Versions of Christmas -

Famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli dropped into a Miami Beach church to attend a mass on Christmas Day and made it a memorable occasion by singing for the congregation. As far as I'm concerned, this should have been the top story of the day.

Kudos to the Louis Vuitton company for a sumptuous TV commercial featuring David Bowie, which I caught just before Christmas. When I mentioned it to a friend, she looked it up on YouTube and then played it for me on her smartphone. There may be more than one version of it available.

Also outstanding: PBS aired a tribute to the late composer Marvin Hamlisch last night called What He Did For Love, which was quite a treat. It's still hard to believe he's gone.

Hope you had a lovely holiday. I've been trying to recuperate since my recent illness. It was a relatively downbeat holiday around these parts.

...

Trayvon: The Bookafication -

Florida Blogger Sundance has posted an entry alerting readers to the prospective "bookafication" of The Legend of Trayvon Martin. The teenager's birth parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin are shopping around for a deal with some book publishers.

So, what does this mean in practical terms? It usually means that a search is being undertaken to find an appropriate ghost writer to help the subjects accomplish their product.

I would suggest that a suitable candidate could be the press agent who originally generated the tale, since it seems to have captured the fancy of the mainstream press who obediently promoted it.

Beyond securing the services of a suitable ghost writer, bookafication would involve the manuscript passing the scrutiny of lawyers who try to eliminate actionable libeling of those identified and discussed in the final product.

Bookafication often occurs when name recognition allows the packaging and marketing of celebrity as a subsidiary of the entertainment industry. It does not imply literary merit.

:: Sundance Blog Entry ::

...

Guest Of The State -

Just before Thanksgiving, I experienced a Magic Mountain moment when the nice young man in medical scrubs returned to the Emergency Room with some good news and some bad news. First, the good news: I didn't have the flu. Then the bad news: I did have pneumonia. He urged me to check into the hospital and allow them to treat me. Thus, I spent the holiday as a Guest of the State.

But this term is fraught with so much heavy double entendre and sometimes even sneering cynicism, that one uses it only with fingertip caution. In this case, the federal government provides medical coverage for senior citizens.

Being a "guest of the state" implies that you could be treated luxuriously, wrapped in silk sheets and snacking on chocolate truffles, with only one problem: you cannot leave. Your government or someone else's has decided to detain you. And you are left with a conundrum: how much does your autonomy matter to you?

I allowed the hospital to process me for intake and wrap me in a cozy cocoon of antibiotics and other pharmaceutical drugs. Then I settled into bed and watched a movie featuring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx called Collateral. I must have dozed off for a while, but awoke with a sense of growing alarm as I realized that I was shackled to my hospital bed somehow.

Those are not shackles, I was informed; they are sophisticated medical devices to prevent blood clots due to my being sedentary position. Fine, I agreed. I informed the nurse that she could put them on me every few hours for a brief period of time, but that I would not consent to having them attach me continuously to my bed. I would rather exercise my legs myself to prevent blood clots; I do not need a gadget to do that for me. I removed the sophisticated shackling devices from my lower legs.

Once my course of treatment at the hospital was complete, I was informed that I would be transferred to a convalescent facility where I could continue my recovery. But when the medical van delivered me to that facility, an ankle lock device was attached to my right foot, as if I were a convicted felon, even though I have never been arrested. I was then informed that if I approached near the door, the device would lock the door and set off an alarm.

Am I a prisoner here or a patient? I asked. I began to feel very uncomfortable about my situation, and any trust I might have had in this institution rapidly diminished. They responded by citing bogus Medicare law: This is Standard Operating Procedure with senior citizens under Medicare, they informed me, because Seniors often wander.

The practice of citing phony federal laws as a pretext to human rights abuse is becoming very widespread all over Broward County. I began to form a plan to obtain a writ of Habeas Corpus which could remove me from this strange nursing home.

Just as I was considering a Habeas Corpus, they decided to allow me to leave the facility to use a nearby ATM machine, since there was no such machine on their premises. And, shortly thereafter, they informed me of my projected discharge date.

