July, 2007
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July 1, 2007 Today's
Unclean Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Discover.Com ********************************************************************** Which is why Green Burials are the way to go! http://www.forestofmemories.org/ ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Birds do it, bees do it, even you and me do it! Here is the perfect way to introduce the concept of #1 and #2 to your toddler: with pee and poo plush dolls!
http://scandinaviandetails.com/KIDS/toys/pee-poo-plush-dolls Thanks to Magnoire for the link. ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Here's a bizarre bit of animation that starts out slow (not to mention annoying), but has a great pay off in the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPONTneuaF4 Thanks to Bri for the link. |
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July 2, 2007 Today's
Symptomatic Yet Truly Morbid Fact! 1. Enuresis (more commonly known as bed-wetting). Lots of children wet their beds. But this behavior may be a sign of deeper pathology when it persists beyond the age of 12. (More than 60% of serial killers were still wetting their beds as adolescents.) 2. Fire-starting. Children like to play with matches because they are intrigued by the bright, colorful, flickering flames. But budding serial killers carry this interest to a frightening extreme. Their fascination with fire is an early manifestation of their fondness for spectacular destruction. 3. Sadistic activity. Before they are big enough to inflict harm on other human beings, future serial killers get their kicks from tormenting small creatures. Culled
from: The
A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers ********************************************************************** You're worried about your bed-wetting nephew, aren't you? ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! Cathy enthusiastically recommends a comic strip for us: "Submitted for your viewing pleasure. Here is something deliciously wicked, morbidly amusing and occasionally. Down right sick! A daily comic for the Comtesse's disturbed minions!" ******* Morbid Art Du Jour! Sandow
Birk is an artist who depicts gritty contemporary scenes such as gang
fights in South Central Los Angeles, 9/11, the L.A. Riots and other
such topics. I'm particularly fond of his 1994 work, "The Revenge of Lorena Bobbitt".
And "The Death Of Kurt Cobain" is particularly grim as well:
Thanks to gsteinma for the link.
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July 3, 2007 Today's
Crazy Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: SFGate ********************************************************************** Ah, Oakland mothers! ******* I Want My M(orbid)TV! Alicia sends a heads-up about what sounds like an excellent new series on the History Channel: "The History Channel has an excellent show called Cities Of The Underworld. It takes you to cities all over the world and they explore the dark sides of them. I happened to catch an old episode visiting Edinburgh and it was AMAZING! They went through the underground city and gave tons of information such as the underground cities were for the poor and all the rich would dump their 'waste' into the underground town so they constantly had feces and urine running through their streets which in turn led to massive amounts of people dying. Anyway, its a great show, anyone with the time should check it out." Sounds
right up my (dark, destitute & secluded) alley!! Time to set the
TiVo up for a season pass! ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Now, here's someone with luck on their side! http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/20/1176697045075.html?from=top5 Thanks to Elizabeth for the link. |
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July 4, 2007 As I listen to a multitude of pyrotechnic explosions outside on this Fourth of July, I'm reminded of one of the most fascinating recent tragedies - the Enschede Fireworks Factory Explosion (originally featured for the March 14, 2004 MFDJ). So, in the spirit of blowing things up, why not revisit... Today's
Explosive Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: CNN ********************************************************************** There are a couple of amazing videos of this explosion, and rumor has it that the cameraman shooting the videos were killed. In actuality, they all survived, but were obviously quite shaken. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifm9BKf5ZbE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks5X0N8M_o8
******* A Plethora Of Viscera! I have redesigned the Asylum Eclectica's merchandise site - A Plethora Of Viscera - so that it now includes merchandise from both the Cafe Press store and the Etsy T-Shirt Shop. Please stop by and have a look. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of the Asylum Eclectica and the Morbid Fact Du Jour. ******* Ghastly! In 1965, Jerry Payne made a 16mm time-lapse film of a decomposing pig as part of his graduate studies at Clemson University. The film has recently been resurrected on You Tube with a lovely classical music accompaniment. It's an excellent way to see the insect recycling program in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN8S6viF3Lw Thanks
to Erik for the link. ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Nadja sends some accident pictures - it's a wonder the man survived, but thank goodness he did, otherwise we might never get to see these pics! "I thought you might appreciate this. I dont know if you are familiar with Scott H Biram, he is a 'self proclaimed "Dirty Old One Man Band"', which sums up rather nicely the type of music he plays. He puts on a great show. Well, he was involved in a head on collision with a semi and has been kind enough to post photos of it on his website." |
