Help the FBI solve a murder!

The FBI wants our help.

From their website:

On June 30, 1999, sheriff’s officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick. He had been murdered and dumped in a field. The only clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes found in the victim’s pants pockets.
Despite extensive work by our Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), as well as help from the American Cryptogram Association, the meanings of those two coded notes remain a mystery to this day, and Ricky McCormick’s murderer has yet to face justice.

Click to enlarge

“We are really good at what we do,” said CRRU chief Dan Olson, “but we could use some help with this one.”

In fact, Ricky McCormick’s encrypted notes are one of CRRU’s top unsolved cases. “Breaking the code,” said Olson, “could reveal the victim’s whereabouts before his death and could lead to the solution of a homicide. Not every cipher we get arrives at our door under those circumstances.”

The more than 30 lines of coded material use a maddening variety of letters, numbers, dashes, and parentheses. McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be “street smart.” According to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family knows how to decipher the codes, and it’s unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret language. Investigators believe the notes in McCormick’s pockets were written up to three days before his death.

Click to enlarge

Over the years, a number of CRRU’s examiners—who are experts at breaking codes—have puzzled over the McCormick notes and applied a variety of analytical techniques to tease out an answer. “Standard routes of cryptanalysis seem to have hit brick walls,” Olson noted. Our cryptanalysts have several plausible theories about the notes, but so far, there has been no solution.

To move the case forward, examiners need another sample of McCormick’s coded system—or a similar one—that might offer context to the mystery notes or allow valuable comparisons to be made. Or, short of new evidence, Olson said, “Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea.”

If you have cracked the code or want further info, go to the FBI's Website.

Southgate and Leigh's First Music Video

I love supporting new artists: writers, musicians, artists. When I first downloaded Southgate and Leigh's debut album, I wasn't sure I would like the music. I love being wrong. I bought the album about six months ago and I still listen to the album regularly. My favorite songs are Bluebells and You Make Me Smile. (It makes me smile.)

Southgate and Leigh's first single, Reena, is coming out, along with the video. When they allowed me to preview it, I jumped at the chance and begged them to allow me to post it on my blog. Check it out below. Buy the album here.

Mystery Writer's Guide To Forensic Science - Collecting Evidence VII

Before this post, I just want to say good-bye to a blogger I have been following for a long time. Yesterday, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude said his closing words after two years. You will be missed! He says he's going to be around the blogisphere so I hope he comes around.

This is the last post about the collection of evidence at a crime scene. I've decided to list things to collect and how to collect them alphabetically. This week in the alphabet of crime collection, we will be examining letters:

T-W

Sources: http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc3.html
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/collect.html#8
(2) Encyclopedia of Forensic Science

Book Review: Cloud of Witnesses by Dorothy L. Sayers

This is the first day of DRESS UP, STAY HOME!

CLOUD OF WITNESSES
Writer: Dorothy L. Sayers
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense Challenge 2011
Challenge: 2011 E-Book Challenge
Challenge: Vintage Mystery Challenge
Kindle: here
Genre: Mystery

How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis: The fiancé of Lord Peter's sister, Lady Mary Wimsey, is found dead outside the conservatory of the family's shooting lodge in Yorkshire. Peter and Mary's elder brother, the Duke of Denver, is charged with willful murder and put on trial in the House of Lords.

My Thoughts: Once again I picked up a book by Sayers--her second book. She's a wonderfully complex writer, trying to find her niche. Although her plots are intriguing, I have to admit I had a difficult time getting through it. I don't really know why.

Perhaps it's because I couldn't relate to some of the characters. Lord Peter Wimsey's brother is on trial (and facing the death penalty) for murder, and even though I thought I would feel anxious about it, I didn't In fact, at one point in the reading, I put the book down and thought it didn't matter to me who the killer was. I love Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs and in that book a woman is hung for murder. In that book, I cared. I didn't want her to die. In this book, I was like... meh!

We really don't meet the brother so there's no rapport.

I did love reading the dialogue in Sayer's novels. Peter and the other characters have some interesting idioms. For example, Peter uses the question 'What?' a lot.

"...we must make what we can of him as a witness, what?"

"havin; no turn for criminology, what?"

Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey reference:

Whether, like the heroine of Northanger Abbey, he expected to find anything gruesome inside was not apparent.

Should you read this book?

Yes. It's classic literature. And it's cheap on Kindle.

Short Story A Day!

I've been trying to read a short story a day. I just feel the little guys are being neglected. I'm not really a fan of short stories... well, I thought I wasn't but I was wrong. For some reason, I had thought you couldn't bond with the characters. However, SSs are often more powerful because a writer needs to do more with less.

