Murder-Mystery - The Arrival

**Edited 2/5/10**
To protect the identity of those who are pictured here who do not want to be identified, I have utilized 'The Unknown Comic's" bag.
Contrary to the thoughts of the person who requested this change, my choice of 'camouflage' was not done out of spite or harsh humor, as I've used this same technique in the past with other photos.  Indeed, I can recall one of me with a white sweater and red boa around my neck... with the same 'Unknown comic' paper bag over my face.


My only regret? 
That the friendship is now strained because of how this came about and because this 'friend' didn't think enough of the friendship to bring his genuine concerns about this to me through phone call or direct contact, and somehow feels I meant to cause pain.
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I wanted to get a pic of the table before all the suspects had arrived and seated themselves.

Rotunda Immaculatta and Bogus Fortunatus.

Bogus, Caesar, and Harangus

These next two pics were taken by an elderly neighbor of mine.

He tried real hard to get everyone in *and*....

Without cutting anyone's head off. (He tried. He *really* did!) ;)
I was very surprised at the quality of costumes. (I was even *more* surprised that I too, hadn't been murdered for requiring everyone be dressed in togas.)
A gal couldn't ask for a better group of friends!!) I love you guys!

*SMOOCH*

The following three recordings set the scene and the start of the Mystery.
(Please listen in order)

The below two recordings contain the beginnings of clues and possible motivation for the murder. You'll notice that the first recording ends rather abruptly. This is due to me being alloted only 3 minutes per recording and needed to stop the first tape at an appropriate place before restarting it with the 2nd recording.

And just to add a bit of 'Realness' to this whole Roman history, you can check out a full 360 degree Panaramic view of the real Colosseum in Rome, Italy, here. It's quite neat to look at, as you can even zoom in and out as you see the entire inside.

(More Tomorrow.)

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The Usual Suspects

Meet The Players.

And Oh, What characters they all are! :)
Included below each picture is a Dossier of each of my dinner guests/suspects, including myself. In no particular order include:

"Licentius Ceasar"

"Rotunda Immaculata"



"Maximus Testosterus"



"Cleptopatra"



"Bogus Fortunatus"

"Flotilla Submergia"



"Harangus Adnauseum"








"Mercedes Accelleratti"



"Roma Tomatus"




"Sargentus Biggus"



"Magnus Erectus"



"Flabbius Corpus"







There you have it. All characters involved.
To be continued Tomorrow.

~MurderousZZ

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Today's Murderous Quote

In honor of my Murderous event, that's scheduled for later on today, a rather nice pairing of Wine & Murder. (What could be better than that?)

Beulah: Today's Agenda poll:
I have little to nothing on my plate for today...

Me: Plotting a Murder
is what I've got on my agenda today!
And right now I'm trying to figure out whether
a Red wine or a White Wine would go better with it.

Beulah: I'm no expert
but I usually serve a dry Red with felonious crime at my house.

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Gotta love that spirit!

~MurderousZZ

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What kind of Thinker are you?

Your Thinking is Concrete and Random

You are naturally inquisitive and curious. You're excited by new ideas, and you are a true independent thinker. You are interested in what is possible. You like the process of discovery. You are often experimenting, challenging old ideas, and inventing new concepts. Rules, restrictions, and limit don't really work for you. You have to do things your own way, and you can't be bothered to explain yourself.

What Kind of Thinker Are You?

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Be My Desire

When You touch Me,
I'm breathless,
When You kiss Me,
I'm weak,
When I touch You,
I'm sinful,
When I think of You,
I can't eat,
At every second,
I lust,
I shake at Your touch,
I purr at a carress,
As I'm given a test,
With the touch of Your lips,
I'm driven wild,

Be My Desire.

~Jill Johnson

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Murder-Mystery Dinner Party I - The Invitation

"Rome wasn't Bilked in a day."

(Cick on the picture if you can't read it.)

This gives a bit of the setting.
Below, is a bit of the back story for this particular mystery.

Your Murderous Hostess,

~ZZ

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Murder-Mystery Dinner Party I

What happens when you place nine of your closest friends all in the same home together, and all wearing a Toga that they themselves have created, to imbibe in some wondrous cocktails, dine on a spectacular Roman Feast that Julius Caesar himself, would be proud of, and cast suspicious doubt upon each other, while at the same time, vigorously sorting through the many clues to a Murder that had taken place, to discover, who, among us...
.

.

.

.
... is really the Killer?

What Happens????


Ahhhhh...You'll find out next week.

I am in the process of planning a Murder-Mystery Dinner Party, that will take place next weekend. As I will be playing hostess to some of the best murder suspects a Gal could possibly hope to have.
I thought it might be fun to include as much as I can about this Murderous Event, here, so that you all may be able to follow some of this for yourselves.
Those who know me, know that stuff like this makes me froth at the mouth and I get all excited as it allows me to let my creative juices flow. I enjoy planning and putting together things like this, as evidenced by a Party that I had last November:
Going Away Party / Where in the World is B.O.B.

