The Daily Dose/February 14, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience…

CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: The First Congress by Fergus Bordewich: One of the pleasures of reading is going in-depth on a subject you previously only knew a little about. We’ve long had a big-picture view of our first Congress, mainly through reading biographies of those who were there, but this was the first in-depth reading we’ve done on how they went about their business on a daily basis. 

Down To Business: Bordewich does an excellent job of showing the challenges facing the first Congress, challenges that were as numerous as they were enormous because they were no less than inventing an entirely new form of government. For example, while the new Constitution specified a supreme court and other inferior courts, it left no further instructions; it was up to Congress to sort this, as well as other matters, out. Money had to be raised, debts had to be paid, a permanent capital had to be found, the list went on and on. 

The More Things Change…: Egos, provincialism and bickering are on full display, too, just like they’ve been on display in every Congress since. This means that the first Congress sometimes met the challenges they were faced with and that sometimes they didn’t, just like every Congress since. 

Dry, Technical Matter: The first United States Congress met from March 1789 until March 1791, first in New York City before finishing up in Philadelphia. It started with 22 senators and 59 representatives before Rhode Island and North Carolina ratified the Constitution, which added four senators and six representatives.  

Final Ranking: B: Bordewich’s account moves right along, something historians might find some fault with because while a variety of personalities and issues are highlighted, few are gone into in any great detail. For general readers and fans of the era, though, The First Congress is a good read, an excellent introduction for those new to the period, and a useful tool for those who have visited it before. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow enjoys a day off. Today’s Diary. 

I efforted around the cabin when I got back, washing dishes and doing laundry and watering the plants and cleaning the cat box…I’m still half-assing it tho, because I still can’t be bothered to vacuum or actually fold the clean clothes, preferring to leave them on the kitchen table. 

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On This Date
Great moments in us. 

In 1349 – History’s long intolerance of the Jews continues in Strasbourg (then a free city, now part of France) when approximately 2,000 Jews are burned to death for assorted reasons, including general intolerance and being blamed for the Black Plague that was devastating Europe at the time. After the murders, residents took any valuables that had not been burned and would later claim the Jews’ property. Jews willing to be baptized, children and good-looking women were spared. Jews would return to Strasbourg 20 years later when it was decided their money was needed again. 

In 1966 – Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers establishes a new NBA record for most career points in a 149-123 win over the Detroit Pistons. Chamberlain had 41 points and broke the record of 20,880 points that had been established by Bob Petit between 1954 and 1965 with the Milwaukee/St Louis Hawks. Chamberlain retired in 1973 with 31,419 career points, a mark now good for seventh on the all-time list. The record is now held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who scored 38,387 points between 1969 and 1989, 

In 1981 – Kool and the Gang is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second and final consecutive week with Celebration. Earlier, the song had spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart and also topped Billboard’s dance chart for five weeks. It was their fifth of eight soul chart #1s and remains their only song to top the Hot 100. Celebration also went to #1 in New Zealand and Canada, peaked at #7 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s sixth-biggest song of the year. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

Let us laugh at fate. It might please her. – Winston Churchill

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

Two players have twice scored 100 or more points in an NCAA basketball game: Clarence ‘Bevo’ Francis (Rio Grande College, 1953, 1954) and Jack Taylor (Grinnell College, 2012, 2013). Taylor’s 138 points on Nov 20, 2012, is the all-time NCAA single-game scoring record. 

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

What was the first #1 song on Billboard’s dance chart? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 13, 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 has a busy day att he VSO. Today’s Diary. 

Friends, here’s a ProTip from me to you, useful if you ever need to visit a VSO…One, be prepared…Have your paperwork sorted out, not randomly tossed in some folder…Have them sorted and paperclipped, too…This will save all of us time.

Two, and I can’t stress enuff this ProTips usefulness in virtually every other human situation: please be recently bathed…While I had forgotten Mr H and what I was doing for him over the past couple of months, I instantly remembered his BO….The office still wasn’t completely aired out when I left. 

