Massive wildfires are destroying parts of Colorado..

Life goes on, in a sense.. the photo posted of the baseball player and the fire in the background: Peter McEvoy posted it on his Twitter late Tuesday visible from behind home plate Pine Creek High School, just southwest of the evacuation area. (Credit: Peter McEvoy/Twitter).. A frightening image in a sense.. very eerie..

The latest on the wildfire conditions: 15,000 Acres charred 94,000 Acres under mandatory evac, 13,000 Homes, 38,000 people evacuated, Expected wind gusts: 35 mph, Single digit humid

There have been two deaths from these fires now.. And according to news accounts, the Black Forest fire is now the most destructive in Colorado’s history

New information: James Holmes sent his notebook to his psychiatrist detailing plans on how he would massacre a movie theater.. it went unopened in the University of Colorado since July 12

If true, this is very unsettling..

New information: James Holmes sent his notebook to his psychiatrist detailing plans on how he would massacre a movie theater.. it went unopened in the University of Colorado since July 12

Jumpy audience members fled from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES after a fight broke out in the theater

In the wake of the midnight massacre in Colorado, people seem jumpy. I am awfully curious, did the events of this past weekend cause you to think twice about going to see the movie, or is it business as usual?

Jumpy audience members fled from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES after a fight broke out in the theater

They were people. Faces in a crowd. And now they are victims to madness

James Holmes is now known by most of the world now as the shooter and monster of the Midnight Massacre in Aurora Colorado during the DARK KNIGHT RISES. But the victims, as usual, will be forgotten in the dust of the justice system and publications in a 24 hours news cycle. So Coal Speaker will just pause for a moment in time to recognize lives that are lost.. I read these names and reports of their deeds on an LA TIMES dispatch this morning.  Clearly, the other 58 who were victims but not deceased deserve space, too. I hope we see more profiles on them soon.

The dead:

Jessica N. Ghawi, 24

Micayla C. Medek, 23

John T. Larimer, 27

Alex M. Sullivan, 27

Alexander J. Boik, 18

Gordon W. Cowden, 51

Alexander C. Teves, 24

Matthew R. McQuinn, 27

Jonathan T. Blunk, 26

Jesse E. Childress, 29

Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32

Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6

Some striking things about the list. Veronica Moser-Sullivan was in the audience with her mom for a ‘girls night out’ .. Her mother is one year older than the shooter, and now remains in critical condition with bullets in her abdomen.  

Alex Sullivan died protecting others in the theater—it was his birthday and they were at the film to celebrate. 

But maybe most chilling to me is the tale of Jessica Ghawi. She was the same age as James Holmes. And just a month ago in June, she walked out of a Toronto mall before a shooter came in and shot over a dozen people, leaving two dead. Ghawi had a person blog and she wrote these profound words:

“I was shown how fragile life was… I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end.”

Let that sink in. 

There is something bugging me about these Colorado shootings

Well, more then one thing.

First off, the media announced John Holmes as the murderer. I noticed this weekend that changed to James. Is it because John Holmes was a porn star and web searches were freaking out?

Secondly.. I am tired of how we spend about 1000 words on 12 dead and 58 wounded while the shooter will get 10,000+ words a day. I know that is the nature of the media beast, but I think a week of silence would be in order. There’s time for the trial and the story of how James Holmes was a ‘nerd’ who even gun lovers were freaked out by.. and how neighbors ‘never saw it coming’ even though lots of explosives and ammo was arriving by the day… yes, we will hear it all. But how about we stop and pause a bit for the victims. A man celebrating his birthday? A 6-year-old? They deserve a bit more than they get.

And finally I am tired of all these crappy and ridiculous DARK KNIGHT memes floating around on Facebook and the Internet. Listen, yes, we get it, you’re as upset as me. But you posting a stupid picture of BATMAN with a strange ribbon aside of him doesn’t do anything.. and BATMAN praying over a movie theater? Now that is tacky. 

Just mourn like normal humans did before the moving GIFs and crappy JPEGs of the net.. please? 

And we should mourn. Because this was a horrible weekend for good people. I hope all who are dealing with it find some sort of beauty in life again.. a monster took it away for a while. But it’s still there.. minus out all the hate and carnage and sickness of the human mind, I swear beauty is still there. 

shortformblog:

Here’s a clip of the aftermath of the attack on the movie theater near Denver — a lot of commotion, doesn’t appear to be a lot of violence exposed, but it’s nonetheless harrowing. Such a scary incident, we could not even imagine this happening. 

Chaos reigned after the shooting took place. People on television reports calling in to the morning shows describing more scenes of chaos.. one witness on the TODAY show said he was also shooting people trying to escape.. 

(Source: http://shortformblog.com/)

This photo of horrid Colorado fires taken by Helen Richardson of the Denver Post..

The winds and heat have made a troubling situation even worse.. And now it’s life threatening as one person has perished as a result of the series of blazes stalking and killing the land..

Entire neighborhoods have been erased by the fires as these photos illustrate..

A dire situation continues in Colorado as the hills are still alive with fires and fear.

Colorado Springs fire is now ranked as the most destructive for the state on record, there is a war room type effort happening, and now the fires have claimed their first fatality as homes and businesses continue to be evacuated ..

Extreme heat has blanketed the nation for days, today in some parts of the Rockies temprs will rise above 105..

A troubling situation awaits firefighters who battle the flames and the heat of nature..

It’s going to be as hot as hell today. It’s the end of June and not even mid summer yet. What awaits this nation? Hopefully not more fires and fear.. but that is exactly what Colorado is facing this morning. One death has also occurred as a result of the fires. More homes are evacuated.. more horror as lives are being shattered by the unpredictable flames.

Fire fighters are facing a troubling situation, as well: Fire and heat. Temperatures will soar above 100.. not easy for those fighting these fires by a stretch of the imagination. And the eyes of a nation are watching.. waiting.. and hoping that somehow the flames die down and fire fighters turn a corner in the battle against nature’s wrath.

Boulder is threatened this morning.
As are lots of other places, too..

Those wildfires getting even more wild

The situation in Colorado becoming increasingly dire as the wildfire that is advancing advances even more, forcing thousands to leave their homes. .. Among the fallout expected: Tourism will take a hit.. There are thousands of people displaced near Colorado Springs . . Something not helping firefighters continues to be record heat.. Here is a map of where the fire is worst..

Strange weather: Snow falls in Colorado on the eve of Summer

Strange weather: Snow falls in Colorado on the eve of Summer