The Daily Dose/Tuesday, October 12, 2021
The Daily Dose/October 12, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently while we work on a project.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow makes an appointment to get the snow tires put on. Today’s Diary.
…those of you keeping score at home wondering that this sure seems awfully and early and unusually farsighted are correct…Usually, we wait until November, but there’s no harm in getting it done early I suppose, especially because snow is forecasted for most of the rest of the week, tho it is still too early in the season for it to stick.
The Bottom Ten/NCAA Week 7 – The field for the 2021 ESPNCup is so deep the coveted Bottom Ten Conference of the Week Award was given the week off.
Huskies avenge 2020 win over Minutemen, snapping UMess’ 16-game losing skid with their own eleventh straight loss to claim John Adams Spittoon – symbolic of Yankee football lousiness…
A Lutheran school, team issued rare pregame delay of game penalty after argument about whether or not to put peas in pregame tuna hot dish meal extended past start of game.
Should Tomcats up and actually win a game, another D-III Lutheran juggernaut, Finlandia College of Hancock, Michigan – losers of 26 straight – waiting in wings for shot at B-10 glory.
Historically strong finishers, Commodores looking to take advantage of patsy SEC schedule to reinforce B-10 medal street cred by losing out.
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———
On This Date
The long march to today.
In 1933 – The US Justice Department acquires Alcatraz Island near San Francisco from the US Army. The island had been an Army prison for several years and after some renovations, a federal penitentiary opened the following August to 137 prisoners who were problems at other prisons. Of the 36 prisoners who tried to escape, 23 were caught, eight died trying and five were never found. The prison closed in 1963 and is now a tourist attraction and museum.
In 1982 – Paul Molitor of the Milwaukee Brewers establishes a new World Series record for most hits in a game in a 10-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals in Game 1. Molitor had five hits to break the record of four done several times. Molitor also had two RBIs and scored a run and finished the series with eleven hits and a .355 average. The mark was matched by Albert Pujols of the Cardinals in 2011.
In 1963 – Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of five consecutive weeks with Sugar Shack. It was the fourth of six Top 40 hits for the group, their first of two Top 10 songs and remains their only #1. The song also went to #1 in Canada and Australia and on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s #1 song of the year. Versions of the song by Bobby Rich and Carlette hit the country chart in 1970 and 1986 respectively.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
[Lincoln realized] that the function of a political leader in a democracy is not to impose his will, but to help the people decide wisely for themselves…
Benjamin Thomas
Abraham Lincoln
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The first #1 song on the British chart – issued on November 9, 1952 – was Here in My Heart by Al Martino. It would spend nine weeks at #1.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many players have had at least four hits in multiple games in the same World Series? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Monday, October 11, 2021
The Daily Dose/October 11, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off is running intermittently while we work on a project.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the hotel, Sparrow gets off a moderately funny line. Today’s Diary.
Right after that a guy my age comes up and starts prattling about what a wonderful dinner he had at one of the 500 breweries downtown…Despite his rave reviews – and still plainly a growing boy – he was scanning the sundry stand and ends up bringing pizza and Tums up to the counter.
“Sir, aren’t you sending mixed signals, here???…Pizza and a heartburn remedy???”
He laffed and said no, the pizza was for him and the Tums for his son.
———
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
The long march to today.
In 1987 – The AIDS quilt is first displayed, at a Washington, D.C. march for gay and lesbian rights. The quilt had its origins in 1985, when an activist at an AIDS march asked marchers to write the name of someone who had died of AIDS on a placard, which were later taped to the San Francisco federal building. Today the quilt, with nearly 50,000 panels and weighing 54 tons, is too big for one display, though portions are on display in San Francisco while some tour the country.
In 2020 – The Los Angeles Lakers tie the NBA record for most titles won, winning the NBA Finals with a 106-93 win over the Miami Heat in Game 6, played in Orlando. It was the 17th NBA title for the Lakers, equaling the mark established by the Boston Celtics, who had won their 17th NBA title in 2008. The Lakers, then in Minneapolis, won their first NBA title in 1949 and are 17-15 in the Finals, their 32 appearances also an NBA record.
In 1952 – Jo Stafford 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 You Belong to Me. It was the fourth of five #1 songs on a Billboard pop chart for Stafford and her 26th of 41 Top 10 hits. The song also went to #1 in Great Britain, where it was the second #1 hit on the British chart and the first by a woman. Her 102nd and final appearance on a Billboard chart came in 1957, when Wind in the Willow peaked at #53 on the Top 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…by taking so much for the state, you reduce everyone’s ability to create more wealth. Even the bandit in the forest never takes more than two-thirds of the merchant’s caravan…so that there will always be something for him to steal.
Gore Vidal
Creation
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The lowest toll charged to transit the Panama Canal came in in 1928 when 36 cents (a bit less than $6 in today’s money) was charged to Richard Halliburton to swim the canal.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was the first #1 song on the British charts? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/Sunday, October 10, 2021
The Daily Dose/October 10, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy™
The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.
1. COVID – Those of you still doing your own research, what, are you in the lab every night investigating previous findings???…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters still “pretty sure” you should get vaccinated but, hey, it’s your early, stupid death…Rock on, dudes.
2. Baseball Playoffs – A couple of things guys: 1) consider moving the high school regional-ish wild card games to Monday and 2) have the LDS’ over by Sunday…Wild card teams that want a day off should’ve won their division.
