CW: Some discussion of violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Haven't read part one yet? Check it out here. Twenty year old Barbara Raposa's murder is typically discussed as a part of the same cluster as …
Continue reading Harbor Terrace, Part Two: The Murder of Barbara Raposa
CW: Some Discussion of Graphic Violence Scroll to the bottom for a glossary of people in this story. *Note: Starred names have been changed out of respect for their privacy. Are you proud of your hometown? I have mixed feelings about mine. Certainly, there are many things about Fall River, Massachusetts that I'd consider positive …
I love abandoned places. Urban Exploration photography is one of my favorite things. As a person who values solitude, the absence of people appeals to me, of course. But it's more than that; the decaying structures where humans once existed and the traces left of them are fascinating, even beautiful. Especially really old ones, and …
This evening, as my husband is away and I have some alone time, I figured I may as well watch the new Joe Berlinger film that has the true crime community (and beyond) talking. I haven't read any reviews or hot-takes on it yet, so I wanted to get my first impressions down here before …
Continue reading Thoughts on Film: “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile”
I'd like to share a few essays that I wrote for a class I took several years ago about Film. I'll share links at the end of where you can watch the films under discussion, if you're so inclined. Hope you enjoy! December, 2015 Visual Style as an Expression of Worldview: Cityscapes The visual aesthetic …
CW/TW: Discussion of suicide and violence I felt compelled to write this opinion piece after recently reading Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple by Rebecca Moore, who is the sister of two prominent Temple members, Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore. After reading this book, I think that, in my anger over the death of so many …
Continue reading Anger, Blame, Empathy, and Understanding in the Wake of Extreme Violence
Author's Note: Since originally publishing this piece, this article was brought to my attention. Reading it has prompted me to write an addendum, which you can find at the end of this piece. Among the multitude of disturbing images and ideas that my imagination produces when I'm thinking about the massacre at Jonestown, one of …
You know how your senses can take you back to a place and time? Smells, scents, tastes...they can provoke a flood of memories, good or bad. A Vietnam veteran might flinch when a car backfires, because at that moment he's back in the dark, muggy jungle with bullets whizzing past his head. The same can …
In September of 1991, adventurers Erika & Helmut Simon were hiking through the Alps near the border between Austria and Italy. They stumbled across what they thought, at first, to be a recently deceased fellow hiker partially frozen into the icy ground. They alerted the authorities, who removed the body and transported it to the …
Racial Dynamics CW: Mentions of suicide and child death Peoples Temple and Jim Jones touted themselves as racially progressive. They promoted racial equality in the press, and they provided services to some communities in need during their time in the United States. Jones was so proud of his "rainbow family." But I think that he …
Lines and Strings 