So far this year, about 1,800 people have been shot across the city and more than 200 of those wounded have died of their wounds, according to records kept by the Chicago Tribune. A total of 306 people have been killed this year by shooting, stabbing or other means, Tribune records show.
A 3-year-old boy was among the wounded who survived the weekend shootings. Police said he’s in critical condition. The boy was shot in the right shoulder near East 61st Street and South Kimbark Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood at 6:15 p.m. Sunday, police said. The boy was in a car seat when an unknown attacker fired shots at the car, police said. People in the vehicle managed to get the boy to University of Chicago Medical Center. He was then transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
Five people were fatally shot and nine others were hurt between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Four of the fatalities occurred in seven hours. The fatalities included a 16-year-old boy who was killed in West Englewood about 9:05 p.m. Friday. He was in the front passenger seat of a car driving through an alley in the 6500 block of South Hamilton Avenue when two males came up and fired shots, according to police.
I am slightly offended at Bloody Disgusting.. Not by the name, but by some the content. Actually on a regular basis. For a horror site it pales in comparison to others.. for a mainstream locale for the latest in scary news, it is not the best.
That all being said, an article appearing today is even worse.. they offended one of my favorite childhood toys: The Lester Doll.
Here is what “Mr Disgusting” writes,
As young as I can remember I was mortified of ventriloquist dummies. I’m not anymore, but I still have a reoccurring nightmare I’ve been having since I was 8 years old.
The earliest recollection of the fear I have is of the below 1984 McDonald’s commercial featuring Willie Tyler and his ventriloquist dummy, Lester. Any time that commercial would pop on I would be in my parents bed that night – and I want to go as far as to say my parents were so annoyed they mailed letters of complaint to McDonald’s (like that does any good).
While Tyler is my earliest memory, the one that haunted me the most was spawned by Paul Winchell, who has his own variety show called “The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show.” Jerry Mahoney, pictured above left, was the scariest looking doll I had ever seen – so scary to a child that he would haunt my nightmares for 30 years. I’m not exactly sure how I saw this 1950’s show in the 80’s, but clearly it had a profound impact on me.
Ok, I get it.. the doll is a wee bit creepy to some. But for me, as a kid, it provided comfort and solace. It was my friend.
I actually recall two distinct memories of Lester. First, a Christmas when he was under the tree.. I was as sick as a dog, vomiting from Christmas Eve straight through Santa and into the night the next day. Lester was cradled in my arms.. The second memory is another Christmas. The year prior, I cracked his face. And thankfully under the tree was a brand new Lester. Either from the Sears Catalog or Santa . . I have a photo of me somewhere with the doll .. I will try to find it and post it for you to see, as proof that Lester was not scary but quite friendly indeed.
Lester was a fine toy. There were plenty more nasty memories of toys and creepy things from childhood.. Don’t pick on Lester.
You want something really, really scary?
TRY LADY ABERLIN FROM MR. ROGERS.. Now that was creepy.
The ASSOCIATED PRESS reports the following about a sudden and urgent heatwave across the Southwest United States:
Phoenix didn’t reach 120 this weekend as forecasters said was possible, but Yuma, in the southwestern corner of the state, did. Plus, weather service meteorologist Andrew Deemer said he had “no doubt there are places in the Valley that hit 120 or so.”
On social media, residents commiserated by posting photos of boiling temperature readings on car thermometers and cellphones.
Some still ventured outside for quick errands. Kim Leeds, 28, had to take her dog Bo outside in the early afternoon for a bathroom break. The Australian shepherd wears special booties with rubber bottoms.
“He does really well with them. He doesn’t mind walking around,” Leeds said.
Preparing to enter her fourth summer in Phoenix, Leeds also decided to experiment with her car.
“I’m totally reveling in this experience because I’m actually baking cookies in my car,” Leeds said. “I’ve been here long enough that I’ve got to do these things.”
Temperatures aren’t falling soon. California is actually getting abundantly worried about what may occur with its power grid–informing residents to conserve water and electricity.. Easier said than done with a temperature above 120..
Meanwhile……..It’s summer. The solstice upon us, a Strawberry Full Moon behind us.
