Assassinations / Crime Books / Mrs. Fields Apricot Nectar Cookies
Today's Assassinated Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
On the evening of March 16, 1792, King Gustavus III, wearing a cloak and mask, moved among the dancers attending a masquerade ball at the Grand Opera House in Stockholm. Earlier that evening, an anonymous note had been slipped to him, detailing an assassination plot by dissatisfied nobles that was to take place in that very ballroom, and imploring him not to attend. Undaunted, he stepped into the brilliant glow of the chandeliers, admiring the stage scenery and the costumes of the dancing masqueraders; yet he surely must have wondered which of them might be planning to attack him at any moment.
Suddenly, five men in dark cloaks and masks surrounded him. One of them produced a pistol wrapped in raw wool to silence it, and fired. Panic broke out as the king, bleeding but still alive, was carried off by friends, and doors and exits were sealed. The ringleader, Count Ankarstrom, escaped but was arrested the next day. Gustavus III died on March 29.
Culled from: The Pessimist's Guide To History
**********************************************************************
The Comtesse Reviews...
I just finished reading a book entitled Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey On Edward Gorey, which is a collection of interviews with the late, sorely missed Master of the Macabre. Although some of the articles are a bit redundant, they all serve to shed light on this mysterious and reclusive character, and made me appreciate the distinctive individual that he was. I wish I'd had the chance to meet him - he seemed like a great guy.
Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey On Edward Gorey by Karen Wilkin
*******
Epitaph Du Jour!
Culled from: Over Their Dead Bodies: Yankee Epitaphs & History
Authors: Thomas C. Mann & Janet Greene
Date: 1962
Kensington, N.H.:
In Memory of
Benjamin Rowe Esq
Who after a Life of great usefulness
& patiently enduring 4 years of illness
with a dropsy underwent the Operation
of Tapping 67 times
From his body was drawn 2385 pounds of water
quietly departed this Life the 28 day
of March Anno Domini 1790 in
the 71st year of his age.
Thanks to Miyuki for the contribution.
*******
Wretched Recommendations!
Riley sent me a link to a splendid article about a woman named Frances Glessner Lee who created detailed crime models for police training back in the 1940's. Better still, a book of photographs of the crime scenes has been released! As Riley said, these delightful morbid dollhouses are "just what every little morbid girl and boy needs!"
Here's the article.
And here's the Amazon description of the book. It's definitely on my wish list!
"This fascinating and macabre volume offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s, she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: tiny pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crime scene are revealed to those who study them carefully. Corrine Botz's lush color photographs lure viewers into every crevice of Frances Lee's models and breathe life into these deadly miniatures, which represent the dark side of domestic life, unveiling tales of prostitution / alcoholism / adultery. Botz's introductory essay, which draws on archival research and interviews with Lee's family and police colleagues, present a captivating portrait of the creator of these amazing miniatures."
The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corinne May Botz
Mrs. Fields Apricot Nectar Cookies
Categories: Cookies
Yield: 36 servings
2 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
3/4 cup White sugar
1/4 cups Dark brown sugar; packed
1 cup Salted butter; softened
1 large Egg
1/4 cups Apricot nectar
1/2 cup Apricot preserves
1/4 cups Dried apricots; chopped
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Mix well with a wire wish and set aside. In a large bowl, blend sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Scrape down sides of bowl. Then add egg, apricot nectar, and apricot preserves; beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture and apricots, and blend on low just until combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets 1-1/2 inches apart. Bake 22-24 minutes, or until cookies just begin to brown at bottom edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a cool flat surface with spatula.
On the evening of March 16, 1792, King Gustavus III, wearing a cloak and mask, moved among the dancers attending a masquerade ball at the Grand Opera House in Stockholm. Earlier that evening, an anonymous note had been slipped to him, detailing an assassination plot by dissatisfied nobles that was to take place in that very ballroom, and imploring him not to attend. Undaunted, he stepped into the brilliant glow of the chandeliers, admiring the stage scenery and the costumes of the dancing masqueraders; yet he surely must have wondered which of them might be planning to attack him at any moment.
Suddenly, five men in dark cloaks and masks surrounded him. One of them produced a pistol wrapped in raw wool to silence it, and fired. Panic broke out as the king, bleeding but still alive, was carried off by friends, and doors and exits were sealed. The ringleader, Count Ankarstrom, escaped but was arrested the next day. Gustavus III died on March 29.
Culled from: The Pessimist's Guide To History
**********************************************************************
The Comtesse Reviews...
I just finished reading a book entitled Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey On Edward Gorey, which is a collection of interviews with the late, sorely missed Master of the Macabre. Although some of the articles are a bit redundant, they all serve to shed light on this mysterious and reclusive character, and made me appreciate the distinctive individual that he was. I wish I'd had the chance to meet him - he seemed like a great guy.
Ascending Peculiarity: Edward Gorey On Edward Gorey by Karen Wilkin
*******
Epitaph Du Jour!
Culled from: Over Their Dead Bodies: Yankee Epitaphs & History
Authors: Thomas C. Mann & Janet Greene
Date: 1962
Kensington, N.H.:
In Memory of
Benjamin Rowe Esq
Who after a Life of great usefulness
& patiently enduring 4 years of illness
with a dropsy underwent the Operation
of Tapping 67 times
From his body was drawn 2385 pounds of water
quietly departed this Life the 28 day
of March Anno Domini 1790 in
the 71st year of his age.
Thanks to Miyuki for the contribution.
*******
Wretched Recommendations!
Riley sent me a link to a splendid article about a woman named Frances Glessner Lee who created detailed crime models for police training back in the 1940's. Better still, a book of photographs of the crime scenes has been released! As Riley said, these delightful morbid dollhouses are "just what every little morbid girl and boy needs!"
Here's the article.
And here's the Amazon description of the book. It's definitely on my wish list!
"This fascinating and macabre volume offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s, she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: tiny pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crime scene are revealed to those who study them carefully. Corrine Botz's lush color photographs lure viewers into every crevice of Frances Lee's models and breathe life into these deadly miniatures, which represent the dark side of domestic life, unveiling tales of prostitution / alcoholism / adultery. Botz's introductory essay, which draws on archival research and interviews with Lee's family and police colleagues, present a captivating portrait of the creator of these amazing miniatures."
The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corinne May Botz
Mrs. Fields Apricot Nectar Cookies
Categories: Cookies
Yield: 36 servings
2 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking soda
3/4 cup White sugar
1/4 cups Dark brown sugar; packed
1 cup Salted butter; softened
1 large Egg
1/4 cups Apricot nectar
1/2 cup Apricot preserves
1/4 cups Dried apricots; chopped
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda. Mix well with a wire wish and set aside. In a large bowl, blend sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Scrape down sides of bowl. Then add egg, apricot nectar, and apricot preserves; beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture and apricots, and blend on low just until combined. Do not overmix. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets 1-1/2 inches apart. Bake 22-24 minutes, or until cookies just begin to brown at bottom edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a cool flat surface with spatula.
Labels: alcoholic drinks, anonymous, benjamin, books, characters, colors, death, family, frances, history, lee, maxed-out tags limit, morbid, murder, recipes, sex, sick, true crime, water, wishes
posted by Flami at 12:05:00 AM
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