Diary of a Network Geek

I finished The Napoleon of Crime : The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief this week.
This is some of the most interesting non-fiction I’ve read in recent memory. Adam Worth was, indeed, a true master criminal. The book traced his larcenous career from its early start as a serial enlister during the Civil War, wherein Worth “died” and reenlisted several times for the signing bonus through the years as a pickpocket in New York city and on into his larger scale crimes, both in the US and abroad. Interestingly enough, he never used a gun in the commission of a crime. Apparently, Worth found it somewhat declasse and “the last resort of the small-minded”. At his peak, he ran a ring of crooks of all kinds, but maintained such a discrete distance from the actual crime that Scotland Yard could never definitively link him to a crime. They knew he had planned them, but they could never pin one on him.
His “greatest” crime was the one that almost undid him, namely the theft of Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire. At the time, this was the most expensive painting ever sold and Worth stole it to use as leverage to get a compatriot out of jail. “Little Adam”, as Worth was known, was famously loyal to the theives he organized and went to great lengths to keep, or get, them out of jail. That “honor among theives”, which was so rarely seen in reality, was one of Adam Worth’s hallmarks. And another fatal flaw. He almost bankrupt himself at least twice getting crooks out of jail, and his efforts were rarely rewarded with anything more than additional betrayal.
Still, for all his flaws, Worth was an actual master criminal who planned fabulously. He always had theives ready to work for him because his reputation was so good. For most of his working life, if you can call it that, his “jobs” went so smoothly that no one was nabbed, with few exceptions. And, those exceptions were due mainly to the utter stupidity of the crooks in Worth’s employ, including his own brother.
This book tells the story so well, that I almost forgot I was reading actual history. The writing flowed like the finest fiction and, indeed, some of the events were so incredible that one could scarcely believe them. The author, Ben Macintyre, doesn’t focus on dates and highlights the physical locations just enough to get the story across. Instead, he concentrates on what matters in Adam Worth’s life: people. The amazing characters, on both sides of the law, are what drove both this book and Worth’s life in crime. Macintyre brings them to life brilliantly. Frankly, after reading this book, I long for an age when criminals could have been so genteel and not the modern, crude thugs they have become.

I heartily reccomend this book to anyone interested in history or “true crime” or even biographies. Well worth finding and reading, even if you only have a passing interest in these topics.

“… but what I do, that defines me.”

A great quote from a great movie. In other words, yes, I saw “Batman Begins” yesterday. I took a giant step outside my comfort zone and went at the absolute last minute to see a movie with a guy from a support group I attend. A guy who, honestly, I hardly know, though I’ve seen him at these meetings for years.
Anyway, it was a good movie. The fight scenes were done in that new, modern style that I think of as “Gladiator-esque” ever since seeing that movie. It was all a blur. Shapes whirling through the darkness and chaos everywhere. Not unlike a real fight, if memory serves, but a little annoying in cinema. I much prefer the older style where I don’t get motion sickness trying to follow the action.
The movie, of course, is about the origins of Batman, as the title implies. Slightly different than the comic book, he delves into the criminal underworld, and then is recruited by a kind of ninja/assassin’s guild/secret society designed to “fight” evil by totally destroying it. A sort of hyper-radical scorched-earth policy that also would wipe out the innocent as well. Not good. Obviously, Batman doesn’t stay a part of this group and, well, plot ensues from there.
It had a bit of a slow start, as origin stories often do, but once it got rockin’ and rollin’, it was a good, old-fashioned action movie ride.
There was one small continuity problem from the first movie that just leapt out at me. Who killed Bruce’s parents? In the first movie, of course, it was Joker, before he was Joker. In this movie, it was some other guy named “Joe Chill”. Also, Joker wasn’t Joker but still Jack Napier. He didn’t become the Joker until after Batman and he fought in the nasty chemical plant, just like in the comic book. But, that in no way diminished my enjoyment of an otherwise brilliant film.
Also, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman gave brilliant performances. Christian Bale was top notch as the angry, young millionare who became a crimefighter. And, all I can say about Katie Holmes performance is, er, it must be cold in Gotham. Or were those just some pesky Thetans in her blouse trying to poke their way out?
Oh, that reminds me… Gotham, though it was supposed to be a slightly fictionalized New York City, was Chicago. I recognized the bridges across the river, especially the Lake Shore Drive bridge right there at Wacker. I can’t tell you how many times I drove over that when I worked downtown. And, there were scenes that could only be Lower Lower Wacker. I know them, too. All too well. I also saw an altered Wrigley Builiding and the Tribune Tower, remade, if I’m not mistaken, into the Wayne Tower. Yep, it was all scenery that I knew quite intimately, though it’s no longer really home.

I have to admit, I liked this movie in part for the scenery and for the writing. It was a well written movie. I especially liked the quote, which was bounced back and forth between Wayne and his erstwhile paramour, Rachel Dawes, “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me.” Indeed, I sympathize with that sentiment and always have. I identify with the dark heroes, who have that wild animal that they fear to release, but try to harness to do good. In my more arrogant moments, I allow myself to feel as though I’m one of them.
I am more than my Flaw. I acknowlege that at the heart of who I am, I am a flawed human being, but that flaw does not define me. What I do consistently defines me. And, I consistently act in accordance with my beliefs about what’s right, not the way my Flaw would dictate. I haven’t always, but I’m better than that, now.

Yeah, it’s worth getting out to see “Batman Begins“. Happy Independance Day.

I’m 36 today.

I share a birthday with Frank “Chairman of the Board” Sinatra, Bob Barker, Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, Edvard Munch, painter of The Scream, and Wells Fargo founder, Henry Wells. Not to mention, Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer, Dickey Betts of the Allman Bros, jazz musician Grover Washington Jr, Karl Edward Wagner who is the author of Bloodstone and Night Winds, and former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch.
Also, it was on this day in 1897 that “The Katzenjammer Kids” made its debut in the New York Journal. The comic strip was created by Rudolph Dirks and featured such novelties as the dialogue balloon, the multi-panel story, and a regular cast of characters. It was on this day, in 1901, that Italian physicist and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi succeeds in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean. This is also the day, in 1915, that the first all-metal aircraft (a Junkers J.1) was test flown at Dessau, Germany.
But, that’s not all! My birthday is also when, in 1925, Arthur Heinman coins term “motel”, and opened Motel Inn in San Luis Obispo, California. On this day, in 1964, shooting started for the “Star Trek” pilot, The Cage (which was later reused in Menagerie). In 1965, no doubt in anticipation of my birthday, Gale Sayers of the Chicago Bears scored 6 touchdowns, which ties the NFL record.
A year before I was born, in 1967, the US launched Pioneer 8 into solar orbit. And, on the actual day of my birth, in 1968, the US performed its first nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site. So, obviously, my birthday was, indeed, earth-shattering.

It’s been a hell of a year. I can’t wait to see what I’m doing next year at this time! I hope you all are right there with me.