BITS & PIECES

 Openers:  From Rebecca Crane's backyard, forty steps led to the beach, where sharp-billed sandpipers scurried along the fringe of foaming surf, pecking without cease for their sustenance, as if they were an enfevered species that never knew a moment of peace.  That morning, she descended the stairs twelve times and climbed the eleven times before she set off on a run along the shore.

At thirty-five, Rebecca wasn't old; however, she wasn't young, either, not by the standards of her profession.  In dog years, she was three times dead.  If she had been an elephant, a species that lived seventy years, she would be halfway through her life, but is she had been a gorilla, she would have as little as a week left and certainly not more than several months.  If she had been a kangaroo, she would have hopped into the void perhaps twelve years earlier.

She knew the average lifespan of many mammals, not because she was a veterinarian or zoologist, but because she had a healthy fear of death that was somewhat greater than the average person's healthy fear of death.  She wasn't depr4essive or paranoid or obsessed with her mortality.   Nothing like that.  She had a sunny disposition and was quick to laugh even at jokes about death, though when the humor was related to something else, her laughter was more robust.

-- Going Home in the Dark by Dean Koontz  (2015)

Rebecca, a successful and popular film and television actress, was once a nerd.  At age fourteen,,she banded with three other nerds in the small town of Maple Grove, becoming one of the four "amigos," who maintained their deep friendship even after three of them (including Rebecca) moved from Maple Grove to much bigger and better things:  Bobby Shamrock ("Bobby the Sham") became a best selling author; Spencer Truelove became a noted artist whose canvases drew hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece e, even though he could not draw; and Ernie Hernishen, who stayed in Maple Grove, wrote a slew of best-selling country songs.  Not bad for a group of self-confessed, and otherwise friendless, nerds, especially since all four came from absolutely horrid homes, making their childhoods an absolute shit show.

Now word has come that Ernie is in a coma and is not expected to live.  The remaining three amigos rush back to their home town to be with him.  Shortly after they arrive at the hospital, Ernie dies.  Except his friends are convinced that he is not dead.  Yes, he stopped breathing and all body functions stopped, but they are sure that he still lives and are determined to save him before a mortician or a coroner claims the body and either performs an autopsy or drains his body of blood and pumps it with formaldehyde -- either action would end Ernie and make him definitely dead.  So they kidnap the body and hide it.

Also, there is something strange about Maple Grove and their childhood.  There are large gaps in their collective memories.  They begin to remember about the many people in Maple Grove who also mysteriously fell into comas.  And what's this about half-formed bodies store in a church basement?  Slowly, memories are coming back.  Piecemeal.  As if the memories were deliberately being fed back to them.  And why is Maple Grove such a picture perfect town, so neat and orderly, with no litter or blight, and with absolutely no crime, ever?

Dean Koontz's latest novel is a phantasmagoria of strangeness, both in the subject matter and in its presentation.  Koontz the author inserts himself at random times, breaking down the fourth wall, and explaining the literary tricks he is using, while also foreshadowing what mat or may not happen a few chapters or a few pages ahead in this perhaps (or perhaps not) "true" story.   In his introduction  to the book (aptly titled "Read This First of Live to Regret It Forever"), he states, "How I came to know of these events in such specific detail will cause much conjecture that I do not encourage.  Already, powerful individuals in my professional life have pressured me to reveal my sources, but /i have nor done so -- and will not -- because lives are at stake.  The speculation that I am the 'fifth amigo' and have expunged my role in this is an unlikely theory that I will neither conform nor deny for legal reasons."

I have often publicly kicked myself for reading Koontz incessantly, and have often pointed out his authoritorial flaws.  (I have read all of his novels, with the exception of one scarce paperback Gothic written long ago as "Deanna Dwyer," and the slew of of softcore novels (published under various pseudonyms) that he firmly, and unconvincingly (IMHO), denies ever having written.)  Koontz. although not noted for it, can be a humorous writer, and he displays that here.  The humor, though, is not laugh-out-loud funny; rather, it provides a very occasional faint grin and a more occasional appreciation of wordplay and whimsey.

At least, there is no heroic or noble dog in this one, although there is an Easter egg obliquely referring to his much earlier novel Watchers, which featured a nobly heroic dog.  I caught a few other Easter eggs and probably missed many more.

