The Monster of Florence - by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi
This book was not exactly what I thought it would be. As a non-fiction book about a serial killer in Italy I thought it would be extremely interesting and would take me to the end of the story where a killer was revealed. Instead it goes deeply into history of Italy and of the way cases are handled in Italy. If you are looking for an answer….there is none. If you are interested in getting hooked on a story and then never finding out the end…this book is for you. An unsolved crime that spanned from the 1960’s until the late 80’s resulting in 16 deaths and many many suspects being held with no evidence. Apparently speculation is enough to get you put in prison for up to a year with no charges. And writing a book about the crimes while dissing the police effort is enough to get you put in the slammer and thought of as a suspect.
This book frustrated me and was put down MANY times. If I wasn’t reading it for book club I would have probably not finished it and when I did finish it I was angry at the result. I think that is what Douglas Preston wanted though, he was frustrated as an American thriller author of fiction when he became intangled and then a suspect because he was pulled into the real life mystery. I think he wanted us as the reader to be frustrated as well. Mr. Preston you succeeded in the frustration and the anger at the Italian legal system. Yes, it’s messy and nothing appears to be based on facts. It puts the point across that should I travel to Italy I should stay out of trouble at all costs!
I give the book 2 1/2 out of 5 butterflies. A lot of the history not relating to the crimes could easily have been left out, it felt heavy and uneeded to get the point across.
“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.”
—
Kurt Vonnegut
* Cemeteries. I visited 2 cemeteries last weekend and had completely different experiences. Friday night for our Anniversary, Terrell and I went to St. Augustine for a fancy dinner and decided to walk it off down St. George Street (it’s an old street in downtown St. Aug. that is closed off for foot traffic only, a tourist trap basically but has some really cool stores nonetheless) to end up at Hugenot Cemetery at about 8:45 pm. We listened to some of the stories being told by the ghost tour guides and took photos of the cemetery at night and I had a light that appeared in my camera but not my husband’s! We tried to be logical about it but none of the lights around us including the moon seemed to be causing the light and I saw it in 3 different areas. It really was cool and I’m happy to hear what you think about it. You can see the pictures here. Also Saturday on Halloween during the day we went to a nearby cemetery that is rather old (and still accessible, Hugenot doesn’t allow you in the grounds unsupervised) and walked around reading the tombstones out loud to one another. I took grave rubbings of the interesting ones, 1883 “Little Carrie” “Shall We Meet”, a really strange cat on a family stone, and some Masonic symbols on another. It was a peaceful gorgeous day and it was nice without the noise and without any strange experiences unlike those from the night before.
* Walking on the beach at night. Terrell and decided to drive up the coast to return home that same Friday night. A1A was bright from the moonlight and we couldn’t help but find a spot to park so we could roll our jeans and go walk in the sand. The moon and stars were so very bright. We held each other tight and wiggled our toes in the sand. It ended our night in such a beautiful way. Terrell saw a shooting star. Perfect.
* Pagan podcasting. I finally remembered to go find my favorite podcasters. Without my laptop I have been a little lost and can’t wait until we have money again to purchase a new laptop. I think it will be before the end of November, but regardless I used my Mother’s laptop to find out that Darkly Fey had decided to change things up a little and start off fresh with a more positive podcast name and using her real name for hosting. So I have spent today catching up on Feithline Stuart and her SpiritsCast podcast and of course on Mojo & Sparrow with The Wigglian Way. My work day has flown by listening to their podcasts that have little music breaks in the middle.
Quick Mentions:
* Practical Magic – I can watch that movie a hundred times and it never grows old. * Sleeping with the window open, it makes you wake up all cold and cuddly. * Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill * Leftover Halloween candy! *Cool weather. *Making lists for traveling. * Getting ready to see family I haven’t seen in a while. *Family Weddings. *So You Think You Can Dance. *Vanilla Noir by Bath and Body Works, it’s the perfect fall scent. * Scarves to keep my neck warm. * Crashing a Halloween party with a most awesome friend and meeting new friends at that party! * Hamsa necklace with the prettiest irredescent stone to ward off the evil eye! *The photos I keep seeing in my re-found tumblr account
* My 9 year wedding anniversary was yesterday and I got cards and flowers and a beautiful necklace and lots and lots of love from my honey. I know I’m very lucky and very loved but I still loved the extra attention. Husband gets an A++ for effort on all special occasions. He knows how to make me feel like a Goddess.
Halloween
* Halloween! How can you not like the holiday that lets you dress up like goblins and faeries? In fact I’ve had past halloweens as faeries, zombies and gypsies. I love it. Even today with work not having dress up I wore a set of silver horns I bought at a Ren Fest years back. Little devil horns make my outfit pop!
Moon
* My rediscover of Tumblr.com oh how did I forget such treasure that produce such great and magical finds! Tumblr is making me feel the magic again with friends like SuninScorpio, HighMagic, and WitchMountain. With posts like theirs I can’t help but be motivated to make and find my own magic.
