LAWYERBRUCE

www.brucebrennanlaws.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan

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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Did you hear the one about True Grit? van Gogh didn't.

DECEMBER 23, 2010

I went to see True Grit on Wednesday afternoon with my wife, 20 year old daughter and my youngest son, a 24 year old law student. Growing up in my household, it was hard not to be a John Wayne fan, so they had seen the original. The 24 year old used to write a movie review column for his law school newspaper at Valparaiso. He used a two step rating system; “See it” or “Skip it”. He gave True Grit a highly rated “See it”. I concur. The movie is pretty true to the original version while adding a little more depth from the book by Charles Portis. My wife and daughter also enjoyed the film. At less than two hours, it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. The Coen brothers will be getting a few award nominations for their work. Steven Spielberg was also involved in the project.

The story of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”

A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS

“He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.” There’s hardly a soul alive who couldn’t identify this as the description of Santa Claus. These words were published for the first time on this day in 1823 in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel (now the Record). The poem we know as The Night Before Christmas or A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore, was published anonymously under the newspaper editor’s title, Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.

Moore’s poem, which he had written on Christmas Eve one year earlier, took a circuitous route to the Troy paper. The story has it that Moore penned the poem, inspired by the bells on the sleigh in which he was riding, the sleigh’s jolly driver, and the new fallen snow on the streets of New York City, as he was running a last minute errand for his wife. That evening, he read his now-famous words to his six children as they sat in front of their fireplace where “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there.” The children were so delighted with their father’s images of “a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,” that they saved the poem.

Some other interesting events on this date: Did you hear about Vincent van Gogh?

1783 - George Washington returned to Mount Vernon, after the disbanding of his army following the Revolutionary War. His first words upon returning home, “Hey, Martha - what’s for dinner?” And, in a very deep voice, she replied, “BEEF!”

1888 - Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh arrived at House of Tolerance (brothel), asked for one Rachel, and handed her -- his ear, saying “Keep this and treasure it.” Then he disappeared. Informed of this action, which could only be that of a poor lunatic, the police went to the man’s address the next morning and found him lying in bed and giving almost no sign of life. The unfortunate artist was admitted to hospital as an emergency case.

1942 - Bob Hope agreed to entertain U.S. airmen in Alaska. It was the first of his many famous Christmas shows for American armed forces around the world. The tradition continued for more than three decades.

1957 - Actor Dan Blocker made his debut on television in the Restless Gun production of The Child. Two years later, Blocker starred in the very popular Bonanza on NBC, as Hoss Cartwright.

1997 - Carlos the Jackal, aka Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, was convicted in France of the murder of two French agents and a Lebanese informant in June of 1975. Sanchez was sentenced to life in prison.

Chart Toppers - December 23
1944
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
Don’t Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
I’m Wastin’ My Tears on You - Tex Ritter

1952
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jimmy Boyd
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Skeets McDonald

1960
Are You Lonesome To-night? - Elvis Presley
Wonderland by Night - Bert Kaempfert
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky

1968
I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder
Stormy - Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost
Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell

1976
Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart
The Rubberband Man - Spinners
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
Thinkin’ of a Rendezvous - Johnny Duncan

1984
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
Cool It Now - New Edition

Why Not Me - The Judds

Today is a great day to buy my book. It makes a great gift for anyone including, yourself. Buy it while you still have money. There are just three shopping days before Christmas; buy now and beat the rush.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaws.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

True Grit and The Union Gap

DECEMBER 22, 2010

Take less than three minutes and watch the video at the address below;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZrf0PbAGSk&feature=player_embedded

I have been waiting for the remake of True Grit with Jeff Bridges in the John Wayne role for nearly a year. The Coen brothers have made some very good films over the years. They have also made some stinkers. They have worked with Jeff Bridges in the past, making The Big Lebowski together. From what I have read so far, they hit pay dirt with True Grit. I have not seen it yet but will soon. I have not read a review that was not positive. Matt Damon, playing the inept Texas Ranger first played by Glen Campbell, gets high marks along with Jeff Bridges. Not many actors want to redo a John Wayne character but Bridges pulls it off. The newcomer who plays Mattie Ross, Hailee Steinfeld, is supposed to be magnificent in her debut. It would not be hard to out act Kim Darby from the original film. Westerns are not made that often any more. I hope everybody goes to this one, making it a success and hopefully reviving the genre. Kevin Costner can’t do it alone.

