The Daily Dose/October 29, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

QUIZ TIME: Friends, let me ask you a question: 

True or false: there was a time when Donald Trump would’ve been dismissed by both America’s media and her citizens. 

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: We do not think there is any doubt the answer is yes. We don’t think there’s a doubt that a media of a bygone era would’ve had Trump out of the race five minutes after he announced his candidacy, and even if they hadn’t, there was a time when Americans had too much sense to tolerate his nonsense. 

Fly In The Ointment: That time has passed. America is now open to his ignorance, his lies, his hatred. It doesn’t matter that Trump is a man of zero moral or intellection substance because America is no longer a nation of any moral or intellection substance.  

USA! USA! We are seven decades into TV being the focal point of American life and we are stagnating. We could not muster a proper response to COVID and we haven’t done anything great since Apollo left the moon in 1972. America right now is halfway between the eminence we once enjoyed and the oblivion that awaits us. We don’t think you can argue with that, either.

Thank You, Mary Sunshine: America is dumb now. The ascendency of Donald Trump shows that. He is ignorant and insulting and so are we. We seem happy with this, too. This is too bad because ignorance is not bliss; it is chains and slavery, and if we’re not careful, eventually the US will join, among others, the USSR and the Roman Empire on History’s scrap heap. 

The Bottom Line: There will come a time when we can no longer govern ourselves and someone will come in and do it for us. The cause of death will be apathy and ignorance. We deserve better than this, but you and me – we the people – are not demanding better than this right now. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow whines about all Uber drivers getting 5-star ratings. Today’s Diary. 

We have some street cred here and our opinion is 5-stars is the very best this planet can muster…An Uber ride, unless it comes in a limo and includes a sex act from a babe, almost by definition cannot be the best this planet can offer…

The Bottom Ten/NCAA Week 10 – IT’s the race for the ESPNCup – symbolic of collegiate Bottom Ten supremacy. 

Entire state ironing white hoods with Confederacy occupying two-thirds of B-10 medal stand for first time since Battle of Appomattox in 1865…

With four (4) games in Eastern time zone in 2024, Cardinal players petitioning university to exchange frequent flyer miles for doctorate degrees later in career.

With team in tank and donations for stadium renovation lagging, B-10 architects on site to supervise Champions Club changeover from prestige club for donors to B-10 Loser’s Lounge in time for 2025 season…

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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. 

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

In 1929 – The Great Depression begins with the Black Tuesday crash, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) losing 11% of its value. This followed the Black Monday crash the day before, a Black Thursday crash the previous week, as well as other crashes since September. The Great Depression lasted until it petered out in World War II and the DJIA would not return to its September 3 peak until November 1954. 

In 1987 – Thomas Hearns becomes the first boxer to win titles in four different weight classes, winning the WBC middleweight title with a 4th-round knockout over Juan Roldan of Argentina in Las Vegs. Earlier Hearns had won the world  light heavyweight, welterweight, and light middleweight titles, and later would win the super middle weight title. It was the second of three losses in a world title fight for Roldan. 

In 1955 – Chuck Berry is at #1 on Billboard’s Most Played in Juke Boxes chart – a predecessor to today’s soul chart – for the ninth of eleven consecutive weeks with Maybellene. Earlier, the song had gone to #1 on Billboard’s R&B Best Sellers in Stores chart and their Most Played by Jockeys chart and peaked at #5 on the Best Sellers pop chart. It was the first of three soul #1s for Berry. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

If God is perfect, he had no need to create a world; if he is imperfect he is not God.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. I: Our Oriental Heritage

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Nikita Kruschev was premier of the Soviet Union from 1958-64. 

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

What was Chuck Berry’s only #1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/October 28, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

CAPSULE BINGE TV REVIEW: From The Earth to the Moon: Regular readers of this crap know that we are big Apollo fans, so the surprise is not that we watched this but that it took us so long to get around to it because this came out in 1998. It is based on the book A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaiken, a profound and memorable book we read ages ago.  

