There was an interesting interview on NPR last night with John Waters. An article he wrote for the Huffington Post on Leslie Van Houten.

Yes, the Manson Girl.

I know the La Bianca kids don’t have a mother around anymore partly because of my friend Leslie. No matter how patient Leslie or her supporters are, we know this terrible fact will never change. But when, if ever, will there have been enough punishment?

Listening to John Waters discuss the case of Leslie Van Houten set of two similar trains of thought.

First, which was brought up by John Waters, is: would she have been released on parole years ago if she had not been a Manson Girl? The crimes committed by the Mason Family were horrific, no one is debating that, but should she be judged as an equal of Charles Manson, or instead as a young woman who was completely under the sway of a charismatic and evil mad man?

That brings us to the other question, which is what type of society are we? Are a society that seeks retribution from criminals? Or a society that seeks to rehabilitate criminals? I have always been struck by that fact that the very people who claim they want to live in a Christian society are the same people who clamor for the death of murders, and seek a return to the chain gang and corporal punishment.

Would Leslie Van Houton still be in prison if she had not been a Manson Girl, and if the Manson case were not seared in the minds of Americans?

One of the first “grown-up” books I ever received was The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Since then, I’ve had a love for mysteries set in Victorian or Regency England, which branched out to historical mysteries in general.

You may have noticed there are a lot of these mysteries on the shelves in the book stores. Some are good, some are terrible, but most fall in between. Because most historical mysteries fall into the in between category, I’m always delighted to find a series that stands out. I discovered several years ago that the Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris is a mystery series I find to be consistently good.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is a young aristocrat who went and fought in the Napoleonic War and came back a changed man–a bitter man with a sharp temper, yet still a strong sense of justice. When Sebastian is believe to be the perpetrator of a horrible rape and murder, his desire for justice is helped along my his desire to keep his neck out of the noose.

Sebastian believes himself to be a bitter, cynical man who doesn’t care what happens to anyone else, however, he isn’t really, and his desire for justice only strengthens over the course of the series.

One of the things I particularly like about this series is how Sebastian became a detective of sorts, and how those around him–especially his family–react to his investigations. C.S. Harris did a very good job of creating a background for Sebastian that all but forces him to continue to look into crimes, after he has cleared his own name.

Another strength is that characters are easily recognizable and not easily confused–they have distinct personalities that seem reasonable to their backgrounds and to the time. An example is Sebastian’s sister. She’s typically comes across and cold and calculating, however, when you consider the time in which she lives, and how heavy the opinion of society laid upon women of the time, her actions are understandable, even if they are completely foreign to a modern woman.

I also really like Kat, who sees far more clearly than Sebastian her place in society, and how his association with her affects him. She is one of the rare women of her time who made her own future, despite knowing what her place in society is supposed to be.

If you like historical mysteries, then I highly recommend the Sebastian St. Cyr series. It’s unusual, but it’s also very good.

What Angels Fear (2005), When Gods Die (2006), Why Mermaids Sing (2007), Where Serpents Sleep

Microsoft seems to be unclear on the definition of “word”.

It’s back!

Today’s word: artichoke

Yes. I finally made a new poll.

Feel free to discuss if you like. No, this has nothing to do with Michael.

My website is still acting wonky, so here’s are some pictures of making dinner in Denver. Meanwhile, lets hope the server issues clear up soon.

We made pizza, and much discussion was had about the proper placement of toppings.

And we made oreos. Anne decided to show me up on the OCD front by aligning the cookies by size.

Show off!

It’s been raining quite a bit here in Morgantown (I know, shocking) so despite the recent heat, the flowers are doing quite well.

We have two Rose of Sharon plants on the hill in front of the house. They are not growing as quickly as I would have expected.
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These are from the beginning of the week when we went to The Garden of the Gods in Colorado. I took a lot of pictures, so you’ll need to click through to my Flickr set to see most of them.

Home from the reunion. Had a much better time that I would ever have expected, and really enjoyed seeing old friends.

Not that we’re old or anything. We aren’t. Really. 40 isn’t old dammit!