The Daily Dose/Friday, March 12, 2021
The Daily Dose/March 12, 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 – Sparrow, still at VSO training, makes a rare fashion statement. Today’s Diary.
The really big news is that I wore my new corduroy blazer all day…It’s brown and today was its debut and boy, it was love at first wearing…I bought this puppy last summer, an adorable time when regular readers of this crap will recall that ol’ Sparrow was completely losing his mind and buying clothes for The Crossing – the trans-Atlantic cruise he was going to take next month that the Virus Era ultimately canceled.
Well, there really isn’t much call for a blazer up here, for anyone, much less ol’ Sparrow, but today was a great time to wear it…The weather was made for it and it fit right in at VSO training, it made me look smart and stuff while browsing used book stores and it was utterly and completely at home at the restaurant.
———
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 2009 – Bernie Madoff, the architect of one of largest Ponzi schemes in history, pleads guilty to eleven felony charges in federal court in Manhattan. Madoff, arrested the previous November, had defrauded clients out of an estimated $65 billion and is currently serving a 150-year sentence at a federal prison in North Carolina. A Ponzi scheme is when someone uses funds from new investors to pay off old investors.
In 1966 – Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks establishes a new NHL record for most goals in a season in a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers. Hull’s third-period goal was his 51st of the season, breaking the record of 50 established by Maurice Richard (1944-45) and Bernie Geoffrion (1960-61), both of the Montreal Canadiens. Hull would finish the season with 54 goals, a mark that stood until he scored 58 goals in 1968-69 and the record is now 92, done by Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82.
In 1955 – Johnny Ace is at #1 on Billboard’s R&B Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor of today’s soul chart – for the fourth of ten consecutive weeks with Pledging My Love. The song also peaked at #17 on Billboard’s pop Best Sellers in Stores chart and our usual sources for chart information were not available at press time. Ace was born John Marshall Alexander in 1925 and had died in December of an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Fortune had betrayed him for the moment, and the world had turned against him. Victory was slipping from his grasp even as he stretched out his hand to seize it. But his arm was long.
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The NBA record for most steals in a game by a player us 11, done twice: by Larry Kenon (San Antonio Spurs, 12/26/76) and Kendall Gill (New Jersey Nets, 4/3/99).
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many appearances did Johnny Ace have on Billboard pop and soul charts? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
The Daily Dose/Thursday, March 11, 2021
The Daily Dose/March 11, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Your Daily Dose is taking some time off. It will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow hits the road for a couple of days. Today’s Diary.
After leaving the hotel, I stopped by The Shire, showered and fed the cat and I don’t know about other cat owners, but I always tell the cat goodbye when I’m leaving. I don’t know if after nine-plus years she equates “I’ll be back” with my ultimate return, but yours truly likes to think she does and cats are great about not shattering your delusions.
The Daily Dose/Wednesday, March 10, 2021
The Daily Dose/March 10, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Friends, your Heavyweight Champion of the World, The Daily Dose, is taking a couple of days off. Of course, there is a Diary entry.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow is pricing rooms to move at the hotel. Today’s Diary.
Well, regular readers of this crap know that while this is not a complete load of crap, it is neither completely true nor completely false, either…Rates – especially at this hour – are what ol’ Sparrow says they are…So, on the one hand, $189, plus tax, for one night is less than $129, plus tax, for two nights…On the other hand, the $129, plus tax, didn’t come from Mount Sinai, I more or less pulled it out of my ass so, sure, there’s a savings, but please don’t ask me to quantify it.
The Daily Dose/Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The Daily Dose/March 9, 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 – Sparrow gets the rare 4 am delivery at the hotel. Today’s Diary.
I was about halfway thru my assigned task when – of all things, and with Movie of the Week timing – the Deluxe Dairy delivery guy comes in!!!…I am not making that up…He’s a pretty low-key guy, so trumpets didn’t herald his arrival, but the frozen pizza delivery guy showing up right when your stocking ice cream because you’re out of frozen pizzas is pretty good timing.
He said he had two days worth of deliveries to make today and he’s getting an (awfully) early start and not only does he have two boxes of pizzas for us, but a box of ice cream as well.
———
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 1842 – Six years before the California Gold Rush, gold is discovered in California, by Francisco Lopez, at Ranch San Francisco, a bit north of Los Angeles. The discovery – the first documented in California – produced a relatively minor gold rush, with an estimated 2,000 people converging on the area, and word of the discovery does not appear to have left Mexican territory.
