Back To Normal

The end of January already and I've just completed my last bit of exam duty at college until the summer. I also had the chance to resume the supervisory work I was doing before Christmas because one of the two permanent team members fell ill for a week. A third opportunity has arisen with the need for cover staff for the college library. I passed the interview and will shortly be undergoing training. With three jobs at the same place I feel a bit greedy. But it will still only amount to a few hours here and there.

Both my writers' clubs have resumed their meetings. The invited speakers, workshops and competitions for the year ahead are being finalised. Even Blogger seems back to normal after sorting out its recent problems. I can now start leaving comments again.

Payment for my accepted story at The People's Friend has appeared on my bank statement but I still haven't seen it in print yet. Can't be long now surely?

Also had a call from Marion Clarke at Yours magazine to say they have accepted my last submission.

I have had five stories accepted by five different magazines now, plus a newspaper and an anthology. I feel gratified that so many editors think I can write a bit. They can't all be wrong, can they? The worrying thing is that no-one has come back for a second one yet. It's amazing how a tiny bit of success can still leave you paranoid isn't it?

Baby Monitor Hauntings

Baby monitors are often depicted as portals to the other worldly.  In films such as Insidious,  they pick up the voices of the ghosts haunting their house.  In movies like Signs,  they pick up Alien voices as the aliens plan an invasion.   Baby monitors are natural receivers and many believe they pick up more than the sweet voices of the babies they are designed to monitor.

Last night I tucked my baby in early.  I turned on the baby monitor and in my exhaustion, I fell asleep beside him.   I didn't notice my husband come home late.  He didn't notice the monitor was still on.  He sat down in the den next to the other end of the monitor and began working on his dictations.   Suddenly, the baby monitor exploded in a cacophony of noise and chaos.  He turned it off, but it got me thinking  about baby monitors.

A quick search of the Internet will reveal thousands of stories of hauntings and baby monitors.  In one single forum, I found hundreds of stories of people who heard ghosts through a baby's monitor.  Phantom voices drift over the monitors and video baby monitors expose strange black fogs wandering through nurseries.  One woman described hearing her dead father-in-laws voice over the monitor.  He was softly comforting her weeping baby.   Many stories are like this. They hear the ghost comforting weeping babies or see the ghosts hovering over the baby's crib.

Most theorists believe that baby monitors act in the same way EVP recorders do.  EVPs or electronic voice phenomena are voices picked up over recording devices.  Phantom voices that aren't heard  with the naked ear are recorded and heard on playback.   Those who believe, think that baby monitors receive in the same way other EVPs are recorded.  EVPs are heard on the receiving end of the baby monitor.   The voices of ghosts can be heard the same way audio playback reveals EVPs.

Other theorists believe that children and animals are more open to the spirit world.  Animals and young children can see and feel ghosts in the ways that adults can not.  According to these theories, baby nurseries would draw ghosts who want to interact with the living.  Most of the stories about nurseries and ghosts are pleasant.  People hear the ghosts of loved ones whispering to the babies.   It is away for the deceased to interact with their family when they are gone.

So it is possible that the baby monitor beside my son's bassinet picked up something unworldly. Maybe my mother-in-law came to sing to her grandson or my father-in-law came by to whisper to him in French.   Perhaps when my son looks behind me and laughs at the darkness over my shoulder he is seeing the friendly face of someone who has gone before us.   Of course, there is no way to be sure and much of this could just be attributed to electronic glitches that quickly resolve.   Either way, I'm bringing my baby monitor with me on my next over night at a haunted hotel. 

Spam on a Spam Blog

Yeah, it happens. I got multiple blog comment posts for Craig Delsack's website. For more on comment spam and how much the blogging community loves it, you can view this link from Popehat. Below is one of the three emails Craig left for me. I assure you the post, or any of our posts, have anything to do with his comments. 


A few years back I rented my house to a person, unfortunately the deed between us has been misplaced. Then my tenant started try to pretending that he was the real owner of the property, means I had sold out the house not rented it to him. Then my real worry started and I tried to find a loyal and professional layers. During online research regarding this I found the contact corporate lawyer New York , I called them and got solutions in a right way and right time. on Real Estate Transaction

At least the email includes the word "spam" in the subject line.

From: Hillary Tiachi.

