May, 2007
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May 1, 2007 Today's
Hyperthermic Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Tennessean.Com ********************************************************************** Good Dog!! Extra treats for you!! Hello
again. I'm finally back from my trip to Catatonia. Unfortunately, a
virus made the trip back with me, so I've been bedridden for the last
couple of days. So far, 2007 seems to be the Year of Living Sickly for
me. ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Elizabeth has a game recommendation for us: "I wanted to recommend a game called fumeral quest. I do not know if it has been suggested on MFDJ before, so I thought I'd send it in. Players use guilt and sympathy as sales tactics to convince the bereaved to spend as much as possible on a funeral service. It's not just morbid, it's also funny. Players will sell items such as a casket cell-phone (in case of premature burial), a box of extra-strength tissues, or a casket air freshener among scores of other humorous items." http://filesponge.net:82/ad_intro.htm ******* Adam stumbled across something quite vile and naturally had to share it with us! "I stumbled across this morbid little treasure searching for information on Ed Gein. Child's hand stuck in meat grinder left me speechless..." |
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May 2, 2007 Today's
Educational Yet Truly Morbid Fact! "A 9 years old girl was admitted to Hospital USM with vaginal bleeding. She had a history of swimming in a river prior to the incident. She was pale. An aquatic leech bloated with blood detached from the vagina after 20 milliliters of normal saline flushing of the vagina. The bleeding continued after the detachment. The patient needed 1 unit (250 milliliters) of Packed Cell transfusion. The bleeding stopped 24 hours later. Professionals must be aware of the possibility of leech bites in the vagina as the differential diagnosis for abnormal vaginal bleeding, especially in places where leeches are prevalent." Culled
from: ISPUB.Com ********************************************************************** So,
now you know! ******* Wretched Recommendations! Dana has a film recommendation for us: Edmond
(2005) "Think
Fight Club meets American Beauty staring William H. Macy and written
by David Mamet. Better yet, think William H. Macy arguing with prostitutes
about what percentage of his payment goes to the house..." ******* I don't know if they are real or just magnificent little photoshop creations... and I can't seem to find any evidence whatsoever that they are for sale... but in a perfect world they would be! What, you ask? The most magnificent snowglobes on the planet! http://knuttz.net/hosted_pages/Snowglobes-20061220 Thanks to Vickie for the link.
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May 3, 2007 Today's
Educational Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A far from speedy death, the bastinado involved the victim being caned gently and rhythmically with a lightweight stick on the soles of the feet. A skilled executioner was needed to sustain the torture for many hours before the mental collapse and eventual death of the victim. Although the method was widely used in Persia (now Iran), the specialists were the Chinese who, while not concentrating just on the soles of the feet, used thin lengths of split bamboo to torture and eventually kill their victims. The 'lictors', as they were called, were so skilled that they could flick the victim's body hundreds of times without breaking the skin, or, at the other extreme, tear the flesh off in long strips. Culled from: The Book Of Execution ********************************************************************** You
gotta respect those torturers for their patience. It takes real discipline
to keep from going all Tootsie Pop Owl in the torture chamber. "One...
Two... oh what the hell - CRACK!" ******* Follow-Up Du Jour! Yesterday I featured some morbid snowglobes and asked if anyone could find out additional information on them. Several of you were kind enough to do the research and found that the snowglobes are mixed media artwork created by Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz and can be fully enjoyed at their website: http://www.martin-munoz.com/main.html As a man once said about a lamp, "It's indescribably beautiful!!" ******* Ghastly! If you haven't seen the images of "brain worms" before, well, prepare yourself by taking some anti-nausea medication before you click on this link: http://www.curezone.com/image_gallery/parasites/brainworms/default.asp Thanks to Adam for the link. ******* Jeff sends the lyrics for one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, The Decemberists. "One band your readers might want to check out (if they haven't already) is The Decemberists. Frontman, Colin Meloy, writes most (if not all) of the band's songs. While the songs are considered folk/rock, many of the songs tell stories set in centuries past, and deal outright with themes such as death, murder, revenge, desperate longing, and star-crossed lovers who meet with tragic ends. "To give you an example, the following song is called 'Leslie Anne Levine', is from the album 'Castaways and Cutouts', and is told from the POV of a dead newborn's ghost. Great stuff!!" Leslie Anne Levine My
name is Leslie Anne Levine Fifteen
years gone now On
the roofs above the streets Fifteen
years gone now My
name is Leslie Anne Levine (I love this song, but the one thing that bugs me is... if the baby died 3 hours after birth, how does she know her name? Or, indeed, how to talk? And how can a chimney sweep child ghost find satisfying love with an infant? Does this bug anyone else??? - DeSpair) |
