The man loved travel by locomotive.
It was all of the time in the throat of
tunnels, so dark and deep --
one couldn't see a peep.
He had night vision goggles... and motive.
Locomotive [Limerick]
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Category Archives: Crime
PROMPT: Spree
I’m not a fan of the “spree.” I don’t like a shopping spree and I don’t like a murder spree and I really don’t like a shopping mall shopping / murder spree.
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PROMPT: Broken the Law
I watched enough Wile E. Coyote to know when someone is trying to dance me under an anvil.
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BOOK: “Hell’s Angels” by Hunter S. Thompson
Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. ThompsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site – Penguin
This, the first published book of Hunter S. Thompson, is said to be from his pre-Gonzo period, but it bears many of the hallmarks Thompson would later be famous for: inventive colorful language, immersion in scenes of debauchery, and insight into the American cultural landscape.
The book is part exposé of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, an organization shrouded in a reputation that was as much myth as reality and whose tightknit inner circle made obtaining an accurate picture a challenge. It would take someone as fearless / crazy as Thompson to get close enough to learn about the gang and then to tell enough truth to make at least some of the members unhappy.
The book also takes the temperature of America and reports on what ails the country. One might think this would not be worth reading, given that its insight of America is from the late sixties (it came out in ’67.) However, as I read the penultimate chapter, I was surprised to find how much of what was being said could be seen as prophetic. Thompson wrote about the Angels not as a romantic throwback to wild west outlaws (as many saw them,) but as a class of people who were ill-equipped to make a living in an ever more technologically advanced America, leaving them with little money and loads of resentment. He wrote of them as “prototypes,” and his description connects up to the latest model. It was at that point that I started seeing Thompson not only as a brilliant creative writer, but — perhaps — as a prophet.
I’d highly recommend this book for anyone curious about the Hell’s Angels or American outlaws, more generally.
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BOOKS: “Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction” by David Canter
Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction by David CanterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher site
This book discusses the many roles that psychologists play in the criminal justice system: e.g. as expert witnesses, as consultants to police and prosecutors, and as therapists to prisoners. The big takeaway is that forensic psychology is much messier than we have been led to believe. In the 1980’s, a wave of pop psych books suggested that a clever psychologist could build a detailed profile that would tell the authorities all they needed to know to winnow a suspect pool down to one. Fascination with this Neo-Sherlock Holmesian notion resulted in it spilling over into popular culture, most famously in the excellent movie, “The Silence of the Lambs.” The only problem is that it’s largely BS. Humans are too complex and varied for such easy policing to be achieved.
The book begins with an examination of how criminals are made, and this – too – is largely a disputation of the overly simplified single-source arguments: nature, nurture, etc. Instead, the suggestion is that it is a range of factors and their interactions that lead one down the road to crime, and that said factors can be very circumstantial. The rest of the book explores the specific roles that psychologists play in criminal justice and their limitations, therein.
I found this book to be interesting and an eye-opener.
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Forensic Psychologist’s Limerick
There once was a forensic psychologist
Who came across as quite the apologist:
"The arsonist, you see,
Simply yearns to be free --
Hence, burning all the walls - if you get my gist."
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Slovak Limerick
There was a young man from Slovakia who wheedled his way into the mafia, but he couldn't run smack or conduct a "whack." So, he trafficked fake caviar from Sofia.
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Limerick of the Kenyan Burglar
There was a chill burglar from Kenya who, as he worked, listened to Enya. It lulled him to sleep, a sleep far too deep. He woke up where burglars, they send ya.
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On Intrusive Thoughts & Shoving Someone in Front of a Train
The other day I read that a man had pushed a person onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. The week before that, I'd read in a book by Robin Ince that a person who -- having had a baby thrust into his hands -- has intrusive thoughts of throwing said baby out of the nearest window is [believe it, or not] the best person to ask to hold one's baby. The argument goes like this, the person having these intrusive thoughts is being intensely reminded by his or her unconscious mind that under no circumstances -- no matter what unexpected or unusual events should transpire -- is he to throw the baby out the window (or otherwise do anything injurious.) I've heard that, at some point, virtually everyone has some type of awkward intrusive thought such as the thought of pushing a stranger in front of a train. Most never do it, nor truly want to do it. Then this one time... someone did.
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BOOK REVIEW: Cocaine Coast by Nacho Carretero
Cocaine Coast: A Luis Bustos Graphic Novel by Nacho CarreteroAmazon.in Page
Out: September 28, 2021
This is a graphic novelization of a journalistic account of smuggling in Galicia, a jagged coastal region of rocky inlets to the north of Portugal. This region’s entrance into smuggling began not with illicit drugs, but rather with cigarettes that were bootlegged to evade taxation. However, it wasn’t long before it was discovered that this supply chain could be exploited for illegal drugs, notably Columbian cocaine. The Columbian cartels would become a major player in the region and Galicia would become the single biggest entry point for cocaine into Europe.
This mix of graphic novel and journalism is a bit strange, but it does have its advantages. For example, maps and drawings of the coast offer a sense of how geography played into smuggling operations. The art combines a gritty style optimal to the narco- world, but with some beautiful layouts. And, the art does a good job of conveying the changing time periods, as this book covers decades of activity.
I found the book intriguing, with many insights into the hidden world of narcotics smuggling in a location that is famed for its natural beauty. There is a prose appendix that is also compelling. It discusses the response to the book (by criminals, police, and the general public, alike) and what impact that response had (and / or didn’t have) on smuggling in the region. If you’re curious about the business of narcotics trafficking, you’ll likely find this an interesting read.
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Tiger Riding for Beginners 