Not up for movies, literally / Teaching horses a lesson / Hoaxes / Blogthings
Eric sent us an email about watching Blades of Glory at Silvercity early tomorrow afternoon. I don't think I'll be up for it, literally. Maybe if it was a night show... but that's not possible!
Today's Berserk Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Louis "Two Gun" Alterie was one of Dion O'Bannion's gunners during the Chicago gangster heyday of the 1920s. One of Alterie's close pals in the church-going, sentimental O'Bannion organization was Samuel J. "Nails" Morton. Morton was a horseman of some note, riding each day along the Lincoln Park bridle path. On one of these rides, a spirited horse threw him and kicked him to death.
Hearing his pal was dead, Alterie went berserk; he went to the stables, rented the same horse and, taking it to the exact spot where Nails had been killed, shot the animal through the head (a scene repeated in the classic gangster film Public Enemy). Alterie then called the stable owner and said, "We taught that goddamn horse of yours a lesson. If you want the saddle, go and get it."
Culled from: Bloodletters and Badmen
**********************************************************************
By the way, I highly recommend The Public Enemy. Even after all these years, it still packs a punch - and James Cagney is always a joy to watch.
*******
Update Du Jour!
Elizabeth writes about yesterday's Wretched Recommendation The Art Of Funerary Violins by Rohan Kriwaczek. It turns out that, apparently, the book is a work of fiction:
"Re: The Art of Funerary Violins by Rohan Kriwaczek - it's all made up! There never were such people. The author has written this book for publicity for his own funerary violin playing business. I read it in The Fortean Times, but you can read about it on the Museum Of Hoaxes website."
And here is the information from The Museum Of Hoaxes:
"The literary world has been talking about a work of fiction that managed a brief masquerade as nonfiction. The book is An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin, by Rohan Kriwaczek. As the title suggests, it tells the history of that popular genre of music, funerary violin music.
"The Guardian reports:
'By the early 19th century, the book says, virtually every town had its own funerary violinist, but the tradition was almost wiped out in the Great Funerary Purges of the 1830s and 40s. The author, Rohan Kriwaczek, describes himself on a site on Myspace.com as being the president of the guild that represents a dwindling band of musicians dedicated to this largely forgotten art-form. But all references to the guild lead back to Kriwaczek, and several experts on the history of the violin say they have never heard of him or the tradition.'
"The book will be published next month by Duckworth Publishers in Britain, and Overlook Press in America. The publisher claims that it believed the book to be a work of genuine nonfiction. Or rather, it didn't care too much whether it was fiction or nonfiction because it thought the book was interesting. The hoax was 'exposed' by a book-buyer in Iowa City who saw the book described in Overlook's catalog, thought it looked fishy, and brought it to the attention of David Schoenbaum, an expert in the history of the violin and also a reviewer for the New York Times. The Times then revealed the hoax.
"Personally, I'm thinking the publisher probably had a hand in the exposure of the hoax. What better publicity could a book get than to be 'exposed' by the Times right before its debut?"
Thank you for the information, Elizabeth. I'll be removing that book from The Library Eclectica immediately!
*******
Morbid Link Du Jour!
Here's a site that we definitely need now that eBay has banned all crime-related auctions: Murder Auction. Absolutely fascinating.
Thanks to Faith for the link.
*******
Morbid Sightseeing!
Frank writes:
"I just heard that my dad will celebrate his 70th birthday in this Restaurant / Hotel:
The J.H. Adams Inn
"The thing is that this house was for several decades one of the busiest local funeral homes, and served as a overflow morgue (so I was told) until the local hospital expanded. They just converted this into a Hotel / Restaurant a few years ago. Every time I drove by the construction site, I had to think of you. This would be the hotel for you to die in, or not. Notice on their 'history' section the gap between about 1930 and 2000. :-) Only the locals know that the death-elevator to the basement is now hidden and (from what I heard) was used to transport equipment and wine since it ends in the main dining room. I can't wait to have a rare steak there - if it tastes like chicken, I know...."
I found this additional juicy snippet (completely unsubstantiated, I admit) on a blog:
"Notes of interest: wondering where they kept the bodies? (The funeral home, silly, not the Adamses.) The embalming room was located where the current restrooms are. Don't believe me? Check out the size of the drains in the floor."
Oh, I'd love to!
Today's Berserk Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Louis "Two Gun" Alterie was one of Dion O'Bannion's gunners during the Chicago gangster heyday of the 1920s. One of Alterie's close pals in the church-going, sentimental O'Bannion organization was Samuel J. "Nails" Morton. Morton was a horseman of some note, riding each day along the Lincoln Park bridle path. On one of these rides, a spirited horse threw him and kicked him to death.
