Friday, April 25, 2014

Is There a Real Joe Brandt?


Is There a Real Joe Brandt? Dreamer of Mega-Earthquake "The Big One" in California

Supposedly in 1937, when he was 17 years old and sustained injuries from hitting his head from a fall from his horse, Joe Brandt had a series of prophetic dreams about “the big one,” a mega-earthquake to hit California some time in the future.

If you are unfamiliar with his personal dream accounts, be sure you first read the complete text of and/or watch a cinematic half-hour YouTube based on Joe Brandt’s diary entries on these dreams. There is also a six-minute animated dramatization of his dream presented in Spanish (Espanol). Even if you already know about Joe Brandt's dream, a reread of his accounts will give you more insights into what I'm discussing in this blog post.

One of the key questions this story has raised for me is – who is Joe Brandt?  Was he a real person?  If so, do any of his stats line up with the story relayed back in 1965 to author Jessica Madigan (Mei Ling), who originally published Joe’s account in 1969?

Through some not-so-extravagant research, I found a Joseph Wendell Brandt (November 19, 1919-July 5, 1995) whose last known residence was Fresno, California. His mother's name was Alice. Joseph would have been 17 years old most of the year 1937 until his birthday in November, when he would turn 18. He lived to age 75.  This information was found on ancientfaces.com and familysearch.org.

As well, Joseph W. Brandt served in the army during World War II, enlisting at age 24 in June 1944.

Joseph Brandt’s wife, Fran, who Jessica Madigan said was her closest friend, died in what might be March 1967. Outside of what Madigan said herself, it is hard to pin down anything on Fran Brandt. Also, with Fran’s death so many years prior to modern electronic technology, information is spartan.

Who for that matter was Jessica Madigan, who sometimes published under the pseudonym Mei Ling? I couldn’t find much about her personally, other than her series of small press, homespun, self-published books published between 1963-1992 on the topics of world prophecy, dreams, past lives, reincarnation and other new age issues.  She supposedly was a follower of Edgar Cayce.

Some speculate that Madigan may have fabricated Brandt’s story. However, pinning her motive on needed income during her husband’s illness doesn’t hold much water.  None of her self-published, humble-looking books were blockbusters by any stretch of the imagination. Having been in the small press business myself along with my husband, I know that most of such publication efforts are more significant as labors of love than as any venue of profit. Madigan’s first publication of Joe’s story in a Christian newsletter called “Living Water” back in 1969 could also hardly be a cash cow.

Let me suggest four different takes, one of which might be the truth about Joe Brandt’s earthquake dream story:
1.)  Everything Madigan published was a verbatim transcription from Joe Brandt’s dream diaries of 1937.
2.) Not many 17-year-olds with a mere three years of high school under their belts are as articulate, clear or as visual a writer as Brandt. Nevertheless, students his age in 1937 were likely better-trained writers, more knowledgeable about the world around them, and with greater vocabularies than many young people today.  Perhaps Madigan, as a professional writer, might have edited Brandt’s work enough to make it more cognizant to the reader.
3.) Perhaps Brandt’s written account was a little crude and sketchy. Madigan may have enhanced the writing with a lot of what-ifs that might be common among earthquakes. What did the air smell like? Did the birds and other animals disappear? What expressions did the people have when the earthquake took place? What did they do and say? Perhaps she took wider liberties in making the piece as compelling  and hard-hitting as it is by adding  a sizable number of fictive and dramatic details.
4.)  Or Madigan completely fabricated the entire piece.  

However, in regard to point number four, I find it hard to trace any kind of motive for Madigan to totally fabricate such an account, or for a honorably discharged World War II veteran and semi-skilled worker such as Brandt to allow someone to create an entirely fictitious story about him.

I don’t know if Brandt’s original handwritten diary pages still exist or if they ever existed. It would be interesting to see photographs of the original manuscript. I haven’t the faintest idea of where to even look to find them. I can’t imagine they are in any public archive.

But my search, as far as answering my original question about the authenticity of a real person who fits the description of the Joe Brandt who dreamt of an upcoming California megaquake, has me sufficiently satisfied. I believe totally that Joseph W. Brandt, who was born 1919 and died 1995 in Fresno, California, is that person.

