The Daily Dose/July 6, 2020 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 checks in on the progress of the alleged new restaurant in town. Today’s Diary.
I had a very leisurely morning after leaving the hotel…Recall I had slept a lot Saturday and I wasn’t all that tired so first I drove thru town to see what was shaking at the alleged new restaurant presumably opening across from the post office…Recall the electronic sign – which has been dark for a week or so – said they’d be opening in June and now it’s July and no restaurant.
Well, there was some action visible this morning…None of it involved the serving of food, yet, but there was some action inside, tho the windows are tinted and it was tuff to see exactly what they were doing…And there was someone fussing in the yard, which didn’t seem to be particularly useful unless grass and weeds were going to be on the menu.
I came this close to hotel history last night. This close!
It was very slow; in fact I was only dispatched for only one call, though I did pick up one of Lee’s and I stumbled on one of my own, but that was it.
It was not only slow, it was historically slow. So slow, I came within five minutes having a Foot on the Desk percentage of 60 percent.
I am not making that up: 60 percent; the Holy Grail of Foot on the Desk percentages. Four hours and 48 minutes of an eight-hour shift doing absolutely nothing. And that is still with turning in an appropriate number of scans.
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On This Date History’s long march to today.
In 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully uses his rabies vaccination on nine-year-old Joseph Meister in Paris. Meister had been bitten by a rabid dog the day before and Pasteur used spinal tissue from rabid rabbits which he had used previously to prevent rabies in dogs. Meiser would later serve as caretaker of the Pasteur Institute and he killed himself in 1940, ten days after the Germans occupied Paris.
In 1986 – Bob Horner of the Atlanta Braves becomes the eleventh major league player to hit four home runs in a game in an 11-8 loss to the Montreal Expos. Horner homered in the second, fourth, fifth and ninth innings and finished the day 4-for-5 with six RBIs. Horner was the second member of the Braves to accomplish the feat (Joe Adcock, Milwaukee Braves, 1954) and the second person to do so in a losing effort (Ed Delahanty, Philadelphia Phillies, 1896).
In 1974 – Rock the Boat by The Hues Corporation is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week. The song was only in its fourth week in the Top 40 and jumped into the #1 spot from #6. It was the second of five chart singles for the group, their first of two Top 40 hits and remains their only #1 song. Rock the Boat also went to #1 in Canada, peaked at #6 in Great Britain and at #2 on Billboard’s soul chart. The group was formed in Los Angeles in 1969 and began breaking up shortly after Rock the Boat was recorded.
Quotebook The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Nothing will protect us so from external compulsion so much as the control of ourselves. – Arthur Schopenhauer
Answer To The Last Trivia Question It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Bing Crosby had the most #1 songs on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart in the 1940s with nine.
Today’s Stumper Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
What is the major league record for most home runs in consecutive games by a player? – Answer next time!
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The Daily Dose/July 5, 2020 By Gaylon Kent America’s Funniest Guy
The Sunday Bottom 5 The very best of the very worst of the week that was.
1. American Media – Hey guys, thanks for bombarding us with news of the rise in COVID-19 cases…This was to be expected as testing increases and Americans grow weary of wearing masks…Deaths are down and continue to drop and the death rate amongst close cases was at 7.7% Saturday, down from 22.4% on April 1o…We’re getting over it…Please, stop the fear-mongering.
2. Gaylon For US Senate – Now-perennial candidate with severe grandeur delusions can’t even win small-party primary, getting only 38% of the vote in Tuesday, as Colorado residents officially “grateful” they won’t be able to not vote for him on general election ballot for first time since 2012.
3. Colorado Libertarian Party – Hey guys, you had two good candidates for your US Senate nomination and only 12% of you bothered to vote in an election that required nothing more taxing than opening and letter, blocking out a circle, and mailing it back in…Shame on you.
4. American Sports – You know, enough college and professional players are either testing positive or declining to play your made-for-TV seasons that you should probably shut everything down…Sunday Bottom 5 pollsters “pretty sure” you should stay shut down until it’s safe for us to pay our way into stadiums and arenas again.