This is going to fire up the paranormal activity surrounding the newest CONJURING film.. Here is the basic gist:
The incident occurred at the Sri Balasubramaniar Cinema in Tiruvannamalai, a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The cinema-goer, from Andhra Pradesh, had complained of chest pains during the film’s climax, and fainted shortly afterwards.
The story gets even weirder in the post-mortem period.. According to several published reports, the dead body and the person in charge of the body BOTH WENT MISSING after the corpse was sent to a medical location for research..
Some are acknowledging that there could be a perfectly rational explanation for the strange set of circumstances. But indeed, given the movie’s subject matter, rumors online are abounding about the possibility that this body and soul could have been devoured by the devil!
There is another video, perhaps you saw it, of a girl supposedly becoming possessed while watching THE CONJURING 2.. I didn’t see it yet. Really not sure if I am interested in it, really..
This whole conjuring CONJURING manure is similar to what happened in the post AMITYVILLE HORROR or EXORCIST screenings of the 1970s–back when claims were made of in theater possessions and heart attacks. All of the reports go to either help or hurt a movie. In the case of horror, anything like missing bodies or deaths during the film will prolong the chances of the movie’s staying power…
I never had a Raggedy Ann doll.. I never wanted to to be honest. When I was younger, it was the one toy that honestly freaked me out. Something was just un-quaint about it.. it was anti-calming, like a piece of folklore got disheveled with paranormal hauntings, made into a doll for you to own.
For that reason, I was most interested in an article appearing on my newsfeed this morning hypothesizing that the origin of Raggedy Ann came from a tragic vaccine injury that led to a girl’s death..
Not long after the creation of the much beloved Raggedy Ann, Gruelle’s only child and 13 year old daughter Marcella died a painful death after receiving a routine small pox vaccination at school, which was given without parental consent.
Reports indicate that after the initial inoculation Marcella had, “… lost her appetite, and became feverish and fatigued.” Amazingly, more inoculations were given despite her negative reaction from the first jab. Predictably Marcella’s health continued to decline to the point where she lost all muscle control, “becoming listless and lifeless like a rag doll.”
While all this was going on at school, her parents knew nothing about it and had never ever given their consent for any vaccinations.
Sadly, Marcella died a slow and agonizing death. The Gruelle’s were convinced beyond any doubt that the vaccination was the culprit behind the death of their only child, even though school authorities and vaccination proponents insisted Marcella had died from a preexisting heart defect.
Ultimately, “Seven leading physicians are called upon to opine about the cause of her death. Six consented it is the result of vaccine induced poisoning and call it malpractice. The seventh, being the head of the school board and a supporter of vaccination, declines to comment.”
If this story is to believed, the doll was created to entertain a child who was slowly dying after being given vaccines that injured her..
There are more legends about Raggedy Ann and Andy than there is space to recount them. Like any popular phenomenon – especially those for which well-documented information may not be plentiful– legends become a way to explain the unexplainable, fill in the gaps, and make sense of conflicting or confusing data. In interpreting the Raggedys’ 75-plus year history, the facts are extremely important. But, not at the exclusion of the legends. These fanciful accountings not only round out the story of the Raggedys (and shed light on the whimsical heart of their creator, Johnny Gruelle) – they also reveal our own unerring desire for Raggedy Ann and Andy to stay in perpetual possession of the whimsical, magical, make-believe dossiers Johnny Gruelle created for them.”
I want to delve deeper into this–and not only Raggedy Ann, but the origins of some other ‘well meaninged’ toys and symbols of innocence..
Clowns.. bright red noses. Death. Raggedy Ann.. a little doll providing comfort to a sick child before death.. So many things that we have somehow come to accept as symbols of life actually tend to be reminders of peril.
It happens so often.. not a month goes by–or full moon or solstice in this case–where we aren’t worried about end times..
Timothy Halloran, who runs the Rasa Lila Healing YouTube astrology channel, filmed a chilling video in woods in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday warning that the events around the Pagan-celebrated solstice may not be a calm and spiritual as people imagine.
He spoke of fears of an “increased energy” bringing about “madness, hallucinations and delusions of grandeur” among the population.
