Searching the Web for the Wacky

At Canada.com they offer a selection of blogs to peruse that range from the cerebral Dark Matter which offers the latest on science, space, the environment and medical matters written by Tom Spears of the Ottawa Citizen, to the aptly named Strange Blog. Jack Branswell, a senior editor with canada.com offers stories almost too strange for print, like a woman, who was trying to raise money to pay for her husband's bail. Ends up landing herself in jail for allegedly stealing credit cards from her parents to post the bond money. The husband is free and she is in jail. Then there is the down right wrong,Web Junkie offers web pages that completey goes against the laws of morality. The web site hallucinaut preaches the benefits of wearing hats made from aluminum foil in case of Alien invader attacks (the exterrestrial kind). Not only do they keep the aliens from controlling your minds, they look great, too.




Today I offer a selection from rinkworks.com of incredible but true excerpts from courtroom transcripts in which people either misspoke under the pressure or where truly out of it.

*Lawyer: "Was that the same nose you broke as a child?"
*Witness: "I only have one, you know."

* Lawyer: "Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated?"
* Witness: "By death."
* Lawyer: "And by whose death was it terminated?"

* Accused, Defending His Own Case: "Did you get a good look at my face when I took your purse?"

The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in jail.

* Lawyer: "What is your date of birth?"
* Witness: "July 15th."
* Lawyer: "What year?"
* Witness: "Every year."

* Lawyer: "Can you tell us what was stolen from your house?"
* Witness: "There was a rifle that belonged to my father that was stolen from the hall closet."
* Lawyer: "Can you identify the rifle?"
* Witness: "Yes. There was something written on the side of it."
* Lawyer: "And what did the writing say?"
* Witness: "'Winchester'!"

* Lawyer: "Can you describe what the person who attacked you looked like?"
* Witness: "No. He was wearing a mask."
* Lawyer: "What was he wearing under the mask?"
* Witness: "Er...his face."

* Lawyer: "What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?"
* Witness: "He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'"
* Lawyer: "And why did that upset you?"
* Witness: "My name is Susan."

* Lawyer: "Sir, what is your IQ?"
* Witness: "Well, I can see pretty well, I think."

And this is my favourite, some lawyers deserve the bad rap they get(*kidding)
# Lawyer: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
# Witness: "No."
# Lawyer: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
# Witness: "No."
# Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"
# Witness: "No."
# Lawyer: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
# Witness: "No."
# Lawyer: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
# Witness: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
# Lawyer: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
# Witness: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

Later,
Kenaz

Classic Horror Ledgends:Lon Chaney Jr.

Proving that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Chaney, Jr., thrilled and chilled moviegoers with his portrayals of famous movie monsters, but never achieved his father's status in the film industry. He always harbored a desire to emulate his dad, and finally entered films in 1932, starring in a lackluster serial titled The Last Frontier and also playing bits and second leads, billed as Creighton Chaney. He became "Lon Jr." in 1936, hoping the name change would boost his career. Fairly trim and handsome in his youth, Chaney gained weight rap idly in the late 1930s; his bulky physique and fleshy face disqualified him from consideration for romantic leads. As a 20th Century-Fox contractee, he had walk-ons and small roles in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937), Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), and Jesse James (1939), to name a few. On the strength of his powerful performance as the half-witted Lenny in Of Mice and Men (1939, an unusual A-movie assignment for the actor), however, Universal signed Chaney with the intention of making him a horror-movie star. He achieved special billing as tortured lycanthrope Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941), reprising the role in several subsequent films (including 1948's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein). Chaney also starred in The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Mummy's Tomb (both 1942), Son of Dracula (1943), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and The Mummy's Curse (1945), and in Universal's "Inner Sanctum" series of the mid 1940s. When the studio's horror-film cycle died out, so did his starring career; by decade's end he was playing character roles. His last worthwhile part was as the retired sheriff in High Noon (1952). From the late 1950s on, beset with personal problems and in failing health, he accepted parts in a succession of cheap, shoddy films, ending his career in Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971).

Trivia:
Lon Chaney, Jr., is the only person to have played all four of the classic movie monsters: The Wolf Man (1941) (Larry Talbot/Wolf Man) The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) (The Frankenstein Monster) The Mummy's Tomb (1942) (Kharis, the mummy) Son of Dracula (1943) (Count Anthony Alucard, Dracula's son)




Later,
Kenaz