5. President Trump Fact Check – A Dynamic Duo tag-team for you today, as both President Trump and Vice President Pence prove equally competent liars. Click here for this week’s fact check, courtesy of the Associated Press.
Today At The Site Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: The grass in the yard next door is no longer chest high. Today’s Diary.
The big news is my neighbor, the one who bought the abandoned house next door so he can build a weed store, finally got around to having his yard mowed…It’s the first time all year and some of it was chest high…About time…Almost interesting is the fact he stopped at the property line, so there’s an immediate demarcation, which looks bad, but what are you going to do.
Jackie enthusiastically buffed the dome during changeover tonight. I had walked up to her meekly and asked if she would like to buff.
“YES!” she said commandingly, wringing her hands together. She all but breastfed me as she buffed with both hands.
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On This Date History’s long march to today
In 1687 – Mathematical Principles for Natural Philosophy – commonly known as The Principia – by Sir Isaac Newton is published by the Royal Society. The Principia deals mainly with the movement of large bodies and was born out of conversations Newton had with Edmund Halley concerning planetary motion. Newton published updated volumes in 1713 and 1726 and The Principia remains one of the most important works in the history of science. Publication costs were paid by Halley because the Society had lost a lot of money on its prior publication, Of The History of Fish, the year before.
In 1993 – Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s becomes the second major league player to lead off both games of a doubleheader with home runs in a 6-5 win and a 6-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Henderson equaled the feat first done in 1913 by Harry Hooper of the Boston Red Sox and later equaled by Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles in 1999 and Ronald Acuna, Jr, of the Atlanta Braves in 2018.
In 1941 – Jimmy Dorsey is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Selling Singles chart – Billboard’s first pop singles chart and the forerunner of every other Billboard chart – for the second and final non-consecutive week with Maria Elena. It was the third of five #1 songs for Dorsey during the year, then a record for most #1 songs on a Billboard pop chart and a mark that is now held by the Beatles, who had six #1 songs in 1964. The vocals were sung by Bob Eberly.
Quotebook The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Citizens no longer listened to good advice, for the belly has no ears. – Cato
Answer To The Last Trivia Question It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Tom Browning won 123 games in his eleven-year major league career.
Today’s Stumper Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
What act had the most #1 hits in the 1940s? – Answer next time!
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Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, July 4 Busy tonight, the first legitimately busy night of the Virus Era.
The remodel’s done, so we were able to muster 108 rooms and we did over $20K in revenue for the first time since ski season and we were even able to scam some $265 rates from some who evidently have never heard of third-party bookings.
November 9 The news is as official as it is heartbreaking:
D-Dawg is leaving!
His last night will be November 27. I want to weep, but I’m committed to being strong.
As a result, I moped my way around the casino as Charlie 7 tonight. There’s (another) new schedule at work, designed to accommodate the new poker and pit drop times. This schedule was actually designed by Twerp who, between two jobs and a new baby, evidently didn’t have enough to do.
There was some funny radio traffic. Early on Russ, who was Charlie 3, and Code Four Carlin, who was Henry 3, had the following conversation:
– Charlie 3, Henry 3. – Henry 3, go ahead. – Yeah, regarding what we talked about earlier, mission accomplished. – 10-9?
10-9 means repeat. Evidently Code Four Carlin had no clue what Russ was talking about because Russ was coming through loud and clear. Russ paused a second to consider the matter.
– Give me an extension for a 21 (telephone call). – 10-9????
Even the concept of a telephone call was too much for Code Four Carlin to take. Rich and I happened to be standing next to each other when this went down, which was funny because Rich pretends to hate Russ and have no use for Carlin.
“This is great,” I said. “Russ and Carlin with their own secret code.”
“And Carlin doesn’t even understand it,” Rich said. “It figures.”
Jackie enthusiastically buffed the dome during changeover tonight. I had walked up to her meekly and asked if she would like to buff.
