Jim Morrison Conspiracy Theories Rival Those of Michael Jackson; The Wall Street Witch; General Washington July 3, 2009

 

Lizard King Still Walking the Earth With Elvis?

 Independence for the big Door:

Morrison Shrine/Grave

Jim Morrison died in a Paris bathtub on this date in 1971. He officially died of heart failure though a drug overdose was suspected. Just like with the conspiracy theories concerning the recent death of Michael Jackson, some of which suggest Jackson’s death was a fake,   almost immediately claims that Morrison really wasn’t dead hit the news.  Had there been a world wide web, I’m sure that the blogosphere would have been going wild.  Many conspiracy theorists floated the idea that Morrison was tired of his fame so he faked his own death.   That was the one that I always heard but there are a bunch of Jim Morrison conspiracy theories out there.  There was even a notion that the J. Edgar Hoover led FBI had him knocked off in an effort to stop the hippie movement.  I think his grave is some sort of haven or shrine for those who…well…I don’t know what they do or think. You can take the Jim Morrison Grave Tour on the web if you like.

On This Date In History:  Hetty Green died on this date in 1916. Who is Hetty Green? Why the Witch of Wall Street! Seems kinda sexist to call a rather ornery rich woman a “witch” when rich old coots might be called “tough” or “hard nosed.” Anyway, she is said to have learned to read the financial pages at age 6. She inherited a million dollars from her father at age 30. At that point, she became quite shrewd as she bought Civil War Bonds when others thought it was a bad investment. She made a mint. Basically, she took her million inheritance and increased it 100 fold. But, she was rather odd in that she lived like a pauper. Supposedly, Hetty married so that her heirs would be her children and not other relatives that she didn’t care for. She kept an office in a bank from which she negotiated a rent free lease. She moved from hotel to hotel to avoid paying property taxes. Hetty had a son and a daughter and when her boy hurt his leg in a sledding accident, she took him to a charity hospital. Well, hospital personnel recognized her and demand that she pay. She refused and decided to treat the child’s injured leg herself. He ended up losing the leg. She forced her children to eat as she did, which was ham sandwiches. Some call her thrifty, others a miser or the Witch of Wall Street. She is but one of a list of eccentric wealthy Americans.  Hetty died on this date in 1916 of a stroke suffered while arguing with a maid over the price of milk!! Can you imagine what she would be like with today’s rising prices?

Wonder if Hetty's Dog Was Toto?

Don’t worry, The Who may have been aware of the story because the Kids Are Alright. Hetty left each child $50 million. The more famous J.P. Morgan was worth a reported $70 million and her wealth equaled that of Henry Ford. In 2008 dollars, her fortune would have been near $2 Billion.

See what happens when you watch your pennies? She may have been a witch, but she was probably the wealthiest witch Wall Street had ever seen. Here’s a Forbes list of early wealthy Americans.

On This Date In 1775, Virginia planter and former British officer George Washington strode before the Continental Army, drew his sword and formerly took command as General of the Armies. While some opposed his appointment, he was chosen because of his leadership and because, as a Virginian, it was hoped he could bridge the differences between the southern colonies and those in New England. Washington had accepted the appointment two weeks prior under the stipulation that he not be paid except for reimbursement of expenses.

I Think The General Liked This Painting

While he is called the “father of the country” I think much is lost regarding Washington. He was quite remarkable and he really set the tone for the nation today. After he led the defeat of the most power nation on earth, Washington had all of the power. He had political power and the loyalty of the army. Other men in his position might have seized the reigns of power in the nation. There was some fear he may strike up a dictatorship. But he voluntarily gave up his sword and returned to Virginia. In 1787, the fledgling nation called again and he took the position of President of the Constitutional Convention. It is said his quiet resolve was inspiring to the delegates as they argued and compromised over a document that would last the ages. He was elected as the first President and won an overwhelming re-election. He could have served another term but instead, voluntarily gave up power for a second time.

FDR Broke Washington Tradition

Until Franklin Roosevelt, no one broke the two term tradition, though US Grant came reasonably close to gaining a third consecutive term. The two term tradition became a point of law following the passage of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which was ratified in 1951. If you think about it, that is the general tone of the nation. How many other nations in history have conquered as much territory and defeated so many nations in battle and then voluntarily given up the spoils? Again, I take you to his farewell address of 1796 in which you can see all of the wisdom poured forth for the nation he helped to build. Washington died in 1799 from what most think was a cold or the flu….though there is speculation that he would have lived except for the practice of bleeding a patient. Washington himself may have been the cause of his own demise as he supposedly urged the doctor to let him bleed after the doctor was going to close the wounds. Speculation is that Washington bled to death. Here is the text of George Washington’s  farewell address, that is often quoted and paraphrased, in case you missed it before. Look for all of the items that would apply today and also look for his interesting take on religion in society.