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July 5, 2007 Ah yes - there's always a Darwin award recipient - or 50 - during the July 4th week... and so it is only logical that I present to you... Today's
Explosive Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Associated Press ********************************************************************** Morbid Sightseeing! I received an interesting e-mail from Gaia regarding my Hinckley Fire Museum travelogue that I thought I'd share: "I live in Hinckley, on the edge of the gravel pit where those people and livestock crouched to wait out the firestorm. I have to say that I was curious when directed to your site; I wasn't sure what approach you would take to the fire and the aftermath. Someone who apparently is also a fan of the morbid has stolen one of the statues on the edge of the pit commemorating the events of that day. I'm afraid I can't offer you much in the way of morbidity, but I can offer you this. If you are a believer in ghosts, come back to Hinckley. In the pit there are strange lights at night, and sometimes there are more dead people on the street than live ones. While I am a transplant to this town, I have come to appreciate it's history, and I am proud to tell of it to anyone who will listen." Well, I certainly hope none of *us* would be so rude as to steal a statue commemorating a morbid landmark! Here's
my travelogue on the Hinckley
Fire Museum. ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Tangento has a marvelous page devoted to all things weird and wonderful! Please give it a look! |
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July 6, 2007 Today's
Piercing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! "[In the dressing room of the crematorium] people's blood-stained and battered heads and faces proved that there was scarcely anyone who had been able to dodge the truncheon blows in the yard. Their faces were ashen with fear and grief... Only a few days ago had Lagerfuhrer [Johann] Schwarzhuber promised them, on his word of honor as an SS leader, that they and their familiies would be going to Heydebreck [an I.G. Farben plant]... Hope and illusions had vanished. What was left was disappointment, despair, and anger. "They began to bid each other farewell. Husbands embraced their wives and children. Everybody was in tears. Mothers turned to their children and caressed them tenderly. The little ones... wept with their mothers and held onto them. But... when several SS leaders - among them Lagerfuhrer Schwarzhuber and Dr. Mengele - appeared in the doorway of the changing room, those standing near flew into a rage. Suffering and sorrow gave way to unrestrained hatred for those men... "After awhile I heard the sound of piercing screams, banging against the door, and also moaning and wailing. People began to cough. Their coughing grew worse from minute to minute, a sign that the gas had started to act. Then the clamour began to subside and to change to a many-voiced dull rattle, drowned now and then by coughing... "It seemed to me that today death came more swiftly than usual. Barely ten minutes had passed since the introduction of the gas crystals when there was quiet in the gas chamber." Culled
from: The
Nazi Doctors ********************************************************************** Morbid Sightseeing! Steve O' forwards a Fortean Times article about a fascinating folk art garden in Thailand which depicts the grim reincarnation fate that awaits you if you commit a variety of sins in this life. If you believe in that sort of thing, that is. For me, it's a wonderful slice of morbidity on earth. I'm not positive on the location, though I did find the following: "The Temple of Hell is located at the end of soi (street) 19 in Bangsaen." http://www.forteantimes.com/features/fortean_traveller/1/the_wang_saen_suk_hell_garden_thailand.html Here's another bigger photo gallery - such brilliant art! http://brentdamon.com/Thaifolkart.html ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! What a fantastic shower head! (Though, I suppose, in bad taste considering today's MFDJ.) If only it were on sale!
http://www.designhead.net/cdimino/gasmask.html Thanks to Magnoire for the link. |
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July 7, 2007 Today's
Insistent Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Discover.Com ********************************************************************** Queen Victoria - the original Plaster Caster, even if it was only his "hand"... ******* Wretched Recommendations! Alastair has a film recommendation for us: "Three months ago my older son and I saw a Canadian - made zombie comedy called "Fido" in Toronto. I haven’t laughed so much at such a relatively low–key (i.e. non–Hollywood, non–toilet bowl humour) movie. Plenty of gore, limbs ripped off... The title role is played by a virtually unrecognizable Billy Connolly and in a non–speaking part for such a verbal comedian, he’s hilarious. He and the other zombies are "employed" as domestic servants in a very strange future. "What I particularly appreciated was that it's set in middle 50's middle America (leafy suburbs, white picket fences, housewives fixing husband his drinkies) and it skewers all these stereotypes. It also uses many classic lines from American movies from the era and since. "It’s just been released in limited markets in the U.S. so I’m not sure whether it will make it everyone’s way. Please, I urge you, "check local listings". There’s also a website http://www.fidothefilm.com/ . Despite great reviews here, the movie didn’t do big box office hence the now–you–see–it, now–you–don’t approach in the U.S." I watched the trailer on the website and it looks like a fun film in the "Shaun of the Dead Meets Edward Scissorhands" mold. Unfortunately, per IMDB.Com it's not in wide release. Looks like these are the only theaters currently showing it: San Francisco
