AprIL 12, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
April 12 is … Look Up At the Sky Day
The Civil War started 150 years ago today. It is still the most important event to occur in our collective history. Other than Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln has more books written about him than any other person in history.
April 1861, The Attack on Fort Sumter.
When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. South Carolina, however, feared a trick; the commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, was asked to surrender immediately. Anderson offered to surrender, but only after he had exhausted his supplies. His offer was rejected, and on April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to South Carolina. For a great Civil War timeline and resource, go to this web site:
http://international.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1861.html
Rock Around the Clock while looking at the sky, you might see Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Bill Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock for Decca Records on this day in 1954. The song was recorded at the Pythian Temple, “a big, barnlike building with great echo,” in New York City. Rock Around the Clock was formally released a month later. Most rock historians feel the tune, featured in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, ushered in the era of rock ’n’ roll. It hit number one on June 29, 1955 and stayed there for eight weeks, remaining on the charts for a total of 24 weeks. Rock Around the Clock was not Haley’s first recording, however. He had waxed three other songs, all for Decca: Shake, Rattle and Roll, Dim, Dim the Lights, and Mambo Rock. And, through 1974, Haley and his group charted 14 hits, including, See You Later, Alligator from 1956. Rock Around the Clock was re-released in 1974. On its second run it made it to number 30 on the pop charts. Haley died of a heart attack in Harlingen, TX on February 9, 1981. He was posthumously awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1982 for Rock Around the Clock. The record has now sold over 25,000,000 copies.
Go to this web site. It has a tax calculator that will show you how much money Governor Milquetoast’s tax increase will cost you. http://www.illinoispolicy.org/
HELP WANTED: A leftfielder with ability to catch the baseball under normal circumstances. Ability to hit over .200 a plus but not required. Apply to: Chicago White Sox, c/o Ozzie Guillen, 35th and Shields, Chicago, IL. Good pay, nice benefits package. Must be able to travel.
Blonde and the lawyer:
There was a blonde who found she was sitting next to a Lawyer on an airplane. The lawyer just kept bugging the blonde wanting her to play a game of intelligence. Finally, the lawyer offered her 10 to 1 odds, and said every time the blonde could not answer one of his questions, she owed him $5.00, but every time he could not answer hers, he'd give her $50.00. The lawyer figured he could not lose, and the blonde reluctantly accepted.
The lawyer first asked, "What is the distance between the Earth and the nearest star?"
Without saying a word the blonde handed him $5.00. Then the blonde asked, "What goes up a hill with 3 legs and comes back down the hill with 4 legs?"
Well, the lawyer looked puzzled. He took several hours, looking up everything he could on his laptop and even placing numerous air-to-ground phone calls trying to find the answer. Finally, angry and frustrated, he gave up and paid the blonde $50.00
The blonde put the $50 into her purse without comment, but the lawyer insisted, "What is the answer to your question?"
Without saying a word, the blonde handed him $5.
On this date in 1833 Charles Gaylor patented the fireproof safe in New York City. The safes are widely used to protect everything from priceless art to sensitive computer software. Some safes can burn at 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour and the contents will still be as cool as a cucumber. Other units can sustain heat up to 400-500 degrees for about the same time without damaging the valuable contents within.
Do you know why we say ‘Cool as a Cucumber’? If someone is as cool as a cucumber, they don't get worried by anything. I have also heard the phrase comes from the fact a cucumber growing on the vine is up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature.
Pork in Illinois; Download a booklet at this web site titled, 2010 Illinois Piglet Book. http://www.illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/2010PigletBook.pdf
More western slang and curse words:
Lunger ~ slang for someone with tuberculosis.
Make a mash ~ make a hit, impress someone. (Usually a female.) "Buck's tryin' to make a mash on that new girl."
Mudsill ~ low-life, thoroughly disreputable person.
Nailed to the counter ~ proven a lie.
Namby-pamby ~ sickly, sentimental, saccharin.
Odd stick ~ eccentric person. "Ol' Farmer Jones sure is an odd stick."
Of the first water ~ first class. "He's a gentleman of the first water."
Offish ~ distant, reserved, aloof.
Oh-be-joyful ~ Liquor, beer, intoxicating spirits. "Give me another snort of that oh-be-joyful."
On the shoot ~ looking for trouble. "Looks like he's on the shoot, tonight."
Pass the buck ~ evade responsibility.
Pay through the nose ~ to over-pay, or pay consequences.
Peter out ~ dwindle away.
Play to the gallery ~ to show off. "That's just how he is, always has to play to the gallery."
Played out ~ exhausted.
Plunder ~ personal belongings. "Pack your plunder, Joe, we're headin' for San Francisco."
Pony up ~ hurry up!
Powerful ~ very. "He's a powerful rich man."
Promiscuous ~ reckless, careless. "He was arrested for a promiscuous display of fire arms."
Proud ~ glad. "I'm proud to know you."
Pull in your horns ~ back off, quit looking for trouble.
Put a spoke in the wheel ~ to foul up or sabotage something.
Quirley ~ roll-your-own cigarette.
Rich ~ amusing, funny, improbable. "Oh, that's rich!"
Ride shank's mare ~ to walk or be set afoot.
Right as a trivet ~ right as rain, sound as a nut, stable.
Rip ~ reprobate. "He's a mean ol' rip."
Roostered ~ drunk. "Looks like those cowboys are in there gettin' all roostered up."
See the elephant ~ originally meant to see combat for the first time, later came to mean going to town, where all the action was.
Scoop in ~ trick, entice, inveigle. "He got scooped into a poker game and lost his shirt."
Scuttlebutt ~ rumors.
Shin out ~ run away.
Shindy ~ uproar, confusion.
Shoddy ~ poor quality.
Shoot, Luke, or give up the gun ~ poop or get off the pot, do it or quit talking about it.
Shoot one's mouth off ~ talk nonsense, untruth. "He was shootin' his mouth off and Bill gave him a black eye."
Shove the queer ~ to pass counterfeit money.
Simon pure ~ the real thing, a genuine fact. "This is the Simon pure."
Skedaddle ~ run like hell.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.
http://www.ebookmall.com/ (Do search by my name or book Title)
www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.
Book Titles:
Holmes the Ripper
A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction
"Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so. The only chance is to treat, not happiness, but some end external to it, as the purpose of life." - John Stuart Mil
