rontweedie

[rontweedie]

Miracle Mike

Miracle Mike: The chicken that lived for 18 months without a head

On 10 September 1945 Lloyd Olsen and his wife Clara were killing chickens, on their farm in Fruita, Colorado. One, a five-and-a-half-month-old Wyandotte chicken, survived decapitation. Although it is common for a chicken to flap wildly and run around after having it's head cut off only to die after a few minutes, this chicken actually survived the operation. A post mortem conducted later revealed that, although the axe removed the bulk of his head, it missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact. Obviously there was enough of it's brain left undamaged and functioning to continue basic life support, although he now relied on his owner to feed him a mixture of milk and small grains of corn directly down his oesophagus with an eyedropper. Although many people have since tried, so far no one has been able to duplicate the accident that resulted in this remarkable phenomenon. After the chicken had survived for quite some time they named it "Mike" and kept it as a pet. Eventually word of this bizarre bird reached a sideshow promoter named Hope Wade who traveled nearly 300 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah to Fruita to make a business proposal to the Olsens. It wasn't long until Mike was re-dubbed "Miracle Mike" and began his short career as a sideshow attraction. Evidently Mike wasn't aware that there was anything wrong with him, at least not if his behavior was any indication. He carried on like normal, going through the motions of pecking and preening as if nothing was amiss. He even attempted to crow occasionally although the best he could accomplish was a sort of gurgling sound. He was also photographed for dozens of magazines and newspapers, and was even featured in popular magazines such as Time and Life. People paid 25 cents a gander to admire the famous chicken, and at the height of his popularity he brought in $4,500 per month ($48,300 today) and was valued at $10,000. Although the Olsens never got anywhere near as rich off Mike as their neighbors thought they did, they did manage to buy a hay baler and two tractors to replace their horse and mule. They were even able to splurge and treat themselves to a 1946 Chevrolet pickup truck. They undoubtedly would have been able to earn a great deal more had not Mike's career been cut short by an unfortunate mishap one evening in a motel at a Phoenix stopover while traveling back from tour in the spring of 1947, 18 months after his "creation". Mike began choking on his own mucous. Whenever this happened Lloyd would clear out the obstruction with a syringe. Unfortunately this time he didn't have that syringe handy and Mike expired before they could improvise some other way to help him. Lloyd was so embarrassed by his oversight that for years he told everyone that he sold his famous chicken, and it wasn't until he was on his deathbed that he confessed what had really occurred. Incidentally, the head shown with Mike's decapitated body in the above picture is not his own. A cat got to his real head before anyone thought to save it so the head he poses with here was just that of some other chicken that obviously did not survive the surgery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqDjRCHyjTY www.miketheheadlesschicken.org… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the… (Thanks to Karen for suggesting the topic of this post)

[rontweedie]