3. Donald Trump Supporters – The 3-hole staple…Hey guys, Donald Trump is a lying sexual predator who believes 1) the moon is part of Mars and 2) that the Revolution was won by the securing of British airports…Plus his only talent, interest, is in drawing attention to himself…A question for you: which one of these elements continues to earn your support???
4. Pandora Papers – Yeah, this is a shocker: the rich and powerful squirreling away money in offshore accounts…Friends, the real news would’ve been had they not been doing this in the first place…Whether it’s legal tax avoidance or criminal tax evasion, History’s great lesson is that the rich and powerful will protect themselves.
5. US Debt Ceiling – Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “strongly suspect” they will never understand why we have a debt ceiling in the first place if we are merely going to raise it every time it’s approached.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
Cheapskates rejoice: Read Free Sunday (RFS) continues. Today’s Diary entry is with Sparrow’s compliments.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets a call from a drunk guest needing a ride back to the hotel. Today’s Diary.
We had a saying in the Nav: prior planning prevents piss poor performance…You can’t just go out and drink willy-nilly in a strange town: you must know how you are going to get back to your hotel…Is there bus service???…Ubers, Lyfts???…Taxis???…If you’re calling your hotel wondering what the deal is, you did not plan ahead.
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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
The long march to today.
In 1913 – The Atlantic and Pacific oceans are connected for the first time when the Culebra Cut in Panama is flooded when a dike is destroyed by a signal sent from the White House by President Woodrow Wilson. In January, a floating crane would become the first self-propelled vessel to transit the canal and the Panama Canal officially opened to commercial traffic on August 14, 1914. Despite the oceans it connects, the Panama Canal is actually on a northwest/southeast course.
In 1957 – Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves ties the World Series record for most wins in a series as the Braves clinch the championship with a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 7. Burdette won three games, tying a mark done nine times previously. Burdette also won games two and five and the feat has been accomplished three times since, most recently by Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
In 1981 – Endless Love by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the ninth and final consecutive week. It was the fifth and final #1 song for Ross and the first of five #1s for Richie. The song also peaked at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, peaked at #7 in Great Britain, was Billboard’s second biggest song of the year, it’s 3rd-biggest of the decade and ranked 18th on Billboard’s 60th Anniversary Hot 100 in 2018. In 1994 a version of the song by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 and at #7 on Billboard’s soul chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
In ’Profiles in Courage’ he had been the one delivering the verdict, praising eight senators for possessing „…the breadth of a man above party or section…and, above all, a deep seated belief in themselves…
Thurston Clarke
JFK’s Last Hundred Days
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Che Guevara was born in Rosaria, Argentina.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the lowest toll ever charged to transit the Panama Canal? – Answer next time!
The Diary of a Nobody/October 9
Yes indeedy, it is Read Free Sunday at The Diary. Enjoy today’s entry with Sparrow’s compliments.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, October 9
Amy had left and yours truly had just started in on his nite’s labors when the phone rings…It’s a guest who’s wrapped up his evening’s revels downtown and found himself without a way back to the hotel…It seems the few Ubers and Lyfts were enjoying the nite off and could I come down and pick him and his homies up???
The Daily Dose/Saturday, October 9, 2021
The Daily Dose/October 9, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off is enjoying some time off while we work on a project.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – The hot springs at the gym are open again. Today’s Diary.
I’m in the locker room changing shoes for my walk and this guy I see regularly comes in and lays out his trunks and a towel, acting for all the world as if the pool is open…He gets into his trunks and grabs his towel and yours truly notes he was told the pools were closed…He says, yeah, they just decided to open them and heads out.
Well, that certainly puts a spring in your step, because ol’ Sparrow could really use a soak…Instead of slogging thru the walk and then killing time until it was time to report to the veterans service office (VSO) at 0800, yours truly stepped out smartly and had a good pace the whole way and all but did a cannonball into his fave hot spring.
———
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
The long march to today.
In 1967 – Revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed by Bolivian forces in southern Bolivia. Guevara had been captured by Bolivian special forces the day before and his execution had been ordered by the government, despite US insistence he be kept alive for questioning. Eyewitness accounts state Guevara maintained his dignity and only asked for something to smoke. His executioner wasn’t the best of shots, shooting Guevara five times in the legs, and once each in an arm, a shoulder and his chest and throat.
In 1977 – The New York Yankees, three outs from elimination, get three runs in the top of the ninth inning and defeat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees’ runs would come off of Dennis Leonard and Larry Gura and Sparky Lyle pitched the final inning and a third for the win. It was the second of three consecutive years the Yankees would defeat the Royals in the ALCS and they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the World Series.
In 1971 – Freddie Hart is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the third and final non-consecutive week with Easy Loving. It was the first #1 song and the first Top 10 hit for Hart in a chart career that began in 1959 and he would go on to have six #1 songs and 14 Top 10 hits. The song also went #1 country in Canada, peaked at #17 on the Hot 100 and was Billboard’s biggest country song of the year.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The tragedy of life is not that man loses, but that he almost wins.
Heywood Braun
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The other player besides Don Larsen to pitch a postseason no-hitter was Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies who no-hit the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of a 2010 National League Division Series on October 6, 2010.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Where was Che Guevara born? – Answer next time!