Ingratitude Is The Way Of SOME

Marina Mary Calabro (1917 – 2001)

 

She was a sprightly as well as kind and very generous woman who had made a career as a hairdresser. Never been married or having had any kids, she lived by herself in her pretty large house, and she had money in the bank, so to speak.

When her 19 years old great-grandnephew, Anthony, had family problems, she was happy to let him live with her, and she treated him as the grandson she never had. Not only was she extremely generous and kind to him, but she also let some of his friends, Jim Morel, Jason Weir, and Thomas (Tom) Lally, visit and stay with him. She may not have understood or liked the music of these young men who had formed a band, "The Electronic Kill Machine", but she loved Anthony and made out her will in his favor.

 

Thomas (Tom) Lally 

That being a fact may be what gave his friends - and especially Tom Lally - the idea to kill her so that Anthony might inherit her house and bank account as soon as possible. Day by day, they watched forensics programs on television for hours, and that cemented their belief that they would be able to stage a murder to look like an accident.

The fact that this 84 years old woman had been very kind and generous to all of them didn't furnish any empathy or even gratitude in them: They wanted to have everything which she had earned in her hair-dressing career, and obviously didn't respect her as a fellow human being, only as some kind of money-machine to be exploited.

When she was found dead at the foot of her staircase, Tom Lally had broken her neck, hitting her with her own frying pan, while Anthony kept guard outside the house. It's heartbreaking that while she was being hit, she was screaming for Anthony to help her.

Quite a heavy murder weapon

 

One of the other young men had hit her with her tea kettle, and still she didn't die. Tom Lally strangled her, and then they dragged her to the steps of the staircase and positioned her with a bag of trash so that it looked like she had had a fatal accident when carrying that one down. A lie which was believed for some time, namely until Jason admitted the murder to Jim Morel, and he told the police.

 

Being proud of what they had accomplished without being found out, Jason may have taken for granted that Jim Morel was for their "deed", and he obviously bragged about it. However, all three murderers were sentenced to jail which, I suppose, is some kind of consolation for what they did to the kind and generous Mariana. To me, the main point in a case like this one is the total lack of empathy that signals a just as total lack of respect of her and her life. 

Anthony Calabro

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92623874/marina-mary-calabro 

 

https://thecinemaholic.com/marina-calabro-murder-where-are-anthony-calabro-thomas-lally-and-jason-weir-now/ 

 

https://eu.patriotledger.com/story/news/2021/12/31/parole-granted-man-who-participated-quincy-great-aunts-murder-calabro-lally-bedford-street/9056127002/ 

 

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/csi_effect/1_index.html

"Luck Do My Bidding!!!!"

 

Of course, that figures! Not only is the guy stranded on a desert island, but the magic spirit that might help him is a bigoted pedant, and I bet he wouldn't even accept the requested password if this poor man got his hands on a computer. 

That may - or may not - be a solution to the eternal problem of luck ctr. the lack of luck, but somehow I suspect it takes more. Also, what's lucky for the one may not be lucky for someone else. In some contexts, the term "lucky" attains quite another meaning.

I remember a Danish classic that gives a vivid picture of what "luck" is, but - embarrassing enough - I neither remember the name of the author nor of the book. Well, anyway, the scenery is of a man who always - as in ALWAYS - is out of luck. No matter what, something awful happens to him all the time and, when it does, he is hit more severely than anybody else has been hit before him. Being down on his heels, he for once feels lucky when some kind soul gives him what in Danish is called a "sukkermad", namely a slice of bread with a topping of strewn sugar. For once, feeling lucky at receiving this very unhealthy meal, he gets cack-handed and drops it on the ground! At first, he is devastated, but not surprised as that's how it always is when he encounters a bit of luck. However, this time luck really is with him, as "The sukkermad" doesn't fall on the topping, ruining it, but on the backside of the slice of bread. That means that it may still be eaten. At once this poor man is filled with joy, yes, even gratitude towards those otherwise so evil spirits that seem to have taken hold of his life, steering him as a doll on a string.

Yes, luck - and the concept of it - sure is special, and one may easily come to feel that one's life is bewitched ....

You Are What You Eat???

 

Eh'??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I like going to the restaurant and have something good to eat, but I admit that I don't always trust that what I order is what I get. And what about the kitchen, is it always up to scratch as to cleanliness? Maybe the chef isn't as much into washing his/her hands when using the bathroom - or maybe he/she is ill? You go to the restaurant, eat a meal that may - or may not - be tasty, and then you get a feeling that you shouldn't have taken that dish, you did take because it looked deliciously in the photo of the menu, but "tasted funny". 

