Of Twists and Turns in the Boston Marathon Bombing~~~~

Well My Darklings,
Someday someone will write a book about this tragic event in Boston, it has more twists, turns and convoluted developments than a disorganized murder mystery.



If anything it does show that even the Tsarneaev brothers were not the angels that some people want to paint them, not even the younger one that survived , wrote a declaration saying "F###  U America"   and is currently being held---it’s like watching that new T.V. program “Motive” but running far longer than the movie “Gone With The Wind”.



F.B.I. and other agencies were going through contacts of the deceased Tamerlan Tsarneaev in his cell phone address book and found names going from New York to Florida, and so they’ve been questioning these contacts.



One that turned up appears to have provided a unique motive and clue to the brothers’ actions.



The F.B.I. were looking for Ibragim Todashev an Orange County, Florida man, when they received word that he had been arrested on May 4, for aggravated battery on a man and his son over a parking space in a Kissimmee Mall parking lot. Todashev pushed the father in a threatening manner and the man’s son came to his defense.



Todashev was born in Russia; when he immigrated here is unknown.



Tamerlan Tsarneaev and Todashev knew each other because they fought in mixed martial arts competitions and the F.B.I. were informed by a friend of Todashev that the two knew each other, confirming the contact number in Tamerlan Tsarneaev‘s cell phone.



With the use of DNA tracking, the DNA of the Tsarneaev brothers were run through the system and got a hit with a year old murder.



3 men, Brendan Mess, Raffael Teken and Eric Weissman, had their throats slit and their bodies were left with cash and marijuana placed on top of them. The murder took place on September 11, 2011, the ten year anniversary of the al Qaeda terror attacks on New York and Washington.



Upon Todashev’s arrest his DNA was taken and also linked to the Triple Murder. And it seems that Brendan Mess, Tamerlan Tsarneaev and Todashev all were acquainted with each other because they all trained and competed at Boston’s Wai Kru gym.



In the wake of the bombing, detectives developed DNA evidence linking both

Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar to the triple murder scene.

According to officials, Todashev was initially being questioned about any role

in the marathon bombing when it emerged he had connections to the gruesome

murders. There is no initial indication Todashev was tied to the bombing, sources

familiar with the case said. (My Doyle has some thoughts on that)



Todashev was about to sign a statement admitting to a role along with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in the previously unsolved triple murder that occurred in Massachusetts in 2011, when suddenly Todashev "just went crazy," and pulled a knife during his interview with the FBI, stabbing one agent 6 times, before he was shot and killed during the assault.



This attack by Todashev came as a surprise when the “violent confrontation was initiated by the subject," the Bureau said in a statement. The attack occurred following the initially cooperative interview and just prior to his signing his statement.



The F.B.I. does state that Todashev had lived in Boston previously and had been in contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev just a few weeks prior to the bombing. But the F.B.I continues to believe that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was converted to radical acts when he went back to his home country and was in touch with those who practiced and believed in such actions.



Doyle, my sister and I batted around the reasons for Todashev’s action and Doyle, being more familiar with the criminal element, stated to us, that Todashev most likely knew of the plans for the bombing, perhaps gave them more information on how to do the bombing and maybe gave Tsarnaev money to buy the materials, since all three of them were involved in the triple murders in 2011, they were already criminally involved, and Todashev, in his mind, decided that he was already a “dead man” and did something that all villains do, back up, smile, pretend to co-operate, then attack and attempt to take out as many “pigs” as possible, a suicide attempt. It had been proven that his was an aggressive personality, witness the fact that he had been arrested for battery upon two people over, of all things, a parking space.



Even if Todashev did not have a knife, he was trained in Martial Arts and could have made a very life threatening Martial Arts move that could have either killed or seriously injured another person. What is known is this the F.B.I. agent that was allegedly stabbed sustained injuries that were fortunately non-life threatening. No other agents or Massachusetts state police officers who were there for the interview. were injured. Further investigation into Todashev life will be looked into, after this bizarre twist into the Boston Marathon Bombing.



It things like this when one reads about it, that always adds questions to one’s mind about the minds of other people, the constant “why” of things. My sister and I believe that most murders occur for either money, passion, power, revenge and the sickest reason of all “Just for fun”. And passion can include love, or mis-guided love or a mis-guided cause.



It’s no wonder I’m always intrigued with police proceedurals, I’m constantly trying to figure out the motive.



I’ve said this once before Darklings but I’ll say it again, Agatha Cristie once remarked that the “most evil criminal (or crime) is a person who persuades another to commit murder,” just view Shakespears play, “Othello”. That would also include terrorists who persuade young impressionable people to commit the killing for them, instead of seeking how to create a working peace to rebuild their lives.



Later Darklings

Of more updates and a mummified head in a reycling center~~~

Hello My Darklings,



Well I have to say I was almost all Day at work, just to see what has been done and what is happening currently.
Louise, bless her, came early to my home and we took public transportation just as if I was going to work as usual.


I’m very happy; with e-mail and teleconference calls and regular phone calls from staff to check in with me, things have been going very smoothly. But just being at work even for only less than 8 hours I found myself exhausted. And concerned, because sometimes I put in longer hours, I talked to my Director and we think that it would be best to ease me back into it by my doing Half Days, come in at 9:30 or 10 a.m. and leaving at 2 or 2:30 p.m. I did suggest that perhaps I could come in at 8 a.m. and leave at 1 or 2 since I am more spry in the morning so we’ll try the latter for a while.


