Exiting upcoming exhibit alert just in from my friend Natasha McEnroe at the Florence Nightingale Museum:

BONE?
19 July – 31 August 2012
Florence Nightingale Museum
2 Lambeth Palace Road London SE1 7EW

This summer, the Florence Nightingale Museum will host an eclectic exhibition of around 60 objects that explores the rich history and substance of bone, across cultures, throughout time and between disciplines.

Mobile Studio Architects will transform part of the museum allowing visitors to explore objects including an x-ray of Sigmund Freud's head, a cat skeleton to ward off evil spirits, a skull shaped candle made for Marilyn Manson's wedding, a contemporary apothecary jar showing the effects of syphilis on bone, cutting edge medical bone imaging and Florence Nightingale’s pet tortoise ‘Jimmy’.

The exhibition will reflect bone’s intriguing and multi-faceted story in its objects as well as through live performances and demonstrations by biomedical researchers and clinicians, forensic archaeologists, bone carvers, dancers, historians, artists and other professional bone users.

Simon Gould, BONE Curator says:
“I am so excited to be bringing together some of the most extraordinary objects from more than a dozen of London’s museums and collections along with remarkable medical expertise and acclaimed contemporary artists. Bone is an astonishing material and this exhibition promises to bring this to life for the visitor.”

Natasha McEnroe, Director of the Florence Nightingale Museum says:
“In the heart of London’s Southbank in this Olympic year, we are thrilled to be hosting BONE and to offer our visitors an even more inspiring experience. Following the museum’s hugely successful refurbishment in 2010, this multi-disciplinary exhibition will further establish the Florence Nightingale Museum’s position on London’s cultural and scientific map”.

More can be found here.

Images, top to bottom:

1. It is 19th bone china, that has been “up-cycled” by Melody Rose to add the skull image. “Reproduced by Courtesy of Melody Rose.”  
2. 1908 x-ray of Parissien woman in a whalebone corset.

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This Thursday at The Coney Island Museum:

Ask the Experts - Suzane Wray on Magnificent and Unrivaled Exhibition of Illuminated Chemical Dioramas
Date: This Thursday, June 28th
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: The Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave.
Admission: $5 General Public, Free for Coney Island USA Members.
Advance tickets here

Showman Robert Winter painted chemical dioramas “in the style of Daguerre.” He came to New York in 1843, showing his “chemical paintings” in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and for the next 20 years he traveled widely, eventually adding a magic lantern to his show. Historian Suzanne Wray has been researching Mr. Winter's show for several years and the Coney Island Museum is thrilled to finally be able to share her work with the public. 

You can find out more--and purchase advance tickets--by clicking here.

Image: Le Dyorama, an engraving by Marlet of Daguerre’s Diorama, 1824 found at dwellstudio.com.

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The first episode of Season 2 of The Midnight Archive--that wonderful web-based documentary series centered around Brooklyn's Observatory--has just gone live! It features friend of Morbid Anatomy Tim Muller--whose collection you might remember from my recent exhibition Private Cabinets--and his amazing collection of quirky, arcane, and often terrifying machines.

To watch the episode, simply press play in the viewer above. More on Tim and his collection, in the words of director/creator Ronni Thomas:

Old Machines: The Tim Mullen Collection - This episode takes a look at the collection of NYC's Tim Mullen, an engineer with a soft spot for Antique Machinery... His amazing apartment is LITTERED with Machines from before the turn of the century and onwards. The scope of it was pretty hard to capture on film but i hope we did a good job of it. X-Ray Machines, Victorian hospital devices, Old TVs and Radios, and my favorite - a funeral fan (complete with burning Jesus lighting) are just a few of the many amazing items in this electrifying collection. Tim is always on the lookout for 'new' old stuff so if you have anything in your basement - drop him a line!

For more on the series, to see any of the episodes, or to sign up for the mailing list and thus be alerted to future uploads, visit The Midnight Archive website by clicking here. You can also "like" it on Facebook--and be alerted in this way--by clicking here.

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As most of you have no doubt already heard, on Good Friday of this year, The Morbid Anatomy Library suffered a mighty and devastating deluge. This Saturday, June 30th, Morbid Anatomy and Observatory will host an epic and underground-star-studded rebuilding gala, and we would love to see you there.

Following is a somewhat finalized schedule. The party begins at 8, and the performance begins at 9; tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Hope to see you there!