In 1985 – Fat Lever of the Denver Nuggets establishes a new NBA record for most steals in a quarter in a 126-116 win over the Indiana Pacers. Lever had eight steals in the third quarter, breaking the record of seven established by Quinn Buckner of the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov 27, 1976, and Lever’s record still stands. Lever’s mark also tied the record for most steals in a half, done six times previously and a mark that was broken this past Thursday by T.J. McConnell of the Pacers, who had nine in the first half in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 1959- Frankie Avalon is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of five consecutive weeks with Venus. The song also went to #1 in Belgium, peaked at #16 in Great Britain, at #10 on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s fourth biggest song of the year. It was the fourth of 13 Top 40 hits for Avalon, his third of seven Top 10 hits and his first of two #1s (Why, one week, 1959). Avalon’s given name was Francis Thomas Avallone.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
Epictetus (50 AD – 135 AD)
Greek philosopher
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The record for most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart is 13, done three times: Frenesi! (Artie Shaw, 1940-41), I’ve Heard That Song Before (Harry James, 1943) and Goodnight Irene (Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers, 1950). The chart ran from 1940-58.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who holds the NBA record for most steals in a game? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.
The Daily Dose/Monday, March 8, 2021
The Daily Dose/March 8, 2021
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA!: We’ve talked a lot – both here and the campaign trail – about how America is a fractured, partisan and bickering mess right now. It’s been that way for a while now, preceding Donald Trump, though he certainly exacerbated the problem. Partisan, fractured and bickering citizens have been led by a partisan, fractured and bickering government for a while now.
Dry, Technical Matter: How did we get to this point? We blame TV, now in its third generation of being the focal point of American life and the disappearance of civil discourse is one of the prices we are paying. There was a time when civil discussion of matters was possible but that time in America has passed. Now, all we do is state positions and inform others when they are wrong.
Broad, Historical Context: And it’s not so much that partisan networks and websites that don’t bother with impartiality ae the problem. A partisan media has been a staple of the American experience since the broadsides of pre-Revolutionary times. The problem is that is all we are getting. It is now possible for us to spoon-feed ourselves only what we want to read and hear. America is no longer interested in a differing viewpoint.
The Bottom Line: Americans watch, on average, a bit more than five hours of TV a day and when we spend that much time watching things that only reinforce our own narrow view of the world, a partisan, bickering citizenry is going to be the result. There will come a time – perhaps before this half-century is out – when a divided America, aided and abetted by perpetual war and crushing debt, will collapse. Whether or not we do something about it is up to us.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – It’s sold out at the hotel, though people still pester Sparrow for rooms. Today’s Diary.
There were lots of people needing rooms tonight, hardly a surprise in ski season, even during the Virus Era…A couple came right as the bars were closing, clearly guys looking for a place to mate, and there were a couple of other calls and there was a rather poignant one at 0330…A lady about my age came in and rang the bell and boy, you could tell she was weary, with the haggard look of someone whose day on the road started in Quebec…
———
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 1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed in New York City, to provide restrictions on trading and for formal governance. The board would trade at assorted facilities in lower Manhattan until settling into its present location after the Civil War and its current building was built in 1903. New York stockbrokers had previously organized in 1792 under the Buttonwood Agreement.
In 1954 – One night after playing in the only NBA game with 12-foot baskets, the Milwaukee Hawks play in the only doubleheader between the same teams in league history. Playing at home, the Hawks defeat the Baltimore Bullets 64-54 and 65-54 in games that were 40 minutes long. The Hawks would play in Indianapolis the following night and in Omaha two nights later, making it five games in four nights in four cities. The Hawks went 2-3 during the stretch.
In 1952 – Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads are at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor to the Hot 100 – for the eleventh and final consecutive week with Cry. It was the first chart single for Ray and the first for the Four Lads and remains the only #1 song for both of them. The song has charted several other times, including a 1986 version by Crystal Gayle that went to #1 on Billboard’s country chart.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The trouble with a situation like this was that a man had to keep going forward until there was no turning back.
Louis L’Amour
The Lonesome Gods
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Asia’s self-titled album spent nine weeks at #1 and was Billboard’s biggest album of the year.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the record for most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart? – Answer next time!
Go Gaylon! Visit Gaylon on Facebook here.