mosker

Snippets

For the past couple of years I've been saving recipes--pulling pages from magazines, collecting them from friends and family, and marking pages in cookbooks. It's a great way to try new food and impress your guests (always better than boring them), except when you can't find what you saved. Suzanne gave me a tip and, as usual, it's working great for me. I bought a couple of binders and a pack of sheet protectors, and have been working on assembling a loose-leaf cookbook of my own  making. I can pull out only the recipes I need and they are protected from mixing splatters and mislaid spatulas . I'm planning my Christmas Eve menu and already feel much more organized.

I'm excited about Suzanne having a youngster in the house, and although it doesn't make up for not being there to get to know her, I am recording a few books for her. I couldn't locate the exact titles that Suzanne recommended when I visited the library today, but I did find something I knew she'd like and also picked up a copy of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. It's probably way too old-fashioned for kids these days, but I still remember listening to the stories when I was a kid. I read a couple of chapters after I got home and hope she'll like the stories as much as I did at her age. I did realize, however, that I'm not going to get through the recitation without mangling at least a few words. Maybe she won't notice.

I had some guests over for dinner recently and I found myself marveling at the difference in Janie. She has changed from a friendly, but skittish, stray to a demanding house cat who throws herself at the feet, and laps, of my guests. If they don't bend down to her level in a timely manner (like, immediately) she finds a handy chair that will elevate he to within arms reach. I felt badly about what a nuisance she was making of herself until I realized that both the cat and the person were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Jane slept soundly for several hours after they left.

I'm trying another off-line blog editing software. I've tried a couple of others in the past and almost immediately uninstalled them, but this one is much better. TypePad has worked hard on their interface, but there have been a number of times I've wanted to compose off-line. If you're interested in checking it out you can find it here. It is free and it works with more than a dozen blogging platforms.

Update: Qumana does not appear to support scheduling future posts and the feature that allows you to select a specific time in the past seems a bit quirky. Other than that, I like it well enough to continue testing.

"If I did it"

You can hardly blame me for having thought it was a joke. After all, the very idea that OJ Simpson would write a book detailing how he killed his wife--if he did, wink, wink--is preposterous. It sounds more like the setup to a bad stand-up comic's joke: "Did you hear about how OJ is writing a book about killing Nicole?" I mean, how many kinds of stupid to you have to be to win an acquittal and then proclaim to the world "Suckers! I killed them!"?

I doubt the revelation will change any minds though. I've heard that the split between those who believe he killed them and those who believe he didn't falls along racial lines, or along gender lines, or even football fans versus football haters. I know someone who insists that there is no way OJ could have killed his wife, but if he did, then he must hired someone to do it. People like that will see the book or watch the interview and shout "Wait! It's fiction! He said IF he did it". People like me, who have long believed he committed the crime, will just say "I told you so". Legally it doesn't matter, because he cannot be tried again.

Although ReganBooks is taking a beating for publishing the book, I'm not shocked someone agreed to the project. An OJ confession? Of course someone's going to print it. (It is already ranked #149 in books at Amazon, by the way.) No, what surprises me is that OJ would risk losing the proceeds from the book to the Goldman family, who have a $33.5 million civil judgment against Simpson. Can he really be that desperate to get back in the public eye? Or did he accidentally look into a water hazard as he scoured golf courses for "the real killer" and shout "Eureka! I told you I'd find him!"

Note: Since I wrote this post last night, the book has moved from #149 to #43 on Amazon's list. And it's still in pre-order.

Distraction

Even with all my whining about the homework I need to do this week, I happily latch onto any and every available distraction.

For example, I know someone who's reading the latest account of the Scott Peterson case (Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson is Guilty) and she has convinced me that I must read it too. If I order at least $25 from Amazon.com I get free shipping. I couldn't miss that opportunity, so I also selected a CD from my wish list.

I received notice today that my order has shipped. That means it'll be here any moment, right?

The book

It's back!

It was on the shelf where I keep the textbooks I'm not actively using. I don't know if it thought it would be discovered there quickly, or if it was hoping to go unnoticed.

I did try to make up for my neglect by reading another story before I worked on my homework.

I bought it on a whim, but also as a bribe. A bribe to myself. I figured I could make little deals with myself like, "If you finish your homework before bedtime, you can read another story." I thought a book of short stories was ideal, as it is filled with natural stopping points that prevent me making excuses for "just a couple more paragraphs."

Now it's missing. I know I haven't been paying as much attention to it as I should, but I've ignored books for longer, and this hasn't happened. I even thought about the first story after I finished reading it. I've searched all the normal hiding places without success. I promise it'll be different, if only I get another chance.

Its jacket is still here on the shelf. Surely it can't have gone far?

Clues from killers: Serial murders and crime scene messages

 

Clues from killers: Serial murders and crime scene messages Dirk C.  Gibson

 

The author works with an interesting idea: despite the differences among serial killers, they have a desire to communicate about their crimes, and further, that we can learn a great deal about serial killers from these communications. Unfortunately, this book does not live up to its billing.

 

The author examines 10 cases of serial killers. He provides a narrative of the case and the communications from the killer, then offers a brief analysis. Gibson presents an enormous amout of detail that does not, unfortunately, contribute to our understanding of the killers and their need to communicate. The life of each victim of the DC Snipers, for example, was important to the victims and their survivors, but as they were chosen at random, details about their lives do not tell us anything about the killers. Gibson tells us the names, ages, and occupations of the individuals that found remains of the Mad Butcher, and devotes two full pages to an excerpt from the autopsy of the Black Dahlia. The book is less than 250 pages, but this "filler" suggests that the author lacked material.

 

There is also a lack of consistency in the selection of cases. Some of the cases are fairly recent: the DC Sniper, the Unabomber, and the Son of Sam, while others cases were much older: The Mad Butcher and Jack the Ripper. Not a problem in and of itself, but if we are seeking to learn about serial killers in general, Gibson failed to effectively tie the older cases into a current perspective. Some of the cases examined were never solved (the Zodiac, Jack the Ripper, and the Black Dahlia Avenger), making it difficult to assess the accuracy of assumptions made on the basis of the communication presumed to be from the killers. Finally, the author did not have complete access to all of the communication from the killer in at least one case (the BTK Strangler), and is therefore, unable to assess the killer's purported message.

 

The analysis of the communications was not as extensive as I had expected. For example, the author points out that one letter from the Son of Sam had six paragraphs and a postscript, that the paragraphs consisted of sentences of different length, that words were spelled incorrectly, and that the author of the letter used vivid language. Gibson does not, however, tell us what these language choices mean about the case in particular or about serial killers in general.

 

I also noted a factual error in the text: on page 143, Gibson describes the campaign serial killer John Robinson waged to have himself proclaimed Man of the Year. "In early November 1997, Robinson launched his campaign by writing to then-Kansas City mayor Charles B. Wheeler." Doctor Wheeler served two terms as Kansas City's mayor...from 1971 to 1979.Emanuel Cleaver  was Kansas City's mayor in  1997.