An interesting book, worth your time -- if you can get used to the style and make it through the first fifty or so pages.

Incoming:

• Nathan Ballingrud, Monsterland.  Originally published as North American Lake Monsters.  Nine stories, including "The Monsters of Heaven," the 2007 winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for short story.  The collection itself won the 2013 Shirley Jackson Award for single-author short story collection, and was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. Ballingrud's stories are love stories.  They are also horror stories.  Sometimes the monsters collected here are vampires of werewolves.  Sometimes they wear the faces of parents. , lovers, brothers, ex-wives -- or the faces we see in the mirror."
• James P.  Blaylock, The Elfin Ship.  Fantasy, the first volume in the Balumnia trilogy.  "Trading with elves used to be so simple.  Every year Master Cheeser Jonathan Bing would send his very best cheeses downriver to traders who would eventually return with Elfin wonders for the people of Twombly Town.  But no more...  Frist, the trading post at Willowood Station was mysteriously destroyed.  Then a magical elfin airship began making forays overhead:  Jonathan knew something was definitely amiss.  So he set off downriver to deliver the cheeses himself, accompanied by the mazing Professor Wurzle, the impressionable Dooly, and his faithful dog Ahab.  It would have been such a pleasant trip, if not for the weeping skeleton, mad goblins, magic coins, an evil dwarf, a cloak of invisibility -- and a watch the stopped time.  Of course, the return trip was not so simple..."
• Persephone Braham, Crimes Against the State, Crimes Against Persons:  Detective Fiction in  Cuba and Mexico.  Non-fiction, literary criticism and history from an academic.  Includes a 20-page bibliography.  I have very little knowledge of Latin American crime fiction; this seemed like a good place to start learning.
• Donn  Cortez, CSI Miami:  Cult Following and CSI Miami:  Cut and Run.  Two original television tie-ins.  In the first, "Lieutenant Horatio Caine of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab is called to investigate the mysterious death at n organic eatery.  He finds the victim,, Philip Mulrooney, bent over a stainless steel toilet, his clothing shredded.  There are burn marks on his face and cell phone fragments scattered around, and his shoes are blown off his feet.  Incredible as it seems, the initial evidence points to death by lightning strike.  The staff at Earthly Garden believe Mulrooney's death is an act of God -- punishment for straying from the vitality method, their spiritual philosophy that inner beauty can be revealed  by nurturing the physical and spiritual."  In the second book, Horatio and the team are called to a field outside  the Everglades where "a balloon has just set down, the lone man inside the basket is dead -- an apparent suicide.  A yacht riddled with bullets limps into the Port of Miami, only a gravely wounded hijacker survives, confessing there are drugs somewhere on board, but he can't find them.  a local journalist, thinking to break out of the rat race with a novel based on the people he covers on his beat, is found dead.  In the yacht's galley is a record-setting sunfish that seems to be the key piece of evidence to just what was being smuggled on the ship, yet the lab is stumped when they discover no more than the normal parasites infecting the fish.  A raunchy video of a citrus heiress having sex in a public place gives her the motive to kill the journalist turned novelist, but she has an alibi."  A lot to unpack here. 
• Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery.  Victorian crime novel.  "In teeming Victorian 
  London, where lavish wealth and appalling poverty exist side by side, one mysterious man navigates both worlds with perfect ease.  Rich, handsome and ingenious, Edward Pierce preys on the most prominent of the well-to-do as he cunningly orchestrates the crime of the century.  Who would suspect that a gentleman of breeding could mastermind the daring theft of a fortune in gold?  Who could predict the consequences of making the extraordinary robbery aboard the pride of England's industrial era, the mighty steam locomotive?  Based on fact, as lively as legend, and studded with all the suspense and style of a modern fiction master, here is a classic novel, set a decade before the age of dynamite -- yet nonetheless explosive..."  Crichton also wrote and directed the 1979 film version of this story, which starred Sean Connery.  This happens to be the only one of Crichton's 35 published books that I have not yet read; soon, another item on my pitifully mundane bucket list will be checked off. 