RESURRECTION! A Gala Benefit to Rebuild The Morbid Anatomy Library
Date: Saturday, June 30
Time: 8:00
Admission: $25
Location: Observatory (543 Union Street at Nevins, Brooklyn; Enter via Proteus Gowanus) (DIRECTIONS)

8:00: Doors, drinks, and music
9:00: Introductory remarks by our MCs Evan Michelson of The Science Channel's "Oddities" and cult writer and luminary Mark Dery
9:10: World Premiere of Morbid Anatomy episode of The Midnight Archive, directed by Ronni Thomas
9:20: A Series of 5-minute "Odes to Material Culture:"

• Ryan Mathews of "Oddities" on exploded, or "Beauchene" Skulls
• Melissa Milgrom, author of Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy, on a Glass Udder
• Mark Jacobson of New York Magazine on a Human Skin Lampshade
• Carl Schoonover author of Portraits of the Mind, on Ramón y Cajal, Art and Science
• Lord Whimsy of The Affected Provincial's Almanac Volume 1, with "A Report from Carpet Island"
• Amy Herzog of Queens College, with "A Bunny Is Being Beaten: A Tale of Political Violence, Oedipal Angst, and a Lost Televisual Object (in which the author reveals far more about her psychosexual development than anyone ever wanted to know....)”
• Evan Michelson on a Whale Bulla, and How it is Possible to Love, Desire and Hate an Object at the Same Time
• Lisa O’Sullivan, director of the Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health at the New York Academy of Medicine on her Pocket Anatomy Figure
• Barbara Mathé of AMNH on an Archetypal Piece of Sliced Bread
• Daniel Margocsy of CUNY on A Tableau Made of Human Body Parts by Dutch Anatomist Frederik Ruysch
• Salvador Olguín of Borderline Projects on a Santa Muerta Figurine

Following will be complimentary cocktails, music by Friese Undine, screenings of The Midnight Archive, performances by Jonny Clockworks, and droll giveaways from the design firm Kikkerland. Attendees are encouraged to dress "Obscurely."

Throughout the night, you will also be invited to bid on objects in our silent auction which included works by such amazing artists and makers as:

• Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood 
• Rosamond Purcell
• Minnesota Rogue Taxidermist Robert Marbury
• MTA Artist-in-Residence Sophie Blackall
• Creative taxidermist Jessica Joslin
• Ryan Mathews of "Oddities"  
• Empire of Death author/photographer Paul Koudounaris
• Anthropomorphic taxidermist Sue Jeiven 
• Anthropomorphic insect shadowbox maker Daisy Tainton
• Waxworker Sigrid Sarda
• Museum-exhibit designer Christopher Muller
• Erika Larsen
• Shannon Taggart
• Julia Solis
• Justine Cooper
• Saul Chernick
• Nicholas Kahn
• Laura Splan
• Alex Kanevsky
• Suzanne Anker
• Friese Undine
• Demetrios Vital
• Cindy Stelmackowich
• GF Newland 
• Andrea Meadows
• Eric Lindvelt
• And, as they say, much, much more.

You can find out more here. Hope very, very much to see you there!

And, if you can not join us at the benefit and are interested in aiding in rebuilding efforts, here are a few things you can do:

• Make a monetary donation; to do so, simply click on the black "Donate Here" button on the top right hand side of this blog
• Sponsor a book; Click hereto see a list of damaged books; books purchased here will automatically ship directly to The Library and populate our sadly empty shelves.
• Help spread the word!
• Donate new books or artifacts for the collection: Mailing Address: Joanna Ebenstein, c/o The Morbid Anatomy Library, 543 Union Street #1E, Brooklyn, NY 1121

Thanks so much! And hope to see you soon at a bigger, better Morbid Anatomy Library very very soon!

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A few of the most wonderful things I saw on my recent trip to Italy with Evan Michelson were the two saints seen above, both to be found in Rome, the last stop on our tour. The first is Saint Vittoria, or Victoria, on view in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, directly across from that Bernini's masterwork The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (top 3); The second is a wonderful reliquary preparation of "S. Wittoria, Martire" fantastically posed and costumed, and showcased in a gold and glass coffin in the Basilica of Saint Mary Sopra Minerva (bottom 2 images).

I am not sure if these two representations might possibly depict the same saint (Wittoria being an alternate/old fashioned spelling for Vittoria?), or two separate ones. I have been able to find nothing official on the Internet about a Saint Wittoria, though Vittoria seems to be a depiction of the Roman Saint Victoria, "virgin and martyr of the catacombs." I also am not sure if there are human bones embedded in the wax of St. Victoria, though Marina Warner asserts this is the case in her wonderful book Phantasmagoria, and the close-up photo above of her hand seems to support this assertion.

Regardless of the problems with research, I hope you agree with me that these are astoundingly amazing and fascinating artifacts. These Saints--and many more, both sacred and profane--will be featured in my upcoming exhibition at Viktor Wynde's Fine Arts in London this September. They will also feature in a book I am working on with friend, Morbid Anatomy Library Scholar in Residence and co-star of The Science Channel's "Oddities" Evan Michelson. Stay tuned for more on that!

