Friday, September 30, 2011

Remember Fred Thompson?

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 30 is … National Mud Pack Day



This broad needs several. Police say an Iowa City woman didn't react well to being told "no" Monday evening. According to criminal complaints, Melissa Barbara Minarsich, 28, was accused of second-offense domestic abuse assault, an aggravated misdemeanor, for punching her boyfriend, with whom she has an 8-year-old child with. Minarsich was convicted of domestic abuse in 2009 as well



Police say they arrived at 10:24 p.m. at 131 Taft Speedway for a report of a woman that was out of control. Officers say they met the caller, Minarsich's boyfriend, at the scene, and he told them that she had damaged the outside of the house and hit him several times after he refused to have sex with her. He told police that despite being hit he was not injured. Officers say then they spoke to Minarsich who was still at the scene, and that she appeared intoxicated, strongly smelling of alcohol and having slurred speech. Police say Minarsich conceded that she had been in a fight with her boyfriend due to his refusal of sex.



"All I want is a piece of (expletive), is that too much to ask for?" she told police, according to the complaint.



As of Tuesday morning, Minarsich was being held in the Johnson County Jail on $5,000 bail. She is about to get her wish and get screwed. It appears proper this occurred in Johnson County.



What Is Politics?



A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"



Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so let's call me capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the people. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,"



So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now."



The father says, "Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about."



The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo."



From a joke website; not my original work.



Is it just me or does it appear the news media is creating news by harping on to the ‘will he/ won’t he’ Chris Christie story? Let it go. He should review history and see how the yes/no game worked out for Fred Thompson, Sarah Palin and Ted Kennedy. The people that report the news should be sharp enough to understand he is not running and is using the press for publicity.



Insanity is inherited. You get it from your children.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

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.













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 is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



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



Public EneMe?





"Those who restrain desire do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained." - William Blake


Thursday, September 29, 2011

Have a poisioned blackberry on me.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 29 is … Poisoned Blackberries Day



The 2011 Chicago Baseball Season, RIP!



My Fair Lady closed on this day in 1962 after a run of 6½ years. At the time, the show held the Broadway record for longest-running musical of all time. 3,750,000 people watched the wonderful show and heard tunes like Wouldn’t it Be Loverly, Show Me, Get Me to the Church on Time, I’m an Ordinary Man, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face and the Vic Damone/Robert Goulet standard, On the Street Where You Live.



The team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe turned George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, into a colorful, musical production. They gave a new life to the rough-around-the-edges, cockney, flower girl; the subject of a bet between Professor Higgins (Just You Wait, ’Enry ’Iggins) and a colleague. The Professor bet that he could turn Eliza Doolittle into a proper lady (The Rain in Spain). With a Little Bit of Luck he did it. Eliza, looking and acting very much like a princess, sang I Could Have Danced All Night.



After its Broadway success, My Fair Lady was made into a motion picture (1964) and won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. I think you’ve got it.



1953 - Danny Thomas, who many now remember as Marlo’s dad and Phil Donahue’s father-in-law, is also remembered for many things that influenced television. At the suggestion of his friend, Desi Arnaz, Thomas negotiated a deal that would allow him to retain ownership rights to his programs, like Make Room for Daddy, which debuted this day on ABC-TV. Later, in 1957, the show would move to CBS under the Desilu/Danny Thomas Productions banner. The rest is, literally, TV history. His success allowed him to give something back to the world, in the form of his philanthropic efforts to build St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. “All I prayed for was a break,” he once told an interviewer, “and I said I would do anything, anything, to pay back the prayer if it could be answered. All I needed was a sign of what to do and I would do it.” And so it was.

1960 - My Three Sons was welcomed into U.S. homes on ABC-TV. Fred MacMurray, who was a movie actor, had a difficult time making the adjustment to the small screen. But adjust he did, and My Three Sons endured so well that CBS bought the successful hit for somewhere between seven and ten million dollars in 1965.



1982 - The first of seven deaths was reported in the Chicago area from Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. Later, Johnson and Johnson introduced a triple sealed, tamper resistant Tylenol bottle.



1983 - On the Great White Way, A Chorus Line became the longest-running show on Broadway, with performance number 3,389. Grease, the rock ’n’ roll production, had been the previous box-office champ since 1980.



There seems to be a Broadway theme today. Don’t break a leg.



