The Daily Dose/March 23, 2024
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 introduces a new customer service technique at the hotel. Today’s Diary. 

…we got to call a guest a “dumbass” tonite.

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 2021 – The Taiwanese container ship Ever Given runs aground in the Suez Canal. The grounding halted transit in the canal for six days and freeing the ship required 14 tugs working at high tide. Egypt, the shipping line and its insurers then bickered over paying for damages to the canal and Ever Given would not reach its scheduled destination in Rotterdam until summer.  

In 1994 – Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings establishes a new NHL record for most career goals in a 6-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Gretzky’s second-period goal was the 802 of his career, breaking the record of 801 established by Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings between 1946-80. Gretzky would retire in 1999 with 894 goals, a record that still stands. Gretzky’s first goal had come on April 4, 1980, against the Colorado Rockies. 

In 1974 – Barbra Streisand is at #1 on the Billboard album chart – then known as the Top LPs and Tapes chart – for the second and final consecutive week with The Way We Were. The album also went Top 10 in Australia and Canada and was Billboard’s 50th-biggest album of the year. It was the second of eleven #1 albums for Streisand and produced two chart singles, including the title track, which went to #1 on the Hot 100. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The spirit cannot mature into unity unless it has checked its curiosity and its wanderings.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. III: Caesar to Christ

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The first archbishop of Canterbury was St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

In what city did the NHL’s Colorado Rockies start and where do they play now? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose will return. Promise.

Click here to read today’s entry in The Diary of a Nobody.

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/March 20, 2024
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 plans his wardrobe for this weekend’s convention. Today’s Diary. 

We are also bringing our scandalously hot corduroy blazer…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, until December the archbishop of Canterbury, is burned at the stake in Oxford, England, condemned after being convicted of heresy and treason. Cranmer had been one of the founders of the Church of England during the Reformation but had been denounced by Mary I, a Catholic. Cranmer had recanted his beliefs, which usually would have spared him, but Mary declined and immediately prior to his death, recanted his recantings. 

In 1966 – The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros become the first major league teams to play on artificial turf in an exhibition game at the Houston Astrodome. The Astrodome had opened the year before with real grass and a transparent roof that made it difficult to see fly balls. The roof was painted black and the grass died, with Monsanto making and installing the turf. The Astrodome remained the home of the Astros through the 1999 season. 

In 2020 – Maren Morris is at #1 on Billboard’s country chart – then and now known as the Hot Country Songs chart – for the second of 19 consecutive weeks with The Bones. The song also went #1 country in Canada, peaked at #12 on the Hot 100, and was Billboard’s 2nd-biggest country song of the year. It remains her only #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart and was the twelfth of 19 songs to spend at least 19 weeks at #1 on that chart. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

You can’t have a Plan B because the second it gets hard, you’ll take it.
Taylor Cavanaugh
 

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The two other Ivy League teams to appear in the Final Four besides Princeton in 1965 were Dartmouth in 1944 and Penn in 1979.

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Who was the first archbishop of Canterbury? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/March 20, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

SHOW US THE MONEY: The NCAA basketball tournaments began this week, and given the upheavals – both past and expected – throughout college sports, it’s reasonable to wonder what the future might hold. 

Dry, Technical Matter: It might not be going anywhere for a while. CBS and others are contracted with the NCAA to pay upwards of $1 billion a year for the rights to the men’s tournament through 2032. So it would appear the NCAA is safe until then. But you never know because who in the hell ever thought the Pac-12 Conference would be conducting its final season this year? Greed has completely consumed college sports now. 

OTOH: Still, the NCAA does run championships very well. You open the manhole cover, and you’ll find dozens of NCAA-sponsored championships in various divisions that don’t make billions of dollars, and a point can be made—especially at the Division II and III levels—that this is what college sports are all about. 

Yeah, Yeah, Whatever: Major division sports, of course, are a completely different animal…Any semblance of amateurism by anyone is gone. If it’s determined that more money can be made with another jurisdiction conducting another tournament, then another jurisdiction will hold another tournament. It’s that simple. A billion dollars a year is a lot of money to turn down. 

The Bottom Line: With TV contracts through 2032 and tournament sites scheduled through 2030, it would seem that the current structure is relatively safe. But don’t kid yourself. Every element of major division college sports – conferences, teams, networks, and players – is in it for themselves now. There is no common good: all anyone wants is to make as much money as possible, a business model that will eventually be crushed by sheer greed. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the hotel’s weekly Coke order. Today’s Diary. 