My Director also suggested having me consider retirement and then be hired as a half-time independent contractor setting my own hours, I’m more than vested for retirement, and it would not interfere with retirement by my part time work. I said lets see how things go for me at this time and I’ll keep those suggestions in mind if I feel I cannot handle a full work load. My colleagues are terrified at even the idea of me retiring but I said it’s only under future consideration.


Frankly Darklings, I’m getting bored at home, I love the thrill of the commute, the challenges that work brings, the inter-action with my co-workers and finding answers to things.


During the Lunch Hour we decided to order out and have the lunch brought to us, I insisted with Louise that she have lunch with us, but she suggested that she take a bit of a walk around the area and eat out and do a bit of shopping and would be back on an agreed upon time. This worked out perfectly for us.


During our Lunch I and my colleagues discussed the various events that were happening.


A Christian gentleman offered a burial plot to bury the deceased Boston Bomber, but the Bombers family still fears grave desecration, and are even thinking of having him cremated and returning to Russia with the Ashes, if the ashes can be brought into Russia since that country and many others in Europe has a policy of not returning the bodies of terrorists back to the families and instead burying them in unmarked graves to prevent them from becoming martyrs. The US does not have that policy, Canada is facing the same situation, now since this has become international, both Russia, the US and Canada are being faced about matters of this sort that would be very hard to resolve (so says one Russian lawyer who had dealt with this sort of thing). We can only see what will happen.


It seems that the tragic deaths of the ladies who died in the Limo fire have touched one of my staff who knew her. According to further news reports, the Limo fire is considered very strange to have happened, and no answers as to cause has been found. Usually in most car fires it would happen in the front in the engine compartment, but from the back trunk area is almost unheard of. The only way that could happen is in a very violent collision which in this case did not happen.


And in Limo’s, since their maintenance and care is important to keep them functioning in a safe manner, such a fire is almost unheard of. This is going to be very interesting to hear the results of this investigation. Although I do feel that perhaps re-designing future Limos should be considered.


Every one was very happy about the discovery and rescue of the 3 women who had been held captive for over 10 years by this one man. That one of the women had the courage to take a chance to get help and that Mr. Charles Ramsey heard her cries for help is a miracle, there is the possibility that many years earlier there may have been a 4th victim, who disappeared, the police will look further. The suspect held these women in the basement of his home and he had 2 brothers living with him and yet those two were not charged with aiding and abetting I find strange, I can’t help but suspect that they may have known but were too cowardly to act. The most important thing is that the 6 year old girl who was born to one of the captive women had been carefully home schooled and possibly escaped becoming a victim of that man’s future actions.


My sister believes that the psychological aspect of that case is going to be carefully studied.


On a more interesting note, the chief of police of Oakland, CA has stepped down at his own request, claiming health issues, right on the day that the report of what the Oakland police department should do to decrease crime in that city was to be presented to the people. Frankly it is my opinion that anything the Chief of Police wanted to do was ‘shot down’ by the Mayor, and he was tired of being sabotaged by her. And only a 6 page report? Considering the problems that Oakland has I would have suspected a weightier presentation.


Several citizen groups believe the real reason the Chief stepped down was “Politics”. I agree.


I was also sad to hear that one of my favorite places for a late night bite had a fire. Merritt Bakery has been in business and a fixture in Oakland since the 1950’s, I remember Mom and Dad taking us there from time to time as a special treat. I was sad to hear that they had a horrible fire; I can only hope that they will be able to rebuild and continue to stay in business. The cause of the fire to yet be determined.


And now for something very bizarre and macabre----

A mummified head was found at an Oakland recycling center yesterday, I’m sure that freaked out the staff there. Cadaver dogs were brought in to try and find the rest of the remains, but beyond the head not much was found. Police say that the victim died sometime ago and may have been a homicide. Police will try to identify the Head of the victim using dental records. I hope that will be possible unless the victim was an illegal immigrant, if that is the case identification may be useless. I’m sure that a variation of this event will appear on a CSI T.V. episode in the future. Re-cycling human remains, well, to make an observation that does save the cost of a funeral.


My sister and I are grateful that Doyle installed a superb alarm system in my home, sensor lights on the grounds, and camera systems that work even in the dark, of course having good fences help. My great-aunts house was never burgled, but now day’s crooks are becoming more desperate even going so far as to try and break in while people are home. He is even worried when I am home alone, but I do have my gun and I know how to shoot it and I am aware of the laws about home invasion and the “Castle Laws”.

But one day when I was leaving the house, a woman was walking down the street, she looked a little out of place, more like a lady of the streets if you know what I mean, she saw me and was a bit startled then she said “Excus’ me, but yo liv heara?” (I’m writing this as I heard her speech) and I replied that yes I do.

She then asked “arn yu ‘fraid of the spooks?” “Spooks?” I asked, she said “ya eveone knows tha place haunted” her eyes were wide. So I thought I’d have some fun and tease her a bit so I said “Well, you’re right. It is haunted, so is the house next door.” Referring to the house that my sister was eventually going to buy.

