Wednesday Weird: Louis Le Prince Disappearance

I know I've done strange bodies discovered before, but I think this is the first time I've done a missing person.

Today I'm blogging about Louis Le Prince. Le Prince was a 19th century french inventor who specialized in cameras. In fact, he was so good at it, that he actually created the true first moving picture.

That's actually a huge deal, when you think about it. So why haven't you heard about him before?

Because he vanished. From a train.

In 1890, Le Prince was traveling to America for new patents and to show off his newest invention. In Dijon, France, he checked his baggage, boarded a train bound for Paris and retired to his cabin.

That was the last time anyone saw him.

No one saw anything suspicious. His cabin was quiet and the windows were closed. But when the train reached Paris, not only was Le Prince gone, but his baggage (stored in a different compartment) as well. Both the train and the railroad were searched but Le Prince (and his luggage) were never found.

There are a couple of theories. Some people think his disappearance was a complicated suicide. But he was in the middle of a trip to show off his newest work and was both excited and proud.

Some people think his family ordered him to vanish due to money troubles.

There's also a theory that Le Prince's brother murdered him since he was the last one to see him (before he boarded the train).

BUT. One of the most popular theories is related to who Le Prince was in competition with.

Some super asshole named Thomas Edison.

I'm one of history's biggest dicks

If you don't know much about Thomas Edison, I suggest you do some research. The man was a complete dick, who frequently stole patents from other inventors, terrorized Tesla and electrocuted an elephant to death (you can find video footage of that if you'd like.)

Le Prince was in heavy competition with Edison. Edison blocked Le Prince's patents. Le Prince retaliated by forcing American camera designs to leak before they could secure European patents for them.

Le Prince's disappearance paved the way for Edison, who wasted no time in claiming all the credit for discovering motion pictures.

Quite a few investigators actually noticed this lucky convenience for Edison, but there was no proof to connect Edison to Le Prince's disappearance. And even if Edison was responsible, that still doesn't answer the question of how does a man vanish from a train?

In Which Sex & Violence Is Launched!

Saturday night was the book launch party for Carrie Mesrobian's Sex & Violence which I blogged about Here.

The party was at Addendum Books which is a little hole in the wall YA bookstore set inside another bookstore. True story, I've been to three book launch parties over the years and all 3 have been here. Crazy.

The bookstore was packed. I went with Twin and we met up with Hannah there. Twin and I did a quick headcount and there were about 80 people there for Carrie's party, so it definitely reached standing room only.

Carrie and guest of honor Norman Reedus. The fairy crown is also related to the book

There were Elmo cupcakes and red vines and strawberry milk and other decorations and foodstuffs from the book. And there was Cherry Lick! Which is a made up liquor the kids in the book drink. Cherry Lick was passed out to everyone because there was a drinking game during the reading.

Both Twin and I had already read the book, since I was lucky enough to win a copy a few months ago. Hannah had gotten her book and started reading it, but hadn't finished.

It's a great book, and it's even more fun hearing Carrie read a chapter aloud. The funny parts are even funnier when everyone's laughing.

Carrie Mesrobian, Normarn Reedus and editor for Carolrhoda Labs Andrew Karre

It was a fun way to spend a Saturday night.

 

Friday Fun

Hi ape-friends!!

Yvie here, to launch you into the weekend with a little bit of bloggy fun!

AND! This is the first Friday in October! Isn't that just delicious!

Fall has the best foods

Onto the fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mood Tiles

 

 

 

IWSG

First Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for Insecure Writer's Support Group.
(also, can you believe it's already October??)

 



I'm feeling pretty good right now. Just in a bit of a holding pattern, waiting to see if I need more revisions or if I'm ready to send All That Remains out into the query world.

I have a conference in two weeks, and I'll be meeting with an agent or editor to go over the first five pages, so I'm for sure not querying before then. After the conference, though, probably.

I'm a bit nervous, actually. Which is strange for me. Usually I'm just like "Pshaa, send it out into the world!" And I definitely have that attitude too, (I'm getting excited to query, you know? Zazzing up my query list didn't help) but also I'm like "but if I don't send it out, then I don't have to worry about it". 

Which is stupid. Because what's the point of spending all this time working hard on it if it's not going out? No point. And I know a lot of my worry will fade once I send it out and get some requests. Then it will be exciting (and nerve-wracking, too. But a different kind of nerves).

What about you? Have you been sending out your work?

 

In Which We Have A New Pigger

Here were are, with another new week and some new posts.

And we have another new thing in our house, too: Introducing Gummy Sue!

Only about 3 months old

Twin never really wanted another pig. We already have 3.