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We still have a few more slots available for the class "Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures" with one of our favorite artists, Saul Chernick. This class will teach students--via illustrated lectures and in-class projects including paper puppets and the creation of bestiary pages--"to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

You can see some of Chernick's wonderful artworks above; you can see more of them by clicking here. The class will take place on 4 consecutive Mondays, starting tomorrow night June 25 and running until July 16th. The full class description follows. Also, please note that the class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as possible to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures with Saul Chernick
A 4-part class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University
Dates: Mondays June 25, July 2, July 9 and July 16th (4 consecutive Mondays)
Time: 6:30-9:00 PM
Class Fee: $120
***Class size limited to 15; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Contemporary artist and arts educator Saul Chernickis renowned for gorgeous artworks featuring convincingly corporeal depictions of imaginary or mythical creatures rendered in the style of Medieval and early Renaissance woodcuts from Northern Europe. Observatory is very pleased to announce a new workshop developed by Saul Chernick specially for the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy. In this class, Chernick will teach students--via illustrated lectures and in-class projects including paper puppets and bestiary pages--"to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

Full class description follows; you can see more of Chernick's fantastic work by clicking here. Class size limited to 15; Please RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Course Description
Open to artists of all levels, the goal of this workshop is help participants learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity. Through exercises in drawing and paper puppetry, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the skeletal/muscular structures of most mammals, reptiles, and birds. Participants will also learn to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject and create works of convincing visual fiction!
What to expect

• Participants will cull images from the web to create a dossier on the animal(s) that interest them
• Participants will fashion movable paper puppets to understand how their chosen animal moves
• Participants will draw studies of the skeletal and muscular structures of animals
• Participants will use the medium of their choice to create a Bestiary page entry that depicts an animal situated in an environment

Materials
What to bring to the first class:

• Choose 1-3 animals and gather pictures on the web. Be sure to get images of their skeletons in profile. Please print these as they may be hard to use on a phone screen.
• 3-5 sheets of Bristol Board Paper 9" x 12" or larger
• Pencils & erasers
• Scissors
• Xacto or utility knife
• Glue

What to bring for subsequent classes:

• White or tinted drawing paper 16" x 20" or 18" x 24"
• Tracing paper (same size as drawing paper)
• Mechanical and/or regular pencils (2h, hb, 2b, 4b)

Optional:

• Markers, watercolors, gouache, ink, brushes, chalk/oil pastels, colored pencils, Caran D’Ache, collage papers, etc (we’ll discuss further in detail!)

Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University, is a visual artist and educator. Chernick has exhibited internationally in galleries and museums including the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bronx Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum of Art, as well as Max Protetch and Meulensteen Galleries in New York City. He has taught art for the public school system, the 92nd Street Y, Cooper Union, Parson's School of Design, and the Museum of Modern Art. He is currently the Professional Development Coordinator for the Joan Mitchell Foundation where he coaches New York artists in teaching art to young people throughout city. His work can be seen at http://www.saulchernick.com.

All images are by Saul Chernick and include, top to bottom:

1. Field Urchin, 2011, from a series of studies in which he attempted to impose the proportions of cherubs onto horses.
2. Desktop 2013, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
3. Heavenly Touch , 2009, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
4. Guilty Pleasures, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
5. Ars Gratia Artis, 2010, Ink on Paper

You can found out more here. As mentioned above, class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as you are able to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

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April 2005: Cruise and Holmes begin dating and make their first public appearance as a couple in Rome.

May 2005: Cruise enthusiastically declares his love for Holmes by famously jumping on a couch on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

October 2005: Cruise and Holmes happily announce they are expecting their first child together.

April 2006: The couple welcomes a daughter. They name her Suri.

October 2006: Cruise and Holmes give the world its first glimpse of Suri by proudly posing with her on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Nov. 18, 2006: Cruise and Holmes tie the knot in a lavish ceremony at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle in Italy. Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and 7-month-old Suri are among those in attendance.

November 2007: Cruise cheers on Holmes as she runs in the New York City marathon.

January 2009: Holmes accompanies Cruise to the London premiere of Valkyrie.

February 2009: Cruise and Holmes enjoy a family vacation to Disney World.

June 2011: Cruise, Holmes and Suri celebrate Father's Day on a yacht in Miami.

See the article here:
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes: Anatomy of a Split

Grey's Anatomy star Sarah Drew has admitted that she will miss her co-stars Chyler Leigh and Kim Raver.

Leigh's character Lexie Grey was killed off in the show's eighth-season finale, while Raver's Teddy Altman also departed the series.

PA Images / Tony DiMaio

"Chyler is a very dear friend - she and I have always been such good buddies," Drew told TVLine.

"And Kim has been an unbelievable support as I went through pregnancy and early parenthood. She went out of her way to care for me and give advice, so I was tragically sad to see her go."

Drew admitted that the loss of Leigh and Raver makes her feel "trepidation" that her own character April Kepner could also be written out.

"Anybody can go at any time, especially on Grey's," she said. "But I'm really glad I didn't get killed off."

Grey's Anatomy will return to CBS with new episodes in late 2012. The series airs on Sky Living in the UK.