- Landmark Lumiere Keep your eyes open for the DVD. ******* Morbid Trinket Du Jour! Anybody want a castle?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070702/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_dracula_s_castle Thanks to Bluevelvet for the link. |
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July 8, 2007 Today's
Filtrated Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The Denver Channel ********************************************************************** The poor girl will have to be fed intravenously for the rest of her life. It probably betrays my weight to say that I find that completely horrifying and inconceivable! I'm sure many of you were also reminded of Chuck Palahniuk's brilliantly ghastly short story "Guts" (from his book "Haunted") when you read this, weren't you? http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html Haunted
******* Malady Of The Month! The new Malady of the Month is up! This time around prepare to be horrified by Inguinal Hernias. You'll never appreciate your own genitals so much again! http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/malady/malady.htm Thanks to Elizabeth for the suggestion. ******* A few days ago I mentioned Green Burials as an environmentally-correct way to shed your mortal coil: Kellie writes to tell me about her own funeral-themed website: "Regarding your posting about green burial, I totally agree!! I work as an embalmer and it's a horrible sport. Trying to start a revolution. Check out my website at http://www.Funeralideas.com - It isn't morbid but does contain some unique information." ******* Urban Exploration! I've posted this site before, but it's so brilliant I feel compelled to post it again. Fans of urban exploration, please check out this site - it's one of the best. Thanks
to Cathy for the suggestion. |
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July 9, 2007 Today's
Glowing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The
History of Torture ********************************************************************** Occasional Hell has an image of a variation of the Spanish Chair, with spikes thrown in for extra measure: http://www.occasionalhell.com/infdevice/detail.php?recordID=Spanish%20Chair ******* Follow-Up Du Jour! Back on May 27th, I posted an episode of "Ghastly!" featuring photos that showed the horrific aftermath of a knife fight: http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/morbid/archives/knife/ Carrie sent me a Snopes link which doesn't confirm where the photos came from, but does give some additional insight: http://www.snopes.com/photos/gruesome/kunsan.asp ******* The
Nazi Doctors I finally
finished reading The Nazi Doctors, Robert Jay Lifton's landmark book,
which is an analysis and history of the role that German doctors played
in Nazi genocide. Although the book is a great accomplishment, it isn't
an easy read. I literally had to slog my way through it night after
night, and I ended up doing quite a bit of skimming towards the end.
I found the book a disappointing read from a morbid perspective. I expected
there to be many ghastly tales of the horrors inflicted on the concentration
camp victims, and there were more than a few stories of that nature
(most of which I have already used, or will be using, for morbid facts).
However, the bulk of the book deals with the psychological factors that
caused doctors, who have given an oath to heal the sick, become active
participants in mass murder. I suppose for a psychology student it would
be quite interesting, but for a morbidologist, not so much. It's a very
important book whose existence I applaud, yet cannot recommend as a
morbid read. ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! If you've ever wanted to see what your own gravestone might look like, the Tombstone Generator offers you that chance. http://www.jjchandler.com/tombstone/ Thanks to J.M. for the link. |
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July 10, 2007 Today's
Foul Smelling Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: WCBS-TV.Com ********************************************************************** Isn't it amazing that people don't suspect the worst when there is a foul smell emanating from somewhere? We'd all automatically assume there's a corpse somewhere, wouldn't we?