“People died in both houses, why there is even a graveyard in the back of mine, with gravestones.” I informed the young woman. She asked me if the ‘spooks’ bothered me and I said not much, but if anyone with evil in their heart comes on the property, the spooks do not like it. I told her that several times people had tried to buy the house next door but the ‘spooks’ chased them out. (If you read my previous posts you’ll know how we found out why that happened)


The woman’s eyes got very, very wide and I gave her my best wicked smile and said “That’s why I have to be very careful living here; it’s not good to get the spirits angry.” And just then the cat that use to sleep under my porch showed up and hissed at the woman (I could not have planned that if I tried). The woman jumped back a bit and the cat went on, perhaps looking for a mouse, so I used the cat’s actions and said “I think one of the ‘spooks’ is unhappy, the cat looked possessed.”


The young woman walked away quickly and said as she was leaving “Lady yu crazy livin’ dare!!!” She almost ran away. And I was having fun trying not to laugh out loud.

Well I do have to say that after the end of yesterday, I was glad to return home, my back didn’t twinge but I was tired. Louise was happy though, she found some gifts for some family members whose birthdays are coming up. I suggested to Louise that since she was with me for all day Wednesday to take Friday off to have time for the Mother’s Day preparations. She was very happy about that, and I hope she has a nice Mother’s Day.

Coralline will be spending it with her Mom and her mother’s two grandma’s My brother’s treat.

Sis and I are going to spend our at a Spa and enjoy hedonistic delights. Doyle will be home and he is going to enjoy peace and quiet and indulge Belladonna.


So to all you Darklings Have a Happy Mother’s Day.


Later Darklings

Of More Updates and a tragic Limo fire~~~~

Hello My Darklings,

Just as I suspected the suspect in the Boston Bombing, the teenage friend of the 2nd bomber, who was accused by the FBI of lying has been released on Bond and other strict restrictions.  Many people are angry about that and feel that he should remain in jail with his friends, his lawyer says they will prove him innocent, but frankly I don't think so.  And if he is found guilty on this Federal charge he could be incarcerated for as much as 8 years.

I talked to Doyle on the phone about this, he's still out of town on assignment, and he is a bit "blood thirsty" saying that maybe other "young fools" should learn from this.  I'm remaining neutral although I do lean towards the "as you sow, so shall ye reap" belief.

The wild fires are calming down with the cooler weather and I hope it will help.  The tragic explosion in West (name of the town)  Texas (state) was caused by Ammonia Nitrate, killing 14 people and injuring 200.

I remember for a period of time my parents raising about a dozen chickens, with them scraping and pecking and my parents growing vegetables and a few fruit trees and those plants did wonderfully by the natural way of growing.  This type of fertilizer is dangerous, and I think new regulations will be put into place.

This weekend a Limousine carrying 9 ladies who were celebrating a upcoming ceremony for one of them, somehow caught on fire, killing 5 of the 9 ladies, 4 managed to get out as well as the driver, one of the ladies killed was the bride to be.  Limo fires are very rare, so this one is going to be investigated and I think Limo's may have to be re-designed because of this.

I did promise I would get away from tragedy, but it seems to be all around me right now.  So my sister and I are going to plan a little get-away this weekend, to where I don't know, she is going to surprise me.

Sis's progress on purchasing the house is moving much faster than anticipated, it seems the Bank is happy to quickly unload this house, and it seems to be moving in her favor.  She is excited about it and so am I.

She has not owned a house since her divorce some years ago, but her ex-husband and his friend said they can recommend some people to help her out on repairs if we are stumped, she does know she'll need a painter and a roofer, so she is getting a lot of recommendations.  She is so happy about this.

I'll have to close for now, but I do want to say that we did go to that artist reception last Saturday evening, of the young lady who dresses only in white and gold.  I think I'll save those thoughts for another time.

Later Darklings

Of News updates and other things~~~~

Hello Darklings,

I am going to hate to go back to work, I've been enjoying posting almost everyday, but eventually I must.

I'm going in this week to work, to see how things are going, Louise will go with me and we are taking "Heavens!" the public transportation.  It's much easier than driving.  If you drive in San Francisco you have to be insane or Mario Andrei.

The news as its developing has been interesting and more Human Interest.

On the Boston Bombers Front, the 2nd bomber is still in the prison medical ward.  The first bombers body was finally released and claimed, not by his wife, but by his other family members, his wife did not wish to claim it and released it to his family.

The cause of his death were gun shot wounds as well as serious head and body trauma, caused by his younger brother when he drove over his older brother in a chaotic get a way attempt, so even his own brother killed him.

His wife is distancing herself as far as possible from her late husband, even going so far as going back to using her maiden name.  She has allowed his family to claim the body, his Uncle who lives in the US is handling this and a funeral director who is familiar with Muslim rituals is handling the arrangements, even though he is being protested by a very upset crowd.  The funeral director understands the crowds' reaction and sympathises with them but he said everybody needs a decent funeral.  However there is no cemetery that is willing to bury the body.  He and the family may have to look further.

Which is understandable, the graves of Lee Harvey Oswald was desecrated as well as the graves of other murderers who have inflicted great physical and physcological harm.