Originally posted here:
'Grey's Anatomy' star Sarah Drew: 'I'll miss Chyler Leigh, Kim Raver'

Read all the election coverage.

Sullivan, according to aides, had returned to Washington, D.C.

Bridenstine was reporting for duty in the Navy Reserve, said campaign manager Erik Zoellner.

Zoellner said the Bridenstine camp went into election day thinking their candidate would probably win. If so, they were about the only ones who saw the eight-point victory coming.

"We all missed this," said University of Oklahoma political science professor Keith Gaddie.

"You could see something like this happening to Sullivan eventually, but nobody saw this time. If they say they did, they're lying."

Any loss by a congressional incumbent is rare. It last happened in Oklahoma in 1994, when retired school administrator Virgil Cooper defeated 2nd District U.S. Rep. Mike Synar in the Democratic primary and in so doing helped launch the political career of Tom Coburn.

Cooper, a protest candidate, did not really contest the general election and even encouraged people to vote for Coburn, who became the first Republican in 70 years to represent the 2nd District.

In that instance, voters had become discontented with what was perceived, at least, as Synar's increasingly liberal voting record at a time when conservatives were seizing control of Congress.

Long-time state political observer Bill Shapard said Sullivan had no similar ideological break with the electorate.

View post:
Anatomy of an upset: How Jim Bridenstine beat Rep. John Sullivan

Latin King details plot in trial on gun, narcotics conspiracy

Luis Tambito, an ex-Latin King attack coordinator, testified Wednesday about a 2010 plan to kill John Maldonado. Tambito said the gang suspected Maldonado of killing an aspiring member and wanted revenge. Above, Shameeka Burks, Maldonados former girlfriend, in Newburgh the day after his death.CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 06/28/12

WHITE PLAINS John "Tarzan" Maldonado spent his final hours in what he must have thought was a safe place.

An FBI video camera recorded him standing, a drink in hand, on the corner of William Street and Benkard Avenue as it grew dark on March 12, 2010. Even then, Luis "King Luch" Tambito testified on Wednesday, the Latin Kings were laying plans to kill him.

A 20-year-old named Jerome "Rude Boy" Scarlett had died in a shooting the night before. A memorial of lit candles shined in the video as the Kings wandered in and out of the frame.

Tambito testified Scarlett and Maldonado both hoped to become full gang members and that he had selected them to shoot rival Bloods on Lander Street. Maldonado came back. Scarlett didn't. The Kings were unhappy, and rumors soon circulated that it was Maldonado who shot Scarlett. Tambito said they were convinced when a friendly Blood told them none of the Bloods had shot back.

"We had heard rumors that Tarzan was infiltrating our gang that he was working with the Bloods and that's why he killed Rude Boy," Tambito said.

Tambito was once the gang's Third Crown, a position responsible for coordinating attacks on rivals and punishing Kings who broke gang rules. He admitted to murders, stabbings, beatings and shootings as part of a plea agreement. On Wednesday, he testified in federal court in the case of four defendants Nelson "King Murder" Calderon, Angelo "King Truth" DeLeon, Eva Cardoza and Wilfredo "Frito" Sanchez who face gun and narcotics conspiracy charges.

Defense attorneys said Tambito is a lifelong thug who chose violence and self-preservation virtually every time he had an opportunity to do right. By his own admission, Tambito orchestrated Maldonado's murder and then watched the dying 21-year-old twitch and mumble, eventually heading up the block to buy a couple of beers. He could have faced death penalty-eligible charges but agreed to cooperate with the government.

Go here to read the rest:
In testimony, anatomy of a homicide

On the streets of Philadelphia, Wallace Pop Morris Sr. ran a limousine service. It was a lucrative business carting patients to and from medical appointments. However, his real money was made with a tow truck and a scheme that landed him in prison for being the mastermind of a million-dollar insurance fraud conspiracy.

Morris would race to car accidents to be the first to arrive. He then towed the cars to a body shop for repairs and received a commission for bringing in the damaged vehicles. He typically made about 20 percent of the repair bill.

Once the vehicle was in the garage, the body shop owner would inflict more damage before repairing the car. This practice, known as damage enhancement, allowed the auto shop to bill insurance companies for more money.

However, Morris didnt stop there. When he wasnt making enough money off car accidents, he created his own. Working with a partner, he staged accidents and found people to pose as crash victims. After intentionally damaging the cars and creating false accident reports, Morris would file fraudulent claims with insurance companies in the victims names.

Crimes like Morris are hitting Americans in the wallet. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the total cost of non-health insurance fraud is estimated to be more than $40 billion per year thats $400 to $700 a year per family due to increased premiums.

A runner or wreck chaser like Wallace Morris looks for car accidents and encourages those involved to seek medical treatment whether they need it or not.

If a runner comes and finds you and says no, no, no, you need treatment and you go get $100,000 worth of unnecessary medical treatment, someone is paying for that, New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said. That is the pool of money that the insurance company has to pay for that treatment. The people that are in that pool with you, with the insurance company trying to determine its risk, are going to have to, at some point, account for that additional money."