Subject: ***SPAM*** Re: Divorce Settlement Agreement

Date: January 23, 2012

Reply-To: hillary.tiachi@msn.com

Dear Counsel

My name is Hillary Tiachi. I am contacting your firm in regards to a divorce settlement with my ex husband McConnell Tiachi who resides in your jurisdiction.

I am currently on assignment in South Korea. We had an out of court agreement for him to pay $496.500.00 plus legal fees. He has only paid me $183,000.00 since.

I am hereby seeking your firm`s assistance in collecting the balance from him or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised because He has delayed for too long. If you are in the position to represent me at the moment kindly advice immediately.

Your's Truly,

Hillary Tiachi.

A Pact with The Devil

This story came to me by way of people I know.  It is a story with a loop.  It looped back to a story I have blogged about before. It was a true story about a young man involved with Satanism who ended up hurting his family.  I am not going to say any names here to protect the confidentiality of those involved, but I couldn't help but write about it.  The story was too sad and seemed like it needed to be told.

Some time ago, on a Friday 13th,  a man walked into his living room with his wife and daughter.  He shot himself.   This was devastating for his family in every way imaginable.  It was tragic and wrong.   The man had been depressed and his behavior had been increasingly more erratic since his father has passed away two years earlier, but no one had imagined he would hurt himself. 

In time, the family moved on.  Wounds healed, but were never forgotten.  Sorrow remained part of life.  One day, the wife was told a story about her husband.  She found out that he had been best friends with an infamous Satanist.  A Satanist that had ended up committing terrible atrocities.  This made the wife remember a story her husband had told her.  Her husband has told her that when he was a teen he had loved a girl more than anything.  Sadly, she hadn't even know he existed.   He told his wife he made a pact.  He had made a pact that he would give something up is he could just have this girl.  The wife hadn't asked for details about who the pact was with, but the man had said he had made the pact on Friday the 13th.   The pact was made and the man got the girl.   She dated him and for a while it seemed worthwhile.   Ten years later, his father died on Friday the 13th.  After that, the man was never the same.  He steadily became worse and worse until his suicide on the same day.

It is now the wife's belief that the pact the man made was with the devil.   It could be argued that the devil gave him what he wanted in exchange for his father's life and his own soul.   That is certainly an aura that hangs around the case.  It could also be said that the man attributed his father's death to the devil and thus was driven mad by his own belief.   Either way, it was that pact that lead to his decline and demise and the story will haunt his family.

Final semester

I don't really have very much to write right now, although I expect all of that to change in the next few days since school is starting. I've got some difficult classes that I may or may not be looking forward to, and am taking a vow to read ALL THE CASES.

I don't know how long that will last, particularly since I don't even have any  all of the books for my classes. I'm also going to use my planner every.single.day. This will happen folks, because I have a B-E-A-utiful planner just begging for my handwriting. I'm also going to attempt to use technology to schedule my life. Since technology hates me, however, I may be better off sticking to handwriting.

Other than that, I've got an excellent schedule, a reasonably clean house, and fun activities in the next few weeks.

And by fun, I mean soul-sucking, legal-related stuff from which I will probably not derive any pleasure.

Sixth semester= sixth circle of Hell. I'd say Dante's description of the Sixth Circle suits the last semester of law school to a tee--"a vast landscape rife with distress and wretched punishment."

Yep. That about sums it up. Distress and punishment.

How wonderfully divine.

Mylings: The Ghosts of Lost Children

The Myling is a Scandinavian ghost.   It is the ghost of an unbaptized child that is seeking solace.  The old Catholics used to say that unbaptized children couldn't be buried in holy ground and couldn't find solace in heaven.  This belief seems to have given birth to the folklore that the Myling springs from.   The Myling is the spirit of an unbaptized child that is trying to find a living soul to bring it to hollowed ground.  The usually hunt for their victims amongst those who wander in the woods.  Their faces are the name for terror in the dark places of old forests.

The Myling is also known as utburd, which means "that which is taken outside."  Mylings are most often the ghosts of children that were taken to the forest to die.  Like Hansel and Gretel in the old fairy tale, Mylings were drug into the forest and left to starve in the dark.  They grew lost and angry and often suffered terrible deaths.  They were unwanted and unbaptized.  The ghosts of such children are angry and large and they are said to grow larger as the unfortunate soul they have latched onto comes closer to the graveyard.  The myling attacks wanders and grabs onto their backs.  They force the wanderer to take them to a cemetery where the myling might find peace.  However, they grow so heavy as the wanderer approaches the graveyard that the wanderer often can't continue carrying the myling or sinks into the soil.  If the wanderer can't get the myling to its goal, the myling devours the wanderer.  The myling is considered to be one of the most terrifying ghosts in Scandinavian folklore.

