PYF unnerving article or story: Why is everything always so fucking weird - The Something Awful Forums

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The Something Awful Forums > Main > Post Your Favorite: Carefully Curated > PYF unnerving article or story: Why is everything always so fucking weird

A Pinball Wizard: Mar 23, 2005; I know every trick, no freak's gonna beat my hands; College Slice

Don Henley was right.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 14:04

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 15, 2024 13:25

Rondette: Nov 4, 2009; Your friendly neighbourhood Postie.; Grimey Drawer

There's a really good documentary I saw on Netflix about the National Enquirer, 'Enquiring Minds'. Some of the stories and pictures they had in that magazine in the early days (think 40s-50s) would not have looked out of place on Rotten.com. They even 'touched up' the gore, it was pretty eye opening.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4139412/

Trailer- with some potential :nms:

:nms:

:nws:

gore from ye olde days
https://vimeo.com/111859845

# ? Jan 1, 2016 15:56

Baconroll: Feb 6, 2009

Rondette posted:

Is that a serious real book? Because it sounds like a spoof, I mean come on!

Government employees are the same everywhere - At the start of the first gulf war when Saddam was holding Westerners from Kuwait as part of his 'human shield' some of them were British Civil Servants. While they were still being held they were notified that this would have to come out of their annual vacation allowance.

# ? Jan 1, 2016 17:42

BENGHAZI 2: Oct 13, 2007; by Cyrano4747

Madkal posted:

When it comes to media and reporters and such it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Reporters/media will report on disgusting poo poo, people will watch disgusting poo poo in droves, meaning the media will report more on disgusting poo poo. As long as people are willing to watch and talk about disgusting poo poo they saw on the news, the news will continue to report on disgusting poo poo.
At least there was some backlash to this nowadays when some reporters went into a shooters house after the San Banardino shooting and filmed everything in the house like a bunch of idiotic vultures.

The highlight was CNN reporting on the backlash against their own people and tsk tsking the whole time

# ? Jan 1, 2016 18:33

Pastey: Jun 17, 2005; Some old crap, different roll of tissue

Baconroll posted:

Government employees are the same everywhere - At the start of the first gulf war when Saddam was holding Westerners from Kuwait as part of his 'human shield' some of them were British Civil Servants. While they were still being held they were notified that this would have to come out of their annual vacation allowance.

Not saying I don't believe you - because the cynic in me does - but do you have a source for this?

I'd like to think there was some sort of outcry or backlash about that because that's the epitome of soulless /heartless / dickless bureaucracy right there.

# ? Jan 2, 2016 06:40

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

A Pinball Wizard posted:

Don Henley was right.

About the End of the Innocence, or the Boys of Summer?

# ? Jan 2, 2016 07:05

spite house: Apr 28, 2009

A Pinball Wizard posted:

Don Henley was right.

Didn't he write this after he got caught with a houseful of naked underaged girls running around out of their minds on Quaaludes and was super-butthurt about the press' interest in the incident?

The Eagles, current and former, are not so good at moral judgments. I'll draw the queen of diamonds if I drat well feel like it, Don.

# ? Jan 2, 2016 19:41

Vladimir Poutine: Aug 13, 2012

Art critic Tom Lubbock kept a journal of his declining ability to communicate as a fatal brain tumour developed in the speech center of his brain. As his symptoms progressed, his writing style also changed.

A few extracts:

quote:

FIRST FIT Suffolk, August 2008
The first verbal glitches occur after my first fit. At this point, I have no idea what is going on. They last a few minutes, in episodes I would describe as word-blindness or deafness. It is hard, in the nature of it, to follow and record what specifically happens in these quite short periods. It's as if I've become very remote and detached from words. I'm no longer fluent. I've forgotten how to do it. I can't do it automatically. I can't hear whether a word that I say has come out right or not. It's as if it's not me that's speaking, but some kind of inefficient proxy forming the words. It's like there is a time-delay between speaking and hearing your own words, or if you were speaking a language whose phonetics and semantics you don't properly know. And when I speak or write, the words do sometimes come out wrong, slightly nonsensically. I read aloud a passage that I've just written. There were probably several misses, but I could only pin down one. When I came to read this passage "�floating and flailing weightlessly.�" I said the word "weightlessly" as "walterkly". It took quite a bit of effort to be fully sure that this was a mistake; and more effort and repeating to grasp what exactly this nonsense word was, to establish its sound � I had to construct it phoneme by phoneme � clearly enough to write it down. And it seems that the reading eye, darting backwards and forwards, was plucking letters from the whole vicinity, and mixing them up, having lost its usual ability to sort them.