Mr Halloran, whose facial expressions and mannerisms have been compared to those of Russell Brand, the British comic turned turned revolutionist, prioduced promotional material for the video, called Full Moon in Sagittarius, June 16 2016 - Psychic Warfare and Crusading.
He urged people to “bite the bullet” to see the “mechanism beneath the surface” rather than becoming “more delusional, even more crazy and even more in denial”.
After another rocky time of eclipses in September, will come peace through the dwarf planet Ceres.
He said: “What is light at the end of the tunnel is Ceres is saying peace and love
"Things will start to calm down going into the future.
"After all the changes, all the awaking, the electro shock, then comes Cancer nurturing time - back into our beloved ones circles, our tribes and empathy for one another.”
The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of tragedy..
We are dealing with the mass shooting terror attack in Orlando.. the major news outlets gave us countless hours of coverage of the gorilla at the zoo being killed. Over the past 24 hours, we have been subjected to endless and tearful reports about the boy in Orlando Florida drug into the water by an alligator and virtually devoured..
It has been endlessly sad.. . cruel and callous.. the world seemingly is a hair trigger away from insanity. And we are going insane watching it all..
This late spring night’s madness is catching up to me a bit.. I ask, cautiously, this question: Do we simply know TOO much?
Gone are the days when news stories took time to circulate the world. Now it’s rapid fire–within moments, seconds.. Social media shared the “Chewbacca mom” and within a few minutes she rose to stardom, even now asking for $20 bucks a pop for autographs at public events. The gorilla being shot was a national obsession.. The alligator, a tragic and awful story, is also becoming a major worldwide news event..
And people are judging. Oh, are they ever. People are saying “those parents should be taken to jail.” It even briefly turned into a mini-race battle on Twitter after each tragic event over the past few weeks…
We are so at each other’s throats anymore, aren’t we? So totally engaged but yet disengaged when it comes to true conversation. Keyboard warriors are battling in basements… the real conversation of humanity has ended. Now we’re virtual. And living in a virtual world, we can get to know too much..
I am not discounting the tragic nature of the adorable and innocent boy being snatched by the alligator.. but I ask, simply, should we all be subjected to a barrage of media coverage about it? Should we, as individual consumers of media, let this eat away at our psyche? Is the 24/7 news stream damaging our actual existence, ruining our creative impulses, and ending our freedom to speak while at the same insane time giving us the amazing platform to say anything?
It is so immensely sad to watch news of the day… So incredibly painful to see grief and strife as it develops around the world. I get why people tune out. I understand why it is a turn off..
Bad news sells. I just simply want to know if bad news is doing our bodies harm.. I am starting to think it is.
Not too many people know this, but one of my favorite movies in M. Night Shyamalan’s LADY IN THE WATER. Fine, laugh if you want. I found the film to be amazingly simple, quiet, and peaceful. Calm when we need it most–innocent to the most degree, and suggestive that humanity can be good.
The film features a character who, quite honestly, I fear I will be one day later in life.
Despite it being one of the lowest rated movies of M. Night Shyamalan’s career, I loved LADY IN THE WATER. There is one character in particular who reminds me of so many people in our current time.. His name was “Mr. Leeds” played by actor Bill Irwin. He is one of the tenants in the apartment building where a magical fairy tale will soon ensue.. but until it does, he is busy daily watching his television set of the latest scenes of chaos, strife, warfare and murder across the planet. Shyamalan presents him as a stoic man, someone who seemingly watches in a silent agony as the chilling news broadcasts play out 24/7 in his living room. And really, isn’t that all of us? The silent majority, not condemning the atrocities across the earth but instead attempting to live our lives as though they aren’t happening? Traveling to work in heavy traffic, consumed by radio interfering with our souls, standing around a water cooler with mindless dribble spewing? That is us.. We are good at heart.. But scared of the consequences of speaking out.
I am going through a period of time where, reflecting on the turmoil if past and present, I am re-evaluating just how often and to what length of time news consumption should occur.. Does watching the repetitive acts of human atrocity almost add to it? Make it continue? Force it into the zeitgeist so much so that we can’t escape its evil clutches? Has the 24/7 news cycle create a pack of vultures.. we scour the headlines for the worst possible matter .. we consume and regurgitate, argue and point fingers.. and then quickly move on to the next carcass in our sight?