I am a Christian and believe God can lead us in various, and sometimes unconventional, ways.  I will continue to pray for guidance, evidence and confirmation while seeking what’s true from false. ##

Postscripts: In the dream text, in which the action takes place primarily on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, a section reads, "Those crazy kids. Why are they dressed like that? Maybe it is some big Halloween doings, but it don't seem like Halloween. More like early spring."

It is interesting to note that the "Hollywood Boulevard Characters" who dress up in costume on Hollywood Blvd and ask people to pose in pictures with them for tips first appeared on Hollywood Boulevard in the early 1990s, starting with Superman, then followed by Elvis Presley and Charlie Chaplin, before slowly blossoming into more than 80 characters in current times. Obviously, this wasn't taking place when Joe Brandt wrote his diary in 1937, nor even when the account was first published in 1969.

Another phrasing from the diary, "Funny glow about them. It is a shine around their heads -- something shining." Could this be from glowing headphones and headsets? Some readers of this blog have suggested that the "glow" is an illumination from cellphones on the young persons' faces. These readers may be on to something.

Note that in Brandt's dream, he saw a movie marquee featuring a blonde with one leg draped six-feet long. The movie might be an IMAX and 3D film, suitable for a film venue such as the TCL Chinese Theater IMAX at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.  Perhaps the marketing for the character includes the character's six-foot leg either as part of a cut-out print poster or an image on a digital marquee. A live action film version of about the doll "Barbie" (a long-legged character if there ever was one) is in the making in Hollywood starring Margot Robbie. May this fit the earthquake's timeframe when this film finally debuts? Or perhaps the film "Blonde" about Marilyn Monroe, starring Ana de Armas, which premieres on Netflix late September 2022 and in some selected theaters.

Was Joe Brandt talking about autonomous cars in the following passage, about cars that can drive themselves? Self-driving car technology is just emerging and may become mainstream before too many years in the future. In addition, the "baby, half-size" car he mentions resembles today's Smart car. He even suggests that the cars have some type of innate intelligence or personality by the way he describes the cars specifically and not their drivers. He wrote, "I looked out at the cars. They were honking, but not scared. They just kept moving. They didn't seem to know yet that anything was happening. Then, that white car, that baby half-sized one came sprawling from the inside lane right against the curb."

A little strange something caught my attention in the text. Everyone laughed after an initial small earthquake. "The ground shook, just an instant. People looked at each other, surprised. Then they laughed. I laughed, too. So this was what I had been waiting for. This funny little shake. It meant nothing."

Do most people in California laugh at a small earthquake? Maybe they do. Or instead, wouldn't they be a little alarmed? People are surprised and laugh more often when they are expecting one thing and another happens, something not so consequential. Were people expecting a large earthquake? Or was there a mega-quake in Japan and California is expecting a tsunami? Is this set a future time when earthquake prediction is more refined and accurate? Is everyone actually on edge and expecting a large earthquake when this first little small one arrives?

Recent news reveals that tar and natural gas smell is arising from the street corner across from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles at a rate unseen before. In Joe's dream account he said, "There was a funny smell. I don't know where it came from. I didn't like it. A smell like sulphur, sulfuric acid, a smell like death. For a minute I thought I was back in chem." [Chemistry class].

A reader informed me about the possible "5 &10" Joe Brandt saw on Hollywood Blvd in his dream. The old 5-and-10-cent store previously on Hollywood Blvd. is long gone. A replica of it was created in Disney World in Florida in a recreation of Hollywood Blvd. 

Today, a $5 and $10 store (unrelated to the previous 5&10) stands next to Grauman's Ghinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd. LA Weekly ran a story that included the new "5 &10" which calls itself "Everything's $10 Luxury Accessories." However, a street-level sign out in front always advertises everything on sale for $5 for "one-day only"(see bullet point #6)






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24 comments:

RFB said...

Thanks for the research. People just accept this account with zero checking.

Unknown said...