quote:

FIRST OPERATION Queen Square, London, September 2008
Brain surgery: not worried about the operation itself; no, what an amazing thing; feeling excited, honoured, to be benefiting from, taking part in, human expertise at this high level.

There is the bliss of waking in recovery. My fingers work. All my mobility seems to work. My mind is working. I can speak and all my greatest fears are allayed. Though speech problems will emerge as the days pass, at first I'm just aware of gradually increasing capability. I lie in bed, trying to recall poems that I know by heart. They materialise bit by bit. A line I couldn't bring to mind suddenly returns some hours later.

quote:

BIG TURN March 2010
My speech is now becoming a radical problem. Sometimes, for a short period, and suddenly, I find that I no longer know what I am saying, but I still go on talking and talking sense � like an inspired sibyl or a medium. The voice works automatically, fluently, subconsciously, through habit or practice. The words would need to be looked up, if I could recognise their spelling. But I can feel at least that my speaking is correct and I am aware that my words and phrases are familiar and appropriate.

Likewise, I can hear others' words and accept them as meaningful, without being able to repeat or paraphrase or interpret their meaning, though I can perhaps reply sensibly or at least act sensibly in reply. At a particular subconscious level, speech is functioning. Consciously, I can't spell some words, I don't know what they mean, I can't recite their phonemes. All I can recognise is the phatic role of my words, their tone.

quote:

SECOND OPERATION Queen Square, London, April 2010
I've just had my second brain surgery. Not many people get to do this. When I have a fit, the disruption continues through the next day. I am trying to take measures, meanwhile, because I find, though my speaking is working automatically, I can't easily translate this speaking into my writing. I cannot grasp, in my mind, the words I'm using. I have no idea of their spelling, or how to articulate their syllables, or make them out of sounds. Or, rather, I can, but it can take ages, going over and over, to work out a word. Anything that has complicated phonemes, stress or length is difficult. So I start to make a list of words that I might use very commonly, and want to have them there ready, for next time they slip away. I'm not sure this will actually work. But because I started this list, I haven't totally lost spelling.

quote:

30 June
In company with my friend Mark W for lunch yesterday, I said: "Talking used to be such fun. Once it was off the cuff, ad lib, spontaneous. Now, it is such a struggle. My conversation is, at best, fully plotted and planned."

quote:

I do not even notice that I can't read most of the time. Or rather, I can manage only the simplest words and constructions, and very slowly. For example: I have lost my specific recall of passages, that is, all my poems, all my lyrics � partly gradually lost to radiotherapy, I think. Of course I know where to look things up, which is something. They are in books and in CDs. I know where they are on the shelf.

quote:

15 July
I feel now that I am becoming dead. I had thought that my speech would last me for much longer. Now I am not so sure. I think that my speech is over. My mind is over. My life is over.

quote:

OCTOBER 2010
I can still voice words.

But I am now pre-computer again � no thesaurus, no email, no newspapers, no radio, not now even a pen.

But I find my brain is still busy, moving, thinking. I am surprised.

My language to describe things in the world is very small, limited.

My thoughts when I look at the world are vast, limitless and normal, same as they ever were.

My experience of the world is not made less by lack of language but is essentially unchanged.

This is curious.

quote:

I cannot count. At all.

Marion and her embrace.

Ground, river and sea.

Eugene � his toys, his farm, his cars, his fishing game.

Getting quiet.

Names are going.

quote:

First of all it was scary; now it's all right; it is still, even now, interesting;

My true exit may be accompanied by no words at all, all gone.

The final thing. The illiterate. The dumb.

