FUZZ: WHEN NATURE BREAKS THE LAW

By Mary Roach. New York: W. W. Norton, 2021.

Causes the reader to laugh out loud as well as think.

The author travels around the United States and two a couple other countries to examine the interference of both fauna and flora in the lives of humankind, from bears that break into garbage cans of fancy restaurants to trees that fall and kill people to birds that help themselves to crops and more. Roach also traces the history of our attempts to control and deal with these various specimens of nature, discussing the science behind different methods and why these methods don't work.

Though the author veers into a small but noticeable amount of cynicism at times, the book contains a lot of humour which alone will make one want to keep reading. The book also makes a person think about their relationship with the world around them.

Purchase it here. 

THE HARD WAY AROUND: THE PASSAGES OF JOSHUA SLOCUM

By Geoffrey Wolff. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.

A slow read because it was so interesting.

This is a biography of Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail around the world solo. What makes it such a worthwhile read is the author's integration of information and analysis of Slocum, his profession and the times and circumstances in which he and his family lived.

A great read for both the adventure and the history.

Purchase it here. 

FOOD NOTES: LOTS OF GOOD STUFF

On April 29, I had my first Icecap of the season. On May 5, I had my second.

The Saturday of Victoria Day weekend, we had our first barbecued hamburgers and rhubarb pie of the season.

Yesterday I ate some delicious cake baked by a friend. The cake was iced with cream cheese icing, made with honey and contained apple and carrot. 

ENGAGED COUPLE KILLED IN CRASHES HOURS APART, LEAVING BEHIND SON

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 

Engaged couple killed in crashes hours apart, leaving son, Louisiana family says

By Olivia Lloyd

May 22, 2025 10:02 AM

 

A couple engaged to be married died in separate crashes hours apart on the same Louisiana road, leaving their young son behind, according to family and law enforcement.

 

Alexus Lee, a 25-year-old teacher, was driving on Louisiana Highway 67 at around 2 a.m. May 16 when she veered off the road for unknown reasons and hit a culvert, causing the SUV to flip, Louisiana State Police said in a news release.

 

She wasn’t wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

 

Then shortly before 3:45 a.m., John “J.R.” Collins, Lee’s 35-year-old fiancé, was driving south on the same highway in the direction of Lee’s accident when he took a curve at a high rate of speed, ran off the road and hit a tree, troopers said.

 

He wasn’t wearing a seat belt either and was thrown from the Chevrolet Camaro, dying at the scene of the crash about 10 miles north from the site of Lee’s accident, according to state police.

 

Loved ones have now pledged to take care of the couple’s 4-year-old son.

 

“I love them and I’m gonna miss both of them and I’m gonna find the strength to go ahead,” Collins’ father, Arthur Collins, told WALB.

 

Alexus Lee’s sister, Dominique Lee, referred to the 25-year-old woman as “my ride or die, my diary, my emergency contact, my best friend,” in a tribute on social media.

 

“I know they left here knowing their child is in good hands for sure,” she told WALB.

 

A photographer who knew the couple called them “exceptional.”

 

“I wish I could have presented your memories as I collected more on your wedding day,” McDaniel Dotson wrote on Facebook. “You were never too shy to hit the dance floor. You will truly be missed, rest easy, my beautiful friend.”

 

Family held a joint celebration of life for the couple at East Feliciana STEAM Academy, where Lee was a teacher.

 

The accidents are still under investigation.

 

The pair crashed in East Baton Rouge Parish and East Feliciana Parish, about a 30-mile drive northeast from Baton Rouge.

AMERICA'S SO-CALLED RACIAL RECKONING DIDN'T UNRAVEL, IT WAS DISMANTLED

National Review

 

‘America’s Racial Reckoning’ Didn’t Unravel. It Was Dismantled

By Noah Rothman

May 23, 2025 3:48 PM

 

The promise of America’s “racial reckoning” has “unraveled,” Axios’s reporters mourned on Friday. “The America that marched for George Floyd five years ago is gone,” the three-bylined dispatch lamented, “buried beneath a backlash that has hardened — for now — into a new political and cultural order.”

 

Gone are the days when a revolutionary moment compelled every American individual and institution — private and public, cultural and commercial — to audit their public contributions to racial equity and make public amends for their shortcomings as determined by the moment’s uncompromising commissars. That has all been “eclipsed by a reactionary movement backed by the full force of the U.S. government.”

 

The sequence of events Axios lays out bears little resemblance to reality for anyone who lived through them. Its reporters regret the passing of that period as though it was stolen from them — indeed, from us — by malign interests. Rather, we engineered our own liberation.

 

The “racial reckoning” to which the activists consigned American institutions looked more like Maoism than an age of enlightenment. It was a time when professors were hounded out of colleges for failing to flatter their students’ egos and validate their emotional incontinence. It was an era in which discriminatory racial hiring practices were encouraged, and the distribution of social goods based on race, even if they conflicted with the Constitution’s equal protection clause, was welcomed. It was a time when enterprising activists could make a name for themselves by divining the racism in harmless fare. From interior decorating to knitting, from bird-watching to jogging, from fusion cuisine to Thanksgiving — it was an age of wonders for mediocrities just clever enough to carve out their niche in the anti-racist ecosystem.

