Who Killed Theresa?: 12/01/2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wring Out The Old

Have we done this photo? I can't remember. This must be Long Sault circa 1970. Perfect.

A word of caution: what I'm about to write is for all the suckers about to tread down this road. As I've said before I'd like them to feel comfort when they begin to play those games they can only play by themselves. So no pity here for me; that's not the point.

I came home from a run on the last day of the year to find my free copy of Criminal Investigative Failures sitting on my doorstep, direct from the publisher. I suppose I should feel what... proud? A sense of accomplishment? Completed? I feel nothing. I wrote that chapter almost two years ago; it's so far behind me now, I can barely relate to it.

This has been a sad and strangely (for me) hollow Christmas season. It has not helped that I've been sick with a cold for most of the holiday and - apart from 2 hours Xmas morning with the kids - largely slept through 24 hours of Christmas. So no holiday dinner with family... no family. Yes, I'm in a relationship, but even that, which I was looking forward to this season has been oddly fractured.

I just feel out of it. I feel the weight of 100 Christmas' past pressing down on me. I couldn't make my regular week-long trip to Canada to enjoy libations, Catholic mass, family and endless hockey games; but even that came with a sense of relief, as though a dreaded something terrible would unfold and taint all past good times.

I can't wait for 12:01 to arrive.

It's has not been a bad year. I've kept relatively even. No scandals, no major missteps. I've remained involved with the world.

But it hasn't been terrific either. I'm in the final stages of divorce. I feel tremendous guilt for what I've done to my children. I can't shake it. I've dreaded posting to this blog, not because I don't enjoy it, but for fear I might say something I can't take back.

Little things help. The run today felt good. I treated myself to a new IiPod Shuffle (yes, that's my third... I'm hoping hot-pink will be the color that I can't possibly lose). I heard that really good cover by Smashing Pumpkins of Landslide (an old Buckingham / Nicks song... Theresa would understand). I bought the kids a Wii: Mariocart maybe the greatest therapy of my life.

But let's not kid ourselves. Though I admire people who say, "I've left that in the past, I'm moving on" we know we're not the sorts that can enable that very easily. And if the wind blows a certain way, if the clouds are just that shade of grey, if it's been too sunny for too long, or if the snow refuses to drift... then we're off.

A Happier New Year

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Year End Music Review

Diamonds, diamonds

Quick... what do these have in common:

The Who Sell Out

The Kinks Village Green Preservation Society

Pink Floyd Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Rolling Stones Beggar's Banquet

They all were released or charted in the extremely fertile musical period of 1967-68, they've pretty much been permanent fixtures on my iPod all year, and up until this year they were all pretty much unknown to me.

In fact, when you look at 67-68 in music history it's hard to see what didn't happen in this era:

Glow Boys

Events

January 4 - The Doors release their self-titled debut album

February 13 - The Beatles new single "Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane" is released in the United Kingdom

February 13- Jefferson Airplane's influential album Surrealistic Pillow is released.

February 14 - Aretha Franklin records "Respect" at the New York based Atlantic Studios

March 12 - The Velvet Underground release their debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico.

March 31 - Kicking off a tour with The Walker Brothers, Cat Stevens and Engelbert Humperdinck at The Astoria London, Jimi Hendrix sets fire to his guitar on stage for the first time. He is taken to the hospital suffering burns to his hands. This guitar-burning act would later become a trademark of Hendrix's performances.

May 2 - In the United States, Capitol Records pulls the plug on the Beach Boys' mysterious Smile project. Brian Wilson, who had taken more than a year to compose and produce the album, could not bring himself to finish it.

May 12 - Procol Harum's musical career begins with the release of the single "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

May 12 - Pink Floyd stage the first ever rock concert with quadraphonic sound at Queen Elizabeth Hall, England

May 12 - The debut album of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced is released in the UK.

June 1 - The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released. David Bowie releases his self-titled, debut album, 'David Bowie

August 4 - The Small Faces release the psychedelic single "Itchycoo Park" reaching #3 in the UK Singles Chart.

August 23 - The debut album of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced, is released in the US.

November 9 - First issue of Rolling Stone magazine is published

December 10 - Otis Redding and four of the six Bar-Kays die in a plane crash in Lake Monona (Madison, Wisconsin). It was considered to be one of the worst air tragedies in entertainment history, since the Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper air crash, 8 years earlier, in 1959.

The Who destroys their instruments during a performance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

December -The Moody Blues release Days of Future Passed.