Speech?

Quiet but still something?

Noises?

Nothing?

My body. My tree.

After that it becomes simply the world.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 07:03

Doctor_Acula: May 24, 2011

Vladimir Poutine posted:

Art critic Tom Lubbock kept a journal of his declining ability to communicate as a fatal brain tumour developed in the speech center of his brain. As his symptoms progressed, his writing style also changed.

A few extracts:

This is amazing and sad. Reminds me of that artist who did self portraits on LSD.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 08:58

fun hater: May 24, 2009; its a neat trick, but you can only do it once

The roommates were at odds with Kranz, who had not paid rent totalling $16.66, and asked him to move out. Kranz became agitated and allegedly told the roommates, "I'll put parasites in your food and you'll wake up dead". Kranz did pay the full rent balance on January 31, but the roommates evicted him anyway. Some time around February 1, Kranz prepared a festive Winter Carnival dinner for his roommates, and allegedly tainted the food with eggs stolen from the university laboratory where he studied.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 09:17

AnonSpore: Jan 19, 2012; "I didn't see the part where he develops as a character so I guess he never developed as a character"

Vladimir Poutine posted:

Art critic Tom Lubbock kept a journal of his declining ability to communicate as a fatal brain tumour developed in the speech center of his brain. As his symptoms progressed, his writing style also changed.

A few extracts:

Holy poo poo Flowers for Algernon was real

# ? Jan 3, 2016 09:41

Mx.: Dec 16, 2006; I'm a great fan! When I watch TV I'm always saying "That's political correctness gone mad!"
Why thankyew!

fun hater posted:

The roommates were at odds with Kranz, who had not paid rent totalling $16.66, and asked him to move out. Kranz became agitated and allegedly told the roommates, "I'll put parasites in your food and you'll wake up dead". Kranz did pay the full rent balance on January 31, but the roommates evicted him anyway. Some time around February 1, Kranz prepared a festive Winter Carnival dinner for his roommates, and allegedly tainted the food with eggs stolen from the university laboratory where he studied.

Why did they eat the food after he said that??

# ? Jan 3, 2016 10:19

Screaming Idiot: Nov 26, 2007; JUST POSTING WHILE JERKIN' MY GHERKIN SITTIN' IN A PERKINS!

BEATS SELLING MERKINS.

Vladimir Poutine posted:

Art critic Tom Lubbock kept a journal of his declining ability to communicate as a fatal brain tumour developed in the speech center of his brain. As his symptoms progressed, his writing style also changed.

A few extracts:

This is terrifying and depressing. I'm going to read a book, work on my novel, speak with my friends, and be intensely glad I don't suffer like Lubbock did. :smith:

:smith:

Screaming Idiot has a new favorite as of 10:29 on Jan 3, 2016

# ? Jan 3, 2016 10:24

NiceGuy: Dec 13, 2006; This is my BOOMSTICK; College Slice

Vladimir Poutine posted:

Art critic Tom Lubbock kept a journal of his declining ability to communicate as a fatal brain tumour developed in the speech center of his brain. As his symptoms progressed, his writing style also changed.

A few extracts:

Ugh this really is terrifying and heartbreaking all in one. I don't know that I'd have to courage to let my consciousness degrade like that, but it sure is interesting as hell.

Yes sir, the day I'm inevitably diagnosed with Alzheimer's is the day I eat a bullet like the coward I am :smith:

:smith:

# ? Jan 3, 2016 14:40

Mak0rz: Aug 2, 2008; 😎🐗🚬

MissEchelon posted:

Why did they eat the food after he said that??

They were grad students.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 14:55

wootsie: Feb 27, 2013

Mak0rz posted:

They were grad students.

That would explain it if they drank whiskey.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 15:12

Karma Monkey: Sep 6, 2005; I MAKE BAD POSTING DECISIONS

Doctor_Acula posted:

This is amazing and sad. Reminds me of that artist who did self portraits on LSD.

Are you talking about this? There's probably a few artists who've done this, but this was the first one I found.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 15:23

Doctor_Acula: May 24, 2011

Karma Monkey posted:

Are you talking about this? There's probably a few artists who've done this, but this was the first one I found.

