear on the matter, with Section I stating, in part, that: 

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.

That is pretty clear, and while the Constitution can be changed – the 14th Amendment itself is one of those changes – it cannot be changed unilaterally by the president, and its implementation was blocked by a federal judge in Seattle. 

Dry, Technical, Matter: The 14th Amendment is one of three amendments adopted after the Civil War that are referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments. It was sent to the several states in June 1866 and ratified two years later. 

Back On Message: This whole imbroglio is Trump in a nutshell: govern off the top of your head and bully people until you get your way. A president with some brains would’ve been fully briefed on the matter and been told such an executive order would’ve been unconstitutional. Then again, it is entirely possible Trump was briefed on the matter and ignored his briefing. It’s hard to say if no one in Trump’s inner circle tells him no or if they do and he ignores him. 

The Bottom Line: We have four more years of this nonsense. We can’t whine about it, either, because we elected it. How we got to this point, how America came to accept the lies and ignorance of Donald Trump is something all new people – including Americans, if there are any left – can debate a hundred years from now. Yesterday, we only half jokingly referred to the US as the People’s Republic of America. If you and me – we the people – don’t start paying attention, we might well end up exactly that. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s plan to help with Daniel’s car problem unravels. Today’s Diary. 

And even if [the lug wrench had fit], we were still up a creek because numbnuts had forgotten his car keys, meaning we had no way to access the trunk to get the spare…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $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 1995 – Russia prepares for a nuclear attack after Norwegian and US scientists launch a rocket carrying scientific equipment from Norway. The Russian military mistakingly took it for a US nuclear missile and activated their nuclear briefcase, giving President Boris Yelstin the option launching a retaliatory attack. Typical of the Russians, the incident was not reported to their citizens for a week, and the incident remains the closest a nuclear power has come to launcing a nuclear weapon since the US attack on Nagasaki in 1945. 

In 1894 – James J Corbett defends his world heavyweight boxing title, defeating Charley Mitchell of England in a 3rd-round knockout. It was the only successful title defense for Corbett, who had won the title from John L Sullivan in Sept 1892 and remains Mitchell’s only world title fight. Corbett lost his title to Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 and lost title fights to James Jeffries in 1900 and 1903. 

In 1975 – The Carpenters are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Please Mr Postman. It was the 15th of 16 Top 10 hits for the brother and sister duo and their third and final #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Canada, Australia, and South Africa, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 32nd-biggest song of the year. It was the second of 14 consecutive #1 songs to spend only one week at the top, a Hot 100 record that still stands. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The sportsman trains himself and primes for his particular game…After due…and long preparation…he goes out…{to a place where} most of his townsmen never saw nor dreamed of…He had them halfway in his bag when he started, he has only to shove them down.
Henry David Thoreau
Diary entry, 11/4/1858

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The other song to spend 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 was Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus in 2019.

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

What was the Carpenter’s biggest hit on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/January 24, 2025
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 sees another newborn at the hospital. Today’s Diary. 

Recall 2-3 months ago we saw a kid who was only 18 hours old, the youngest human we’d seen in over 50 years…This one was double that, 36 hours old but, honestly, it was tuff to the tell the difference…You’d think you’d be able to tell the difference – he was twice as old, after all, – but we couldn’t…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $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 1989 – Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed by electrocution at the Florida State prison in Raiford. Bundy was condemned following three murder convictions, though he would later confess to 30 murders, though the exact number of people he killed will never be known. Bundy was cremated and his ashes spread over the Cascade Mountains in Washington state. Bundy was first arrested in 1975 near Salt Lake City. 

In 1987 – Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia wins the Australian Open, defeating Martina Navratilova 7-5, 7-6. It was the second Australian Open title for Mandlikova and her fourth and final Grand Slam title and was the third and final Australian Open loss for Navratilova to go along with three titles. It was also the final Australian Open played on grass, with the tournament going to a hard court the following season. 

In 1993 – Whitney Houston is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the ninth of a then-record 14 consecutive weeks with I Will Always Love You. The 14 weeks at the top broke the record of 13 weeks established by End of the Road by Boys II Men in 1992, and the record is now 19 weeks, done twice, most recently last November by Shaboozey with A Bar Song (Tipsy). It was the tenth of eleven #1s for Houston.   

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

To succeed, they had to be awed by the magnitude of the task and be humbled, not assertive.
Walter Isaacson
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The NHL record for the highest goals against average in a season is 7.38 by the 1919-20 Quebec Bulldogs. They finished with a record of 2-20. 

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

What other song has spent 19 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/January 23, 2025
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF AMERICA: The dictatorship of Donald Trump has begun. From executive orders that are as petty as they are vindictive to pardoning his fellow insurrectionists, Donald Trump has taken charge of America. 

Fly In The Ointment: This is bad because you cannot argue with this statement: 

Donald Trump is a lying, ignorant sexual predator, a convicted felon, and a man of zero moral or intellectual substance. 

Yeah, Yeah, Whatever: Nobody cares, though. Substance isn’t important in America anymore. Character is a thing of the past, and believing something is all that matters now, whether or not it’s true. 

Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: Right now, few are willing to voice opposition to this blather. Certainly, nobody in Trump’s government will do this because failing to fit into assigned slots will get you fired. And few outside his government are saying no, either. America was afraid to say no at the ballot box, and we are afraid now. Even the Associated Press has succumbed, cooing over how Trump looked “supremely confident” at his inaugural and declining to fact-check him with the aggressiveness they did in his first term. 

America, Himmler On Line Two: It isn’t going to get any better, either, now that Trump has pardoned his fellow insurrectionists from their January 6, 2021, attempt to overthrow our government. They are free now; it’s as if it never happened. 

Ladies And Gentlemen Of The Jury: Think about this for a minute: the president now has, in essence, a private militia that is in his debt. They can do whatever they want with impunity for the next four years because they know they’ll be pardoned. 

The Bottom Line: America is going to be ridden hard and put away wet until some of us decide to say no to the lies, no to the ignorance, no to forcing a misguided worldview down our collective throats. That America has fallen for this shows a country that is merely marking time until it decides to roll over and end the American Experiment. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets his car back from the shop. Today’s Diary. 

Darrell showed us a printout of exactly what was done…Needless to say, we understood none of it…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $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 1960 – Swiss oceanographer Jaques Picard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh, riding in the bathyscaphe Trieste, become the first humans to to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest part of Earth’s seabed. The pair reached a depth of 35,814 feet following a 4 hour 47 minute decent and communications with their support ship took seven seconds each way. To date, 27 people have visited Challenger Deep, most recently in 2022. 

In 1944 – The Detroit Red Wings establish NHL records for most points and consecutive goals in a game, largest margin of victory, and tied the record most goals in a period in a 15-0 victory over the New York Rangers. The Red Wings had 37 points and eight goals in the third period, both records that have been broken over the years. The Rangers finished the season giving up an average 6.2 goals per game, the 2nd-highest total in NHL history. 

In 1965 – Petula Clark is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with Downtown. It was the first of 15 Top 40 hits for Clark, her first of six Top 10 hits and her first of two #1s. The song also went to #`1 in six other countries, including South Africa and Ireland, peaked at #2 in her native Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 6th-biggest song of the year. Future Led Zeppelin member Jimmy Page played guitar on the record. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

…he reminded himself he was not noble. He did what he wanted to do and not more.
Gore Vidal
Washington, D.C.

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Sugar Ray Robinson’s career professional boxing record was 174-19-6, with two no-contests.

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

What team holds the NHL record for highest goals against average in a season? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!