Dutch Clown Stabs Russian Boy On Crete: UPDATED

On the island of Crete in Hersonissos, a violent fierce attack by a Dutch hotel clown was made against a Russian family's child.

As you may recall, earlier in 2013, three Dutch clowns beat a boy at the Dutch city of Volendam's clown festivities (which involves over 200 clowns) in January.

In Crete, according to the forensic findings the child, aged 11 years, was stabbed 20 times in the chest, back and left arm. No sexual abuse was found.

Police authorities have arrested a 20-year-old Dutch hotel employee, who allegedly has confessed that he is the perpetrator of the attack on the minor. He was the hotel's clown.

Here are some of the photographs of the suspect from European newspapers. On his back is a tattoo with the words, "Vatos Locos."

Vatos Locos (in English, Crazy Dudes) is a widely used name for a street gang. Gangs using this name are active in several American states. The film Blood in, Blood out (1993) about the life of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca in 1972, was based on the experiences of gang members of Vatos Locos. The video game Call of Juarez: The Cartel features a fictional Vatos Locos gang.

The 11 year-old lost his cellphone and laptop, went searching for them, and then was lost. His parents, who had been looking for their child, did not find him until 3:00 AM in the hotel parking garage.

After a lengthy police interrogation, the young Dutch hotel clown reportedly confessed he stabbed the kid and directed the police to where the knife could be found.

The child is of Russian origin and is with his family in Crete for a holiday. 

Hersonissos (Greek: Χερσόνησος, pronounced [xerˈsonisos] - Chersónisos), also transliterated as Chersonisos and Hersónisos, is a town and a municipality in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean/Aegean Sea. The vicinity of Hersonissos is noted for its prehistoric archaeological finds. On the coast approximately one kilometer to the east of Hersonissos was an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Britomartis.

Britomartis (Βριτόμαρτις) was the Minoan goddess of mountains and hunting. She is among the Minoan goddess figures that passed through the Mycenaeans' culture into classical Greek mythology, with transformations that are unclear in both transferrals. For the Greeks Britomartis (Cretan dialect for "sweet maiden", "sweet virgin") or Diktynna (derived by Hellenistic writers as from diktya, "hunting nets") was a mountain nymph (an oread) whom Greeks recognized also in Artemis and in Aphaea, the "invisible" patroness of Aegina.
Britomartis ("sweet maid") is an epithet that does not reveal the goddess's name, nor her character, for it has the ring of an apotropaic euphemism. The goddess addressed as "Britomartis" was worshipped in Crete as an aspect of Potnia, the "Mistress." The oldest aspect of the Cretan goddess was as Mother of Mountains, who appears on Minoan seals with the demonic features of a Gorgon, accompanied by the double-axes of power and gripping divine snakes. Her terror-inspiring aspect was softened by calling her Britomartis, the "good virgin," a euphemism to allay her dangerous aspect.
Britomart figures in Edmund Spenser's knightly epic The Faerie Queene, where she is an allegorical figure of the virgin Knight of Chastity, representing English virtue—in particular, English military power—through a folk etymology that associated Brit-, as in Briton, with Martis, here thought of as "of Mars," the Roman war god. In Spenser's allegory, Britomart connotes the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I of England.
In his retelling of the King Arthur legends, Arthur Rex, author Thomas Berger suggests that Queen Guinevere may have become a powerful female knight known as Britomart after the death of the King.
Source.

BTW, media sources are also reporting the attack occurred in the "seaside town of Anissaras" and "in Iraklio, Crete." 

"Anissaras" is a hilly area in east Crete just outside of Hersonissos. "Iraklio" is another spelling for Heraklion, or Heraclion, where the famed ruins of Knossos were excavated and restored by Arthur Evans. English usage formerly preferred the classicizing transliterations "Heraklion" or "Heraclion," but the form "Iraklion" is becoming more common.

(Thanks to Thanassis V. for the news account information on this breaking story.)

Read More

Dark Knight of Gotham: Sports Illustrated Curse?