January 13 - Johnny Cash performs his famous concert at Folsom Prison in California.

January 21 - Simon and Garfunkel release album The Graduate Original Soundtrack.

February 18 - David Gilmour joins Pink Floyd, replacing founder Syd Barrett, who checked himself into a psychiatric hospital.

April 4 - James Brown appears on national television, in an attempt to calm feelings of anger in the United States following the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

September 7 - Led Zeppelin performs for the first time; at their first show, they are billed as The Yardbirds (the Yardbirds had disbanded two months earlier, and guitarist Jimmy Page subsequently formed this new group).

November 22 - The Beatles (also known as "The White Album") by The Beatles is released

December 3 - Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback Special airs on NBC.

I don't know what draws me to all this. I can only say Sell Out fills me with profound nostalgia as the antecedents of Tommy are so prominent. Piper at the Gates of Dawn is just phenomenal, nowhere near as dated as I thought it would be. Banquet I have written about here before. And The Kinks? A band that got lost in the jetsam of the British Invasion (Lola versus Powerman is another I've kept in heavy rotation).

The Vivian Girls

Others... I rediscovered a blast from the 80s, Matt Johnson and The The. Parts and Labour's Mapmaker is worth as download. The Vivian Girls' Where Do You Run To is the song you can't listen to just once. I like Q-Tip's new record.

The Smashing Pumpkins:

Turn me on bald man

Here's a band it took me 15 years to really discover. Best band of the 90s; I've since burned all my Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Even Zeitgeist, though a lesser effort, is worth a burn.

So Happy New Year! What have you been spinning?

Friday, December 26, 2008

We Don't Forget

Montreal's 'Bridge Murders' killer denied parole
Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, December 26, 2008

MONTREAL -- A man who helped throw two 16-year-olds to their death from a Montreal bridge almost 30 years ago has again been denied parole.

Gilles Pimpare and an accomplice, Normand Guerin, attacked the two teenagers, Chantal Dupont and Maurice Marcil, as they were on the bridge heading home from a day at La Ronde, an amusement park, on July 4, 1979.

Dupont was raped and Marcil was strangled before they were hurled 60 metres off the bridge into the St. Lawrence River.

Pimpare and Guerin were convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths and sentenced to life in prison.

Now 54, Pimpare again sought parole -- an application which was unanimously rejected by the National Parole Board earlier this month.

A previous application made in 2005 was also rejected.

In its decision, the board noted that Pimpare's criminal career began in 1972, and that while on the street he had attacked nine people between the ages of 16 and 65.

It also cited psychiatric reports saying that, despite 25 years of treatment for deep-rooted anger and troubling sexual problems, Pimpare still represents "an elevated risk" to society.

"Your criminal behaviour was precocious, persistent, pervasive and (sexually) polymorphous, and you still have not come to grips with your cycle of violent behaviour," the board ruled.

The decision also reported that, in 2002, correctional officials found more than 1,500 pornographic photographs on Pimpare's personal computer, including one chilling image of a nude girl posed in front of the Jacques Cartier Bridge.

"You claim you were high on acid and no longer remember the events," the Parole Board states in a written judgment.

"Now you are telling us that you didn't strangle the young man, even if you put a rope around his neck. You want us to believe that his fall from the bridge was accidental."

Guerin applied for parole in 2004, but withdrew his application. He also remains in prison.

5-Year Anniversary

Somewhere along the line we just hit our 5-year anniversary at WKT.... Yippy!

Also, the Kim Rossmo book, Criminal Investigative Failures has finally come out (delayed due to misprint). You can get it over at Amazon.

Don't mean to be a grinch, but check out the note I received from publishers last week:

"Pursuant to the letters sent throughout the year, I’m pleased to offer something special for the holiday season.

Place your book order by 12/29/08, 12:00 noon EST and receive an extra 5% discount and free shipping.

Send via fax or e-mail to my attention to assure correct processing.

Happy Holidays!

Taylor & Francis Group, LLC - US Books Division"

How do I say this politely...

5% on a $60 book is not helping me a whole lot. I mean I know you're an academic publisher and all, but can't you do better than that? At least spare me the part about the special holiday season offer which smacks of insincerity. And where's the FREE copy I was promised? Shouldn't we take care of that first?

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Now join the holy host of sell-outs

Look, you only get these because I trust you will make a contribution to the scholarship fund. It's the holidays, I'm in a giving mood, so I'll give you a little trip down memory lane.