Weather Bottom Line:  Really not much change in the story line for the Fourth of July weekend.  Today will be great with tons of sun and a high in the mid 80′s.  A low will be ejecting out of the southwest and get up to say, Memphis on Saturday.  That should be sufficient to throw over some moisture and create some isolated t’storms in the afternoon.  The short makes its closest approach on Saturday evening and that is when t’storm activity will have its greatest risk.  I intimdated that the SPC might widen its slight risk area and they have done so such that Louisville is barely in the risk region.  As I said previously, not a slam dunk for strong storms but not totally out of the question.   There will be clouds sticking around on Sunday with the risk for rain probably being greatest in the first half of the day.   As the long wave pattern continues to slowly shift, we should be out of the influence of the Great Lakes trof that brought us such cool weather the past few days and a slight ridge will start building in.  There’s a chance for a shortwave to come through the flow on Monday perhaps bringing a t’storm chance then, but otherwise, the signature of next week will be our afternoon temperatures moving back into the upper 80′s.

DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK 
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   1257 AM CDT FRI JUL 03 2009
  
   VALID 041200Z – 051200Z
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM THE UPPER OH VALLEY INTO
   THE SRN PLAINS…
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS OVER ERN PARTS OF WY AND CO…
  
   …SYNOPSIS…
   QUASI-STATIONARY UPPER LOW OVER THE LOWER GREAT LAKES IS FORECAST TO
   PERSIST INTO SATURDAY…WITH AMPLITUDE OF THE ERN US LONG WAVE
   DIMINISHING.  THIS WILL RESULT IN BROAD WNWLY FLOW ALOFT ACROSS MUCH
   OF THE US FROM THE NRN/CENTRAL INTERMOUNTAIN REGION TO THE ATLANTIC
   COAST…DOWNSTREAM FROM AN UPPER RIDGE AXIS OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN
   WEST. 
  
   AT THE SURFACE…A LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE ESEWD ACROSS THE MID MS
   VALLEY TOWARD THE UPPER OH VALLEY BY THE END OF THE PERIOD…WITH A
   TRAILING COLD FRONT MOVING SWD ACROSS THE OZARKS AND INTO THE SRN
   PLAINS. A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT WILL EXTEND EWD FROM THE LOW. 
  
   …MID MS VALLEY INTO THE OH VALLEY…
   AN MCS IS EXPECTED TO BE ONGOING AT THE START OF THE PERIOD OVER
   PARTS OF NRN MO…ERN IA AND NRN/CENTRAL IL.  THE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM
   WILL BE PRIMARILY ELEVATED TO THE NORTH OF THE SURFACE LOW AND
   QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT…MAINTAINED BY STRONG LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE
   AND WARM ADVECTION LIFT NEAR THE NOSE OF A 50 KT SWLY LOW LEVEL JET.
   GIVEN THE BACKGROUND 35-45 KT MID LEVEL WINDS AND RESULTANT STRONG
   VERTICAL SHEAR…THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A FEW SEVERE STORMS TO OCCUR
   IN THE SRN PART OF THE MCS DURING THE MORNING…ALTHOUGH WEAK
   INSTABILITY SHOULD LIMIT THE OVERALL SEVERE THREAT.  STORMS MAY
   INTENSIFY BY LATE MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON AS STRONG DIURNAL HEATING
   OCCURS ALONG THE SRN EDGE OF THE CONVECTIVE CLOUD SHIELD OVER PARTS
   OF THE MID MS VALLEY AND UPPER OH VALLEY.  CONTINUED FAVORABLE
   LOW-LEVEL AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL ENHANCE STORM ORGANIZATION AND
   INTENSITY…AND MAY COMPENSATE FOR WEAK MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES ACROSS
   THE AREA.  DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
   STRONGER STORMS…WHICH SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER 03Z.
  
   …SRN PLAINS INTO THE OZARKS…
   AIR MASS IS EXPECTED TO UNDERGO SUBSTANTIAL DIURNAL HEATING AHEAD OF
   THE ADVANCING COLD FRONT…AND WHEN COUPLED WITH SURFACE DEW POINTS
   IN THE 60S TO LOW 70S…WILL RESULT IN MLCAPE OF 1000-2000 J/KG.
   STRONG HEATING WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN THE CAP DURING THE
   AFTERNOON…AND LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT WILL PROMOTE
   DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS.  ALTHOUGH MID LEVEL
   WINDS/DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL BE MODEST AT BEST…LARGE
   TEMPERATURE/DEW POINT SPREADS ASSOCIATED WITH A RELATIVELY DEEP
   MIXED LAYER…AND DRIER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO
   LARGE DCAPE VALUES INDICATIVE OF ENHANCED DOWNDRAFT INTENSITY AND
   THREAT FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.  THERE WILL ALSO BE A THREAT FOR
   LARGE HAIL WITH STRONGER CELLS.  SEVERE THREAT IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD
   SWD ALONG THE FRONT AND ASSOCIATED OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES THROUGH THE
   EVENING HOURS.
  
   …ERN PARTS OF WY AND CO…
   WEAK UPSLOPE LOW LEVEL WINDS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE ERN
   SLOPES OF THE ROCKIES ON SATURDAY AS A WEAK SURFACE RIDGE MOVES INTO
   PARTS OF SD AND NEB.  THIS WILL MAINTAIN SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE
   LOW 50S…AND CONTRIBUTE TO AN UNSTABLE AFTERNOON ENVIRONMENT WITH
   MLCAPE AROUND 1000-1500 J/KG.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP
   OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON AND MOVE EWD/ESEWD INTO
   THE HIGH PLAINS WITHIN A BAND OF 25-35 KT MID LEVEL FLOW.  DEEP
   LAYER SHEAR WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR ORGANIZED STORMS TO
   DEVELOP…INCLUDING A FEW SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL
   AND STRONG WIND GUSTS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS.
  