• Corbett Davis, Jr., Dead Low (as by Corbett A. Davis, Jr.) and Dead Man's Fingers.  Two suspense thrillers featuring Powell Taylor and Captain Limbo from  a local author.  The author writes that he was inspired by the novels of John d., McDonald, Randy Wayne White, and Carl Hiaasen.  Dead Low:  "For the first time since Powell Taylor and Dawn Landry hit town in the Florida Keys, they were both beginning to question their once hot love affair.  After a meaningless argument that neither would later remember, Dawn suddenly disappeared from a Key West hospital.  Dead Low is the story of a love sick jeweler motivated by that love and guilt. searching for the girl of his dreams.  When mutilated bodies begin to show up in the Florida Straights around the lower Keys, Powell begins to expect a connection to Dawn's disappearance.  Once his fears are confronted, time is quickly running out for Dawn's survival.  With the help of his friend Captain Limbo, the two embark on a treacherous journey that eventually leads them across the Gulf into Cuba.  It is not until their cursed encounter with the crew of a n antiquated rusty hulled ship docked in Havana that Dawn's fate is fully revealed.  (as you can tell from the inept jacket copy, this is a self-published book, as is the sequel.)  Dead Man's Fingers:  "where else but the Florida Keys can you find so much natural beauty and so much craziness all  ixed together to make a story full of mystery, romance, suspense, and friendship?  Dead Man's Fingers is just that plus a whole lot more.  Powell Taylor and his best friend Captain Limbo are back, trying to cope with the strange death of Powell's beloved Dawn Landry [oops! A spoiler for the previous book.  Sorry -- JH] when suddenly a bizarre twist of events requires their full attention and sends their combined bank of contacts into action.  From the greedy but lovable Charlie Switzer to the despicable Hilda Tucker, the characters will make you laugh out loud as you find yourself cheering for the most unlikely of heroes.  Sea burials, Viagra, body parts in fish guts, frivolous lawsuits and a strong thread of loyalty among friends make for a feel good read that will leave you ready for the net chapter.  Take this wild ride from Miami to Cudjoe Key, to Key West, the Dry Tortugas and even Havana for a journey that includes plenty of unexpected entanglements."  Truth to tell, I don't hold out much hope for either book, but Davis was a local author and the second generation owner of the Jewelers Trade Shop in Pensacola, now owned and operated by his son Corbett David III.  As with many books by local authors, both of these books are signed and were relegated to a local thrift shop.
• Roger Lancelyn Green, The Tale of Troy.  Young adult retelling of the legend, a companion to Green's Tales of the Greek Heroes.  "Step back into the Heroic Age with the story of Helen and the judgment of Paris:  of the gathering of the heroes and the siege of Troy; of Achilles and his vulnerable heel.  And join Odysseus, the last of the heroes -- famous for his wisdom and cunning -- on his thrilling adventures as he makes the long journey home to Greece."  Green was noted for his retelling of myths and legends, and for encouraging C. S. Lewis to publish The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe after J. R. R. Tolkien had advised against it.
• Donald Hamilton, The Infiltrators.  The 21st book in the Matt Helm spy-guy series.  "Brains.  Beauty, Ambition.  Lawyer.  Madeleine Ellershaw had it all.  Until the day nine years ago when she took her husband's rap and went to jail for selling classified data to the Russians.  Today she walks out of prison a free woman.  Her escort:  Matt Helm.  Matt's two jobs:  keep madeleine alive.  and find the truth about her supposedly traitorous past.  The first step is only tough.  The second is deadly."
• David Jacobs. The Devil's Brood:  The New adventures of Dracula, Frankenstein  & the Universal Monsters.  Film franchise tie-in, the first of two books.  "In the shadows of the Alps, a vampire princess and her devil-cult seek to resurrect the Bride of Frankenstein... In England, the grandson of the legendary werewolf of London learns to his horror that he's the inheritor of a lycanthropic legacy... On a zombie-haunted tropical isle, the spirit of Dracula, Lord of the Undead, gives rise to a terrifying new creature of destruction... Voodoo drums beat and the Frankenstein M monster stirs, powered by the dread force of black magic... As the forces off darkness draw together, the only person standing between the monsters and mankind is an American gangster -- who is about to discover the true meaning of underwotld..."  The tagline for the book, of course, is "Fear is Universal."