The Castle of Otronto by Horace Walpole

After I finished "Wagner the Werewolf", since I was in a Gothic vein, and Karen had bought me a copy of "The Castle of Otronto", I decided I may as well read it. It's only 106 pages long. To be honest I was a little disappointed in "Wagner the Werewolf". He only changed into a werewolf three times in the book, which was 474 pages long, and when he did he just ran around like crazy all night like the Tasmanian Devil from the Warner Brothers cartoons.  The beginning was OK, but it soon started to drag when he found himself stranded on an island in the Mediterranean. Because of the immense popularity of "Robinson Crusoe", in most 19th century works, if they were long enough, a few chapters where the characters find themselves stranded on an island almost seemed almost mandatory. I read "Robinson Crusoe" years ago and I remember it as being dreadfully boring. How could it be anything other? Do you think being stuck on some island out in the middle of nowhere is terribly exciting? It was no more exciting in "Wagner the Werewolf" even with all the giant snakes on the other side of the island. Giant snakes should present any imaginative writer with a wonderful opportunity, but, unfortunately Mr. George W M Reynolds just must not have felt equal to the challenge this time around. I find this odd because "Varney the Vampire" was a delightful book and I loved the character. He was a hideous and freaky looking vampire, nearly seven feet tall with a face like a rat, but oh so polite. Whenever his irate neighbors burst into his home to challenge him to a duel or insist he evacuate the premises and vacate the village he's always careful to offer them refreshments. If they refuse he asks them, "Are you quite sure? I have an extensive selection of tempting cordials to chose from!" Such impeccable manners. A true gentleman through and through. I absolutely loved it. I guess there's also the possibility that Wagner and Varney were the creations of two different authors since these Victorian potboilers were published in installments in cheap, rubbishy magazines that no respectable person would really want to be associated with.  Many writers used pseudonym, and sometimes the same pseudonym could be used by more than one author. OK, back to, "The Castle of Otronto". To be honest I had a very hard time understanding the first few paragraphs. The syntax and manner of speech was initially very opaque to me. Of course it was written in 1764 so that may have something to do with it. Anyway I was able to make the adjustment and understand what I was reading quickly enough. The story didn't make much sense. It reminded me of a dream in a lot of places and I felt the story was overburdened with heavy and obscure symbolism. After I read it I did a little research and apparently creating impossible events and having his characters react to them naturally as if they were commonplace was one of the concepts he was exploring with this piece. Also, you may be interested to know, this is officially the first Gothic novel ever written, but since he admits Hamlet was his inspiration does that mean Shakespeare should be considered the first Gothic writer instead of Walpole? I think the definition of "Gothic" has either changed or enlarged during the past 250 years since this book was set in the 12th century and dealt with knights and castles. In fact, when it was first released the author told everyone it was just a translation he did of an old Italian work from the Middle Ages found in a private library on an ancient estate. He later confessed it was his own creation and the work received mixed criticism, some praising it while others dismissed it as romantic fluff. Walpole himself was obsessed with English Gothic architecture and began enlarging his Strawberry Hill farm Hearst Castle style trying to make it into a sort of castellino. Since he knew nothing about structural architecture his Gothic additions were basically decoration. At any rate it still stands and you can book tours by calling: +44 20 8744 1241. Although originally about knights, ghosts, castles and princesses in distress, most people these days, when they hear the term "Gothic" think of 19th century stories dealing with monsters like "Frankenstein" and "Dracula", maybe even "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde". Most modern readers would feel cheated if they read a Gothic novel without a vampire in it or a monster chained in the cellar or dungeon. Maybe a few creatures of the night would have livened the story up a bit, but I appreciate this kind of literature so much that personally, I don't require the addition of monsters. If it's well written enough I enjoy seeing a story unfold in the chivalrous world when Europe was young and green, and observing plots and schemes enacted in the context of the ancient moral code. For instance I love Sir Walter Scott. OK, spoiler alert here in case any of you think you may ever want to read this in the future, I'm about to outline some of the plot: Manfred, the Lord of Otranto, was about to marry his son off to princess Isabella. Out of nowhere a giant helmet falls out of the sky and crushes his son, Conrad, the death(!). Of course everyone is totally freaked out by this, but, evidently Manfred is very single minded, he needs an heir to the property to continue his family name, so he goes up to Isabella and basically says, "Oh well, shit happens. He was a sickly little loser anyway. I'll just divorce my wife and marry you instead", which, I'm sure you will agree, is a most singular response to the situation. Isabella is mortified by his plan and, of course, runs away. Since it was a superstitious age some poor guy was accused of using sorcery to kill Conrad so they put him under the helmet. They don't provide him with any food because they assume that if he gets hungry he could just conjure up a snack for himself using the black arts. So, anyway, while the princess is frantically running through the castle to evade the crazed Manfred she runs into this guy who was imprisoned under the helmet, a peasant named Theodore, Some people thought he stepped out of a picture on the wall of the castle because he resembled it so much, but we are given to understand that the giant helmet damaged the castle wall and he was able to escape his makeshift prison and penetrate the castle through the rupture. Theodore opens a trap door in the floor that leads to the local church and the princess is able to escape, unfortunately the hatch slams shut after she descends and the noise attracts Manfred and his servants. They can't find the trap door but once they conclude Theodore aided the princess in her escape they take him prisoner with the intent of torturing him into revealing where she is. Manfred chooses friar Jerome to be his confessor, but we soon find, once they strip off Theodore's shirt in preparation to laying him on the rack, that a mark on his shoulder reveals that Theodore is friar Jerome's long lost son. I won't divulge anymore, but I trust I've given you a good idea of what the story is like. Like most literature the plot takes numerous twists and turns where secret relationships between the characters are revealed, unexpected events shatter well laid plans and, in the tradition of Shakespeare, nearly everyone dies or is killed by the end. Since the place is getting fixed up nice maybe I should make more of my book review videos. I must have read a room full of books since the last one I made. I guess it's getting time to make some more.

[rontweedie]

Splish splash Thursday:

It’s pretty wet and rainy today. I remember when I was younger how much I hated rainy weather. I used to get all depressed whenever the weather was clouded and wet. Now, to be completely honest, I love this weather. Maybe this present affection I have for these drippy days is just a temporary thing because winter is just starting and it’s been hot and sunny since I can remember, but whatever, these gray, damp days clearly don’t negatively affect my mood any longer.