The fusion of Medicare and Penal Law is yet another troubling development in Florida, where there is still an ongoing search for mass graves on the campus of an old reform school for juvenile delinquents. How much this kind of abuse continues in the state is anybody's guess.

Glad to be back :-)

...

JFK Standstill -

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination. I happened to be living in South Florida when it happened. Indeed, everything did come to a stop. And the kids were sent home from school after the announcement came over the school PA system.

But that was a vastly different Florida than what it has become today. That was before it became the squalid cesspool of anti-social behavior it is now.

Yesterday, nothing special happened. The TV news was on at Dunkin' but muted with some captions. At the same time, loud pop music was blasting over the sound system.

This isn't even remotely part of America anymore.

...

Abandoning Civilization -

There is a newspaper box in front of Dunkin' on Broward Blvd near police hqtrs, but if you want to read today's edition, you are often out of luck. The box may contain yesterday's edition or maybe even an older one, but it doesn't matter very much, since about 97% of the population here is stone cold illiterate and can't read a newspaper anyway.

People get lost in the system here because of the pervasive illiteracy. Children get lost from the DYFUS agency and eventually end up dead or mysteriously disappeared forever. Someone you know could perchance get arrested and get lost in the jail system, too.

Many people have fake credentials here, but no one can check or verify them because they are illiterate. Abou 30% of the female population here is morbidly obese, weighing at least 300 lbs which is their only qualification for anything. They get free automobiles, gas, and free cell phones. And food stamps, of course. If there is anything the morbidly obese need most it's food supplements.

There is absolutely no regulation of anything here. I stayed at a hotel down here where the staff literally just emerged from the jungle the week before. They were in the habit of storing the hotel's garbage in the linens closet. The large black plastic ags of garbage made an irresistible target for rats who would climb all over the sheets to get to the garbage.

People who run organizations and agencies here do not believe in psychiatry; they believe in conjuring. They do not believe that germs cause disease; they believe that evil spirits cause disease. They have never heard of Vitamin C and do not feel compelled to  provide it. There are seriously mentally ill people all over the streets here, sometimes ripping up garbage and spreading it all over parking lots.

Broward County's drastic decline into third world savagery is sucking it into a dark void from which there can be no return. It is on a one-way ticket to oblivion.

Last night I had another bizarre experience which could only happen in Broward County. I was visiting an organization which is nominally Christian. But half the professing Christians I have met here are actually malicious psychopaths.

When I arrived, I explained to the woman running things that I am suffering from a very bad cold or the flu and I am having difficulty in remaining mobile. I really need to keep drinking liquids. I am an elderly person who is very sick right now.

Her response was to tell me that I have a "bad attitude." Another woman entered the room and informed me in a stern tone that "you are now a prisoner of Homeland Security because we have decided you pose a security threat to the families here.

Why don't you ask the sheriff to run a background check on people who come here, I asked her. She ignored me.

I have never been arrested. I do not drink or take drugs. I've passed an FBI top secret security level clearance process when my late father worked for the space program. I pose a security threat? What Homeland Security imprisonment? These people frequently make up phony laws on the spur of the moment, resulting in absolute social chaos.

She then told me that I would be imprisoned in this room for at least two hours. Can't I get a Coke or smoke a cigarette? No. Until 8:30pm you may not leave this room. At 8:30, I tried to leave the room and the woman approached me angrily. It is not 8:30 yet she told me. Get back in that room! She told me she would come to get me at 8:30. She came at 8:38pm. She attempted to browbeat and bully me. She advised me that I was violating "the rules." Which rules, I asked her. She wouldn't tell me. She then began to concoct malicious fairytales about me. This is how they treat elderly people who happen to be very sick - they see it as a perfect opportunity to abuse people.

I no longer have living relatives living in South Florida. They've either died or moved away. That's what happens as you get older - you outlive most of your relatives. On Thanksgiving I sometimes attend church dinners, just to share the holiday with other people. But I don't think I'm going to do that anymore. Certainly not this year. I also no longer expect to live the rest of my life here in Florida. I've had enough of vicious illiterate savages and pathological narcissists abusing me. I don't want to deal with this anymore. It isn't worth ruining my quality of life.

