The Daily Dose/August 24, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience. 

Leading Off is running intermittently for the time being, while we work on a project. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow changes his brand of lip balm. Today’s Diary. 

Unfortunately, that wonderful compound appears to have run its course because for the last couple of weeks or so the frequency of applications have been increasing to the point where they were more or less constant the past couple of days. 

The Bottom Ten/2021 Preseason Q&A – The Bottom Ten pollsters are vaccinated with bar tabs dusted off and are raring to go as the races for coveted spots on the NCAA and NFL Bottom Ten medal stands begins. 

Q: Speaking of B-10 TitleTrak Radar, are any opening week matchups showing up?
A: Of course there are. Your Bottom Ten pollsters take notice anytime B-10 perpetuals New Mexico State and UTEP take the field and not only are both playing this weekend but they are playing each other! 

Editor’s Note: The Bottom Ten will be free through the Week 3 surveys. After that, get our your credit cards. 

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It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
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———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1349 – 6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, Germany, blamed for the outbreak of the Black Plague, which had begun in Europe the previous year. The Jews initially resisted, killing about 200 of their attackers, before being forced to barricade themselves in their homes, which were then burned. Jews had been in Germany since the 10th century and over the centuries had been expelled, beaten or killed several times. 

In 1905 – The Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies tie the major league for the longest game in a 2-1 Cubs win. The teams played 20 innings to tie the record established by the Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds in 1892. The game was scoreless after nine innings and each team got a run in the 13th. The record was broken the following year by a 25-inning game by the Philadelphia A’s and the Boston Red Sox and the record is now 26-innings by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves in 1920. 

In 1974 – Eric Clapton is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the second of four consecutive weeks with 461 Ocean Boulevard. The album also peaked at #1 in Canada and at #4 in Great Britain and the album produced two Top 40 hits including the #1 song I Shot the Sheriff. It was the first of three #1 albums for Clapton as a solo act and his fifth overall, including albums with Cream and Blind Faith. The title is the address of the house in Golden Beach, Florida where Clapton lived while recording the album. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

For Adams, the American Revolution was about opportunity: the opportunity for the people to govern themselves and the opportunity for an individual to achieve whatever his merit could earn.
John Ferling
Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Glen Cambell won ten Grammy Awards during his career: six performance, three Hall of Fame and one Lifetime Achievement awards. 

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

How many #1 albums as a solo act did Eric Clapton have in his native Great Britain? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/August 23, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience. 

Leading Off is running intermittently for the time being. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – A room at the hotel is considered a crime scene. Today’s Diary. 

Amy said the guy looked “sort of creepy” but added “so do a lot of our guests”, also noting his email address seemed odd, leading ol’ Sparrow to get off what must be considered a Line of the Year candidate. 

– What was it, grim reaper at death dot com?

Actually, you don’t have to be Joe Friday to know letting some blood really isn’t a crime…Unless it’s not yours, of course…

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Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1784 – Four counties in eastern North Carolina form an independent republic known as the State of Franklin. Franklin eventually applied to Congress for statehood, however only seven of the 13 states voted for it, two less than the two-thirds required. Franklin existed for four-and-a-half years before being reabsorbed into North Carolina, which eventually ceded it to the US government and it is now part of the state of Tennessee. 

In 1947 – The Maynard Midgets defeat Lock Haven 16-7 in the championship game of the first Little League World Series – then known as the National Little League Tournament – in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. With the exception of a team from Hammonton, New Jersey, all the teams were from Pennsylvania. The first foreign team (Montreal) appeared in 1952, the first foreign team (Monterrey, Mexico) won it in 1957 and the tournament moved to its current location in South Williamsport in 1959. 

In 1975 – Glen Campbell is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the first of three non-consecutive weeks with Rhinestone Cowboy. The song also went #1 country and pop in Canada, peaked at #4 in Great Britain, would later spend two weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 and was Billboard’s second-biggest song of the year. It was the fourth of five country #1s for Campbell and his first of two Hot 100 #1s.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

Dirt thrown on a Mud-wall may stick…but it will not long adhere to polish’d Marble.
Benjamin Franklin

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

Margaret Osbourne duPont holds the US Open record for most consecutive titles won with ten straight mixed doubles titles – with two different partners – from 1941-50. 

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

How many Grammy Awards did Glen Campbell win during his career? – Answer next time!

Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here. 