Steve Landesberg, who played dry, intellectual detective Arthur Dietrich on the classic ABC sitcom 'Barney Miller,' has died. He was 65 years old at the time of his death. I always thought he was hilarious on the show, always trying to one up the rest of the detectives in the squad room. RIP.

The 2010 Census information is being released over a period of time. It is accurate through April, 2010. There are 308 million people in the United States. We are still growing but our growth is the smallest it has been since the Great Depression. For a little fun and a good conversation starter when family and friends are over for Christmas or New Years, go to;

http://www.howmanyofme.com/

Type in your name or any name and this census site will tell you how many people in America have the name you typed in. Be sure to answer the question that you are over 13 years old first or you will not get an answer! Have fun; make a guessing game about the answer. No cheating.

Other census facts released on Tuesday included;

· The five largest states by population are California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. New York is the only state that has ranked in the top five since the first census in 1790.

· The five least populous states are Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska and South Dakota.

· The Northeast maintains its 40-year run as the most densely populated region. Five of the original 13 states -- New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maryland -- have the most people per square mile. The states with some of the largest land mass -- Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota -- are the most sparsely populated.

· The geographic population center of the country continues to go west and south. In 1790, it was in Kent County, Md. Today it is in southern Missouri and, while the Census has not done the calculations, may be heading south toward Arkansas.

One of the new features of a census site is;

www.ApocaLuck.com

Go to this site; type in your city or zip code. It will tell you if your city or area will survive a nuclear attack. It is very uplifting.

Number 1 musical selections and the year!

December 22
1951 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Slowpoke - Pee Wee King
Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way - Carl Smith

1959 Heartaches by the Number - Guy Mitchell
Why - Frankie Avalon
The Big Hurt - Miss Toni Fisher
El Paso - Marty Robbins

1967 Daydream Believer - The Monkees
Woman, Woman - The Union Gap
Boogaloo Down Broadway - The Fantastic Johnny C
It’s the Little Things - Sonny James

1975 That’s the Way (I Like It) - KC & The Sunshine Band
Let’s Do It Again - The Staple Singers
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
Convoy - C.W. McCall

1983 Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Say It Isn’t So - Daryl Hall-John Oates
Union of the Snake - Duran Duran
Black Sheep - John Anderson

1991 Black or White - Michael Jackson
It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
All 4 Love - Color Me Badd
My Next Broken Heart - Brooks & Dunn

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaws.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Bears, Favre and a parrot

DECEMBER 21, 2010

December 21 is … Look At The Bright Side Day, National Flashlight Day, National French Fried Shrimp Day, and Hamburger Day End of the year, had to get them in.

The Bears looked good against an inferior opponent. Good luck in the playoffs.

Do you think the ego of Brett Favre talked him into starting Monday night, on national TV, just so he could pick the right time to exit the NFL, as a wounded warrior? I do. I hope Favre gets it. You cannot compete any longer at the NFL level. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again, like Favre has been doing for several years.

I have a running argument with many friends and family members. I know the argument could be settled through Google but I have looked it up and found inconsistent answers:

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE HORSE IN JINGLE BELLS? THE ONE PULLING THE ONE-HORSE OPEN SLEIGH.

I am going to tell a story I bring out every Christmas. I will clean it up for general audiences.

An elderly lady was recently widowed just before Christmas. She was lonely and thought about different ways to secure some company for Christmas. She decided she wanted a pet. She and her late husband never had a pet so she decided this would be a new, fun experience for her.

She went to a local pet shop she had driven by for the last thirty years. She told the clerk she was looking for a pet to provide her company in her new chapter in life. She looked around a bit. The clerk suggested fish but she didn’t like that idea. She then noticed a parrot sitting on its perch in an out-of-the-way corner. She told the clerk she wanted the parrot. The clerk told her she wouldn’t like that parrot. He said the parrot was mean and swore a lot. The lady was undeterred. She could make him a nicer parrot and she had heard swearing before.