******* Morbid Recommendation Du Jour! Some of you may recall that I reviewed Jon Krakauer's mesmerizing review of the violent history of Mormonism, Under the Banner Of Heaven, awhile back: http://asylumeclectica.com/asylum/morbid/archives/morb0507.htm#banner Well, Dan writes to tell me about another interesting book dealing with conniving Mormons: "Nice review of Krakauer's book. Just unbelievable what 'god' allows his followers. "If you're interested in creepy/kinky aspects of Mormonism, I can recommend 'God Has Made Us A Kingdom' by Vickie Cleverley Speek. It's the story of schismatic Mormon leader James Jesse Strang who led his followers from Wisconsin to Beaver Island (MI) to found 'God's kingdom on earth' in the 1840s/50s. Initially, Strang was a monogamist (one of the reasons he split from Brigham Young after Joseph Smith's death), and moved to the island with his wife and children. Then he (conveniently) discovered some brass tablets which contained more of god's revelations, including that polygamy was righteous. This happened right around the time he'd traveled back to Wisconsin and courted a young woman named Elvira. He couldn't bring her back to the island without first preaching polygamy to soften up his followers, so instead he had Elvira dress as a young man ... his 'nephew' Charlie ... and brought him/her back as his 'assistant.' The charade continued for over a year, though many of his followers saw through it. "Strang also dictated a very unusual (for the times) form of dress for women, a sort of bloomers, which allowed them to work more efficiently in the fields. In a snit over business dealings, polygamy, bloomers, and politics, Strang was assassinated in 1856 by two of his own followers. Complicit in his assassination was the U.S. Navy, the governor of Michigan, and some say the president of the U.S. (Millard Fillmore could not have a temporal kingdom within the U.S.). "All this happened on the island where I live. Last year was the 150th anniversary of the assassination, so the Historical Society sponsored a re-enactment on the exact spot. The actors were all middle school kids. It was morbidly twisted in its own way." Sounds like a fun event, and an interesting read! God
Has Made Us A Kingdom ******* Cathy sends this to me with the caption, "Why children should be kept on leashes in public places." I'd actually suggest they incorporate them as a regular part of the act. |
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July 11, 2007 Today's
Overcrowded Yet Truly Morbid Fact! "The sick lie on straw sacks, all jumbled together, one on top of the other, and cannot stretch their sore limbs nor rest their backs. The beds bulge with filth and excrement, and the dead and the decomposing press with their stiffened bodies against the living who, confined as they are, cannot move away. Every illness in the camp is represented here: tuberculosis, diarrhea, rashes induced by crawling vermin, hunger edema where the wasted skeleton has filled itself with water to replace the vanished cell tissue, people with bloodshot weals caused by lashes of the whip, people with mangled limbs, frozen feet, wounds from the electric wire, or who have been shot at for trifles by a trigger-happy SS. They are all in torment, groaning, hungry, thirsty, shivering from cold under their meager coverings and yet fighting for their pitiful lives." Culled
from: The
Nazi Doctors ********************************************************************** Wretched Recommendations! Aimee enthusiastically seconds a previous recommendation: "I see by your archive that you have recommended Tim Cahill's book about John Wayne Gacy, 'Buried Dreams.' I second the recommendation wholeheartedly. It is one hell of a disturbing read. I listened to it on cassette a couple years ago, and it scared me half to death, and I don't scare easily. Having it read aloud, and having a narrator bring Gacy to life, so to speak, was quite unnerving, especially so in the part where Gacy is pretending to be hypnotized and reenacting his crimes. Very graphic too. "I was fortunate enough to actually get to talk with Ray Hagen, the man who narrated 'Buried Dreams' for the American Printing House for the Blind, and he told me that I wasn't the only one disturbed by that tape: he said it was the hardest book he has ever recorded, and he's done nearly 500. Said he'd leave the studio shaking with horror, and it was hard on the engineers and monitors too. So, just wanted to say you are very right to call it a morbid read. Morbid and a half, I'd say." Buried
Dreams ******* Andrew writes to let me know about an excellent morbid comic: "I don't remember whether you've mentioned reading Something Positive before, and I'm about a month behind on comics, so someone else probably beat me to the punch, but given your previous references to Ed Gein, I thought you might at least enjoy the comment on this one." |
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July 12, 2007 Today's
Clogged Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Death
Penalty Information Center ********************************************************************** I'm still upset that they executed Gacy. Serial killers of that caliber don't come around every day! ******* The Critical Comtesse Titanic:
Legacy of the World's Greatest Ocean Liner I read this Barnes & Noble discount coffee table book over the course of a couple of hours. Although the text is (obviously) rather threadbare, consisting of a basic summary of the building, maiden voyage, sinking, and re-discovery of the Titanic, it's the pictures that make the book worthwhile for Titanic buffs like myself. There are quite a few excellent historic photographs of the ship, but I really love the abundant, high quality color photographs of items recovered from the Titanic debris field. From spitoons to plates to postcards to toys, the lives of the Titanic's ill-fated passengers come alive in their recovered belongings. To anyone who believes that recovering these items is "graverobbing" I say phooey! It's fascinating to realize that these items were laying at the bottom of the ocean all those years. On the
whole, I wouldn't rate this book terribly highly because of its lightweight
nature, but it makes for an excellent browse. ******* Did you know you can buy necklaces made from coal from the Titanic? It's true! And you can just buy pieces of coal too, if you're not the necklace wearing type. Yeah, I know, it's a rip-off, but it's a really cool one! ******* The Last Words Browser always makes for a fabulous browse! http://www.alsirat.com/lastwords/index.html Thanks to Remo for the link. |