Making the cover of Sports Illustrated is sometimes called a curse. How do you think it might feel to be on the cover and be called The Dark Knight of Gotham? Major League Baseball pitcher for the Mets, Matt Harvey, may be pondering that very fate. He's on the cover of the May 20th issue.

Matthew Edward Harvey was born (March 27, 1989) in New London, Connecticut and grew up in Mystic, Connecticut. He played during his youth for Fitch Senior High School in Groton, Connecticut and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Harvey is an National League MLB right-handed pitcher for the New York Mets, debuting with them on July 26, 2012.

The Staten Island Advocate even published Harvey and Batman next to each other so the comparison would not be lost on its readership. And by doing that, all could clearly see that Harvey's jersey number is 33.

Also, don't forget, Harvey Dent was a major character in the second Dark Knight film.

The name Harvey is of Old English and Old French origin, and derived from the Breton name Haerviu, rooted in the elements haer "battle" and vy "worthy," literally "battle worthy," or in some views, "eager for battle; strong and worthy."

The Sports Illustrated cover curse or jinx is an urban legend that states that individuals or teams who appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine will subsequently be jinxed or experience bad luck. See here for a long list of incidents causing some to feel the curse has been confirmed.

.

Read More

Hadfield's Space Oddity

This is the revised version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. (Video below.)

Chris Hadfield OOnt MSC CD (born August 29, 1959, Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space.

"Hadfield was raised on a corn farm in southern Ontario and became interested in flying at a young age — he came to the idea of being an astronaut when he was nine on the day of Apollo moon landing, which he had seen on TV then," noted Janet Davidson, CBC News, December 7, 2012.

Chris means "servant of Christ."

The name Hadfield, most simply, is a habitational name from a place in Derbyshire, taken from Old English haeð "heathland," "heather" + feld "pasture," "open country."

More elaborately, Hadfield is a

...long-established surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a dialectal variant of the locational name Hatfield, from various places so called in, for example, Essex, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Hadfelda"; Hertfordshire, also recorded in the Domesday Book as "Hetfelle"; Nottinghamshire, found as "Haytfeld" in the Hundred Rolls of 1275; and in Hereford, recorded as "Hetfelde" in the Domesday Book. The derivation of the placename is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "harth," heather, or other similar plants, with the second element "feld," pasture, except the places in Nottinghamshire and in Yorkshire, whose first element show an influence of the Old Scandinavian "heithr," heath. Source.

Enjoy the gift that Chris Hadfield has sent us all from space, a video revision of David Bowie's Space Oddity.

Read More

Waynesville Murders

Followers of the Dark Knight/Batman might think of "Bruce Wayne," but other associations come to mind when the name "Wayne" is heard.

Within the "weird news" field, it has been a well-known truism that if a criminal has a middle name of "Wayne," no one in the newsroom is surprised he is being charged with murder. The examples are multiple. The most famous case, of course, is John Wayne Gacy.

My old buddy, correspondent Chuck Shepherd, has been a student of this "name game" for years. Here's what Chuck says about it, in an introduction to the topic:

The Classic Middle Name

It only occurred to me in the early 1990s that "Wayne" was a popular middle name among a few of the most heinous murderers of our time, e.g., the clown John Wayne Gacy (who killed almost three dozen boys and young men in the late 1970s and buried most of them beneath the floorboards of his Des Plaines, Ill., home) and Elmer Wayne Henley (sentenced to six consecutive life terms in 1974 in Houston for his role, with ringleader Dean Allen Corll, in the murders of 27 young men). I began to publish periodic lists in 1996, and soon readers made sure I never missed a one that made the news. Source, plus his impressively long list of names.

Now, today, Mother's Day, May 12, 2013, there is a breaking story out of Waynesville, Indiana, in Bartholomew County.

Police are reporting that Saturday night, four dead bodies were discovered in a residence there. The three deceased men (in the front room) and one dead woman (in the bedroom) had been shot.

