Murder, New England: A Historical Collection of Killer True-Crime Tales by M. William Phelps

I know what you are thinking- I read a book. Not a graphic novel. Not a comic book. And not just a book about super heroes, cooking or culinary, I read an honest-to-god true crime anthology!

Now, I've read these types of books before. But I'm not like the average true crime buff. The story has got to really pique my interest. I like Sherlock Holmes, Victorian Era, serial killer stuff. Erik Larson's Devil In The White City was a perfect combination of those macabre interests.

This previous father's day, I took a day trip to Bald Head Island. While we waited for our golf cart reservation to come up, my wife and I perused the island library, which is a tiny single room building with no A/C. There's not even a full-time staff. The idea is to give a book/take a book. Or make a donation, which is what my wife and I decided to do. 

As we were about to leave, I saw this book in the window. My wife, being from New England, would really enjoy this I thought. So I showed it to her. My bride was very interested and upon reading about some of the tales, which take place around that Victorian Era, I wanted this book too!

Since my wife had a bunch of other things on her list and I didn't bring a book to read at the beach, I drove into this collection of 8 true crime stories. 

Stories include:

• Pre-Colonial Times: What could be the first recorded event of spontaneous combustion. Or it could be one of the first times that an accusation from a ghost (during someone else's dreams) doomed a man to death by hanging.
• Post-War of 1812: A he said/she said tale of a murdered single mother. The teenage victim who survived the assault isn't a very good witness. But the man accused isn't a very nice person when he drinks. Who was telling the truth?
• The Mafia in New England. Not really a true crime tale as much as a historical account of how the Irish mafia went from being the #1 crime family in Boston, dropping to #2 after the rise of the Italians and then coming back into control of Beantown thanks to the demented Whitey Bulger.
• Modern Times- A trio of teens who get high and enjoy true crime TV shows plan the perfect murder; only to really make a giant mess of things!
• More Modern Times- A woman brings her husband breakfast one morning. She found him lying in a terrible pool of blood. And she blames the family horse on the crime!
• And From This Sure Ain't Sesame Street File- the landscaper and handyman for TV's Big Bird, Carol Spinney, is the prime suspect in the disappearance of a respected school employee.

M. William Phelps is an engrossing writer. He does seem to put his opinions into the story. But Phelps isn't the first such writer of true crime to do this. I think it would be kinda hard to write about these types of grisly tales and not need to express some of your disgust at these repulsive acts. Plus, the author isn't a journalist per say. As long as he wasn't on the 11 o'clock news doing a report on a recent killing, I don't think Phelps is in a situation here where he must keep his opinions to himself and just relate to facts.

Now I do think something is seriously wrong with the editors at Lyons Press because I found several inaccuracies that just didn't make sense. On the back cover, when talking about the trio who plan the perfect crime, it says they murdered a grandmother. Yet in the segment about them, it's plainly mentioned that the woman killed was one of the guy's aunts and that she had never married or bore children. There's no way this woman could have been a grandmother!

There's also an instance during the segment where the lady accuses her horse of killing her husband. That murder occurred in 2006. According to Phelps, the last murder in that community was in 1980. But about a paragraph later, it's mentioned that there was 'that murder in 1983'. So which is it 1980 or 1983? Really, I think the editors should have caught this. 

Another issue I had, and I really don't think it is the author's fault, is the spacing of the sentences. There's several sentences where there's no space between the period and the start of the next sentence. Several words are done like this as well. I understand that Phelps uses quotes from the time periods. And sometimes the letter S looked like a F. People omitted letters and used commas in their place. That kind of stuff I overlook. It's the errors that are riddled throughout the author's commentary that are hard to forgive. And yes, I checked. This was not an advanced reader copy that I got my hands on.

I would love to read another book by M. William Phelps. The two books advertised on the last page of this one look interesting. The Devil's Rooming House, about the first female serial killer and The Devil's Right Hand about the tragic life of the Colt family. Hopefully, the editing is better in them.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 20

Today's post is brought to you by the letters M and C and the number 20.