The Unlucky History of Friday the 13th

This post has become an annual tradition for me.   Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will recognize this post from past Friday the 13ths. I like Friday the 13th and this is my way of celebrating the 13th and its long history.  Friday the 13ths is considered the most unlucky day of the year. Most people aren't entirely sure where this bad luck comes from, but fear of Friday the 13th can affect as many as 1 in 4 people. The fear of Friday the 13th is known as triskaidekaphobia.


"It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

So where does this fear that can cripple a nation come from? There really seems to be no consensus on the origin of Friday the 13th. Everyone has a story, but most of them are different. The fear comes from an unknown source. Here's a look at a few of the Friday the 13th origin stories I've found.

One folklorist traces the origins back to Norse mythology. There were 12 gods who had a dinner party in Valhalla. A 13th guest, Loki, was uninvited. Always the trickster, Loki tricked the god of darkness, Hoder, into shooting Balder, the god of joy. Balder died and darkness descended on the earth. Joy was lost to man and from then on 13 was considered unlucky.

In 1307, on October 13, 1307, King Phillip IV of France ordered every member of the order of the Knights Templar executed on charges of high treason and heresy. King Phillip owed the Templar's a good deal of money and they had amassed an enormous amount of wealth on their crusades. It is thought that the order was actually to strip the Templar's of their wealth. The Templar's were tortured horribly and forced to confess to crimes they didn't commit. They all died, but as the grandmaster died he cursed King Phillip and the day making Friday the 13th unlucky for future generations to come.

Many believe the fear comes from the number 13 itself. According to numerologist, the number 12 is associated with completeness. There are 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 apostles, 12 Olympian gods, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 hours in the clock, 12 labors of Hercules. The list goes on and on. The addition of the 13 ruins perfection is utterly bad and unlucky. In many stories, the 13th guest is always a bad sign. Think Judas at the last supper and Loki in the above story. It is the number 13 that lends the curse to Friday the 13th. Combine that with the unlucky Friday, when Jesus was crucifies and Adam tempted Eve and you have a recipe for an unlucky day.

It is clear there are many reasons to fear the dreaded Friday the 13th, but for me Friday the 13ths have always been lucky. So have a happy Friday the 13th, watch one of the 12 million Friday the 13th movies (I like the one in space), and wish me luck on my lucky day

The Ghosts of Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. The island, now filled with towering high rise housing complexes, was once largely secluded from the rest of the city. Originally called Blackwell island, the island belonged to the Blackwell family for most of the 18th century and part of the 19th until it was bought by the state of New York as a location for charitable and corrective hospitals.


The first such institution established on the island was a prison which was the source of much scandal. It was built in 1825. The second institution established on the island was The New York Lunatic Asylum that was used from 1837-1894 whose buildings included the Octagon which still stands today. Over 1700 patients were housed in this asylum, twice the suggested occupancy, and these patients were supervised by convicts from the neighboring prison. Charles Dickens was one of the more famous people to have visited this asylum and he described it as horrible and "very painful." A famous reporter, Nellie Bly, disguised herself as an inpatient and spent time in the asylum as well and she described the asylum a "human rat trap."

In addition to the horrible asylum and prison that marred Blackwell island, the island was also the site of a Smallpox Hospital, which housed small pox patients from 1856 until 1886. The intense suffering that went on in this building added to it's ruined state have built numerous rumors about it's ghostly activity. The ruined hospital is now known as the Renwick Ruin and is brightly lit at night giving it a ghostly glow that only adds to stories.

These two facilities are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Blackwell, later turned Welfare, later turned Roosevelt Island's dark history, but these facilities ruins are the most notoriously haunted. The Octagon has been renovated and turned into an apartment building. The residents of the building have reported numerous unexplainable incidents. Ghost hunters have taken pictures of ghosts lurking in the hallways of this building and even the pets refuse to walk up the stairs of this once "human rat-trap"

I have been lucky enough to stay with my aunt several times in her lovely apartment on Roosevelt Island. She lives in one the large high rises that have consumed the once forlorn landscape of this island. She reports that she felt ill at ease when she visited the octagon and that it's atmosphere conveyed a sense of old sorrow. It is easy to forget, however, that the island was once filled with such mass suffering and sorrow. The island's atmosphere has been completely changed, but the ruins of the old hospital remain, reminding visitors that it wasn't so long ago that the island belonged to the tortured souls of the dying, the mad, the forgotten, and the imprisoned. To learn more about Roosevelt Island please visit: http://nyc10044.com/timeln/timeline.html

The moment of "truth".....

