Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Zombie Logic Daily News of the Weird Correspondents Write Book

Zombie Logic Daily News of the Weird correspondents Jenny Mathews and Thomas L. Vaultonburg have published a book of children's poems titled Atrocious Poems A To Z.

Atrocious Poems A To Z is a book that takes the problems and challenges of childhood seriously. VERY seriously. Some might say too seriously. By taking a comic approach to everyday issues children face in lighthearted poems and whimsical drawings we hope to present a jumping off point where children and parents can discuss topics like bullying, sharing, dealing with siblings, anxiety etc. It was our goal to ease into these topics employing comedy, sensitivity, and an understanding that although children may see these "atrocities" as the end of the world, they are really things we have all gone through and just a natural part of growing up. 

Me and my life and creative partner Jenny Mathews raise two children: Ella (13) and Jack (6), and although many of the poems and illustrations in the book are about the struggle of their daily lives and the so-called atrocities they encounter, we hope it will be applicable to all parents doing their best to explain a sometimes unfair and scary world to children.
In addition to dealing with day to day atrocities, it was also a goal of mine to teach some poetic form and basic literary devices to young readings. Literary devices such as paradox, verbal irony, oxymoron, portmanteau, and onomatopoeia can sometimes be difficult to explain without an example, so I've incorporated some of these more complicated literary devices into poems that are hopefully fun to read and not at all heavy-handed about teaching these lessons. My goal as a writer was to make it as fun as possible to spot these examples in the poem, but write poems complex enough that they would stand alone even without the literary lesson being taught. 


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Loch Ness Monster on the Loose

ENGLAND – The video was shot by a passenger on an Emirates Air Line cable car. The footage shows an unidentified creature appearing to swim and come up to the surface, multiple outlets reported.

“This mysterious creature was recorded for only a few seconds, but if gives the impression that its much larger than we see. The objects shadow below the water is very long and gives me the impression of being much longer than we see on the surface. The Thames is connected to the ocean, so this could be some lost whales, or even a Russia submarine. The Russians are known for sneaking their subs into tight places in other countries. Sure it can be a alien creature, but I feel its probably a Russian sub.” -MissOpen

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Three arrested in Paris over 'devil's breath' drug that turns victims into willing 'zombies'

By Henry Samuel

Paris 7:11PM BST 01 Sep 2015
The three are thought to have stolen millions from unsuspecting victims by blowing scopolamine, a powerful "hypnotic" drug, into strangers' faces


Brugmansia arborea, also known as Angel's Trumpet Brugmansia arborea, also known as Angel's Trumpet, from the Solanaceae family, contain the alkaloid scopolamine

Police have seized two Chinese women and a man in Paris suspected of using a powerful Colombian drug dubbed "the devil’s breath" that turns victims into “zombies” devoid of free will and rob them. It is thought the three are part of an international Triad-style criminal gang running a multimillion-pound operation around the planet. The women, aged 42 and 59, approached strangers in Paris’ 20th arrondissement and blew the substance into their faces. It is thought to contain scopolamine, a hazardous drug extracted from a South American tree related to deadly nightshade.

The Soviets and the CIA reportedly used it as a truth serum during the Cold War, while Joseph Mengeles, the Nazi physician dubbed the Angel of Death, had it imported from Colombia to use in interrogations. However, because of the drug’s chemical make-up, it also induces powerful hallucinations.

Angel Trumpet, Angel's Trumpet Tree or Datura, Brugmansia arborea, Solanaceae, Tropical South America South American shamans believe angel's trumpet is a sacred plant

In strong doses it is lethal. Infamous murderer Dr Crippen is believed to have killed his wife Cora in 1910 using the drug before trying to flee to Canada. Paris’ judicial police believe the Chinese suspects administered the substance on “dozens” of victims in the French capital in the first reported case of such crimes.

The victims targeted, very often old, were accosted in the street by a first woman,” a source close to the investigation told Le Parisien newspaper. This person claimed to be looking for a mysterious 'Doctor Wang' before being joined by her accomplice. "They managed to isolate their victims, then got them to breathe in a mixture of plants on the grounds they had powerful curative qualities – even protecting them from misfortune.” Once they inhaled, all the victims recounted falling into a kind of “hypnotic state under the total sway of their handlers,” said the investigative source. “They then took advantage by getting the victims to take them to their home, where they asked them to put all their jewellery and money into a bag and hand it over to them.” One Parisian victim lost €100,000 (£73,500) worth of valuables and cash in this way, police said.

The pair had reportedly been operating since spring in Paris. They were caught this week at the entrance to a metro station after they were identified by a member of one of the victims’ entourage. Both deny wrongdoing. In a subsequent raid on their hotel room in Seine-Saint-Denis, a north-eastern suburb, police discovered an array of vials including “various Chinese medicinal substances as well as weighing scales, filters and gloves”. Analysis of the substance's precise contents is under way.
A third 56-year old suspect, thought to have prepared the mysterious drug, was later arrested.
Chinese authorities informed their French counterparts that the trio belonged to a notorious Chinese criminal network, which “acts around the world and specialises in mental submission with the aid of unknown products," according to Le Parisien. Other members have reportedly been arrested in China and South Korea.

The two women’s passports suggested that they had recently travelled to Madrid and Mexico.
Scopolamine is made from the seeds of a tree called Borrachero – roughly translated as “drunken binge” – which blooms with deceptively beautiful white and yellow flowers. It is mainly produced in Colombia via a chemical process that results in a white powder resembling cocaine.

- The Telegraph

Monday, June 1, 2015

Some Poor Zombie Lost His Lunch

Gyromitra fastigiata (Helvellaceae) Thick-stalked False Morel Mushroom

Updated at 11:22 AM EDT on Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Nine brains were found along a street in a northern New York village, but authorities say there's nothing to fear.

The brains are believed to have been part of a collection for educational or research purposes. No criminal activity is suspected. Residents discovered the brains on a street near railroad tracks in Governeur and notified police Wednesday.

A local veterinarian determined one of the brains had been professionally removed and preserved in formaldehyde. The organs are believed to be either from dogs or sheep.

Mishaps with preserved brains are not uncommon.

Last year the University of Texas in Austin said dozens of human brains stored in jars of formaldehyde and reported missing were actually destroyed in 2002. Those brains had been donated for teaching and research.

-NBC New York

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Five Vampires Caught Sleeping in Abandoned Supermarket?

MAINZ, Germany — Public health officials were stunned to find five dead bodies at an abandoned supermarket in Germany.

A local undertaker had received permission to use the building's storage rooms to keep empty coffins and other equipment in the eastern city of Klosterfelde.

However, five corpses were discovered inside the caskets in a refrigerated area after a tip-off, local official Elisabeth Schulte-Kuhnt told NBC News on Wednesday.

Local newspaper MOZ reported Tuesday that public medical officer Heike Zander was "shocked when she saw what was being stored in a supermarket in the middle of town" during a visit last week.

But authorities could find little wrong with the undertaker's methods.

The condition of the deceased and the temperature they were being stored at were "according to the rules" and therefore not in violation of Germany's hygiene laws, county spokesman Oliver Koehler told NBC News. The undertaker also had the correct paperwork.

Officials are now looking into whether the correct request was filed with local planning officials to notify them that he was using the building for a different purpose.

The corpses were transported to a crematorium after being recovered on Thursday.

-NBC News