• Chuck Palahnuik, Lullaby.  Fantasy.  '"Ever heard of a culling song?  It's a lullaby sung in Africa to give a painless death to the old or infirm.  The lyrics of the culling song kill, whether spoken or even just thought.  you can find one on page 27 of Poems and Rhymers from Around the World, an anthology non the shelves of libraries across the country.  When reporter Carl Streator discovers that unsuspecting readers are reading the poem and accidentally killing their children, he begins a desperate cross-country quest to put the culling song to rest and save the nation from certain disaster."
• Louise Penny, How the Light Gets In.  An Inspector Gamache novel.  "Christmas is approaching, and in Quebec it's a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths.  But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete de Quebec.  Most of his best agents have left or have been transferred out of the Homicide /department; his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn't spoken to him in months; and hostile forces are lining up against him.  When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers, in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city for a few hours.  Myrna's long-time friend, who was due to spend Christmas in the village, has failed to arrive.  When Chief Inspector Gamache presses for information, Myrna is reluctant to reveal her friend's name.  Mystified, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people, not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo."
• Terry Pratchett, The Shepherd's Crown.  Humorous fantasy, the final Tiffany Aching young adult novel, a subset of Pratchett's Discworld series, and the final Discworld novel.  "Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring.  the owls and the foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots.  an ols enemy is gathering strength.  This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power.  Now Tiffany stands between the light and the darlk, the good and the bad.  As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her.  To protect the land.  Her land.  There will be a reckoning..."
• "J. D. Robb" (Nora Roberts), 15 novels from the In Death featuring Eve Dallas, a New York cop in the near future, a mix of mystery, romance, fantasy, and suspense.  There are to date 60 novels and 11 novellas in the series.  The books have been highly recommended by Kevin Tipple and Jackie Meyerson, among others.  I have a few other volumes scattered around here somewhere and thought I'd give the series a try sometime soon.  Immortal in Death (the 3rd in the series), Rapture in Death (#4), Vengeance in Death (#5), Ceremony in Death (#6), Holiday in Death (#7), Conspiracy in Death (#8), Loyalty in Death (#9), Witness in Death (#10), Seduction in Death (#13), Reunion in Death (#14), Purity in Death (#15), Imitation in Death (#17), Fantasy in Death (#30), Obsession ins Death (#40), and Devoted in Death (#41).
• "James Rollins" (James Czajkowski), The Last Oracle.  A Grey Pierce thriller.  "In Washington, D.C., a homeless man takes an assassin's bullet and dies in Commander Grey Pierce's arms.  A bloody coin clutched in the dead man's hand -- an ancient relic that can be traced back to the Greek Oracle at Delphi -- is the key to a conspiracy that dates back to the Cold War and threatens the very foundation of humanity.  For what if it were possible to bioengineer the next great prophet -- a new Buddha, Muhammed, or even Jesus?  Would this Second Coming be a boon...or would it initiate a chain reaction that would result in the extinction of humankind?"
• John Saul, Black Creek Crossing.  horror novel.  "Thirteen-year-old Angel Sullivan is thrilled when her family moves to a cool old house in Roundtree, Massachusetts -- until she is socially shunned at school and falls deeper into despair.  But then she meets Seth Baker, a fellow outcast, and a fateful kinship is forged.  Seth tells Angel about the whispered rumors of something supernatural linking her family's home.  Curious, Angel and Seth devote themselves to contacting whatever restless soul haunts the dark recesses of Black Creek Crossing.  With ghastly revelations they unleash a vengeful spirit and a terrifying power, and there is no turning back..."  Saul made his bines on children-in-danger horror.