   ..WEISS.. 07/03/2009

 

7/3 SPC convective outlook for 7/4/09

Demerol, Michael Jackson & Dr. Conrad Murray-A Young Woman and Fatty Arbuckle June 29, 2009

The Killer?

Much of the speculation making the rounds regarding the death of Michael Jackson involve Demerol and Dr. Conrad Murray. Gossip pages are running amuck.  TMZ cites a Jackson family member as a source, saying that Jackson had a daily demerol shot and had one just prior to his death.  Even some mainstream press organizations are jumping on board.   However, the lawyer for Jackson physician/cardiologist Dr Conrad Murray says his client never gave prescriptions or injections of demerol or oxycontin.  It’s all speculation but there must be some reason that the Jackson family wants a second autopsy. 

I’ve had demerol before, after shoulder surgery.  I could have an injection every 3 hours.  I could set my watch by it.  From the time of the injection, I became very sleepy and quickly was snoozing.  Every time I awoke, it was exactly 3 hours and 1 minute from the time of the injection.  It’s powerful.  Now, I know of someone who suffered from migraine headaches.  Doctors prescribed demerol.  I’ve since found studies that say its not the proper solution due to the high risk of addiction and long term toxicity.  Death happened almost instantaneously.  The amount of demerol found in the system was theraputic but there was a huge toxic level in the liver.  The lab results took a long time.  If the cause of death of Michael Jackson is demorol, my limited experience would say that its from long term use, not a single lethal injection.  If a layman like me is aware of this risk, then one would think a physician would also be aware of such a risk.

On This Date in History:  When anything happens involving a big celebrity like Michael Jackson, the public can’t get enough.  This has been true for as long as there have been performing celebrities in America.  When things went well for actor/director Fatty Arbuckle, they still went bad.  He was a big star.  So, big that he signed a 3 year contract with Warner Brothers for a million dollars in 1921.  Really huge money in those days.  When he signed the deal, he had a party. At that party, a young starlet was found drunk and bleeding in Arbuckle’s room.  He was accused of rape and murder after the woman died of a punctured bladder 3 days later. It was Hollywood’s big scandals and William Randolph Hearst made it into a media circus.  Hearst didn’t care about the facts, he was in the business of selling papers and he made it into one of the first trials “of the century.”  He is quoted as saying that the scandal “sold more newspapers than any event since the sinking of the Lusitania.” 

Mugshot of Fatty

The judge found no evidence of rape but determined that Arbuckle could be tried for manslaughter.  In fact, the whole case isn’t nearly as cut and dried as I had been led to believe.  There are numerous instances of bribes by the prosecutor, false testimony and doctored evidence.  Twice juries were hung 10-2 in favor of Arbuckle with some interesting circumstances. The third trial ended in acquittal but, the prosecutor and newspapers tried Arbuckle in public with wild, unsubstantiated salacious charges and false accusations.  The main witness wasn’t allowed to testify because she was so unreliable.  During the 3rd trial she didn’t even show up as she had been found to be planning to extort money from Arbuckle from the night of the party and besides that, she was too busy on the lecture circuit spreading her tales.  They were inadmissible and unfounded in court but good enough for the stage. 

Women Couldn't keep their hands off Fatty

Though acquitted, Arbuckle’s movies were banned in the US for something that he may not have even done.  On this date in 1933 he was signed by Warner Brothers to make a feature length film.  Perhaps it was too much for the not-so-slender Fatty.  That night he had a heart attack and died. 

Maybe he would have been better off not signing contracts with the Warner Brothers.

Weather Bottom Line:  After a week of August-Like conditions we get a nice break.  We’ve also had a lot of rain.  June official numbers come in at 9.22″ which is less than an inch shy of the all-time June record of 10.11″ set back in 1960.  Wonder if there was a remnant of a tropical cyclone back then.  This year, that was not the case, just a hot and humid pattern that lent itself to storm activity.  That pattern has shifted with a big trof setting up in the east and a semi-staitionary low in the Great Lakes.  That will put us in a northwest flow which is tough to get much rain out of.  It also will drag down dry air.  Look for lows this week in the low 60′s with some folks in the upper 50′s on Tuesday morning after a reinforcing shot of dry air filters through following a cold front quietly sneaking through Monday evening.  The models want to toss out a few showers from time to time during the week but I find that a tough solution considering the relatively dry air.  High temperatures will only be in the low 80′s.  I suppose if we were to get some isolated activity popping up, the best chances wouldn’t get started until late in the week as we warm somewhat and a front to our south tries to move northward a bit.  That would be ahead of the next system that will get ejected eastward across the plains and increase storm chances on Sunday.  Right now, the 4th of July looks pretty good.  Invest 93L is dead in the tropics.