Excellent research on the prophetic dream.
The people slouching while walking could be everybody was on their phones.
President was heavier with big ears. Some suspects: Obama, Biden, Trump, Santorum, etc.
It should be near

Messiahette said...

Good day Cynthia

This is a very interesting article. I read the article some time back and it ties in with prophecies made by the American Prophet William Branham. William Branham made a prophecy in 1935 that the "ocean shall weep its way into the desert". Then in 1965 he prophesied that Los Angeles(Hollywood) would slide into the ocean. I have the audio of the text. This prophesy ties in with Joe Brandt's dream. Read some excerpts taken from audio sermons below, BEFORE 24 December 1965. Branham passed on 24 December 1965 the same day Joe Brandt left his writings with Ms Madigan. That was a bit strange.

Excerpts from tapes below:
_____
TRYING.TO.DO.GOD.A.SERVICE_ JEFF.IN V-4 N-8 SUNDAY_ 65-0718M
She went and got a prophecy that I made about 1935 or something like that, and said: "The time would come (It's written in a book somewhere.) that the sea would weep it's way into the desert." Look what'll take place. If that thousands of square miles falls down into the lava of the earth and slides in, there'll be millions die at one time. And that'll cause such a tidal wave... Remember, plumb up into the Salton Sea is a hundred or two hundred feet lower than the sea level. That water will probably come almost to Tucson with that tidal wave coming across there. And the sea shall weep its way into the desert.
_____
ASHAMED OF HIM 65-0711
That's what it is when you know that you're talking to Him... You would think it was a foolish thing when somebody... When, I know that there is a few people in the world holds on to what I say to be the truth. To stand here and say, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, I'm going to Arizona, there I'll meet seven Angels in a cluster," well, there's a group of men standing there to see it happen.
The other night saying that Los Angeles would fall into the ocean... But when you have met God, and the God Who doesn't fail, the God Who does exactly what He said He would do, He's always done it; you're not ashamed of it then. You don't have to walk back and be embarrassed about it; you can tell the whole world. When a man meets God, talks to Him, and the reality of God becomes his in his heart, he's not ashamed of It.
_________
RAPTURE.THE_ YUMA.AZ V-5 N-14 SATURDAY_ 65-1204
191 Oh, my. I remember just my last message in California where I thought I'd never go back again, when I predicted Los Angeles will go beneath the ocean. And THUS SAITH THE LORD, it will. She's done; she's washed; she's finished. What hour? I don't know when, but it will be sunk. Right after that the earthquakes begin to jerk and bound.

RAPTURE.THE_ YUMA.AZ V-5 N-14 SATURDAY_ 65-1204
193 Remember, that same God that said that, said Los Angeles is doomed. And she's finished. I don't know when; I can't tell you.
I didn't know I said that. But this brother here I believe it was... No, one of the Mosleys, I believe, had me out on the street out there. I didn't know what it was till I looked back. And I looked back in the Scripture, and Jesus said, "Capernaum, Capernaum, how oft... You that's exalted yourself (rather) up into heaven shall be brought down into hell, for if the mighty works had been done in you that'd--been done in Sodom, it'd stood today." And about a hundred and fifty years from there--Sodom had already in the earth, then Capernaum is in the water too today.

RAPTURE.THE_ YUMA.AZ V-5 N-14 SATURDAY_ 65-1204
195 And that same Spirit of God that said all these things and done all these things, It said there, "Oh city, Capernaum, who called yourself by the name of the angels, Los Angeles, ...
"You that call yourself by the name of the angels, if the mighty works had been done in Sodom that'd been done in you, it'd stood today. But your hour's come." You watch and see. If it ain't, I'm a false prophet. See? There she is; she's laying there.
_____________

GOD BLESS YOU

Anonymous said...

Maybe a little out there, but I'm prone in thinking today is the day of Joe Brandt's dream. There will be over 500,000 people on the boulevard celebrating Halloween today, 10/31/15. John Kerry, a man who is much larger than FDR, is on the front page, his head quite large. There is also a very strong coronal hole facing earth directly. We will see if this is the day he saw, at 4pm.

EPL said...