On this date:



1789 1st congress adjourns too bad they came back.
1789 US War Dept established a regular army.
1793 Tennis is 1st mentioned in an English sporting magazine.

1954 Willie Mays famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' 460' drive, we have all seen a video of this catch.

1979 Gold hits record $400.20 an ounce in Hong Kong

1986 Cubs Greg Maddux defeats Phillies Mike Maddux (1st rookie brothers)



1907 Construction begins on Washington National Cathedral



1990 Washington National Cathedral construction is completed after 83 years



What took them so long; must have been a government job.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

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.













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 is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



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



Public EneMe?



"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." - Harvey Fierstein








Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Is this all we got?

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 28 is … Ask A Stupid Question Day



Did this guy love his work or what? Arch West, a retired Frito-Lay marketing executive credited with creating Doritos as the first national tortilla chip brand, has died in Dallas at age 97.



A statement issued by the West family says he died Tuesday at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. A graveside service is scheduled for Oct. 1. Daughter Jana Hacker of Allen tells The Dallas Morning News  the family plans on "tossing Doritos chips in before they put the dirt over the urn."



West was a marketing vice president for Dallas-based Frito-Lay in 1961 when, while on a family vacation near San Diego, he found a snack shack selling fried tortilla chips. Hacker says her father got a tepid corporate response to the tortilla chip idea but conducted marketing research that led to the Doritos rollout.



Never can tell when you are going to get hungry. Do you think he can eat just one?



Rick Perry just cannot shake the Merck donation story out of Texas. It amazes me how an inconsequential nutcase like Michelle Bachmann can prevent the most popular candidate in her party from getting the nomination. The defeat of Perry will not help her in any way. She is way out on the diving board and no one will help her get back to the ladder.



Once again Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is not running for the Republican nomination for President. He is running out of ways to say he is not running.



It appears to me that the total mess President Obama inherited and then worsened is too broken to really fix. Like most economic woes and world crisis, time will fix it. Sooner or later people will have to replace refrigerators, cars and clothes. They just will not be able to wait any longer. Sooner or later employers will hire new employees because current employees die, retire or get ill; sooner or later the world will tire of the troublemakers around the globe and kill them either physically or economically.



The fixes that will eventually occur will not be because of who the President is. Time will fix everything; whoever is President will get the credit but it will be a matter of luck not ability.



Politicians realize this. That is why the Republican field is so weak. Whoever is elected will likely be a one term President. If things do not turn around quickly, you are one and done. It takes 18 to 24 months for the national economy to recover from anything. The trickle down takes a long time to get to Mississippi.



It could be several national elections before a President is re-elected.



The man who created Li’l Abner was born on this day in 1909 at New Haven, Connecticut. Alfred Gerald Caplin, better known as Al Capp, was responsible for all the happenings in the fictitious hillbilly town of Dogpatch.



From 1934 until 1977, Capp wrote and drew the cartoon, Li’l Abner, with its cast of wonderful characters, Mammy and Pappy Yokum, their son Abner, the lovely Daisy Mae, Fearless Fosdick and the lovable Schmoos. Al Capp even invented a holiday, Sadie Hawkins Day.



Li’l Abner wasn’t just a funny comic strip. It became a Broadway show and a Hollywood movie, too. But above all else, Al Capp used the characters in the Sunday funnies for political satire. It was fairly common to see public figures being lampooned in Li’l Abner. Al Capp would have had a field day with today’s political antics.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

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.













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 is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



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



Public EneMe?



"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office." - Robert Frost


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Ozzie, your quitting did not crush me.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 27 is … Crush A Can Day



Go ahead, knock it off. Crush this can on your forehead. Do not use the crusher machine people used to buy, use for a day and then put it in the garage never to be seen again. They were usually put next to the exercise bike or Bo-flex or the pocket fisherman, etc.



Ozzie Guillen, thanks for your efforts as a player. Thank you for your efforts as a manager. You were entertaining and generally genuine. The last couple of years you have hit a rough spot. You are not bigger than the game. Your antics have run their course. You let your ego get in the way this year by constantly playing Alex Rios, Adam Dunne and Gordon Beckham just to show your General Manager who was the boss.



You threw this year away because of your attitude. You screwed the fans because of your ego. Good luck with the Marlins. Do not open that bottle. The lightning can never be recaught.



