The Daily Dose/Wednesday, July 21, 2021
The Daily Dose/July 21, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FELLOW WHITE, MALE, RURAL RESIDENTS: Friends, COVID is back, with a vengeance in some places, and virtually every single death is of someone who wasn’t vaccinated. A lot of the unvaccinated are rural folks.
Running The Numbers: Less than two-thirds of adults in this country have been vaccinated, despite the fact a vaccine is widely available, effective and free.
Dry, Technical Matter: Although we didn’t grow up in one, we now live in a small ranching community, population about 2,000 and we’re familiar with the attitudes that sometimes attend small-town life. A variety of reasons are cited for not getting vaccinated, from concerns about the vaccine to concerns about government conspiracies. None of them have merit.
We’re Better Than This: Friends, our minds are like parachutes, they don’t do us any good closed and ignorance of this sort is not bliss, it is destitution and slavery. And, frankly, based on the (many) times in my life when I’ve been ignorant, I know there was something inside telling me my mind wasn’t open and perhaps you have a similar voice inside telling you the same thing. Feel free to conquer it because it might save your life.
Broad, Historical Context: As it has occasionally been since time immemorial, ignorance is proving deadly. To say the vaccine is not safe or that it’s a government conspiracy is simply ignorant. We’ve been getting vaccines all our lives and all they’ve done is keep us healthy.
The Bottom Line: So please, friends, go and vax up. Our country is counting on us. There is no reason for us to start wearing masks again nor is there any reason for our country to take it in the economic shorts again. You aren’t showing those damn liberals and you’re not supporting Donald Trump, you are merely hurting yourselves.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s stock portfolio is tanking. Today’s Diary.
The big news is it appears ol’ Sparrow got back into the stock market just in time for the latest crash because the Portfolio is going down harder than a whore with the fleet in…Good gravy, everything but one stock was down…All the big, name stocks were down and so were my index funds…Fortunately, experienced investors like me know the market always rebounds and there is no reason to panic.
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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.
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On This Date
The long march to today.
In 1914 – Louis Rigolly of France becomes the first person to exceed 100 mph, driving a French car one kilometer in 21.6 seconds, a speed of 103.561 mph in Ostend, Belgium. Rigolly broke the record of 97.25 mph established in May by Belgian Pierre de Caters on the same course and Rigolly’s mark stood until November when it was broken by Frenchman Paul Baras, who drove 104.53 mph. The current record is 760.343 mph, set by Andy Green of Great Britain in 1997.
In 2012 – The St Louis Cardinals tie the major league record for most doubles in an inning in a 12-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals had seven doubles in their 12-run seventh inning to tie the mark established by the Boston Bees, later the Braves, in 1936. Five of the doubles were consecutive, which tied the major league record established by the Washington Senators in 1934.
In 1951 – Nat King Cole is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor to the Hot 100 – for the fifth and final consecutive week with Too Young. It was Cole’s fourth and final #1 pop song and his 31st chart single in a chart career that began in 1942 and continues to this day on Billboard’s holiday music chart. The song also peaked at #3 on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s biggest song of the year. In 1972 a version of the song by Donny Osmond peaked at #13 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
In a conflict between superstition and philosophy, one may safely wager on the victory of superstition, for the world wisely prefers happiness to wisdom.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. I: Our Oriental Heritage
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Bobby Bare’s biggest hit on the Hot 100 was The All American Boy, which peaked at #2 in 1959. A mistake the record label credited the record to Bill Parsons, a mistake the label acknowledged but didn’t bother to correct.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many #1 songs did Nat King Cole have on a Billboard country chart? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
The Daily Dose/Tuesday, July 20, 2021
The Daily Dose/July 20, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Editor’s Note: Today’s Leading Off item first ran one year ago today. Except for some minor factual corrections, it runs as it did then.
“WE COPY YOU DOWN EAGLE…”: Today is the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon and of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first humans to walk on another heavenly body.
Here We Go Again: Regular readers of this crap know our feelings on this matter: Apollo 11 – indeed, the entire Apollo program – was mankind’s finest hour, one of History’s few lines of demarcation separating all that came before from everything that followed. We mark the occasion every year in this space – either here or in On This Date, sometimes both – because we feel it’s important to look back and say “look what we did, not bad”.
We went to the moon!
Fly In The Ointment: And we haven’t gone back since. Apollo 17 left the lunar surface in 1972 and not only haven’t we returned to the moon, no American, no human, has left lower Earth orbit since then. Our own opinion is that had we wanted to, America could have put humans on Mars in the 1980s but we didn’t want to. Congress canceled Apollos 18-20 and there never was a push to go to Mars.