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May 4, 2007 Today's
Unprotected Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A Minneapolis city worker is worried about blood in the sewer system because he said, while he was cleaning the system, blood sprayed out of a hole and got all over him. "We could tell it was blood, I mean large amount of blood," said Minneapolis Sewer Maintenance Worker Ron Huebner. It happened in March, 2007 in Northeast Minneapolis near a lab that does medical testing and dumps blood into the sewer. It is allowed but the city is now making changes to help protect workers in the future. "Blood just all over my face, in my mouth, I could taste it. It was terrible. I had it in my mouth and I kept spitting and I couldn't get rid of it," said Huebner. Huebner said he hasn't been sleeping much. He's worried about the blood that he swallowed when he was operating a jet machine to clean out the sewer. The Met Council said it was a mix of human and animal blood used in medical testing at this nearby lab. In fact, the company, R & D Systems, does have a permit to dump blood in the sewer system. However, Huebner wasn't protected or warned about the blood because his immediate bosses didn't know about. "We have changed the procedure to ensure they're wearing goggles or a face mask while they are above that manhole," said Hamilton. The Met Council is changing the permit to say that the city has to warn the lab it's coming to clean the sewer, and the lab has to stop discharging blood until they're done. R & D told the city the blood shouldn't present any risk, but Huebner's still worried. "I'm going to hope that nothing's wrong with me, but I don't want to see this happen to anyone else in my department," said Huebner. Culled
from: WCCO.Com ********************************************************************** Okay,
here's what I don't understand about this story: if your job is to clean
sewers, isn't blood spraying out all over you the LEAST of your concerns???
Wouldn't you be covered head to toe in some sort of protective gear
anyway? ******* Under
the Banner of Heaven I'm ashamed to admit my naivety, but I never knew that Mormons could be so morbid! I mean, I've always thought of them as quite insane, but in a happy-happy-joy-joy wholesome Osmond holy underwear "no caffeine please" kind of way. But after reading this fascinating book, well, I've gained an entirely different perspective! Jon Krakauer exposes the grim truth behind Mormon fundamentalism, which (like most fundamentalist beliefs) basically amounts to a group of selfish men figuring out that when it comes to endulging in their darkest fantasies, there's no better scapegoat than God. You
want to kill your brother's wife? You
want to screw around with as many women as possible without guilt? You
want to slaughter people who don't share your beliefs who happen to
be passing through your territory? You
want to impregnate your 12-year-old daughter? There's literally NOTHING that you can't get away with! And sadder still are the women who have been indoctrinated into this cruel sub-culture which teaches little girls that obedience is the supreme virtue. This naturally results in brainwashed girls like Elizabeth Smart feeling that she must willingly submit to her kidnapper "husband" without any attempt to escape, and it makes a 12-year-old girl feel that she is "sinful" if she resists her father's incestuous advances because God told him to do it. There are some truly sickening stories within these pages. More than anything else, "Under the Banner of Heaven" is a compelling warning against the very real dangers of blind faith, regardless of what particular belief a person may ascribe too. A chilling read. (Hate mail to the usual address, please!) ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! The Clark County (Nevada) Coroner's Office has a website displaying the unidentified Las Vegas dead. Take a look - and perhaps what happens in Vegas *won't* stay in Vegas for a change! http://www.co.clark.nv.us/coroner/unidentified/unid.htm Thanks to feanix for the link. ******* GK sends me the link to an Abandoned Asylums webring. There are some very interesting sites linked here: |
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May 5, 2007 Today's
Ritualistic Yet Truly Morbid Fact! James Smith, executed by lethal injection (Texas, 1990) actually requested a "lump of dirt" for his final meal. Convicted of murdering an insurance agent, Smith was once a Tarot card reader in New Orleans. The lump of dirt was reported to be a vital ingredient in a voodoo ritual. Smith's request was denied, and he settled for yogurt instead. Culled
from: Last
Suppers: Famous Final Meals From Death Row ********************************************************************** This
cracks me up. Apparently, the prison wardens actually believed that
if they gave this guy a lump of dirt, he'd put a hex on them! ******* Morbid Lyric Du Jour! Ana has a morbid lyric to contribute: "The band Blind Melon, known mostly for the hit song 'No Rain', (you know with the crazy bee girl) had a wonderful song on their second album, Soup in homeage to everyone's favorite psychopathic, Ed Gein entitled, "Skinned." The upbeat psudo country lyrics are as follows: Skinned I'll
make a shoehorn outta your skin When
will I realize that this skin I'm in Hey,
I could really use a couple of hands And
when I realize that this skin I'm in Oh,
because you know I can't hide ******* "My Brush With Morbidity" by Patrick "I
was eleven years old or so, we lived in St. Petersburg Florida, in a
suburb called Pinellas Park. Usually, after school I would walk down
to a pool hall that had Asteroids (showing my age, I know) and other