True story: my first semester in law school, I made some friends, read for classes, but didn't do any form of group study or extreme outlining. I did study a lot before final exams, and I felt like I knew the materials. However, I have a background in science and lacked the 4+ years of persuasive writing training many of my colleagues received in undergrad. Needless to say, I got through finals feeling like I probably did average on my exams. The average at my university is a B- (whereas almost every other damn law school in the country grades on a B), so the average is a 2.67. Imagine my shock, frustration, and general agony when I got my grades back and realized I had a 2.4 GPA. 

LET ME REPEAT THAT: A 2.4 GPA.  

I know plenty of people that don't give a fuck about their GPAs. In the A-personality, ultra-competitive realm of law school, this matters. And it mattered a whole hell of a lot to me. 


Cut to now: I've finally managed to break the 3.0 GPA, and although I may not* graduate with honors (although maybe the baby Lord Jesus could grant me a miracle and do something to ensure all A's next semester---I SAID IT WAS A MIRACLE, NOT A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY, PEOPLE!), I'm back on track and managed to land a really good job my 2L summer. This brings me to my subject today...

There are a lot of blawgs regarding what the hell you are supposed to do when you receive your grades back for the semester and they aren't nearly as good as you expected. If you are #1 in the class, give yourself a hand, because you're the only one that's going to be clapping. Coming from someone who has lived through it, though, I'd like to offer some words of comfort, things you aren't supposed to do, and things that actually helped me when I got my shitastic grades back the first week of my second semester.

#1

First, here comes the shitty reality: you are probably going to have to lower your aspirations regarding a summer job, particularly when it comes to interviews conducted at your school for summer positions. This doesn't mean you can't get a job at all, but these jobs almost always have a certain GPA or class rank requirement. It does, however, mean you are going to need a lot of positive things to put on your resume that overcomes the shitty GPA. Which leads me to my second point....

#2

Join some clubs; take an active interest in the extracurricular aspect of law school (and no, I don't mean participating in Keg Wars, an actual event at my university); do some volunteering; participate in competitions; DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD REFLECT POSITIVELY UPON YOUR RESUME. You may not have the highest grades in law school, but if you are below the fifty percentile, then you damn well better be able to show the interviewer you were doing something other than squandering your student loan money and developing some form of substance abuse dependency during your tenure at law school. Yes, you will have to actually participate in these clubs. Think of it as building your diplomacy skills....and take comfort in the fact that your classmates are, in fact, idiots.

#3

Next, you seriously need to assess yourself and figure out why the hell you just bombed your finals. Take time the first week of classes (or whenever you get your grades back) to email your professors and set up a one-on-one meeting with him/her (this means ALL of your professors, even in the classes you did okay in) to discuss what you need to do differently, what you did well, and why you scored how you scored. I had one professor actually break down how he used to test (and let me tell you, he's a smart mf) during his law school grades and how he prepared. This helped me immeasurably and directly influenced how I did the next semester.

#4

Buy the right study guides. Not all study aids are made for all people...or subjects. DO NOT EVER buy the case briefs. They don't actually teach you the subjects, and they encourage you not to read. Plus you can get that shit for free online. I've found a method that generally helps me.

If the class runs like a history test or mainly involves a rule, get the "Nutshell" for it. It helps for classes that you are going to need an outline in. Classes like Constitutional Law and Real Estate Transactions and Decedent's Estates. The nutshell actually gives you the history, the definitions you are going to need, the situations when things apply, and puts it in an easily outlineable form. I CANNOT recommend the Nutshell series more highly for outlineable exams.

For exams that have a lot of exceptions and are more "flow chartable," you need to get the Emanuel Crunchtime. This is for classes like Evidence and Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure. Emanuel is pretty much, well, my Emmanuel.