It reminded me of one time when my Mother, who was usually a very calm, almost unruffled woman, became very angry at a former neighbor going so far as to say to that person "I will not be happy until I can spit in your coffin and dance on your grave."  That neighbor moved within a few weeks after that incident.  Mother could be a very forceful woman if provoked.

There is proof that the bombs were made in the first bombers' home, the 2nd bomber confirmed that.  But they managed to hide that from the wife, all while they were taking care of the baby....endangering that child.

The three friends of the 2nd bomber have had some developments,  the one who is a US citizen that has been accused of lying to the FBI,  has had a petition put in front of the Judge by both the Defense and the Prosecution to have him released under a $100,000 bond, and very strict monitoring which includes an ankle bracelet and home confinement, both say he is not a flight risk.  The Judge will make a decision on that.

The other two friends that were arrested for removing and destroying evidence are still in jail and at this time considered flight risks.

Recently there was an article in the Christian Science Monitor possibly May 2, about "Why do Teenagers do that?"  in short make bad choices that can seriously affect their futures in a negative way.  Many psychologists are looking at these 4 teenagers all age 19, to study their behavior of their choices and it could make very interesting inroads on teen behavior and possibly give answers to other teens who have been involved in lethal events.

My sister is looking into all new articles that talk about this behavior and is going to have a chance to discuss this with some of her colleagues.

We have had very cool weather develop here in the Bay Area which is bringing some much needed relief to the wild fires both north and south of us, and if it continues could bring containment that much sooner.

The sudden rain shower we had yesterday morning was unexpected, I and Sis were enjoying a cup of coffee when the droplets started, we were able to get to the back covered deck when the down pour came, so we decided to finish our coffee and enjoy the sudden summer-like rain shower.

After the squall was over Sis went and gathered the furniture and moved it to the back deck, and wiped it down to dry, I wanted to help with moving them but she said that she didn't want me to re-injure my back before it healed, fortunately we had not put the cushions on them but she is not taking any chances.

This year California has experience over 680 wild fires, 200 more than last year at this time, so there is concern that this is going to be a seriously dangerous fire year.

After that squall, Sis suggested that I keep the wicker furniture that I received as a gift on the covered back deck to protect it and instead have metal furniture in the yard, but I didn't want to buy anything at this time, until she showed me in the back yard of the house next door that she's buying this old, from the 1950's metal garden furniture, it would need sanding and painting but I was very enchanted by it.  It appeared that there were 2 sets, we think that my former neighbor had been finding and hoarding these pieces, perhaps for re-sale, but she could have a set and I could too.

More projects to work on. 

In looking into the fashion magazine and such I've noticed a trend for this Summer, I'll "talk" more about it in another post.

I feel I need to get away from the tragedy of Boston for now, as Mother and Dad would say "Its now in the lap of God".

Later Darklings

Of More information on the Boston Bombers~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well things are getting to be very interesting on the Boston Marathon Bombings.

3 college students have been arrested, 1 a U.S. citizen and 2 from Kazakhstan, the 2 from Kazakhstan are also being charged with violation of their student visas, and it is possible that one of them has stayed longer than his visa time.

All three are being charged with removal and hiding or destroying evidence of the bombing, all 3 were friends of the surviving bomber.  They claim and it could be true that they had no idea about the bombing nor were involved with it.

It was after their friend's picture was posted that they realized their friend was in trouble. And they got a text message from him that allegedly read "LOL." followed by him saying for them to take stuff from his dorm room.

My sister and I are surmising that in a mistaken belief that they might be helping their friend, and maybe not believing that he really was a bomber they removed key evidence from his dorm room, of which a backpack containing emptied fireworks containers with the explosive material removed was found in a landfill.

But the key piece of evidence is the laptop computer is still missing.

Now this is if they were not planners involved in the bombing and just friends trying to protect a friend.  All 3 are 19 years old, and as evidence not a single logical brain between them.

How sad, now they all face 5 to 8 years in prison because of mistaken loyalty, instead of allowing the investigators to do their work. 

I had a chance to talk to Coralline this morning, she stayed home from school, she appears to have a cold aggravated by allergies.  And we talked about these mis-guided college students, she agreed with me that loyalty can put one in trouble and it is best to allow things to go their natural course.  If they had done that then they would not be in trouble with their visas.  

As of now their hopes of college and professional careers are destroyed unless they can do something to redeem themselves.

Coralline is taking this lesson to heart, but I told her to always be upfront about her beliefs on that matter with any friends so they will know where she stands, she said she will but she doesn't trust her "stupid" brothers  (the stupid was her choice of words)  She says she "Knows" they will do dumb things and get into trouble.  I hope for their sakes it won't be bad trouble.

The ministry of Kazakhstan is helping the U.S. in this investigation to see if there is any ties and Canada is also involved assisting to see if there is also a connection between Boston and a bomber of their own.

It is sad, now more lives are destroyed by mis-guided thoughts, "The evil that men do lives on after them, the good is oft interred with their bones"  and this is a prime example.

Must go Darklings, something "thumped" in front of the house.

Later Darklings

Of Art Deco Preservation Ball~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Just a brief post.

Well my sister and I did our mani-pedi's yesterday and the color is just beautiful.   But when we came home Doyle surprised us with tickets to the Art Deco Societies Preservation Ball. 

Food, wine, music, silent auction all in the wonderfully restored Paramount Movie Theatre, I could not have been happier and we were dressed in our 1930's best.  It was such a joy.