video games, and allowed minors in before 8:00 at night, when the hardcore
players and drinkers started roaming in. The place was called Skips,
and I knew the owner very well, he often let me sweep up and empty ashtrays
for a buck or two. It was in a strip mall next to a Laundromat, and
a slimy check cashing place, about two miles from Hubert Rutland Hospital. "The other guy came out of the bar with his friends in tow and headed back towards the other guy, I suppose to finish the job or something. I was standing about eight to ten feet behind the guy coming out of the bar and as I watched, guy number two stepped out of his truck carrying a single barrel shotgun cradled in his arms. Before anyone could even react, he pointed the gun directly at the other guy and pulled the trigger. I don't know what kind of shot was in the gun, or how big it was, but it took the top of his head above the eyes right off, and splattered me and two other guys with brains and blood. I stood there in shock, not moving, as the guy hopped in his truck and sped off. The first guys name was Barry or Larry, cause that's what this girl was screaming over and over. I stood there watching this huge pool of blood from underneath this guy form, and within seconds the cops showed up, they must have been caIled before the shooting during the fight. "I never really got the full story of why it happened, cause I was just a kid and the cops just asked me a few questions, called my parents and stuck me in a squad car until my parents arrived, then I was sent home to get cleaned up. I never had nightmares about it, nor was it talked about at the bar, cause I didn't know anyone there that day, but I told every one I knew that story a hundred times, how the hot blood splattered my face, and the bits of brain tissue were pink and white on my chest, and how it dried brown and yellow on my shirt and pants. I begged my mom to leave the stains in and let me wear them to school, but to no avail. Ah well, such is the life of a minor in the city!" Now, that's more than just a BRUSH with morbidity - that's a SPLATTER! |
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May 6, 2007 Today's
Painful Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: National Post ********************************************************************** As you probably know, Aron ended up writing a book (called, obviously, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place") about his ordeal. I can't imagine it would be a very good topic for a book - I mean, isn't the most interesting part explained in one paragraph? Still, I may be wrong... it's happened on occasion. Between
a Rock and a Hard Place ******* Ghastly! Ubin forwards a link to some horrid bomb blast injury images from the University of Belfast website. Definitely not for the squeamish! http://www.qub.ac.uk/cm/os/ortho/B/bomb/bomb.html ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Vickie stumbled across "an intriguing livejournal chronicling human birth defects (everything from cleft palates to conjoined twins to the more mundane). Some posts (such as the one I've linked below) include graphic photos; very interesting stuff." http://community.livejournal.com/teratogens/8757.html We need more livejournals like this one, don't you think? |
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May 7, 2007 Today's
Acquitted Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The number of murders committed by women in Chicago between 1875 and 1920 increased by 420 percent. Men did most of the killing in the city: murders committed by women accounted for only 6.6 percent of the total. But very, very few of the women who killed their husbands during that time ever went to jail. "Every white woman who killed her husband between August, 1905 and October, 1918, was exonerated or acquitted, totaling 35 consecutive cases." These acquittals were carried out by entirely male juries who believed two things: 1) Women - especially white women - were innocent and not responsible, by reason of their gender. 2) Men, white or black, rich or poor, native born or immigrant, were, by their very nature, brutes. The jurors were usually right about the men. Culled
from: Murder
City by Michael Lesy ********************************************************************** Chicago - My Kind Of Town! The Comtesse Recommends... Murder
City: The Bloody History of Chicago in the Twenties The
above fact came from the latest book by Michael Lesy (author of my all-time
favorite book Wisconsin Death Trip). Murder City is a collection
of true crime stories from Chicago in the 1920's and nearly ever tale
is a fascinating read. Besides the murderous women who inspired the
play Chicago, there are tales involving a transvestite, a man
who murdered for a new car then went catatonic before he could be executed,
lots of organized crime killings, and various other tales of desperate
measures taken by desperate souls. Accompanying the articles are excellent
courtroom photographs of the suspects. Another stellar work by Lesy! ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! The next time you're feeling too giddy and want to bring yourself crashing back down to earth, why not read some suicide notes? It always works for me! http://www.well.com/%7Eart/suicidenotes.html Thanks to Jon for the link. ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Hilton writes to tell us about a wonderful comic strip: "I have just come across the most wonderfully dark website. Not all of the cartoons are dedicated to death, although many are, and I would have to say that it comes with one of the highest recommendations going - episodic cartoon websites usually only hold my attention for a few frames, but I got through the first 100 before thinking that perhaps I should do some work." Cyanide