OK, this is supposed to be salmon, and it should agree with most people unless they hate fish. However, one doesn't know for sure when it was caught and whether it was kept in the right manner, and fish go bad very soon. 

However, some fish don't "go" bad, they just "are bad", and I encountered one a week ago: I like fish, but not what I call "ordinary meat" from cattle or pigs. For some years cod has been quite expensive here, but I decided to treat myself to some and was looking forward to having a delicious meal. However, when I was about to cook it I happened to look at the plastic wrap that held it, and what did I see that made my hair stand on end, so to speak? I saw a live worm, making its way out of the cod and wriggling happily in the wrap.

The worm I saw wasn't this one, but it might be its twin. Relative or not, I got rid of it at once, as I did with what had looked like a delicious - and expensive - cod. I'm sure that the very idea that I might have eaten it, without knowing so, will be with me for some time ....

Somehow, this incident made me think of those murderers who have fed their victims to animals they sell for human consumption. One of them is this creep, Robert Pickton from Canada. It sure is a disgusting thought that he stalked and murdered women to feed his pigs, and that these pigs were sold as food. Buying some of that meat, one might involuntarily become a cannibal.

The very idea ....

 

https://www.eatthis.com/warning-signs-restaurant-not-clean/ 

 

https://fsns.com/what-is-food-fraud/ 

https://www.gucca.dk/ultra-processed-people-why-do-we-all-eat-stuff-that-isnt-food--and-why-cant-p694318?srsltid=AfmBOoopnvo4GvQgKkepnzm2Gh9SQdSlgxM7o3vpsyM2nkBS821EUXrN

https://www.foodrepublic.com/1293876/learning-about-cod-worm-the-hard-way/

 

 

Our Hairy Cousin

 

 

Well, I shouldn't be surprised if gorillas made some thought-provoking comments about humans that we don't get because we were misled as to how they live and what they are. Originally, we only saw a very strong and muscular hoodlum-like animal, where in reality gorillas are the opposite of that popular, but misleading KingKong-characteristics. Also, the male gorillas don't long for blonde women whom they want to abduct and rape. All of that is projections of human fantasies: KingKong is strong, he beats his chest so he must be showing off his masculinity and his capacity of fighting, right? Naahh, wrong!

Gorillas are peaceful and social creatures, as well as intelligent and, as humans close to them report, even thoughtful. The days of these magnificent animals are not being spent fighting, but foraging for vegetation, and if the nights of some of the males bring dreams of lovely ladies it will be someone like this beauty.

This gorilla mother with her baby reminds me of one of the most famous gorilla ladies, namely Koko, who lived in a zoo for most of her life. She didn't have any offspring, but at one point she was gifted a kitten, which she took to at once. However, when she herself had ruined a sink in the zoo, she tried to blame it on the kitten. So very human, right, as that is what many criminals have tried to do when caught.

When two celebrities, Koko and Robin Williams, met, they seemed to bond at once. I don't know if the story of Koko's grief at Robin William's death is true, but I shouldn't wonder if that's the case

The muscular strength and the chest beating - the latter in reality being a sign of stress and nervousness - became some kind of signifiers of valid, human, masculine characteristics. The fictive movie-character, KingKong,  became one of the animals portraying human maleness, but it's Koko, who is the most accurate image of the gorilla in its true form. She may have been more or less frustrated, living in a zoo, and not having any gorilla babies, but she was treated well - or as well as was possible - and she made a staying impression on the people who got to know her.

Koko and her adopted "baby"

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koko_(gorilla)

 

https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/species/gorilla 

 

Wikipedia

 

Britannicus

 

Testicles For Fun

 

It looks like something that might a celebration of the workings of these male-praised body parts, but no, it's not. The working was stopped before the festival was planned, and the testicles became a cherished item on the menu of a lot of people. Somewhere, it has become a tradition for a very long time, and nothing indicates that it's about to stop.

"25 years"? I've seen it announced as the 33th annual, and the idea may even be older.

 

Sometimes I've seen a television program about some Yorkshire vets, and one of them - who is a former student of the famous vet, Herriot - is very proud of his capacity of castrating everything from cats and guinea pigs to bulls with a weight of a ton or even more. In his opinion, castration is a solution to some "bad behavior" in the animal world, but I've never seen him save the cut-off testicles for human consumption. A dog or cat, on the other hand, may have them if they happen to be around. Otherwise, they may just be scrapped. Not so with the animal testicles for these festivals, as they are being saved for human meals: The more testicles the merrier!