Time to Get Political:  Feel free to skip this if it seems too much.  You have that right as an american citizen.

First off, I should make a couple of things clear;

One, the more I read and learn about Charlie Kirk, the less I like him;

And, two, the death of Charlie Kirk was a terrible tragedy and a stain on America.

Your milage may differ and you are certainly free to hold alternate views on either of these.

As people from both sides of the aisle have said, political violence should have no place in America,  A tragedy of nearly equal proportions is the weaponizing of grief and the seeming deification and glorification of Kirk as a "truly great American" who was "loved and admired by ALL,'' while overlooking or whitewashing his racist, transphobic, misogynistic, White Supremacist views.  One can, and should, mourn the loss of a human being while also recognizing that person's lesser qualities.  Whitewashing (a term chosen deliberately here) is a dangerous path.

 

Kirk was a far-right idol, an effective communicator and one who was willing to discuss and debate his views.  He was personable and could come off as caring, and to all intents and purposes came off as a loving family man, and perhaps he was.  But make no mistake about his toxicity.  This was a guy who told a 14-year-old girl her future was to be a brood mare.  This was the guy who glossed over the death of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, who with her six members of her family were killed in an attack on their Kia Picanto just outside Gaza City in January 2004 when their car was stuck by at least 335 bullets and then run over by a bulldozer; the damage was consistent with Israeli-issued military weapons such as the M4 assault rifle and the FN MAG machine gun on a Merkava tank.  This was a guy who dismissed the victims of gun violence as the unfortunate price we pay for having the vaunted Second Amendment.

Here's a bit of Charlie Kirk's philosophy:

• "The transgender thing happening in America' was a "middle finger to God."  Transgender identiy was a "mental disease" and being transgender was akin to "wearing blackface."
• He misquoted scripture, stating that men who had sex with other men should be "stoned to death.'
• Doctors who perform gender-affirming care to m minors should be given "Nuremberg-style trials."  He compared their actions to Nazi atrocities.
• On violence in urban areas:  "Prowling Blacks go around for fun go around to target white people." 
• Michelle Obama and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson were "affirmative action picks" who "did not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken seriously.  You had to steal a white person's slot to be taken seriously."
• "Black America is worse than it has been in the last 80 years."  Blacks were better during the Jim Crow era because they committed fewer crimes, according to Kirk.
• After another conservation blamed a plane crash on DEI initiatives:  "If I see a Black pilot, I'm going to be like, 'Boy, I hope he's qualified.' " 
• "The Great Replacement" -- the idea that immigrants were brought into this country to replace whites -- was a "reality."
• He spread misinformation during the Covid epidemic, calling masks and vaccine requirements "medical apartheid."
• George Floyd was not beaten; he died of an "overdose."
• Gun deaths are "unfortunately worth it" to support the Second amendment.  (This has led to online memes posting the word "unfortunate" over his image.)
• "We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 60s."  Martin Luther King, Jr. was "awful" and "not a good person."
• Just before he was shot, he said that too many mass shooting were carried out by transgender persons.  This has already led to a great fear of retaliation in the trans community.  
• Abortion is worse than the Holocaust.
• "I can't stand the word empathy, actually.  I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that does a lot of damage."
• After Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsie announced their engagement:  'Submit to your husband, Taylor.  You're not in charge."  (Kirk was not a Swiftie.)
• "Gun control, like vaccines and masks, is focused on making people feel 'safe' by taking freedoms away from others.  Don't fall for it."  No mention of the freedom of being shot or killed because that should not be taken away.
• "We do not have enough people in jail in this country."
•  "Death penalties should be public. should be quick, should be televised.  I think at a certain age, it's an initiation..."  He said the crime rate would go down if kids witnessed executions.
• "The philosophical foundation of anti-whiteness has been largely financed by Jewish donors in this country."
• On Zohran Mamdani, Democratic candidate for mayor in New York:  "America's largest city was attacked by radical Muslim 24 years ago, and now a similar form of that pernicious force is poised to capture city hall."
• Kirk incorrectly claimed there was no scientific consensus on climate change, claiming the threat of climate change was "complete gibberish, nonsense and balderdash."
• "Democratic women want to die alone without children."
• "Reject feminism."

Had enough?

I should remind you that Charlie Kirk -- as horrible and senseless as his murder was -- is not being mourned for the death of a human being, but is being used to score political points.  Trump originally blamed Democrats and the "radical left," a sentiment repeated by many MAGA followers.  This is now being walked back (or completely ignored) now that the accused murderer has been reported to be influenced by a far-right radical group which felt that Kirk was not extreme enough.  Rumors about anti-trans and other messages found on the weapon and ammunition appear to be have been misinterpreted by authorities.  If there were a radical component to the shooting, and not just the assassin's mental aberrations, it came from the far-right and not the left., which has been responsible for far more recents acts of violence than the far left.  (BTW, the radical, Far left that Trumo and the MAGA crowd are talking about is actually the just a bit left of center.)  The accused comes from a conservative family, and grew up with a gun culture in the home.