and Happiness
I
second that opinion - it's well-worth checking out! |
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May 8, 2007 Today's
Melted Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Sarah Howard, "Chambers of Horror", The Times Literary
Supplement, ********************************************************************** Such a pity that they melted down some of those old heads! Lack of foresight!!! ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Joe sends a link to a fascinating crime scene investigation: "You probably heard about the recent arrest of a UPenn professor in the murder of his wife. Pretty wild in that a friend of mine lives down the street from him (she went out for a walk and the guy started following her (also going out for a walk, but it still creeped her out)) and another friend's wife worked two doors down the hall from him at Penn. I have never been so few degrees of separation from a real murderer. :) "Anyway,
here is the DA's report, which includes some slightly grisly details
of the crime scene." ******* Urban Exploration Link Du Jour! Nadja forwarded me an excellent Belgian urban exploration website. Loads of lovely pictures here! |
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May 9, 2007 Today's
Consecrated Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Death:
A History Of Man's Obsessions and Fears ********************************************************************** Morbid Link Du Jour! Robert forwards a fascinating site that details chemical accidents: "This is the site of a company that tries to reconstruct chemical accidents in product liability cases. Sounds boring? Try this: "'In this second incident, the Concrete Sealer drum was not being cut open. However, it was standing next to another drum that was being cut open when a spark flew from one drum into the other. The drum exploded and the laborer died within 24 hours. He suffered third degree burns over 80% of his body.' "Just go to this page, and pick yer poison, so to speak: Areas
of Expertise "It's mostly text, but there is at least one picture -- a guy, in a full-body cast (look under "Aerosols" [update: it's "Spray Paint Fire #2"]): "'The gentleman went into his workshop and gathered up sanding tools, sand paper and the can of paint. As he was walking toward the door of his workshop he began shaking the can of paint. As he walked past a wood-burning stove, the can exploded and he was engulfed in a ball of fire.'" I was also able to find a repulsive (though a bit blurred-out) photograph of a child who was struck by a sulfuric acid-based drain cleaner: http://www.chemaxx.com/acid1.htm I tell you, after looking at this site, I am afraid to ever use any aerosol can again!!! ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Lady Morgana sends me some Amazingly Simple Home Remedies: 1. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. 2. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough. 3. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away. 4. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink. 5. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer. 6. Have a bad headache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget about the headache. Sometimes,
we just need to remember what the rules of life really are: |
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May 10, 2007 Today's
Shocked Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Back from the Dead ********************************************************************** If this guy were only into live ones, he'd have the perfect pick-up line... ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! They know how to do coffins right in Ghana! We could learn a lot from them. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=52081 Thanks to IsisIris for the link. ******* Ghastly! You've probably seen this before, but if not, here's the infamous footage of Daniel Jones, the man dying of AIDS who killed himself (and his dog) on a Los Angeles freeway, in full view of the copter cameras. Personally, I think the guy's a total arsehole for taking his dog with him. http://www.flurl.com/item/LA_Suicide_u_207881 And here's an article about the footage: http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc47.2005/tobias/index.html Thanks to David for the link. |
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May 11, 2007 Today's
Explosive Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The
Pessimist's Guide To History ********************************************************************** Ghastly! You may have seen this pictures already, but they're worth another look anyway. They've been floating around under the title "How Not To Unload A New CAT from a Flatbed". Pretty gruesome! http://www.snopes.com/photos/gruesome/catdozer.asp Thanks to David for the pics. ******* Morbid Sightseeing! Sunny has a morbid sightseeing tip that I wish I'd known about when I stayed in the St. Louis area back in 2001: "I spent the weekend in St. Louis, and my husband and I went to the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park one afternoon. That is one MORBID museum! I mean, I love the macabre as much as the next girl and there were some things that even made me sit back and go, 'eww'. Like the death mask of the child who died during the cholera epidemic in 1849, complete with a tiny coffin. (With a picture of the child from when she was alive with her mom!) Or the collection of pictures of dead people taken by their grieving families as momentos. Or the slavers' chains you can actually PUT ON around your ankles. Or (and this was my favorite) the collection of coroner's notes from autopsies done on the bodies of people killed during the Camp Jackson Affair of 1861. WAAAY less sanitized than the Smithsonian, lemme tell ya. An engaging way to spend an icy afternoon in St. Louis." |