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The Daily Dose/August 22, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. COVID-19 – Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “pretty sure” that had COVID struck under presidents FDR or Reagan both of them would have provided inspiration required to have America vaccinated before you could say “delta variant”…Get vaccinated, dammit…Your contrariness is holding up progress. 

2. Afghanistan – Ending America’s longest war – undeclared by Congress, of course – would have been challenging for Son of Man under these circumstances as Afghani fighters decided not to resist Taliban…American military could’ve spent 20 years training nuns with better results. 

3. Lauren Daigle – Back in familiar 3-hole, though single ‘You Say’ remains in runner-up spot on Billboard’s Hot Christan Songs chart for second straight week…It’s the song’s 158th non-consecutive week on chart, with 132 of them at #1, a Billboard all-chart record…Envious Morman Tabernacle Choir still has sights set on similar chart run, now looking to team with Kenny G for smooth jazz version of 23rd Psalm.

4. Donald Trump Supporters – Dropped to 4-hole this week, former president remains a lying sexual predator who believes the moon is part of Mars…And that the Revolution was won by the securing of British airports…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters remain “pretty sure” asking Trump supporters which of these elements continues to solidify their support still reasonable question. 

5. The Bottom Ten – An American classic, the more or less distinguished feature ranking worst college and pro football teams returns this Tuesday as no less than seven college teams and the Jacksonville Jaguars return to defend titles…In accordance with terms of NAFTA, moderate Canadian presence is anticipated, too. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Yay for Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary. Seriously.

The Diary of a Nobody – At the hotel, Sparrow deals with a dolt on the phone. Today’s Diary. 

…why did he verify the hotel and location???…I provided both when I answered the phone…Plus, he hardly gets the Joe Friday Junior Detective Award because our phone number, of course, has the common local prefix.  

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Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1642 – The English Civil War begins when King Charles II raises the royal standard at Nottingham against Parliamentarians led by Robert Deveraux. The English Civil War was actually three wars, ultimately ending at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 where Oliver Cromwell defeated Charles II, who escaped to France. Cromwell, who declined the throne, became Lord Protector of England in 1653. Charles regained the throne following Cromwell’s death in 1658 and reigned until his death in 1685. 

In 1885 – Richard Sears of the US wins his fifth consecutive US Open tennis tournament – then known as the US National Championship – defeating Godfrey Brinley of the US 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. It was the fifth US Open and Sears would go on to win the tournament in 1886 and 1887 and remains the only player to win seven consecutive US Open singles titles. Sears also won six consecutive doubles titles from 1882-87. 

In 1960 – Elvis Presley is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second of five consecutive weeks with It’s Now or Never. The song also went to #1 in nine other countries, including South Africa, Norway and Great Britain, peaked at #7 on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s seventh-biggest song of the year. It was the 14th of 18 #1 songs on the Hot 100 for Presley, a figure that ranks third behind Mariah Carey (19) and the Beatles (20). It was also Elvis’ 16th of 19 Top 10 hits on Billboard’s soul chart. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

…you are deluded by men who are either deceived themselves or wish to deceive you.
Andrew Jackson

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The US has beaten seven countries in Olympic gold medal basketball games: France, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Spain three times, and Canada, Serbia and Croatia once. 

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

What player holds the US Open record for most consecutive titles won? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/August 21, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience. 

FORECAST: DRY TECHNICAL MATTER: Yesterday in our popular On This Date segment we noted that in 1919 Joe Wilhoit of the Wichita Jobbers had his 69-game hitting streak snapped, a mark which remains an all-time professional baseball record. We don’t usually highlight minor league accomplishments here, but one that is an all-time professional baseball record can generally pique our interest. 

Batting Second, Dry, Technical Matter: It was a challenging item to write for two reasons: initially we could not find the score of the game anywhere and we came across several figures for Wilhoit’s batting average during the streak, anywhere from .505 to .515. 

Oh, Jesus H: We were actually prepared to run the item without his batting average during the streak but the Official On This Date style book mandates we have the score of the game and we were obliged to refer to the old standby when you can’t find something from a trusted website: the newspaper. 

Dry, Technical Matter: GO!: Once we renewed our account at newspapers.com it was easy and we quickly found an account of the game in the Wichita Beacon. Not only did they have the score, but they also had Wilhoit’s batting totals for the streak – which didn’t match anything we’d found online, which is OK because our experience has shown that newspapers are pretty accurate in these matters. Or, accurate enough for our purposes because while we enjoy researching crap like this like few others, we didn’t research every box score during the streak. 