The incompetence of Trump's FBI is glaring.  The two top officials -- Patel and Bongino -- have no experience in law enforcement and have made misleading and inaccurate statements to the public that have basically endangered the public.  It should be noted that, despite Patel's high praise for the hard work the FBI had done in bringing the accused to justice, the FBI deserves no credit in this department.  The accused turned himself in after pleading from his family.

I feel much safer living in Trump's distorted reality of America, don't you?

Again, the murder of Charlie Kirk was a heinous and horrifying act that goes against everything that America is supposed to stand for.  But let us not turn this into a moment where we are blinded by political rhetoric.  Let us move on from this and work to heal political differences, where compassion and empathy and good will overpower divisiveness, bigotry, and rancor.  Let us as a nation grow up, put on our big boy and big girl pants, and establish common-sense gun laws and work to bring equality and equality to all Americans.

End of rant.  Feel free to go back to the rest of today's post.

A Early Serial Killer Who Was Also a Companion of Joan of Arc:  Giles de Rais (c.1405-1440) was a knight and lord who was a leader of the French Army in the Hundred Years War.  Not much is known about Giles' early life.  He was descended from two great feudal houses of the 15th century. His mother died on an unknown date and his father died in 1415 of 'a serious bodily infirmity" -- a legend that he had been disemboweled by a wild boar was patently false.  Giles and his younger brother were then raised by their maternal grandfather, who betrothed Giles to a wealthy Norman heiress (Giles may have been twelve at the time).  France's Parliament forbade the marriage until the girl came of age; the marriage never happened, perhaps because the girl became an abbess.  About a year later Giles was then betrothed to the niece of the Duke of Brittany but this union was also never realized; perhaps the girl had died.  

Giles then became engaged to his third cousin, Catherine de Thouars but questions of consanguinity arose (the two were related by both the maternal and paternal lines), along with squabbling between the two families.  Giles took matters into his own hands and abducted Catherine and married her in a chapel outside his parish church, without posting banns.  The Church annulled the marriage and declared it incestuous.  After the death of Catherine's father, the two houses reconciled and sought to legitimize the marriage.  A penance was invoked and the two were absolved of the crime of incest, becoming free to marry in the Church.  They were wed with great pomp and ceremony in 1422.  Their only child, Marie, was born eleven or twelve years later.

Shifting allegiances and battles during the early years of the Hundred Years War threatened much of the property of Giles de Rais' family and allies.  Giles himself may have participated in battles in 1426 and earlier, but this has never been confirmed.  By 1427 Giles had been appointed captain of Sable (in western France) against English garrisons.  Later that year, when John V of Brittany, Giles's suzerain, ordered his vassals to stop fighting the English troops, Giles refused and remained loyal to the King of France.

Enter Joan of Arc in 1429.  By this time Giles was part of King Charles VII's entourage, was a member of the Royal Council (although seldom participated due to military matters), and was referred to as the king's chamberlain.  In April 1429, Joan of Arc accompanied France's relief army to Orleans, with Giles de Rais leading the escort of men-at-arms and archers.  Giles took part in the storming of the Saint-Loup bastille early in May, he then took part with Joan in the Loire campaign.  In July, the same day Charles VII was coronated. Giles was elevated to the rank of Marshal of France.  On September 8, Giles stood by Joan's side during the Siege of Paris; the siege failed after Joan was wounded in the leg by a crossbow bolt.  Joan of Arc was captured on December 23, 1430 and held prisoner in Rouen;  Giles was seen in Rouen on December 26, presumably to try to free Joan, although no attempt was ever made.  Joan of Arc was burned at the stake the following May.  Little is know about the relationship between Joan and Giles, much that  is assumed today is through various fictional speculations.

Giles de Rais gradually withdrew from the was in the 1430s and was an excessive profligate, squandering his patrimony by selling off lands to pay his debts.  (He had reportedly been incurring insane expenses" since the age of 20.)  Giles was placed under interdict by Charles VII in 1435.  He physically assaulted a high-ranking cleric and seized a local castle in May 1440.  He was arrested that September and tried the following month for heresy, sodomy, and "the murder of one hundred and forty or more children."  He was executed on October 26.