This would be the one I am familiar with. Turns out I was misremembering a bit. They weren't self portraits, but portraits of the doctor administering the LSD.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 16:11

Rondette: Nov 4, 2009; Your friendly neighbourhood Postie.; Grimey Drawer

There was also Louis Wain (Victorian artist famous for his cat illustrations) and his descent into schizophrenia, although the fact that these pictures represent his mind's journey has been all but debunked now after the realisation that the doctor who ordered the pictures possibly had no idea of the true chronology.

http://mindhacks.com/2007/09/26/the-false-progression-of-louis-wain/

quote:

The five pictures are by Victorian artist Louis Wain who painted cats through the whole of his life and continued through periods of intense psychosis.

Almost every article on Wain uses them to demonstrate the progression of schizophrenia but the evidence for them being painted in chronological order is actually quite weak.

The five pictures are from an original series of eight which were collected by Dr Walter Maclay who was interested in the effect of mental illness on art.

However, the pictures were undated and, as Rodney Dale notes in his biography of Wain (Louis Wain: The Man Who Painted Cats; ISBN 1854790986), �with no evidence of the order of their progression, Maclay arranged them in a sequence which clearly demonstrated, he thought, the progressive deterioration of the artist�s mental abilities.�

In fact, his later works are for the most part conventional cat pictures in his normal style, with the occasional �psychedelic� example produced at the same time � where he experimented with what he called �wallpaper patterns�.

However, the increasing abstraction over time is likely to be a myth. Wain�s biography again:

Assembling what little factual knowledge we have on Dr Maclay�s paintings, there is clear no justification for regarding them as more than samples of Louis Wain�s art at different times. Wain experimented with patterns and cats, and even quite late in life was still producing conventional cat pictures, perhaps 10 years after his [supposedly] �later� productions which are patterns rather than cats. All of which is to say no more than that the eight paintings were done at different times, which could be said of eight paintings by any artist!

I've seen a couple of the 'schizo' drawings at an exhibition. They were way smaller than I was expecting, and also on the backs of jotters and other bits of paper. I found this weirdly touching.

Hell, I think if you pieced some of my illustrations together from the last 5 years in the right order you could make it look like I was going nuts too.

Rondette has a new favorite as of 18:02 on Jan 3, 2016

# ? Jan 3, 2016 17:59

Underwear: May 13, 2006

MissEchelon posted:

Why did they eat the food after he said that??

Yeah that seemed odd to me. They evicted him, he threatened to poison them, then the day after they eat a big feast with him??

edit: ah yes grad students... I should have refreshed before posting.

Underwear has a new favorite as of 19:28 on Jan 3, 2016

# ? Jan 3, 2016 19:21

Mak0rz: Aug 2, 2008; 😎🐗🚬

wootsie posted:

That would explain it if they drank whiskey.

No grad student will turn down free food.

# ? Jan 3, 2016 19:31

EmmyOk: Aug 11, 2013

I figure this is a good place to ask as any. Or at the very least perhaps someone can point me to a thread that might know. Is there a longform article about people who were outed in the Ashley Madison hacks. I heard pastors and stuff were found and went on to commit suicide so I was wondering if there was a piece about what happened after rather than the breach itself.

# ? Jan 4, 2016 02:13

Otana: Jun 1, 2005; Let's go see what kind of trouble we can get into.

Vladimir Poutine posted:

Art critic Tom Lubbock kept a journal of his declining ability to communicate as a fatal brain tumour developed in the speech center of his brain. As his symptoms progressed, his writing style also changed.

This scares the poo poo out of me because I was diagnosed with epilepsy a few years back, and when I was coming around from my first seizure I couldn't understand what my ex was saying to me. I could repeat the words back exactly an hour or so later, but right then it might as well have been a different language for all the sense it made.

Since then, my language skills have deteriorated. I struggle to find the right words for things, and I'll use the completely wrong word in a sentence sometimes without realizing it until someone points it out (like Lubbock's "police steakhouse/police stakeout" example). It's really scary to just completely lose a word, it doesn't feel like it's "just on the tip of my tongue" or anything, it's just gone. And it's even worse when people laugh at my mistakes because they don't realize it's not just a simple accident but a very real deterioration that I have to be hyper aware of all the time.

