The Daily Dose/July 30, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around our human experience.
Capsule Book Review: The Trial of Socrates by I.F. Stone: There have been, of course, a lot of famous trials throughout history and the trial of Socrates in 399 BC is one of them, right up there with the trials of Jesus and OJ Simpson, and is still examined by history buffs, though OJ is the only one of these three not executed.
Dry, Technical Matter: Socrates was tried for, basically, exercising his right of free speech, a right founded in Athens. His fellow Athenians were not thrilled with what he was teaching their youths, though he had been doing this for decades and why they waited until he was 70 before getting their shorts in a knot over this will never be entirely clear.
Back On Message: It is a very thorough book on the era, examining not only the trial, of which no you-are-there coverage or transcripts exist, but also on democracy and free speech and life in Athens and in Greece. Stone rambles a bit at times, however, if you learned Greek and read all relevant source materials like he did, you’d probably do some literary preening, too.
Uh, Can I Die?: Stone is of the opinion that Socrates was of a mind to call it a day and he presents a convincing case. Some magnanimity from Socrates and maybe he doesn’t get tried in the first place. If he doesn’t peeve the jury maybe he doesn’t get convicted and if he is convicted, maybe they accept his proposed penalty of merely paying a fine. If we were determined to live, he could’ve taken advantage of the escape his supporters arranged. Socrates did none of these things, though, perhaps because he knew his execution would ensure that he would live down the ages, which he was probably going to do anyway.
A Break In The Action: Here is The Daily Dose rating system: 1 – The Very Best; 2 – Very Good; 3 – Good; 4 – Average; 5 – A Steaming Pile
Final Ranking: 2: This was one heck of a book. General readers, like us, will enjoy it and historians – while perhaps getting their shorts in a knot over this and that – will like it, too. Not even Will Durant, in his Ancient Greece volume of The Story of Civilization, read source materials in Greek.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – At the gym, Sparrow has another Sunday Yapper sighting. Today’s Diary.
Recall last time we noted how he’d lost a lot of weight and this time we were – yay or boo, you make the call – close enuff to notice an incision scar on his upper right abdomen, so plainly something, probably the size of a medicine ball, was taken out.
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1932 – Walt Disney releases Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon to use the three-strip Technicolor process, which replaced two-color Technicolor. The film concerns the conduct of flowers and trees in the spring, though a squabble results in a fire that is put out by birds. The film would win the first Academy Award for Short Subjects, Cartoons, the first of eight consecutive and twelve total in the category for Disney and was the first of his 22 total Oscars, the most of anyone in Oscar history.
In 1976 – Bruce Jenner, now Caitlyn Jenner, establishes a new world record in the decathlon at the Montreal Summer Olympics. Jenner finished with 8,816 points to break the record he had established at the US Olympic trials in June. Jenner won the discus and finished second in the shot put, high jump, 400 and 1,500 meters, and pole vault to beat Guido Kratschmer of West Germany and Mykola Avilov of the Soviet Union. The current world record is 9,126 points, by Kevin Mayer of France in 2018.
In 1983 – Donna Summer is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Black Singles chart – for the first of three consecutive weeks with She Works Hard For The Money. It was the tenth of twelve Top 10 soul hits for Summer and her second and final soul #1. The song also peaked at #25 in Great Britain and at #3 on the Hot 100 and was inspired by Summer seeing a tired and overworked ladies’ room attendant at a party following the 1983 Grammy Awards. Summer co-wrote the song with Michael Omartian.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…he had compassion on those who, in order to appear full of knowledge, talk about things of which they know nothing.
Miles Unger
Michelangelo: A Life In Six Masterpieces
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The last American to hold the world high jump record was Dwight Stones, who set the record three times between 1973 and 1976.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
How many different categories did Walt Disny win Oscars in? – Answer next time!