And I was amazed at how well I was able to get around,  I was using a cane to be on the safe side, and I had to wear my low heeled shoes until I'm fully back to par, but it was exciting and colorful.

They even had a fortune teller or card reader there, the gentleman was dressed in a tuxedo and with a turban much like one would see a "Swami" wear in those old 1930's serials, his booth was set up to reflect the 1920's/30's and I enjoyed having my fortune read, all very amusing and it was a very nice fortune too.  I got his card in case I want to hire him for a party.

I was a bad girl this morning, I slept in, so did my sister, and she is going forward on purchasing the house next door, the agent was able to do a walk thru with her earlier along with our contractor friend.  The repairs are do-able and he privately told her that the former owners had done some illegal electrical work, which would give off high EMF readings, no wonder people didn't want to stay there. 

The damage done by the pot growers was not that bad except that the floors in which they were growing the pot plants is going to have to be redone.  Kitchen and Bathrooms and fine, need serious cleaning but fine.  And no bug or any kind of issues, but Marie is going to have it fumigated especially for bed bugs just to be on the safe side.

The price is good, the monthly payments will be fine as well as the property tax.  And she will be able to get some serious tax deductions on it.

So now we are relaxing, Doyle is bar-b-quing, the garden is nice and sunny and fragrant, birds are chirping, Belladonna is snoozing in the sun and it feels good.

Doyle has found some charities that are helping the victims of the bombing to help offset their medical expenses that we are going to donate to.  In the midst of all this beauty we are very lucky and so it is important to remember those who are struggling and we should count ourselves blessed, so it is important to send those blessings on.

Later Darklings

Of more Dental problems, a nice policeman, a haunted house?~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well the first of the procedures for the root canal has started at "Oh My God!  It's Early!" today, I'm home now and am on a strong Motrin, but I'm going to have to lie down in a bit.  I'll be going back next week for more, until they are sure its cleaned out and then pin it, then a crown.  It's going to cost nearly $1000.00 but that is what good dental insurance is for.  

And trust me Darklings, I'm keeping all the bills.  I cannot bill this to the man who hit my car, but I will give it to my tax person for the 2013 taxes.  Hopefully I'll have enough medical bills to take a deduction.

I talked to the nice policeman the other day, I did make a joke that I didn't order a male stripper----Trust me Darklings he was VERY good looking.  

The officer took it with good grace and a smile but then we got down to business, it seems that Doyle had noticed something at the empty house next door and I had also remarked about it, I thought someone had bought the house, but it seems that some homeless people moved in and were growing some marijuana plants.

Doyle had called the complaint in and the officer also wanted my statement, while he was taking it Doyle came home and was glad to see that the plants were removed and the "growers" were removed.

Marie was very unhappy about that when she found out, but glad that they had been arrested.  It seems that she had been thinking of buying the house next door, it's going for a short sale, so she contacted the real estate agent to take a walk through, we were wondering why the house had not sold before now given the housing market and the agent said that each time she thought the house was sold the buyers suddenly would back out of the deal.  Marie laughed and said "Why?  Is the house haunted?"  and the agent gave her a very strange look. 

So I asked Marie if living in a "haunted house" would bother her and she said "All I have to look for is strong EMF readings."   of course I knew what she meant and we know of an electrician who understands those sort of things.

The major question will be how much damage did the homeless people do and can Marie secure the house while work is being done?  She has a friend who needs temporary housing until he can find a place of his own, so if the kitchen and bathroom are working properly he can "rough it". 

And it will be nice to have my sister next door, this way she'll have space when her children visit and if it's going to be a BIG gathering there is space in my home.

I have not posted much more on the Boston bombing events, the story is still unfolding but the 2nd bomber admitted that his brother came up after the first bombing, with the idea to hijack a car drive to New York and plant 3 more bombs in Times Square, the only thing that thwarted their plans was the car didn't have enough gasoline for the trip and died because of an empty fuel tank.

And now they are looking for a radical Muslim called "Misha" who may have turned the mind of the oldest brother into doing hateful acts. 

Agatha Christie once said that the worse criminal is one who can persuade another to do a criminal act, can persuade another to do the killing for them.  And that is what terrorists groups are doing.

Now I'm feeling tired and Ella wants me to rest, she will take Belladonna for her walk.

I'm going to have a mani-pedi tomorrow and I'm going to use "Disturbia"  it is a deep dark purple with a little shimmer to it.  I like the color it will go with most of my clothing.

But to rest, and rest well.

Later Darklings

Of we're having a heat wave and more thoughts on the Boston Bombers~~~

Dear Darklings,

We are having a very serious heat wave here in the Bay Area, it even broke records,  87 degrees where I live.

I have a sprinkler system set on timers, the areas that always have a lot of shade get watered in the early  morning, those that have full sun are watered late at night at it's coolest, but I make sure that the water is not wasted, I discovered that my Great Aunt had devised a capture system for any run off, with drains here and there, to collect in a cistern located in the back of the property away from any buildings.

Using a motor pump to pump up that water, the water is reused again to water plants using a hose, especially for those plants that are thirsty drinkers or are in hanging pots or boxes.  However I have to make sure that screens are on to keep animals out and I do have to throw down into it a chemical to kill mosquito larvae,  I had thought of using mosquito fish but that seemed impractical.