Perhaps a time out is needed..Instead of partaking in the less than blissful news cycle, just recoil into your cot and figure out how to concentrate for a bit.. And perhaps reflect on a very famous poem by
Scientists for the first time have found a complex organic molecule in space that bears the same asymmetric structure as molecules that are key to life on Earth.
The researchers said on Tuesday they detected the complex organic molecule called propylene oxide in a giant cloud of gas and dust near the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
Akin to a pair of human hands, certain organic molecules including propylene oxide possess mirror-like versions of themselves, a chemical property called chirality. Scientists have long pondered why living things make use of only one version of certain molecules, such as the “right-handed” form of the sugar ribose, which is the backbone of DNA.
I still think we were seeded on earth. By accident. Or on purpose.
Gallup found that just 20 percent have confidence in newspapers, a 10-point drop in 10 years. TV news saw an identical 10-point drop, from 31 percent to 21 percent.
But I don’t think it’s the left vs right issue causing this .. I think it’s a modern age vs old style 20th century style of thought.
Journalism is not dead. Paid journalism may be. And that’s going to be the struggle of modern reporting.
Mateen who according to preliminary reports, had been on a terrorist watchlist, and who still managed to obtain weapons thanks to his various licenses and permits just last week, was employed by one of the world’s largest security companies, where he may have had extensive clearances well above his pay grade, not to mention access to sophisticated military weapons and equipment.
But where it gets more disturbing is that as Judicial Watch reported several days ago, in a post titled, “DHS Quietly Moving, Releasing Vanloads Of Illegal Aliens Away From Border”, border patrol sources said that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was quietly transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix and releasing them without proper processing or issuing court appearance documents. As a reminder, the government classifies them as Other Than Mexican (OTM) and this week around 35 were transferred 116 miles north from Tucson to a Phoenix bus station where they went their separate way. Judicial Watch was present when one of the white vans carrying a group of OTMs arrived at the Phoenix Greyhound station on Buckeye Road.
My son paused from games and playing his week to note something to me.. In his innocent five year old voice, he conjectured that ‘there are a lot of bad people on the planet.’
It was a remarkable statement from someone still new to this big hot pale blue mess.
On Friday night he overheard a bit of evening local news describing a small town criminal who killed an infant. I knew he heard it but when I noticed him watching he turned away.
My Tv was glued–a bit–to tragic news of Christina Grimmie being killed and then over 100 being shot at the Pulse night club. It clearly was notice for my son, who had a puzzled looked of sadness on his face when he realized just how many bad guys there were on the planet.
I told him that he was right.. That there were bad people. But I reassured him that there were more good than bad.
Then I secretly pondered how I’d reassure myself of that very sentiment..
Firsthand eyewitness reports indicated the more than one shooter may have been present.. That accomplices were acting ‘together.’ That potentially more suspects are on the loose and that a media blackout is occurring.
A few points. If there are multiple suspects on the loose that could explain the complete strange lack of real a tail concrete facts so far.. But also these investigations take time. This was one of the worst shootings on American soil and is a dramatic escalation of terror on the American home land by ISIS. This is a big deal. Is law enforcement is cautious that makes logical sense..
But I also think, regardless of what facts stem from all of this in the final equation, that this is a new form of fear other nations have seen by America has yet to grow to understand. This is the American Bataclan. And it’s just as big of a deal..
My only enduring question….with smartphones and technology, and all of the modern marvels of CCTV, why haven’t we seen any videos inside? No footage. No Periscopes or snapchats. In not calling it a conspiracy but I’m certainly calling it weird.
After a horrible Sunday.. a terrible weekend.. IT still is a wonderful world. We are stuck on this planet of misery, a planet filled with death and insecurity.. sadness and grief.. hunger and terror.
And fear.
The worst thing a human can have in his or her heart is fear.. fear is the future, the present.. sadness of the past.
But this is still a wonderful world..
Somehow, between all of the pain and heartache, bloodshed and turmoil….The world still is a wonderful experiment by some force of nature beyond our collective imaginations…
