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Off-Topic -- more Coincidences - 2017
'Kay, I just got through reading Murder and Madness: The Secret Life of Jack the Ripper, right, which posits the notion that J.K. Stephen and Prince Eddie working together were Jack the Ripper. So right after that, a book I've been waiting to arrive for MONTHS came in at the library and I eagerly picked it up. I learned immediately in The Trials of Israel Lipski: A True Story of a Victorian Murder in the East End of London that the presiding judge in this case was J.K. Stephen's dad...
Our current president keeps mentioning his friend Jim, which some people wonder isn't imaginary. Google it. I kid you not. Sooo...in the last two books I have read the main character has a friend named Jim (not imaginary). Just thought that was funny!
Item: Everyone always gets my name wrong, either because they can't frikkin' read or because they're not listening carefully. I thought I had heard every variation on my name, from Ellen to Arlene. But it was only on the day I was reading about Sharon Amos and her daughter Lianne Harris in The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple, and looking Lianne up in Who Died on November 18, 1978 in the Jonestown, Guyana Mass Murder-Suicides, that someone's dad called me "Lianne."Item: I have been wondering lately about a client I haven't seen in years, and I asked myself if he was even still alive, because he was no spring chicken when I last saw him. Well, yesterday I ran out to the office-supply store for a box of envelopes, drove past the place I intended to go and went into the next place that carries them, and...there he was running the cash register.
Fishface wrote: "Item: Everyone always gets my name wrong, either because they can't frikkin' read or because they're not listening carefully. I thought I had heard every variation on my name, from Ellen to Arlene...."That's been happening to me a lot lately, where I think of someone I haven't seen in a while and then I will run into them.
Weird! I was making a reservation at a Holiday Inn Express and got put on hold for about 5 minutes. While I was on hold I was checking out Facebook and looked at a page of a guy I went to school with and haven't seen since then. He listed his workplace as Holiday Inn Express.
It would be a total trip if he worked at the SAME Holiday Inn Express.
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won something "for life!", some of the responses were from people who won something for a year. Went to Subway to get a sandwich, on the receipt is an entry to "win free Subway for a year".
Wow, a whole subway? Which line?NO HIT! NO HIT!!!
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NO HIT! NO HIT!!!"
With my luck probably the "F" it only goes to Roosevelt island,
POW
This was a good TC coincidence. I've often wondered how, in this tiny county, I've never run across anyone personally connected to the victims of any local serial killers. Well, the other day I met a new family for the first time and the mom mentioned off the cuff that she knew two victims of Livingston/Oakland County SK Leslie Williams. Today at lunch, someone I've talked TC with many times at work decided that today was the day to finally mention that a college prof she took 5 or 6 classes with was murdered by Matthew Macon, half an hour away in Ingham County.I guess than answers that question.
Fishface wrote: "This was a good TC coincidence. I've often wondered how, in this tiny county, I've never run across anyone personally connected to the victims of any local serial killers. Well, the other day I met..."Love it. I know you almost feel like you've met a celebrity. Reminds me of when I was reading an Ann Rule book and saw the name of a gal that I worked with. Turned out it was the same person mentioned in the book.
Oh, and one of the TC books I looked for the longest -- over 20 years -- was recommended to me by someone who was in that book. She explained that her best friend was killed by an SK in the town where she grew up. Trouble was, they changed the names of everyone but the killer to protect people from harassment. And two people in that book were described by the authors as the victim's best friend.
When my grandma died (I don't remember what year but I know its got to be 15 or more years ago) one of the first songs I heard on the radio was Holes In The Floor of Heaven by Steve Warriner. Yesterday my uncle (her son) died. Guess what song I heard today...yep, you're right! If you're interested here are the lyrics: One day SHY OF eight years old
Grandma passed away
I was a broken hearted little boy,
blowing out that birthday cake
How I cried when the sky let go
with a cold and lonesome rain
Momma smiled said don't be sad child
Grandma's watchin you today
'Cause there's holes in the floor of Heaven
and her tears are pourin' down
that's how you know she's watchin'
wishin' she could be here now
And sometimes if you're lonely
just remember she can see
there's holes in the floor of Heaven
and she's watchin' over you and me
Seasons come and seasons go
nothin' stays the same
I grew up fell in love
met a girl who took my name
Year by year we made a life
in this sleepy little town
I thought we'd grow old together
Lord I sure do miss her now
But there's holes in the floor of Heaven
and her tears are pourin' down
that's how you know she's watchin'
wishin' she could be here now
and sometimes when I'm lonely
I remember she can see
there's holes in the floor of Heaven
and she's watchin' over you and me
Well my little girl is 23
I walk her down the aisle
it's a shame her mom can't be here now
to see her lovely smile
They throw the rice
I catch her eye
as the rain starts comin' down
she takes my hand says daddy don't be sad 'cause
I know momma's watchin' now
And there's holes in the floor of Heaven
and her tears are pourin down
that's how you know she's watchin'
wishin' she could be here now
and sometimes when I'm lonely
I remember she can see
there's holes in the floor of Heaven
and she's watchin' over you and me
Watchin' over you and me
Watchin' over you and me
Watchin' over you and me
So I was reading in Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully about this flimflam operation the author learned about in the course of his research, and there was a photo of a phony document used as evidence in the trial against the flimflamsters. It was dated July 3rd, and I realized with a bit of a start that today was, in fact, July 3rd.
