Read Free Fortnight continues at The Diary, so dive in and enjoy today’s entry.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Friday, January 22 More good strength in the gym this morning…I was there a few minutes before it opened and there was already a line so I got out and stood in it, unlike last Friday, when I waited for it to subside and I’ve concluded that unless you’re one of the very first in line, it doesn’t really matter…Between the waiting and changing shoes I was on the floor this morning ready to move some weight around 0615, not too much earlier than last week, when it below zero out and I waited in the car until the line was gone.
The Daily Dose/January 21, 2021 By Gaylon Kent America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: The Pioneers, by David McCullough: If, like us, you’ve foolishly spent your life living in the West, then you might not think an in-depth, substantive look at the settling of Ohio would be all that interesting. McCullough, with typical diligence and brilliance, shows that it is. The Pioneers is about the first settlers in the Northwest Territories – what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and northeast Minnesota – and specifically its first settlement, Marietta, Ohio, where the Muskingum and Ohio rivers meet.
Fly In The Ointment: We picked it up thinking it would be about the settlement of the entire American west, but identical paintings of the confluence of the Muskingum and the Ohio on both inside covers show this would not be the case, though we weren’t bright enough to notice that. We would have bought it anyway because McCullough could do a history of Tucumcari, New Mexico and make it fascinating, but be forewarned: The Pioneers is about the settling of Ohio.
Stop Us If You’ve Heard This Before: McCullough uses the same formula he implemented years ago: immediately we are introduced to someone interesting to know – in this case the Rev. Manasseh Cutler – and soon after we are immersed. Cutler, living in New England, is working Congress hard to authorize settlement of the territory and it is moderately interesting to note Cutler never lives there and only visits it once, though his family is active there from the start.
Dry, Technical Matter: Also making appearances are former Vice President Aaron Burr, fresh off his killing of Alexander Hamilton and looking to overthrow the government in the west, John Chapman, known to history as Johnny Appleseed, and Charles Dickens, who is visiting the area and can’t get over how dull us Americans are.
Running The Numbers: Here is the Leading Off rating scale: 1 – Splendid; 2 – Superior; 3- Good; 4 – Average; 5 – A steaming pile.
Final Ranking: 2: We give McCullough his usual high marks, though criticism about his glossing over our usual screwing of the Indians is valid. He refers to the area as previously unsettled and while he doesn’t deny the Indians had long built lives for themselves there, they are mere barriers to the advancement of American ideals and not a people being invaded.
Look, it’s not our fault the Indians had a lax immigration policy and we chose not to let that distract from our enjoyment of the book. McCullough does his work wonderfully and – par for the McCullough course – he gives the impression he is thoroughly enjoying himself with every step of the journey he is taking you on.
Today At The Site Writing worth reading. Usually.
Damn straight Read Free Fortnight rolls on.
The Diary of a Nobody– Sparrow has some good strength in the gym. Today’s Diary.
Just for funsies, I upped the weight on the bench press…Recall I moved the last set eleven times Tuesday and the plan was to move it eleven times again and then up the weight Friday, but I did it today, tho I only got it up six times…I was disappointed in this, but then I realized I’d put ten more pounds on each side (200 lbs total) instead of the five I’d planned, and in that case, six isn’t too bad…You’re still building muscle with six and, in fact, those are the reps some bodybuilders use.
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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.
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On This Date The long march to today.
In 1970 – The first 747 airplane enters commercial service, with a Pan-Am flight from New York City to London. It was the first twin-aisle airliner, had a top speed of 490 knots (over 550 mph) and could accommodate 366 passengers in three travel classes. The 747 was built with a partial second level to accommodate a cargo door in the nose because it was anticipated supersonic air travel would eventually supersede it, with the 747 later converted to a cargo plane, though the 747 remains in passenger – and cargo – service today.
In 1983 – The Houston Rockets establish a new NBA record for the fewest points in an overtime period in a 113-96 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets scored zero points, to break the mark of two that had been done many times. The mark has been tied ten times since, most recently by the Chicago Bulls on November 7, 2015.
In 1972 – Don McClean is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the first of seven consecutive weeks with American Pie. It was the second of six chart albums for McClean and remains his only #1 album. American Pie produced two chart singles, the title track, which was in its second of four consecutive weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, and Vincent, which peaked at #12. The album also went to #1 in Australia and Canada, and peaked at #3 in Great Britain.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Carpentier did it again!, a second time, and this was the blow perfected by a lifetime of training…it rocked Dempsey to his heels, but it broke Carpentier’s hand. His best was not enough. Heywood Braun
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
America’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) which was active from 1961-2012.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the NBA record for the fewest points scored in a regulation quarter? – Answer next time!