Dry, Technical Matter: We’re not the biggest Tom Hanks fans in captivity, but we have never seen anything of his that wasn’t worth the work it took to watch, and this was hardly the exception. The show follows varying people and/or aspects that attended each mission. Those with a solid working knowledge of Apollo – like us – probably nodded their heads in satisfaction at its accuracy, while those without a solid working knowledge of Apollo got a good start on one. 

Fly In The Ointment: We are going to quibble about the last episode, though, which covered Apollo 17. First, it did not begin with Hanks’ usual opening, with him walking toward the camera talking about the forthcoming episode, always ending with Hanks saying a variation of “…on man’s voyage from the Earth to the moon”. Well, the last episode deprived us of hearing Hanks say “…on man’s last voyage from the Earth to the moon” which we were looking forward to. Instead, we got a documentary-style show narrated by Blythe Danner. 

What The Hell’s Going On Here?: Blythe Danner? What, did she have blackmail pics of the producers, because unless she has some connection to Apollo we don’t know about, she had no credentials for this job. The whole thing, for our money, was a hot mess and we stopped watching a few minutes in. 

Get Your Official Daily Dose Rating Scale Right Here: 1 – The very best; 2 – Very good; 3 – Good; 4 – OK; 5 – A steaming pile. 

Final Rating: 1: Our opinion of the final episode is very subjective and you might very well like it, and Lord knows it was as technically great as every other episode. Episode four – Apollo 8 – in particular, is as good an hour as TV has produced, with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 episodes not too far behind. Go and watch it right now, if you didn’t a quarter-century ago when it first came out. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has a guest offer to repair the Connect 4 game. Today’s Diary. 

We’ve been knocking around hotel front desks for a lot of years and this has to be a first…He said he had his tools in his room and it would be no problemo to get it repaired…

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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 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis ends when Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev announces on Soviet radio that all nuclear missiles in Cuba were going to be removed. As part of the agreement, the US agreed to remove similar missiles in Turkey and Italy. The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 15 when US officials had identified the missiles from intelligence photographs. President Kennedy was notified the following day.  

In 1973 – Elmore Smith of the Los Angeles Lakers establishes a new NBA record for most blocked shots in a game in a 111-98 win over the Portland Trailblazers. Smith had 17 blocks to break the record of 14 he had established two days earlier, and the record still stands. The second-highest total is 15, done three times, twice by Manute Bol in the 1980s and most recently by Shaquille O’Neal in November 1993. 

In 2000 – Christina Aguilera is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third of four consecutive weeks with Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You). It was the fifth of 20 Top 40 and eleven Top 10 hits for Aguilera, and her third of five #1s. The song also went to #1 in Guatemala and Venezuela, peaked at #8 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 38th-biggest song of the year. A Spanish version of the song spent two weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks chart.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The longest way must have its close – the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The instrumental that spent the most weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 is Theme From a Summer Place, which spent nine weeks at #1 in 1960. 

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

For how long was Nikita Kruschev premier of the Soviet Union? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/October 27, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

1. Israel – Hey guys, kudos on spreading the war to the rest of Middle East…With luck, maybe you can make these genocides, too…Maybe – and SB5 pollsters know they’re dreaming here –  just maybe you can all nuke each other back to the Stone Age before the US gets involved. 

2. Los Angeles Times – Hey guys, way to not endorse a presidential candidate…A bunny rabbit should earn an endorsement over Donald Trump – still a lying, sexual predator who believes the moon is part of Mars – but a bastion of liberal journalism is unwilling to endorse Kamala Harris is wrong…Yay for the editorial board endorsing Harris, boo for the owner overriding them. 

3. USA! USA! – The 3-hole staple…A hundred years from now all new people – perhaps Americans, if there are any left – will look back at the Donald Trump Era and conclude that America tolerated the three-time nomination of a man of zero moral and intellectual substance because America herself was no longer a nation of any moral or intellectual substance.  

4. New York Yankees – Hahahahahahaha!!!…A devastating, utterly crushing 10th-inning loss on a game-ending grand slam home run could not happen to nicer people…The remaining three (3) games are a formality now…#Ooopsies!!!…Two (2) games as the Yankees lost Game 2, as well. 