The local Sun Sentinel newspaper is owned by The Tribune Co in Chicago. They have announced that they are cutting 700 jobs. They must be pulling someone's leg. The only reason most people here might pick up that newspaper is for the coupons. They cannot actually read the newspaper because they are illiterate.

Broward County has become a vast sprawling favela. It will succumb to jungle rot in due course. Toxic black mold will eat all the walls, which will have to be demolished. There will be no traces of Civilization left because any such traces have long since disappeared.

...

The Zimster: Notorious Horse Thief? -

That's a lot of spaghetti they've thrown up against the wall this time. But in the end, how much of it will stick? And what about the batsh*t crazy blonde? Blonde is a career in Florida.

Let's try to put this latest incident in perspective. When I was Neighborhood Crime Watcher in a rather shabby part of town, Domestic Disturbances like this one were a regular occurance, especially on Friday nights when the husband or boyfriend would get paid, go out and get drunk, and then come home to an argument with his lady.

I have zero-tolerance for Domestic Violence. If I didn't hear the woman screaming down on the first floor or on the other side of the complex, other residents would be knocking on my door to inform me about what was going on because they knew I would summon the police for this type of incident.

When calling, I would warn the police because I know this is often a very volatile situation and can be fraught with great danger to the police if they try to intervene.

To begin with, it is a priority to try to separate the combatants. But after that, whatever allegations and charges may be flying around, may eventually evaporate in the sunlight of Aristotle's sweet reason during the next day or over the weekend.

Maybe George Zimmerman has a more exciting sex life than you do, but he also managed to snag the blonde arm candy. Remember: this is all fodder for the sensationalist Cable TV talk shows.

*  *  *  *  *
Rumors have been rife around Florida that the Obama regime has been censoring the press coverage of the Trayvon Shooting and the Zimmerman Case. According to the chatter, the Sentinel newspaper which is owned by the Chicago-base Tribune Co has been given orders by the current administration on what they can and cannot write about. I do not know if this is true or not. I can only speak for myself.

No one from "the government" or from the FBI has told me to "cool it" or put a sock in it when blogging about this case. The FBI has not actually knocked on my door and said "we need to talk."

Nevertheless, something odd did happen. Around the anniversary of the Trayvon Shooting for an extended period of time maybe encompassing a fortnight, FBI Surveillance Vehicle #42 was parked outside my then residence, where I was a house mother in a group transitional home for young women on behalf of a Black Baptist Social Services Organization.

When I signed on to my computer and plugged into the house WiFi, they would come up in my vicinity cloud of "Connections Available" from my right side tray bar. I was intially startled to see them there and was completely baffled by why they were parked there, but I am not upset or angry about it.

Please keep in mind that the Bureau can maintain "plausible deniability" on their presence there because they can claim they were there to monitor someone else in the neighborhood. But the timing is surely a remarkable coincidence.

I would not encourage ramping up your paranoia based on their parking habits. They have not had any words directly with me about this case.

...

Zimmerman's Blonde Eruptions -

TV Guide is reporting that George Zimmerman and his blonde arm candy got into an argument at the house in which they have been cohabiting after agreeing to go their separate ways.

The Zimster, as some have dubbed him, has become one of Cable TV's biggest entertainment draws lately. If keeping up with his romantic escapades isn't exhausting enough, his guns have seemingly developed an exciting life of their own in their reputed wanderings and whereabouts.

Male lawyers commenting on HLN must be looking forward to the prospect of a blonde mud wrestling match.

He said. She said. Cable TV is talking.
And it's a nearly full time job for local police.

:: TV Guide ::

...

It Ain't Pants -

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that November is National Novel Writing Month here in the U.S.

Got a yen to tell a compelling yarn? Grab a package of index cards and a pen for your notes. And maybe pick up a thumb drive to save an extra copy.

:: Here's your local link for the
Fort Lauderdale area and Broward County Florida.

*  *  *  *  *
So SoFlo: A Latina grandmother was arrested recently at the Miami airport and then jailed with male inmates near Doral.

I suspect this may have been a case of Black Dominionist Racism, a cultural phenomenon which seems to have a growing number of adherents lately here in Florida.

...

