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The Daily Dose/November 1, 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/October 30
The Diary of a Nobody/October 31

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———

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

These are from October 31
In 1517 – The Protestant Reformation begins when Martin Luther posts what History refers to as the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The theses were Luther’s response to abuses by Roman Catholic clergy, including the sale of indulgences, which we sold as ways to lessen punishment for committed sins. Luther refused to recant his beliefs and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1521. 

In 1908 – The London Summer Olympics come to a close. The Games featured 2,008 athletes – including 37 women – with Great Britain winning the most gold medals (56) and most overall medals (146) and marked the first time events were officiated by judges from countries other than the host country. The Games had begun on April 27 and remain the longest Olympics ever. The Games were originally scheduled for Rome, but were moved in 1906 after the eruption Mount Vesuvious. 

In 1981 – Luther Vandross is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Soul Singles chart – for the second and final consecutive week with Never Too Much. It was the first chart single for Vandross and his first of 26 soul Top 10 hits and six #1s. The song also went #13 pop in Great Britain, peaked at #33 on the Hot 100 and Vandross also wrote and produced the song. 

These are from November 1
In 1503 – Julius II is elected pope following the death of Pius III on October 18. Julius reigned for a bit more than nine years, during which he, among other things, established the Vatican museum, laid the cornerstone for the new St Peter;s Basillica, and commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Julius is mentioned often in Machiavelli’s The Prince and he died in 1513 and was succeeded by Leo X. 

In 1964 – Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns becomes the first NFL player to have 10,000 rushing yards in a 30-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brown retired in 1965 with 12,312 rushing yards, led the NFL in rushing in eight of his nine years in the league, and his 104.3 rushing yards per game remains the NFL record. Brown’s career total is now good for eleventh on the all-time list and the mark is now held by Emmitt Smith with 18,355, 

In 1975 – Elton John is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of three consecutive weeks with Island Girl. It was the twelfth of 57 Top 40 hits for John, his eleventh of 27 Top 10 songs, and fourth of eight #1s. The song also peaked at #14 in Great Britain and due to when it charted was Billboard’s 64th-biggest song of 1976, John co-wrote the song with Bernie Taupin.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

A cosmos without known cause or fate is an intellectual prison; we long to believe that the great drama has a just author and a noble end.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol VI: The Reformation

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Women participated in archery, tennis, and figure skating at the 1908 London Summer Olympics. 

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

Approximately how many Lutherans are there in the world? – Answer next time!

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The Daily Dose/October 30, 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 does not have coffee ready when Dr Dre shows up. Today’s Diary. 

The big news was on the coffee front: we had not yet started preparing for Morning Coffee Service (MCS) specifically because Dr Dre lately has been in the habit of showing up after 0500…

The Bottom Ten/NFL Week 10 – The race for The Dan Henning trophy is the tightest in ages. 

Loss to Saints this week would give Panthers season sweep and crucial B-10 tiebreaker…

With bye week already in books, Titans sure to be exhausted for B-10 stretch run…

Amazon looking to flex Thursday game to Home Shopping Network…

———

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: today’s entries previously ran in 2020.

In 1961 – The Soviet Union detonates what History refers to as the Tsar Bomba on an island in the Barents Sea, above the Arctic Circle. The hydrogen bomb yielded an explosion measuring 50 megatons, about 50 times more than the 0.15 megatons yielded by the Hiroshima atomic blast and remains the most powerful explosive device ever deployed on Earth. The crew of the plane that delivered the bomb survived, but the bomb was so powerful they were only given a 50/50 chance of returning safely. 

In 2015 – Adalberto Mondesi of the Kansas City Royals becomes the first player to make his major league debut in the World Series in a 9-3 loss to the New York Mets in Game 3. Mondesi pinch-hit in the fifth inning and struck out, and had spent the 2015 season in the Texas League (AA). In 1885 Bug Holiday of the Chicago White Stockings – now the Cubs – made his big league debut in a postseason series against the American Association champion St Louis Browns, though these series are not considered part of the modern World Series. 

In 1961 – Dion is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second and final week with Runaround Sue. It was the second of 14 Top 40 hits for Dion as a solo act, after seven hits with the Belmonts and remains his only #1 song. The song also went to #1 in Canada and New Zealand and peaked at #11 in Great Britain and at #4 on Billboard’s soul chart, his biggest hit of six soul chart appearances. A version by Leif Garrett peaked at #13 in 1978.  

Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.

Talent must not be wasted. Those who have it…must share it.
Frank Sinatra

Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.

Chuck Berry’s only #1 song on the Hot 100 was My Ding-a-Ling, which spent two weeks at #1 in October 1972. 

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

What was Dion’s real name? – Answer next time!

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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…

———

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 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!

Share Gaylon! Go!