Aaaaarrrgggghhh - Room 101

[Darren]

Time for a new thread to scream at/in/with...

[I.B.Igor]

*Gives new Arrgh thread a hug* we appreciate you, when things go wrong, or are just frustrating or unfair, we need you to yell at/in. Thank you for letting us vent and feel better "

[Nonny Mouse]

Well, this one's interesting:

Apparently one of the members of my steampunk society (who was at some of the same functions as me but who I never really talked to) has been accused of serial murders.

Some people are standing by him but others are suddenly unsure as the evidence is pretty grim...

The bummer thing is that this has so much local media attention, and they took pics off his facebook page for the news items that has pics of the club members in it also (not me or my husband, thankfully). So now we're being associated with this crime and painted as a bunch of potentially sinister weirdos. Although his nickname was "Zombie Hunter" and he'll probably be closer associated with the zombie cosplayers, that picture of the steampunks having fun in costume is really hurting some people. The photographer has contacted a lawyer since the pic was used without permission, but still, we don't want our innocent fun dragged into a murder scandal.

[phalarope]

Wow Nonny, that's awful! But we all need to remember that serial killers come from all walks of life / interest groups / religions/ you name it, and we mustn't go around condemning normal people because sick people hide among us.

[Nonny Mouse]

I guess we're a bit sensitive because our dress-up hobby is often not considered 'normal' to begin with.

[I.B.Igor]

I guess we're a bit sensitive because our dress-up hobby is often not considered 'normal' to begin with.

Its normal for you, and everyone else who does it for fun. I admit I am quite envious.
If anyone has a problem with anything you do make them " Define Normal " I bet if you had a lifestyle chat with five people you would find loads of things you all do, and one or two things you would never consider doing ( like people who eat road kill meat , I find that odd )

I hope the guy who is accused of multiple murder is innocent, but they come in all shapes and sizes, and some have more than one hobby. Hang on in there, I think the majority of people will understand not all Steam Punk fans are mass murderers.

[Catch-up]

Whoa! Nonny, I'm so sorry. First of all, I'm horrified by the idea of you being anywhere near a potential serial killer! It's unfortunate that the paper used a picture that includes others enjoying a fun and harmless hobby. They should have cut the others out of the picture. I hope justice is served and the guy (whether it's that guy or someone else) gets put away and this all blows over for your steampunk community. And, most importantly, I'm so sorry for the victims and their families.

[phalarope]

I guess we're a bit sensitive because our dress-up hobby is often not considered 'normal' to begin with.

IMHO, fly fishing is not 'normal' either, but a ton of people do it. Most people consider birders to be a bit 'strange' (running around and staring at things through binoculars and spotting scopes), but a ton of people (including me) do it. I also photograph US Post Offices as a hobby, as do a significant number of the members of the Postmark Collectors Club. Imagine what Homeland Security thinks of that!

I'm sorry that the media has seen fit to focus on the man's steampunk interest, and that your group has been associated with him for no other reason. I sincerely hope the splatter is contained quickly - finding out about him must have been horrifying enough.

[Grace Speaker]

Am embarrassed to say that I just had to Google 'Steampunk' to find out what it was....actually I Googled 'zombie Steampunk' and was hugely impressed at the level of costumes and special effects makeup involved, some of these guys could have walked straight out of the Lord of the Rings! ......although it is a bit odd to see a Zombie King casually enjoying a quick smoke

Nonny - don't let the sensationalist nonsense in the media spoil your Steampunk fun: it doesn't make you odd, it makes you imaginative, talented and interesting!

[Nonny Mouse]

Thanks all. I agree that anyone's passion can seem strange to someone else. Good news was, the local news station edited the video and took out the pic with my friends in it, so that's no longer showing at least.

You know what's kind of creepy, is that if I was shown a pic of this guy I would not have recognized him, he was just another guy with a beard and a costume and I never really talked to him. But we went back and found him in the background of a bunch of pics we've been in over the years. It was like an episode of Twilight Zone.

It's not looking good for him, it turns out he has two prior convictions of stabbing random women with knives, plus DNA evidence and one of the victims' bikes in his shed. He hasn't been convicted yet, but... it's pretty damning. Either way, may justice prevail.

Some people have left the group, but the rest of us are getting together on the 27th for a monthly dinner and I'm skipping music class to be there. I think those of us who stay might bond a bit tighter as we support each other through this.

[Nonny Mouse]

Am embarrassed to say that I just had to Google 'Steampunk' to find out what it was....actually I Googled 'zombie Steampunk' and was hugely impressed at the level of costumes and special effects makeup involved, some of these guys could have walked straight out of the Lord of the Rings! ......although it is a bit odd to see a Zombie King casually enjoying a quick smoke

Nonny - don't let the sensationalist nonsense in the media spoil your Steampunk fun: it doesn't make you odd, it makes you imaginative, talented and interesting!

I'm not into the Zombie aspect myself, I'm more the Steampunk Pirate type. ARRRR!!!

My husband has 3 characters, an airship captain mercenary, a Lovecraft-type paranormal investigator, and a mad scientist. I have one, but she has different aspects - librarian, moonlighting as an adventuress.

[Whos Wee Dug]

I guess we're a bit sensitive because our dress-up hobby is often not considered 'normal' to begin with.

IMHO, fly fishing is not 'normal' either, but a ton of people do it. Most people consider birders to be a bit 'strange' (running around and staring at things through binoculars and spotting scopes), but a ton of people (including me) do it. I also photograph US Post Offices as a hobby, as do a significant number of the members of the Postmark Collectors Club. Imagine what Homeland Security thinks of that!

I'm sorry that the media has seen fit to focus on the man's steampunk interest, and that your group has been associated with him for no other reason. I sincerely hope the splatter is contained quickly - finding out about him must have been horrifying enough.

Carol you may be interested in these if you have not photographed them yourself, San Antonio while I was at the Worldcon there.







Well they did not turn out that good even after I had resized them. Lt

[Grace Speaker]

I'm not into the Zombie aspect myself, I'm more the Steampunk Pirate type. ARRRR!!!

Ssshhhhh! don't tell my brother - he has to have a cold shower and a lie down at the mere mention of lady pirates!

[Grace Speaker]

This isn't so much of an Aaaaarrrggghhhh, it's more of a uuuurrrrrggghhhhh yuk! but the thought of it certainly ranks sky high on the 'yikes! o'meter - I can't imagine how painful it would be (and contemplating it certainly results in a certain amount of sphincter tightening....), but did you know it was possible to have your eyeballs tattooed!?! And the bloke who invented it, first practiced on himself!

Warning - this article is NOT for the squeamish!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30750361

[Catch-up]

Nonny, things will settle down for your group and I think it's healthy that you're all still getting together and supporting each other. Still, just the idea that you were near someone like that makes me feel like I can't breathe.

Grace! Gah! That just topped my list of Things I Never Needed to Know.

I'm not sure if this is an Argh yet. I joined Twitter yesterday for the sole purpose of tweeting our local movie star about the teacher contract issues, in the hopes that he'll get involved. The definite Argh here is that the board is standing firm on awful decisions, in spite of increased community pressure. Good lord, joining Facebook and Twitter in just one year. Please don't tell Sane Alex. The upside is that I can now tweet at Terry and Rob. Well, it's an upside for me anyway, probably not them.