What Say They -

Jacob Sullum reports that Sybrina Fulton, birth mother of Trayvon Martin, testified before a Senate hearing Tuesday about the issue of Stand Your Ground laws.

And, across The Pond, the much-anticipated trial of former powerful tabloid exec Rebekah Brooks has commenced at the Old Bailey in London with directions to ignore Private Eye magazine, blogs and tweets.

...

Differing Visions -

Over the weekend, American TV aired a 1978 cult classic movie: Eyes of Laura Mars. The movie successfully captures the zeitgeist of that particular time and place.

It depicts the world of American fashion magazines and their subculture during that particular era. But it also raises some serious questions. In 1957, an earlier movie, also depicting the same subculture, had a much brighter tone.

What changed so drastically between the earlier Funny Face and the later darker, more violent and dangerous tone of Laura Mars?

Our society changed, of course.

Closer to SoFlo, the Tampa Bay Times published a major expose over the weekend about their local provisions for the Homeless. Nothing even remotely similar could happen in Broward County, where the newspaper is part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.

The Homeless are routinely depicted as a monolithic army of aggressive and ghoulish zombies bent on invading coffee shops and public places to victimize normal people.

There are essentially two reasons for this depiction. First, the Homeless are often used by unscrupulous real estate dealers for blockbusting and other such shady purposes. But the real estate industry is one of the last major advertisers in the local newspaper, so their press agents get away with it.

And second, some coffee shops now have security guards and armed militias to protect them from "homeless invaders." The presence of these militias is conditioning the public to accept a kind of banana republic martial law as the New Normal.

The U.S. Senate will hold a special hearing scheduled for tomorrow about how the Stand Your Ground Law was responsible for Trayvon Martin's violent attack on a neighborhood crime watcher in Sanford Florida. His nominal birth mother Sybrina Fulton is expected to attend.

It looks like Florida state representative Alan Williams is trying to turn this issue into a full-blown race war. As the chairman of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, he is planning to attend.

According to Trayvon phone pal Rachel Jeantel, he was loitering near other people's mailboxes on the evening of his fatal misadventure. But the MSM seemed much more interested in covering her fingernail decorations, which utterly exasperated me.

...

Misguidance Into Harm's Way II -

Crime Watching is a bit like the dog that did not bark in the night. It is a very complicated situation which is difficult to quantify, but if the police received 200 calls a month from your territory before you started and then received only 25 calls with you in place, that reduction can be some measure of efficacy.

It is important to understand what is expected of NCWs. A police officer enforces the law. An NCW is supposed to suppress crime, sometimes merely by being present. NCWs may also deter, defuse, or dismantle situations that have the likelihood or potential for spiraling into violence or serious trouble.

And then, in addition to all this, the DOJ sometimes expects the NCW to analyze crime clusters, illuminate root causes of those clusters, and suggest potential strategies to address them, which can be very frustrating. If you report, for example, that an area would benefit from more lighting to discourage furtive criminal activity, the property owner can say that they can't afford the increase to their electricity bill.

You may consider the foregoing an informal primer on the NCW program, but the NY Times Editorial Board has gone much further than pontificating in ignorance. They have conflated other issues which are not legally connected to this program.

What is the connection between Florida's Stand Your Ground law and the NCW program? There is no connection. SYG is a state law. The COPS project is federally mandated. The (airquotes) connection exists only in the imagination of this editorial writer.

The NY Times needs to end its spiral obsession with Trayvon Martin. This newspaper is not going to force Florida voters to define deviance downward by trying to establish that teenager as the new normative standard for the safety and security of Florida's communities.

*  *  *  *  *

:: NY Times Editorial ::
Neighborhood Watch Fantasists

:: C.O.P. or COPS ::
Community-Oriented Policing Services

...

Misguidance Into Harm's Way -

Are Neighborhood Crime Watchers off the chain, running amok, and creating mayhem in the streets?

The NY Times would have you believe so . . .

In a recent editorial they launched a diatribe against NCWs in Florida based mostly on misunderstandings and misinformation. Because I have been a NCW in Florida myself, a refutation seems appropriate.

NCWs are not "self-appointed," and the Neighborhood Crime Watch program is not based on "vague traditions."

