Eating filthy things as proof of dementia, Albert Fish film, pet zombies

That new LJ update page is not so good, so I've decided to upgrade my Semagic client. I won't have to use it for GJ, unless they also do something to screw up their update page. Also, thank goodness that the Morbid Facts got delivered to my inbox hours earlier than last week! Otherwise, you'd be seeing another meme in this space. ;) (yay for the post field not being one thin line across like it was the last time I downloaded this program!)

Note to self: Do tags in the GJ update field, since the Semagic tags field seems to have a lot more room.

Eric just called to say he'd be here shortly. He has to do guitar, which is why he's picking me up early: Pho dinner for me, even if he does think I'm in bed / don't have enough time to go to the washroom. He deserves randomosity just for that alone, I tell you! :P (no shower time for me, sadly!)


Today's Choice Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Excerpt from the Report of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Michigan Asylum at Traverse City, September 30, 1886, which detailed inmate deaths since the opening of the asylum in 1885:

Male, age 27, single, native of Ireland
Occupation: laborer

"[He] was, when admitted, much demented, and in delicate physical health. His death was due to acute peritonitis, caused undoubtedly by his degraded habit of eating irritating and indigestible articles. Broom straws, the nap from the blankets, articles from the spittoons, and other filthy and disgusting material were to him choice morsels."

Died: April 11, 1886
Cause of Death: acute peritonitis

Culled from: Angels in the Architecture

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The Comtesse Reviews...
Angels in the Architecture by Heidi Johnson

Angels in the Architecture is a fascinating study of the abandoned Traverse City State Hospital (formerly known as the Northern Michigan Asylum) in Traverse City, Michigan. The book contains many interesting snippets from asylum record books (such as the one above) as well as fascinating recollections from former patients and nurses. But the real reason to purchase this book is to see Heidi Johnson's mesmerizing black and white and infrared photography. She has a gift for making the mundane look profound and she brings the sadness, loneliness, and poignancy of these old buildings to brilliant life. I was able to find a gallery of her photographs online so that you can see the grandeur of her imagery.

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Morbid Press Release Du Jour!

I just received the following press release regarding the upcoming Albert Fish film by the creator of the great H. H. Holmes documentary:

Elderly Serial Killer to be Released in 2007

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – December 13, 2006 (Waterfront Productions) – With nicknames such as Brooklyn Vampire and Werewolf of Wisteria, it is not surprising that true crime fans have long awaited the release of Albert Fish – on film, that is. Elderly cannibal Albert Fish will be immortalized on celluloid, as Facets Video schedules the DVD release of John Borowski's ALBERT FISH for March 27, 2007. Fish, whom some consider as one of the most outrageously depraved and twisted criminal psychopaths of the twentieth century, prowled the streets across America during the early 1900s.

Albert Fish is the first docudrama to definitively recount the life and times of the elderly cannibal, sadomasochist, and serial killer, who is most infamously known for the abduction, savage murder and cannibalization of a young girl from New York City. Distorting biblical tales, Fish believes literally the stories of pain, torture, atonement and suffering as he preys on victims to torture and sacrifice. Adding insight to the account are interviews with New York artist and Odditorium owner Joe Coleman and renowned true-crime author Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D.

Fish is filmmaker John Borowski's follow up to his 2004 award-winning documentary, H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer. As with Holmes, North American distributor Facets Video has secured Borowski's Fish for national theatrical and home video distribution.

For true crime fans, Borowski's film production company, Waterfront Productions, offers autographed and numbered X-Ray reproductions of Albert Fish's abdomen, illustrating the needles that Fish inserted into himself. Select retail stores are expected to carry the DVD in March of 2007. Information and collector's edition DVDs are at the film's official website.

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Morbid Trinket Du Jour!

Admit it - you've always wanted your own pet zombie. And now's your chance!

Thanks to Joe for the link.