Today’s entry is on the house. It’s Read Free Fortnight, after all.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Thursday, January 21 I gave the cabin a solid Level II cleaning this morning, something desperately needed because a Level II cleaning – as opposed to the basic Level I cleaning – has been needed since last week…But I couldn’t be bothered to do it last week, of course, but ol’ Sparrow was highly motivated this week.
The Daily Dose/January 21, 2021 By Gaylon Kent America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
“AT THIS HOUR, MY FRIENDS, DEMOCRACY HAS PREVAILED.”: Speaking for the History books like few others at any time, President Joe Biden had an opportunity to show himself, his country and the world he was prepared to lead America past the four misfit years of Donald Trump.
“We Must Meet This Moment As The United States Of America.”: He didn’t squander it. A hundred years from now History may well put this up there with FDR’s first or Lincoln’s second inaugural addresses.
Dry, Technical Matter: It was a heck of a ceremony. Lady Gaga delivered a national anthem for the ages, so good it had us weeping and issuing hand salutes. President Biden was sworn in ten minutes early, but Canada didn’t invade then, so we were spared a crisis of who was in charge during those ten minutes because presidential terms begin and end at 12 noon. The poet Amanda Gorman was a bit full of herself, but that’s not a bad trait for an artist to have. We would have preferred Garth Brooks had sung The Dance instead of Amazing Grace, but we quibble.
“We Look Ahead In Our Uniquely American Way.”: President Biden spoke plainly and practically, perhaps plainer than you would expect someone who’s been in politics most of his life to speak, establishing himself as the first Dad we’ve had in the White House since Ronald Reagan.
“The American Story Depends Not On Any One Of Us…But On All Of Us.”: Like all fathers, he scolded us, he encouraged us but more than anything he loved us. He told us we are better than we are now and he all but ordered us not to surrender to the times, but to go out and conquer them.
“We Must End This Uncivil War”: President Biden will do well if we let him. If we are of a mind to surrender to our times and stay divided, we will. If we’re collectively of a mind to conquer our times and accomplish some things we will. President Biden cares about our country, which puts him one up on Trump, who only cared about drawing attention to himself. America’s halfway home to some self-respect again.
…some further work yielded the good fortune of the official YouTube feed of the Congressional committee that organizes the inaugural…It was hosted by, get this, two Capitol tour guides (Janet and Ron) and while this might cause a chuckle, they did a really good job…There wasn’t too much yapping and zero partisanship at all as the pair preferred to chat about assorted historical elements of the inaugural ceremony and the capitol itself…All in all, it was a rather pleasant way to watch the ceremony.
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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.
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On This Date The long march to today.
In 1954 – The world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), is launched in Groton, Connecticut. Nautilus would be commissioned in September and served until 1980 and is now a museum in New London, Connecticut. The ship was named after the fictional submarine in the Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea.
In 1945 – The Boston Bruins establish a new NHL record for the fastest four goals scored in a 14-3 win over the New York Rangers. The Bruins got four goals in a 1 minute and 20-second span in the second period, between the 6:34 and the 7:54 marks. The Bruins broke the record of 1 minute, 25 seconds they had established on January 11, 1927, and the record still stands.
In 1995 – On Bended Knee by Boyz II Men is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the sixth and final non-consecutive week. The song also peaked at #20 in Great Britain and at #2 in Billboard’s soul chart, was Billboard’s fifth-biggest song of the year and its 14th biggest of the 1990s. The song had first gone to #1 on December 3, replacing their single I’ll Make Love to You at the top, making them the first act to replace themselves at #1 on the Hot 100 since the Beatles in 1964.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today…There is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. Franklin Roosevelt First Inaugural Address 3/4/33
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
Merle Haggard’s last #1 song on Billboard’s country chart was Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Star, which spent one week at #1 in 1988.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was America’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier? – Answer next time!
Give me an R! It’s Read Free Fortnight at The Diary of a Nobody.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Wednesday, January 20 Well, after a couple-three weeks of rolling with a yellow highlighter for marking his cash drawer spreadsheets, Mark went with the pink highlighter tonight…Curious – perhaps more curious than anyone really should be about the matter – I did some snooping around Mark’s preferred left computer station at the front desk and found the pink highlighter to be the most conveniently located…An orange one was nearby, but he would have had to have moved some pens out of the way to get to it, so you can see why he went with the pink one…There wasn’t a yellow one to be seen.
The Daily Dose/January 20, 2021 By Gaylon Kent America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA! Whew. We made it.
After four years of ignorance and incompetence, four years of lies and insults, four years of being led by a man who believes the moon is part of Mars and that the securing of British airports won the Revolution – things a bright 5th-grader knows are false – Donald Trump leaves the White House today.