She bought the parrot, a cage, a perch, food toys and a cover. She then took the parrot home and set him up in a prominent place in the living room where she spent most of her time while at home. Everything was going fine. She talked to the parrot, trying to get him to talk back to her. The parrot was not acting mean or aggressive.

After about two hours, the parrot was getting used to his new home. He squawked at the lady and swore at her for five minutes. He called her all kinds of vile names, ultimately calling her a b*tch. The lady did not like that and told him he was a bad parrot. She told him she would stop the swearing. She put him in the freezer.

After about five minutes, she took him out of the freezer and put him back on his perch. The parrot looked perplexed and cold. After a few minutes, he was thawed out enough to speak. He started swearing at his owner again. This time he used words and called her names she had never heard. “OK Mr. Parrot. That’s enough of that. I’ll show you who’s boss” she said as she grabbed the parrot and put him back into the freezer. She really was going to teach him a lesson this time. She left him in the freezer for thirty minutes before taking him out.

She placed the parrot on his perch. He was nearly frozen. It took twenty minutes for him to open his eyes. He started to perk up a bit, stretching his wings, breaking the frost from his feathers. He slowly looked around not quite sure what to do. He then noticed the lady sitting in her chair. He spoke up, “Lady, what the f*ck did that turkey say?” he asked.

The horse in Jingle Bells has a name. The name is Bob. Think about it, “Bells on Bob’s tail ring.”

“There`s so much to say but your eyes keep interrupting me.”

Notable events on this date:

1582 - Flanders adopts Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is Jan 1 1583
1620 - 103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock [OS=Dec 11
1864 - Gen Sherman conquers Savannah
1913 - 1st crossword puzzle (with 32 clues) printed in NY World
1929 - 1st group hospital insurance plan offered (Dallas Tx)
1946 - Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," premieres
1951 - Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement
1954 - Dr Sam Sheppard's wife Marilyn is murdered in her home in Cleveland, (he is accused of crime). The Fugitive is based on the Sam Sheppard case.
1968 - David Crosby, Stephen Stills & Graham Nash premiere together in Calif. Teach your children well.
1978 - Police in Des Plaines Ill, arrest John Wayne Gacy, Jr. for murder
1988 - NY bound Pan Am jumbo jet explodes over Scotland all 258 aboard die. This is still in the news with the gut responsible supposed to die in two months, sixteen months ago.
1989 - VP Quayle sends out 30,000 Xmas cards with word beacon spelled beacon
1991 - US actress Jane Fonda marries CNN-director Ted Turner
2010 – Chicago Bears win NFC North Title( actually on the 20^th).

Notable births on this date:

1117 - Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury
1879 - Joseph Stalin, [Dzoegashvili], Russian dictator; murdered 11,000,000
1908 - Pat Weaver, LA Calif, TV Executive (started Today show)
1909 - George Ball, Iowa, lawyer/undersecretary of state
1924 - Joe Paterno, football coach (Penn State, SI Sportsman of 1986)
1926 - Pedro Gonzales-Gonzalez, Aguilares Tx, actor (Rio Bravo)
1937 - Jane Fonda, NYC, actress (Barbarella, Klute), physically fit
1954 - Chris Evert Lloyd Mills, Ft Lauderdale, tennis pro 'Miss pokerface'

Notable deaths on this date:

1928 - Harry Butt, cricketer (England wicket-keeper v S Africa 1895-96), dies
1940 - F Scott Fitzgerald, author (Zelda), dies of a heart attack at 44
1945 - George S Patton, US General (Sicily/Normandy), dies in car crash at 60
1989 - Elena Ceaucescu, wife of Romanian dictator Nicolae, executed
1989 - Nicolae Ceaucescu, Romanian dictator (1945-89), executed

Today is a great day to buy my book. It makes a great gift for anyone including, yourself. Buy it while you still have money. There are just six shopping days before Christmas; buy now and beat the rush.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaws.com

www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com

www.lawyerbruceabrennan.com

Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan

www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)

www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Serial killers and Playmates

DECEMBER 20, 2010

December 20 is … Games Day. Go forth and play.