They are pushing up the price of auto coverage at a time when people are paying more for gas, and now we have to pay more for auto insurance so that really hurts, said Dennis Jay, executive director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

If an accident occurs, consumers should be vigilant to avoid being scammed. Jay said its important to get the names of everyone involved in the accident and to pay attention to details.

Take photographs because often times the injuries reported are not consistent with the amount of damage on the car. Thats a huge red flag, Jay said. Sometimes we see cars get into accidents that have a lot of existing damage, so if you see the car is beat up already you might be a little hesitant.

Follow this link:
Crash for Cash: Anatomy of an Insurance Fraud

Express-News boxing writer John Whisler breaks down the three scorecards from the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley fight on June 9. Bradley won in a controversial split-decision. Bradley won 115-113 on two scorecards, while losing by the same margin on the third:

- Most rounds in boxing are scored 10-9, meaning the fighter winning a round receives a 10 from judges while the loser of the round gets a 9. In rounds with a knockdown, a point is deducted every time a fighter is knocked down. Note that all rounds in Pacquiao-Bradley were 10-9, as there were no knockdowns in the fight.

- According to CompuBox statistics, Pacquiao landed more punches than Bradley in every round but one, the 9th (26-25). Note that all three judges awarded that round to Bradley, even though Pacquiao was busier and landed more power shots (22-21). One round, the 10th, was even in punches landed with 14 apiece.

- The scoring in Round 5 was highly questionable. Note that C.J. Ross and Duane Ford both scored it for Bradley even though Pacquiao outlanded Bradley 22-8 in the round, including 18-4 in power punches. Pacquiao landed a clean left in the final 35 seconds and Bradley had to hold on.

- The fact that all three judges scored Round 7 for Bradley seems unfathomable. According to CompuBox, Pacquiao outlanded Bradley 27-11 in the round, 22-9 in power punches. Pacquiao clearly won an exchange at the end of the second minute and drilled Bradley clean on the chin repeatedly in the final 30 seconds.

- In Round 8, Ross and Ford favored Bradley, despite CompuBox statistics showing Pacquiao landed more punches, 15-9, including 12-7 in power shots. What were Ross and Ford watching? One plausible explanation although flawed could be activity. Bradley was busier in the round, throwing 70 punches to Pacquiao's 59. But a round should be scored on punches landed, not punches thrown.

- In Round 12, all three judges scored it for Bradley, even though Pacquiao landed 20 punches in the round to 15 for Bradley. Is this plausible? Yes. CompuBox statistics show Pacquiao landed just one more power shot (11-10) than Bradley. But Pacquiao appeared to land the more significant punches, including a right hook flush on the jaw of Bradley in mid-round and a straight left with 10 seconds left, which seemed enough to carry the round.

Go here to read the rest:
Anatomy of a scorecard: Pacquiao vs. Bradley

RALEIGH, N.C. -- With their elderly parents seated across the octagonal oak table, Donna and Jim Parker were back in the kitchen they knew so well -- the hutch along one wall crammed with plates, bells and salt-and-pepper shakers picked up during family trips; at the table's corner, the spindly wooden high chair where a 7-year-old Jim had tearfully confessed to setting a neighbor's woods ablaze.

It was Christmastime, but this was no holiday gathering. Now, it was the parents who were in deep trouble, and this was an intervention.

For the past year, Charles and Miriam Parker, both 81, had been in the thrall of an international sweepstakes scam. The retired educators, with a half-dozen college degrees between them, had lost tens of thousands of dollars.

But money wasn't just leaving the Parker house. Strangely, large sums were now coming in, too.

Their four children were worried, but had been powerless to open their parents' eyes. Maybe, Donna thought, they'd listen to people with badges.

And so, joining them at the family table that late-December day in 2005 were Special Agent Joan Fleming of the FBI and David Evers, an investigator from the North Carolina attorney general's telemarketing fraud unit.

The home was littered with sweepstakes mailers and claim forms, the cupboards bare of just about everything but canned soup, bread and crackers. Charles Parker acknowledged that he'd lost a lot of money, but expressed confidence that

Evers and Fleming showed the couple a video of other elderly scam victims, then played a taped interview of a former con man describing how he operated. Charles was alarmed by what he was seeing and hearing, but his wife seemed to be barely paying attention.

With the couple's permission, Evers installed a mooch line on the kitchen phone so they could capture incoming calls. The Parkers pledged their cooperation.

After gathering up some of the mailings for evidence, the officers left, encouraged by what seemed a few hours well spent.

Read the original post:
Anatomy of a scam: One couple's losses and hard lessons

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Vesagas: The cultural anatomy of RH bill

ABC

"Grey's Anatomy's" Sandra Oh

Sandra Oh has five Emmy nominations under her belt for her role as Grey's Anatomy's meticulous Dr. Cristina Yang, but it's the ABC medical drama's recently concluded eighth season that the actress feels has provided her best material yet.