Could You Repeat That?: That we are even saying “Donald Trump leaves the White House today” is almost beyond belief. A man of zero substance, we’ve always felt he never wanted to be president and ran merely to drum up interest in his personal brand. A real media would have had him out of the race by the weekend but, enamored with the ratings and clicks he generated, they ushered him straight into the primaries, the nomination and the White House.
Dry, Technical Matter: The presidency is less for his having occupied it and our country is the lesser for it, too, and the blood on his hands from a non-existent coronavirus response will never be washed off.
Fly In The Ointment: Trump leaves with two attainments. First, his tax cut was nice. We paid less tax on more income and perhaps you did, too. This is good because the government takes too much of our money already.
We also appreciated the fact he didn’t retaliate when Iran shot down one of our drones over the Strait of Hormuz in 2019. His restraint was admirable.
But that’s it. Otherwise, it was a lousy human being producing the worst presidential administration any of us have ever seen.
Did We Call It Or What?: We hate to say we told you so, but we did. Before he was even elected we dutifully pointed out Trump’s only real talent is drawing attention to himself and that he lacked a long-term plan for both himself and the country. Nobody listened to us and a fractured, us-versus-them we the people elected him anyway.
The Bottom Line: We’ve overcome a lot in this country and we’ll overcome you, Donald. It will take years, and perhaps even decades, but your legacy of falsehoods being truths and it being acceptable to disregard facts that do not conform to your beliefs will eventually be conquered. The damage you caused is deep but not irreparable.
Good riddance. If we thought you’d use it, we’d offer some Boraxo to help wash the blood off your hands, but you don’t care about anything but yourself.
I did accept Tammy’s earlier invitation to try her new vanilla/cinnamon coffee creamer, tho…To quote an old Navy joke trotted out here before, I generally take my coffee like I take my women, strong and black but some creamer sounded good and I enjoyed two cups with it…I think if I had one more cup of creamered coffee left in my life I’d probably choose hazelnut, but this certainly had merit.
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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.
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On This Date The long march to today.
In 1941 – Franklin Delano Roosevelt becomes the only president of the United States inaugurated for a third term. Roosevelt had won the November 1940 election handily, carrying 38 states to ten for Republican Wendell Wilkie and won the Electoral College vote by a 449-82 margin. FDR would win a fourth term in 1944, though he died in 1945, succeeded by Harry S Truman.
In 1967 – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors establishes a new NBA record for most field goals made in a game without a miss in a 119-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Chamberlain went 15-for-15 from the field breaking the record of 14 established by Bailey Howell of the Baltimore Bullets in January 1965. Chamberlain would break the record on February 24, when he went 18-for-18 against Baltimore, a mark that still stands.
In 1968- Merle Haggard is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then known as the Hot Country Singles chart – for the first of two consecutive weeks with Sing Me Back Home. It was the eighth of 93 Top 40 country hits for Haggard, his sixth of 71 Top 10 hits and the third of 38 #1s. The song is about a prisoner walking to his execution and draws on Haggard’s experience doing time in California and knowing a couple of inmates who were executed.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The past does not cease because you ignore it. Gore Vidal Julian
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
The Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton was Billboard’s #1 song of 1959, spending six weeks at #1 over the summer.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Merle Haggard’s final #1 song on Billboard’s country chart? – Answer next time!
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Tuesday, January 19 The big news is Amy’s drawer has been squared away – an even $200 – the past two nights…I am not making that up…Regular readers of the crap know Amy is usually good for either not making her drop at all or otherwise being a few bucks over…Not this week…Both drawers have been spot on the past couple of nights.
The Daily Dose/January 19, 2021 By Gaylon Kent America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: A couple of events – one recent, another coming up – have reinforced a lesson History continually offers us: not much ever really changes.
Here, Alexei, Have Some Tea: Recently the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin imprisoned a political opponent, noted malcontent Alexei Navalny, to be held for 30 days until they decide to do something else with him. Navalny has had the nerve to point out corruption in the Russian government and to organize protest rallies, something never looked upon with any particular favor in Russia.
Dry, Technical Matter: Navalny was returning home from Berlin, where he was recovering from a poison attack last summer, generally believed by everyone except some Yangtze River pole boat operators to have been done by the Russians.
I Do Solemnly Swear…: Three decades after he first tried, Joe Biden assumes the presidency Wednesday, taking control of a nation that 245 years into its democratic experiment is still a partisan, fractured and bickering mess. In fact, short of Abraham Lincoln, no president has taken the oath at a more divisive or more perilous time. Heck, Trump has followers so disillusioned and bamboozled that unless Biden has some magic fairy dust to sprinkle around at high noon tomorrow, we will still be a mess, but at least we’ll have some sanity in the White House.