Christmas is almost here. I hope you are ready. I completed most of my shopping, with the help of my daughter, home from U of I for break. I never thought I would say this but I actually enjoy Christmas shopping…with her anyway.

The Packers gave the Patriots a game last night. It made the Bears’ performance against New England look like men against boys. When the Packers and Bears play the last game of the season, a playoff spot better not be on the line. If it is, I see the Bears missing the playoffs. Tonight’s game should be a no brainer. Next week against the Jets could easily be a loss making the final game meaningful. We will see together.

New York police are now conceding they may not be dealing with a serial killer a week after they found four bodies close together. The police say they are just not sure what they have. It may just be a popular area to dispose of murder victims by unrelated murderers Every large city needs such a place. You just cannot have corpses lying around in the street.

New York may not have a serial killer, although they are not sure, California may have had a prolific serial killer at work. On December 17^th,Los Angeles police released the pictures of 160 women, some feared to be possible victims of the Grim Sleeper serial killer.
The photographs, dating back to the 1980s, are alleged by police to have been found at the home of Lonnie David Franklin, who was arrested in Los Angeles in July and charged with the murder of 10 women. Franklin denies he killed them. To date, five of the 160 women have been identified.

With good weather, nearly one-fourth of the world’s population, 1.5 billion people worldwide, will be able to watch when the Earth's shadow creeps across the moon's surface early Tuesday morning, the first time in hundreds of years that a lunar eclipse will fall on the winter solstice, December 21st.

This is a rare opportunity no one on earth has ever seen before. "Since Year 1, I can only find one previous instance of an eclipse matching the same calendar date as the solstice, and that is DEC 21, 1638." Geoff Chester said, according to NASA. "Fortunately we won't have to wait 372 years for the next one ... that will be on DEC 21, 2094" I doubt I will make that one.

This year's event will take 3 hours and 38 minutes. The eclipse begins on Tuesday at 1:33 a.m. ET, when the Earth's dark-red shadow will turn up on the edge of the moon, according to NASA. It will take about an hour for the shadow to cover the entire moon. Totality begins at 2:41 a.m. and lasts for 72 minutes.

Notable births on this date:

1940 Larry Willis rock keyboardist (Blood, Sweat & Tears) Spinning Wheel has got to go round.
1944 Robert Colomby New York NY, rock drummer (Blood Sweat & Tears-When I Die)
1949 Claudia Jennings [Mary Ellen Chestrerton] Minnesota, playmate (November 1969)
1961 Bonnie Marino Cleveland OH, playmate (June 1990)
1967 Wendy Hamilton Detroit MI, playmate (December 1991) Good birthday to where your birthday suit.
1970 Grant Flower cricketer (brother of Andy Zimbabwe Test opening batsman)

Notable deaths on this date:

1812 Sacagawea Shoshone interpreter for Lewis & Clark, dies. I got her quarter.
1876 Hannah Omish at 12 is youngest ever hanged in US
1968 John Steinbeck author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel 1962), dies in New York at 66
1973 Bobby Darin singer (Mack the Knife), dies of heart failure at 37
1976 Richard J Daley Chicago mayor dies at 74

Notable events on this date:

1192 Richard the Lionhearted captured in Vienna
1669 1st jury trial in Delaware; Marcus Jacobson condemned for insurrection & sentenced to flogging, branding & slavery
1803 Louisiana Purchase formally transferred from France to US for $27 million
1820 Missouri imposes a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men between 21 & 50. The good old days!
1879 Tom Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park
1880 New York's Broadway lit by electricity, becomes known as "Great White Way"
1920 Bob Hope becomes an American citizen. Thank God.
1944 Battle of Bastogne, Nazis surround 101st Airborne (NUTS!)
1993 Donald Trump weds Marla Maples
1956 Montgomery AL, removed race-based seat assignments on its buses
1957 Elvis Presley given draft notice to join US Army for National Service
1967 474,300 US soldiers in Vietnam. Some things never change, just the faces.

“To criticize the incompetent is easy; it is more difficult, to criticize the competent.”

BRUCE A. BRENNAN

DEKALB, IL 60115

Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com

www.brucebrennanlaws.com