And now they are offering hoses that can shrink and expand when it's filled with water or drained, takes up less space, doesn't kink, easy to use and very reasonably priced. 

The house does not have air conditioning, since we are in an area that has only moderate heat during the Summer months, thanks to the natural air conditioning from the Ocean currents and the Bay Fog.

But when it gets hot, out come the fans,  we have box fans in the kitchen area, but bit by bit I've been purchasing these Victorian or Edwardian fans that are offered by the Victorian Trading company, they go much better with the style of the house and look period correct.   Yes my Darklings, when electricity was put into houses and buildings way back when, electric fans were invented.

On Antiques Roadshow, they even showed a fan that worked on lamp oil, they lit the lamp and the heat went up and rotated the blades, very clever but very dangerous.

I am still following the events on the investigation of the Boston Bombing.

The good news is that the remaining victims still in hospitals will survive, badly damaged and injured by the bombing but they will survive.   The wife of the dead bomber is helping the investigation, the 2nd bomber it looks like he will survive as well and has been writing his responses.

And it appears they worked alone, but had been planning more targets.  Of course the big question is why.

From what I've been able to understand it appears it was mostly the elder brother's idea and the younger influenced by his brother went along with it.  An article appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and the writer said one has to look at the ethic background of where the brothers came from, and how the eldest was influenced when he went back to visit his father for 6 months.

Everyone says they can't believe the brothers did this, there were no signs, but good sociopaths can be very clever to hide their intentions and lead others to their doom.  Especially when emotionally and spiritually vunerable.

Look at Jim Jones, the leaders of the Heaven's Gate Group and the Branch Davidians, and look at Hitler when Germany and its people were at its emotional weakest, look at leaders of the KKK, or the Neo-Nazi's.  And now Look at Al-Quida, the leaders of the Taliban who create suicide bombers instead of working to educate the young people, find ways of creating a better economy, of bringing jobs and employment to their countries, of finding ways to grow more food, using solar power for energy.

The gifts for creation of a better life, of spiritual progress are all there, but fundamentalists put blinders on and instead destroy.   I'm also including fundamentalist christian groups as well, that refuse to understand the changes in the 21st century and the need for complete equality and freedom for men and especially for women.

My sister and brother and I were very lucky to have parents to instill into us those protections to question people and their motives, and to instill into us our sense of self preservation and free will.  My sister and brother have  passed and are passing those same qualities into their children for only then can we be free of tyranny be it government or religious fanaticism.

And that is something all Goths should work to protect, otherwise you will lose your choice of lifestyle and creativity and expression.

But I also have said, if you have that freedom, you are also responsible to recognize the sensibilities of others, and do not do it for just the shock value but for raising awareness.

Example:  there are those that want to practice nudity all the time in public areas, in front of children, because they feel it is their right.   I say up to a point---if it is in violation of public health and public exposure laws or offends parents with children, then put your clothes on.  But if you are at an event such as a nude beach, or nudist colony that is your right, but at the Gay Pride parade or in a general public area, no one wants to see a flabby "personal appendage"  with a lot of old grey hair, or even an erect one.  And some ladies no one want to see your chest if it goes down to your knees,  even I at my age prefer to keep some mystery about my body.

But there should be art and expression that will make one's mind think, question and say "I wasn't aware of that."  That should always be preserved, be it a painting, writing, sculpture, film, photography.

And now my Darklings,  it is time for my walk with Ella and little Belladonna, the exercise helps build up my leg muscles and endurance.

Later Darklings,

Of the Boston Bomber Capture~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well the news for many is good, the younger brother involved in the Boston bombings was captured alive, injured but alive.  His older brother is dead,  it seems that the night before the capture, one of them shot and killed an MIT police officer, they hijacked a car and it's driver, abandoned them and tried to hide in Waterton (Watertown?) there was a shoot out, the oldest was killed.  The youngest got away for 24 hours.

A man who had a boat stored in his back yard noticed blood on the covering and called 911 and the younger brother was captured.

I'm glad that at least one of them is alive, I hope we will get answers to why they did it.

But as I understand from interviews with family members, the oldest brother was always in trouble and could influence the younger brother, which is sad because the younger brother was on his way to getting a medical degree, an Uncle called them "Losers" and that they shamed the family.  In another interview a boxing coach said that the older brother could easily influence the younger brother into doing the wrong thing.

Of course the father and an aunt say they were framed and its a conspiracy, but the Mother has said that the oldest brother was under F.B.I. surveillance but didn't seem to be a credible threat, there were no out ward signs of what they were planning to do.

But Doyle, my sister and I agree we won't know the full story, there are so many theories flying about, not until the surviving brother can be interviewed and that information is released will we know anything.

Many people are saying that this bombing is done by the government, this is especially bandied about by conspiracy theorists.   Especially as there had been no credible red flag, and people are saying that the younger is such a nice boy.  But the elder brother became more involved in his faith and there had been at least one, possibly more domestic violence arrests on the elder for beating up his wife whom he allegedly brow-beat to join his religion.  Again I do use the word "allegedly", as this is an on going investigation.

But because people can't believe that they are bombers or terrorists they are shocked.

