curtis mertensmeyer is a convicted killer

I needed to blog this because if I can contribute one tiny bit to the online record of this case, I want to continue to do so.
I watched Mrs. Riemann, a 6th grade teacher of mine, talk about the death of her son here in a great story from WDAF.
I remember her three blond boys -- Daniel being not much more than a toddler at the time -- popping in and out of her classroom. Many years later, Curtis Mertensmeyer would take that boy's life. The gravity of that fact is not anywhere on Mertensmeyer's face -- not in the courtroom footage, not in the (s)mug shot -- and I've looked for it. If you have any doubts whether he got 120 days due in at least some part to the fact that his parents are clearly well-off and connected, go to that link above and pay close attention to the footage of the car. Yes, that is the car Mertensmeyer drove away from the scene, to a garage to hide until his passengers, NOT HIM, went to the authorities. Sure, on some level there is a measure of bad luck involved here -- but the overwhelming fact is that this kid is a menace and a probable sociopath. But punishment for things like leaving the scene of the crime and vehicular manslaughter don't amount to much more than a hefty legal bill when you've got an address in Whitesmugsville, Kansas. Do you think a minority whose family lives off Prospect and who killed a white kid walking on Ward Parkway -- drunk or not -- would've gotten anything less than life? Look at that car again. You can see the imprint of a human torso in the hood. The windshield is completely shattered. In fact, I'm astounded that he was able to drive that car away from the scene of the crime and in an impaired state no less. Well, I suppose crashing into a human body, throwing it over 150 feet while severing its leg probably would sober you up pretty quickly, right?
Please, please, please. People who have the power to do so -- DO NOT RE-ELECT Judge John Torrence to the Jackson County Circuit court bench or anywhere for that matter. This is a reckless disregard for law and human life that goes down the chain from Mertensmeyer, through his passengers in the car, to Mertensmeyer's mother's attempts to hide his crime, to his defense attorney -- this stellar piece of humanity right here -- and the buck stops at the desk of Judge Torrence.
The confluence of morally bankrupt assholes at work here is beyond pathetic. I sincerely hope that decent business people in this town take special note of the firms and parties involved. And lastly, I hope the universe finds a way to right itself and that the Riemann family is able to find peace in that.


**I know this post was totally disjointed and not very well realized but fuck I get ADD when I'm this appalled by humanity.

Really if I can post once a week, I'm doing well

I made Ginger Lemon White Peppercorn ice cream in a Ziploc tonight. Jay and Ro made cinnamon -- without any of that hideous faux cinnamon flavoring which is the downfall of nearly all but one cinnamon ice cream I've ever had. Of the group tonight, mine was technically better if a bit on the too sweet side.
We spent the afternoon in my mom's plastic kiddie pool. Bebe got a wee too much sun even with the sunscreen but she's sleeping it off. I give the kid a lot of credit for having the sense (and courtesy) to get her undiapered butt out of the pool before pinching a poo. She acted like she got out to admire the rose bush then I saw her shaking it off her butt like a regular cave baby and I was overcome with pride.
I do love summer with the kids and my mom. They are dolls and I feel the luxury of it -- truly I do. I am thankful for these days.
I'm liking the Juan MacClean. Enjoying YYY's It's Blitz more than I expected. Karen O's getting older -- and, it's graceful on her, lucky girl.
I'm trying to sketch again. Jay needs to get more flexible though to make it interesting. Oh well, I should be thankful I have a model with such classic definition. I'm determined to build up some sketches that could make it on the wall someday. Maybe en masse they'll fool the eye into looking like the work of someone who's had some training.
The feral neighborhood cats sound like children crying under my window. It's fucking creepy and if I had the stomach for it I'd off them but the little girls next door feed them and attempt to civilize them enough to pass as pets so I couldn't do it.
I really need like one evening a week to peruse the bookstore for inspiration. Then I need to actually execute the fruits of said inspiration.
Did I ever show you Ro and I's attempt at stop-motion claymation?

tote a tot -- for children who are nothing more than baggage

i don't know if i've seen a more literal visual translation of the 'baby as accessory' phenomenon. I suppose there's nothing inherently 'wrong' with this picture -- but am i the only person for whom it screams pathology? You know, I've never flown with a baby so I really can't say whether I'd use one or not. But if I did go tearing through the airport like this, I think I'd feel pretty weird about it.

the world's gone merkin crazy

ok, not really, but since i just found out what the hell a merkin actually is, it seems like i've seen the word everywhere. So I submit for your pleasure a quote from my girl crush Kate Winslet -- by way of perezhilton

“Depends on the character. Let me tell you, The Reader was not glamorous for me in terms of body-hair maintenance. I had to grow it in, because you can’t have a landing strip in 1950, you know? And then because of years of waxing, as all of us girls know, it doesn’t come back quite the way it used to. They even made me a merkin because they were so concerned that I might not be able to grow enough. I said, 'Guys, I am going to have to draw the line at a pubic wig. But you can shoot my snatch up close and personal.'"

…and for those that saw the movie, they did!

- Kate Winslet, on her grooming habits down there, in the new issue of Allure