I was so excited when Sesame Street popped up on that random generator. Next to superheroes, Sesame Street is my earliest exposure to the realms of pop culture and Christmas coming to meet. I had a copy of Merry Christmas From Sesame Street, an LP album that featured a number of songs and several skits. 

The album was released originally in 1975 to great fanfare and even earned a Grammy nomination for the Children's Television Network. 3 years later, the TV special Christmas Eve on Sesame Street reused much of the material on the album. This resulted in the album being re-released and that's how I got a copy of the record. The coolest thing about the album was that it opened up in the middle and looked like a giant comic book. I spent hours studying that layout while listening to Bert, Ernie, Big Bird and Grover celebrate the holidays. 

My favorite character on Sesame Street is Grover. I love Disco Grover. I know the difference between near and far. I've been known to rock a recitation of The Monster at the End of The Book. And I chuckle every time I think of Grover starring in a version of The Night Before Christmas where he is a mouse who you will notice is not stirring (his bowl of cookie dough!) But my favorite version of the blue fur-ball is when he dons a cape and knight's helmet and becomes Super Grover! So in honor of that, I'm sharing this PVC ornament of SG in flight. 

Next, I'm sharing this pair of ceramic ornaments of Oscar the Grouch and Bert. They're from sometime in the 90s and I remember these as my sister had these. For several years, these two hung from my mom's white artificial tree. Where they are now, I have no idea. But I would love it if my sister has these and is sharing them with her little ones. 

Another character I have fond memories of is of the elephantine Mr. Snuffleupagus. I remember when he was Big Bird's supposed imaginary friend as he'd always disappear when someone would come along. Eventually, the residents of Sesame Street finally meet Snuffy and now he and his family are prominent members of the neighborhood. This 1992 ornament from Grolier has Snuffy wearing a Santa hat and carrying a tree in his trunk. (Hey- it's a pun!) I especially love how the character has snow on his back and one of Ernie's Twiddlebug friends is sledding down Snuffy's back. 

You can't mention Snuffy without including his best friend, Big Bird. I'm really fond of this imported glass ornament of Big Bird in his nest covered in lights and donning a Santa cap. I only wish he had a little bit of snow on him like he did when sleeping in his bed during the Christmas Eve special.

I also want to share this one also made from Grolier. It's off the detective Muppet Sherlock Hemlock. I'm not sharing because of any fond connection to the character or anything like. I just greatly appreciate how an obscure character like Sherlock getting the ornament treatment. 

Let's wrap things up with today's DIY ornament. Here's a list of what you need:

SUPPLIES:

• Salt Dough Ornament Recipe (Click on the link to get the recipe)
• White, Black, and Blue Paint
• Paint Brush
• Ribbon
• Scissors
• Glue

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the salt dough ornament recipe. Before putting the dough into the oven to bake, cut out 2 circles.  We pressed a small glass into the dough to create the right size shape.
2. Form 2 round balls out of the dough and gently press them onto one of the circles for Cookie Monster’s eyes.  Form 2 round balls and an oval and gently press them onto the other circle for Elmo’s eyes and nose.
3. After the dough bakes and is completely cooled, paint Cookie Monster’s face blue and the eyes white with black dots.  Paint a black half circle for the mouth.  Paint Elmo’s face red, nose orange, and eyes white with black dots.  Paint a black half circle for the mouth.
4. After the paint dries, put a coat of Mod Podge over the ornament.  This step is optional but it helps protect the ornament and keeps the paint from chipping.
5. Cut a ribbon that is about 4 inches long, fold it in half to create a loop, and glue it onto the back of the ornament.
6. After the glue dries, hang the ornament on your Christmas tree.

Classic Toys from a Madman's Youth: Advent 2019 Day 6

For today's Adventures, we're back in the 70s. Or we could be in the 80s. Heck, we could be in the 90s. That's because the toy I want to focus on today was something that not only did I own, so have my cousins and my kid sister did too!

The toy I'm talking about today is the Sesame Street 123 Neighborhood playset from Playskool or Fisher Price. (Yes, both companies made their own version of this toy. ) This present was darn near perfect as not only was it a complete playset but it came with figures too! 