You're a month behind me, then! I'm in August...My coincidence this morning occurred as I was eating breakfast, reading a Smithsonian magazine, with the TV streaming SkyNews in the background. I was reading an article on the route Hannibal took from Spain to Italy, and just as I read the words "from Spain to Italy" I heard those exact words from the TV! I looked up and found that the newscaster was explaining today's European weather patterns.
I forget to write things down in a timely manner. I reopened the book, found the page, and light dawned...
I had two in the same day. After I added that Carl Panzram meme to TC Gifs, Etc. I turned around to see what time it was on the wall clock, and saw to my shock that the man using the computer just behind mine -- #15 it was -- was a dead ringer for that same photo of Panzram -- the relatively young, handsome Panzram.Later on at home, I finished Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully, which is all about a school bully named (I crap you negative) Cesar Augustus. I closed the book and went downstairs to make a batch of cookies (green tea cookies with pistachio, if you must know). It was too hard to concentrate on Outside Verdun between steps in the recipe, so I turned on the TED talks. And the guy doing the talk was named Cesar!!!
I have only 3 left. They are pretty good. I think I got the recipe wrong, though.
OK, while reading Outside Verdun I was horrified to see a mention of something the German soldiers were issued to eat, called turnip jam. It sounded beyond revolting. To my surprise, I found a recipe for it online...and it sounded kind of good.Well, I just came from a home visit where I admired a giant turnip on display on the front porch. They insisted on giving it to me, saying they have no idea how to fix it. And here I am, with a turnip recipe and a turnip the size of a FotoMat...
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I don't have a phone that takes pictures, at least not good ones. I wish I could have taken a pic but anyway....yesterday while eating breakfast at the hotel we were staying at, the guy at the table next to us was a dead ringer for Dennis the Menace's dad.
At one point in Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully, the author sits down with the title character in his book and is surprised when the guy -- a professional con man -- sings him part of Sade's song "Smooth Operator," which is a song about a con man. So of course I've had the song playing intermittently in my head ever since. Well, my last meeting today (Sade playing in my head all the while) had a surprise appearance by the client's mom, who showed up 15 minutes late for the meeting wearing a purple shirt showing Homer Simpson dressed in a Saturday Night Live leisure suit, platform shoes and a curly perm. Underneath him it said SMOOTH OPERATOR.Now I'm never gonna get it out of my head!!!
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THE MUSEUM OF SEX. Which I've been to, when I went there was an exhibit about how white women vs non-white women are portrayed in movies (mainstream not porn), everytime I saw the ad I would think of this.
Then on Facebook someone posted Chattanooga Choo Choo from Glen Miller and it exactly showed what the museum exhibit described.
What? I had no idea that there's a Museum of Sex.First I find out there's a Ice Cream Museum now this.
How's this for an oddly fitting coincidence? Haruo Nakajima defined one of the greatest movie characters of all time, and easily the best-beloved symbol of nuclear war, when he first put on that rubber suit in GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS.Well, he died yesterday at the age of 88 -- on the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki.
Fishface wrote: "How's this for an oddly fitting coincidence? Haruo Nakajima defined one of the greatest movie characters of all time, and easily the best-beloved symbol of nuclear war, when he first put on that ru..."Yes. That's definitely a coincidence. Kind of like the two presidents that have died on the Fourth of July. Both were signers of the constitution and died on the anniversary of the signing of the constitution.
Two? One was Jefferson, right? Who was the other?
I’m researching Crippen – be quiet Fishface.Anyway, I found out today, Ethel Le Neve, Dr Crippen’s lover, was married in the same registry office, Wandsworth, as me.