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 1960 – What History refers to as the Nashville Sit-Ins begin as 124 college students, mostly black, conduct sit-ins at three Nashville lunch counters. The students had been denied service and remained in the diners for a couple of hours before leaving without confrontation. Three other peaceful sit-ins followed before the first violence occurred on Feb 24. More violence followed and after negotiations between store owners and the protesters, lunch counters began serving blacks on May 10. 

In 1954 – Frank Selvy of Furman establishes a new NCAA major division record for most points in a game, scoring 100 points in a 149-95 victory over Newberry College. Selvey made 42 field goals and 18 free throws and his last basket was a half-court shot at the final buzzer. Selvey’s record still stands, though Clarence ‘Bevo’ Francis of Rio Grande College had twice previously topped 100 points in lower level NCAA games. 

In 1954 – Guitar Slim is at #1 on Billboard’s R&B Juke Box chart – a predecessor of today’s soul chart – for the third of 14 consecutive weeks with The Things That I Used To Do. The song was written by Guitar Slim, was arranged and produced by Ray Charles and was Billboard’s biggest soul song of the year and third biggest of the decade. Guitar Slim’s real name was Eddie Jones and Jones was 32 when he died of pneumonia in 1959 and The Things That I Used To Do remains his only appearance on any Billboard chart. The song also spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard’s R&B Best Sellers chart. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

In times like these, it helps to remember there have always been times like these. – Paul Harvey, American radio announcer

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

Al Green has had six #1 songs on Billboard’s soul chart over the years.  

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

How many people have scored 100 or more points in a college basketball more than once? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 12, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience…

HERE WE GO AGAIN: As usually happens every four years, some are getting their shorts in a knot over the influence Iowa and New Hampshire have in the selection of Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.  They are the first contests in the country and candidates spend no small amount of time and money trying to curry favor, even though only two Democrats who won contested races – Jimmy Carter (1976) and Barack Obama (2008) – have won the presidency. 

Dry, Technical Matter: Naysayers like to point out that Iowa and New Hampshire are far from the biggest states in the country, Iowa ranking 32nd in population while New Hampshire ranks 42nd. On the other hand, Iowa and New Hampshire are members in good standing of the Union, having the same status as California and New York and every other state. 

Really Dry, Technical Matter: Iowa has long held caucuses. They did have a primary in 1916 but went back to the caucus (where voters cast ballots at county meetings) because of the cost and low turnout. New Hampshire has had the first primary in the nation since 1916 and state law mandates their primary happen before any other primary. 

Fly In The Ointment: We’ve long felt that Iowa and New Hampshire’s smaller populations work to our advantage. Consider this: since there are fewer voters, and since candidates want to make good impressions, they go out of their way to shake as many hands and kiss as many babies as possible. Voters are able to look candidates in the eyes and shake their hands and ask them questions, and these are good ways to get to know someone, be it the new neighbor on the block or a candidate rustling up votes. 

Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: We’re OK with the role Iowa and New Hampshire play in the nominating process. Now, those who say Iowa and New Hampshire are not the most diverse states in the Union have a point, but there are 50 states and not all of them can have the first caucus or the first primary, and we’re happy to have the good folks of Iowa and New Hampshire sort out matters early for us. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody:  Sparrow shows up to the hotel, but doesn’t do much. Today’s Diary. 

I was committed to doing as little as possible tonight…Usually, I can be counted on to spend the idle hours working on project stuff but not tonight…I have a very leisurely job and I decided to take advantage of it and spend as much of it as possible doing as little as possible. 

This quest was neither difficult nor unrewarded.  

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 1999 – President of the United States Bill Clinton is acquitted of all charges by the United States Senate in a trial that had followed his impeachment by the US House of Representatives. Clinton had been charged with one count of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. 67 votes were required for conviction with the first article garnering 45 guilty votes and the second article 50 guilty votes. Ten Republicans voted not guilty on the first article and five voted not guilty on the second. The articles stemmed from Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and the trial had begun on Jan 7. 

