The Daily Dose/November 10, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

The Sunday Bottom 5
A ranking of some things.

The Sunday Bottom 5 will return.  

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow makes a personal care purchase. Today’s Diary. 

Anyway, we got lucky…The retailer had a three-pack of a really good leading national brand [chapstick] for only three bucks or so…Flavored, too, which we don’t go ga-ga over but which we don’t dismiss out of hand, either…

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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 1865 – Captain Henry Wirtz of the Confederate Army and commandant of the Andersonville Prison camp is executed in Washington, D.C. for war crimes associated with his treatment of Union POWs. During the camp’s 14-month existence, Wirtz presided over the incarceration of 48,000 prisoners, almost 13,000 of whom died, mostly due to unsanitary conditions. Wirtz was one of three Civil War soldiers executed for war crimes, the other two being Confederate guerrillas. 

In 1983 – Marivn Hagler retains his undisputed world middleweight title with a 15-round unanimous decision over Roberto Duran in Las Vegas.  It was the eighth of twelve defenses of the title for Hagler, who had won the title 1980 and would lose it to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987. Duran retained his WBA world light middleweight title, the third of four weight classes he would hold world titles in. 

In 2001 – Mary J. Blige is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second of six consecutive weeks with Family Affair. It was the twelfth of 21 Top 40 hits for Blige, her third of six Top 10s, and remains her only #1 song. The song also went to #1 in France, peaked at #8 in Great Britain, and was in its second and final week at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart. The song was Billboard’s 31st-biggest of 2001, its 17th-biggest of 2002, and their 12th-biggest of the decade. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The wise man has no ambitions. Therefore, he has no failures. He who never fails always succeeds. And he who always succeeds is all-powerful.
Gore Vidal
Creation
Master Li 

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The longest NBA game was six overtimes when the Indianapolis Indians defeated the Rochester Royals 75-73 in January 1951. 

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

What other act had a #1 song titled Family Affair? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/November 9, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™

Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.

CAPSULE ELECTION REVIEW: The 2024 United States Presidential Election: We elected him anyway. 

Dry, Technical Matter: We elected him despite everything: despite convictions, impeachments, ignorance, lies, and admitting to sexually preying on women. We elected him despite an insurrection. We elected him even though he is one of the worst examples of a human being (Non-Dictator Division) that this species can muster. We elected him despite the fact he will always have blood on his hands from an incompetant COVID response during his first term. 

What In The Hell Is Going On Here?: When History looks at why, they will note an America that had become a lot like Donald Trump himself: selfish and ignorant, interested only in what they want to hear, and preferring to blurt opinions instead of putting the work in to form beliefs. The collective American mind is mush now, ruined by seven decades of witless primetime TV lineups.

Fly In The Ointment: We couldn’t respond to COVID and we haven’t done anything great since leaving the moon in 1972, and right now America is halfway between the eminence we once had and oblivion that awaits us. All we’re good at right now is bickering. 

The Bottom Line: We are only as good as our last election, and America – exactly like her president-elect – is now a nation with zero moral or intellectual substance. We elected an unread halfwit who believes the moon is part of Mars and that the Revolution was won when British airports were secured, things a smart middle-schooler knows are false. We elected ignorance, lies, and hate. Four years from now, when we look back on the detritus of what used to be America, we will only have ourselves to blame. We elected it; America was destroyed from within. 

Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually. 

The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has some laughs at the hospital. Today’s Diary. 

Perry, in what is not the Upset of the Year, was walking faster than us, and he told us to have a good nite. 

– Hey, Perry, you got any expired medication for us…You know, to help liven up the nite???

———

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 1862 – General Ambrose Burnside takes command of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Maj. Gen. George McClellan. Burnside would lead the Union army to decisive defeats in the battles of the Fredricksburg and The Crater and would be relieved the following August. Burnside would later serve three one-year terms as governor of Rhode Island. His distinctive facial hair inspired the term sideburns. 

In 1989 – Dale Ellis of the Seattle SuperSonics establishes a new NBA record for most minutes in a game in a 155-154, five-overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Ellis broke the mark of 64 minutes established by Sleepy Floyd of Golden State in February 1967, and the record still stands. Teammate Xavier McDaniel played 68 minutes in the game, which is the second-longest game in NBA history. 

1985 – Jan Hammer is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Miami Vice Theme. The song also peaked at #5 in Great Britain and at #10 on Billboard’s soul chart. Hammer had no other Hot 100 hits and he remains one of 19 ultimate one-hit wonders: an act whose only Hot 100 single goes to #1. It was the last instrumental #1 song on the Hot 100 until 2013 when Harlem Shake by Baauer, who is also an ultimate one-hit wonder, spent five weeks at #1. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

The real struggle is with a small professional elite totally split off from the nation, pursuing wealth through wars that they invent and justify and resonate for others to die in.
Gore Vidal
The Golden Age

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The NCAA record for most 3-point field goals made in a game is 27 by Jack Taylor of Division III Grinnell College (Iowa) in 2012. 

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

What is the longest game in NBA history? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/November 8, 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 isn’t elected to Congress. Today’s Diary. 

We did come in third in the six-person race, which means we got the most votes of all the other third-party whackjobs on the ballot, but we usually do and it didn’t cause us to achieve and maintain a high level of excitement…

———

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. 

Editor’s Note: these entries are from 2020. 