Thank you for leaving before you became a full blown Mike Ditka.



The Bears did not lose Monday but only because they did not play. Did you hear that? Johnny Knox just dropped another pass.



First NetFlix apologized for messing with its customers but did not change the huge price increase. Now General Motors says it is sorry for any confusion around its new policy surrounding OnStar customers but it is not changing anything. Internet cookies, FourSquare, Facebook check-ins, street cameras everywhere and in-car global positioning systems. There are so many ways to track the movements of consumers, some for which they even volunteer. But people may have their limits.

The Internet and media are abuzz with complaints over the redesign of Facebook, which has been done to make it easier for the company to sell the online behavior of members to third parties. But the latest marketer to set off those who are against all this constant monitoring and tracking is General Motors and its satellite-based OnStar system that does everything from unlock your car when the keys are locked inside, to diagnose a mechanical problem, give you directions from a live person or notify first responders if your car goes off the road.

Last week, OnStar made a change to its "Terms and Conditions," that stipulates it can not only track data such as mileage, speed and location of vehicles, but that it can continue to do so even after the vehicle owner has stopped subscribing to the service, and can sell the data to third parties.

GM, which owns and operates OnStar, can do this because most of its cars are fitted with OnStar hardware. GM gives new buyers a trial period to subscribe to OnStar service packages. Then, they hope owners will re-up with subscriptions that start at $18.95 per month. OnStar also offers OnStar retrofit kits for non GM vehicles.

Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer (D-NY) who often takes up consumer issues, is calling for a full investigation into OnStar's plan. "By tracking drivers even after they've canceled their service, OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory," said Schumer. "I urge OnStar to abandon this policy and for (the Federal Trade Commission) to immediately launch a full investigation to determine whether the company's actions constitute an unfair trade practice."

So far, GM executives are standing pat, saying over the weekend that it apologized for confusion over the move, but that they are planning to stick with it.



This is the new trend in customer satisfaction policy. Tell the customer they are right, that you are sorry but take it or leave it. I think I will leave both of these companies.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

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.












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 is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



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



Public EneMe?







"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems." - Mahatma Gandhi






Monday, September 26, 2011

Where's Forrest Gump when you need him?

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

September 26 is … National Good Neighbor Day and National Pancake Day



Is this day brought to us by All State or IHOP? Either way, take your neighbor some pancakes for dinner tonight.



During the preseason , the experts were telling us the Bears had a two year window to win before their defense is too old. It appears the years were dog years. The defense the Bears have is not very good. I am sure the team will win again but they will lose more than they win. The future looks very bleak for at least three years. By then, the quarterback will be too old; forget the fact he is not very good. The Bears do not have a running back that would start for any other team in the NFL but the one they start wants more money. Forte ran the ball two games ago 12 times for less than 30 yards. Yesterday he carried the ball 9 times for 2 yards. What should we pay him.



The football season in Chicago is over before the baseball season. In reality, however, the Cubs season was over in early June and the White Sox season was over in mid August.



This guy just didn’t know how good he had it. It appears, however, that being rich does not mean you are smart, intelligent, not gullible or happy. The brutal murder of young bride by her much older husband, who then killed himself, has sent shockwaves through Port St. Lucie, Fla. -- where many neighbors didn't even know the deceased were a couple.



The bloodshed began in the middle of the night last Saturday when a 78-year-old man apparently shot his wife, who was 21 years old. Before turning the pistol on himself, the husband called a neighbor to say he'd murdered his spouse. He asked her to pick up his dead wife's daughter because he was about to set the house on fire, according to TV station WPTV.



There were at least two 911 calls that night that have been released; one from the neighbor who ventured into the home around 1 a.m. to retrieve the 3-year-old girl, and the other from the husband, identified by some news outlets as Geunther Floerchinger, who told a dispatcher that he would allow someone to enter his home to pick up the toddler. Once the child was safe, he said he would end his own life.



When emergency responders arrived, the wife -- identified as Carhina Floerchinger -- was in a smokey bedroom that had been doused with gasoline. Police found her husband first behind the front door with burns on his body, according to TCPalm.com.



It has been a slow weekend.



Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.

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.















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 is now available. The title is Public EneMe?



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



Public EneMe?



"Cheerfulness, it would appear, is a matter which depends fully as much on the state of things within, as on the state of things without and around us." - Charlotte Bronte