JUST REMEMBER! I've been a lamb for the last 4 months. You can expect the LION in the coming year... that's the way I roll.

So enjoy this; give generously, and enjoy my wrath in the new year:

Theresa, me and my bro on the sled at Domtar Hill

Christmas Booty: Cat Stevens, Grand Marnier, and that green clock (that I still own)

Beautiful decoration that Theresa made (now lost)

Don't mess with T!

Two mean cowpokes; Theresa and Andre

Make cheque payable to : Foundation Champlain - Lennoxville Inc.
and note on the memo line of the cheque : Contribution to the Theresa Allore Memorial Fund.

Canadian Benefactors may send payment or contact :

Foundation Champlain-Lennoxville Inc.
Theresa Allore Memorial Fund
c/o Marielle Denis, Treasurer
P.O. 5003 (Champlain Lennoxville Campus)
Sherbrooke, Québec, J1M 2A1

Tel: 819-564-3666 ex: 283

USA Benefactors will receive the full tax advantages available by law for gifts to public charities in the USA

USA Benefactors may send payment or contact :

Triangle Community Foundation
Theresa Allore Memorial Fund
c/o Fred Stang, Director of Development
324 Blackwell Street, Suite 1220
Durham, NC, 27701

Tel: 919-474-8370

With U.S. donations you may also take advantage of donating online using a credit card. Go to the following website and highlight the Theresa Allore Memorial Fund from the drop down menu:

http://www.trianglecf.org/page10001837.cfm

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Yule Greeting and Request

As you've grown to love Aunt Edna's Christmas cake to contribute the proper yule weight and gravitas to the holiday season, you've anticipated the receipt of my annual Christmas CD. This year something different. In the interest of being "techie" (and just plain lazy), I offer to you Andy Cirzan / Sound Opinions 20th Anniversary Holiday Mix:

http://christmas.soundopinions.org/

Simply go to the link and enjoy the free download. I can assure you, it is every bit the stinkaroo you have all come to enjoy.

And a gentle reminder to ask you to give to the endowment:

Make cheque payable to : Foundation Champlain - Lennoxville Inc.
and note on the memo line of the cheque : Contribution to the Theresa Allore Memorial Fund.

Canadian Benefactors may send payment or contact :

Foundation Champlain-Lennoxville Inc.
Theresa Allore Memorial Fund
c/o Marielle Denis, Treasurer
P.O. 5003 (Champlain Lennoxville Campus)
Sherbrooke, Québec, J1M 2A1

Tel: 819-564-3666 ex: 283

USA Benefactors will receive the full tax advantages available by law for gifts to public charities in the USA

USA Benefactors may send payment or contact :

Triangle Community Foundation
Theresa Allore Memorial Fund
c/o Fred Stang, Director of Development
324 Blackwell Street, Suite 1220
Durham, NC, 27701

Tel: 919-474-8370

With U.S. donations you may also take advantage of donating online using a credit card. Go to the following website and highlight the Theresa Allore Memorial Fund from the drop down menu:

http://www.trianglecf.org/page10001837.cfm

Happy Holidays, Peace & Joy,

JJA

One more diddy...

Ok... this is only slightly interesting...

One afternoon Theresa and I took two photos with this camera:

The first photo - you know... it's this one... what my dad affectionately labels the "trailer trash" pic, because the porch needs just a little painting, and T looks like a hillbilly in her Daisy-Dukes:

UNKNOWN TO ANYONE... there was a second photo taken... of me by T:

This was a visual representation of my favorite joke: wouldn't it be HI-larious if you look out at the bird feeder one day and there was perched un oiseau of human proportions squawking TWEET-TWEET.

I know, I know... thanks for sharing.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Ok, this one's worth posting

Sorry... I've been busy with my-so-called-life. FYI: you should NEVER be worried if I'm not posting. It's not a sign that I'm isolating. It's actually a sign that I'm involved with rewarding experiences, and that my quality of life is getting better.

My mental health improvement = this blog's demise. So it goes. And we should all celebrate it, for anyone walking down these dark roads.

Anyway... I thought this was significant and relevant to what we do here (is it grieving? I think it's grieving):

Police close books on '81 Walsh killing

HOLLYWOOD, FLA. — A serial killer who died more than a decade ago is the person who decapitated the 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh in 1981, police in Florida said Tuesday. The announcement brought to a close a case that has vexed the Walsh family for more than two decades, launched the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and inspired changes in how authorities search for missing children.
"Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" an emotional John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over."

