Some Items

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I bought this today at a flea market for $1.  I should have talked to the seller more about it - I knew it was beautiful, but my eyes were losing their bite in the ocean of objects at that point.  I didn't realize how amazing it really was.  It looks like the embroidering on the red fabric is machine stitched, everything else - other than the fabric itself, and the thread - was done by hand.  I did ask her what it was.  All she said was that "it's just for decoration."

As a video clerk in Chicago six years ago I had a regular customer, Roger Terry, who always rented his videos in uniform for the police.  He would double park his squad car outside and get a good variety of DVDs.  He was full of energy every time I saw him and we always talked. Once, after we had a conversation about Event Horizon, Roger returned from his car with a new copy of a book called Flatfoot, Fuzz, Pig and Screw.  He told me he wrote it 25 years ago when he worked undercover vice and that, back in the day, he was known throughout the department for his ability to disguise himself.   Roger worked Wicker Park in the early 80's when it was a total shithole.  One regular place he would post up is the Elbo Room where he would pose as a junkie.

You might be able to tell from the cover that the book is basically a defense of police officers.  There are plenty of complaints about the police not getting the respect they deserve along with descriptions of the day-to-day violence, mental stress and mountains of lies cops have to deal with.

The criminals are not afraid of the police.  given the chance, they will take the officer's badge and stick it up his ass, take the gun and blow him away! 

The bulk of the book takes a kind of Q&A format wherein the author will respond to comments he has received from civillians.  Keep in mind this was written in 1976, although some things may be no different today.

COMMENT: My husband comes home every Friday and beats me. I call the police, but they refused to do anything.

AUTHOR:  This is a very common statement made by women.  Usually it is made by a woman who is afraid to have her husband arrested for fear that when he gets out of jail, he will beat her more.  She is ashamed to admit, or refuses to admit, that she is afraid of her husband and therefore blames the police...

The book closes with a list of each police officer to lose his life in the line of duty since 1872.

Helena Williams

This doll was made by an artist I work with named Helena.  Her pieces are executed with a very high skill level and often involve a range of media.  She makes art without pause all day and considers herself above the drama of the studio - she is there to work.  She apparently works at home as well because she brought this doll in on thursday to add to a sculpture of a dome house in progress.  She stitched together the sweater from one of her own and sewed the pants and shoes, added earrings (bead pierced by pin) and painted facial hair and eyes.  The belt was a child's watch.