Brain disorders suck.

# ? Jan 4, 2016 02:48

Human: Jun 9, 2004; REAL HUMAN. SAFE TO APPROACH.

tower time posted:

As weird as the sword and scale host is, I find his attitude towards the victims to be much more palatable than last podcast on the left where the tone in which they discuss the cases is more what you'd expect from some drunk college students discussing a bad horror movie. Also the podcast where zupansky interviews authors about true crime cases is very hit or miss - the audio quality and general interview skills of the authors vary so wildly that one episode you are listening to crystal clear audio from a trained speaker, and the next you have a guy saying the word "Uh" every 5 seconds while mumbling in what sounds like an airplane hanger.

Yeah, I listened to two episodes of Last Podcast on the Left thinking it would be a good chat about mysteries and horror and whatever, but it was just a morning zoo crew screaming about rape and murder.

edit: whooops, this was form like four pages back.

Human has a new favorite as of 04:36 on Jan 4, 2016

# ? Jan 4, 2016 04:18

BENGHAZI 2: Oct 13, 2007; by Cyrano4747

last podcast on the left owns, what is wrong with all of you people

they did a christmas special starring recurring character detective popcorn, it's clearly the best podcast ever

edit just saw that zupansky did an episode about his own new book DEATHBEDSIDE MANNER

which is an amazing title

# ? Jan 7, 2016 15:04

NO FUCK YOU DAD: Oct 23, 2008

I like Last Podcast specifically because they're a morning zoo crew screaming about rape and murder. A few edgy jokes help take the edge off when I'm binging crime podcasts at work. The biggest criticism I can level at them is the episodes on Leonard Lake and Charles Ng could have done without being 90% me-so-solly Chinese impressions.

I'm into paranormal/cryptozoology podcasts, too, and my favourite right now is definitely Expanded Perspectives because they're a similar change of pace. They don't go into as much detail as some of the others, but when most other podcasts in the genre are just guys snarking at each other, it's refreshing to listen to two guys from Texas who just love them some bigfoot.

# ? Jan 7, 2016 20:25

Mercury Ballistic: Nov 14, 2005; not gun related

How bout lakes that fart and murder you from miles away?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos

# ? Jan 7, 2016 20:37

BENGHAZI 2: Oct 13, 2007; by Cyrano4747

NO gently caress YOU DAD posted:

I like Last Podcast specifically because they're a morning zoo crew screaming about rape and murder. A few edgy jokes help take the edge off when I'm binging crime podcasts at work. The biggest criticism I can level at them is the episodes on Leonard Lake and Charles Ng could have done without being 90% me-so-solly Chinese impressions.

on the other hand gently caress charles ng

# ? Jan 7, 2016 22:43

cptn_dr: Sep 7, 2011; Seven for beauty that blossoms and dies

NO gently caress YOU DAD posted:

I'm into paranormal/cryptozoology podcasts, too, and my favourite right now is definitely Expanded Perspectives because they're a similar change of pace. They don't go into as much detail as some of the others, but when most other podcasts in the genre are just guys snarking at each other, it's refreshing to listen to two guys from Texas who just love them some bigfoot.

I've been really digging Lore lately. It's more about folklore and urban legends than explicitly paranormal stuff, but I really enjoy it.

# ? Jan 7, 2016 23:14

NO FUCK YOU DAD: Oct 23, 2008

Literally The Worst posted:

on the other hand gently caress charles ng

Oh absolutely, please don't think I'm offended on behalf of that rear end in a top hat. It just wasn't funny.

Not even in an "oh wow that's racist" way, just in a "you're on your fourth hour-long episode of this poo poo, you are supposed to be a comedian" way.

But absolutely, gently caress Ng.

# ? Jan 7, 2016 23:31

BENGHAZI 2: Oct 13, 2007; by Cyrano4747

NO gently caress YOU DAD posted:

Oh absolutely, please don't think I'm offended on behalf of that rear end in a top hat. It just wasn't funny.