Walsh's wife, Reve, at one point placed a small photo of their son on the podium.

Police named Ottis Toole, saying he was long the prime suspect in the case and that they had conclusively linked him to the killing. They declined to be specific about their evidence and did not note any DNA proof of the crime, but said an extensive review of the case file pointed only to Toole, as John Walsh long contended.

"Our agency has devoted an inordinate amount of time seeking leads to other potential perpetrators rather than emphasizing Ottis Toole as our primary suspect," said Hollywood Police Chief Chadwick Wagner, who launched a fresh review of the case after taking over the department last year. "Ottis Toole has continued to be our only real suspect."

Toole had twice confessed to killing the child, but later recanted. He claimed responsibility for hundreds of murders, but police determined most of the confessions were lies. Toole's niece told the boy's father, John Walsh, her uncle confessed on his deathbed in prison that he killed Adam.

Wagner acknowledged numerous missteps in the investigation and apologized to the Walshes.
"I have no doubt," John Walsh said. "I've never had any doubt."

Many names have been mentioned in connection to the case in the years since the killing, including serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, but Toole's has persistently nagged detectives. John Walsh has long said he believed the drifter was responsible, saying investigators found at Toole's home in Jacksonville a pair of green shorts and a sandal similar to what Adam was wearing.

Toole died in prison of cirrhosis in 1996 at the age of 49. He was serving five life sentences for murders unrelated to Adam's death.

The Walshes, who appeared Tuesday flanked by their other children, long ago derided the investigation as botched. Still, John Walsh praised the Hollywood police department for closing the case.

"This is not to look back and point fingers, but it is to let it rest," he said.

Adam Walsh went missing from a Hollywood mall on July 27, 1981. Fishermen discovered his severed head in a canal 120 miles away two weeks later. The rest of his body was never found.
Authorities made a series of crucial errors, losing the bloodstained carpeting in Toole's car - preventing DNA testing - and the car itself. It was a week after the boy's disappearance before the FBI got involved.

"So many mistakes were made," John Walsh said in 1997, upon the release of his book "Tears of Rage," which harshly criticized the Hollywood Police Department's work on the case. "It was shocking, inexcusable and heartbreaking."

For all that went wrong in the probe, the case contributed to massive advances in police searches for missing youngsters and a notable shift in the view parents and children hold of the world.

Adam's death, and his father's activism on his behalf, helped put faces on milk cartons, shopping bags and mailbox flyers, started fingerprinting programs and increased security at schools and stores. It spurred the creation of missing persons units at every large police department.

"In 1981, when a child disappeared, you couldn't enter information about a child into the FBI database. You could enter information about stolen cars, stolen guns but not stolen children," said Ernie Allen, president of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, co-founded by John Walsh. "Those things have all changed."

The case also prompted national legislation to create a national database and toll-free line devoted to missing children, and led to the start of "America's Most Wanted," which brought those cases into millions of homes.

What it also did, said Mount Holyoke College sociologist and criminologist Richard Moran, is make children and adults alike exponentially more afraid.

"He ended up really producing a generation of cautious and afraid kids who view all adults and strangers as a threat to them and it made parents extremely paranoid about the safety of their children," Moran said.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

On the side of the rebel Jesus

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
While the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

Well we guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

Now pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
There's a need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus

I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas

I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas,
And one was named Dawn of course, the other one was named Eve.
I wonder if they grew up hating the season,
The good will that lasts til the Feast of St. Stephen

For that is the time to eat, drink, and be merry,
Til the beer is all spilled and the whiskey has flowed.
And the whole family tree you neglected to bury,
Are feeding their faces until they explode.

Chorus:

There'll be laughter and tears over Tia Marias,
Mixed up with that drink made from girders.
’Cause it's all we've got left as they draw their last breath,
Ah, it's nice for the kids, as you finally get rid of them,
In the St Stephen's Day Murders.

Uncle is garglin' a heart-breaking air,
While the babe in his arms pulls out all that remains of his hair.
And we're not drunk enough yet to dare criticize,
The great big kipper tie he's about to baptize.

With his gin-flavoured whiskers and kisses of sherry,
His best Chrimbo shirt slung out over the shop.
While the lights from the Christmas tree blow up the telly,
His face closes in like an old cold pork chop.

Alternate Chorus:

And the carcass of the beast left over from the feast,
May still be found haunting the kitchen.
And there's life in it yet, we may live to regret,
When the ones that we poisoned stop twitchin'.

Who Killed Theresa?