The Bottom Line: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Billionaire blatherskites command loyalty. Leaders lock up dissidents – or kill them, in the case of Saudi Arabia – things that have been going on since time immemorial. We in America have the power, through regular elections, to demand competent government, but we keep delining to do so, preferring to keep reelecting those who divide us. We deserve better than the country we have now, but we are not demanding at the ballot box. The Biden Administration will provide no small measure of stability, but boy, America is at one of her strongest ebbs right now.
Today At The Site Writing worth reading. Usually.
Read Free Fortnight is in progress, so go, scoot and enjoy today’s edition of The Diary with our compliments.
The flowing locks are still in dire need of being cut…It’s not too bad up top or on the sides because it’s combed back, but the back is really starting to curl…I don’t have anyone to impress right now and I’m not running for anything, so vanity is the only reason to get it cut now and yours truly doesn’t have sufficient vanity to go and get a haircut right now simply because it’s too long…
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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.
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On This Date The long march to today.
In 2007 – Four men – three Brits and a Canadian – become the first explorers to reach the Antarctic Pole of Inaccessibility (the point farthest from a coastline) without any mechanical aid. The group had arrived using only kites and skis and arrived after a journey of 48 days. The pole is at 82 degrees south latitude, 546 miles from the South Pole, and in 1958 a Soviet group had established a research station there via a tractor convoy.
In 1991 – Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings and Vincent Damphousse of the Toronto Maple Leafs establish and tie NHL All-Star Game records for career and single-game goals in an 11-4 Campbell Conference win over the Prince of Wales Conference at Chicago Stadium. Gretzky had his eleventh career goal to break the record held by Gordie Howe and Damphousse had four goals, tying the record established by Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and since tied many times. Gretzky would retire with 13 career goals, still the All-Star Game record.
In 1959 – The Platters are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. The song also went to #1 in five other countries including Italy and Great Britain and peaked at #3 on BIllboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s sixth-biggest song of the year. It was the fourth and final #1 song on a Billboard pop chart for the group and the song returned to the Hot 100 in 1973 when a version by Blue Haze peaked at #27.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Begin to free yourself at once by doing all that is possible with the means you have, and as you proceed in this spirit the way will open for you to do more. Georges Clemenceau
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
India has won the most Olympic gold medals in men’s field hockey with eight. The Netherlands and Australia have each won three gold medals, the most amongst women’s teams.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What was Billboard’s biggest song of 1959? – Answer next time!
Give me an R! Read Free Fortnight continues at The Diary.
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Monday, January 18 The big news is Amy was stocking the sundry stand when I reported for duty…Usually, no one outside of yours truly seems to stock the sundry stand, not that I’m complaining because this is a reasonable nite auditor function, but we sell a lot of water during ski season and it was pretty low and Amy said it was pretty slow and she wanted to do something…I don’t understand this, at all, of course, because slow can be put to good use, but it saved me some time, so God bless Amy.
The current book is about the first settlers in the Northwest Territories – what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and a small part of Minnesota – and like when I read a couple of Lewis and Clark books a few years back, ol’ Sparrow found himself wondering how he would have fared in these situations.
The answer: not good, unless there was a need for a sniveling no-load who likes to get his rest…There generally isn’t on expeditions like this and ol’ Sparrow probably would have been abandoned – or shot – on the journey out, provided he was allowed to come in the first place.
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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.
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On This Date The long march to today.
In 1915 – Japan delivers what History refers to as the 21 Demands to China. The demands were designed to greatly increase Japanese influence in China and, essentially, make China a Japanese protectorate. China initially rejected the demands and US and British intervention helped reduce the demands to 13, which China, not in a position to decline, accepted. An agreement on the 13 Demands was signed in April, though ultimately it did not provide any great benefit to Japan.
In 1888 – The modern sport of field hockey is founded with the establishment of the Hockey Association in England. Field hockey first appeared at the Olympics at the 1908 London Games and has appeared continuously since 1920. Depictions of field hockey – known as hockey in most of the world. – date back to Egyptian tombs as early as 2000 BC and the origin of the word hockey remains unclear.
In 1975 – Barry Manilow is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Mandy. It was the first chart single for Manilow, his first of eleven Top 10 hits and his first of three #1s. The song also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #11 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s 35th biggest song of the year. In 1972, a version titled Brandy by Scott English – who co-wrote the song – peaked at #91 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents‘ interests, I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can. Barry Goldwater
Answer To The Last Trivia Question Knowledge is power.
Led Zeppelin has had eight #1 albums in Great Britain.
Today’s Stumper Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What country has won the most men’s and women’s Olympic field hockey gold medals? – Answer next time!