I’m very happy my moods have become much more positive during the past few years, now if I can only parlay that newfound positivity into productivity I’d be set. Way I see it there’s not much point in feeling as good as I do if I can’t share it with everybody else. Although they have wasted my young life for me using it to generate wealth for their own greedy selves, if there is any justice in this old, wicked world I should get the lion’s share of what has been accumulating. I stand to be as rich as a jew when my payday finally arrives. To be honest I’ve never been an avaricious person so I’d give anything to be able to just return that filthy lucre back to those media rats and be able to live and enjoy my youthful years the way God intended and make my own life for me to live. I don’t know who made these arrangements for me but the deal has already been made, so, since there’s no use in crying over spilled milk, I guess I have no choice but to live out my sunset years with nothing but my regrets and riches to sustain me. I’d be a fool to complain since that’s a far better deal then 99% of all the people who have ever lived got.,

[rontweedie]

Tuesday the 27th

Last night I got out one of my Japanese brush pens and actually started drawing something. I like those brush pens, but their cartridges don't hold an awful lot of ink so they can be expensive to use. I prefer brush and ink with a traditional brush and a bottle of ink, but the brush pen is great for just drawing in bed. Anyway, the picture is coming out real crappy looking, but it was just a spontaneous, unplanned composition and, since I've not drawn in years, it was more along the lines of a warm up. I'd post it but the scanner/printer I recently got is wireless and I've yet to figure out how to hook it up. One thing I've completely forgotten about making art is the meditative frame of mind it puts you in. I figured out a lot of, to me at least, interesting things while drawing. Since it was kind of personal and esoteric I doubt it would be of much interest to anyone else so I won't go through the trouble of explaining it. Next I want to set myself up at my desk and do some pen and ink on vellum. I love pen and ink only all the paper I have is too coarse for the fine nibs I like to use as they keep pulling up strands of fiber off the paper, which destroys any detail work I might be getting into. Since vellum, modern vellum at least, is just a smooth sheet of plastic, it will be a perfect surface for me to use my nibs on. So, since I will be spending more time trying to get back into art that means I will be spending less time online. I guess I always took it for granted how much meaning my work lent to my existence. Now that I've been creatively idle for no small number of years I can actually feel the emptiness in my soul that it used to fill. I think what kept me from my work for so long is that I had evolved beyond the kind of work I was doing and needed to pull myself together and create a new aesthetic. Don't be surprised if my newer work looks just as dark as my old work as it too will need time to morph into something more positive.

[rontweedie]

Monday the 26th

Been wiped out the past few days. I'm glad I don't get sick like I used to, like everyone else does, I don't miss that at all. Something weird must have happened to me in that accident I had 20 years ago where I was in a coma for ten days. I haven't been truly sick a day since although I do get these weird inconsistencies in my health from time to time. I imagine my feeling slightly tired or nauseous must be how I experience colds and flues now. Or maybe it's something in my food or air, I don't know. What I do know is that my health has been amazingly good for the past 20 years.

I was just looking at the little book of Munch's work Karen got me last week. He did a few interesting pieces, I'll grant him that, but most of his work, especially his later pictures, are a little too loose and sloppy for my tastes. I'm a big fan of tight composition with lots of detail. I'm not complaining because I wanted the book because I want all types of art to be represented in my library. I fantasize about collecting art when I am finally compensated for all the misery and inconvenience those media hacks have put me through. I especially like 19th century classicism. I also like Renaissance art. Hell, I also like graphic art, advertising art, hell, you name it and I'll find some examples I like, EXCEPT conceptual art, minimalism and all that kind of scam pseudo-art. These people have been exploiting me all my life so if the pay check isn't something I consider fair I will have to go after them to collect what I think is fair. Since they have kept me in penury all my life I expect to get enough to enable me to finally have all the things they have been denying me. These people are loaded, they can afford it. Until I can afford to buy real art I may have to content myself with making my own. It's hard for me because I've not done anything in so long. It's very disheartening to have so much trouble with something you used to be so good at. Oh well, if something is not difficult it is often not worth doing. Maybe I should not have made this post. I'm a bit out of it now so I may not be using my best judgement.

[rontweedie]

Printers’ Trade Cards

I find these particularly charming.

None of these were made to depict a scene or work of art, but rather simply to show what the printer’s craft was capable of.

They predated the whole “the medium is the message” movement by at least 50 years.