The victims have been identified as 53-year-old Katherine Burton, 39-year-old Thomas Smith, 41-year-old Aaron Cross and 41-year old Shawn Burton. No suspect is in custody.

Authorities identified the others who were killed as Katheryn Burton's longtime boyfriend, 39-year-old Thomas Smith, who also lived at the home, and two 41-year-old Columbus men, Aaron Cross and Shawn Burton. The coroner said the Columbus men were friends of the couple, but were not related to them. Waynesville is a few miles south of Columbus. Source.

Wayne is an Old English name that means "wagon-wright," "wagon builder," and/or "wagon-driver."

Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles, sometimes called Nathanael (Mark 3:18). It is a male name, from the Hebrew, meaning "son of Talmai."

Bartholomew County was formed on February 12, 1821 and was named for Lt. Col. Joseph Bartholomew, wounded at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Bartholomew joined the Revolutionary War at the age of 10, and he served as a scout for General “Mad” Anthony Wayne.  Bartholomew married Christiana Pickenpaugh in 1788. His daughter Martha and several of his grandchildren were some of the earliest converts to Mormonism and several were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Of course, it is only a coincidence to note that the town directly south of Waynesville, Indiana, only 11 miles away, is Seymour, Indiana. Fifty-seven miles west of Seymour is Aurora, Indiana.

Read More

Year of Lear: Benedict, Thatcher, Ferguson

This piece is historical and prophetic in a synchromystic fashion we are accustomed to here at Twilight Language.

Today something special: A guest essay from writer Thomas McGrath. He wants to share some insights from across the pond, having watched the United Kingdom experience interesting times.

"Football" in Europe, of course, is what we call "soccer" in America. To say it is popular is an understatement. Football in the UK is taken very seriously, and major changes in leadership are felt on a societal level.

McGrath tackles the resignation of Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of the well-known and honored team, Manchester United.

Before launching into McGrath's contribution, let me just add a note or two about Alex Ferguson's name, etymologically.

Alexander is derived from the Greek "Αλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros), meaning "defending men" or "protector of men", a compound of the verb "ἀλέξω" (alexō), "to ward off, to avert, to defend" and the noun "ἀνδρός" (andros), genitive of "ἀνήρ" (anēr), "man." Alexander is an example of the widespread motif of Greek (or Indo-European more generally) names expressing "battle-prowess," in this case the ability to withstand or push back an enemy battle line.

Ferguson is a Scottish-Irish surname and given name. The surname is a patronymic form of the personal name Fergus. The name Fergus is derived from the Gaelic elements fear ("man") and gus ("vigor", "force", or "choice"). Thus the name "Ferguson" literally means the "son of a man of force/vigor" (the "male offspring of a strong powerful father").

The combination of the two names make for a powerful mix.

Now the item for your consideration:

Year of Lear: Benedict, Thatcher, Ferguson

by Thomas McGrath © 2013

In perhaps the most famous opening scene of all, King Lear divests himself of power and divides his kingdom, so that he might “unburdened crawl towards death.” 
Didn’t quite work out like that, of course, Lear’s attempt to separate who and what he was. His story, though, is one with plenty of relevance to 2013, which is emerging as a kind of Year of Lear.

First, Pope Benedict XVI retired. Which felt like a kind of paradox. People made sympathetic faces, but beneath these, there was often a little discernible disappointment, and even contempt. It was as if, in the great mystery play of Roman Catholicism, the lead part had simply decided to break character, ruining the illusion for some, and the illusion of the illusion for everyone else. No wonder lightning struck St Peter’s Basilica. 
Then there was the death of Thatcher.

In her case, death itself was a kind of afterthought. Her real demise, as is well known, occurred on the Conservative Party’s own Night of the Long Knives in 1990, when it took turns to stab at her political power, a virtual assassination that nonetheless seemed to kill the actual woman, leaving behind a shell whose subsequent longevity sounded less a retirement than a surreal waltz on the border between two worlds.