“YES!” she said commandingly, wringing her hands together. She all but breastfed me as she buffed with both hands.
Here is your Henry lineup for tonight:
Henry 1 – moi Henry 2 – Lee Henry 3 – X-Ray
I can only take so much of the casino now. It will be nice to be back home.
Editor’s Note: it’s common to double-up when an entry is short, but tomorrow’s entry is rather long and rather historic, so it will run alone tomorrow. – gk
The Daily Dose/July 4, 2020 By Gaylon Kent America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off Notes from around the human experience.
Editor’s Note: a version of this item appeared three years ago today. It’s been updated for today’s column.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US: 244 years after America declared its independence from Great Britain, let’s take a look at how our Founding Fathers might regard the America they founded has turned into.
Leading Off: Let’s start with the media. Newspapers, pamphlets and town criers were important in America in 1776 – important enough that protecting them was put into the Bill of Rights a decade later – and the media is important today, though the Internet and TV have replaced pamphlets and town criers and newspapers, of course, are still hanging on mightily.
Extra, Extra Read All About It: And Messrs. Washington, Franklin and Adams wouldn’t be particularly surprised at how partisan today’s media is. Newspapers throughout history have always had a partisan bias.
Fly In The Ointment: But they would be surprised at how today’s media is derelict in their responsibilities, having long ago decided that entertaining and polarizing America was more important than informing and educating America. There are two good recent examples.
Dry, Technical Matter: One is going on right now: the current coronavirus panic the media is hell-bent on perpetuating. Deaths are going down. Yes, cases are up, but that’s because testing is up and there are more cases being reported. It announced its presence, wreaked its havoc and is now fading. The numbers don’t lie: daily deaths worldwide and in the US are going down. We’re not hearing that on the news, though. All we are hearing are the rise in cases.
USA! USA! Another example of this is the phenomenon that is President Donald Trump.
We are of the opinion Trump never wanted to be president, that he got into the race in 2015 merely because he wanted to draw some attention to himself. A real media would have realized this, properly vetted Trump and would have had him out of the race within a few days, the same as it would’ve done to any childish billionaire that had declared for the GOP nomination.
Fly In The Ointment II: Trump, however, like the coronavirus, means clicks and ratings, so he was ushered right into the GOP primaries, the November ballot and then the White House. Trump was an embarrassment as a candidate and he has been and will continue to be an embarrassment as president.
War: It’s What’s For Dinner: On the surface, the Founding Fathers would not be particularly surprised that America spends an awful lot of time at war. The Founding Fathers, after all, spent no small amount of time fighting the Indians and, of course, had to defeat Britain in the Revolution.
But those wars were on our home turf. None of the wars we are fighting now are, and the Founding Fathers would be appalled at the amount of fighting we do in foreign lands, in countries that are not direct threats to us. They would be surprised, and discouraged, to see a chief executive unilaterally authorizing military action without the consent of the Congress.
Dry, Technical Matter: They would be surprised at other things, too, both good and bad. Told what they do, Benjamin Franklin would marvel at an airplane from the outside, climb aboard, go immediately to first-class and order champagne before flirting with your wife or daughter or, as likely as not, both.
One Small Step: Thomas Jefferson would look dumbstruck at pictures taken on the surface of the moon and Mars and of Pluto and be glad the slavery he had been unwilling to do anything about is gone. All would fret over the excessive taxes and regulations our government imposes and would note that we certainly appear to be generally well-fed as a country. They would not marvel over the differences between rich and poor because as generally wealthy, landowning white males, they were accustomed to this.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: What I think our Founding Fathers would really be surprised at is how easily Americans now accept what their government chooses to spoon-feed them, how we continue to tolerate a government that is a partisan, fractured and bickering mess. They would not be surprised at our racially fractured country because they allowed slavery.
The Bottom Line: They wouldn’t understand this because when they deemed British shackles intolerable they went and did something about it and they would be disappointed to see today’s Americans not only accepting substandard government but refusing to do anything about it on Election Day.
