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** This is an archived, static copy of the Casebook messages boards dating from 1998 to 2003. These threads cannot be replied to here. If you want to participate in our current forums please go to https://forum.casebook.org **
Ripper Notes Magazine (edited by Christopher-Michael Digrazia)
Casebook Message Boards: Ripper Media: Ripper Media:
Ripper Notes Magazine (edited by Christopher-Michael Digrazia)
Author: Tom Wescott
Friday, 02 August 2002 - 07:31 pm |        | THE NEW ISSUE NOW OUT! And here's my take on it:
This magazine is a must-have for anyone considering himself a serious Ripperphile, and this latest issue continues the tradition of publishing crucial, informative, thought-provoking, and thoroughly entertaining Ripper-reading. Let's take a look:
* Editorial: Only editor CM Digrazia could come up with the title 'Oh, you can't chop your Momma up in Massachusetts'for his brief but interesting comparison of the Lizzie Borden/Ripper murders before breaking the sad news that Casebook Productions, which gave birth not only to Ripper Notes but to the American Ripper conferences, is closing down for good. However, RN promises to continue under the able eyes of CM and co-editor Christopher T. George.
*Roslyn D'Onston: Two Lives, or One? - by Melvin Harris: Melvin Harris responds to Des McKenna's postulation in the July 2001 issue that Robert Stephenson and Roslyn D'Onston were two different men. In his ruthless style familiar to regular Casebook visitors Harris corrects mistakes made by McKenna and generally attacks the man, his motives, and his thought processes, from every conceivable angle, but amazingly doesn't take CM Digrazia to task for publishing a piece that was admittingly a stream of thought writing and not thoroughly researched. This is followed by:
* Wee Jack the Ripper-Or Winkie D'Onston in His Nightgown - a reply to M. Harris by Des McKenna: McKenna, apparently unaware of the futility of such a task, attempts to defend his reasoning to Melvin Harris. Unfortunately, Mr. McKenna also stoops to low levels by attacking Harris the man and not only his work; he certainly does himself no justice by proclaiming Mr. Harris' writing as 'dull as a rainy day, as appetising as a regurgitated dinner and as buoyant as a punctured tyre.'Although I can in no way defend Harris' behavior, I cannot agree with McKenna's assessment of his writing abilities. He then states that he has read only one of Harris' books and refuses to read the others for fear of falling asleep. This would certaily seem to explain the otherwise knowledgeable McKenna's unfamiliarity with the suspect D'Onston and his circumstances, as he seems to think that D'Onston would have had to scale the walls of the London Hospital to get out, and would then have had to do so in a nightgown! In the end, these two articles, which comprised 5 pages, only succeed in leaving a bad taste in the reader's mouth and lent nothing to our knowledge of the case or the suspect in question. It is my hope that such bad blood will retain itself to personal communication or, at the least, to the self-deleting threads of this message board, and in the future will not find its way into the premier Ripper magazine for which I pay to read.
* The Art of Murder - by Wolf Vanderlinden: If the above mentioned pieces left a bad taste in my mouth, this thesis and what follows it certainly cleansed my pallete! This lengthy and well-illustated essay (don't mention it, CM! on Walter Sickert and his work and how it relates to the Ripper murders should have been read by Patricia Cornwell about $4,000,000 ago and will, I believe, be quoted from more and more as the publication of her book looms nearer. I will not go into detail here as to the contents of the piece, or how Mr. Vanderlinden manages to make sense of the senseless, but I will implore all of those who intend to buy Cornwell's book to consider this piece along with it. A very, very important work and another achievement for Wolf Vanderlinden that will no doubt stand the test of time.
* Murder Most Foul-Part One - by Tim Mosely: Continuing in his series of taking fresh looks at what have become accepted conclusions in the Whitechapel murders investigation, Mr. Mosely tackles the subject of the murder locations, why the Ripper chose them, and what this may tell us of the killer and his motives. This piece is sure to illicit a re-thinking from those of us who feel safe in the conclusions we've drawn, no matter what those conclusions may be. At the end of part one Mosely presents us with 32 possible motives and reasons for the murders that will be looked at further in part two. A truly fascinating and refreshing look that left this reader itching for the next installment!
* US CONFERENCE 2002 NEWS: Yet another informative teaser for those of us not fortunate enough to have attended the latest Ripperthon. The photos of CM cheesing it up in a white tux are alone worth the price of this issue!
