The Daily Dose/April 4, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience….

Leading Off remains in quarantine.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Read Free Fortnight rolls on.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow postpones his morning walk because it’s dark. Today’s Diary. 

Of course, it’s a small town and it’s not likely I’d get hit, but it only takes one whackjob not paying attention to ruin your day and besides, what if I ran into a bear???…I’d probably lose…There is bear spray, of course, and I could wear a reflective vest, but I dunno, that’s getting more geared up than I want to get for a walk…

Click here to get in on the laffs: Sparrow, The Bottom Ten, the funniest books you’ve ever read. We offer 4Ever and Ever access, or cheapskates can purchase books and columns individually. 

On This Date
Great moments in us. 

In 1841 – John Tyler becomes president of the United States following the death of President William Henry Harrison. Harrison died of pneumonia, the first president to die in office and Tyler immediately took the oath of office, moved into the White House and assumed all responsibilities of the presidency. Elected vice president as a Whig, Tyler was eventually thrown out of the party and was not nominated for a full term. Harison’s term of 31 days remains the shortest in American history and Tyler served the longest term of any president not elected to the office.

In 1994 – Eddie Murray of the Cleveland Indians establishes a new major league record for most games played by a first baseman in a 4-3, 11-inning victory over the Seattle Mariners. Murray was playing in his 2.369th game at first base, one more than Jake Beckley was believed to have played in between 1888 and 1907 though later research would credit Beckley with 2,383 games played at first base. Murray would retire in 1997 with 2,413 games played at first, a record that still stands. 

In 1964 – The Beatles are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of five consecutive weeks with Can’t Buy Me Love. It is one of the most significant #1 songs in chart history. Can’t Buy Me Love song jumped to #1 from #27, a record that stood until Maroon 5 jumped from #64 to #1 in 2007 with Makes Me Wonder. It was the third consecutive #1 song on the Hot 100 by the group, following She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand, marking the only time an act replaced itself twice at #1. The Beatles also occupied the entire Top 5 this week (Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Please, Please Me) marking the only time this has been accomplished on the Hot 100. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of man will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint. – Alexander Hamilton

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know. 

The first on a Billboard pop chart to have the phrase ‘rock and roll’ in the title was Rock and Roll Waltz by Kay Starr, which spent one week at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart in 1956. 

Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar. 

What song holds the record for making the biggest jump to #1? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/April 3, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience….

Leading Off will return.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Read Free Fortnight continues!
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow completes the census. Today’s Diary.   

So I filled it out online…I didn’t, of course, have the 12-digit number because I didn’t get a packet, but that was of zero consequence and in a matter of minutes I had done my civic duty…I dearly enjoy doing my civic duty – be it the census or jury duty – and afterward I sat at my desk, contentedly and with coffee, for a few minutes…Idly, I wondered where I would be filling out the next census tho let’s not kid ourselves, there is a high level of probability it will be here at The Shire. 

Click here to get in on the laffs: Sparrow, The Bottom Ten, the funniest books you’ve ever read. We offer 4Ever and Ever access, or cheapskates can purchase books and columns individually. 

On This Date
Great moments in us. 

In 1996 – Ted Kaczynski, infamously known as the Unabomber, is arrested at his cabin near Lincoln, Montana on charges stemming from a bombing campaign between 1978 and 1995 that killed three and injured 23 others. In April Kaczynski would be indicted on a variety of charges, including three counts of murder and the following January pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to eight life sentences without the possibility of parole. Kaczynski later tried to withdraw his plea but was turned down. Kascinzki, now 77, is serving his sentences at the federal supermax prison in Colorado.

In 1977 – The Montreal Canadiens establish a new NHL record for most wins a season in a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. It was the 60th win of the season for the team, breaking the record of 59 wins they had established the night before in an 11-0 win over the Capitals. The previous record had been 58 wins, which the Canadiens had established the year before. The record is now 62 wins in a season, done twice, by the Detroit Red Wings in 1995-96 and by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19. 

In 1976 – Johnny Taylor is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of four consecutive weeks with Disco Lady. Taylor had been knocking around the charts since 1963 and Disco Lady remains his only #1 song out of 20 chart singles and eleven Top 40 hits. The song was also in its fourth of six weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s third-biggest song of the year. History remembers Disco Lady as the first #1 song on the Hot 100 to feature ‘disco’ in the title and was also the first single to earn the platinum designation for selling one million copies, though other singles had sold one million copies before the platinum designation. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

I saw nothing at all. I understood nothing at all. That is why I think it is better to study real things in a real world. – Gore Vidal, Creation

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know. 

Currently, there are four mints in the US that produce coins: Philadelphia, West Point, NY, San Francisco and Denver.  

Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar. 

What was the first #1 song on a Billboard pop chart to feature the phrase ‘rock and roll’ in the title? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/April 2, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience….