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May 12, 2007 Today's
Decomposing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The Associated Press ********************************************************************** Does anyone out there have the Antique Olive Nord font for Windows? If so, can you send it my way? I need it for a project I am working on. Thank you! ******* "My Brush With Morbidity" by Dustbunny44 "I've been holding off sharing this one for fear of offending others involved in what must have been a private hell. However, if I keep the specifics to minimum I think I can talk about it. And it helps to talk about it since it's so disturbing. And actually, I don't know the names of anyone involved, but it still feels like an intrusion to talk about it. "I was driving back to my residence in Texas after backpacking in the Rockies, driving through the vastness of the Southwest. I had left in the night and it was daybreak on a 2-lane highway when I drove up on a car pulled up across the middle of the road, and a van turned over near it. 2 people were lying in the road, and 2 others were standing, an adult male and a boy of about 14. The father asked if I could get some help, they just had an accident and did not know where to get help. Since I had just driven by a rest area I said "of course", turned around, and headed back fast. "Digression: "A mile away back at the accident, I pulled over and got out. The father was wailing at the sky 'Why didn't I stop us to sleep?'. Apparently his wife and a child were in the van, fell asleep, lost control and flipped. The boy walking with him was shaking, saying 'she's gone'. I think I tried to tell the father and boy that it wasn't his fault, or their fault, not to talk that way. I knelt by her in the road, not knowing what to do. She was cold, unresponsive, her mouth appeared full of something from inside her, she was not moving, not breathing. I felt she was gone; I didn't think of clearing her airway - it seemed like an intrusion - I didn't think there was anything I could do. The boy lying on the ground was moaning and moving his head; nothing was moving below his chest level. I thought it was odd that the other 2 were not around him, or her, trying to help - perhaps they had already given up. I remember finding a blanket amid the refuse on the road and covering him up to the waist to keep him warm. I was afraid to move him, fearing I might make it worse. And then traffic came, and I began helping divert it around the scene. The gentleman from the rest area arrived and helped too. In about 10 minutes a state police car arrived, and later an ambulance. I stayed for about a couple hours helping to slow traffic and divert it around the scene and clean up. When most of it had been cleared I spoke with the first police officer to arrive who said the mom had not made it and the boy was not hopeful. "Then I drove away home." Thank you for sharing your story. I can only imagine the horror that the father must have been feeling at that time. ******* Morbid Images Du Jour! These aren't exactly "ghastly" - but they are very interesting. A group of Pearl Harbor photographs have been making the rounds via e-mail and I thought I would share them with you. Thanks to Lady Morgana for sending them my way. |
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May 13, 2007 Today's
Decomposing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! "The victim is stripped naked and laid on a straight bench, his hands tied behind his back, his belly in the air. His genitals are covered with a linen cloth. He is tied down to the bench, under his armpits and round his diaphragm, to prevent his falling off. His two big toes are tied to a cord, which stretches his body by means of a wheel, a stick, or similar instrument. Afterward, another cord may be tied above the knee round his thighs, which can be tightened, more or less, at the discretion of the judge... Sometimes a loop made of knotted rope is tied around the head and forehead, tightened with two sticks or bones, according to the judge's discretion. Then the executioner may place a clean cloth over the sufferer's eyes and, forcing his nostrils closed with it, pours a jar over his diaphragm, calves, toes, and elsewhere, and then, forcing open his mouth with a small bridle, pours in cold water, until he swells up to the point where the judge and his council consider he can no longer endure it without the greatest peril." Culled
from: The
History Of Torture ********************************************************************** Some generous soul sent me the font I was looking for - thank you very much!! Stay tuned for new merchandise in the near future! ******* Morbid Lyric Du Jour! Sebbo sends a tip on a morbid band: "I'd
like to point you at a British band called "Gorerotted", a
decidedly morbid outfit that loves silly rhymes, puns and serial killers.
Here's some examples of songtitles they came up But
that's quite ordinary stuff, to be truthful. What REALLY sets this "To Catch a Killer" by Gorerotted My
name is John and I dress as a clown, Do
they know who I am? I don't think they do Brings
them back, they drink beer, a deadly brew My
name's Ted Bundy and I kill for fun, Killed
my kids and the people that we had round to stay John
George Haigh, you can't catch me ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Okay, it's not actually for sale, but it was in 2002 ... and it sold for £35,000. What is it? The skeleton clock from Rocky Horror! I never realized it housed a real skeleton... with a fascinating story.