You might try contacting Jery Stier at the Society for Mystic Prehistory Studies in L.A. He worked with Jessica Madigan and was a close friend of Joe Brandt. I spoke with him a few years back. He is older and was unaware that the dream was online. I felt he was sincere and the dream was not made up. I had been looking for language in it that did not fit the date, but the writing seems perfect for a 17 year old boy from 1937.

Spring of 2018 sounds about right. Seems the thing to watch for is strong volcano/earthquake activity in Colombia and Venezuela 3 months before.

Cynthia Gallaher said...

EPL, Thank you for your comment. I appreciate telling me your experience with Mr. Stier. I plan to follow up on your tip.

Frank said...

There seem to be at least two versions:

A. the version on biblebelievers.org

B. a reprint from Living Water, Vol 1X, Number 2, April-May-June Issue 1969. There are some differences in these versions.

Most notably, in version B the Garlock fault is mentioned:

"I seemed to see it was the Garlock Fault, not just the San Andreas that was rocking San Francisco. It was moving just like that earthquake movie with Jeanette McDonald and Gable. I could see all those mountains coming together - the Sierra Nevada, and the San Andreas and Garlock. I knew what was going to happen to San Francisco - it was going to turn over, because of Garlock. It would turn upside down."

Version B is a PDF file which can be downloaded here:
http://www.tucsontabernacle.com/downloads/articles-tracts/444-earthquake-dream-of-joe-brandt

Cynthia Gallaher said...

A reader of the blog who is part of a climate change research group sent me the following interpretation of two aspects from Joe Brandt's dream:
We suspect the glowing light around the dancers' heads is from the "lantern" app on their cell phones. We suspect they are listening to music on their cell phones - with ear buds - and dancing, with their faces down toward their cell phones - which reflects light onto their heads.

We concluded that this "dance" does not necessarily mean this is a famous "slouching" dance - we suspect this group of dancers could be the actual professional dancers that have been hired and taught the choreography for a music video or live performance - this cataclysm will be the end of their life.The dance they are doing together does not necessarily mean this has become a famous dance.

We also found the "Blonde" movie being released by Brad Pitt - However, we concluded that this estimated 15 foot high blonde - with six foot long legs - straddling the marquis as Joe describes - may not be promoting a movie - the 15 foot high cut-out of a "blonde" might be promoting a live concert .

We feel that as Joe became middle aged - in the 1950's and 1960's, he would have recognized the famous Marilyn Monroe - from the cut-out in his dream - we expect we would have had some word on that - from someone - but perhaps not.

We have many famous "blondes" who perform at various venues around the world - Lady Gaga, Britney... even Beyonce sometimes looks blonde. And there are others.

A huge cut-out of one of those blondes - to promote a live concert at a theater on Hollywood Boulevard - is within the bounds of rational speculation.

Anonymous said...

I would imagine if the President was Obama, he might have commented on something other than size and ears...Trump being President seems an even scarier prospect.

Shoe store comment was interesting, too. Show stores in 2017-18 seem more likely places to loot than 1969...



LP said...

NASA predicted last year a very high probability of a major quake in LA within 3 years, and this created some furor from the traditional EQ guys. Why would NASA make this prediction, and would the "EQ experts" really have any true way to refute?

I have read EQECAT studies, and the one thing that appears on all earthquake studies is historical information is limited, making predictions less than reliable.

My scoring says:
1. Plausible=yes
2. Likely=yes...I see spring of 2017...does this make Trump winning possible? Save us!
3. Significant=yes, based on multiple faults (perfect storm, plus pacific rim seems to be driven by a cosmic type event...asteroid?...taking us back to NASA)
4. Linked to Bible prophesy=matter of faith, but LA is the porn capital of the universe (clean it up folks)
5. Catastrophic at global level= changes everything (live each day to the maximum)

Anonymous said...

Thousands of independent sources of climate data - along with corroborating evidence in Joe's " dream " - strongly suggests Joe was seeing a vision of the future:

An increase in volcanic / geothermal heat in the mountains of Antarctica has prompted glaciologists to voice their concerns that the entire West Antarctic ice sheet could slide into the sea -

this now appears to be inevitable.