Unlike a Pope, a Prime Minister is only meant to borrow the robes of office, not take them to the casket. But just as Benedict XVI was unable to go on existing with the burden of his role, Thatcher (more Caesar than Lear) was unable to go on existing without hers.

What, then, of Alex Ferguson – can a mere football manager (those quintessential kings-for-a-day) fit this pattern? Of course, because Ferguson was different. 
In recent years, I often thought of Ferguson as an embodiment of humanity's quirky relationship to the grave. It is one thing to see a twenty-five-year-old player roar and raise a trophy high into the air, celebrating a victory dependent upon a vast suspension of disbelief, but the absurdity is always that much more stark when the man with his arms in the air is of an age where, in ancient Japan, you were expected to shave your head and prepare for eternity.
Ferguson, it was clear, was hiding from death in the make-believe world of sport (itself only a diorama of our own, wider world of make believe). He admitted as much himself. Now, this self-made Pope of the Red Devils has retired too, causing at least as much shock (in the UK, anyway) as his Catholic counterpart. 
“All perform their tragic play,” Yeats wrote in “Lapis Lazuli,” along with Shakespeare imagining history as unfolding upon a grand stage, “There struts Hamlet, there is Lear.” The players, at present,  seem to be shifting. Whoever will be next, I wonder, to take their bow? 

Read More

Kansas Deaths Are Dark Mirrors

Still missing, Lana, 18 months old, in the "shades of gray" state of Kansas.

News is coming out of Olathe and Ottawa, Kansas, of the grisly discovery of the bodies of three adults and a missing, presumed dead child of one of the deceased. It appears to be a ghastly reflection - a dark one - of the rescue in Cleveland.

The names in Cleveland - Knight, Berry, and DeJesus - are well-known now.

From Kansas, we may be hearing more about Bailey, Stout, and White soon.

Steven E. White, one of the deceased.

The bodies of Kaylie Kathleen Bailey, 21, Andrew Adam Stout, 30, and Steven Eugene White, 31, were discovered at a farmhouse in Ottawa earlier this week.

(L-R) Andrew Stout, Kaylie Bailey, Steven White

Friends of a man who lives at the home in the 3100 block of Georgia Road called deputies Sunday after smelling a foul odor. They also had been unable to contact their friend recently. But deputies did not find any bodies.

The friends returned Monday and found what they believed to be a woman’s body in a garage. Deputies then returned to the home, got a search warrant and found the men’s bodies. All of the victims were adults.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/05/07/2792530/2-bodies-found-on-farm-in-east.html#storylink=cpy

The first body was found in the farm's garage Monday, May 6, 2013, by friends of Stout's, who investigated the property after not hearing from Stout for several days. They called police after finding Bailey's body in the garage under a tarp. Authorities then launched a full search and found the other two bodies. Bailey's daughter, Lana, was nowhere to be found.

Franklin County Sheriff Jeffrey Richards said at a news conference that the 18-month-old daughter of one of the victims is "presumed dead" although her body has not been found. A 27-year-old man has been arrested in the deaths of these three people, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Lana Leigh Bailey and Kaylie Bailey.

Earlier in the week, the Wichita Eagle shared the concerns of relatives:

Rachel Helms-Bailey, grandmother of the missing child, said her son, Shawn Bailey, and Kaylie married in 2009 and lived with her for years in Basehor and later Melvern. She said Kaylie never missed a day of work [at an American Eagle Outfitters warehouse], so it’s extremely unusual that Kaylie would miss a week of work without calling.
Kaylie and her baby moved back with Kaylie’s mother in Olathe about six months ago, Helms-Bailey said. Shawn Bailey was sent to prison for theft and forgery convictions in early March, and the couple divorced at the end of March, she said.
Kaylie last was seen about noon Wednesday leaving her mother’s home to visit Andrew Stout, who lives at the Georgia Road home. They worked together as security officers. Stout had at least one roommate who recently had been released from prison, Helms-Bailey said.
Kaylie said she would be back in two hours but never returned, Helms-Bailey said. She missed her overnight shift that night and every shift since. Stout has also not returned to work, Helms-Bailey said.