Quick Mentions:
*Dinner with my husband when we get into deep conversations *Bookclub book that is uber intriguing *reconnecting with twitter friends *having someone to take care of me when I drink too much (rum puch = bad idea) *walks in graveyards *tombstone rubbings *jack-o-lanterns *getting ready for a family wedding *plans for travel *knitting hats and scarves for upcoming winter *Mirah – The Garden *My Vampire playlist on my ipod
I want so badly for the blog to be this magical spot that gives you the feeling of optomism and hope for good things. I want it to give you a thrill to pull up a new post and a smile from seeing a new post up.
It’s hard to have a magical blog though when I feel so blah right now, and I get quiet when I feel blah. So forgive me for so little these past few weeks and let me gather my thoughts and pull out of the case of blah blah blahs I have right now and I promise I’ll be back later this week with lots of love and magic.
*I learned to knit on Thursday thanks to the lovely Emily! We sat in the dimmed, candle lit den of the Underbelly and had a wonderful evening chatting and learning. I am so pleased with the end result and have started 2 other scarves already. I can lose myself while knitting, it’s much like meditation, clearing of the mind. It’s wonderful.
Hi from FL! Sending love to Japan!
*Friends threw a Sept./Oct. birthday bash since there were a handful of Libras in our circle of friends. My Baby Brother included. He turned 30!!! It was great to have everyone together and having a good time. It was a beautiful day and hadn’t gotten cool yet so the boat was buzzing across the water the whole day with people tubing on the wakes. Lots of fun was had, meats were smoked, conversations were vibrant and friendly. Missed was my girl Jes, she’s in Japan but we all took photos and I sent her the bunch of them, so she could feel our love!
My eye Dr. mapped my retinas
*I went to the eye Dr. for my yearly exam and they had a new laser that mapped 200 degrees of your retina instead of the 30 degrees they can see by dialating your eyes. This took a quarter of a second and required no trippy eyes for hours after the exam. With all the wonky problems my family has with eyes I opted to pay more and MAN was it COOL! And for the first time in years my eyes stayed the same, they didn’t get worse. That is super good news.
*The final bout of the season for Rollerderby was this weekend. It was fun to see the girl playhard and play it to win! The first bout our B team kept the score close but in the end they lost, but our A team brought it and won with a 20 point margin. It was a huge crowd and they had a great time hamming it up for all the new people that had never been to a derby game. Seems “Whip It!” got the word out that Rollerderby is around.
Quick Mentions:
*Cool weather is finally here, not for long but it’s still nice! *rediscovered Regina Spektor – Far *Leaving the windows open at night and snuggling under blankets. *Music that FEELS like fall and seems to match the weather. *fuzzy yarn *text messages from my honey full of love. *sitting outside to knit while my man does manly things. *good non-fiction books, it’s hard to my attention with a NF book and this one does! *Good friends chatting me up on IM *Hair that dries into the perfect 40’s coif just by pinning it!
I visit Llewellyn’s website pretty much weekly. I love seeing what’s on sale, looking at tarot cards and I love reading the blog (I mean how else would I have found out about this creepy cloud in Moscow?) and of course I love checking out the free spell a day which isn’t always a “spell” per say, but sometimes something very cool like today’s on Bibliomancy:
Bibliomancy can be defined as “divination by means of a book.” This type of divinatory magic can be performed anytime, and it’s a fun way to receive spiritual messages from our immediate reality. You can even do this right now, with this book, if you wish! Either think about something that you want to gain insight about or approach the divination ready to receive whatever message the universe wants to deliver. Have on hand a sharp needle or pin. After meditating, hold the pin up high, open the book at random, and stab the pin into the pages. Afterward, write down the words (on both the front and back of each page) that the needle stabbed through. This will form a random string of words that can be interpreted by the divinator. Look for the messages being delivered; they’re not always easy to see but are profound once they are recognized!
I am looking forward to trying this today. I think I have just the book to use too as it is a lovely work of fiction that has great meaning to me. I’ll let you know how it goes.
If Tori Amos, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey had a threesome, Florence Welsh would be their love child! Her melancholy, malice and melodic voice leads to this soulful album that grabs at your throat and forces you to listen to the end.
In the song “Kiss With a Fist” she sings with fervor and angst about a relationship gone wrong. She is violent in her words but her voice lulls you into submission.
She has a unique range that takes her easily from ballads and soul singing to rocky anthems and punky angst. I enjoy her first album and will look forward to future endeavors from Florence and the Machine.