Not even in an "oh wow that's racist" way, just in a "you're on your fourth hour-long episode of this poo poo, you are supposed to be a comedian" way.

But absolutely, gently caress Ng.

i would agree but every single time he yelled WHAT I BRING TO *thing* i laughed for some unknown reason so is a wash

for content, i saw a couple of the clips they talked about last episode, because they were aired as part of an episode of american justice that i swear to god ran twice a day for ten years on a&e. hoooooo boy.

# ? Jan 8, 2016 01:01

Nckdictator: Sep 8, 2006; Just..someone

http://strangeco.blogspot.com/2015/12/publicity-and-clement-passal-or-warning.html

quote:

Clement Passal was a man well-known to the French police in the early 20th century. He was a career thief who, under his favored alias of "Marquis de Champaubert," committed various swindles. He was a determined, ambitious crook, but, alas for him, a largely unsuccessful one. His busy career earned him a prominent name in the Parisian underworld, but not much else.

The 1920s were something of a golden age of the "celebrity gangster." Criminals, if they were just bold and colorful enough, were treated like movie idols. Passal saw no reason why he should not get a piece of this action. In 1929, after serving the latest of his many prison sentences, he decided to write his memoirs. Perhaps the story of his adventures would finally make crime pay for him.

Unfortunately, his book proposal failed to attract much interest. As extensive as his criminal history may have been, it was all too run-of-the-mill to make for exciting reading. It lacked that element of romance and novelty the public wanted in their scoundrels. Passal finally managed to sign a publishing contract, but--as all fledgling authors soon come to realize--he knew that something was desperately necessary to make him stand out in the bookstores.

In September 1929, Passal's mother received several weird and extremely alarming anonymous letters. These messages stated that her son was being held captive by a mysterious organization called "The Knights of Themis." These letters described in graphic detail the various tortures being inflicted on Passal. Similar letters were sent to the newspaper, "Le Matin," giving the remarkable story behind the crime. The writer stated that the "Knights" had kidnapped Passal in order to force him to reveal the hiding place of money he had made through his various swindles. The letters alleged that Passal, far from being just another mediocre petty con man, was in reality a criminal genius who had amassed a secret stash of some 15 million francs. The "Knights," "composed of the cream of society," saw itself as an extrajudicial tribunal, punishing criminals who had, in the opinion of the "Knights," gotten off too easy in the French legal system. The writer promised that other thieves would be dealt with in a similar manner. Passal himself wrote to his mother, confirming his imprisonment by the "Knights," and bidding her a touching farewell, as he was sure the group meant to kill him.

On October 3, Madame Passal was sent the worst letter of all. It informed her that Passal had been buried alive by his bloodthirsty captors. The nameless writer stated that a bad conscience compelled him to reveal this dark deed, "to have [Passal] rescued before he dies." He even included a detailed map showing precisely where the victim was buried. "Le Matin" received a letter from the "Knights" giving every lurid detail of the entombment:

"When the grave had been dug, we once more offered to spare his life if he would cease dissembling, but with no effect. We then took off his shoes, and, leaving only his shirt and trousers on him, we laid him in the coffin which we had made out of a packing case that had been used for carrying upholstery.

"He offered no resistance, and we closed the lid and placed the coffin in the grave, which we then filled in with earth. Until four o'clock in the morning we remained on watch.

"Before burying him we gave him to understand one of us would remain constantly near the spot and at the slightest sound from him would block up the pipe through which he was breathing, although not a soul was likely to pass.

"As a matter of fact, we simply abandoned him to his fate, certain that he would not escape death. We can only conclude from the attitude of the 'marquis' at the last that he was mad, letting himself be buried without showing any emotion.

"Since that is the case with him, he will not suffer. We consider our deed against the 'marquis' virtually complete, and our end attained. It is a good finish to the holidays."

