The Daily Dose/September 5, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Julian by Gore Vidal: Longtime readers of this crap know we are big Gore Vidal fans here, so the surprise is not that we read this book, but that it took us so long to get around to it. We haven’t read every Vidal book but we’ve read an awful lot of them and this was as good as Lincoln and almost as good as Creation, both of which we’ve read multiple times.
You read Vidal for a couple of reasons: of course, he knows how to turn a phrase and he does his work as a historical novelist supremely well: you know you are reading a novel, of course, but you’re not entirely certain Vidal wasn’t right there with Julian, taking notes as Julian lived his life.
Some Philosophy Crap: More than anything, though, Vidal’s insights into our human experience are unsurpassed and for our money are matched only by Will Durant and Louis L’Amour.
Dry, Technical Matter: The Julian in question is the Roman emperor from 361-363 and is known to most in the west as Julian the Apostate. He was the cousin of the Emperor Constantius II, whom he succeeded, and was an able general who did not approve of then-nascent Christianity. He was murdered while returning home from a war in Persia, perhaps because of this view.
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah: As usual, a few malcontents chose to get their shorts in a knot over some discrepancies between the novel and what really happened. Vidal does his work well and these are actually rather few, and our advice is to lighten up.
The Bottom Line/Final Grade: B+: We’re the toughest of graders here and we do not throw the highest rating out there too often. Julian, though perhaps a small measure below Creation is still one heck of a read, well worth your time, whether your a general reader or rather knowledgeable about the era.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow washes two pens and a chapstick.
Fortunately, yours truly was able to catch everything before they were tossed in the dryer…The chapstick doesn’t require attention, of course, but the pens do…First, you have to field strip them and rinse the ink out and after that it isn’t going to kill you to soak them a bowl of water just to make sure…I took them out and laid them out to dry, but so far haven’t tested the ink or otherwise reassembled them.
Backstairs at the Monte Carlo: Gaylon might end up a bike unit.
While officially my motto is ‘tell me where to go, sign the check’, I would like to point out a Mary unit is powered by a four-cylinder internal combustion engine while a bike would be powered by yours truly. Also, a Mary unit has a stereo and an air conditioner, key with summer coming, two features noticeably lacking on a bike.
Free Stuff
The same trick the drug dealers use.
Backstairs at the Monte Carlo
Clock in with the graveyard crew of the Monte Carlo Security Department on the glamorous Las Vegas Strip.
Click here for the first two months of the funniest Vegas memoir ever.
Criminals, Courtesans and Constables
Gaylon’s latest novel takes place everywhere from throne rooms to death row.
Click here to read the first four chapters with our compliments.
The Regular Guys
Coming soon! Meet Lenny and Larry, two comedians going nowhere on their own who team up and become the biggest act in show business.
Click on the button to get started to read The Diary of a Nobody, Backstairs at the Monte Carlo and Criminals, Courtesans and Constables for only $4.99, a steal.
On This Date
The long march to today.
In 1945 – Igor Gouzenko, a cipher clerk at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, walks out of the embassy with codebooks and other information, defecting because he did not want to return to the Soviet Union following the end of World War II. Gouzenko had a tough time finding a taker. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police shooed him away and the night editor at the Ottawa Journal wasn’t interested and it was only the following day he and his family were able to defect. The event is generally credited with marking the start of the Cold War.
In 1949 – Pancho Gonzales defeats Ted Schroeder 16-18, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to win the US National Championships – now the US Open – at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York City. It was the second and final US Open and grand slam title for Gonzales. He turned professional after the match and would not return to the grand slam circuit until the Open Era in tennis began in 1968. The match remains the longest championship match in US Open history.
In 2020 – Lauren Daigle is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Singles chart for the 100th non-consecutive week with You Say, the first song ever to spend 100 weeks at the top of any Billboard singles chart. The song has been on the chart for 112 consecutive weeks and first hit #1 on July 28, 2018. It’s the third of four #1 songs on the Christan chart for Daigle and in 2018 the song peaked at #28 on the Hot 100. It is the second record to spend at least 100 weeks at #1 on a Billboard chart, joining Switched on Bach by Wendy Carlos, then Walter Carlos, which spent 110 non-consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s classical album chart from 1969-72.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…is not all philosophy but preparation for a serene dying? – Gore Vidal, Julian
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
NASCAR’s second 500-mile race was the Daytona 500, the first of which was run in 1959.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
In what years did the West Side Tennis Club host the US Open/US National Championships? – Answer next time!