And it doesn’t end there!
Excitement builds...
Her spouse has the same surname as me. There’s more! And the same initials.
Spooky, or what?
Related, or what?...have you counted your teeth lately?
Fishface wrote: "Two? One was Jefferson, right? Who was the other?"John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died July 4th, 1831, about 5 hours apart.
Huh. The SAME July 4th. What are the odds of that?
Fishface wrote: "Huh. The SAME July 4th. What are the odds of that?"I know. Isnt that amazing!
On Saturday I went to the P.O. box and found a surprise box of iris rhizomes, mailed by a friend in Grand Marais, MI. An hour after opening that, I opened up the weekly news magazine that came in the same delivery and there was a restaurant mentioned in there, a fish place in Grand Marais, Wisconsin. (Or was it Minnesota?)
Fishface wrote: "On Saturday I went to the P.O. box and found a surprise box of iris rhizomes, mailed by a friend in Grand Marais, MI. An hour after opening that, I opened up the weekly news magazine that came in t..."There is a Grand Marais Minnesota. I believe it is waaaay in the northern part of the state.
And Grand Marais, MI is on the upper edge of the upper peninsula of Michigan.
Blood Echoes is turning out to fairly bristle with odd little coincidences. One of the investigators has the same name as a guy I went to high school with. One of the killers' names starts with "William Carroll," the name of a kid killed by John Gacy; they both go by the nickname "Billy;" and the killer Billy Carroll is totally Gacy's type of preferred victim; young, good-looking, small enough to easily overpower, and sporting a head of long blonde hair. One of his co-offenders bears a striking physical resemblance to my old nemesis, Coral Watts.
And the book is pretty much stuffed with guys named WAYNE. One of the victims is Richard WAYNE Miller. One of the investigators is named Wayne. And one of the killers is WAYNE Coleman.
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Beth wrote: "Koren, That happens to me all the time. I'll hear a song and can't seem to shake it no matter how hard I try. Hate when that happens.
Oh and it is usually an obscure song nobody has heard of or ..."
I got a song in my head the other day that was on a children's record I had as a kid. Don't know why it popped into my head. I wish I could remember the name of the album so I could get it again. Another thought that comes into my head was from a Winnie the Pooh record I had as a kid. Everytime it looks like it is going to rain I can hear Winnie saying "Tut, Tut, it looks like rain".
More coincidences and small entertainments in the otherwise tragic Blood Echoes:The forensic pathologist is named Larry Howard.
The county sheriff where the crime occurred is Dan White.
Fishface wrote: "More coincidences and small entertainments in the otherwise tragic Blood Echoes:The forensic pathologist is named Larry Howard.
The county sheriff where the crime occurred is Dan..."
Funny!
This is weird cause I didn't even notice it until I had the books for 2 days. I ordered two books from the library at two different times. Picked up the first book on Wed. On Friday I got a notice that 2 more books had come in but the name of one of the books was the same as the book I picked up on Wed. so I thought there was a mistake. Didn't notice it until the next day that I had ordered two different books with the same name. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
and
by Robert Dudley It Can't Happen HereThe back cover blurb about the Sinclair Lewis book intrigued me:
"Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. " Hmmm, sound familiar? Not sure if I will tackle this book but it sounds intriguing.
Koren wrote: ""Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. " Hmmm, sound familiar? Not sure if I will tackle this book but it sounds intriguing. "Read it and tell us how the current administration is going to come out!
Fishface wrote: "Koren wrote: ""Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a presi..."Read 20 pages and just couldn't get into it. Too much stuff going on in my life right now so I think I need some light reading right now. Took it back to the library today. Maybe try again another time.
I heard a radio commentary on the changes in Hell's Kitchen and shuddered a little at how chic and foo-foo it seems to be now. It's a place nobody can afford to live, infested with boutiques and high-end restaurants.Well, I just started a new TC and it turns out to be a memoir of growing up in the old, unimproved Hell's Kitchen.
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And a great craft beer bar.
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Obsessed with True Crime
Books mentioned in this topic
Gosnell's Babies: Inside the Mind of America's Most Notorious Abortion Doctor (other topics)Torture Killers II (other topics)
Dark Secret: The Complete Story: The True Account of What Happened to Little Alex Suleski (other topics)
Cause of Death (other topics)
Cause of Death (other topics)
More...
Well, I just pulled up the Michigan Radio website to listen to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" while I typed in TC trivia questions. What was staring me in the face but the title of a show called That's What They Say. The subject of the day is "For Pete's Sake, Who In The World Is Pete?"