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The Daily Dose/August 31, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
   
Notes from around the Human Experience...
YES, SIRE: On this date, in 1422, Henry VI became King of England. He was eight months old. He would reign until March, 1461, when, following the War of the Roses, he was overthrown and imprisoned by his cousin, who would become King Edward IV. He fled to Scotland, but forces loyal to him defeated Edward and restored him to the throne in October of 1870. Edward, however, didn't take this lying down and he would eventually force his way back on the throne and have Henry VI imprisoned in the Tower of London in April, 1471, where he would be murdered a month later.
Road Trip! On this date, in 1803, the Lewis and Clark expedition began its historic trip, taking off from, of all places, Pittsburgh, with Meriwether Lewis and a party of 33. William Clark would join the the expedition in October at Clarksville, Indiana. The expedition would take them to the Pacific Coast in Washington, and end in St. Louis on Sept. 23, 1806.
Kicking And Screaming Into the 19th Century: On this date, in 1897, Thomas Edison patents the Kinetescope, the world's first movie viewer, designed to let individuals view a movie through a housing cabinet.
Editor's Note: Our celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the last Chicago Cubs World Series title continues, as we chronicle the 1908 Cubs season.
Get The Hell Out Of Our Way! The Cubs won their tenth game in a row and move into a first place tie with the idle, evil New York Giants, defeating the Cardinals 2-0 in the first of a five-game series at West Side Grounds. Orval Overall went the distance, giving up just four hits and striking out eleven (11) as the Cubs got single runs in the first and the fifth.
Oh, BTW: The Pirates kept pace with a 5-0 victory over Cincinnati to remain a half-game back.
Is This A FunFact, Or Dry, Technical Matter: The Cubs are actually two games back in the loss column, however, they have played four games than the Giants, and you get a half-game credit for every game you've played more than the other team, so the teams are tied, though the Giants have .003 higher winning percentage.
IS IT THAT SLOW A NEWS DAY? Italy and Libya have kissed and made up, agreeing to a 25-year plan to pay Libya for damages inflicted while Libya was an Italian colony. The deal calls for Italy to pay Libya $200 million annually, mainly in the form of infrastructure investment. Italy also threw in a headless statue of Venus which it had stolen in colonial times and dates back to the second century. The agreement marks the first time a European nation will compensate a former colony.
Now This Is Dry, Technical Matter: Libya had been occupied by Italy in 1911, colonized in the 1930's an became independent in 1951.
As Long As We're Here: Libyan dictator Col. Moamer Khadhafi, whose been rather quiet since Saddam Hussein was flushed out and executed, was recently proclaimed "King of kings" by a group of traditional African leaders who believe they have the power to bestow such a title. Kadhafi, who is actually a dictator despite not holding any official or public titles, used the occasion to call for a single African currency, a single African army, and a single African passport.
FunFact: He should push for a single African Olympic team, because Libya's seven athletes did not win any medals at the recent Beijing Olympics. This is not a bulletin because no Libyan has ever won an Olympic medal in any of the nine Summer Games they have sent athletes to.
Dry, Technical Matter II: Libya and its southern neighbor Chad were involved in a rather dull border dispute that wasn't resolved until the International Court of Justice ruled in Chad's favor in the 1980's. They were also at war, about various matters, from 1978-87.
More From Libya! Libya is in such high regard now they are being favored with a visit next week by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, the highest ranking US diplomat to visit since 1953.
HUT HUT HIKE: Michigan lost their opener again, though the once-proud school did save some face, losing to a real, major college team, the dreaded Utah Utes, 25-23. Recall last year Michigan lost, at home, to I-AA Appalachian State and followed that up with another home loss to Oregon.
New head coach Rich Rodriguez becomes the third of the eleven head coaches Michigan who have debuted since Fielding Yost in 1901 to lose their first game. The other were Gary Moeller, who had the nerve to lose to Notre Dame in 1990, and Bump Elliot, who lost to Missouri in 1959.
Don't Give Up The Ship Yet! Both Moeller and Elliot rebounded to win the Rose Bowl once during their tenure.
Shameless Plug: Don't miss the Week 2 NCAA Bottom Ten, which will move Monday here at the Writer's Shack!
Your Column Four Foto For Today: The presumptive Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin!
Thought For The Midday Nap: He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities. - Benjamin Franklin
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The first Republican National Convention was held in 1856 in Philadelphia. John C. Fremont was nominated for president. He would lose to James Buchanan.
Today's Stumper: What is Moamer Kadhafi's official title? - Answer next time!
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
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