http://www.timewarp.org.uk/clocksale.htm Thanks to Bloodnight for the link. |
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May 14, 2007 Today's
Chewing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: News.Com.Au ********************************************************************** The Comtesse Reviews... Almost
Home: My Life Story Vol. 1 Damien Echols, as you may be aware, is one of the West Memphis Three - the trio of teenagers who were convicted of murdering three boys in West Memphis in 1993 despite the absence of any physical evidence linking them to the crime. Damien was considered the "ringleader" of the murders and has been spending the last 13 years on death row. The story of this great travesty of justice (which is nothing more than a modern day witch hunt) has been well-explored in the documentaries Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2, but this autobiography presents the story from the perspective of Damien himself. It's a fascinating read. I was surprised to find that the part of the book I found most interesting wasn't his early life or his trial, but rather the years behind bars. The way in which Damien has managed to keep himself sane and actually improve himself, both physically and intellectually, while on death row is amazing to me. He realized early on that his anger would end up destroying him and turned to Buddhist meditation as a way to control his negative emotions. He has spent his years reading voraciously on a wide variety of subjects. He has carried on numerous friendships via letter writing, even falling in love and marrying one of his supporters. And despite his situation, he still somehow manages to convey sympathy towards the ignorant, uneducated jurists who allowed their superstitions about people who wear all black and listen to heavy metal music being "satan worshippers" to convince them that three clearly innocent young men were guilty. After reading "Almost Home," I want Damien Echols to be my friend. But more than that, I want him to be free. DNA testing may just allow him that opportunity. (See details at WM3.Org.) ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Now,
this is what I call a PROPER pen holder! I must get one! http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1868 Thanks to Raj for the link. ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales For Troubled Children is a treasury of twisted tales written and drawn by Angus Oblong. It's recommended for fans of droll, dark humor in the Edward Gorey vein (ie. every intelligent person on this Earth, IMHO). Creepy
Susie: And 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children Luckily for we poor folk, Random House has a great little preview for us - "The Debbies". Enjoy! http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/promos/creepysusie/index.html Thanks to Wendi for the link. |
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May 16, 2007 Today's
Confused Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The Local ********************************************************************** Isn't the toilet the most obvious place to look for a missing person who was suffering from abdominal pain? Jeez... remind me not to go to Södersjukhuset the next time I find myself ill in Stockholm! I didn't get a fact out yesterday because I was attending a Morrissey concert, which turned out to be a rather depressing experience. Ah, Mozzer, we've grown so old together. Let's face it, soon we will be dead... ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Did you know that Autopsy Babies are now available on t-shirts? Phobia is particularly compelling!
http://www.cafepress.com/autopsybabies And of course, there are always the Autopsy Babies themselves: http://www.autopsybabies.com/main.html ******* Ghastly! Amos Quito sent me a link to an excellent blog displaying some ghastly photos from the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fascinating! |
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May 17, 2007 Today's
Edgar Allan Poe-ish Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The Associated Press ********************************************************************** Wretched Recommendations! Bill has a recommendation for the morbid kid in your life: "I
was looking over your newsletter about the bog body and was looking
for some more pics and I ran across this book." ******* Morbid Art Du Jour! Bobby Neel Adams is a fascinating photographer who photographs mine victims and cemetery angels, and creates fascinating age maps where he morphs two photographs of the same person, one young and one old, into a single portrait. It really makes you think about "the passing of time and all of its crimes". http://www.bobbyneeladams.com/ Thanks to Cathy for the link. |
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May 18, 2007 Today's
Gradual Yet Truly Morbid Fact! "I remember the gist of the following general remarks by Pfannmuller: These creatures (he meant the children) naturally represent for me as a National Socialist only a burden for the healthy body of our Volk. We do not kill with poison, injections, etc.; then the foreign press and certain gentlemen in Switzerland would only have new inflammatory material. No, our method is much simpler and more natural, as you see. With these words, he pulled, with the help of a nurse, a child from its little bed. While he then exhibited the child like a dead rabbit, he asserted with a knowing expression and a cynical grin: For this one it will take two to three more days. The picture of this fat, grinning man, in his fleshy hand the whimpering skeleton, surrounded by other starving children, is still vivid in my mind. The murderer explained further then that sudden withdrawal of food was not employed, rather gradual decrease of the rations. A lady who was also part of the tour asked - her outrage suppressed with difficulty - whether a quicker death with injections, etc., would not at least be more merciful. Pfannmuller then praised his methods again as more practical in view of the foreign press. Pfannmuller also did not hide the fact that among the children to be murdered were also children who were not mentally ill, namely children of Jewish parents." Culled
from: The
