Crime Does Not Pay... Does It?

     

Tucson Weather Today
 

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There was a blackout in New York City in July of 1977. The city went dark at about 9:30 p.m.  New York was in the middle of an economic crisis, and unemployment rates were high. There was also a serial killer, who called himself "Son of Sam," on the loose, (see below) and the city was in the grip of a brutal heat wave. It was the worst time for a catastrophic blackout; the city was a powder keg.

In the 25 hours that it took workers to fully restore power, more than 1,600 stores were looted, more than a thousand fires were set, and nearly 3,800 looters were arrested. Damage was later estimated at $300 million.



David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco; June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer convicted of a series of shooting attacks that began in the summer of 1976. Perpetrated with a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver, the shootings continued for over a year, leaving six victims dead and seven others wounded. As the toll mounted, Berkowitz eluded a massive police manhunt while leaving brazen letters which promised further murders. Highly publicized in the press, the killings terrorized the people of New York City and achieved worldwide notoriety.

Berkowitz has been imprisoned since his arrest and is serving six life sentences consecutively.

The New York legislature enacted new legal statutes, known popularly as "Son of Sam laws", designed to keep criminals from profiting financially (books, movies, etc.) from the publicity surrounding their crimes.

Crime does not pay.

Right?


J.K. Rowling’s ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ jumped to the top of the bestseller list after she was revealed as its author. I wonder if I would like it. I tried reading one of her Harry Potter books and couldn't finish it. Didn't like it at all. So I never even tried to read another.

To me, the Harry Potter story premise was ridiculous, because, I imagine, it was aimed at a juvenile crowd. I have asked around for opinions of others as to the new one's quality and entertainment value, and am looking forward to more responses.

So far, all of the feedback from my query has been positive.


Over the years I have noticed that the most overly used lines by an attractive female in crime or suspense movies have been: "Help! Somebody help! Please, help me!" I wonder if there has been a study of how many times those lines have been voiced.

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TRIVIA
Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time. (That's hard for me to believe, and I wonder how anyone can possibly know it as fact.)

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, July 17 in 1938, Douglas Corrigan, the last of the early glory-seeking fliers, took off from Floyd Bennett field in Brooklyn, New York, on a flight that would finally win him a place in aviation history. He took off from Floyd Bennett field, ostentatiously pointed west to California.

However, a few minutes later, he made a 180-degree turn and vanished into a cloudbank to the puzzlement of a few onlookers. Twenty-eight hours later, "Wrong Way" Corrigan landed his plane in Dublin, Ireland.

 

WORD FOR TODAY

felon [fell-uhn]
noun
1.  a person who has committed a felony.
2.  (law) A person who has been tried and convicted of a felony.
3.  (archaic) a wicked person.

A person convicted in a court of law of a felony crime is known as a felon. In the United States, where the felony/misdemeanor distinction is still widely applied, the federal government defines a felony as a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year. If punishable by exactly 1 year or less, it's classified as a misdemeanor. The individual states may differ in this definition, using other categories as seriousness or context.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Donald McNichol Sutherland
(born July 17, 1935)

 

Donald Sutherland is a Canadian actor whose film career spans nearly 50 years. Some of his more notable movie roles have included offbeat soldiers in popular war movies such as The Dirty Dozen, MASH and Kelly's Heroes, as well as a diverse range of characters in other noted films such as, Fellini's Casanova, Klute, Don't Look Now, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, JFK, Ordinary People, Pride & Prejudice, and The Hunger Games.

He is the father of actor Kiefer Sutherland.

Phyllis Diller
(July 17, 1917 - Aug. 20, 2012

 

Phyllis Diller was an American actress and comedienne. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired and eccentrically dressed housewife who made self-deprecating jokes about her age and appearance, her terrible cooking, and a husband named "Fang", while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder.

James Francis Cagney, Jr.
(July 17, 1899 - March 30, 1986)

 

James Cagney was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing tough guys. Cagney's seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. The film thrust Cagney into the spotlight, making him one of Warners' and Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1938, he received his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Camilla Parker Bowles
(born July 17, 1947)

 

Camilla Parker Bowles is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Instead of taking the title "Princess of Wales", she is styled through her husband's secondary titles as "Duchess of Cornwall" and, in Scotland, "Duchess of Rothesay". The secondary titles were used because of the strong association of the primary title with her husband's first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales.

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If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.
--Albert Einstein

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