About raptnrent: I got the name from my keys - R Apt and R Ent for the back door to my apartment and the back door to the house. I liked that they were also words: Rapt, meaning enthralled, riveted, captivated, and Rent, meaning torn asunder, violently wrenched. I thought it made for an interesting juxtaposition, open to all kinds of interpretations.
Tag Archives: true crime
Hearing voices
In a futile attempt to be efficient, I’ve been reading In Cold Blood in book form and listening to the audiobook. The audio format lets me use my drive time more or less productively. Unfortunately it’s not indexed in a … Continue reading
“In dreams…I walk with you”
I’m fascinated by Perry’s dream. If this were fiction, this section would be riddled with symbolism. There’s Biblical imagery, with the serpent in the tree. The idea that the love of money is the root of all evil. A premonition … Continue reading
Dragnet
I grew up watch Dragnet reruns, so when I read “The Black Dahlia” I couldn’t help but hear Jack Webb’s voice and his distinctive cadence in my head. Here’s a video of him clowning around with Johnny Carson: He sounded … Continue reading
Mencken/Mitchell
I suspect most of us have heard of H.L. Mencken. He gets quoted all the time, because he had a lot to say and he said it so well. But Joseph Mitchell was a new name to me. From what I … Continue reading
Burning down the house
In the appendix to Torso, Bendis says that people often think that the shantytown fire was made up for dramatic purposes. Maybe the idea that police would burn poor people out of house and home is hard to believe. Because … Continue reading
Cleveland rots
In 1935, Cleveland’s so called Boy Scout Mayor, Harold Burton, decided to do something about official corruption and organized crime. He brought in a heavy hitter: Eliot Ness. At that time, Cleveland was the most dangerous city in America. Ness … Continue reading
“Find the heads.”
Bendis tells the Torso story in a very cinematic fashion. The dramatic lighting and the camera angles all look like something out of film noir. Then there’s that repetition from panel to panel, sometimes with slight variations, that gives it … Continue reading
Bastardy Bonds
When we were kids my brothers and I were doing something annoying, I don’t remember what, but it prompted my aunt to call us bastards. Of course, we thought that was the funniest thing ever, and never passed up a … Continue reading
“Lassoed”
In “Mad Love,” the last sentence of the opening paragraph says, But Alice Mitchell was the first to be lassoed by Frederica Ward’s charms… I like the verb in there, lassoed. Mainly I associate it with cowboys and rodeo. It … Continue reading
Fred & Allie, then & now
I find it fascinating to compare “Mad Love: The Ballad of Fred & Allie” to the way the story was received at the time it happened. Livingston’s essay was published this year, in a society that’s beginning to accept same-sex … Continue reading