Nazi Doctors ********************************************************************** Morbid Link Du Jour! Joseph stumbled upon a website entitled "The Sociology Of Death": "[It's] all about different kinds of death and things related to death. It even has a 'Death Clock' to determine the day you will probably die. It also has links to other interesting sites on it." http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/death.html ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! For those of you who need a little help with your decision-making skills, be sure to print out a copy of The Premeditated Murder Flowchart and have it handy at all times! http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/features/premed.htm Thanks to Amy for the link. |
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May 19, 2007 Today's
No Longer Insane Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Monday, July 12, 1976 Custodian Edward Charles Allaway called his estranged wife today telling her this was his "last day to live." After hanging up with her, he drove to the university where he worked, parked near the campus library, entered the seldom used west doors and walked downstairs to the basement. It was about 8:30 in the morning and students were arriving for summer classes. The LA Rams were practicing on one of the football fields, a typical summer day in southern California. In the 37-year-old's hands was a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle that he had purchased on Saturday. In a small anteroom of the secretary's office in the media center, Edward started the deadliest massacre in Orange County history. He first aimed his rifle at the secretary, but shifted his aim and shot and killed Paul Hertzberg, an IMC photographer. Edward then engaged Bruce Jacobson, an IMC equipment technician, before killing him as well. The rampage quickly continued in the maze of offices in the basement as Edward entered a large production room decorated with Frank Teplansky's caricatures of media personal. Inside the room were Professor Emeritus Seth Fessenden and Frank. The professor was sitting closer to the door and Edward killed him before shooting Frank three times in the back of his head and neck. It took two hours for Frank to die. By now, several other employees had heard the shots and stepped into the hallway. Edward paid them no heed and headed toward Deborah Paulsen and Donald Karges. Donald noticed Edward heading his way and began fleeing toward the front lobby. Edward fire a shot, and missed. He pursed his two targets, passing a clerical assistant at her desk and finally caught up to Deborah and Donald. Several shots later, Deborah and Donald were dead. With his clip empty, Edward stepped into a stairway to reload. Upon reloading, he moved into a large work area, confronted and shot Maynard Hoffman, his boss, in an elevator and Donald Keran as he sat his desk, wounding both. Edward fired again, striking down Steve Becker, who had managed to push open a side door to the outside, but Edward shot him in the back eliminating all hope of escape. Although wounded in the shoulder, Donald Keran began wrestling with Edward. Donald managed to dislodge the ammunition clip during the struggle and Edward was subdued shortly thereafter. Steve Becker was the assistant librarian whose father was the director of the university placement center at the time. Professor Fessenden retired in 1973 and was doing research at Cal State Fullerton today. Donald Karges and Deborah Paulsen were custodians, like Edward. Donald Keran was a library assistant. When Edward could find no one else to shoot, he got into his car and drove to the Hilton Inn in Anaheim where his wife worked. He told her he had done "something terrible." He borrowed a dime from her, called the Fullerton police, then handed her six $20 bills before being surrounded by law enforcement officers. Over a year later, in August of 1977, Edward was found guilty of seven counts of first degree murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The jury then deliberated for another four days but could not reach a verdict on the issue of his sanity at the time of the shootings. Judge Robert P. Kneeland ruled in November of 1977 that Edward Charles Allaway was insane and removed the criminal penalties, finding him "not guilty by reason of insanity." Since 1987, Edward Allaway has been trying to be released from Atascadero State Hospital, and allowed back into society, saying he is no longer an insane man. However, the review boards continue to reject his claim. Culled
from: Columbine-Angels.Com ********************************************************************** So I just caught the last half of the "Last Days Of Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes" documentary on VH1. Although I have absolutely NO interest in her as a performer or a celebrity, I found the film fascinating. She was filming a documentary during her last month, and I was astonished to see that her death, from a car crash in the Honduras in 2002, was actually caught on film by the front passenger. Why didn't I know this before??? Unfortunately, you don't get to see the full crash footage because the pesky family - as usual - rained on our morbid parade and wouldn't allow the entire scene to be shown. However, you do get to see the last few moments of Lopes' life as the car veers off the road (due to reckless driving when she tried to pass in unsafe conditions) and her passengers (all nine of them) begin to scream. Pretty crazy! She was also involved in another crash earlier in the month when a young boy ran in front of a car in which she was a passenger and was killed, and Lopes talks frequently about feeling like she is haunted and that she was supposed to have been the one who died, not the little boy. It's quite fascinating. I recommend keeping your eyes open for a re-run of this one on VH1. ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Chickenhead presents the Absolute Bottom 50 Eulogies: http://chickenhead.com/bottom50/eulogies.asp Thanks to Kelli for the link. ******* Morbid Expression Du Jour! Anne forwarded an edition of the World Wide Words newsletter that she thought might be of morbid interest: Weird