Naturally, the recipients of these blood-curdling messages took them to the police. After a little persuasion--the constabulary was at first inclined to dismiss these letters as a bizarre joke--some officers were sent to the site claimed to be Passal's burial place. They were unsettled to find an area of freshly-dug earth, with a tube sticking up among it. They began to dig, and before long unearthed a crudely-built coffin. And, yes, Clement Passal was inside it.

Unfortunately, they were too late. It was clear from the agonized expression on Passal's face, and the contorted position of his body, that he had died a horrifying death from asphyxiation. A number of chocolate bars were found in the coffin, indicating that whoever buried Passal expected him to be alive for some time. However, the breathing tube placed in the coffin had not provided him with an adequate supply of air.

The police investigation into Passal's dreadful death soon led them to a friend of his, an ex-convict named Henri Boulogne who was now, significantly, working as a grave-digger. After a lengthy interrogation, the whole story came out. In mid-September, Passal had enlisted him in a little scheme he had devised. His aim was "to attract public attention to himself in order that he might then be able to publish sensational memoirs."

Passal typed out a number of letters, which were to be posted to various people. He and Boulogne built a coffin. On September 30, he spent eight hours in the box, as a test of whether he could safely stay in it for a prolonged period of time. The next evening, he led his accomplice to a spot in the wood at Verneuil. A large grave was dug. Passal got into the coffin, which Boulogne then closed and buried.

Boulogne stayed by the grave for some fifteen minutes, to make sure that Passal was able to breathe. After the "victim" reassured him via the tube that he "was quite all right," Boulogne returned to Paris and, as he had been directed, sent off the letters.

He said that the next evening, he returned to the burial site, but when he tried speaking to Passal, received no answer. He could think of nothing better to do after that than just go off to his home, no doubt to meditate on the strangeness of life.

As supremely weird as Boulogne's story was, he was able to convince the police that it was nothing less than the truth. Instead of facing a murder trial, Boulogne was charged merely with "Homicide by imprudence and concealment of a body"--the French equivalent of manslaughter. He received three months in prison. Felix Bachelet, another friend of Passal's who had assisted in the scheme, was fined 100 francs.

Passal's remarkable methods of drumming up publicity did indeed have its effect--albeit not quite in the way he had intended. After the whole story came out, there was a great public clamor to read the late author's manuscript. If this was how he scripted real life, so the reasoning went, what must he have put in his book? Newspapers began fighting with each other over the serial rights.

Alas, it all came to nothing. Evidently, Passal had been so involved in his book's publicity that he neglected the book itself. All that was found of his promised "Memoirs" were a few fragmentary notes. Poor Passal could have said, like Oscar Wilde, "I put all my genius into my life."

There was one appropriately ghoulish sequel to our little story. In 1930, an "American souvenir hunter" offered police �80 for Passal's now-famous coffin. The last reports I have been able to find stated that the relic was to be sold at public auction, but I cannot say who bought it or where it might be today.

If the coffin still exists, it should be put on permanent display somewhere, as an unforgettable refutation to that old show business motto, "There is no such thing as bad publicity."

# ? Jan 8, 2016 02:09

I brought my Drake: Jul 10, 2014; These high-G injections have some serious side effects after pulling so many jumps.

Cracked did an image listicle yesterday of creepy stuff, some of it already posted in the thread. http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_1872_18-terrifying-things-that-were-hidden-in-plain-sight/

I don't think this entry's been in the thread yet: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/la...k-1226806916459

# ? Jan 8, 2016 07:56

Punkin Spunkin: Jan 1, 2010

Lore seems okay. From the sound of how cornball Last Podcast is I don't think I'm gonna bother. Like yeah, True Crime is dark and dreary, it probably should be, I don't think I want some dude doing "ME CHINESE" jokes just to be able to swallow the Lake and Ng case

Which brings me to finally being desperate enough for Sword and Scale. You know, I gotta say, it's a decent series when you come into it equipped with all the complaints people have helpfully given throughout the duration of this thread. Not only do I avoid specific episodes because of your tips but I also generally know to avoid anything that seems too "shock" or involves graphic recordings or discussion of schizophrenia/mental illness. So it's all thanks to you guys
I've found though, when you're able to pinpoint and be selective with it, it's a pretty decent option. There's still a tinge of being smarmy towards defense attorneys which annoys me but it's usually not too blatant and that's (unfortunately) not a particularly uncommon attitude in America anyway.