Police had earlier been looking for two men in connection with the murders: Kyle Flack, 27, and Cyle Mathew Bailey, 22. They are believed to be driving a Toyota Corolla.

The suspect was located in Emporia, about 50 miles southwest of Ottawa, Sheriff Richards said. That suspect is being held at the Franklin County jail on a first-degree murder charge but has yet to be formally charged, according to Richards and Franklin County Attorney Stephen Hunting.

Shawn was arrested with relative Cyle Bailey, 23, who had been imprisoned with Shawn for their role in a 2008 burglary in Franklin County. Cyle Bailey had also initially been sought by police as a “person of interest" in the Ottawa homicide. However, police canceled that request Tuesday after speaking with Cyle. Source.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/05/07/2792530/2-bodies-found-on-farm-in-east.html#storylink=c

Update: Prosecutors are expected to charge Kyle T. Flack, 27, of Ottawa with multiple counts of first-degree murder in the case, Richards said. (Flack is pictured below in recent booking photographs.)

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/09/4226917/missing-18-month-old-ottawa-girl.html#storylink=cpy

Update: Prosecutors are expected to charge Kyle Flack, 27, of Ottawa with multiple counts of first-degree murder in the case, Richards said.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/09/4226917/missing-18-month-old-ottawa-girl.html#storylink=cpy

The father of the child, Shawn Bailey, is apparently not a suspect. He has been in jail in Missouri since January on burglary charges. It is not known if Cyle Bailey is a relative.

 OzOzOz

Olathe, Ottawa, Emporia. We are in Kansas. Oz incarnate. The state has a Wizard of Oz Museum, a Yellow Brick Road, a Munchkin Mall, and other Oz-linked roadside attractions. Olathe, where Kaylie Bailey lived, is literally "beautiful."

Olathe was founded by Dr. John T. Barton in the spring of 1857. He rode to the center of Johnson County, Kansas, and staked two quarter sections of land as the town site. He later described his ride to friends: "...the prairie was covered with verbena and other wild flowers. I kept thinking the land was beautiful and that I should name the town Beautiful." Purportedly, Barton asked a Shawnee interpreter how to say "Beautiful" in his native language. The interpreter responded, "Olathe." Source.

Other highlights summarized from Wikipedia:

This area of Kansas was involved in the pre-Civil War bloody battles between pro- and anti-slavery factions. Confederate guerrillas from Missouri led by William Quantrill surprised the residents and raided the city on September 7, 1862, killing a half dozen men, robbing numerous businesses and private homes, and destroying most of the city. Quantrill launched the raid because the people of Olathe were known for their abolitionism.

Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River (which use to flood often) in the central part of Franklin County, Kansas. Beginning in 1943, Ottawa served as a branch camp for Nazi prisoners of war.

Emporia, Kansas, located on upland prairie, was founded on February 20, 1857, drawing its name from ancient Carthaginian Africa. The 1987 CBS miniseries Murder Ordained was filmed in Emporia. The program was the dramatization of an actual event in Emporia involving the 1983 death of Sandra Bird. Her husband, Reverend Tom Bird, was convicted of first-degree murder in her death and served 20 years in prison. On Sunday, March 6, 1988, a heavily armed gunman walked into the Calvary Baptist Church during services and opened fire. The 29-year-old gunman, Cheunphon Ji, shot randomly, killing 1 person and injuring 4 others.

"No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home." ~ Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

Read More

The Real Angel of Cleveland

A less dynamic, non-English speaker may be one of the forgotten heroes of the Cleveland rescue. The focus of the viral interview of Charles Ramsey is beginning to crumble around the edges. But will any of this be remembered beyond today, in the wake of stories of chains, five pregnancies, torture, and other sickening violence? (The graphic breaking details from reporter Michael Baldwin's interviews are spreading today, and sweeping away initial "discovery" details.)