Giles de Rais is counted as among the first recorded serial killers.  Some believe he was an inspiration for the Charles Perrault fairy tale of Bluebeard and his name has often been conflated with the fictional villain.  

Was he guilty?  Current thought says probably yes.  But the trial and contemporary accounts have been tainted by the status of the Church at the time, the prevalence of superstition, Giles actual confession given under torture, the political atmosphere, and a lot more.  There are records of young children (boys) going missing over that period, but the number accredited to Giles de Rais' crimes have most likely been exaggerated.  Over the years, a number of people have asserted their belief that Giles de Rais was innocent of most if not all of his charges, but those arguments have not really held up.  Various psychological theories have also been proposed.  Giles de Rais was most likely a tortured sexual psychopath whose name has lived on because his tenuous relationship with Joan of Arc, his linkage in popular thought to the fictional Blackbeard, and the enormity of the crimes he was said to have committed.

A Little Bit of Country-Western:  Dusty Rivers and the Rangers, with vocal by "Speedy" Ross:

https://archive.org/details/78_i-dont-know-where-i-go-but-im-goin_dusty-rivers-and-the-rangers-speedy-ross-l_gbia0203108b

For Those Who Like to Eat:  Today is

• National Double Cheeseburger Day
• National Linguine Day
• Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie Day
• National Cheese Toast Day

My mouth is watering, especially for the butterscotch cinnamon pie!  Perhaps with a double cheeseburger and linguine for dessert.

https://www.thefreshcooky.com/butterscotch-cinnamon-pie-recipe/

 

Funny?  You Tell Me:  The lawyers for the Old MacDonald estate hired a new person to run the farm.  He's the C-I-E-I-O.

Florida Man:

• In a case of justice, Florida-style, a Texas woman was arrested despite overwhelming evidence that she was not the person the police were looking for.  She spent three days in jail.  I wonder hoe long she would have spent in jail if she came from a Blue state?   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/florida-deputies-jailed-a-texas-woman-for-3-days-even-though-she-s-23-years-older-than-the-suspect/ar-AA1LYrIH?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=94dd27128e754bb3856b5db5fb75b39e&ei=27
• And then there's Florida Man Roman Rawicki, 50, of Palm Bay.  Oops.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/road-rage-wrong-address-florida-man-attacked-woman-fired-17-shots-after-simple-mistake/ar-AA1M1li8?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=c8269682ac204563a278803e08521ccb&ei=25
• And a certain Florida Man (or Men) has (have) decided that the state has too many children and has come up with a solution to divest the state of the excess.   https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/09/florida-vaccine-children-mandate/684110/?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZ1KV5cFKtQASw6v7_TPkcvA
• 60-year-old Florida Man Michael Jablonki has a reason to dislike the Publix supermarket in Tradition, F.lorida.  https://weartv.com/news/nation-world/woman-escapes-kidnapper-at-florida-grocery-store-with-employees-helping-her-hide-police-suspect-in-custody-abduction-abducted-tradition-publix-port-st-lucie-police-department
• Florida Woman Jessica Sonya Humpheys, 24, of Miami, allegedly went to my neck of the woods in the Florida Panhandle to commit 72 counts of petition fraud and 71 counts of perjury in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties.  She had previously posted bail for the Santa Rosa county charges but failed to show up for a scheduled court hearing so she will be facing additional charges for that.  Humphries was a paid petition gatherer for "safe and Smart Florida," a group working for a constitutional amendment concerning marijuana use in Florida.   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/woman-faces-72-felony-charges-in-northwest-florida-for-petition-fraud-and-perjury/ar-AA1MgKFv?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=9d2a0f53a2bb45cdf1ee9ed9600e69b2&ei=87
• Staying in my general neighborhood, two Florida Pensacolans -- Salvatore John Carpanzarno, , 66, and Heather Gayle Fisher, 54 -- were indicted in federal court on charges stemming from a multi-year scheme to defraud victims of millions of dollars.  Details are scant but among the charges are conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  If convicted, the pair face up to 50 years in jail.
• And, still keeping it in my neighborhood, the fallout from a recent high school grad being arrested in child porn charges.   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/gulf-breeze-elementary-asst-principal-won-t-return-to-position-investigation-continues/ar-AA1MhfXf?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=800e90691e6e47ff9a76ea4c3c7d29fd&ei=20
• Florida Job Applicant Joseph Thomas Kinney, 55, was arrested at a staged job interview where he tried to pose as a nurse for hire using his roommates stolen credentials.  Kinney's original licenses in Alabama, California, and Florida had been revoked in 2022 for several reasons, including diverting drugs from his employer and driving under the influence of drugs.  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/florida-man-arrested-at-job-interview-while-allegedly-impersonating-nurse-using-roommate-s-credentials-what-did-i-do/ar-AA1Mef7F?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=51684f5d69b0416acbc47b73b294de80&ei=12
• Florida Woman arrested after kids found living in a "House of Horror."   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/florida-mom-arrested-after-3-kids-found-living-in-house-of-horror/ar-AA1Mhn1L?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=800e90691e6e47ff9a76ea4c3c7d29fd&ei=41