* The Hands of Mr. Cattermole - by Bernard Brown: Edged on by the legendary Ripper tale 'The Hands of Mr. Ottermole', Mr. Brown looks back over the records to see if such an officer existed. Finding only two 'Cattermole's' he then gives us their stats. As a Ripper researcher who spends most of his all-too limited funds on works that may be of use to research, and very little on fictional entertainment, I have nevertheless become very curious regarding this particular short-story, and would like to make a plea to Ripper Notes to find the space to publish it, assuming that it is now in the public domain.
* The Bookcase: Reviewed in this issue are Peter Hodgson's well-written, entertaining, but essentially pointless (my observation, not theirs) 'JTR-Through the Mists of Time', Easdown & Sage's 'JTR in a Seaside Town', Evans & Skinner's impressive 'JTR & the Whitechapel murders', the 'From Hell'DVD, and 'Jack', a one-man play by Michael Huie.
* NEWS AND NOTES: The latest Ripper news. You'll have to buy it yourself to find out!
* THE NEWS FROM WHITECHAPEL - A loose-leaf flyer advertising the new book from Alex Chisholm, CM Digrazia, and Dave Yost, due out next month. As if their names alone weren't enough to make this book a must-have, it also promises yet ANOTHER 'previously unpublished' photograph of Annie Chapman prior to death!!! You can reserve your copy now at Amazon.com.
Although it pains me to have had to say something negative regarding the two small pieces on D'Onston, this issue still emerged as yet another relevant, informative, and entertaining contribution to Ripperature. And to think you get FOUR of these a year for the price of ONE Ripper book!
Now, why is it you haven't subscribed yet?
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott |
Author: Ivor Edwards
Friday, 02 August 2002 - 09:19 pm | | Hi Tom, Tim Mosely has a habit of picking the most important aspects of the ripper case on which to write.I enjoyed his last three pieces in Ripper Notes, The Buck's Row Flyer,Dressed to kill, and the Pick-Up.He sets a very good standard to say the least and has a very good nose for the case.Keep it up Tim.
Now we move downmarket.
In Relation to Mr McKenna's reply to Melvin Harris I agree with your comments and such a pathetic letter certainly does no good for the reputation of Ripper Notes.I had to laugh when Mr McKenna wrote that D'onston joined an esoteric coven, presumably in Egypt!!! Mr McKenna should learn that two and two make four not eight or ten!!Then he went on to say that D'Onston was well known to the police for 20 years as a drunk.Inspector Rootes knew D'Onston for 20 years but in what capacity is unknown. Yet Mr McKenna makes it appear that D'Onston was known as a drunk to the police force in general.For the record Rootes was about 18-20 years of age when he first met D'Onston.Many ill conceived comments made by Mr McKenna about D'onston and Harris are so mis-placed and incorrect that they do not deserve serious comment.If Mr McKenna had bothered to research the subject matter in the correct manner then he would not have reached such ill foundered conclusions. It comes as no surprise to me that Melvin Harris appeared to pour scorn on such pathetic and ill researched comments. Mr McKenna signed off by stating that his wife was a lady of considerable elegance and refinement. My cat has considerable elegance and refinement and can show her claws for that matter but such facts have nothing to with do with the issue at hand.Mr McKenna might like to inform his wife that it is not a hobby with Mr Harris as she apparently believes for it is all part and parcel of his livelihood.I simply state to Mr McKenna by all means criticise but for God's sake get the facts straight before doing so. |
Author: Kevin Braun
Saturday, 03 August 2002 - 09:36 am | | The Harris and McKenna articles did not leave a bad taste in my mouth. I found them entertaining.
The gems in this issue of RN are "The Art of Murder" and "Murder Most Foul- Part One",well worth the price of admission.
Take care,
Kevin |
Author: Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Monday, 05 August 2002 - 09:12 pm | | Thank you Tom, Ivor and Kevin for your thoughts on the new RN. It is always a pleasure to hear from subscribers about the good and bad points of the magazine, and to know that it's considered "a must-have for anyone considering himself a serious Ripperphile" is high praise which both Chris George and I hope always to merit.
With that out of the way, a few observations:
- Though it pains me to admit it, Tom, I am not nearly witty enough to coin the "chop your momma up" line. It comes from a song (whose title I cannot remember) which, I believe, was once covered by the Chad Mitchell Trio. If I find the relevant lyrics, I'll post them.