Today At The Site Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow forgets he has the day off from the VSO. Today’s Diary.
Well, hell, now what???…I have to be the only person in the history of labor who whines about a paid holiday…I mean, had I known about there could’ve been a workout…Instead, I laid on the couch some more, eventually getting up and doing some project work, which is what I would have been doing at the VSO anyway, the only difference being I didn’t have to put on real clothes.
Few people think to tip the friendly security officer who lets them into their room, especially when it’s the yo-yo guest who forgot their key. We do graciously accept them, however. I got a ten-spot for letting one guest into their room and X-Ray got two bottles of wine from another, although X-Ray ended up giving the bottles of wine back because we are only allowed to receive cash or gaming chips as gratuities.
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On This Date History’s long march to today
In 1803 – The United States Military Academy, commonly known as West Point, opens in West Point, New York. Admission and academic standards were not structured back then and the first cadet graduated a few months later and Congress would not impose a more formal standards until the War of 1812. The Continental Army first occupied West Point in 1778 and it remains the Army’s oldest continuously operating post and it’s visitor’s center is the oldest museum in the United States Army. Of the 1,300 or cadets that enter as freshmen, about 1,00 will graduate.
In 1989 – Tom Browning of the Cincinnati Reds comes within three outs of becoming the first pitcher to throw two perfect games in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. After retiring the first 24 Phillies, Dickie Thon led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double. Thon would later score and John Franco pitched two-thirds of an inning for the save. Browning had pitched a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers the year before.
In 1953 – Jim Reeves is at #1 on Billboard’s Most Played in Jukeboxes country chart – one of several predecessors to today’s country chart – for the fifth of eight consecutive weeks with Mexican Joe. It was the first chart single for Reeves, who was then moonlighting as a radio announcer when not making records, and the first of ten #1 country songs. Reeves died in a plane crash on July 31, 1964, at the age of 40. The song also peaked at #23 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart.
Quotebook The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Amid world beating hearts, the tumult and the shouting starts. – Grantland Rice, The Start
Answer To The Last Trivia Question It’s not who you know, but what you know.
ExxonMobil is the company that has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average the longest. Then known as Standard Oil of New Jersey, it was added in October 1928.
Today’s Stumper Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
How many games did Tom Browning win in his career? – Answer next time!
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Editor’s Note: Today’s Daily Dose first ran on July 3, 2017. We don’t usually rehash columns, but this is more or less what we were going to write anyway, and it is offered today to show how this august feature has evolved into the column you enjoy today.
Click here for today’s entry in The Diary of a Nobody, where Sparrow buys a new coffee maker.
I bought a new coffee maker, too because just like that the old one needed to be replaced…This week it started not producing full pots of coffee…This was perplexing because where the hell’s the water going???….I mean, you put a full pot of water in there and it is only yielding half to three-quarters of a pot…Ol’ Sparrow was completely flummoxed, hardly the Upset of the Year…I bought one that was similar, tho a bit different, but it still has the red front that I like.
Click here for today’s entry in Backstairs at the Monte Carlo. The following entry is posted, too. Click on the Next Entry link at the bottom. Usually, of course, we combine short entries, but they cover separate months, so they are separate entries.
Tony does not suffer fools in the same polite manner I do. If he enters the room there is a high degree of probability he will smack the guy around, and, for good measure, screw the guy’s wife.
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The Daily Dose/July 3, 2017
Notes from around the Human Experience…
SORT OF HOT CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ACTION: The 3rd of July, sandwiched as it is between the 2nd of July – when the United Colonies actually declared their independence from Britain – and the 4th of July – when the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress – tends to get lost in the shuffle. It is kind of like being the best football player at Duke University, nice, but Duke is a basketball school, so who cares?
Dry, Technical Matter: The Second Continental Congress was in session in Philadelphia on the 3rd, though. Seeking to tone it down a bit after the excitement of adopting the Lee Resolution the day before, and mindful of the labors to come, the Congress took it easy today.
