November, 2008
|
November 6, 2008 Back To Work, Back To Morbidity... As I had previously mentioned, I had dropped out of sight since early September to devote all my free time to working to help get Barack Obama elected. As a resident of Chicago, I was able to attend the celebration in Grant Park a couple nights ago, and it was a breathtaking, chill-down-the-spine occasion. But now that the balance of the Supreme Court is secured for at least four more years, it's time to get back to abnormal. I hope that you've managed to stay morbid in my absence. Now, let's get back to bleak with... Today's Upright Yet Truly Morbid Fact! In 1911, French tailor Franz Reichelt decided to test his invention, a combination overcoat and parachute, by jumping off the Eiffel Tower. Actually, he told the authorities that he would use a dummy, but at the last minute decided to test it himself. It was no surprise that he fell to his death. Culled
from: Neatorama ********************************************************************** Most fascinatingly, there's footage of his fatal flop! ********** Here's a nice photograph of an abandoned old farmhouse that is accompanied by a colorful (though I believe entirely fictional) story. A fun little read. http://www.flickr.com/photos/49598046@N00/2406470543 ********** Sounds Like A Bloody Good Read I don't know how I missed this before, but one of my favorite true crime authors - Harold Schechter - released a new book last fall that I shall have to put on my 'must-read' list: The
Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in
the Twentieth Century Here's the synopsis: "True-crime historian Schechter delivers a thrilling account of a murder case that rocked Manhattan at the turn of the 20th century. Roland Molineux, a socially ambitious chemist,was a proud member of the Knickerbocker Athletic Club, where he was considered a talented but snooty sportsman, repeatedly instigating spats with the club's athletic director, Harry Cornish. Pursuing women with the same determination he brought to sports, Roland doggedly wooed Blanche Chesebrough, an equally ambitious young woman with operatic aspirations. But when one of Molineux's romantic competitors, Henry Barnet, died, Cornish was poisoned (he survived) and his landlady died, Roland topped the list of suspects. The ensuing investigation and sensational trial became one of the costliest in New York State history. Schechter expertly weaves a rich historical tapestry—exploring everything from the birth of yellow journalism to the history of poison as a murder weapon—without sacrificing a novelistic sense of character, pacing and suspense. The result is a riveting tale of murder, seduction and tabloid journalism run rampant in a New York not so different from today's."
|
|
November 7, 2008 Today's Sticky Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A three-month-old baby found dead in her mother's bed died of brain damage. The baby was found with the skin of her forehead removed. Her nose and half an ear were also missing. "The missing parts were not found in the shack and there weren't any blood stains either," Constable Jabu Ndubane, spokesperson for the Barberton police station in Mpumalanga. She said police were investigating whether the baby was the victim of a muti murder. The baby's 29-year-old mother, from Verulam near Barberton, told police that she woke up during the night when she heard a noise that sounded like rats. She reached out to check on her baby and felt that the baby's forehead was sticky. She said she lit a candle and found that her baby was mutilated and dead. She immediately called neighbours and then the police. Ndubane said the woman told police that no one else was in the one-roomed shack and that the windows and door were shut. Culled
from: News24.Com ********************************************************************** Poor rats - always taking the blame. ********** Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons are purveyors of Dark and Uncommon goods: my two favorite things! I'm especially fond of the pendants made of engraved salvaged ivory piano keys. Isn't "Goodbye" especially lovely?
The rest of their goods are quite beautiful as well... although they are also quite expensive. http://www.blacksheepandprodigalsons.com/store/private_shop.html ********** Morbid Mirth "As you may have heard on the news or read in one of our press releases, Child Trader is now the nations 4th largest child exchange network and as such, has brought happiness to more than 1623 American households who otherwise had very few options in creating a more loving family and home life when realizing their child wasn’t the right fit for them... Child Trader Child Exchange Network isn’t about not loving your children. Its about finding a family that can love them more." Now, isn't that a cause we can all support? |
|
November 11, 2008 Today's Wrapped Up Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A woman outraged by her husband’s unwillingness to make love to her wrapped up his penis with scotch tape and tried to force him into sexual intercourse. When her plan failed, the woman wrapped her husband’s hands, legs and head with the tape and went to bed. The man died from suffocation. The incident occurred in Bashkortostan, Central Russia, in the village of Sidyakbash. Investigators report that the 28-year-old had been partying with her friends that day and upon coming home she threw a tantrum in front of her husband and son. The latter told the police afterwards that his mother had come home late, she had been clearly drinking and tried to force his daddy to sleep with her. But the man flatly rejected her advances. Outraged, the woman began to beat him savagely forcing him to take off all his clothes. The 10-year-old tried to protect his father but the woman hit the kid so hard that he passed out. Having dealt with the boy the woman reportedly wrapped up her husband penis with scotch and tried to have sex with him but failed. The woman then wrapped up her husband entirely with adhesive tape, sealed up his mouth and nose and then went to bed. During questioning the woman explained that the husband had shouted insults at her and she simply wanted him to shut up. The man’s dead body was discovered by his mother-in-law who arrived in the morning to look after the children. The man was stark naked and dead, his limbs all wrapped up in scotch. Culled
from: MOSNEWS.Com ********************************************************************** Seems a bit unlikely, but a fantastic story. I would imagine if you'd told the guy he'd end his days "naked and dead, all wrapped up in scotch," he would have envisioned a drunken prostitute-laden overindulgence, not this sort of mishap. ********** My skull aspires to become a pinhole camera after I die. Doesn't yours? http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/09/23/pinhole-camera-fashi.html Thanks to William for the link. ********** Wretched Recommendations! Aimee has a fiction recommendation for us: In
the Rogue Blood "About two brothers named Edward and John who run away from home in 1840's-ish Florida, travel around and end up on opposite sides in the Mexican War. Incredibly graphic and violent, but once you start reading, it just pulls you in and you can't put it down even when you want to. Amog many other things, you'll meet a minister who's fitted out his wife with a scold's bridle, killers of every kind, the darkest underbelly of New Orleans, and you'll see Edward lose his entire scalp and live to fight another day." |