#5

In 2L year, consider classes that are not going to fuck you over. This is not to say to take all easy classes. You are going to have to take the Bar and should definitely take a large number of courses that will be on your bar....you will NOT like having to learn them all in 6 weeks. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't choose classes that play to your strengths, and consider professors who may share your beliefs and writing styles. So many times, the exam is not based upon how much you know (almost everyone knows the damn material), it is based upon how well you are able to appeal to the person grading it.

Aside from these tidbits of information, I can also tell you that you are not out of luck or out of hope. Plenty of people  get lax their second semester and let their grades slip. Plenty of others are incapable of working with others and cannot secure a job regardless of their 3.75 GPA. Even more still cannot interview. What I am saying is that it is never too late. 


Besides, unless a position specifically requests your GPA or class ranking, there is no need to put it on your resume. 

Indian Burial Grounds

Today I welcome blogger Emily Matthews, who examines the lore associated with hauntings and Native American burial grounds and hauntings from a skeptics perspective:

It’s the stuff of legend. Do you have a poltergeist in your house? It was probably built over a Native American burial site. The legend goes that by disturbing the souls of the dead, a veritable Pandora’s Box is opened, ushering forth the angry spirits of Chippewa shamans, Cherokees soldiers, and Iroquois chiefs, back for revenge. But where did this legend come from? Why does it persist, and why does it continue to frighten us?


The origins of the “Indian burial ground” legend come from sightings of Native American ghosts near areas rumored, or even proven, to be the final resting place of a local tribe. Such areas can be an old farmhouse in a Midwestern town or even a multimillion-dollar mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

In fact, the remains of the dead were blamed for the vacancy of the Hollywood mansion on Solar Drive, and a murder was rumored to have occurred there. It was deemed uninhabitable after squatters, drug dealers, and thrill-seeking teenagers ravaged the place. But, in the case of the house, the existence of Native American graves was unproven, and it becomes a perfect example of the power and potency of the lore.

Strange occurrences are attributed to burial grounds automatically, without even needing to research the history of the area. It doesn’t take a master’s degree in anthropology to see that this stems from our fascination with a mystical and highly spiritual culture and religion perceived of the American Indian. Instead of the body resting and the soul rising, the soul lingers, especially when disturbed.

So, why does this legend still capture our imagination and frighten us today? Even a skeptic can be spooked by visiting one of the many burial grounds in the United States at dark. Thousands are drawn, for example, to a suburb in Long Island, New York to see the actual house featured in the movie The Amityville Horror. The house, purported to be built over Native American remains, was the place of the horrific murder of six people. Even after the murders, strange noises and footsteps, foul odors, and foreign substances were reported when new owners took over.

Although the experiences of the new owners were dismissed as false, the site still brings visitors hoping for a paranormal experience. These visitors are drawn the experience of the supernatural; something abnormal and other-worldly. Perhaps they are there to confront not only the fear of death, but the possibility of life after the death, and the power that a bodiless spirit could retain.
Whatever the reason, the legend of the Native American burial ground still fascinates us today. We seem to be drawn to the power and possibility of life after death as well as the potential the “spirit world” has to disrupt our own lives. Perhaps we are also drawn to the mystical religion of the Native Americans that seems both foreign and palpable. Regardless, there are many legends and ghost stories to explore and enjoy.

Day late and a dollar short...aka: 2011 in retrospect

I realize it has been 2012 for a FULL WEEK. That being said, I really don't give a fuck. I found this online and I liked it, and my blawgs can't always be about the legal community (otherwise I would probably shoot myself). It's a quiz about 2011 and, being that I like self-reflection ever so often, I figured I could do it and give everyone a little bit of insight regarding my previous year and aspirations for this one. Here goes....

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I interned at my first legal job. It's really hard finding a job in this economy, and even though this wasn't paying, it was still the legal jackpot as far as I'm concerned. AND I LOVED IT. 

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? 

I didn't make any resolutions last year. This year, I did. They are mostly all job-hunting related, along with a few lax promises regarding taking care of myself better. We'll see how that fares. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

I'm not sure how close of a relationship this entails, but one of my mother's best friends, a woman I've known since childhood, died due to long-existing complications resulting from diabetes. She was an incredible woman and one I fondly remember. 

5. What countries did you visit?

Unfortunately, none.  I stayed in 'Merca, by God. 