# ? Jan 8, 2016 21:13

ravenkult: Feb 3, 2011

I really want to like Lore but it puts me right to sleep. It's like someone is reading a wikipedia article to me and well...I can read it myself a lot faster.

# ? Jan 8, 2016 22:59

wootsie: Feb 27, 2013

TheFallenEvincar posted:

Lore seems okay. From the sound of how cornball Last Podcast is I don't think I'm gonna bother. Like yeah, True Crime is dark and dreary, it probably should be, I don't think I want some dude doing "ME CHINESE" jokes just to be able to swallow the Lake and Ng case

Which brings me to finally being desperate enough for Sword and Scale. You know, I gotta say, it's a decent series when you come into it equipped with all the complaints people have helpfully given throughout the duration of this thread. Not only do I avoid specific episodes because of your tips but I also generally know to avoid anything that seems too "shock" or involves graphic recordings or discussion of schizophrenia/mental illness. So it's all thanks to you guys
I've found though, when you're able to pinpoint and be selective with it, it's a pretty decent option. There's still a tinge of being smarmy towards defense attorneys which annoys me but it's usually not too blatant and that's (unfortunately) not a particularly uncommon attitude in America anyway.

Totally agree. Can't stand some of the sensationalist bullshit, but I loved his satanic panic stuff. It's hit or miss, but pretty decent when he stays focused.
I also like Lore and Criminal, but they don't come out as frequently.

# ? Jan 8, 2016 23:02

That Damn Satyr: Nov 4, 2008; A connoisseur of fine junk

Here's a callback to a thread favorite!

The Station nightclub illegally had no sprinklers in the building. As a result, over 100 people died when a fire broke out during a show on February 20, 2003. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) re-created the disaster, both with and without sprinklers, to illustrate differences in the temperature and spread of the flames.

Original raw footage of the fire for the unfamiliar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzfq9Egxeo

NIST without sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxiOXZ55hbc

NIST with sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1EWVR1iP8

# ? Jan 8, 2016 23:02

Your Gay Uncle: Feb 16, 2012; by Fluffdaddy

That drat Satyr posted:

Here's a callback to a thread favorite!

The Station nightclub illegally had no sprinklers in the building. As a result, over 100 people died when a fire broke out during a show on February 20, 2003. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) re-created the disaster, both with and without sprinklers, to illustrate differences in the temperature and spread of the flames.

Original raw footage of the fire for the unfamiliar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzfq9Egxeo

NIST without sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxiOXZ55hbc

NIST with sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1EWVR1iP8

I don't know what's worse; dying in a fire or dying at a Great White concert.

# ? Jan 9, 2016 00:08

Gripen5: Nov 3, 2003; 'Startocaster' is more fun to say than I expected.

That drat Satyr posted:

Here's a callback to a thread favorite!

The Station nightclub illegally had no sprinklers in the building. As a result, over 100 people died when a fire broke out during a show on February 20, 2003. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) re-created the disaster, both with and without sprinklers, to illustrate differences in the temperature and spread of the flames.

Original raw footage of the fire for the unfamiliar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOzfq9Egxeo

NIST without sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxiOXZ55hbc

NIST with sprinklers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1EWVR1iP8

I didn't think the fire was too bad in the first one, then all of the sudden at the 1 minute mark the smoke went from a little bit on the ceiling to very quickly covering the entire area in about 3 seconds.

About that same time the fire so ready very quickly.

Never want to be caught in a fire. Probably two of the worst ways to go between burns and smoke inhalation.

# ? Jan 9, 2016 00:59

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# ? May 15, 2024 13:25

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Your Gay Uncle posted:

I don't know what's worse; dying in a fire or dying at a Great White concert.

As The Onion opined...
"What happened in that Rhode Island club is shocking. To think that over a hundred people would attend a Great White concert..."

http://www.theonion.com/americanvoices/the-great-white-tragedy-14451

# ? Jan 9, 2016 02:21

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