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July 13, 2007 Today's
Floating Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Titanic:
Legacy of the World's Greatest Ocean Liner ********************************************************************** What I wouldn't give to see photographs of that scene... ******* Wretched Recommendations! Aimee has a book recommendation: "Here's a true-crime book I just read recently: 'I Heard You Paint Houses' by Charles Brandt. It's the story of Frank Sheeran, a Mafia hit-man and one-time Teamsters Local president who is very likely the man who actually pulled the trigger on Jimmy Hoffa. Much of the book is Sheeran's first-hand account, and it's very entertaining. Sheeran is almost impossible not to like on some level: he was a very colorful man with quite a sense of humor. You wouldn't trust him as far as you could throw him, but you'd love to have him at your house for dinner. "What makes the book really morbid is the fact that, with mobsters, the whole concept of friendship as most of us define it can be rendered completely meaningless in the blink of an eye. Sheeran makes clear that he liked and respected Jimmy Hoffa a great deal, but when his immediate 'boss' Russell Bufalino (I listened to this one on tape so I'm only making an educated guess at the spelling of this name) ordered him to give Hoffa a warning to stop denouncing the Mafia in the media, Sheeran understood that it was a death threat. He delivered the message. Hoffa had only that one chance to cease and desist, and when he did not, Sheeran shot him as ordered without hesitation, and apparently no remorse, even though he continued to to describe Hoffa as a 'nice man with a nice family.' "The title comes from the first words Hoffa ever spoke to Sheeran when they were first introduced by Bufalino. 'Painting houses' was Mafia euphemism for killing people, i.e., painting walls with their blood. The usual follow-up to the expression is 'and I do my own carpentry too' which means 'I will get rid of the body as well, metaphorically building a coffin.'" I
Heard You Paint Houses ******* One of my favorite companies - Despair, Inc. - has come out with an absolutely delightful t-shirt that I'm sure you will adore as much as I do! http://www.despair.com/cuforhoch.html Thanks to Bill for the link. |
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July 14, 2007 Today's
Religious Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Thirty-eight cult members, plus Applewhite, the cult's leader, were found dead in a rented mansion in the upscale San Diego community of Rancho Santa Fe, California, on March 26, 1997. The mass death of the Heaven's Gate group is one of the most widely-known examples of cult suicide. In preparing to kill themselves, members of the cult drank citrus juices to ritually cleanse their bodies of impurities. Their suicide, conducted in shifts, was accomplished by ingestion of phenobarbital mixed with vodka, along with plastic bags secured around their heads to induce asphyxiation. Each member carried five dollars in quarters, reportedly for use on the spaceship (which was to have vending machines and an arcade) to which they would be transported upon their death. All 39 were dressed in identical black shirts and sweat pants, along with brand new black-and-white Nike tennis shoes and armband patches reading "Heaven's gate away team." Culled
from: Wikipedia ********************************************************************** Here's an interesting video documentary on the Heaven's Gate suicides which shows footage of the bodies, beneath their purple shrouds: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/multimedia/070318heavensgate/ And here's a link to an interview with the lone survivor: http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/heavens-gate-the-sequel/15930/ Thanks to Eleanor for the links ******* Wretched Recommendations! Stella has a film recommendation for us: "A few months ago, my friend Tom showed me an online trailer for an independent German movie called "Butterfly; A Grimm Love Story" (IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448400/), about a cannibal who finds a willing victim online, based on the true story of Armin Meiwes, the 'Cannibal of Rotenburg,' and his victim, Bernd Juergen Brande, whom he killed on March 9, 2001 and ate over the course of the next ten months. They met on an online cannibal's chatroom, and Armin was only caught after he went back online, stating he was running out of flesh. So, having heard of it, I was surprised and utterly delighted to find that it was premiering in North America at the SXSW film festival, right here in Austin, Texas! Appropriately, it was shown at midnight, under the title "Grimm Love" (SXSW festival link: http://2007.sxsw.com/film/screenings/film/F6103.html). I even missed Peaches to go see it, but was not disappointed. "I'd expected it to be a pretty typical psychological horror movie, and I certainly had no problem with that! However, it wasn't scary. It wasn't gory. It wasn't even especially horrifying. The plot is that Katie Armstrong, a college student, becomes obsessed with the case when she hears about it, and this leads her to eventually write her thesis in criminal psychology on it while a grad student in Germany. She studies the men's childhoods; Oliver Hartwin (Meiwes), a lonely young boy controlled by a domineering mother well into his thirties, who invents his only friend. We see Simon