This past season on the Shonda Rhimes-created show, Cristina faced the emotional fallout from an abortion when her marriage to Owen (Kevin McKidd) crumbled after the couple swept their baggage under the rug for too long. The story arc, which slowly progressed over the season's 24 episodes, culminated with an emotional scene in which the stoic doc threw a bowl of cereal in her husband's face before they were able to address his infidelity and begin moving on.

As if that weren't already enough, the drama also concluded its year with a plane crash that left claimed the life of one of Seattle Grace's own and left Cristina, Meredith, Derek, Mark and Arizona stranded and facing injuries both big and small. The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Oh to discuss Cristina's challenging moments of the season, saying farewell to two castmembers and the benefits of filming on location.

STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy' Recap: Who Met Their Maker in the Deadly Season Finale?

The Hollywood Reporter: This season has been particularly grueling for Cristina: an abortion, a broken marriage and infidelity, all topped off by a plane crash. Which scene did you grapple with the most? Sandra Oh: It has been an extremely challenging year that has had a lot of ups and downs, both challenging and exhilarating. A lot of the scenes that Kevin McKidd and I did of Owen and Cristina arguing in their apartment was like its own story line. We would shoot all our scenes for a day or two straight, and that was extremely challenging because emotionally and physically it becomes really exhausting. Our finale was extremely challenging physically and emotionally. So, I'd say two things -- our finale and those apartment scenes where Cristina and Owen lock themselves in and just go at it.

Cristina tosses a bowl of cereal on him, which isn't a reaction that Cristina is typically prone to. Wasn't that good? Kevin had to have cereal thrown on him eight, 10 times for that one because we did a bunch of angles. There is that one shot -- and we only did it once -- which was his close-up, which was also my best and most direct hit. He was a great sport about that. Mark Jackson directed that episode, so we had special effects make a soft bowl because I'm not actually throwing an actual ceramic bowl at him. But that was real milk and Grape Nuts. I really liked that scene because that's her first actual moment of connection with him after he tells her the truth. Even though it's physical and it's violent, it's also a connecting moment between them where she looks at him and connects again.

PHOTOS: Spoiler Alert! From 'Game of Thrones' to 'Mad Men' -- TV's Most Shocking Deaths

Cristina rarely expresses so much emotion, which she did a lot of this season. It was a slow burn that started with the season premiere and carried throughout the season, which is different that the Grey's we've seen in the past. You see her express her emotions with only two people: her best friend Meredith and her husband Owen. To see someone being pulled apart so intensely, which honestly most everyone goes through in their life in some ways, if you're lucky you're completely pulled apart and then you have to pull yourself together, which hopefully will be the exploration within hopefully the next season. It's not like we played this in a couple of episodes; we've played this throughout the entire year, and the reality of the resentments building and things not being dealt with building and betrayals happening is closer to real time in the way that we played it. Being on a show for this long, you don't have to do things boom-boom-boom because you have eight years of history and developing the character. So you can take your time with things and let it soak in, in a different and deeper way. I'm super-proud of this year. Having been on a show eight years, for me to have the richest storyline now, I'm extremely grateful.

More here:
Emmys 2012: 'Grey's Anatomy's' Sandra Oh on Cristina's Emotional Season

Kevin McKidd of "Grey's Anatomy" fame was happy to return to his roots with Disney-Pixar's new animated film, "Brave," which is set in the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch.

In the movie, the 38-year-old actor and native of Scotland plays two characters - Lord MacGuffin and his son, Young MacGuffin. The lord and two others, Craig Ferguson's character, Lord Macintosh, and Robbie Coltrane's Lord Dingwall, present their boys to compete for the hand of Princess Merida, the film's heroine, played by Kelly MacDonald. Billy Connolly plays her father, King Fergus.

McKidd disguises his Scottish accent when he plays former US Army trauma surgeon Dr. Owen Hunt on "Grey's Anatomy," ABC's it medical drama series.

"In 'Grey's, I have to be American, I have to be quite controlled. Owen Hunt's a tortured guy and he's very serious a character," McKidd told OnTheRedCarpet.com, while talking about "Brave." "It's nice to be kind of wild and zany and Scottish for a while."

In the animated film, the male characters wear traditional kilts. In one scene, Lord Dingwall moons Lord MacGuffin and others by lifting his up in front of them, yelling: "Feast your eyes!"

"They just kind of said, 'Now he's gonna show his [butt] to you,'" McKidd said. "And I was like, 'What?' That was a lot of fun. The shame is none of us got to really hang out together, you know, Craig [Ferguson] and Billy Connolly. We're all doing separate sessions. I would have loved to have been doing all that together."

McKidd says he owns two kilts in real life and that he was taught to dance traditional Scottish dances when he was a child.