5. Fact Check: Special Election Edition – Click here for assorted lies, misinformation, and inaccuracies from the 2024 election. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow likes a chick at the gym. Today’s Diary.

Back then, we were asking because we wanted to know how much older than me she was…Now, we would be asking to avoid a morals charge…(Altho, honestly, a scandal this close to Election Day couldn’t hurt.)…

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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 1962 – Air Force pilot Major Rudolf Anderson becomes the only US fatality by enemy fire in the Cuban Missile Crisis when his spy plane is shot down by a Soviet-supplied ground-to-air missile over southeastern Cuba. Anderson had taken off from an Air Force base near Orlando and was flying his seventh mission. He was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for valor. 

In 2002 – The Anaheim Angels win the World Series, defeating the San Francisco Giants 4-1 in Game 7 in Anaheim. It remains the only World Series appearance for the Angels and was the twelfth and most recent World Series loss for the Giants franchise, to go with eight titles. It was the first World Series since divisional play began in 1969 that did not feature a division champion and remains the most recent World Series played without a future member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

In 1979 – Herb Alpert is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second and final consecutive week with Rise. The song also peaked at #13 in Great Britain, at #4 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 80th-biggest song of the year, its 54th-biggest of 1980, and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. It was the second and most recent #1 for Alpert (This Guy’s In Love With You, four weeks, 1968) and Alpert remains the only act to top the Hot 100 with a vocal and an instrumental song. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

If to please the people we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair.
George Washington

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Steven Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins has the most assists by an active NHL player with 1,010. It’s good for 14th on the all-time list.

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

What instrumental has spent the most weeks at #1 on the Hot 100? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/October 25 & 26, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

We neglected to post Friday’s crap, so today we are doubling up. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody/October 24
The Diary of a Nobody/October 25

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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. 

This is from October 25:
In 1760 – George III ascends the throne of Great Britain following the death of his father, George II. Mixed results in war marked his reign; he defeated the French twice, in the Seven Year’s War (1756-63) and defeated Napoleon in 1815, but lost the American Revolution in 1783. He died in 1820 and his reign of 59 years, 96 days remains the longest by a British king. His son, George IV, succeeded him.

In 1884 – The first postseason series between major league baseball league champions concludes when the Providence Grays of the National League defeat the New York Metropolitans 12-2 in the third game, a game called after six innings because of cold. The Grays had won all three games of the best-of-three series, with the third game played for money. The entire series was played at the Polo Grounds in New York. Postseason series between the two leagues would be played until the American Association folded after the 1891 season.

In 1969 – Credence Clearwater Revival is at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the fourth and final consecutive week with Green River. The album also peaked at #20 in Great Britain and at #26 on Billboard’s soul albums chart. The album produced two Top 40 hits, including the title track and Bad Moon Rising, both of which peaked at #2. It was the third chart album for the group and their first of two #1s.

This is from October 26
In 1774 – The First Continental Congress adjourns at Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia. The Congress had convened in September after Britain had passed what Americans called the Intolerable Acts. Among other things, the Congress drew up a petition to King George III seeking repeal of the Intolerable Acts. The appeal was ignored, leading the formation of the Second Continental Congress in May. 

In 1997 – Wayne Gretzky of the New York Rangers establishes a new NHL record for most career assists in a 3-3 tie with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Gretzky had two assists, giving him 1,851 for his career, breaking the record of 1,849 established by Gordie Howe between 1946-80. Gretzky retired in 1999 with 1,963 points, a record that still stands. 

In 1991 – Mariah Carey is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the third and final consecutive week with Emotions. It was the third chart single for Carey, her third of 19 #1 songs, and her third of five consecutive #1s, which would break the Hot 100 record for consecutive #1s at the start of a career established by the Jackson 5. The song also peaked at #17 in Great Britain and at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

…it makes no difference at all who wins. The world goes on.
Gore Vidal
Creation

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

From October 25
Seven Americans have won the Olympic heavyweight boxing gold medal. One has won the super heavyweight gold medal.

From October 26
The Providence Grays were in the National League from 1878-85. They won National League titles in 1879 and 1884. 

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

What active NHL player has the most career assists? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!