I had a recent conversation with Delmer from What's a Delmer Look Like? and was sharing with him what I was planning. As Delmer tends to be quick with the slightly twisted humor, his immediate response to that was:
"I know! I know who did it! It Was BOB, in the Dining Room, with a Candlestick Holder!"
Though most of you are probably familiar with the game Clue, to truly get the full humor of it, you'll have to revisit my post above "Where in the World is B.O.B.?"

Anyways, as the days move closer to this Murder-Mystery, I'll include other tidbits of information, suffice it to say right now, that the theme and setting of this Murder is obviously during Roman Times, and all engaging in such activities will be dressing in a Toga of their choice. I have already given them a link to directions on how to make such finery. (And though ZZ's name may be affiliated with a few choice curse words because of this finery-requirement, I'm certain a very Very fun time will be had by all.
*Ducks as J. throws the first Rotten tomato in ZZ's direction* ;p~~

To whet your appetite for this adventure, I am including the rules of this game here, of which I have recorded myself.

Your Murderous Hostess,
~ZZ

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WiseGuys - Update

Back towards the end of February, I had done a post on my trip to Wiseguys comedy room. You can find the post about it here.
What is interesting is that one of the comedians I mention, John Garrett, who's from Indianapolis, Indiana, aside from having a website, apparently also has a blog. He mentions his trip to Syracuse, and even.....mentions the annoying lady with the irritating flashing camera.......That would be moi. ;)
He knew I going to give him a *shout out* on here. What I didn't know was that he would return *cough* the favor! You can read about his experience in Syracuse, as well as other Road Stories on Comedian John Garrett Road Stories.

And John?? Anytime you feel the need to be temporarily blinded by camera flash, let me know, I would be honored to assist in any way possible. :)

~ZZ

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Addition on My Sidebar

I've added a new section on my sidebar, Links to some Beautiful 360° Panoramic Views of some incredible places in our world. You will have to view them for yourself, and I think the only thing that can beat that would be to visit there in real time.

I've also included on that sidebar a link to a part of The Adirondack's High Peaks, Cascade & Porter Mountains. I had posted about this previously, and you'll find more info about it on my prior post, Peak Bagging.

This 'moveable' panoramic view of these two mountains is awe-inspiring.

Moveable Panoramic View from Cascade's Rocky Summit

My Peak Bagging post will orient you to where exactly you are on top of Cascade's Summit, including how to find Lake Placid, Whiteface Mountain, and the highest mountain in New York, Mount Marcy.

So check out some of the beautiful vistas there are.

~ZZ

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How would you spend...

$80,000??

Given recent events in our State Capital, with our Upstanding unrespectable, Famous Infamous, Honest Duplicitous, Moral scandalous,
Governor Resigned-Governor, Eliot Spitzer.
Obviously this is the focal point of many newspapers, on-line forums, magazines and such, across the nation.
$80,000!
I still can't fathom that! I've already been hearing all sorts of jokes, puns, one-liners and youtube video parodies on this.


The Post Standard did an article:
How would You spend $80,000?

According to this article $80,000 would get you:

Flu vaccinations, at $30 per pop, for 2,666 Central New York adults.
- Amanda Nestor, Onondaga County Health Department

~A bachelor's degree from the State University of New York. Expenses, including tuition, room and board and books, is estimated at $17,630 for the 2007-2008 academic year.
- www.suny.edu

~A year's worth of child care for eight infants at a child center in Onondaga County. Average price per child is $9,724.
- Child Care Solutions

~Two season tickets for SU football in the preferred D level (sidelines) for 129 years. Two tickets to the 2008 season cost $620.
- Syracuse University

~Porsche 911 sports car with a sticker price of $73,500.
- www.edmunds.com

~Feed 83 children in Darfur every day for 10 years. Based on a cost of $8 per child per month; $96 for a year; $960 for 10 years.
- www.feedthechildren.org

~23,809.52 gallons of gas at the AAA average Syracuse price of $3.36 per gallon. In a car that gets 25 miles per gallon, you could drive from Boston to San Francisco 221 times.
- AAA, Google maps

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What would I spend $80,000 on???

Mmmmmmm, I'd have to say -
a top-of-the-line quality camera (Canon) and a photography class to learn how to use it.)
A new decent quality Mountain Bike (Aluminum frame)
I'd use the rest of it as a down-payment on a nice house.



What would *You* spend $80,000 on?

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With Pride......

.......And a Song in my Heart.



(Thank you)

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Quote DuJour

"Elliot Spitzer is one of the most impressive politicians in the nation today, and one of the greatest Attorney General's in history, ... He stands up for what he believes in, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to stand up with him and support his effort to do even more for the State of New York as our Governor."
~ Bruce Raynor

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$80,000

I can't even fathom that.

~ZZ

According to the AP


Poll: New Yorkers want Spitzer to quit


ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Bloggers, commentators and comedians have already weighed in on the prostitution scandal that has imperiled Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Now New Yorkers are getting a shot and their view is clear: He should resign or be removed from office.
A poll released late Tuesday found that 70 percent of New Yorkers think Spitzer should resign, while 66 percent believe he should be impeached and removed from office if he doesn't.
"It's a big thumbs down," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll. "It points to just how politically untenable his position is right now."