The English-speaking media darling of the Cleveland rescue is only a human being.

The highlighting of the melodramatic Ramsey interview on video, of McDonald's and visual imagery, may be ignoring the reality of what happened. First off, Charles Ramsey's newly revealed criminal record is not doing him any good. As Smoking Gun and other sources are noting, in January 2003, Ramsey allegedly was arrested for the second time for domestic violence and served time in the Lorain, Ohio, Correctional Institution. Yes, Lorain.

Lorain Correctional mugshot of Charles Ramsey.

Ramsey had been incarcerated in Lorain, also in the early 1990s for drug abuse and other minor crimes. Lorain Avenue, as previously noted, was the site of the Knight, Berry, and DeJesus kidnappings.

There is "profiling" that needs to take place sometimes - of patterns in kidnappings, in appearances, in name links, in location overlaps. Not all "profiling" is inappropriate, of course.

Michelle Knight (note headband)

 Gina DeJesus (note headband)

 Amanda Berry (note headband)

It appears another man - Angel Cordero - may have actually and initially been the one to have noticed Amanda Berry's shouts, to have arranged her escape, and to have handed her a cellphone for that dramatic oft-heard 911 call. Listening closely to Ramsey's interviews, you will note he says "we," but never named Cordero.

Angel Cordero's name is literally an angelic name game. 

Angel (from the Greek ἄγγελος - ángelos) is a supernatural being or spirit, usually humanoid in form, found in various religions and mythologies.

Cordero derives from the Latin cordus meaning "young" plus "aries" - the ram, and the translation is "the little lamb" or the "young ram," or even possibly the "son of the ram." There are claims that the name is a descriptive metonymic for a shepherd, and this is a possibility, except that usually shepherds look after all the sheep, not just the young lambs as suggested by the name. 

Cordero-named individuals have, within their name, an acknowledgement of shepherding the young innocents, metaphorically, the lambs. Add "angel" and that's is a rather powerful name.

"I kicked the door at the bottom because I was trying to get it open because it was too hard so I got it at the bottom and that's when Amanda ran out of the house," said Angel Cordero through a translator.

Fox 8 noted:

"I was the first person who broke the door,” said Angel Cordero, 32.
In Spanish, Cordero said he was the first person to break down the door to rescue the three missing women from the home on Seymour Avenue Monday afternoon.
Cordero said he was at a friend’s house right across the street when he heard Amanda Berry, 27, screaming for help and trying to escape.
“I crossed the street and I asked the girl what was happening and she told me that she’s been kidnapped for 10 years. We tried together to open the door but it was locked with a chain and the door didn’t open much so I kicked the door open,” Cordero explained.
Cordero says he, Charles Ramsey and other neighbors helped the women escape from the house, then got Berry to a phone so she could call police.

But Cordero is one who is not upset that Ramsey is getting most of the credit. He doesn't feel like a hero.

“I feel normal. I did something I needed to do. A big, important favor,” said Cordero to Fox 8. 

Angel Cordero (pictured) says that he does not harbor any resentment or jealousy toward Charles Ramsey, as long as the women he helped rescue from the home are okay.

WPTV reported on Cordero and the involvement of another man, Wintel Tejeda:

“Ramsey arrived after she was outside with the girl,” Cordero said. “But the truth who arrived there, who crossed the street, who came and broke the door, it was me.”
Wintel Tejeda, who lives across the street from the suspect’s house, said others helped and when Berry came out, they gave her a phone.
“She was able to call police from my house,” Tejeda said in Spanish.
Now with Ramsey’s interview making headlines, both men said they’re not jealous.
“I did what had to be done. I helped her,” Cordero said. “They have their daughter, daughters are safe over there.”

The names Tejeda, Tejada are derivatives of "Tejado" meaning tile, and originally meant the place of the tile roofs, or the place where tiles were made. "Teja" means "(roof) tile" or "lime tree."

Hat tips to Dave McM + RPJ.

Read More