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.
Here is Adah Isaacs Menken. You may choose to envision which photo that suits your fancy when you consider This Date In History: On June 3, 1861 an old melodrama was taking place on stage in New York. Mazeppa was written in 1830 by Henry M. Milner as an adaptation of a Lord Byron poem. The play had gotten some notoriety when a live horse was used in a scene. But when the Green Street Theatre in Albany, New York cast the “buxom” Menken, they lashed her to the horse wearing a skin toned body stocking. The play opened to rave reviews and it soon went on the road. One account says the popularity comes about because of Ms. Menken’s “curvaceous calves.” hmmm….I look at the photos below and curvaceous is not what comes to mind. Anyway, she had her fans including Mark Twain and Brigham Young, who expressed shock but not enough that he didn’t sit through the whole show.
Ms. Menken had a lot of suitors. She had married a chap named Menken and converted to Judaism. Even though that marriage didn’t last, she maintained her Jewish Faith for the rest of her life. She was a bit unconventional for her time as she was married to 4 men in 7 years. She also had a number of “friends” of note including Charles Dickens and Alexandre Dumas the younger. Word of affairs roamed the rumor mill.But, alas, her life was short as she collapsed on stage in Paris and died shortly thereafter of tuberculosis under the care of the personal physician of Napoleon III. She was only 33. 
