Thursday, March 18, 2010

Dead Animal Hats



James Faulkner is getting press lately, though I think it may be for simply the shock value in the back story of how he got into hat making. His first hat was made from roadkill, literally a bird he found on the side of the road. He was broke, had to make a hat, and so used materials at hand. I can't attest for the quality of the hats, and he said himself that he is using more accessible materials; things with less gross out factors. Still, I thought about it as I drove through rural Iowa, where there are dead animals littering the road sides all along my drive. I had thought about what I might do as a reaction to seeing these poor animals on the side of the road, and a few days later heard about these hats. What a fitting response I thought.

Madoff Beaten in Prison


I read about this in the latest issue of the Wall Street Journal. I have to say a laugh slipped my lips before reading past the headline. The article details how a body builder, with a black belt in Judo, roughed up Madoff over a money dispute. Of course, nothing can be proven as is the code of conduct in prison life, but it seems probable that the fight happened. Can you imagine Madoff getting in a prison brawl? What an image that brings up. There are other stories worth noting including a former inmate getting investment advice from Madoff, and reports of the company he keeps including a pharmaceutical drug dealer and a crime family boss. I suppose it makes sense that such a prestigious criminal such as Madoff would want to hang out with men with similar devious ambitions. He continues to serve his 150 year sentence, and will probably live out his life admired by fellow inmates, at least in the near future, for the massive scale of his scheme that robbed investors all around the world for upwards of 20 million.