Grombeck (Brande), whos mother kills herself when he's a boy because she suspects he's gay. As an adult, he's consumed by such terrible guilt that in spite of his lover's constant reassurances, he craves something that his partner can't give him. He wants to be punished, to be consumed, and relieved. The film is heartbreaking. "But it was really stunning to me because it wasn't a horror film. The climax wasn't when Oliver bit off Simon's penis, cooked it, and shared it with him; it was when Katie, watching the home recording of the entire thing, sobs intensely and uncontrollably. The camera, instead of watching Oliver's actions, watches Simon's face, but at the same time, doesn't flinch away from Oliver's bloody mouth, or the sight of Simon's butchered limbs and head. Feeling depressed and alone, Katie sypmathizes with the men; heartbroken at their wrenching loneliness, she craves the same thing they reach out to each other for; a person who knows you inside and out, all of the darkest corners of your soul, your most awful thoughts and desires, and WANTS you. "Like I said, it's incredible. As far as I know, it's not in distribution, but I imagine it's making the film festival circuit this year, so be on the lookout! Also, Armin Meiwes won a suit against the production company that kept the movie from being released into theatres in Germany as "Rohtenburg." The following link is to an article on Meiwes, which is an excellent annendum to the movie concerning the real events, including Meiwes' statement that he wanted to eat someone to have a person to be a part of him, like the little brother he never had." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3443803.stm ******* Car-Accidents.Com is a huge collection of car crash photos and stories. Of course, sickos like us will want to go immediately to the Fatal Car Accidents section: http://www.car-accidents.com/fatal-accidents-crash.html Thanks to nightwisp for the link. |
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July 15, 2007 Today's
Rebellious Yet Truly Morbid Fact! The revolt continued for almost ten years, with rebels waging guerrilla warfare from mountain strongholds. The government countered by creating local fortresses big enough to house the peasants and store grain, thus cutting off supplies and additional recruits from the rebels. Government armies were also reinforced by local militias, and by 1805 some 100,000 rebels had been annihilated. Though it ultimately failed, the White Lotus Rebellion marked an important step in the decline of the Ch'ing Dynasty. Culled
from: The
Pessimist's Guide To History ********************************************************************** Wretched Recommendations! Stella has a film recommendation for us: "Another excellent horror movie is 'Sublime,' just released into video stores. It's a psychological horror movie, incredibly intense and grim. I loved it, and found it truely sublime; my mother said it was fantastic, but not a movie she ever wanted to see again. It's about a white, upper-middle class man having to face his most primal fears, trapped inside his mind." Sublime
(2007) ******* On those days when you're feeling a little too optimistic for your own good, why not visit Dismal World? Thanks to Danny for the link. |
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July 16, 2007 Today's
Expanding Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Discover.Com ********************************************************************** Sacrilege!!!! Burning mummies???? Talk about not appreciating your national treasures!
******* Morbid Video! Have you seen the footage of the head-on collision between two trains? I understand that there were no fatalities, in case you're wondering. I mean, of COURSE you're wondering! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXUSUAYMwWQ Thanks
to Nina for the link. ******* Who amongst us wouldn't want their picture taken whilst laying on a blood puddle pillow?
http://www.fromkeetra.com/posts.php?post=012 Looks like you can buy them here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5116156 Thanks to Jen for the links. |
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July 17, 2007 Today's
Flushed Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Dead
Presidents: Causes of Death ********************************************************************** Ghastly! Nadja sends a fascinating story of suicide and photography within the black metal community: "Dont know how deep your appreciation for black metal lies, but there was/is a rather legendary black metal band called Mayhem that has a long story of your typical dramas. Many of them. But I am not going to go into all of that here. "In 1992 the singer Dead was found dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound after his knife had failed him leaving a note that read 'Please excuse all the blood'. So the story goes, he was discovered by another band member, Euronymous, (I just love these names!) who immediately took pictures of the scene. One of these photos was stolen and turned up as the cover for a bootleg 'Dawn of the Black Hearts' several years later. I do enjoy old Mayhem myself but had never actually seen this cover, and of course my curiousity had never wained. Finally found it on Wikipedia, of all places. Here it is: "Euronymous, I guess, admitted to moving the knife into a more visible position and also claimed to have taken bits of the skull and given them to others who eventually had them made into jewelry. Though the last part is all hearsay, it is certainly worth a mention. Rather romantic if I may." Indeed! I'm sure Dead would have been touched!