Personally my sister and I and Doyle are not so shocked.   I am especially reminded of a line from Shakespeare "To Smile and smile and still be a villain".

Each of us have come across people like that, people whom we were led to believe were good people but do horrible and heinous crimes, Doyle in his previous line of work especially.  My sister and I we learned through Life Experiences.

People who were friendly, polite, helpful yet turned out to be monsters of the worse kind.  And young people whose nureau synapses are still over-firing and have not learned caution, reason, wisdom or any real life experience, all so easy to manipulate into a life of crime or terrorism.

My late Elder brother, even at his young age always said to not put him on a pedestal, to not make him a hero.   He was a good young man, but he made the mistake of trusting a best friend who was not a friend, this person was the one who killed him.    My family had no inkling that my brother's friend could do that or was capable of doing that.

But I soon learned different, it was not an accident, it was willful and deliberate.   So by the age of 12 I had learned the extreme dark side of the mind.   I knew by age 12 horrible tragedy by life events.  And I decided to learn more about the dark side,  my parents fortunately understood and guided me and gave me emotional support.  All of this added to my eventual gothicness, and added to my strength.  My sister eventually followed in her own way. 

But I thank my parents for bringing me up into the air and into the light as needed so I would not drown in such evil.  I thank them for giving me humor, and seeing the weird side of life as well.   We could be like the Addams Family or the Munsters, but with a touch of X-Files,  Kolchack the Night Stalker, One Step Beyond and a teeny-tiny bit of Dexter.

Why a teeny-tiny bit of Dexter?  My Father, bless him, hung a fraud "out to dry" by exposing this person's scheme in such a way that only the criminal was hurt and no one else.

But now the weather is beautiful and Sis and I are going shopping with little Belladonna along for the ride in her tote bag.  And not to worry I'm taking my rolling walker along just in case I tire.  I feel it is time to look for "Summer Cothing".

Later Darklings

Of further Updates on the Boston Tragedy and memories of another event~~~

Dear Darklings,

My mind is just reeling of what has happened and information flying in so fast and furious.

So far 3 are dead, over 170 are injured some critically.  The reports of two unexploded bombs were incorrect and so far the fire at JFK Library just co-incidence.

Many runners are making plans to do a sort of "Run to show we are not intimidated" Marathon, people refusing to allow something like this change their lives except to be more vigilant.  Which is the only true course of action.

I am reading and hearing conflicting reports that a suspect has either been arrested or has been identified, I am not sure which, perhaps the news casters on the east coast have more information.

Doyle make an interesting remark to me when he came home late last night, he said that he hopes they check the roofs and any areas were the windows were exploded inward as that could contain important pieces of evidence and according to the noon time (PDT) broadcast they had done just that and found something.

Quiet heroes are emerging from this holocaust, people just doing what they felt was only right to do and those who are trained to do any emergency work.

I feel it will take me a few more days to get my mind back on real life again, and I can understand this desire to want more information to be updated constantly.

When Kennedy was shot in 1963 Mother was glued to the television set, Dad had to get a long antenna wire extension so that she could roll the t.v. set from the kitchen into the living room so she could do her work and still hear the news.  She saw when Jack Ruby shot the alleged killer and it happened live, I remember when I came home after picking up my younger sister and brother at school,  she was just sitting on the couch with her mouth open, almost unable to speak, all she could say was "someone shot him!  some man in the crowd shot him!"   I had to call Grandma and Uncle Mannie drove her to our house, she had to get Mother in gear just to make dinner, so sis and I dashed to the market across the street to get ground round to make meat loaf, it was the easiest thing to make for 7 people.  

For some reason that meat loaf tasted real good, I think because Mom and Grandma in a daze threw everything into it, long green onions, diced tomatoes,  we had some left over baked potatoes so we had mashed potatoes with bits of green onions in it and fresh string beans,  Grandma said to buy a pound of string beans and sis and I were kept occupied trimming, washing and cutting the beans.  Uncle Mannie took our brother outside to play catch until Dad got home.

Grandma turned off the T.V. and said "That is enough news for now."  That was a very sad November.

And even now I simply will not turn on the television until it is time for the regular news,  I have to get my mind back together.

And now a little bit of good news,  in the beginning of May my Lawyer and the defendant's lawyer and us will meet at my lawyers office to discuss a settlement, but it will be hefty, there will be no bargaining, it's either what I want or we go to court, which he doesn't want.

I have seen my doctor and he said I can go to my office next week to talk to my co-workers to see what is happening, my back spasms seemed to have ceased, but we'll know better when I'm back to work, the bruising is now just reddish and the cut on my cheek will only need the slightest of cosmetic surgery and even the discoloration will fade, I've not used any make up because I didn't want it to be in any way infected.

But considering how bruised I was even applying makeup was painful.   I'm walking more have even taken Belladonna on her walks with either Ella or Louise with me.  Doing the heat therapy seemed to have helped me heal much faster.  And I have to admit I've gotten very spoiled being waited upon, but that will stop eventually. 


I could not resist this, for several weeks I felt like that


I still get a little weakness in my legs and on occasion a little dizzy, but the Doctor has ruled out head trauma but if the occasional dizziness persists he will look into that further.

But I most likely will not go back to work until the end of May.   Why so long?  Doctor wants to be completely sure I can handle the work, I feel like that character "Rocky" getting ready for a prize fight, only its getting strong enough to work.