Hearing his pal was dead, Alterie went berserk; he went to the stables, rented the same horse and, taking it to the exact spot where Nails had been killed, shot the animal through the head (a scene repeated in the classic gangster film Public Enemy). Alterie then called the stable owner and said, "We taught that goddamn horse of yours a lesson. If you want the saddle, go and get it."
Culled from: Bloodletters and Badmen
**********************************************************************
By the way, I highly recommend The Public Enemy. Even after all these years, it still packs a punch - and James Cagney is always a joy to watch.
*******
Update Du Jour!
Elizabeth writes about yesterday's Wretched Recommendation The Art Of Funerary Violins by Rohan Kriwaczek. It turns out that, apparently, the book is a work of fiction:
"Re: The Art of Funerary Violins by Rohan Kriwaczek - it's all made up! There never were such people. The author has written this book for publicity for his own funerary violin playing business. I read it in The Fortean Times, but you can read about it on the Museum Of Hoaxes website."
And here is the information from The Museum Of Hoaxes:
"The literary world has been talking about a work of fiction that managed a brief masquerade as nonfiction. The book is An Incomplete History of the Art of the Funerary Violin, by Rohan Kriwaczek. As the title suggests, it tells the history of that popular genre of music, funerary violin music.
"The Guardian reports:
'By the early 19th century, the book says, virtually every town had its own funerary violinist, but the tradition was almost wiped out in the Great Funerary Purges of the 1830s and 40s. The author, Rohan Kriwaczek, describes himself on a site on Myspace.com as being the president of the guild that represents a dwindling band of musicians dedicated to this largely forgotten art-form. But all references to the guild lead back to Kriwaczek, and several experts on the history of the violin say they have never heard of him or the tradition.'
"The book will be published next month by Duckworth Publishers in Britain, and Overlook Press in America. The publisher claims that it believed the book to be a work of genuine nonfiction. Or rather, it didn't care too much whether it was fiction or nonfiction because it thought the book was interesting. The hoax was 'exposed' by a book-buyer in Iowa City who saw the book described in Overlook's catalog, thought it looked fishy, and brought it to the attention of David Schoenbaum, an expert in the history of the violin and also a reviewer for the New York Times. The Times then revealed the hoax.
"Personally, I'm thinking the publisher probably had a hand in the exposure of the hoax. What better publicity could a book get than to be 'exposed' by the Times right before its debut?"
Thank you for the information, Elizabeth. I'll be removing that book from The Library Eclectica immediately!
*******
Morbid Link Du Jour!
Here's a site that we definitely need now that eBay has banned all crime-related auctions: Murder Auction. Absolutely fascinating.
Thanks to Faith for the link.
*******
Morbid Sightseeing!
Frank writes:
"I just heard that my dad will celebrate his 70th birthday in this Restaurant / Hotel:
The J.H. Adams Inn
"The thing is that this house was for several decades one of the busiest local funeral homes, and served as a overflow morgue (so I was told) until the local hospital expanded. They just converted this into a Hotel / Restaurant a few years ago. Every time I drove by the construction site, I had to think of you. This would be the hotel for you to die in, or not. Notice on their 'history' section the gap between about 1930 and 2000. :-) Only the locals know that the death-elevator to the basement is now hidden and (from what I heard) was used to transport equipment and wine since it ends in the main dining room. I can't wait to have a rare steak there - if it tastes like chicken, I know...."
I found this additional juicy snippet (completely unsubstantiated, I admit) on a blog:
"Notes of interest: wondering where they kept the bodies? (The funeral home, silly, not the Adamses.) The embalming room was located where the current restrooms are. Don't believe me? Check out the size of the drains in the floor."
Oh, I'd love to!
| You Are a Soft Kisser |
 Your kissing style is understated, but effective. You give soft, sweet, and soulful kisses. And the key is, you only give kisses to someone incredibly special. Because you don't just go around kissing anyone! |
| You Are Pretty Happy Being Single |
 You have a full, fun life. And you definitely don't need love to be content. Of course, being single can get you down a little. Especially when you've been single for a while. But you know how to be patient and wait for the right person. Your life is too good to settle for anything! |
| Your Sensitivity Score: 71% |
 You are a highly sensitive person. Pretty much everything affects you. You are tuned into the vibe around you, and someone's bad mood can bring you down. But you also easily share in someone's joy - whether you know them or not. |
Labels: alcoholic drinks, bannings, birthdays, blogthings, books, church, david, death, elizabeth, emails, good friday, history, james, maxed-out tags limit, morbid, movies, myspace, sam, true crime, us
posted by Flami at 8:30:00 PM
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