In 1923 – Adolf Hitler, and others, try and fail to overthrow the German government in Munich, an attempt History refers to as the Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler would later serve eight months of a 5-year sentence for his efforts, before being released and resuming his efforts at taking control of the German government. Sixteen years to the day later, Hitler, now German dictator, would survive an assassination attempt, a bombing at the same place. 

In 1942 – Parker Hall of the Cleveland Rams establishes a new NFL record for most interceptions in a game in a 30-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Hall had seven interceptions and while research into whose record he broke was inconclusive, History does show Hall was also the first player to throw six interceptions in an NFL game. The record would be tied twice before being broken by Jim Hardy of the Chicago Cardinals, who had eight interceptions on Sept 24, 1950. 

In 1952 – Patti Page is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a forerunner of the Hot 100 – for the fourth of five consecutive weeks with I Went To Your Wedding. Before hitting #1, the song had spent four weeks at #2 and was the 5th-biggest song on the Best Sellers in Stores chart for the year. I Went To Your Wedding also went to #1 on Billboard’s Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts and was the third of four #1 songs for Page on a Billboard pop chart 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

“The money is important,” he says. “But you don’t do it for the money.”
“What do you do it for?” I say.
“The beauty,” he says softly. “The beauty.”
Pete Hamill
Gus Caputo and Bobby Fallon
Flesh and Blood

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The NCAA record for most 3-point field goals made in a game is 27 by Jack Taylor of Division III Grinnell College in November 2012. The major division record is 15, done three times, and the women’s all-division record is 15. 

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

What was Billboard’s #1 song of 1952? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/November 7, 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 has a long drive home. Today’s Diary. 

We pulled out of Waffle Hut around 0730 and didn’t arrive at The Shire until almost 1400, about two hours longer than had there been good weather and good roads…

———

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 1916 – A street car smashes through an open drawbridge’s warning gate in Boston, plunging into Fort Point Channel and killing 46 people. Neither the motorman nor the conductor had worked the route before and the motorman, Charles Walsh, was later acquitted of manslaughter charges and the conductor, George McKeon never worked a street car again and was later killed in France in World War I. The car was later returned to service, though many operators refused to work it.

In 2016 – Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors establishes a new NBA record for most 3-pointers in a game in a 116-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Curry had 13 3-pointers, breaking the record of twelve done three times previously, including once by Curry, and is now held by Klay Thompson, who had 14 on October 29, 2018.

In 1960 – Bob Newhart is at #1 on Billboard’s Mono Action Albums chart – a predecessor to the Billboard 200 – for the tenth of 14 consecutive weeks with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. It was the first of two #1 albums for Newhart, and the album also went to #1 in Canada. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and Newhart remains the only non-musical artist to win the Best New Artist Grammy. Newhart is one of 21 acts who have topped a Billboard album chart who never hit the Hot 100, and one of four to do it multiple times.

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome’s decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. III: Caesar to Christ

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

The Michigan Wolverines have won the most college football games with 1,009 through last weekend.  

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

Who holds the NCAA record for most 3-pointers made in a game? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!

The Daily Dose/November 5, 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 hits the road for a night. Today’s Diary. 

The fly in the ointment was we forgot our goddamned swimming trunks…We had thought about packing them before leaving for the hotel Monday nite but – as is now customary at our age – we didn’t act on it right then, so we forgot them….

The Bottom Ten/NFL Week 11 – It’s the race for the most coveted trophy in sports, The Dan Henning Trophy – symbolic of NFL Bottom Ten supremacy.

Raiders prep for Miami showdown this week by destroying whatever remained of Bengals B-10 chances, ensuring they remain Worst Team Never To Win B-10 title…

Though Jacksonville well within striking distance of even more B-10 glory, owner Genghis Khan still holding coaching staff families hostage until Jaguars have lost at least four (4) straight…

Dolphins earn coveted George Halas Shot Glass as highest-ranked playoff team from previous season in survey…

———

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 1860 – Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States, defeating John C Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas, earning 180 electoral votes and 40% of the popular vote. Between then and his inauguration on March 4, seven southern states seceded, with the Confederate States of America being formed in February. Lincoln would be reelected in 1864 and assassinated in April 1865, a few days after the end of the Civil War. 

In 1869 – The first college football game is played when Rutgers defeats Princeton 6-4. The game more resembled soccer and rugby, as each team had 25 players and the goal was to kick the ball into the other team’s goal. Princeton won the rematch a week later, with a third game not played due to concerns the students cared more about the game than attending to their studies. The first college game played with 11-man teams and rules resembling today’s game was in 1875 when Tufts beat Harvard 1-0, and Princeton and Rutgers last met in 1980. 

In 1993 – Meat Loaf is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of five consecutive weeks with I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That). The song went to #1 in 15 other countries, including Iceland, Norway, and Great Britain, was Billboard’s 36th-biggest song of 1993, its 38th-biggest of 1994, and their 40th-biggest of the decade. The female vocals were performed by Lorraine Crosby, credited on the record as Mrs Loud, and the song was written and produced by Jim Steinman. The song remains Meat Loaf’s only Top 10 hit. 

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

They would triumph, or die, as one.
Stephen E Ambrose
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West 

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Billboard’s #1 country song of 1967 was All the Time by Jack Green, which spent five weeks at #1. 

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

Which college football team has won the most games? – Answer next time!

Share Gaylon! Go!