And now I must go, Louise says its time for Belladonna's and mine afternoon walk.  Where is that theme from "Rocky"?

Later Darklings

Of thoughts on the Boston Tragedy and April 20th~~~~

Dear Darklings,

There are no words that I can say to express thoughts on this senseless tragedy that has happened in Boston,  except that it is a reminder that even in peaceful places there is evil.

Every year I have always been afraid of the date April 20th, long, long before anyone knew of its significance.

It was not April 15 income tax day, that was a given and a joke and could be dealt with and it was never April 9 or December 9 when we have to pay property taxes, that could be dealt with.

But April 20th, it always seemed something evil or insidious would happen on or about that date, never much after, but always just before or on.    My eldest Brother died that day in a senseless murder and then when studying history I discovered whose birthday it was in history.

April 20th is Hitler's birthday----one of the most evil men to have encouraged mass murder in the 20th century.

It seems---with the exception of Sept 11----a number of major tragedies have happened on or about that day, the Columbine shootings April 20th, Virgina Tech shootings April 16th, Oklahoma City Bombing April 19th,  Waco siege ending on April 19th  and now Boston April 15th.

Technically speaking in Boston it is April 19th that is called Patriot's Day for two battles in the American Revolution, but they moved it to be celebrated on the 3rd Monday in April in the mid-1960's and also hold the Boston Marathon, so there are two Patriots Days.

This is not to be confused with Patriot Day (minus the "s") on Sept 11.

But always the week before April 20th I always dread that time.  I always made arrangements to not go to work that day and to stay home, I'd pray that my love one's would be safe.   But now I can see we are never safe and we need to take one day at a time, enjoy what we have and hug and love our families, never argue or if you do at least work toward making up.

My eldest brother was 10 years older than me, and I looked up to him as a hero, he had his faults but I always remember him saying to me "Don't put me up in the clouds sis, I make mistakes, I'm human."

His death started me trying to fathom the human mind and its evil twists and turns.   I've read books and essays about Evil in all its disguises, I took classes in college to understand psychology of the human mind, but then there are things buried so deep into the human mind of such depravity, that I am not surprised when something like this surfaces.

All we can do is pray and draw strength for us to do better, once the answers are found we can understand the sick, twisted convolutions of this sick mind.

Doyle has a strong suspicion that it is the work of a lone individual, trying to make some sort of statement, of what is any one's guess, the fact that a total of 4 devices, two exploded and two un-exploded were found, and done in a way that suggest an amateur but one who has studied bombings.   We may find a young man, a loner in his early 20ties, disenfranchised with the world, or an older man who lost his job and can only feel power in terrorism.

Either way it is to gain a sense of power by doing a heinous act of destruction and death upon innocent people families, children, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters and good friends.   This person has no soul, has no moral sense of right or wrong.  This person has the "dark spot" in his brain that makes him an animal without morals.   I say him, because mostly men will do this sort of thing, women seek to personalize it by doing it to only one or several particular individuals. 

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but I sense this is a lone male. An evil and insidious beast, who makes the animals of the wild look like saints.

I must go now Darklings, I have an appointment with my lawyer, as sad as this event is to those that are in the midst of it, for the rest of the world, time can only stop for a moment and then life needs to continue, I'll mourn later.

Later Darklings

Of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon~~~~

Dear Darklings,

This is so heartbreaking.

So Far two people are dead, one an 8 year old child, the injured are now up to 132, with 10 people having limbs amputated, some of them children.

Diane Fienstein is calling this a terrorist act, but whether its home or foreign no word as yet.

My friends are safe, one got ill 1/4 of the way into the run and his friend stopped to help him so they called on their cell phone their family members to come to them, far away from the explosions. 

The alleged explosion at the JFK Library was a fire in a maintenance room, not sure if its related or just coincidence.

Poor Louise didn't want to go home but I told her if she didn't her family would worry, and then my sister arrived home all safe, so Louise went home and she will call us when she arrives.

I had to leave the television for a short while, so my mind can take this in.

This is the dark side of life that my mind tries to fathom, the evil that is in one's soul that they can do this without a single thought of who would be harmed,  children, families.  

And so far no one is claiming responsibility, which I find odd.  Rumor has it that they were like pipe bombs, but no facts as yet.

My mind is reeling at this evil.  Trying to fathom why someone would do this.

Must go now, my sister is recommending that we order something delivered, but right now I have no appetite.

Later Darklings

Of Horror at the Boston Marathon~~~~

Oh My Darklings,

A horrible, horrible event happened a short while ago, two explosions at the Boston Marathon went off, killing at least 2 people, injuring 50 more, many with severed limbs, at least 8 people critically!

2 more explosive devises were found but had not gone off,  another explosion happened an hour later at the John F. Kennedy Library, no word if anyone had been injured.

Rumors are going around that a suspect has been captured, but so far no word on the news feed.

Doyle called me and said he was called in to assist with security as San Francisco and Oakland has been put on high alert as well as other major cities.

I have several friends who run in the marathon, but I cannot get in touch with them, I can only pray they are safe. 

My sister called me to see if I and Louise are O.K. but right now I am glued to the television, Louise God Bless her is praying and now I am going to do the same.

Later My Darklings