The Bottom Line: Uh, there really isn’t a bottom line here, except to point out the lengths we go to sometimes for this column because it’s important to us that you have something both accurate and interesting to read every day. Oh, and The Bottom Ten starts next Tuesday. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow continues to get his rest. Today’s Diary. 

14.5 hours for the day – a wonderful total and perhaps a Friday record – and 43.0 hours for the week, another fine total heading into the week-ending Saturday Sleep Session (SSS). 

———

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1883 – What would become the Mayo Clinic is formed in the aftermath of a tornado in the area of Rochester, Minnesota. The tornado killed at least 37 people and injured more than 200 and due to there not being a hospital in the area a local dance hall was set up to treat the injured. The makeshift hospital was staffed by local doctors William Mayo, his sons William and Charles and a nurse from a local religious order. Today the Mayo Clinic also has major hospitals in California, Arizona and Florida and remains one of the world’s most respected hospital systems. 

In 2016 – The United States wins the men’s Olympic basketball gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, defeating Serbia 96-66. The United States went 8-0 in the tournament, the third consecutive Olympics they’d gone undefeated in. It was the third consecutive gold medal for the Americans and their 14th overall. The US added their 15th men’s basketball gold medal earlier this month at the Beijing Games. 

In 1976 – Mickey Gilley is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the only week with Bring It On Home To Me.  It was the sixth of 16 #1 country songs for Gilley and his seventh of 32 Top 10 country hits. The song also went #1 country in Canada and peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. The song was originally a 1962 hit for Sam Cooke – #2 soul, #13 Hot 100 – and remains one of the few songs to chart on all three major Billboard singles charts.   

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

The principle of democracy is freedom, the principle of war is discipline; each requires the absence of the other.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. III: Caesar to Christ

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The only professional baseball player besides Joe Wilhoit to have a hitting streak of at least 60 consecutive games was Joe Dimaggio, who hit in 61 consecutive games for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1933.  

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

How many different countries has the US defeated in Olympic gold medal basketball games? – Answer next time!

Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.  

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The Daily Dose/August 20, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience. 

Leading Off is running intermittently for the time being. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s quest to do nothing is neither arduous nor unrewarded. Today’s Diary. 

I read all day, plopping into the chair – with the cat joining me off and on throughout – at 0530 and only leaving it for the most pressing emergencies…The only thing keeping this from completely idyllic was the fact the Interstate south of here is closed again and Main Street sounded like a truck stop…Not matter, it was a triumphant day of rest. 

———

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

Columns, books, shopping lists, click here to get in on the laughs.
4Ever & Ever ($8.99) and monthly ($2.99) plans available.

———

On This Date
The long march to today. 

In 1920 – WWJ Detroit becomes the first commercial radio station in the US. broadcasting the Detroit News Radiophone over amateur station 8MK. The letters WWJ have no special significance but were issued after its initial call sign WBL proved to be difficult for listeners to understand and it has been at 950 on the AM dial since 1941. It is still a news station today and also airs the Detroit Pistons and Michigan Wolverines football. 

In 1919 – Joe Wilhoit of the Wichita Jobbers of the Class A Western League has his professional baseball record hitting streak ended in a 5-2 win over the Tulsa Oilers. Wilhoit went 0-3 with a walk to snap a 69-game streak, a record that still stands. Wilhoit had 151 hits in 299 at-bats, a .505 average, figures taken from the Wichita Beacon newspaper and which differ from other sources. Wilhoit would play for four major league teams between 1916-19 and had a career batting average of .257.

In 1949 – Some Enchanted Evening by Perry Como is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – one of several predecessors to the Hot 100 – for the fourth of five consecutive weeks. Six other versions of the song charted 1949 – including versions by Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford and Frank Sinatra – with five reaching the Top 10. The song was written by the legendary team of Rogers and Hammerstein and was from the musical South Pacific. It was the fifth of eleven #1 songs for Como on a Billboard pop chart. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

…he who ceases to learn is already a half-dead man. Do not be like an oyster who rests on the sea bottom waiting for the good things to come by. Search for them. Find them.
Louis L’Amour
The Lonesome Gods

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The 1979 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus was won by the Bee Gees for their performance on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

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

Who is the only other professional baseball player with a hitting streak of at least 60 games? – Answer next time!

Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.  

Share Gaylon! Go!