- With regards to MH and DmcK, some background: when I first took over RN, I printed an article by Des entitled "Did Mary Kelly Die?," which he had delivered as a talk at the first US Ripper Conference and graciously allowed me to reprint. It was, like many of his pieces, heavily dependent on secondary or tertiary source material, and though I certainly did not agree with all of his conclusions, I was happy to share his evocative prose with the Loyal Readership.
Dave Yost - a good friend and pre-eminent researcher - composed a rebuttal to Des, "Is Truth Stranger Than Fiction?" which I printed in the April 2001 RN. Des then contacted me with a reply to Dave's rebuttal, much in the same manner as "Wee Winkie D'Onston." At that time, I had no desire to turn RN into a print version of some of the more scurrilous parts of the message boards, and politely declined to run Des' piece.
I received Melvin Harris' unsolicited article, and thought long and hard about publishing it, simply because of the tone and not because of any doubts I had about the sterling worth of the research. I felt that, as Des' D'Onston article was originally a private letter, I bore responsibility for exposing him to Harris' blast. After consulting with a gentleman who is both a good friend to myself and the magazine (and whose counsel I value immensely), I decided to print Harris' article, but at the same time - because of what I felt to be a strong tone - to send it in advance to McKenna and give him a chance to respond, as I had not done so in the earlier case.
As I say in the magazine, I am honoured to have both Harris and McKenna writing for RN, but I will not allow it to become a vehicle for personal attacks. Des wrote an article, Melvin rebutted it and Des replied to that rebuttal. Ite missa est, and there will be no more. I have not yet heard from either Harris or McKenna, but will not be publishing any more back-and-forth articles, never fear.
- Wolf has done, as Tom points out, a superb job with "The Art of Murder." I should also point out that, for those of you who are not RN subscribers (and if not, why not?), you may access the article here on the Casebook through the "Ripper Media" section. If you haven't read it, I urge you to do so! And thank you for the compliment on illustrations; I only wish the RN budget would allow for another colour issue, as the article deserved it.
- Tim Mosely is a gifted writer, and I enjoy his work. Part Two of "Murder Most Foul" will be worth the wait.
- I am unaware if "Ottermole" is in the public domain. Even if it is, I do not know if we will reprint it, as I generally do not care to do Ripper fiction in the RN pages. But I will give it a thought.
- At the moment, the October issue has on tap: Part Two of "Muder Most Foul," Des McKenna's recent talk to the C&D Club, "A Short Look at Long Liz," a piece by Paul Begg on Mrs Maxwell and milk shops, a quasi-"Dossier" by Viper on the Miller's Court photographer and a "Short Take" by Bernard Brown on an American policeman with an odd Whitechapel connection, as well as (I hope) a new interview with a very special author (but that is still in negotiation). But we are still accepting submissions, and are always looking for articles, essays, reviews or letters. Please feel free to send anything along to me at:
Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Editor, Ripper Notes
132 Colby Street, Bradford, Massachusetts 01835
USA
or by e-mail to rn.editor@verizon.net (my new e-mail address).
- We are, unfortunately, out of all back issues except for the July 2002 one. Through the goodness of Spry, however, sample articles from all back issues of RN will be accessible here within the next month, or as soon as I can copy them over. You will soon also be able to renew and/or purchase subscriptions through the Casebook. More on this as it develops.
Thank you all again for your thoughts and good wishes. I only ask that, as well, you remember the other excellent magazines out there - Ripperologist, Ripperana and Ripperoo. All put out by hard-working, devoted researchers and all worth your attention.
As ever,
CMD
(NB - I don't know why it keeps coming out this way, but my surname is DiGrazia, not Digrazia. Just a note). |
Author: Tom Wescott
Monday, 26 August 2002 - 12:51 am | | Ivor,
Please don't be so hard on Des. He's got a good mind and seems like a good guy. Put yourself in his place...His original 'article', as stated many times, was a personal e-mail. He was then asked by CM if it could be published. So, he agreed.
CM,
Oops! I'm sorry about rendering your name wrong. I'll see about getting that corrected through Spry.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott |
Author: Christopher T George
Monday, 26 August 2002 - 02:21 pm | | Ask and you shall receive CM. Found by me by means of a google search of the net--
from the Digital Tradition
FALL RIVER HOEDOWN (Lizzie Borden)
(Michael Brown)
(From Chad Mitchell Trio Recording)
[Spoken]
One very exciting area of folk idiom and folk music to us has always been the hatchet murders in Massachusetts. I think that this quaint bit of suburban living can best be explained throughthe use of our poet laureate, Joe Frazier:
[Spoken(Joe)]
Elizabeth Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks
And when the job was nicely done
She gave her father forty one!