COPS or the Community-Oriented Policing Services is a network system which constitutes a supplementary safety net for many residents of Florida and elsewhere. It operates under the aegis of the U.S. Department of Justice, not "vague traditions."

One of the nodes on this network is a partnership between a modern version of the old-fashioned cop on the beat or the officer assigned to your neighborhood who works together with a civilian neighborhood crime watcher. And one of the strengths of this system is its flexibility; it can be adapted to many diverse types of situations.

First, at the behest of the police, a group of people select their choice of prospective candidate for the responsibility. The group may represent a gated community, an apartment complex, a subdivision, or a neighborhood, etc.

When approached with this proposal, many people decline. And the worse the neighborhood, the less chance there is that the community will find anyone willing to accept the responsibility. Many of those who do accept are older, more mature people, including senior citizens.

If the prospective NCW candidate accepts the responsibility, he or she has to pass a criminal background check and warrant search.The NCWs are described as volunteers simply because they are not paid, but there are no "self-appointed" NCWs.

I have "shadowed" people. It is not illegal to shadow people you suspect of vandalism or malicious mischief in your complex or campus. I have also rescued people from violent attack by watching them and then coming to their side to protect them. And I never told them what I was doing. They intuitively guessed and quietly thanked me for my help.

Part One of Two -
Continued . . .

...

Casebook Thaumaturgy -

This is an informal update to the two cases we've been following here which were generated in the mainstream media by Hollywood-connected press agents rather than by the shoe leather of journalists' primary reportage.

The Perugia Slasher Case is known as The Meredith Murder within Italy. As far as I know, the next court session is scheduled for November 6th. Amanda Knox recently took her show on the road and appeared via Skype on an Italian TV program called Porta a Porta.

I don't know whether or not she packed her newly-affected Percy Dovetonsils lisp with her for the occasion, but I don't think I'm going to watch the video just to find out.

Ultimately, I expect, a Red Notice will be issued for her.

*  *  *  *  *
CNN recently aired a retrospective on the Trayvon Martin shooting and the subsequent  prosecution of George Zimmerman. They added only one new element to their narrative: some historical background about the relationship between Sanford and Goldsboro.

Other than that, they did not advance the story at all. It was mostly just a rehash. It was so superfluous that their website doesn't even provide a link to the program anymore.

But, not to worry, because some of the local news media has found another case they seem to be trying to promote as a sequel to the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Jandei Cherry was shot very late at night whilst he was proceeding down Hollywood Boulevard on foot and completely naked.

Uh-oh! Another Naked Face-Eating Zombie case?

Reporters did not mention whether the naked man tried to chew the shooter's face off as in the Miami causeway case, because, as you could already guess, they're just playing games with you to taunt you.

How deviant does a person's behavior have to be before you are forced to shoot them in self-defense? Do you have to wait until they have finished chewing off your nose, for example?

Eric Holder could get quite granular about it, so try to decide what percentage of your face the zombie has to consume before you are allowed to defend yourself.

:: Transcript pdf :: Knox on PaP ::

:: Oct 15th Video RAI ::

:: Tiziano's Translation ::

...

A Clutch of Pearls -

Adam Woog reviews crime fiction set in India, Mississippi, and DC. Tarquin Hall's Vish Puri, "India’s Most Private Detective," puts in an appearance in The Case of the Love Commandos. And Judith Flanders pens a non-fiction study of crime in Victorian England.

# Author Jonathan Franzen expounds on what's wrong with the modern world. His new book The Kraus Project is reviewed by David Wolf.

# Donna Tartt who wrote cult classic The Secret History is presenting her third novel The Goldfinch which is reviewed by Catherine Taylor.

# Movie-maker Wes Anderson tells Matt Zoller Seitz how he made The Royal Tenenbaums. Great interview!

# NPR checks in with Bemelmans' Madeline; and
the elusive street artist Banksy may be visiting NYC.

...

Reading: In Charmed Circles -

Putting aside grim news for a
moment to note some delightful news . . . 

Legendary Anchorman Ron Burgundy has been
persuaded to do some automobile commercials.