Words: Egyptian days As far back as the historical record can be traced, we know that certain days have been thought to be unlucky. In medieval times they were often listed in calendars as the "dies Aegyptiaci", the Egyptian days, since they were supposed to have been identified by Egyptian astrologers, considered to be authorities on such matters. Some said they were days on which calamitous events had occurred in ancient Egypt, such as the plagues described in the Bible. Medieval calendars precisely identified the days that were to be considered inauspicious, on which no project or enterprise should be begun: 1 and 25 January; 4 and 26 February; 1 and 28 March; 10 and 20 April; 3 and 25 May; 10 and 16 June; 13 and 22 July; 1 and 30 August; 3 and 21 September; 3 and 22 October; 5 and 28 November; and 7 and 22 December. It was considered especially important that doctors should not let blood on these days. Another Latin term for them was "dies mali", the unlucky, evil, or unpropitious days. By the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Latin phrase had been Anglicised into "dismal", at first in direct reference to the evil days, but later to any event that brought misfortune and disaster. By the seventeenth century the word had weakened to our modern sense of something that merely causes gloom or depression. When in 1849 Carlyle described economics as "the dismal science", he meant merely that it was cheerless. World Wide Words is copyright (c) Michael Quinion 2007. All rights reserved. The Words Web site is at http://www.worldwidewords.org . May I note that I once dreamt I would die on May 3rd (but didn't catch the year), which happens to be one of those Egyptian Days. Coincidence??? Hmmmm... |
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May 20, 2007 Today's
Upright Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Ben Jonson (1572-1637) is remembered for more than his poetry. Tradition relates that he asked King Charles I to grant him a favor concerning his burial. "Give me eighteen inches of square ground." "Where?" asked the king. "In Westminster Abbey." And so it was. Jonson was buried upright in the north aisle of the abbey. Cynical doubts about the accuracy of the story were dispelled in 1849, when a grave was being dug to receive Sir Robert Wilson. The loose earth of Jonson's grave "rippled in like quicksand" and a clerk saw "the two leg bones fixed bolt upright in the sand." Culled
from: Death:
A History Of Man's Obsessions and Fears ********************************************************************** Morbid Link Du Jour! Joan's Mad Monarchs Series is a fun series of biographies of history's mad royals. Fun, fun, fun! http://www.xs4all.nl/~kvenjb/madmonarchs/madmon.htm Thanks to bella for the link. ******* Urban Exploration Link Du Jour! Abandoned is a collection of mostly black and white images of stark industrial ruins in the old Soviet Union. Occasionally the author goes a bit overboard with self-portraits but otherwise, the photos are quite lovely. I want to go!!! http://www.abandoned.ru/index.php Thanks to Remo for the link. |
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May 21, 2007 Today's
Waterlogged Yet Truly Morbid Fact! A woman who competed in a radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without going to the bathroom died of water intoxication. Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the winner. "She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying, and that was the last that anyone had heard from her." It was not immediately known how much water Strange consumed. A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith. John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death. "We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said. Initially, contestants were handed 8-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes. "They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk." Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. "My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added. After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink. "I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for her kids." Culled
from: Associated Press ********************************************************************** "We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred"? Gee, let me think - you fed off the American appetite to do anything for a giveaway by making them do something which physically endangered each and every entrant. And one of them died. Sniff, sniff... Is that a lawsuit I smell???
******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Here's a video clip that should be mandatory viewing for mental assessments. The louder the laughter, the sicker the soul! http://youtube.com/watch?v=GYGhmJD9LKc Thanks to HAPPY Squirrel for the clip. ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Gimpyd.Com claims to bring you the gutter of the internet. While I'm not sure if this site is really scraping the bottom of the gutter, it certainly is laying somewhere within its fetid realm. Pursue at your own risk! |
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May 22, 2007 Today's
Messy Yet Truly Morbid Fact! As Nazis began their policy of "euthanasia" of "life unfit for life" (ie. the mentally ill, disabled, and, of course, Jewish), they struggled to find the best technology for mass murder. Initially, shooting was the favored method but this resulted in psychological trauma to the troops and was dropped. Explosives were tried -- as in Russia, in September 1941, when mental patients were blown up. This method proved ineffective in that too much cleaning up was required and more than one charge was sometimes necessary. Carbon monoxide gas was increasingly resorted to - first in canisters (which became ever more expensive to bring from Germany as the troops moved east), and then, after further technological innovation, from the exhaust of vans. During two weeks in May and June of 1940, 1,558 mental patients from East Prussia were gassed in vans at a transit camp in Soldau. In October 1941, they decided to use these vans for Jews in general who were "incapable of working." Three were installed at the first pure extermination camp at Chelmno/Kulmhof, where they killed mainly Jews, but also Gypsies, typhus victims, Soviet POWs, and the insane. Victims were told they would shower while their clothing was being disinfected and followed a "To the Bath" sign up a ramp and into the van. When no more noise was audible from the van, it was driven to the woods nearby where Jewish Kommandos unloaded the corpses into mass graves. Because of noxious gases, a crematorium was later installed. Culled
from: The
Nazi Doctors ********************************************************************** I love that they actually tried explosives as a method of extermination. Does anyone else get the image of the exploding whale in their head when they think of this? ******* Wretched Recommendations! Sandy has a film recommendation: Rashomon
(1951) "Although it might seem like an odd starting point, the first time I heard of Kurosawa's Rashomon was when I read Iris Chang's Rape of Nanking for the first time a few years ago. Within this book she alluded to the film because of the various stories detailing the atrocities committed in Nanking differed greatly depending on the source of information. Anyway, a couple of years af |