Since there is nothing really going on right now, Leading Off is taking some PTO. It will return.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Read Free Fortnight continues!
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow takes the day off from the Veterans Service Office (VSO). Today’s Diary.   

You gotta be careful using sick time at the county now because they all but quarantine you if you so much as have dandruff… 

Click here to get in on the laffs: Sparrow, The Bottom Ten, the funniest books you’ve ever read. We offer 4Ever and Ever access, or cheapskates can purchase books and columns individually. 

On This Date
Great moments in us. 

In 1792 – The United States Mint is established when the Coinage Act of 1792 is signed by President George Washington. The Act also established the dollar as the standard unit of money and created a decimal system of coinage. It also authorized the building of a mint in Philadelphia, then the seat of government. The Act also provided that citizens could bring gold or silver bullion to the mint and have it coined free of charge. Six other coinage acts have since been passed, the most recent in 1965.

In 1986 – Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox establishes a new major league record for most consecutive errorless games by a first baseman in a 5-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Youkilis played in his 194th consecutive errorless game, breaking the record of 193 that had been established by Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres from 1983-85. Youkilis had not made an error at first base since July 4, 2006, and his next error at first base would come on June 7, 2008, a span of 238 games, a record that still stands. 

In 1994 – Ace of Base is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the fourth of six non-consecutive weeks with The Sign. The song would spend the next four weeks at #2 before returning to #1 for two more weeks and all told spent 13 consecutive weeks at either #1 or #2. It was the group’s second of seven Top 40 hits and remains their only #1 song. The Sign went to #1 in nine other countries including Zimbabwe and Israel and peaked at #2 in Great Britain. It was Billboard’s biggest song of the year, the eleventh biggest of the 1990s and ranked 65th on Billboard’s 60th anniversary Hot 100.

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

We are going to sing so that they will remember this for the rest of their lives. There is no other reason to do it, folks, none. – Garrison Keillor, Love Me

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know. 

The following NHL players have scored 50 or more goals in at least five consecutive seasons: Mike Bossy (9), Wayne Gretzky (8), Guy Lefleur (6) and Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito and Brett Hull, five each. 

Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar. 

How many mints are there in the United States today that are producing coins? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/April 1, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Friends, your Daily Dose will return. It’s OK, there’s nothing really important going on right now anyway.

The Diary of a Nobody rolls on, of course…It takes an awful lot for The Diary to take a day off and, in fact, if there has been more than a handful over the six or so years I’ve been producing it, I’d be surprised. Click here to read today’s entry. Cheapskates will be pleased to note that Read Free Fortnight remains in progress.

Have a great day,

Gaylon

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The Daily Dose/March 31, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience….

Friends, Leading Off will return.

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

Read Free Fortnight rolls on!
The Diary of a Nobody: At the VSO, Sparrow replies to an email. Today’s Diary.   

At the Veterans Service Office (VSO) there was an email from County Commissioner Beth to all department heads advising that the county will be putting out a five-minute video every day updating residents on the virus…I get department head emails even tho I’m not really a department head, altho I am because I head the VSO altho I am the only VSO employee…Still tho, I am attached to the Human Services Department and I’ll be honest, I generally ignore department head emails. 

Anyway, I wrote Commissioner Beth back, asking if she could put a plug for the VSO, that we are still open and ready and willing to be of service, even tho everything has to be handled by phone and email for the foreseeable future. 

Click here to get in on the laffs: Sparrow, The Bottom Ten, the funniest books you’ve ever read. We offer 4Ever and Ever access, or cheapskates can purchase books and columns individually. 

On This Date
Great moments in us. 

In 1992 – The battleship era in the United States Navy comes to an end with the USS Missouri is decommissioned. Missiouri had two periods of commissioned service (1944-55 and 1986-92) and saw action in World War II and the Korean and Persian Gulf wars, and was the site of the Japanese surrender to Allied forces in 1945. The first US battleship, the USS Texas, had been commissioned in 1895. 

In 1984 – Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders establishes a new NHL record, becoming the first player to score 50 or more goals in seven consecutive seasons in a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Bossy had two goals and broke the record of six he had shared with Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens. Bossy would finish with nine consecutive seasons with 50 or more goals, a record that still stands. 

In 1974 – John Denver is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the only week with Sunshine on My Shoulders. It was Denver’s third of seven Top 10 hits and his second of four #1 songs. The song also went to #1 in Canada and peaked at #42 on Billboard’s country chart. The song also spent 13 weeks in the Top 40, including seven weeks in the Top 10. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

…and Stephen Douglas would still be alive. It was Chase’s view that men who get what they want in the world seldom die, prematurely, of pneumonia in Chicago. – Gore Vidal, Lincoln

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know. 

The Fleetwoods were the other act besides Frankie Avalon to have two #1 hits in 1959 on the Hot 100. They hit #1 with Come Softly To Me and Mr. Blue. 

Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar. 

How many NHL players have scored 50 or more goals in at least five consecutive seasons? – Answer next time!

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