As the Antarctic glaciers crash into the sea, the impact will puncture the tectonic plates on the seafloor - just as the tectonic plates have ruptured and broken in the past. This image of the seafloor between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula shows cracks that occurred in 1700:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/ScotiaPlate.png/280px-ScotiaPlate.png

As glaciers - weighing billions of tons - crash into the sea, they will break the tectonic plates along Antarctica into more pieces.

The force of these impacts will * most-likely * shove South America to the north which will cause the other tectonic plates to become re-configured.

Massive tectonic plate upheaval and volcanic explosions - all around the world - is expected. The decimation of Los Angeles and the destruction of San Francisco, along with millions of other cities, towns and villages around the world appears inevitable.

This worldwide devastation will - most likely - be promptly followed by colossal tsunami waves that will be launched by the massive splash as glaciers - the size of Pennsylvania - crash into the sea.

The first glacier will launch tsunami waves that will dislodge the other ice shelves which will leave the glaciers with no support - they will fall into the sea, which will launch even more tsunami waves.

A rough estimate of 200 colossal tsunami waves, traveling at 400 - 500 mph is expected -

these waves will be considerably larger than the tsunami waves we've seen over the past 100 years and will begin decimating the cities, towns and villages of coastal Chile and Argentina as they make their way toward equatorial regions and the northern hemisphere.

Australia, New Zealand, Africa, India, the Asian islands, etc., will be decimated - followed by Central America, the Gulf states and the rest of the world.

Thirty-foot tsunami waves - like those from Japan, Indonesia, Chile, Alaska, etc., act like a bulldozer, shoving everything out of their way.

But the colossal tsunami waves that are coming will shove the entire continental shelf - and all the land, all the buildings, roads, bridges, stadiums... everything...

vast distances inland.

This phenomena is well-documented in hundreds of historic documents from around the world.

We expect very few survivors.

Anonymous said...

4 pm in L.A. is 7 pm in NYC -

Joe said it's night time in NYC


Daylight savings begins on March 12 - in NYC and L.A.

which makes night time suddenly fall at 8 pm

After March 12, 7 pm in NYC is daylight

due to the sunset and daylight savings...

if Joe's "dream" is real -

and if this evidence is valid -

the worldwide devastation will occur in March.


Joe says he feels the time is in early spring

which corroborates this small window of opportunity in March.


Joe does not describe Christmas decorations on Hollywood Blvd

so if his dream is correct, the event does not occur between

mid-November and mid-January when Hollywood Blvd would be decorated for Christmas.

Hollywood Blvd has a huge Christmas parade - with dozens and dozens of celebrities -

the weekend after Thanksgiving - so we know the decorations are up on the streets and we know the decorations are taken down in January.

Joe does not describe any Valentine's decorations which would be in the store windows in the first half of February.


Joe also does not describe any Easter decorations which would be up in April 2017 for Easter on the 16th


In 2018, Easter is April 1st -

which means stores will have their Easter decorations up in the windows in March - if Easter decorations were up, Joe certainly would have mentioned it - since he mentioned the "president" with big ears and many other details related to time.


This evidence supports the window of opportunity for the worldwide devastation in March 2017 - most likely the second week of March 2017 -

if all this evidence is valid and real.

March is the end of summer in Antarctica when the ice shelves and glaciers will be their most vulnerable -

weakened by six months of 24 hour sunlight -

we expect this worldwide devastation will be prompted by glaciers - the size of Pennsylvania, weighing billions of tons, crashing into the sea which will result in colossal tsunami waves, broken tectonic plates, the shifting and upheaval of tectonic plates, etc. Tsunami waves travel at less than 500 mph and since Antarctica is 6,000 miles away - the tsunami waves from Antarctica will reach North America 12 hours after the cataclysm begins.

This graph has a slider that helps you to see the exact daylight hours in February, March and the other months: http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/new-york

ET in NZ said...