"Delicious"? Well, maybe they are as they are being the main part of a menu, year by year 

Some festivals are not only for consumption, but for awareness 

Testicle festivals look very cosy, offering both something to eat and to drink, but to find abandon one should go to Spain. Here there is a special festival for "tomato smashing" which looks fun if you're into being smeared in with vegetables. I pass, but I suppose that very young people mike like it.

 

https://eu.lenconnect.com/story/entertainment/events/2025/03/26/village-of-deerfield-24th-annual-testicle-festival-rocky-mountain-oysters/82640030007/ 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicle_festival 

 

https://www.the-sun.com/news/6518430/testicle-festival-balls-contest-boobs-balls-arkansas-fyre-fest/ 

 

https://www.macclesfieldrufc.co.uk/2021/08/boobs-vs-balls-charity-event/ 

 

Wikipedia

 

 

 

Was She A Time Traveller?

 

I bet they had their own ways to see what time it was: The sun, the moon and the stars would give them the time of the day. The seasons would do the rest as would their own aging.

As to the ability to travel back or forth in time then it's a most beloved concept in science fiction. Just think of H.G. Wells and his novel "The Time Machine" (1895). In physics there are theories about "wormholes" and "a rotating black hole" which may - or may not! - bring a feasible solution. As I don't want to pretend to understand these theories, I shall not get into them.

However, this year of 2025, may bring some kind of solution to a mystery - or blatant hoax! - that presumably goes back to 1898 when a beautiful, young woman, Alexandria Alexis, all of a sudden appeared in New York. She made a splash with her beauty and charisma, but also with her allegations of being a time traveller from the year of 2025. Actually, according to her, that would be the year that the very art of time travelling would be invented which should make it possible for all of us, living now, to take a trip back or forth in time.
 

In 1898 people, who met this mystery woman, Alexandria Alexis, debated who she was and also how "sane" - or insane - she was. However, she has been supposed to simply disappear on New Year's Eve 1899 .... 

Well, well, the people of 1898 may have been blended by her charm to such a degree that it was impossible for them to figure out that her true identity most likely was Grace Rawlinson. Some fierce fans of her and her story were - or became - adamant that the English actress Grace Rawlinson was nothing, but a front for the time traveler, Alexandria Alexis, and that she shall be back this year of 2025 which tRump already has made so weird .... 

 

https://youtu.be/e4fBR4p_UtE?feature=shared

 

 

https://youtu.be/dNbrI18BOAI?feature=shared 

 

 

https://broadway.library.sc.edu/content/grace-rawlinson.html

 

 

Wikipedia

 

 

Are There Any Insect Whisperer???

 

The Dedicated Insect-Killer

 

It's strange, but I kind of like insects, although I do whatever I can to eliminate a lot of them. However, I wish I could have one or two as a pet, but that's difficult as it can't be denied that many breeds, for instance, either eat one's clothes or sting, causing a more or less heavy pain. That may happen, even for those, who don't act as stupidly as this teenager. HOW could he be that dumb? Oh, I forgot, he is a boy of a certain age.

Here we have an insect that might become a pet - at least for a while, or maybe just a moment. As far as I can see this bee is having honey for a snack, which I suppose is quite fitting.

 

 

 

One of the facts that fascinates me the most is that many different breeds  of insects are living in societies that are centered around one female, which is called the Queen by us humans. That goes for e.g. the ants and the bees. Anyway, males don't count for much in the world of the insects, and, actually, most of them end up being eaten by a hungry female, or like with the kneeling mantis has his head devoured, but leaving his body as a sex instrument.

 

Insects may be dangerous to each other, like with the many females who murder and devour the males after - or during - sex. However, some may also be very dangerous to humans. It's strange that such a small animal in fact can kill a human being, but that's the case with some.

 

Fascinating, but not exactly something one should go for

 

Maybe it's surprising that one of the deadliest animals on this planet is the mosquito. How can such a small, (but annoying!!!), creature be that dangerous? Well, it's the mean to destruction by transmission of serious diseases and viruses like e.g. malaria that may be deadly. 

Surprisingly enough, the most important animal we have also is an insect:

That should make us grow plants they like and be careful not to harm them, but that's not always the case. I admit that insects - useful or not - may be quite annoying: They "sing", they sting or pollutes one's food, e.g. by dying on it. Sometimes some poor human takes out one of these annoying creatures, even when he/she shouldn't have done so ....   

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/insects-invertebrates/deadliest-insects

 

https://www.orkin.com/pests/stinging-pests/bees/honey-bees/honey-bee-life-span 

Wikipedia