My version was from Playskool because I didn’t have the Little People set up. I also know that my set had all the greats- Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and my favorite- Grover! Though you had to buy some figures like Grover separately. I think my cousins' sets had the same characters. But I think they had the Fisher Price version.  But I know for sure that my sister's set had a big difference. She had Elmo!

All of the key habitats were represented here from the lamp post and brownstone stoop on the outside to Big Bird's nest and Bert and Ernie's apartment on the inside. Of course, you had to have the corner store owned by the late, great Mr. Hooper!

A neat hidden feature of this set was that it doubled as a carrying case. Though I seem to recall that there was at least one open window in which some of the thinner figures ended up falling out. You never could get the figures back in the way in which they escaped. Plus, trying to open the playset was never an option without a parent present as the locking mechanism for the carrying case was not kid friendly!

Sadly, due to this design flaw, you ended up losing figures and some of the other items pretty quick. (I hear that the lamp post was the easiest piece to end up missing.) Sure, both sets have their flaws. But man, do I remember having fun with this set! Plus, as the figures were the same size of the Smurfs; so you could do crossovers!

So in keeping with the Sesame Street theme, my Advent gift for you today is a classic. It's the complete Christmas Eve on Sesame Street from 1978! At just under an hour, it's a long video. But man does it bring back some great Christmas memories as a kid.

ENJOY!

A Classic TV Christmas- Advent 2017 Day 14

We're back in the 70s where we belong. Enough time travel for a while...

I had mentioned a few days ago how the Gift of the Magi by O. Henry is my favorite Christmas story. We looked at a variation of that story when we visited the Honeymooners in New York. Well, I want to head back to the Big Apple to visit another couple who are having difficulties over purchasing gifts for the weekend. I have the address somewhere....

Oh, here it is- 123 Sesame Street. 

In the holiday episode of the titular children's series Sesame Street from December 6, 1978 titled Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, a ton of things are happening. Oscar is getting into trouble telling a little girl and Big Bird that Santa isn't coming this year. Jose Feliciano is singing Felix Navidad. And Cookie Monster has eaten all of the Christmas cookies left out for Santa!

But the storyline I am most interested about involves those unlikely best friends and roommates, Bert and Ernie. Bert wants to get Ernie a dish for his rubber duckie to rest in when it's not bath time. Ernie wants to surprise Bert with box for his paperclip collection. Being short on funds, Bert trades his collection to Mr. Hooper. Ernie also is low on cash and trades his rubber duckie to local shop keep Hooper.

Eventually, the buddies open their presents and they try really hard to not reveal that they gave their possessions away. Thankfully, it's Mr. Hooper to the rescue as he's come with presents- Ernie's rubber duckie and Bert's paperclips!

This award winning episode not only was eventually put on VHS and DVD, parts of it was also made into a record album. I remember as a very young kid listening to that album over and over. We could not decorate our Christmas tree for several years without this record playing. My favorite part was the Bert and Ernie adventure.

One cool thing about the record was that if you opened it up, there was a comic book inside of several of the songs and stories. I loved pouring over the images as the record spun on my Smurfs record player...

AS luck would have it, I actually found a video of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. AS today's Advent gift, I am sharing it with you. I hope you and your family will treasure it as I have for almost 40 years. Enjoy and until tomorrow- Merry Christmas!

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 54

  The other day, I saw that there was a novelty comic book cover in which readers got to decorate it with removable stickers.

The Superman: The Man of Steel Colorform cover
that inspired this article.

    Colorforms!!!

    So for today's Madman Turns 40 article, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the Colorforms sets that say on store shelves in 1977...

  Donnie And Marie

   With this set, kids could dress up the brother and sister pop duo, Donnie & Marie. You could dress Marie up a little bit country and Donnie could be dolled up a little bit rock n' roll!

   Sesame Street

   
    Every year it seemed that Sesame Street came up with a different Colorforms set. This one seems to be based on the colors of the rainbow from the organization of each hue.

     Pete's Dragon

       
      This set was based on the live-action/ animated Disney musical Pete's Dragon. Elliot, the Dragon was cartoon. Pete was played by a human actor. Yet, it worked quite seamlessly.