Boy, this isn’t even a fraction of what we need…It will get us thru the week, maybe, but there certainly isn’t any margin for error: if we end up being busier than expected, we are going to run out of some stuff…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1995 – A Japanese cult releases a nerve agent on Tokyo subways, killing 13, severely injuring several dozen more, and causing temporary blindness to hundreds. The attacks occurred in morning rush hour and only the fact the perpetrators used sarin as a liquid and not a gas prevented even more deaths. Over 200 members of the cult were arrested, with 13 later executed, others sentenced to varying prison terms or probation, with one found not guilty. 

1965 – The UCLA Bruins win the NCAA basketball championship, defeating the Michigan Wolverines 91-80 in Portland. It was the second consecutive title for the Bruins and their second of eleven overall, and was the first of four runner-up finishes for Michigan to go with one championship. In the semifinals, UCLA had defeated Wichita State while Michigan had defeated Princeton, the second of three Final Four appearances by an Ivy League team. 

In 1965 – Junior Walker & the All-Stars is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart – for the second of four non-consecutive weeks with Shotgun. It was the first chart single for the group, their first of twelve Top 10 hits, and remains their only #1 song. The song also peaked at #4 on the Hot 100. Walker was not scheduled to sing on the record, but someone didn’t show up and producer Barry Gordy decided to keep Walker’s vocals. Walker’s real name was Autry DeWalt. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

People who don’t believe in destiny don’t have one.
Taylor Cavanaugh

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The English House of Lords first met as a separate body in 1341, when the lower chamber, the House of Commons, decided to meet separately. 

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

Which were the other Ivy League basketball teams to appear in the basketball Final Four? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/March 19, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

BACK TO THE FUTURE…OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT: We’re on record as saying future generations will be scratching their heads and wondering what we were thinking when we decided to take Donald Trump seriously. Because he is a man of no intellectual, political, or moral substance. He is an idiot, a lying sexual predator who believes, among other things, that the moon is part of Mars. 

Quote That Sucker: A recent quote illustrated this point: 

Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s gonna be a bloodbath. That’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.

Get Your Quack Medical Diagnosis Right Here: These are not the words of a sane person. They are the words of a selfish, ignorant, blatherskite, and this is not a bulletin because this man had been crackers since he first announced in 2015. 

And yet he is the presumptive Republican nominee for president!!! For the third time!!!

USA! USA! The fact is Trump remains a thing because America is stupid now and we don’t like being blanketed by that statement any more than you do. But it’s true. There was a time when America would’ve seen through his blather and ignored him, but America can’t be bothered with things like substance and facts anymore. Or whether or not our nominees admit to grabbing women by the pussy. 

Crystal Ball Me: A hundred years from now all new people – perhaps Americans, if there are any left – will look back on a partisan, fractured, and bickering country. They will look back at an America that was comfortable, selfish, and, frankly, stupid. 

The Bottom Line: There was a time when both the American media and the public would’ve dismissed a witless idiot like Donald Trump out of hand. That time has passed and if you and me – we the people – are not careful, America’s time will pass, too. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow gets some wildlife action. Today’s Diary. 

Tammy asked if we’d seen the grouse that was killing time outside a window near the lobby…

———

Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.

Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device. 

———

On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it. 

In 1649 – England’s House of Commons passes an act that says the “House of Lords in Parliament shall be and is hereby wholly abolished”. England had been a republic since the execution of Charles I in January, so there wasn’t a monarch to give royal assent to the act, which the Lords didn’t approve anyway. Still though, the House of Lords would not meet again until the Convention Parliament convened in 1660. 

In 1956 – The Minneapolis Lakers establish a new NBA record for largest margin of victory in a 133-75 win over the St Louis Hawks in Game 2 of the Western Division semifinals. Research into whose record the Lakers broke was inconclusive and the record stood until Golden State defeated Indiana 150-91 in March 1977. The record is now 62 points, done three times, most recently by Oklahoma City over Portland this past January. The Hawks would win the series in three games before losing to Ft Wayne in the Western Division Finals. 

In 1994 – Ace of Base is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second of six non-consecutive weeks with The Sign. The song went to #1 in 14 other countries including Australia, Finland, and Spain, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, was Billboard’s #1 song of the year, and its 11th-biggest of the decade. The song spent four weeks at #1 before dropping to #2 for four weeks, and then returned to the top for its final two weeks. It was the fourth of seven Top 40 hits for the group and remains their only #1 song. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

You have to walk into fear if you want change.
Taylor Cavanaugh

Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.

The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups, with 24 titles, one as a member of the National Hockey Association and 23 as members of the NHL.  

Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.

When did the House of Lords first meet as a separate chamber? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!