 

Indeed, the very concept of “anti-racism,” an idea that was once so universally lauded that it was popularized in children’s books and codified in college syllabi, is incompatible with egalitarianism. As Ibram X. Kendi, one of that philosophy’s foremost promoters, put it: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” It is a testament to sanity that this pithy play on Al Smith’s famous locution isn’t the only thing that has been ditched by polite society. Its author, too, has fallen on hard times. Having produced almost nothing of note from his perch at the lavishly funded sinecure that Boston University gifted Kendi, one of the primary architects of America’s “racial reckoning” has had to find other work.

 

How would Axios’s reporters explain the extent to which burdensome concepts like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) went into retreat well before Donald Trump was restored to the presidency? Why were commercial enterprises abandoning this expensive sop to the activist class throughout 2022 and 2023? Why was it that the hucksters selling costly indulgences for America’s original sin found no takers even before Trump took the oath of office? And when Trump implemented an executive order restoring merit-based hiring to its proper place, why was it that public and private interests sloughed off that burden so eagerly and with nary a bleat of protest from the Democrats who were once so beholden to the “reckoning’s” shibboleths? The answer is obvious: Trump didn’t wage a contested fight against the “woke” moment’s excesses. The battle was over before Trump even took office.

 

The activist class isn’t taking its defeat lying down. “No one is resting,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson told Axios. “We’ve earned the right to reflect. But we are still organizing, still fighting — because not only do our lives depend on it, this democracy does too.” They’ll be back. And who knows, maybe they will return with something like the force they mustered in the summer of 2020. But I doubt it — at least, not for a generation.

 

To the majority of Americans who strive for true equality between the races, the “reckoning” to which they were consigned looked like a step backward. Axios’s sources correctly observe that cultural evolution doesn’t follow a straight line. “It swings like a pendulum,” Johnson said. Backlashes against moral panics invariably invite their own unique excesses, and some of the nostrums that prevailed during the “reckoning” may once again find adherents if the cure for the ills of anti-racism ends up looking worse than the disease.

 

For now, however, there is little appetite for a restoration of the regime under which we languished during America’s cultural revolution. If anyone should recognize their defeat, it should be the anti-racist activists. After all, as one artifact from this bizarre age — “Critical Race Theory” teaching aid titled “a primer for white people” — declared, “You can’t stop progress.”

BRIDE STAGES MURDER MYSTERY AT HER WEDDING REHEARSAL

PEOPLE

 

Bride Stunned Everyone by Dropping 'Dead' During Wedding Rehearsal. Then a Surprise Murder Mystery Unfolded (Exclusive)

By Ashlyn Robinette  Published on May 22, 2025 12:00PM EDT

 

A bride dropped "dead" at her wedding rehearsal dinner — on purpose.

 

The night before Ian and Alexandra Lahde's wedding, the couple of four years hosted a rehearsal dinner on March 20 at Fairmont Banff Springs in Canada. What the groom and their 30 guests didn't know was that there would be a secret murder mystery to solve.

 

Alexandra, 28, is a barista, but might want to consider a career in acting after pulling off a performance that left everyone in shock.

 

The bride stood in front of her friends and family, all of whom were dressed in "old Hollywood glam," and clinked her wine glass to raise a toast, as seen in a viral video taken by videographer Alesia Hardy of Alesia Films.

 

However, Alexandra struggled to get her words out because she began coughing uncontrollably. She took a sip of her drink to help clear her throat, only to cough yet again. Suddenly, she clutched the counter beside her, shrieking, "Oh, my God!" before dramatically dropping to the floor, knocking over a candle in the process.

 

As guests gasped and screamed, Ian, 28, quickly stood up and rushed over to his bride's seemingly lifeless body.

 

"He immediately got up and came to my rescue — until he realized it was all a ruse!" Alexandra tells PEOPLE. "My dad and one of my best friends were also very concerned and moved to help, before they heard my mother cackling and realized it was all a part of the act!"

 

Alexandra's mom and officiant had spotted clues around the room that hinted at a murder mystery, such as a vintage typewriter welcome sign and magnifying glass place cards from Royal Stationery & Design. "Excited to realize they were dead on," the pair sitting next to each other exclaimed, "She's dead!" when Alexandra fell.

 

Before anyone reached the bride, a detective burst through the doors into the room.

 

"Nobody move!" shouted an actor named Eric from THEY improv. He held up a fake badge while suspiciously looking around at the laughing partygoers, who all now realized they were a part of a game.

 

The faux detective continued, "Nobody move! My name is Bert Hammel. I'm from a bad police department. I've been told there's a murder … I can't feel a pulse, the bride has been poisoned!"

 

Alexandra secretly began planning the murder mystery in April 2024, nearly an entire year before the dinner. Only her sister, who helped pick out "suspects," knew about the surprise.