       Micronauts

        Micronauts was a cult classic toy series made by Mego. Mego Toys had the chance to obtain the Star Wars license but turned it down, thinking the film was going to be a flop. Unfortunately, it was Micronauts that was a dud and Mego closed doors by 1980. A near perfect set of Micronauts is worth a nice chunk of change.

        Ballerina Barbie

        Playing dress-up was a very popular 'activity' with Colorforms. I know that I already posted a dress-up set in this article but I thought this was note-worth because of the girl on the box. It's a then unknown Brooke Shields. Because of this, Ballerina Barbie is a much sought after set among film and Barbie collectors alike.

         Space Warriors

       

     Not every set made by Colorforms was based on a licensed product. The Space Warriors Adventure Set was an attempt by the company to cash in on the Star Wars craze. Kenner refused to allow Colorforms to make a set based on the George Lucas film. So, the toy maker created their own set along with a series of jigsaw puzzles. While the array of characters looks quite impressive, it didn't move off the shelves. Nope, not one little bit.

     Well, that's a look at one of my favorite toys during my favorite year. Come back tomorrow, who knows where I'll show up next...

Sesame Street/ Strawberry Shortcake Free Comic Book Day Flip Book (Family Comic Friday)

 

  In 2013, Ape Entertainment attempted to produce titles based on the television series Sesame Street and the popular girls toy line Strawberry Shortcake. To advertise the forthcoming releases, the publisher issued this free comic book day comic. On paper, these should have been home runs. But for some reason, these titles couldn't find a successful readership.

   On the Strawberry Shortcake side, we get three stories. In the first tale, Strawberry gets a case of the blueberry flu. Unable to run her shop, some of her friends come in to save the day. Then the Shortcake gang go on a treasure hunt for a pirates treasure and learn that one man's junk is another's treasure. Lastly in a story that doesn't even feature the sparkling red head, a character named Sugar Plum goes on the hunt for a rare book that she mistakenly loaned out.

   All three stories were charming. Little girls would really enjoy these. The art, though drawn from the modern version of the toys, was very clean and bright. The only thing missing were the fruity smells that the dolls were known for.

    The Sesame Street side only contains one story. Starring perhaps my least favorite of all the muppets, Elmo, it also features my all-time favorite furry blue monster- Grover. In this yarn, Elmo is playing superhero when Super Grover crashes onto Sesame Street. Taken a little aback by the new competition on the superhero front, Super Grover helps Super Elmo learn that his super power isn't flying or strength- it's his heart.

    When a story can make a character that normally makes me want to barf fall in love with him, you know you've found something special. But after this FCBD offering, Ape Entertainment only released one further comic based on the Jim Henson property. For the life of me, I can't figure out why Sesame Street didn't become the instant success that it's sister property, The Muppet Show did. The only thing I can come up with is that Sesame Street is geared toward pre-schoolers and this book is pretty wordy. Also, whereas both kids and adults loved the Muppet Show mostly little tykes are fans of Sesame Street.

    Strawberry Shortcake didn't fair much better either. Ape's first series was only 4 issues long, but that was a mini-series (and one of the cover's boasted a scratch and sniff feature.) But after the release of this free comic, Ape only released a smattering of one-shots. Why couldn't this series take off?

   In 1985, Marvel released a Strawberry Shortcake series under its Star Comics kid's line. But that title only produced 7 issues. What doomed that book was the fact that little girls weren't reading comics in the 80s. Though more girls are reading comics now than ever before, it's titles published by DC and Marvel that seems to be garnishing the most attention. If you're the publisher of an indy publication, it's hard to gain a presence in stores but it's almost impossible to reach out to readers of the fairer sex in those situations.

   So, if neither of these series is still being published or considered hits, the why did I review this book? Well, to be honest, I was so busy at work this week and I forgot to devote time to the Family Comic Friday book that I wanted to read. Plus, I didn't realize until after I read this comic and did some research that I learned that these books were not winners. But I decided to go ahead and review this book if only to let parents and guardians know that there are some great comics out there for really young kids and girls that are NOT published by the big two. You just have to search for them or ask your local comic book shop to carry them.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.