True Crime

Just when you think you think there is nothing of any interest left on the Net to discover along comes something like The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834. This site is keeping me awake. For instance, did you know that 1820 several men were sentenced to be drawn and quartered for Treason to George IV? While many of them men had their sentences commuted to transportation (I assume to Australia), the ring leaders were executed but

that part of the sentence with respect to their being drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution and the division of their bodies, being omittted. (source)

In 1780 George IV's father George III was apparently not so generous as he did afford the French spy Henry de La Motte, any mercy. According to Wikipedia, de la Motte was the last person to be executed by drawing and quartering in Britain.

Quite a few women between the time frame of the site were also sentenced to death by burning. Now you would expect that this would be for witchcraft, but the most common offense that lead to this punishment was Coining which it seems, according to the trials represented is an act of Treason against the crown. Another crime that lead to burning for women was petty treason which basically means murdering one's husband. According to the site, it is a medieval law (1351) which makes a murder aggravated since it upsets the "natural" hierarchy.

Of course one would expect a death penalty for crimes like murder or (perhaps) treason, but sentences of death were accorded for all manner of crimes ranging from theft to things like murder. The Old Bailey site does indicate, however, that many of these death sentences were not carried out.

I've had the occasion to run three times this week: twice out of necessity and once simply because I felt like it. Running and I have a sordid history. As a kid I remember running everywhere (just as a means of locomotion) but as a teen I began to despise it and thought it the most painful physical activity a human being could engage in this side of excercising in an iron maiden. Like most teenagers health wasn't a top priority as much as comfort, so I rarely ran. This lasted for a while until I got in grad school and took it up again for health and physical appearance vanity. Even then, however, I thought it excrutiatingly painful and since I got a bad case of shin splints I ended up stopping altogether. Fast forward a few more years and I started running again now purely for health reasons (a high blood pressure scare that was related more to consuming 2 pots of coffee and smoking too many cigarettes than it was to not being in tip-top physical condition). I committed myself to run through the pain and did find that the pain of running was not as bad as I remember, but it still was annoying. All this soon ended when because of my pronation I messed up my right knee and did a number on my ACL. It was not an operable offense, and with rest and a proper bandage it soon healed itself, but it did hurt like hell and caused me a great deal of mobility problems.

Suddenly I feel, however, that I would like to take up running again mostly because my few dashing moments felt incredibly good and I've felt very good afterwards. If I do take up running agian, I know I need to get some decent shoes this time to prevent my pronation and be careful to note what my gamey knee tells me.

I'll let you know.

Do they still tell those stupid jokes during the pre-flight prep?

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:

According to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City, Bogdana A. Georgieva, 35, grabbed another passenger and threw her into the aisle aboard Skywest-United Express Flight 6664 from Eugene, Ore., to Denver."
Georgieva then yelled she had a baby named Jesus, that her uncle impregnated her and that 'President Bush was behind it all,' according to the complaint, which charges her with interference with a flight crew.
The woman also attempted to remove her blouse and throw things at other passengers, the complaint states.

Sounds like an ordinary Southwest flight to me.

"Theerzz Ulwees a Timptashun"

I was listening to Jennifer Napier-Pearce's (who is also on local public radio station KCPW who was formerly on KCPW but now is starting to do some work for KUER (see update)) Inside Utah podcast* and was amused by Lavar Webb's intrinsically Utah accent. It is not the broad accent so often lampooned (guilty) by Utahns, but a very tight and extremely non-hick-sounding accent--what I would tend to call "church" accent. Give it a listen*. I know several men who sound exactly like him--kind of strangely nasal and all the vowells are skewed. I bet he would say "Fridee" for Friday. It was nice hearing the accent on a quasi radio program. Even here in Utah the accent is rarely heard on TV or on the Radio. I don't think I've ever heard a newscaster, for example, who had the accent.

*You'll need a suitable program to use the XML file I linked; something like iTunes or whatever. If you don't want to install anything, try going to the Inside Utah site and you will find links for RealAudio streams. If you don't have RealAudio and don't want to install it either then you're shit out of luck my friend.

Update (4:27 pm):

I wrote to Jennifer Napier-Pearce to commend her on her podcast (I listened to all of the ones available and encourage you, kind reader, to do the same). JN-P has a knack for the interview and handles them quite deftly, I think. In any case, Ms. Napier- Pearce wrote to me and let me informed me of her current work:

i left KCPW last march. in fact, i'm starting to do some guest anchoring for KUER. it's not important other than to say i want to make clear my podcast is NOT a traditional broadcast product for either station. it's a creative interviewing outlet for me, which i enjoy doing and am glad others like, too.

She also called Signifying nothing "eclectic." I responded that one could call it that, but I think it is sometimes just a nightmare on the computer screen.

Oh Osterblog Oh Osterblog

Well since I have precious little to write about my own existence here, I have been quite active snarking at unsuspecting targets (even if they deserve it) at the inimitable Osterblog.

Vacate the premises

I will say it has been quite nice being away from pretty much anything computer or work related for the past while. Perahps someday I will write of my adventures, but not now and not here. Got to keep things mysterious, you know.

I love this jacket

Well if you didn't make it to the Circle Lounge then you missed out. Well maybe not. Well maybe so. It's that kind of place where I would never be caught but was. How's that for the use of the non-subjunctive.