I looked up that EQ movie that Joe Brandt mentioned when he describe the carnage in SF and guess what, the main character's name is "Blackie", same as the hors that threw Joe on the ground which caused his concussion!!! Coincidence? I think not....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_(1936_film)

Anonymous said...

If anyone wonders why Los Angeles will turn up on its side, the answer is right here - this map shows the underground train system that was carved out decades ago - beneath Los Angeles County. When the tectonic plates begin their rapid migration, the Grand Canyon will shove the Hoover Dam which will break - along with hundreds of other dams in the USA - and all across the world.

The San Bernardino mountains will be shoved westward and then Los Angeles County, which is relatively lightweight because of the subterranean train tunnels - will be flipped up onto its side:

http://www.awalkerinla.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/pe_system_map.jpg

Anonymous said...

We've been researching the details in Joe's dream - including Joe's description of people on Hollywood Blvd with "frowzy" hair. We looked up the definition and came to the conclusion that Joe is describing a popular hair style from the 80's rock scene. Why would people have frowzy hair in Los Angeles in March 2017? If they were going to an 80's rock concert in L.A., many people would frizz their hair for the concert - we looked online to see if an 80's rock concert is on the schedule for March 2017. Yes, Jon Bon Jovi is scheduled to perform March 8th, 2017 in Los Angeles:

https://www.los-angeles-theatre.com/theaters/great-western-forum/bon-jovi.php

March 8th is before the nationwide time change on March 12th which means NYC will be dark at 7pm - just as Joe described it.

Cynthia Gallaher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I think the whole story is fabricated. It was adapted to fit into the 1960s culture with things like "men having earrings" and "beards" which was common in the 1960s, especially California. Oh and talking about their funny walk. That all seems to fit into the hippie movement of the 1960s. The other giveaway is the women wearing very short skirts. Miniskirts were a big thing in the 1960s, but you hardly ever see any women today wearing dresses, or skirts, let alone mini skirts. And cars like the VW Beetle were on the streets in CA in the 1960s. I think it was a fabricated story set in the 1930s to make it look like Brandt was referring to the 1960s. I'd say Brandt didn't write it either, but was created by Jessica Madigan herself.

Anonymous said...

About the "frowsy" hair being a style from the 80's... Merriam-Webster lists it as sloppy, slobbish and unkempt, among other things. When you compare to 1937, where women and men's hair was well-kept and always combed neatly, using pomades to ensure the wind wouldn't make hair be out of place to the styles of today (2019) which are finger-combed or not-combed at all... that would be a much better fit than the frizz of the 1980's.

Personally, I think the stars names in the concrete was more interesting, given that the Hollywood Walk of Fame didn't get it's start until 1956.

And the clock by the big theatre:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Hollywood_Boulevard_Clock.jpg

Melinda W said...

I think Joe Brandt saw something and his subconscious was brining up things from Cayces and Branhams stuff and the earthquake movie he had seen. I think that woman added to it to try to make it appear to be coming in the late 60s. It makes it kind of useless because one doesn't know what parts she added.

Anonymous said...

I agree with another commenter, that the story is fabricated. Exactly for the same reason stated.

I recall the 60s it was mini skirts, big hair, beetle cars, and guys wearing earrings. From the conservative 50s it went to a revolution in the 60s, wild, many girls without bras, flower children, etc. Seems to me that this hoax was written in the early 60s when it was passed on, with the phony claim to have been written in 1937, a complete fraud.

60s big hair is gone. Mini skirts were a 60s thing and are long gone. True, CA may have a monumental earthquake, but there are other areas in the USA that also are expected to have devastating earthquakes. IMO story is a fraud.

Cynthia said...

Some people may see the 1960s in this story. I can understand that. But the "characters" dressing up on Sunset Boulevard are from more recent history, as is the Dolby Theater (which is not a movie theater, but reserved for live performances. When you first enter from the street, it's a long indoor mall of shops that leads to another open area and then the theater in back). I still see the little cars as self-driven cars. It's hard to believe anyone in the 1960s could have imagined these three parts of the story.

Anonymous said...

What do you think it means? That this is all fabricated? Seriously wondering.

Anonymous said...

Barbie...this is the year!