* Enters my fangirl!!! *Squee* Last Friday night am artsy area of town (Riverside’s 5 points area) held a block party that they call First Fridays (held the 1st Friday of each month) and as a special treat one of the boutiques Edge City (where I’ve bought my quirky sunglasses and sparkley hair pins since I was 13) had a special guest. Tarina Tarintino was there to promote her new collection. I got to sneak in at the last minute thanks to the owner’s knowing me and allowing me to break the rules! You had to have spent a certain amount prior to 5pm that day in order to get in to meet her and get her look book for free. I got a look book and a photo with her. Let me tell you how kind and genorous she is. She was signing books out in the street at 10pm hungry and ready to get off her feet but was so genuinely sweet and floored by the crowd she drew….seriously people came all the way from Tampa to meet her. She was gracious to everyone and loved the stores and the people in the area. I need to post a scan of one of the pictures from the look book because it’s fabulous!
My new tattoo
* A few weeks ago I got a new tattoo. It’s my first color and also the first highly visible tattoo I have gotten as it’s about 6 inches above my wrist. It has a heart hidden in it and stands for me and my husband as we are both fire signs. At the end of the month we will celebrate 9 years of marriage. He is my flame. It felt good to get something that I feel so strong about.
Full Moon energy!
* Did you feel the full moon energy Sunday night/ Monday morning? It looked beautiful and earlier in the night I wish I had snapped pictures with the clouds surrounding it! It looked magical and created a wonderful night for me and my husband.
Some Lady Daisey for you…I love her positive energy and lovely voice! We are seeing her & Batsauce tonight and I can’t wait! Her site claims her music is like Sunshine for your soul….I can’t agree enough honey! Welcome back to the states!
Quick mentions:
*Florence and the Machines *Revamping of an old bar…Birdie’s is going to be great! *Underbelly *Looking forward to some jamming Heavenly Noise live and back from Germany *old movies that I can watch a million and one times *new headphones for my ipod, no more static! *new music to movie soundtracks – such great full mixes *bookclub books that pull me in *Dexter and Vampire Diaries *beers bought by friends that I haven’t seen in a while *an empty house and a loving husband *new miniture pots of makeup…Sephora I am your slave *Butterflies floating past my window as I type this out!!!
i am in the midst of an exciting reading frenzy! A non-fiction gripping story about a serial killer in Italy and a fiction about a two sisters that are left a house when a long lost Aunt passes…the catch is that they have to move into it for a year before they can sell it. They move from Chicago to London and move into a house that sits overlooking a cemetary of famous deceased and learn there’s a lot more to the house than thought.
See why I am excited! I haven’t even gotten to the fiction book because the non-fiction is SO good! I almost forgot to mention that the fiction is written by Audrey Niffenegger the same genius author behind The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Here are the links if you would like to follow along.
The Monster of Florence - by Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi
* My family had a big Rosh Hashanah dinner last Sunday and I always love that the Jewish holidays coincide so nicely with my Pagan ones. Also the fact that the food in the feast is so neatly tied together. I say my own little prayer in my head along with theirs and I have my family and my own personal holiday all rolled up into one. It’s so wonderful. Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the New Year going by the Jewish calendar which represents either analogically or literally the creation of the World, or Universe. So it is now the year 5770 on the Jewish calendar. As my Father says “Leshana Tova Tikoseiv Vesichoseim” or “May you immediately be inscribed and sealed in the books for a Good Year & a Good & Peaceful Life” , which I think is both pretty to say and nice tell someone!
*Even though in Florida we usually don’t start having Fall weather until late Oct. early Nov. I still keep hope and get all excited about pulling out cold weather clothes and boots pulling out my heavy scented candles…I do love fall so much and I love the smells and the crisp air, it’s all so lovely. I found a new candle that has me excited. Yankee Candle has a Harvest Moon scent that seems like it’s two of my favorite scents combined Pumpkin & Spices with crisp Autumn Air. I’ll be picking one up sometime soon and will let you know what I think.
via Lochaven's flickr page
* I got the last book currently in a series I’ve been reading and cannot wait to break open the book and start reading. I love new books. Heck, love any book! I love wandering down the narrow isles of my favorite used bookstore (they also have new titles as well….)!
Quick mentions: Hubby pumping me full of good vitamins and complaining, but then not getting sick when the rest of the family came down with the flu; butterflies that float past my work window; new music on my ipod that takes me through the whole day; slight cooling of our FL heat…from the 90’s down to mid 80’s, it’s a nice change; pressing my face against my husbands cool back, he immediately scoots closer and eventually turns over to spoon me even if he’s sleeping; She Wants Revenge in concert; organic burritos with spicy homemade salsa; york pepermint patties that fall from the vending machine on accident (co-worker mishap but I <3 them so he gave them to me!).
I am interested in reading about Laws of Attraction. Anyone have a book to recommend? I was thinking of getting the book The Secret. 11 hours ago
@katiberz I wish I knew. I have an icon on Livejournal that is of a hurricane and it says Sunshine State across it. Makes me laugh! 12 hours ago
@katiberz it's raining right this very minute in Jacksonville FL thanks to a last minute hurricane hitting shore. It rains all the time here 13 hours ago
If Tori Amos, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey had a threesome, Florence Welsh would be their love child! Her melancholy, malice and melodic voice leads to this soulful album that grabs at your throat and forces you to listen to the end. 