The poll comes a day after allegations that Spitzer hired a high-priced call girl, vaporizing his straight-arrow persona. Investigators said Tuesday he was a repeat customer who spent tens of thousands of dollars.
While Spitzer and his family remained huddled in their Manhattan apartment, insiders said the governor was trying to decide how to proceed. Republicans began talking impeachment, and few if any fellow Democrats came forward to defend him.
The scandal erupted Monday when allegations surfaced that Spitzer, a 48-year-old married man with three teenage daughters, spent thousands of dollars on a call girl named Kristen at a swanky Washington hotel on the night before Valentine's Day.

The case started when banks noticed frequent cash transfers from several accounts and filed suspicious activity reports with the Internal Revenue Service, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The accounts were traced back to Spitzer, leading public corruption investigators to open an inquiry.
A law enforcement official said Tuesday that Spitzer had spent tens of thousands of dollars with the call-girl service Emperors Club VIP. Another official said the amount could be as high as $80,000. It was not clear over what period of time that was spent.
Still another law enforcement official said investigators found that during the Washington tryst, Spitzer used two rooms at the Mayflower Hotel — one for himself, the other for the prostitute. Sometime around 10 p.m., Spitzer sneaked away from his security detail and made his way to her room, the official said.


If you'd like to read the rest of the story, you'll find it here: Spitzer

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Bald is Beautiful - The Conclusion

I had recently done a post on March 3rd, on this beautiful little boy with a heart of gold, titled Bald is Beautiful.
He raised (on-line) $765.00!!! And all to help cure Children's Cancer.
I would like to also take the time to thank a couple people that frequent my site and had made donations. The first is 4thefunofit. She often frequents a forum I sometimes post on, and can also be found in my playroom. She included a link to some incredible photography and can see for yourself here: Pat Crow Photography. (M & K, you both are very Irish, check out the Ireland photos, they are incredible.)
The other is Delmer from What's a Delmer Look Like? Delmer is a gentleman who frequents my site, he has a great sense of humor, a beautiful heart, and a Mighty Schwinn. ;)
I want to thank both of you for contributing to a wonderful cause. You guys are Great!!

Below is a picture of him before the Big day.

And........

Below are the pics of this Beautiful boy getting his head shaved to help wipe out cancer.






Patrick G. this goes out to you, and you alone, so come closer, I want to whisper something to you.
.
.
.
(Are you ready?)
.
.
.
.
.
*Whispers very softly in Patrick' ear* You're a Beautiful person with a beautiful heart. You come from a wonderful family with Beautiful loving parents. When I come to visit this summer, I'd like to take you and your brother and sisters to lunch. And I want you, Patrick to pick the restaurant. Do we have ourselves a deal?? :)

~ZZ

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The Average Soldier

The average age of the military man is 19 years.
He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who,
under normal circumstances is considered by society
as half man, half boy Not yet dry behind the ears,
not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country.
He never really cared much for work and he would rather
wax his own car than wash his father's;
but he has never collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate;
he was probably an average student,
pursued some form of sport activities,
drives a ten year old jalopy,
and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left,
or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.

He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing
and a 155 mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home
because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him,
but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds
and reassemble it in less time in the dark.
He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun
or grenade launcher
and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march..

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation,
but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
He is self-sufficient
He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other.
He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.

He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle.
He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes,
and fix his own hurts.
If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you;
if you are hungry, his food.
He'll even split his ammunition with you
in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons
and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian,
draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death
then he should have in his short lifetime.

He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies,
and helped to create them.
He has wept in public and in private,
for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem
vibrate through his body while at rigid attention,
while tempering the burning desire to
'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand,
remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out,
far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather,
he is paying the price for our freedom .
Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is the American Fighting Man
that has kept this country free for over 200 years.

He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always,
for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in danger,
doing their part in this tradition of going to War
when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot..
A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets


Please stop for a moment
and say a prayer
for our ground troops in Afghanistan ,
sailors on ships,
and airmen in the air,
and for those in Iraq.

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(Thank you T. for sending this to me.
I wept as I read this.)


~ Greeneyezz

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Bald is Beautiful!!

Especially when it's on this beautiful little boy who wants to help out other young boys & girls who have cancer and have lost their own hair as a result of the treatments.

'Patrick G.'

And even more so, knowing this particular beautiful little boy is the son of a beautiful couple,
M & K.
M. is one of my old college room-mates from SUNY College at Buffalo, NY. She and her family now live in L.I. K. & M.s son will be shaving his head on March 7, 2008, on behalf of The St. Baldrick's Foundation, which helps raise awareness and funds to cure Kid's cancer by supporting cancer research and fellowships.

Won't you please help. He is very excited about this.
Even just a few dollars would help.
Thanks again!
(GO PATRICK GO!!)

~Greeneyezz

****EDIT****
The conclusion to Patrick's story can be found here: Bald is Beautiful - Part II.

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