******* Back on November 14, 2006 I featured an MFDJ about the Lions of Tsavo. Here, allow me to refresh your memory: In March 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo (SAH-vo) River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 railway workers. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and thorn fences for protection, but to no avail. Hundreds of workers fled Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge. Before work could resume, chief engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson (1865-1947) had to eliminate the lions and their threat. After many near misses, he finally shot the first lion on December 9, 1898, and three weeks later brought down the second. The first lion killed measured nine feet, eight inches (3 m) from nose to tip of tail. It took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp. The construction crew returned and completed the bridge in February 1899. Tom sent me a link to a book written by Patterson about the Lions, in case you're interested. It is available online here: http://robroy.dyndns.info/tsavo/tsavo.html
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July 18, 2007 Today's
Kinky Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: The Arizona Republic ********************************************************************** Jeez - what a loser! I know people who would pay good money to have sex like that! ******* Morbid Mirth Du Jour! It's been awhile since we've visited our Happy Tree Friends! So, let's have a look at what those cute lil guys are up to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ne_KwVeIco&feature=dir Thanks to Steve O' for the link. ******* Eva writes to let me know of a pair of compelling sounding tours being offered in Quebec City, Canada: "I write, first of all, to boast about a theatrical production and guided tours will I am currently working for. It is Ghost tours of Québec, followed by the Witchcraft on Trial, which both are currently being presented at Québec, at the Petit Champlain. "When the settlers arrived in the colony of New France, they thought the had left beind a Europe strife with accusations of witchcraft, and the terror as the Inquisition ... Little did they know , it, had followed them to the shores of Quebec. In 1661, more then 30 years before the Salem witch trials, a colonist was forced to face charges of witchcraft and heresy. "As for the Ghost Tours of Quebec, it is a nightly tour that lasts 90 minutes. On the tour, we bring you in the most gruesome sites of Quebec, and share the 300 years of strange murders and executions, ghostly tragedies, and hauntings...... And we finish by entering one of Quebecs most haunted buildings, The Cathedral of the Saint Trinity. "Ghost tours of Quebec have been featured on programs like Creepy Canada for CTV Travel, OLN and Discovery Channel, BBC Kids, CBC Radio, Mystery Hunters, and more.. It cost $17.50 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, and free for children under 10. "You can get more information about the Witchcraft on trial and Ghost Tours of Québec at:" http://www.ghosttoursofquebec.com Sounds fascinating to me! Thank you for the heads-up, Eva! |
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July 19, 2007 Today's
Emaciated Yet Truly Morbid Fact! "They announced, 'Achtung, Lagerarzt!' ['Attention, camp doctor!']. A young man, nicely built, thin, tall, an SS officer, came in, followed by a noncommissioned officer. All, in turn - naked - go before the doctor, running past him, chest out, in a very military fashion... Whoever has not seen this military bearing in a skeleton does not know what degradation and contempt are... If a skeleton walks stooped over, slowly, slowly, that is a skeleton presenting a normal appearance, one might say even a decent appearance. But to see this procession of skeletons marching at a military pace, chest out, shoulders thrown back, and coming to a stop abruptly - well, it is something saddening, debasing, beyond description. A skeleton marching that way - the edema in the scrotum swinging, the completely emaciated scrotum swinging - that is something one cannot forget." Culled
from: The
Nazi Doctors ********************************************************************** Paints a pretty picture, don't he? <shudder> ******* Morbid Art Du Jour! Remember the Morbid Snowglobe artwork that I featured a few months ago? Well, the same artists have created eerie life-sized human wax "candles" that are worth taking a look at as well:
Thanks to Patrick for the link. ******* Antique Morbidity! Angela sends a link to some EXCELLENT morbid artwork from the turn-of-the-century. I'd KILL for an original of one of these - wouldn't you? "BibliOdyssey is displaying an assortment of morbid illustrations from calendars of the Antikamnia Chemical Company, a turn-of-the-(20th)-century drug company that eventually went out of business after selling a remarkably toxic blend of a pine-tar derivative mixed with addictive stuff such as codeine and quinine. (The admixture was supposed to be a 'painkiller,' hence the name of the company, anti-kamnia, against pain. How much codeine did you say was in there?) Hypercephalic skeleton dressed up day-of-the-dead style, a 'heady' combination of morbidity and cuteness -- how can this not be ripe for re-issue?" I second that emotion!!!
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July 20, 2007 Today's
Scientific Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Discover.Com ********************************************************************** I wonder if they stuffed Francis with snow to see if it would preserve him? ******* The Critical Comtesse I just finished reading a book called Underworld: Sites of Concealment, which is a collection of photographs of underground locations throughout Germany by Peter Seidel. Although the photographs themselves are excellent, it's best if you skip the forward written by Manfred Sack. Rarely have I read such pompous drivel! Here's a typical example: "Where else could one find reality and myth, banality and mystery, refuge and menace as close to each other as under the earth?" Hmmm... I don't know... maybe in a movie? Anyway, you don't need to read the foreward to appreciate the book. The photos - depicting such lovely places as water retention facilities, sewers, abandoned factories, Gestapo prisons, World War II bunkers, grottos, Roman ruins, crypts, caves, subway stations, and the like - are eerie and gorgeous, and an explanation of each location is located at the end of the book. I would recommend this for fans of urban exploration photography. Underworld:
Sites of Concealment ******* "My Brush With Morbidity" by Ann "I'm an apartment manager at a small urban housing complex, and I had been at my job for about three years when this incident occured. One of the residents had a violent boyfriend that I had repeatedly attempted to ban from our property, and one night for whatever reason, he stabbed the woman and her young girl (his daughter) to death in their kitchen. He then, apparently, changed clothes and went off to kill himself, leaving her apartment locked. We knew nothing until getting word of a suicide jumper and thinking, well. That's weird. "Later, alerted by the family I went to the apartment to check on her. I must have been convinced she was asleep or something, or perhaps I'm just stupid, but instead of just letting the police in, I went on in myself and found the bodies in the small kitchen in what can only be called a wash of gore. Blood was tracked everywhere through the apartment, splattered up the walls and even on the ceiling. I'm told that the cleaning crew we hired had to wash the tile floor twice, because after the first time they finished mopping up, more blood began to seep up from the grout. I am a lifelong devotee of the morbid, but the sight was too much for me, and I ran out of the door, crashing into the frame with enough force that I had a spectacular bruise up my arm. (I should have taken pictures. Of my arm, that is.) "That afternoon, my boss came into my office and dropped the woman's keychain on my desk. It was wet from where the police had retrieved it from the young man's body and dipped it in bleach. I say 'dipped' because I found a few days later they didn't actually scrub it. I put it on my filing cabinet for a few days, and one morning it occured to me that I needed to give the mailman the post office box key, so I picked up the ring to remove it. It was then that I realized the decorative keychain, a foam flip-flop advertising some clothing line, was streaked with dried clots of blood. "After getting over that shock, I left the keychain under an old cloth right where I dropped it on the filing cabinet. Nearly a month passed. I still had not wholly recovered from the experience, but I had to do something with the damn keys, and it was a bit too late to return them to the family. I wound up just wrapping it in the cloth and taking it home, where it still resides." Yes, you should have taken pictures... but not of your arm!!! Alas... another lost opportunity! ******* Morbid Link Du Jour! Who doesn't love a good ghost story? Well, Haunted U.S.A. is chockfull of them! |
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July 21, 2007 Today's
Heartburn-Inducing Yet Truly Morbid Fact! His last meal: 24 tacos, 2 cheeseburgers, 2 whole onions, 5 jalapeno peppers, 6 enchiladas, 6 tostadas, one quart of milk and one chocolate milkshake. Culled
from: Last
Suppers: Famous Final Meals From Death Row ********************************************************************** Two whole onions???? Was Shrek being executed??? I just heard that Tammy Faye Messner (Bakker) passed away. At one time I would have thought she was just a religious wacko con artist loser like her ex-husband, but when I saw her on the Surreal Life, she came off as extremely kind, open and accepting of all lifestyles. Her 11-year struggle with cancer has been excrutiating to watch and if you saw her Larry King interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWtMgBKOHuw) last week, you were probably shocked at how emaciated and frail she had become. Rest in peace, Tammy. ******* "My [Friend's] Brush With Morbidity" by ipushufall "A friend of mine was telling me a story the other day - we'll call him Rich. Anyways, he was working part time at his parents' carpet store one summer. At the end of the day, his mom gave him bus fare to get home. Little Rich was 16 at the time and decided to hitch a ride home and buy cigarettes with the money instead. He stuck his thumb out on the highway and eventually a man in a red Chevelle pulled over and gave him a ride home. In an effort to show his gratitude, Rich invited the man up to watch the Cubs game and have a few beers. "The guy came upstairs and hung out with Rich. They started getting a little drunk and he started saying some pretty off the wall stuff. He told Rich that he's a bisexualand asked if he had ever been in an orgy. This man was 30 something at the time and Rich was confused as to what this had to do with baseball. Finally, the man gets around to propositioning my friend for a blowjob. Rich said no, and told him to get out. "According to Rich, the guy gave him this really demonic look and charged him. There was a physical scuffle, but my friend fought him off and knocked him down the stairs to the landing. He looked up and told Rich that he'd be back for him and left. "A few years later, our hero saw the dude's picture on the evening news! Apparently they had found about 30 bodies of teenage boys in the crawl space under his house. his name was John Wayne Gacy!" Okay, I don't know if I believe this one - seems really unlikely. What is baseball but a bunch of men fondling big phallic shaped sticks, catching balls, and adjusting jockstraps and this guy claims that he doesn't know what orgies have to do with it? Yeah, right, buddy. Nice try! ******* Here's one of the most disgustingly cringe-worthy videos I've ever seen. It shows the treatment of a Nigerian patient with breast lesions and multiple sinuses containing Tumbu fly larvae. (Fourteen separate larvae were eventually extracted from the breast.) Thankfully, this is such a rare condition that this is the first documented case of infestation of this sort. Let's hope it stays that way!! http://graphics2.snopes.com/photos/medical/graphics/breastrash.mpg Thanks (but NO thanks!) to Sandy for the link. |
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July 22, 2007 Today's
Suicidal Yet Truly Morbid Fact! Culled
from: Discover.Com ********************************************************************** Poor little cells. Choose Life!!!!!! ******* Urban Exploration! Here's an excellent site of photographs and history regarding Hart Island - the potter's field of New York City. I want to go there now!!! Thanks to Dave for the link. ******* Here are some random, undocumented, but extremely creepy pictures that p |