Here are three I've read so far from the book Genre Wars (download this book for $3.00):

(1) Title: Two Separate Pieces
Author: Frances O'Brien
Genre: YA/MG
Thoughts: What is the story about? Well, a boy and a girl sit on a bench and kiss. French kiss. I wish I could sum it up that simply but it's such a powerful story. It's not about what happens it's about the feelings behind what happens, it's about the emotions (the real emotions) of teenagers, it's real. It's about the past and it's about the future. I still think about the story three days later. It won the Grand Prize in the Genre Wars contest held by Literary Lab and deservedly so.

(2) Title: Heart Seeker
Author: E.J. Alexander
Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy
Thoughts: I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre but this one surprised me. I kinda suspected the ending but I felt for the characters. Two warring tribes battle for love. Timeless plot. Worth a read.

(3) Title: Asunder
Author: Judith Mercado
Genre: Literary Fiction
Thoughts: This story won the literary section. And again, so much was said with very little action. A husband (a Reverend) and a wife are sitting and waiting to attend a dinner function in his honor. They had invited their daughter but they're not sure she'll come. Throughout the story you wonder, will she or will she not come? Why doesn't she come? Why is it so important that she comes? How do the two characters deal with both outcomes? Just a wonderful story about human nature and strength.

If you haven't bought this book, you should. Not only to support new authors but the proceeds support charity.

Dress Up, Stay Home!

I've always liked the movie Stranger Than Fiction. It's about a writer--writing the life of Harold Crick (Will Farrell)--who realizes that the story she's writing is real. Anyway, that's not the point. Forget about the movie. I'm jealous of her office.

Seriously.

This office.

This woman (beautiful Emma Thompson) gets up in the morning, gets dressed, walks to her office and writes. Well, tries to write--she's got writer's block. And she's not wearing shoes. I would wear shoes... maybe.

I've been feeling down lately and I think it's because I'm not taken seriously as a writer. The main culprit? ME! How can I view my work as a career or even a job when I'm sitting at my desk in my pyjamas... or even less? (We won't go there.)

So, for a week, I'm implementing Dress Up, Stay Home! Before I sit down to write, I'm going to dress in work attire. I'm going to treat my job like it is, a job! We'll see if that works.

So starting Monday, I'm dressing up and staying home!

Cryptography and Cryptanalysis: Affine Cipher Decoding

Last week's answer:  Taz fp D ovdsx kadh?

Last week we learned how to encode affine ciphers. This week we learn to decode.

In affine ciphers the decryption function for a letter denoted by x is
d(x) = a^-1(x - b) mod m

First of all, we need to understand a few rules:

• m is the size of the alphabet - in English it's 26
• b is in the range (0,m-1)

So, we know that in the equation:
d(which, in this case, stands for decrypt)(x) = a^-1(x - b)(mod 26)

Next, let's find 'a^-1'.
I'm not going to explain how to find the inverse to a number (it's a long complicated process - however, if anyone does have a question about this, I will be happy to send you the answer in an email) but for 'a' with {1,3,5,7,9,11,15,17,19,21,23,25} the inverse 'a^-1 is {1,9,21,15,3,19,7,23,11,5,17,25}. 




Here's an example:

Lets use (5,8) that means a=5 and b=8. However, the inverse of 5 is 21.

ciphertext:	I	H	H	W	V	V	C	S	W	F	R	C	P
y:	8	7	7	22	21	21	2	18	22	5	17	2	15

Now, the next step is to compute 21(y − 8), and then take the remainder when that result is divided by 26. The following table shows the results of both computations.

ciphertext:	I	H	H	W	V	C	S	W	F	R	C	P
y:	8	7	7	22	21	2	18	22	5	17	2	15
21(y-8):	0	-21	-21	294	273	-126	210	294	-63	189	-126	147
(21(y-8)) mod 26:	0	5	5	8	13	4	2	8	15	7	4	17

The final step in decrypting the ciphertext is to use the table to convert numeric values back into letters. The plaintext in this decryption is AFFINECIPHER. Below is the table with the final step completed.

ciphertext:	I	H	H	W	V	C	S	W	F	R	C	P
y:	8	7	7	22	21	2	18	22	5	17	2	15
21(y-8):	0	-21	-21	294	273	-126	210	294	-63		-126	147
(21(y-8)) mod 26:	0	5	5	8	13	4	2	8	15	7	4	17
plaintext:	A	F	F	I	N	E	C	I	P	H	E	R

Now your turn:

Decode this with the decryption key (a,b) = (7,5) with the inverse of a being (15,5) and ignore the capitals, spaces and question mark:

Gfi rzpubheo zs ich mftx!