Dry, Technical Matter: Why this does not cause every one of us to go stand in the corner in shame is beyond me. Greatness – and its attendant failure – was there for the taking and America took a pass, ignoring man’s instinct to explore places they’ve never been.
The Bottom Line: And we’re the lesser for it. For a while now, Americans have been content to be well-fed and well-entertained and we can no longer be bothered to pay attention to our government and we are reaping that harvest right now, with our country now at the midway point between relevance and oblivion.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the hotel, someone messed with the morning coffee service set-up. Today’s Diary.
For reasons I’m sure someone thought good, the trash can was moved so one of its long sides was parallel to and almost up against the wall, with the napkins moved – again, for supposedly good reasons – to the area in front of the new trash can location…Well, needless to say this could not stand, and I switched it back the instant Amy left, tho it’s not entirely certain she was responsible for this travesty against the natural order…Officially, there are no suspects.
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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 1976 – Man reaches Mars for the first time when the American Spacecraft Viking 1 lands on Martian soil. The spacecraft had been launched the previous August and Viking 1’s mission lasted over six years until NASA lost contact with it in November 1982. Its sister spacecraft Viking 2 would land on Mars in September.
In 2006 – The Oneonta Tigers and the Brooklyn Cyclones play only the fourth game in professional baseball history to go at least 26 innings in a 6-1 Tigers win. The game took 6 hours and 42 minutes to play, was tied at 1-1 at the end of nine innings and a crowd of about 200 of the original 9,000 remained at the end. In 1920 the National League Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers also played a 26-inning game and in 1966 the Miami Marlins and St Petersburg Cardinals played a 29-inning Florida State League game. The longest game in professional baseball history went 33 innings, an International League game between Rochester and Pawtucket in 1981.
In 1974 – Bobby Bare is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the only week with Marie Laveau. It was the 34th of 58 Top 40 country hits for Bare, his 13th and final Top 10 hit and remains his only appearance at #1 on a Billboard chart. The song was written by Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor and also went to #1 on Canada’s country chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
We can only add our efforts…until we slowly move the mountain.
Deng Ming-Dao
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Besides pitcher, Cy Young also appeared in five major league games as a first baseman, three in 1896 and two in 1897, with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Bobby Bare’s biggest hit on Billboard’s Hot 100? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
The Diary of a Nobody/July 19
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Monday, July 19
Don’t mess with morning coffee service (MCS), dammit!!!
When reporting for duty tonight I noticed that the MCS racks were still out…All right, there were an awful lot of arrivals and it can get really busy on swing shift, tho it must be noted this is the second time this week this has happened after not happening at all in my first 2.5 years here.
The Daily Dose/Monday, July 19, 2021
The Daily Dose/July 19, 2021
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 – At the hotel, Sparrow is obliged to lay down the hammer. Today’s Diary.
He didn’t really want to comply, but after regarding me for a bit he told everyone it was, indeed, time to call it a nite and we will never know if it was because he could tell the tablets were coming down from Mount Sinai or if he merely didn’t want to bother with me.
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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 1545 – The English warship Mary Rose sinks off of Portsmouth, during the Battle of Solent with France. Contemporary accounts state that Mary Rose sank while maneuvering after firing her cannons and that water came through gun ports that weren’t closed. The ship was raised in 1982, with about half the crew recovered. Their bodies showed, among other things, they had suffered from malnutrition, rickets and scurvy at the time of their deaths.
In 1910 – Cy Young of the Cleveland Naps, now the Indians, becomes the first major league pitcher to win 500 games in a 5-2, 11-inning win over the Washington Senators in the second game of a doubleheader. Young went the distance and gave up five hits and would retire the following year with 511 wins. Young had won his first game in 1890 and remains the only pitcher with to win 500 games.
In 1975 – Wings is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Listen to What the Man Said. It was the tenth of 23 Top 40 hits for the group, their eighth of 15 Top 10 hits and their third of six #1 songs as both Wings and Paul McCartney and Wings. The song also went to #1 in Canada and peaked at #6 in Great Britain. The song spent eleven weeks in the Top 40 and seven weeks in the Top 10.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
If the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for the battle.
I Corinthians 14:8
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
England’s loss in the Hundred Years’ War led to a series of civil wars known to History as the War of the Roses (1455-87).
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
In how many major league games did Cy Young play a position other than pitcher? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
The Daily Dose/Sunday, July 18, 2021
The Daily Dose/July 18, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.
1. Tokyo Olympics – Hopes high that Tokyo Games can be international super-spreader as first COVID-19 case of Olympic Villiage resident already in books…Games being held solely for money, of course, as Olympic fan(s) everywhere wondering how far IOC, organizers will go putting athletes and officials at risk in exchange for TV network checks.