Except for some decorative attempts at perspective and some cliche cameos worked onto the composition of a couple of them they are entirely imaginative scenarios. I love the arabesques and baroque elements and the abstract logic represented in these predominantly non-representational works.

[rontweedie]

[rontweedie]

My new address

I’ve just activated a new Flickr account* so I started this Tumblr blog as a companion to that. I’ve also been keeping a Deviantart account+ under a pseudonym for the past five years. The Flickr account has pictures (not very many now as I’ve only just started it), all of which and more can be seen on my DA account. There is a journal associated with the DA account, but I will make seperate posts here,  documentary and possibly some creative stuff as well. Since this will be visible to everybody and people can easily find it through google it will all be pretty mundane stuff, but what’s most important is it will all be true. I just think it’s important to counter all the outrageous lies and exaggeration they routinely vomit all over the general public concerning me on that exploitative website and television show about me.

What people need to understand about that show is that it’s not really about me, rather they have been using me to play this imaginary character they have been creating. By implying a lot of things, allowing people to come on and make up stories about me, as well as creative editing and all the usual tricks the media uses, they have created a fictional character which seems to fascinate the public, thus ensuring an ongoing and morbid interest. All this is bad enough as it has created countless problems for me in my life, but where it really gets sick is where they obsessively control my personal life and try to manipulate me into doing things they think will be good for the show. Basically they have been working at making me into this antisocial character. Considering the degenerate values the entertainment media pushes these days you know my character has to be as unpleasant as he is outrageous.

Naturally they have been exerting no small amount of control over my social life if only to make sure nobody lets the cat out of the bag by revealing to me what has been going on and what they have been using me for. Also, for obvious reasons I can’t be allowed to make any real money since the wealthier I am the less control they’d have over me.

Long before I had incontrovertible proof that I was being featured on a long running “reality” show I was constantly noticing weird things that didn’t make much sense to me because if my ignorance of what was going on. One in particular that I always found curious was how new acquaintances always felt obligated to tell me how I was actually much nicer than they expected me to be. The sentiment, often expressed as something like, “You’re not really such a bad guy after all”, or some such,  was usually dropped so casual and nonchalantly that I’d naturally let it slide without comment. Of course, in the back of my mind and barely on a conscious level I’d wonder where they ever got the unfavorable impression of me that our meeting gave me the opportunity to dispel. Of course it was always from that accursed show. 

I remember when I first heard it how I was taken aback by the viciousness of the commentary concerning me. Suddenly it was no wonder why my lot has always been much harder than I thought it should be. What I find particularly disturbing is that, judging by the uncalled for hostility I had been regarded with by random strangers since I was in my early teens, and the mocking denunciation I was routinely subjected to by people who shouldn’t have had any opinions one way or another about me, this destructive propaganda has apparently been being broadcast about me since I was quite young. This whole situation is sick enough as it stands right now, but I don’t see how something like this being done to a mere child can possibly be justified.

The show itself is bad enough, but what makes this whole thing many times worse is not only the naive trust the public places in it, but how staunchly they try to protect it’s very existence from me. Certainly I have a right to know if I am being defamed over the airwaves, but when you consider what these monsters have been doing to me behind the scenes and how they have been negatively interfering with my personal life for at least the past 35 years I am shocked that anyone could live with themselves condoning something as evil as that. It puts me in a nightmarish and surreal frame of mind knowing that I have been in the center of such a wicked conspiracy all my life.

The people using me thus are very sick people no doubt. They placate the public and justify it by promising to pay me very well some day, but to be completely honest I’d much rather have been allowed to live my life unmolested than be rich in my old age as a reward for allowing myself to be constantly humiliated. I don’t care how rich they promise to make me. How much is a man’s life worth to him? It should be well beyond any possible dollar amount.

Actually it’s even worse than that. I have proof that they have been trying to ensure that I won’t live long enough to see this pay day. As I mentioned above, they completely control my social life and they have taken advantage of this by getting me involved with some pretty unsavory characters who have tried to get me involved with all manner of dangerous mischief, including dangerous drugs. It shouldn’t require too much imagination to figure out what they were hoping would happen. In any event, my actual drug use was never anywhere near as bad as they had the public believe, and since I am determined to live long enough to collect my rewards I have sworn off drugs, drinking and smoking entirely since 2012. I realize that this is not very exciting television, but my life is not about some stupid hack cable show, it’s about ME and it’s about time I stood up for myself!

* https://www.flickr.com/photos/137190629@N08/

+ http://germanicus-fink.deviantart.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5mRhUZidVjtvkAeskaWwfQ