FunFact: The Lee Resolution was also known as the Resolution for Independancy, which was a word back then but is not used too much nowadays. The resolution was named after Richard Henry Lee, a convention delegate from Virginia, who proposed it.
Leading Off: The Congress took care of routine matters first. They entertained letters from the colony of New Jersey and the commissioner of Indian affairs of the southern department.
Then, among other things, Congress then resolved to ask Pennsylvania to send some to help to New Jersey, then passed off the supplying and leading of these troops off on General Washington, who evidently didn’t have enough to do.
FunFact II: War with Great Britain had actually been going on for a year.
Down To Business: Then, finding it “agreeable to the order of the day” the Congress morphed itself into a Committee of the Whole to “farther” consider what the Congressional journal always refers to as the Declaration.
The Congress had been farting around with Thomas Jefferson’s original version since it had been presented to them on June 28. After some discussion, the journal doesn’t say how much, delegate Benjamin Harrison V announced the committee really would prefer to put the matter off until tomorrow, and Congress adjourned for the day.
Name Game: Benjamin Harrison is a familiar name in American history. Benjamin Harrison V was chairman of the Committee of the Whole at the Second Continental Congress that considered and made changes to the Declaration of Independence and in the early 1780s was the 5th Governor of Virginia. Both his son William Henry and great-grandson Benjamin were presidents of the United States.
TEN-HUT: General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army on this date in 1775. The colonies had been at war with Great Britain since the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April, and Washington had been appointed by the Continental Congress on June 15.
More Great Moments In American Warfare!: The Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) in the American Civil War concludes on this date in 1863, with the Union repelling one last Confederate attack, known as Pickett’s Charge.
Though it was a victory for the Union, the battle was devastating on both sides. The Army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E Lee was barely able to retreat, and the Union army, under General George Meade, was unable to pursue them.
Going…Going…Gone…And Gone: In one the major league record book’s most curious marks, pitcher Tony Cloninger becomes the first National League player to hit two grand slam home runs in one game on this date in 1966. He homered in the first and the fourth innings, and added an RBI single in the eighth, giving three hits and nine RBI’s for the day.
Oh Yeah: The Braves defeated the San Francisco Giants 17-3.
The Post Game Show Is Brought To You By Old Style Beer: Cloninger wasn’t too bad a hitter actually. He would finish 1966 with five home runs and would finish with eleven home runs over his twelve big league seasons. Cloninger was the fifth major leaguer to hit two grand slams in one game and it has now been done 13 times, the last by Washington’s Josh Willingham in 2009. Cloninger remains the only pitcher to turn the trick.
Whoops, Our Bad: The USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 on this date in 1988. The plane was over Iranian airspace and the Vincennes was in Iranian waters, also carrying on some small arms fire with Iranian warships.
As usual in incidents like this, there is enough blame to go around. Had the Vincennes Commanding Officer William Rodgers not been told, incorrectly, of course, the plane was an attacking Iranian warplane he probably wouldn’t have fired. Had the crew of Flight 655 been monitoring civilian radio frequencies like it should have been, they would have heard the Vincennes trying to make contact with it. Had my parents never met you would be playing with your fidget spinner instead of reading this.
Dry, Technical Matter: While the US never admitted fault or apologized for the incident, it did pay Iran $131.8 million to settle a suit Iran brought in the International Court of Justice.
Thought For The Day:In the city, people paid to hear other people sing and watch other people feel. Passion has become a spectator sport supported by emotional cripples. Love and suffering were knacks possessed by the talented paid to display their gifts. – Lawrence Sanders, The Third Deadly Sin
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Andrew Jackson was the first US president to suffer an assassination attempt. On January 30, 1835, a house painter named Richard Sanders twice attempted to shoot Jackson, but his pistols misfired both times. Jackson then proceeded to beat Sanders with his cane.
Today’s Stumper: What was General George Washington’s salary as commander of the Continental Army? – Answer next time!
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