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

I would like to have a job, or even job prospects. I would like to have a house with a backyard for my dog to play in (I don't care if it's a rental). And I'd like to have my diploma, thankyouverymuch.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don't remember dates; I remember moments. I'll remember my time at my internship, the seven hour winter car ride up to my apartment with my 10 year old brother, my birthday with my friends, and the awesome vacation I took with Leonidas. :) 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I didn't get sick even ONCE this past semester. (It's the little things--and I sound kinda pathetic right here.) 

9. What was your biggest failure?

Time management. I need to work on that...like, a lot. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I got a few colds in the 2011 spring semester. I also twisted my ankle playing a contact sport (like an idiot....I've the most clumsy person you've EVER MET in your entire life) and spent a few days on crutches.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I'd say my bike, but it was a birthday present. So here I go again sounding pathetic: I bought one of those pillows with the arms that you use to sit up in bed. I've been wanting one for years because I hate working at my desk and it is AWESOME. I'm so sad I didn't purchase it sooner. 

12. Where did most of your money go?

Most of it went to rent, bills, and my dog. Oh, and groceries. 

13. What did you get really excited about?

My trip to Orlando with my boyfriend. 

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

No one song really sticks out from 2011, which is strange because I normally have one. 

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder?  I'm pretty much the same. I guess I'm more excited because I have a lot to look forward to. 
Thinner or fatter? Same.
Richer or poorer? Poorer. Job hunting is a bitch. An expensive bitch. 

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

More cooking at home and hanging out with my friends and family. 

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Obsessing over small things. 

18. How did you spend Christmas?

I spent it with my family at my apartment. :)

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Discovering "The Big Bang Theory" at the end of the year was awesome. 

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

I didn't get to read as much as I would have liked, but I probably enjoyed "The Help" the most of all the books I did read. 

21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I listened to a lot of Glee.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?

Harry Potter 7, second movie. It was badasstastic. 

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Celebrated it with my friends at school and with my boyfriend at my favorite restaurant. 

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A job offer. 

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Is hobo-chic a fashion concept? If not, then "rolled out of bed and went to class" MUST be. 

26. What kept you sane?

My boyfriend and friends. Not my family, because they do not know what sanity is. 

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
I learned the value in trusting in myself. Although I regularly do so, an authority figure in my life discouraged me from doing this, and later beat me up for not doing it. Because of this, I'm stronger, wiser, and a little bit more wary. 

My job search, illustrated by my illustrious LOLZ KATZ

So I'm gathering my documents together in anticipation of sending out a shitstorm's worth of resumes and cover letters in the next few days.

This means I'm looking for people that are ACTUALLY hiring. Which actually means that I'm sending out a shitton of resumes to ALL THE LAWYERS.

If this demand doesn't work, I'll probably be forced to pull out the big guns.

I've got all the qualities someone should want when hiring a law clerk/associate/gopher bitch:

1) I'm good at giving orders.

2) I'm a hard worker.

3) I am well-groomed.

Considering the state of the economy, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Now please excuse me while I sit in front of the mirror and repeat my special mantra.

Kwaidan: Japanese Ghost Stories

It was a good Christmas for me this last year.   I was under the weather, recovering from surgery, but my family filled my stocking with enough haunting books to keep my spirits up.  The first book I got was from my baby sister, Rose.   It is a collection of Japanese ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn.    The book is absolutely beautiful, filled with Japanese depictions of ghosts and monsters from folklore in rare color.  Just flipping through the book is a visual journey into the dark world of Japanese folklore and it is a beautiful one.   The stories are very different from American ghost stories.  The book is called Kwaidan, which is translated as meaning ghost story.

My favorite story was a story of a Rokuorkubi.  According to Wikipedia,  Rokourkubi "look like normal human being by day, but at night they gain the ability to stretch their necks to great lengths. They can also change their faces to those of terrifying oni to better scare mortals."   The depiction of Rokuorkubi in Hearn's book is an original translation and is different from Wikipedia's depiction and a little more terrifying.   The story in the book tells of a wandering priest who was once a Samurai.  He is sleeping in a forest known to be haunted by horrible ghosts and demons when a kind man comes upon him  He was taken in by the kind man and given a bed only to wake up in the middle of the night to find the bodies of the residents of the house lying on the floor in front o his room without a their heads.  At first, he assumes some dreadful spirit has killed everyone and taken their heads, but upon careful examination he discovers that the bodies are the bodies of Rokuro-Kubi.  The heads of the Rokuro-Kubi had separated from their bodies to do evil in the night.  The Samari hides the bodies from the heads and battles the Rokuro-Kubi only to have one of them attach itself to his sleeve.   He is almost executed because people assume the head is a souvenir he has taken of a someone he has slaughtered, but at the last minute a wise judge sees the markings on the neck of the Rokuo-Kubi and knows the demon for what it is. 