In 1947 – Bill Cowley of the Boston Bruins establishes a new NHL record for most career points in a 10-1 victory over the New York Rangers. Cowley had a goal and an assist, giving him a total of 530 points, one more than Syd Howe, who had spent most of his career with the Detroit Red Wings. Cowley would retire at the end of the season with 549 points and the mark has been eclipsed so many times Cowley’s record no longer has any statistical significance. The record is now held by Wayne Gretzky with 2,857 career points. 

In 1972 – Al Green is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Let’s Stay Together. It was Green’s second of ten Top 10 pop hits and remains his only #1 song on the Hot 100. The song was also in its sixth of nine consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, Green’s first of six soul #1s, and was Billboard’s biggest soul song of the year. The song also peaked at #7 in Great Britain and returned to the Hot 100 in 1983, when Tina Turner took it to #26. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

A proverb is no proverb to you until your life has illustrated it. – John Keats

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

The song that spent the most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart in 1967 was Respect by Aretha Franklin, which spent eight weeks at the top. 

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

How many #1 songs has Al Green had on Billboard’s soul chart? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/February 11, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience…

DRY, TECHNICAL MATTER: Further evidence that the Earth is warming faster than we should probably feel comfortable with came last Friday when the highest temperature ever in Antarctica, 64.9F, was recorded at Esperanza Base, an Argentinian research station on the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula

FYI: Esperanza Station is about 650 miles southeast of the southern tip of South America, which is a continent immediately south of North America, where the United States is located. 

Let’s Hear It For Dry, Technical Matter: The new record is 1.5 degrees warmer than the old record, established only five years ago. This is a fairly substantial increase, especially for an area that is often frozen. a scenario that has people smarter than us worried because the rate of warming in Antarctica is higher than the global average and glaciers are disappearing. 

FunFact: The highest temperature ever recorded at the South Pole is 9.9 degrees, on Dec 25, 2011. 

Not-So-FunFact: A complete melting of the Antarctic ice pack would see sea levels around the world rise approximately ten feet. 

More Dry, Technical Matter: Esperanza Station is only one of two permanent settlements on Antarctica. It was settled by Argentina in 1953, a few years before a treaty banning all national claims on the continent was signed. The other settlement is a Chilean settlement on some islands a bit north of Esperanza. 

Uh, Is There A Point To This Item?: No, not really. We found it interesting and thought you might, too. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow goes to the ER. Today’s Diary. 

I decided to do something about my earwax buildup after the VSO…

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 1937 – What History refers to as the Flint Sit Down Strike ends at a General Motors (GM) plant in Flint, Michigan, with GM recognizing the United Auto Workers (UAW). The strike started on Dec 30, and also resulted in a 5% pay raise for GM workers, the first contract between the UAW and an automaker. The UAW had a peak membership of 1.53 million in 1979 and today represents about 390,000 working members and more than 600,000 retirees. 

In 1973 – The Philadelphia 76ers establish a new NBA record for most consecutive losses, losing their 20th straight game in a 108-90 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The 76ers broke the record of 19 they had established earlier in the season, a streak which dated back to the previous season. This record has been broken several times since and is again held by Philadelphia, who lost 28 straight games over the course of two seasons, from march 2015 until December 2015. 

In 1967 – Are You Lonely For Me by Freddie Scott is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles chart – for the first of four consecutive weeks. The song was the second of seven Top 40 hits on the soul chart for Scott and the song also peaked at #39 on the Hot 100. It remains Scott’s only appearance at #1 on any Billboard chart. After his chart career ended, Scott wrote advertising jingles and did some acting while continuing to perform. Scott died in 2007 at age 74. 

Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever. 

I loved…above all the sense the author himself was having a wonderful time, writing something he thoroughly enjoyed.  – Louis L’Amour, Education of a Wandering Man

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

The NCAA Division I team that has played the most games is the Kansas Jayhawks, who have played 3,156 games. The Washington State Cougars are second with 3,144. 

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

What song spent the most weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart in 1967? – Answer next time!

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