# G Willow Wilson reviews Dave Eggers' new novel
The Circle, and Bob Minzesheimer reviews it, too.

# Maureen Corrigan reviews JK Rowling's debut
Mystery novel The Cuckoo's Calling at NPR.

# Nathaniel Rich writes about
The Chelsea Hotel in NYC.

...

Blonde Trophy Game -

Fondling his crotch, the black stranger persistently asked the pretty blonde nursing student for explicit sexual favors while a Broward County FL bus was in motion recently.

The 22-year-old pregnant nursing student, who was on her way to a doctor's appointment, moved away from his unwelcome advances by changing her seat.

When that did not stop the harassment, the passenger sitting next to her pepper-sprayed her pursuer who responded by brutally beating him.

Incredibly, the entire incident
was captured on surveillance video.

:: Sun-Sentinel ::

:: NBC Miami :: - - - :: WSVN ::

...

Knox: Living Someone Else's Life -

Amanda Knox says she feels like she is living someone else's life and has developed a peculiar obsession about visiting Meredith Kercher's grave.

The opening session of her do-over appeal commenced without her presence, which was not required, as she is being represented in the Florence court by lawyers.

The Italian Supreme Court declared the previous appeal process a kind of mistrial, nullifying it, and ordered the do-over. Mistrials occur in American, too, but the rules and specifications may be a bit different in each system as to exactly what constitutes a mistrial.

And what about Meredith Kercher's grave? That may be Knox's only tangible souvenir of the entire Perugian episode from which she has emerged.

:: Barbie Latza Nadeau reports the latest ::

:: Andrea Vogt reports ::

:: La Stampa ::

...

Brief Browse -

Did you happen to catch Foyle's War on PBS TV last night? The episode called Sunflower takes place shortly after the end of WWII.

For a moment I thought I was watching Fabian of Scotland Yard. In an odd coincidence, Foyle seemed to resemble Fabian.

# In Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives, Sarah Weinman has put together an anthology of early trailblazing female Mystery writers.

# Justin St Clair writes about Thomas Pynchon's
new novel Bleeding Edge at the LARB.

# Victor Davis Hanson has written an essay about some popular myths, legends and contemporary American fairytales which have been presented to us as News.

...

The White Widow, The Mad Cook & The Coed -

Amanda Knox,
China Arnold and 
Samantha Lewthwaite . . .

Does leafy ennui transform some
suburban housewives into terrorists?

Lots of speculation now in the international media about whether Samantha Lewthwaite was involved in the Kenya shopping mall attack.

# Here in the U.S., the cable tv talk shows, which frequently spotlight mothers accused of killing their adorable little children, are preoccupied with China Arnold, dubbed The Microwave Mom, a young mother who is accused of cooking her baby in a microwave oven.

# And the do-over appeal trial of Amanda Knox in Florence is scheduled to begin September 30th.  Andrea Vogt has been reporting on it lonterm and continues to keep track of it.

The Seattle native recently gave an interview to the British media, explaining why she won't travel to Italy for the proceedings.

...

Is That For Real? -

Harry the CGI Lizard . . .
is a lovely piece of work who has charmed many TV viewers. Rushes, the company which created him, has posted some information about him. He looks like a relative of the Anole family of lizards.

*  *  *  *  *
Aaron Alexis carved two cryptic phrases on the stock of his shotgun. One phrase was  "Better off this way" and the other was "My ELF weapon."

What does ELF mean?

I think it means
Electronic Life Form in this context.

Schizophrenics sometimes refer to
themselves or others as dolls, robots, or puppets.

There have been a number of SciFi movies based on the premise that CGI figures from cyberspace have passed through a "membrane" from the computer screen or TV to our earthly reality space.

Alexis may have come to suspect that some of the people he was working among at that facility were not real people, but, rather, were like digital facsimiles. Or maybe intrusive aliens or invading ETs. Or hostile entities of some kind who were masquerading as humans.

Add some paranoia to that state of mind and he may have believed he needed a shotgun to exterminate them.

Just guessing. [two messages]

*  *  *  *  *
Zombie has posted an analysis
of some BBC reportage about
the shopping mall attack in Kenya.

...