"We were taught that in PE, physical education, in Scottish school," he said. "Every boy and girl [is] taught those dances for kind of like a month and a half, at Christmas time, when it's so cold you can't go outside. You're in the gym hall and you get taught all those dances. So it's like riding a bicycle for me."

"It's so much fun, I can't tell you how much fun that dancing is for me," he added. "It's such a social thing. It breaks down so many barriers. I'm very proud of my heritage."

McKidd began his on-screen career in the 1990s. He and Macdonald both starred in the 1996 movie "Trainspotting," which deals with the drug scene in Edinburgh. The film helped launch the Hollywood career of main star and fellow Scotland native Ewan McGregor.

Read more:
Kevin McKidd talks 'Brave,' 'mooning' scene, Scotland & 'Grey's Anatomy' future (Video)

As tight spots go, the stretch of St. Clair West that ducks beneath the Georgetown rail corridor, between Old Weston Road and Keele Street, is as close to a traffic funnel as can be found anywhere in Toronto.

Densely populated neighbourhoods fan out to the east. To the west sit acres of car-friendly big box stores, with more on the way. Since construction this year closed a shortcut around the area, cars, buses and trucks crawl through the underpass, which offers one lane in either direction. Streetcars use a dedicated right-of-way.

You stand here for a little while and youll get a glimpse of what the people deal with everyday, Don Panos, chair of the St. Clair Gardens BIA, said recently as he stood at the corner of Old Weston, watching trucks trying to make tight right turns as cars backed up towards Caledonia. You just see how frustrating it is.

Council is considering how best to break the logjam, recently voting for an environmental assessment. One idea, favoured by the areas representative, Cesar Palacio, is to add two lanes to the underpass, but its a highly complex venture that would take years to complete and would cost more than $30-million.

Traffic engineers say the problem isnt just the width of the underpass; it also involves the constricted layout of busy intersections at either end, which regulate the volume of traffic passing beneath the 80-year-old bridge.

During the construction of the right-of-way, the intersections were not built according to approved designs because the city wanted to cut the cost of the land acquisitions needed to widen parts of the roadway, TTC experts said.

We have intersections that are not designed in accordance to what was agreed to, said TTC service planning manager Mitch Stambler. Decisions were made that were outside the planning and EA process by the construction managers.

Gord MacMillan, the citys director of design and construction, acknowledged that pressure to complete the project made it impossible to buy the additional strips of land for new turn lanes. As well, city project managers encountered technical problems that didnt surface during the planning process, he said.

Its impossible to know if the original design would have eased congestion. Yet the question is not moot. Traffic will swell in coming years with waves of new development. Metrolinxs Air Rail Link, slated to run on the Georgetown corridor starting in 2015, will make it much more complicated to rebuild the underpass once it is operating.

How to open the bottleneck:

The rest is here:
Anatomy of a bottleneck

Friend of Morbid Anatomy Jim Edmonson of Cleveland's Dittrick Medical Museum has just informed us that he will be leading a guided tour of London Museums this October 5th to 14th; stops along the way include such wonderful museums as The Wellcome Collection (who is celebrating its 5th birthday today! Happy birthday!), The Hunterian, and the Old Operating Theatre.

Blurb follows; full details can be found here:

Museums of London Tour
Art, History and Medicine, October 5-14, 2012 

We invite you to join Catherine Scallen, Chair of the Art History department and Jim Edmonson, Curator of the Dittrick Museum on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, for this custom designed tour of the key museums of London, England. Jim's contact with fellow curators and museum directors opens doors and provides the group with unique insights into their collections and aspects not normally open to the general public. Catherine's experience teaching and researching the masters of European Art from 1400 to 1900 will provide historical depth that makes the art museums' collections come alive.  

Please note that our deadline for reserving a place on the London tour is June 30,
so contact us today to secure your reservation.

Please note: the final sign up day has been extended to June 30 from June 15th. If interested, you can find out more here.

Photo: The Hunterian Museum, London, from the museum's website.

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For those of you who might not have already heard, on Good Friday of this year, The Morbid Anatomy Library suffered a mighty and devastating deluge. On Saturday, Saturday, June 30th, Observatory and Morbid Anatomy will host an epic and underground-star-studded rebuilding gala, and we would love to see you there.

The fête will be hosted by Evan Michelson of The Science Channel's "Oddities" and cult writer and luminary Mark Dery, and will feature mini-lectures by such luminaries as Mike Zohn and Ryan Mathews of "Oddities;" Melissa Milgrom, author of Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy; New York Magazine's Mark Jacobson; Carl Schoonover, author of Portraits of the Mind, and many more. The silent auction to follow will include works by such amazing artists and makers as Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, Rosamond Purcell, Robert Marbury, Sophie Blackall, Jessica Joslin, Paul Koudounaris, Sue Jeiven, Daisy Tainton, Sigrid Sarda, Saul Chernick, Nicholas Kahn, Laura Splan, Alex Kanevsky, Erika Larsen, Shannon Taggart, and Justine Cooper.

