The Daily Dose/October 21, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
CAPSULE BOOK REVIEW: Kalki: A Novel, by Gore Vidal: Years ago, Vidal (1925-2012) said in an interview that he was working on a story that took the character into northern Mexico and seeing that he’d never been to northern Mexico, the story had to stop there.
Fly In The Ointment: This did not stop Vidal from later writing a book about a time when there were only five people remaining on the planet.
Up, Up, And Away: The story is narrated by an aviatrix named Teddy (real name Theodora), who is recruited to fly planes for Kalki, a former US soldier in Vietnam, now running a religion in Nepal. He discovers that the US and Russians plan to destroy humanity with new bombs, and he connives an elaborate religious hoax so he can do it first, to save humanity from itself, so he can start in producing the next round of humans.
Dry, Technical Matter: His plan succeeds, and Kalki, his wife Lakshmi, Teddy, plus two others, a man and a woman who, like Teddy, are incapable of reproducing, are the only humans remaining. Vidal does a pretty good job of noting how the world changes without humans to screw it up, with our only complaint being Teddy is still flying airplanes. Now, it is not unreasonable to presume a pilot can fuel a plane, but it is not reasonable to expect them to maintain it.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Rating Scale Right Here: 1 – The very best; 2 – Very good; 3- Good; 4 – Average; 5 – A steaming pile.
Final Rating: 3 – We’ve read a lot of Vidal over the years, and this is nowhere near Creation and Lincoln, which are books we’ve always thought are as good as our species has produced. Nor is it as good as those just a notch below them, books like Julian and The Golden Age. But it is a good read, a novelist taking us on a journey he has plainly thought a lot about, which is what you pay us novelists to do. Kalki contains insights into our human experience few do as well as Vidal, though, honestly, there aren’t as many of them.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow conducts an inspection at the hotel. Today’s Diary.
So we stuck our nose up haughtily and pretended we were the Commandant of the Marine Corps conducting an inspection…We gave a lot of horizontal edges the white glove treatment, or it would’ve been that had we been wearing white gloves, and in an Upset of the Year candidate, it appears some regular dusting was done…
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1797 – The USS Constitution is launched in Boston Harbor. It would see its first service the following year, defending US merchant ships during the Quasi-War with France, left active service in 1881, and was designated a museum ship in 1907. Still a commissioned vessel in the US Navy, it is the oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat and is homeported in Boston Harbor.
1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams establishes a new NFL record for most safeties in a game in a 24-7 win over the Green Bay Packers. Dryer had two quarterback sacks in the end zone in the third quarter, breaking the record of one, which had been done every time there had been a safety in the past. The mark also tied the team record for safeties in a game, a mark broken by the Rams in 1984 when they had three safeties in a game against the New York Giants.
In 1967 – Sam and Dave are at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart – for the second of seven consecutive weeks with Soul Man. It was the sixth of seven Top 10 soul singles for Sam Moore and Dave Prater, their second and final #1, and the song also peaked at #2 on the Hot 100. Prater and Isaac Hayes co-wrote the song, and in 1979, a version by the Blues Brothers peaked at #14 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
The world is supported by four things: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol VI: The Reformation
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The St Louis Cardinals won their first World Series in 1926, beating the New York Yankees in seven games.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
The Constitution was one of the six original frigates commissioned by the US Navy. What were the others? – Answer next time!