2. College Sports – Texas A&M football players to receive, legally, ten large for preseason interview with Aggie fan site…Yay for them, they’re entitled to get all they can get because Lord knows the NCAA is…However, Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “pretty sure” it won’t be too long before gambling sites start offering cash for not covering point spreads.
3. Donald Trump Supporters – New 3-hole staple, 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.
4. US Space Program – 52 years ago today America had men on way to moon for first lunar landing, an accomplishment we haven’t come close to matching…Had we cared, America could have had men on Mars in the 1980s, a lack of vision Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “pretty sure” America is still paying for as us humans barely able to send anyone into space anymore.
5. Donald Trump Fact Check – Fact checker’s union rejoicing as former president and still Liar-In-Chief returns to blab his usual lies and misinformation, this time on the Jan 6 insurrection he led…Click here for a recap, courtesy of the AP.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
Yay for Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow privately and incorrectly guesses a guest’s age. Today’s Diary.
Wrong-o…I checked her ID to ensure she wasn’t part of the roving gang of impersonators ravaging hotels in the region, and it heralded she was born in 1964, just a year before yours truly…Crap, I was off by a lot…Part of me wanted to apologize and say wow, you sure don’t look 75, but I kept quiet.
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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 1389 – The longest truce in the Hundred Years’ War between England and France begins with the signing of the Treaty of Leulinghem in northern France. The war had begun 1337 and both kings – England’s Richard II and France’s Charles VI – were having internal problems that made a truce desirable. The truce was scheduled to last for 27 years but was repudiated by France in 1403 when they landed an army in Wales. The war continued intermittently until 1453 and ended with a French victory.
In 1943 – The New York Giants and Philadelphia Phillies tie the major league record for most runners left on base in a 10-6 Giants win in the first game of a doubleheader. The teams left 30 runners on base, with the Giants stranding 17 runners and the Phillies 13. The teams tied the mark established in 1893 and 1935 and the record has been tied twice since. The extra-inning record is 45, done twice.
In 1981 – Alabama is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart for the second and final consecutive week with Feels So Right. It was the fourth of 32 #1 country songs for the group and the fourth of eight consecutive #1 songs, 20 excluding Christmas songs and 21 excluding duets. The song also peaked at #20 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was the first of only four songs to spend multiple weeks at #1 on the country chart in 1981.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Chase the feeling you get every day by stacking everything in alignment with what you want.
Wes Watson
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The Four Tops second #1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 – after I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) – was Reach Out I’ll Be There which spent two weeks at #1 in 1966.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
England’s loss in the Hundred Years’ War led to a series of civil wars known by what name? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
The Diary of a Nobody/July 17
You made it. It’s Read Free Sunday (RFS) at The Diary.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, July 17
Almost interesting is the fact it takes time to get back in the swing of full touchscreen mode at the hotel…I seldom utilize the touchscreen on the home rig and the monitor at the veterans service office (VSO) is one of the turn-of-the-century deals non-touchscreen, so coming into the hotel after two nights off you find it takes time to get back into the swing of touchscreening.
The Daily Dose/Saturday, July 17, 2021
The Daily Dose/July 17, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off will return. Be cool.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – The cat almost ends up in timeout. Today’s Diary.
The cat, curious about the issuance of her canned yummy ration, came in and woke me up at 0530 and while regular readers of this crap know sometimes she’ll be put in timeout and the bedroom door closed for this grievous offense, this was only an hour before the alarm was going to go off and it wasn’t a big deal to get up and get the day started…Besides, neither of us likes timeout anyway.
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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 1981 – Two aerial walkways at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City collapse, killing 114 and injuring 216. The ensuing investigation showed the collapse was caused by changes to the original design that were both faulty and never properly reviewed. It remained the deadliest structural collapse in American history until the World Trade Center collapsed in 2001. The hotel had been built in 1978 and would reopen three months later.
In 1918 – The Philadelphia Phillies establish a new major league record for the longest errorless game in a 2-1, 21-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies committed zero errors in the game, and research into whose record they broke was inconclusive. The record was tied the following month by the Boston Braves and the mark is now held by the Chicago White Sox and the Washington Senators, who played a 22-inning errorless game on June 12, 1967.
In 1965 – The Four Tops are at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart – for the seventh of nine consecutive weeks with I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch). It was the second of 22 Top 10 soul hits for the group and their first of three #1s. Earlier, the song had spent two non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, their first of two #1 pop hits. In 1980 Bonnie Pointer hit both the Hot 100 (#40) and the soul chart (#42) with a version of the song.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
You can’t ensure success, but you can deserve it. You can’t guarantee results, but you can put in the effort to achieve them.
Bob Myers
General Manager, Golden State Warriors
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Apollo 11 spent approximately 22 hours on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon for 2.5 hours.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was the Four Tops other #1 song on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.