[Now the song]
Yesterday in old Fall River, Mr. Andrew Borden died
And he got his daughter Lizzie on a charge of homicide.
Some folks say she didn't do it, and others say she did
But they all agree Miss Lizzie B. was a problem sort of kid
'Cause you can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts
Not even if it's planned as a surprise
No you can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts
You know how neighbors love to criticize.
She got him on the sofa where he'd gone to take a snooze
And I hope he went to heaven' cause he wasn't wearing shoes
Lizzie kind of rearranged him with a hatchet, so they say
And then she got her mother in that same old-fashioned way,
But you can't can't chop your momma up in Massachusetts
Not even if you're tired of her cuisine
No, you can't chop your momma up in Massachusetts
You know it's almost sure to cause a scene.
Well, they really kept her hoppin' on that busy afternoon
With both down and upstairs chopping while she hummed a ragtime tune:
They really made her hustle and when all was said and done
She'd removed her mother's bustle when she wasn't wearing one.
Oh you can't chop your Momma up in Massachusetts
And then blame all the damage on the mice,
No you can't chop your Momma up in Massachusetts
That kind of thing just isn't very nice.
Now, It wasn't done for pleasure and it wasn't done for spite
And it wasn't done because the lady wasn't very bright,
She'd always done the slightest thing that mom and dad had bid
They said, "Lizzie cut it out!" so that's exactly what she did.
But you can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts
And then get dressed and go out for a walk,
No, you can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is a far cry from New York.
You can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts---
[Shouted] Shut the door and lock and latch it
Here comes Lizzie with a brand new hatchet!
You can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts---
[shouted] Such a snob I heard it said,
She met her pa and cut him dead!
You can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts---
[shouted] Jump like a fish, jump like a porpoise
All join in in a habeas corpus.
No, you can't chop your poppa up in Massachusetts---
Massachusetts is a far cry from New York!
Note: Originally a production number in New Faces of 1952
This rendition from Chad Mitchell Trio Recording, Mighty Day on Campus
Posted by Carl Baron on the Newsgroup alt.music.lyrics
Date: 2002-05-26
*** Do you suppose it's that Joe Frazier. Nah, couldn't be. . . |
Author: Brenda L. Conklin
Saturday, 19 October 2002 - 05:00 pm | | Hi everyone!
I just received my latest copy of "Ripper Notes" and I devoured it like a greedy buzzard till there was nothing left to read. I can tell the wait between receiving each copy of "Ripper Notes" is going to be unbearably long.
I was especially intrigued with the article by Derek Osbourne naming a new suspect...Charles Cross. Mr. Osbourne has certainly shown Cross had the opportunity. The article states that Cross was a "carman", which means...what, exactly? Like a taxi driver or something? Do we know anything else at all about this man? After reading the article, I think it is fair enough to add the man in as a possible suspect, but the evidence just isn't there. Just because he could have done it doesn't mean he did.
Anyway, I found this issue of "Ripper Notes" to be very interesting and informative. |
Author: Jack Traisson
Saturday, 19 October 2002 - 09:12 pm | | Hi Brenda,
This site will tell you all about carmen:
http://www.gander-exeter.freeserve.co.uk/Gander/Carmen.html
CMD,
Why did you choose to republish Derek Osborne's theory that recently appeared over three parts in 'Ripperoo' #7, #8, and #9?
Cheers,
John |
Author: Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Monday, 21 October 2002 - 04:43 pm | | John -
I was unaware that Mr Osborne's piece had appeared in Ripperoo, as, unfortunately, I do not get copies of that magazine. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, however; we do not reprint articles without my express knowledge, neither do I care for multiple submissions. The matter will be addressed in the January 2003 issue.
Thanks again,
CMD |
Author: Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Monday, 13 January 2003 - 04:00 pm | | Just a quick note - thanks to Stephen, the Loyal Readership may now purchase or renew their subscriptions to Ripper Notes through PayPal. Just go to the RN page and follow the buttons.
For those who wish not to do so, we still accept monies through the mail.
Thanks again,
CMD |
Author: judith stock
Tuesday, 14 January 2003 - 12:02 am | | AND, a quick note back atcha, C-M....this last issue was just terrific!!! Well done, C-M, well done.
J |
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