 

"As a long-time lover of true crime, Nancy Drew and anything considered macabre, I knew I needed to find a way to keep my guests on their toes," Alexandra explains. "The idea popped into my head very early on into the planning and I knew we had to make it happen."

 

Alexandra's wedding planner, Melissa Alison Events, helped her find the perfect vendor to make her "dream a reality." The murder plot was even tied to the infamous ghost bride of Fairmont Banff Springs.

 

"I didn’t get word on how this was going to work until I arrived at the dinner about 15 minutes before our guests were set to join us," Alexandra says. "I had told the improv company I wanted to 'die' while giving a toast and they came up with the perfect script to match."

 

"I find I work best when I have little to no plan, so I went into it pretty blind — only having practiced my expression and fall in the bathroom a few times before!" she adds.

 

Detective decor, candles and moody florals from Flowers by Janie set the scene.

 

"I curated a playlist with classic Hollywood jazz music, movie scores from films like Knives Out and Murder on the Orient Express, with some pop hits related to murder sprinkled in like 'Killer Queen' by Queen and 'No Body, No Crime' by Taylor Swift, featuring HAIM," Alexandra notes.

 

She selected which guests would play characters beforehand.

 

"When they arrived at the dinner, they were pulled into a separate room, briefed on the plot and given a briefing on their characters," Alexandra explains. "Once I was poisoned, they then improvised along with the detective. After my murder, they were all questioned by him in front of the group. After the detective’s round of questioning, they were sent to the tables for one-on-one questioning with our guests! Broken up in teams, guests then had to pick the murderer and their motive."

 

The murderer was revealed to be the bride's "sister" in the story.

 

Many prizes, including fitness gear, mega chocolate bars and classic movies, were awarded to the winners. Furthermore, different superlative recipients earned titles such as best actor.

FRENCH PIZZA CHEF ACCUSED OF KILLING MAN BEFORE DISMEMBERING AND COOKING BODY PARTS IN POT OF VEGETABLES

PEOPLE

 

French Pizza Chef Accused of Killing Man Before Dismembering and Cooking Body Parts in Pot of Vegetables: Reports

By Becca Longmire  Published on May 20, 2025 09:41AM EDT

 

A French pizza chef has been accused of killing a man before chopping up his body and cooking some of it with vegetables in a bid to "mask the odor," according to reports.

 

Former butcher Philippe Schneider, 69, allegedly confessed to killing Georges Meichler, 60, who lived as a recluse in the village of Brasc, France in February 2023, per The Telegraph.

 

On Monday, May 19, Schneider appeared at the Rodez Assize Court, where he's being tried for killing, dismembering and cooking parts of Meichler's body before "scattering his remains on his land," Le Parisien reported.

 

Schneider is accused of the killing alongside his partner Nathalie Caboubassy, 45, The Telegraph noted. The pair reportedly moved to the region in 2019; he eventually opened a pizzeria called Don Filiippo in Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, the outlet stated.

 

Schneider reportedly admitted to killing the victim, while Caboubassy denies involvement, according to The Telegraph. A third suspect, gravedigger Loup Benrakia, has also denied involvement, the outlet reported.

 

Per Le Figaro, Schneider wanted to steal money and cannabis from Meichler's isolated house in the woods. However the attempt ended with the victim being "tied up, gagged and beaten."

 

Schneider claimed the victim suffocated. He said that he took the body back to his house and waited three days to “respect the transmigration of the soul,” per The Telegraph. He allegedly dismembered Meichler's body before burning his organs. He later returned to the victim's house where he reportedly "cooked the other limbs in large pots with vegetables to mask the odor," the outlet reported.

 

Le Figaro added that Schneider had allegedly "cut up the body, cooked it and then incinerated it in the victim's wood stove and garden."

 

The suspect reportedly told investigators that he'd scattered the victim's ashes across the property after burning his head, hands and feet, The Telegraph stated.

 

"I have no words to express my guilt and my many regrets, but I understand the anger and disgust I can evoke. I offer my sincere apologies to the family. This is an act of madness that should never have happened. I plead guilty to all the charges against me," Schneider said, according to Le Parisien.

 

Lawyer Luc Abratkiewicz said, “Philippe Schneider acknowledges his full responsibility and all the facts he is accused of,” per The Telegraph.

 

“Philippe Schneider’s version is that at the time he lived a life of alcohol, drugs, and then this completely crazy idea of going to burgle his neighbour. He gags him. It goes badly, he dies... He made a serious mistake. Afterward, he continued to sink into absurdity and horror, because the fact of having cut up this corpse is going to cost them dearly," the lawyer added, according to the outlet.

 

Yannick Mamodabasse, a lawyer representing Meichler's family members, said, "These are terrible events, and it's still very painful for the family. That's all I'll say before the hearing in this extraordinary case," per Le Parisien.

 

Schneider has been charged with kidnapping leading to death, concealment of a corpse and endangering the integrity of the corpse, per The Telegraph; Caboubassy and Benrakia were charged with complicity.

 

The trial is expected to run until Thursday, May 22, per Le Parisien.

 

The Rodez Assize Court and Mamodabasse didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.