Good News:

• The world's happiest elephant herd.        https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/photographer-captures-pictures-of-worlds-happiest-elephant-herd-look/
• As mentioned on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me this week.   https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/kentucky-nurse-revives-drunk-raccoon-found-in-dumpster-with-cpr/
• A pizzeria owner worth emulating.    https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/pizzeria-owner-sees-people-eating-from-dumpster-offers-them-free-pies-and-a-slice-of-dignity/
• We need more rivers like this.   https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/chicago-river-follows-the-seine-to-become-biodynamic-and-swimmable-once-again/
• Another reason why medical and scientific research should not be defunded or politicized.  https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tiny-protein-confirmed-to-dismantle-the-toxic-clumps-linked-to-alzheimers-disease/
• Sometimes it's the little kindnesses.   https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/boy-with-cerebral-palsy-lights-up-as-stranger-takes-him-for-spin-on-the-ice/
• Again, more kindness in the little things.     https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/beating-cancer-required-a-mountain-of-money-for-parking-she-now-raises-funds-for-other-cars/

Today's Poem:

24 Bullets

Because of a gun I had to hide.  Because of a gun I had to lie.

Because of a gun I can never feel fully safe when I leave my house and enter school/

My mom used to day it was never like this... She means it has never been this bad.  There has always been guns and gun violence and it is sad to say but I think it always will be.

As I sit in class watching the time go by, I never would have thought I would also have to be cautious of my surroundings.  If a kid looks a little too sad or a little too angry, I never know if he is going to boil over and let his emotions spill out all over the floor as he takes innocent lives as a peace offering for his "troubles."

They say the government is here to help and make it better, but they ban abortions instead of guns?  They take away our rights and expect us to stay silent as I watch people from my neighborhood die from getting shot because "they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Is there ever a right time?  When will I be completely safe and not fear for my life or others...

Out there right now there is a mother waiting on a call to hear where her child is, waiting to hear that they are all right and that everything is okay.  Instead, she gets a call that her baby was hot, and did not make it.  Her grief and anger is bigger than any protest could do justice for.

The police officer tells her "it will be okay, we are doing everything we can," but nobody knows how she feels, the pain and agony she is going through.

They took her child's life, he had more to do, his friends say he was a bright light, always kept people laughing and on their toes.

Others like to stereotype and go directly to, "It was gang related, and it was his fault."

This is not true. as a mother you should never fear for your child's life, or when it is going to be cut short.  Ask yourself right now, could you handle your sibling getting shot, your best friend, or your lover?

No, you could not handle the pain, no one could.

America is a gun and Cleveland is just one of its many witnesses and targets.

We did not do anything wrong; we are innocent but the only people who care for us is the mother who is waiting for the call to hear that we are okay.

We are not okay, and nothing will be the same, why stay silent when I have so much to say?  This is not fair even if it is one voice or a thousand.  I try to make a change than know I did nothing.

I would rather have the world against me than them mother who is waiting to hear that phone call, them mother whose life just got ruined in one night with 24 bullets.

-- Kayden Ferris

[Kayden Ferris is a student from the Cleveland Metropolitan Scholl district.  Kayden writes:  "I wrote this poem because gun violence has unfortunately always been .  My friend Jeovanni has witnessed it firsthand and has lost someone dear to him because of it.  This poems is partly based on my conversations with him.  I really hope my poem reaches its larger audience."

[Feel free to share this poem with all you know.

[By the way, I would adopt Kayden in a heartbeat.]