Full details follow, and invitation can be found here. Hope very very much to see you there!

RESURRECTION! A Gala Benefit to Rebuild The Morbid Anatomy Library
Date: Saturday, June 30
Time: 8:00
Admission: $25
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

On Good Friday, 2012, The Morbid Anatomy Librarysuffered a deluge; a fire in an upstairs gallery set off the sprinkler system, dousing the library below and destroying many books and artifacts.

On Saturday, June 30th, join Observatory and The Morbid Anatomy Library for a star-studded resurrection spectacular MCed by Evan Michelson of TV's "Oddities" and cult writer and luminary Mark Dery. Presenters will include Mike Zohn and Ryan Mathews of TV's "Oddities;" Melissa Milgrom, author of Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy; New York Magazine's Mark Jacobson; Carl Schoonover, author of Portraits of the Mind; Barbara Mathé of AMNH; Lisa O’Sullivan, director of the Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health at the New York Academy of Medicine; Lord Whimsy of The Affected Provincial's Almanac Volume 1 and Amy Herzog of Queens College. There will be screenings of The Midnight Archive, complimentary cocktails, performances by Jonny Clockworks, and droll  giveaways from the design firm Kikkerland. Attendees are encouraged to dress "Obscurely."

Following the festivities, be sure to stick around for a scintillating silent auction of Morbid Anatomy-themed taxidermy, artworks, specimens and artifacts, which will include pieces by fine artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, Rosamond Purcell, Minnesota Rogue Taxidermist Robert Marbury, MTA Artist-in-Residence Sophie Blackall, creative taxidermist Jessica Joslin, Ryan Mathews of "Oddities," Empire of Death author/photographer Paul Koudounaris, anthropomorphic taxidermist Sue Jeiven, anthropomorphic insect shadowbox maker Daisy Tainton, waxworker Sigrid Sarda, and museum-exhibit designer Christopher Muller, as well as unforgettable works by photographers Erika Larsen, Shannon Taggart, Julia Solis, and Justine Cooper,  artists Saul Chernick, Nicholas Kahn, Laura Splan, Alex Kanevsky, Suzanne Anker, Friese Undine, Demetrios Vital, Cindy Stelmackowich, GF Newland, and Andrea Meadows, to name just a few.

If you can not join us at the benefit and are interested in aiding in rebuilding efforts, here are a few things you can do:

• Make a monetary donation; to do so, simply click on the black "Donate Here" button on the top right hand side of this blog
• Sponsor a book; Click hereto
  see a list of damaged books; books purchased here will automatically ship directly to The Library and populate our sadly empty shelves.
• Help spread the word!
• Donate new books or artifacts for the collection: Mailing Address: Joanna Ebenstein, c/o The Morbid Anatomy Library, 543 Union Street #1E, Brooklyn, NY 1121

Thanks so much! And hope to see you soon at a bigger, better Morbid Anatomy Library very very soon!

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The grey: Erewhon (2) ridden by Rod Quinn (maroon, white star on cap). Picture: Damian Shaw. Source: The Sunday Telegraph

PUNTERS may have sacked him but Darley trainer Peter Snowden never lost faith in problematic galloper, Erewhon, who was back in the winner's stall at Warwick Farm yesterday after an absence stretching back to his Group 1 Spring Champion triumph in 2010.

The son of Commands opened up at $3.50 in the ring but couldn't find a friend and wound out to $5 by the time the field jumped.

Erewhon settled behind leader O'Crikey ($21) and the well-fancied San Zaim ($4) before peeling three wide around to mount his challenge. Jockey Josh Parr drove Erewhon to the lead at the 200m from which point the grey had to repel challengers to his inside and out before holding on for a hard-fought win.

"It's very satisfying because it's been a long time between drinks," Snowden said. "The horse has so many problems with his feet; he's had four quarter-cracks in the past 18 months which has given us hell but we've finally got them right now, so it's been a good job by all the staff.

"Erewhon is a Group 1 winner and Group 1 winners are hard to get, so you want to hang on to them as best you can. But it's just been one thing after another with him, to get him back to his best."

Erewhon was crunched from $9 into $5.50 equal favourite when he made his long-awaited return to racing at Rosehill last month but was soundly beaten. "I was disappointed with his first-up run because I thought he was more forward than that but these older horses once they get out of form or don't race for quite a while, it takes them a lot longer to get them back," Snowden said.

"He's needed the two runs before this."

Erewhon's return to form came at the expense of a conga line of unlucky horses, beginning with the John O'Shea-trained Glintz ($10) who had his chances ruined by a chequered passage in the straight. A noted front runner, connections opted for a change of tactics after two poor runs. This time the son of Pins parked back in the field in an awkward position.

Glintz looked likely to threaten inside the final 100m but was held up at crucial stages, going down by a half-head at the wire.

Read more:
Grey's anatomy: Victory for faith