Miggory Sow

Sister Cavia of Saint Guinea de Pig (all inclusive church) aka: Sissy

Harriet B. Suit

But we briefly fostered this little lady with her mom, aunt and two sisters. One sister was absolutely fine. But Gummy and her other sister were not. Both Gummy and her other sister were tiny, and seemed to "get lost" a lot in the cage. Her other sister just kept getting worse and worse. When they went back to the shelter, Anne asked the vets to check their teeth.

Her sister had terrible, sharp, fangy teeth. The vet thought they should probably euthanize her as a kindness, but before they could make the decision she passed away.

Gummy also had problems. She's missing all her teeth except for her back cheek ones (hence her name). Which meant she was having a hard time eating, which was why she was so small. Also, we had noticed one of her eyes reflected funny and the vet thought maybe she had a detached retina.

We took her home for some more fostering, to see if her teeth would come in (since Guinea pigs are born completely ready to be on their own, twin was pretty sure no teeth would be coming, since they should have erupted in the womb.)

After another week, no teeth. She had put on weight (because we introduced her to the wonder of baby food!) We also thought maybe her good eye was no longer good.

So we had a possibly blind, toothless guinea pig who needed special food and who may not live a full life. She's also developed a tilt to her head, and sometimes spins in circles (always to the left). Who would adopt her? Probably no one. So she stayed with us.

She had another vet appointment and it looks like both her eyes are at least partially blind if not totally.

Tilty head. Reflecting eye = Gummy Hot Mess Sue

Now that she's gotten bigger, it's easier for her to eat, but she still gets baby food and may for the rest of her life.

But she's ridiculously sweet. She talks all the time, probably because she can't see what's going on. If you hold her, there's a good chance she'll fall asleep in your hands. And she gets along with the other pigs, even Harriet, who doesn't really like anyone.

I will only tolerate Sues of the Gummy nature

So there you have it. A new pigger. She may be a hot mess, but we adore her.

She drinks water upside down

Friday Fun

YAY! We've made it through one more week, which means we've once again reached the greatness that is the weekend (and are that much closer to wonderful fall!)

I just checked outside. The leaves haven't started changing quite yet

Let's get straight to the fun, ape-friends!



grains of sand magnified 250x



bunny sugar cubes

 

Wednesday Weird: Shunka Warak'in

A cryptid again today for Wednesday Weird.

There have been sightings in the northern US (mostly Montana, Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa) of a beast that resembles a hyena, a primitive wolf or a cross of both.

The Ioway and other Native American tribes of the region called this creature the Shunka Warak'in which translates into "carries off dogs" since the beast would often sneak into their camps and do just that.

Documented sightings wouldn't start until the 1880's. The Hutchins family settled in lower Montana. Not long after, they and their neighbors began to encounter a strange wolf-like creature.  Ross Hutchins would later write: One winter morning my grandfather was aroused by the barking of dogs. He discovered that a wolf like beast of dark color was chasing my grandmother’s geese. He fired his gun at the animal but missed. It ran off down the river, but several mornings later it was seen again at about dawn. It was seen several more times at the home ranch as well as at other ranches ten or fifteen miles down the valley. Whatever it was, it was a great traveler The witnesses described the creature as being nearly black and having high shoulders and a back that sloped downward like a hyena. One morning in late January, grandfather Hutchins, alerted by their dogs, was able to shoot and kill the creature. The creature was taxidermied and donated to a museum in Idaho where it was displayed for years (the museum owner dubbed it "ringdocus" (Why? Who the hell knows.)) 

photos of the taxidermied creature before it went missing from the museum

 

 

  So this is all interesting in and of itself. But what's important to note is the youngest Hutchins had a PH.D. in zoology and had no idea what the animal was. He speculated that maybe it was an escaped circus hyena, but the nearest circus was hundreds of miles away.  The taxidermied specimen went missing for quite some time, but was rediscovered by the museum in 2007. 

Photos of the creature after it was rediscovered by the museum

 

  There's a theory the Shunka Warak'in could be a Borophagus, an ancient hyena-like canine known to inhabit North America almost 13,000 years ago.   

  Since the animal was killed in the 1880s, there have continued to be occasional sightings of similar creatures in Montana and other states. A strange wolf, responsible for the deaths of over 120 sheep in Montana in 2006 was shot and killed, and though it's appearance was not like other wolves, the fish and wildlife department did classify it as a wolf. So there you have it! Thoughts? Theories? I like the Shunka Warak'in a lot because there's an actual body of the creature and a zoologist testimony, things frequently lacking in most cryptid cases.