This is just one of the tales gathered by Hearn who was a translator and scholar of Japanese folklore from the turn of the last century.  Although the book I was given was subtitled Japanese Ghost Stories,  I have seen the book in other places called, Kwaidan, Stories: Studies of  Strange Things. Other stories include tales of murdered birds that haunt the murderer and a young woman who makes her betrothed wait for her after death.  They are a beautiful glimpse into another world of death and I enjoyed them all.  This book was made into a Japanese film in 1965 which I am definitely going to try to see.

The Ghosts of Chichen Itza and The 2012 Apocalypse

It is now officially 2012 and much has been made about this year.  Many books, blogs, and papers have been written about the Mayan prophecies regarding 2012 and the end of the world.  Many believe that, according to the Mayan prophecies, the world will end on December 21, 2012.   This is special fun for me since this is the day before my birthday.   It is also the solstice.   I love Mayan history and have been lucky enough to travel to some old Mayan ruins and talk to some Mayan people about their history and mythology.  Since today marks the beginning of the end,  I thought it would be an excellent time to revisit my trip to Chichen Itza.   During this trip, our amazing guide spoke to us about the 2012 prophecies and about the ghosts that haunt these awe inspiring ruins.

Chichen Itza  is one of the most monumental of a series of Mayan ruins in the Yucatan area. My fascination with the Mayan culture began with my trip to Chichen Itza. We were lead through the sprawling ruins of the fallen city by an amazingly knowledgeable Mayan guide that explained to us that Mayan history came in phases and that the ruins were in layers depending on their period of origin. There were the Olmec, Toltec, and Classical Mayan phases, none of which were surviving when the first Europeans set foot on the shores of the New World.


One of the most fascinating things our guide explained to us about the Mayans had to do with the 2012 prophecy. At the time we travelled, the 2012 prophecy was far less well known. Our guide told us that the Mayan calender was cyclical and that the Mayan's believed that the world was born and died many times. He talked about the last apocalypse. He said that it was an apocalypse of water and that the earth was covered in a great flood. He said that when that age, the age of water, was brought to an end by the flood a new age was born, an age of fire. We are now in the age of fire. In 2012 our age of fire will end in fire and an age of ether will be born. The end of the world will also be the beginning of a new world.  This is interesting to me because so much is said of the end of the world in 2012 and so few people discuss the possibility of a rebirth.   The Mayans viewed death as a rebirth and ends as a new beginning.  So, if their calender ends and something does happen in December it seems probable it may be something wonderful.  The end to the bad things and the world of fire that has come before and the birth of a new age could be something very positive.

The history of Chichen Itza itself is bathed in blood. The Mayan's were deeply religious and believed that it was a great honor to die for the gods. In the Popul Vuh, the Mayan Bible, the Mayan's lay out their faith in sometimes tedious details. Their faith was deep and long and they were willing to die for it. In fact, some of the best athletes that competed in the famous ball courts were sacrificed. The Mayan's didn't fear death and see sacrifice with dread and horror. They saw death as a passage to the next world. Chichen Itza was the site of mass sacra fices.  Chichen Itza may have also died in violence. Some archaeological evidence shows that in 1221 a great civil war may have contributed to the disappearance of Mayan Culture in the great cities at the time. By the time the Europeans saw Chichen Itza, it was already a ghost city.

What is most interesting about the ghosts that are said to wander these old ruins is that it is not the great pyramids that are haunted. The places where the sacrifices went on and where the stone was stained with blood remain quiet. It is the old observatory that is said to be haunted by the specters of old priests and Mayan men. Many tourists and guides have described seeing specters wandering this site. The Mayans were brilliant astronomers and were able to compute the circumference of the earth long before Europeans. They mapped the stars and predicted astrological events so perfectly that we can still count on their astrological predictions to come true. The observatory was in many ways the most important place to them as their religion was deeply connected to the movement of the stars. It therefore seems appropriate that it is this place that the ghosts cling too. The ghosts of the sacrificed have gone to the embrace of the gods, but those that searched for knowledge in the light of the stars are still lingering, searching for answers in the night sky.