(I will post the answer next week!)

 
Example source: Wikipedia
Picture source: Woot.com

Mystery Writer's Guide To Forensic Science - Collecting Evidence VI

Over the next few weeks, we're going to be discussing the collection of evidence at a crime scene. I've decided to list things to collect and how to collect them alphabetically. This week in the alphabet of crime collection, we will be examining letters:

S

Sources: http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc3.html
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/collect.html#8
(2) Encyclopedia of Forensic Science

Book Review: Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid

FEVER OF THE BONE
Writer:Val McDermid
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense Challenge 2011
Challenge: 2011 E-Book Challenge
Kindle: here
Genre: Mystery/Adventure

How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis: A new chief constable, James Blake, arrives at Bradfield CID in McDermid's excellent sixth Tony Hill novel (after Beneath the Bleeding). Since Blake takes a skeptical view of both Tony's contributions as a medical consultant and the team's commitment to cold cases, Det. Chief Insp. Carol Jordan has to tread carefully. Soon deemed too expensive by Blake, Tony turns to nearby Worcester for work, where a grisly case involves the brutal murder and sexual mutilation of teenagers lured to their deaths by a killer who befriends them on a social networking Web site. Connections soon arise between Tony's case and Carol's new murder inquiry in Bradfield, which McDermid develops with her usual systematic ease until all the pieces of the disturbing puzzle fall into place. The increasingly complex and indefinable relationship between Tony and Carol provides a strong emotional undercurrent. McDermid demonstrates once again that she's as adept with matters of the heart as she is with murder.

My Thoughts: It took me a long time to get through this book. But, I'm really happy I did. If you're expecting to see a lot of interaction between the two main characters, you might be disappointed. However, this is a nice payoff in the end.

One problem with this novel is the addition of subplots and new characters. In the end, they added to the story but I had difficulty following along.

If you're a fan of Val McDermid and her Tony Hill series, this is a must read.

Cryptography and Cryptanalysis: Affine Cipher Encoding

Note: This post is for my reference mainly. And for those who like a challenge. If you're not in the mood to solve ciphers before coffee, scroll down to the bottom, press the comment button and leave "Are you bloody kidding me?" in the comment section. I will come visit your blog. Have a great day, everyone!

For the advanced learner: Solving the Affine Cipher

In affine ciphers the encryption function for a letter denoted by x is
f(x) = (ax + b)(mod m)

First of all, we need to understand a few rules:

• a and m are coprime which means they can not share any common factors
• m is the size of the alphabet - in English it's 26
• b is in the range (0,m-1)

So, we know that in the equation:
e(x) = (ax + b) (mod 26)

Next, let's find 'a'.
Because we know 'a' and 'm' can not have common factors, let's find the factors of 26, excluding 1. 26 can only be divided by 2 and 13. So, 'a' can not have the factors 2 and 13.

That leaves 'a' with {3,5,7,9,11,15,17,19,21,23,25}
Why?
Because 1, 2, 13 share common factor with 26 and 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 can be divided by 2 (a factor of 26) and so it cant be used as 'a'.

Now that leaves 'b'. 'b' can be all the numbers: {0,1,2,3…23,24,25} (a=0, b=1,..., z=25).

So let's encrypt a message.

1. We want to encrypt: hello world
2. We now need to choose the a number for 'a' and a number for 'b': Let's go with a=11 (it has to be one of these numbers: {3,5,7,9,11,15,17,19,21,23,25}) and b=6
3. Now put that into our equation: e(x) = (11*x + 6)(mod 26)
4. So for the first letter 'h' which is equal to 7 (see chart above) we have e(h) = 11*7 + 6 which is 83.
5. No letter is 83. What!? Here we go into modular math...
6. Here's what you have to do: (a) 83/26=3.19... 26*3=78... 83-78=5 or (b) 83-26=57-26=31-26=5
7. If you look at the chart above 5=f.
8. You continue to do this and you end up with: fyxxe oelxn

Now your turn:

Encode this with the encryption key (a,b) = (3,5) and ignore the capitals, spaces and question mark:

Why am I doing this?

(I will post the answer next week!)

Mystery Writer's Guide To Forensic Science - Collecting Evidence V

Over the next few weeks, we're going to be discussing the collection of evidence at a crime scene. I've decided to list things to collect and how to collect them alphabetically. This week in the alphabet of crime collection, we will be examining letters:

P

Paint

(on tools or vehicles)

• If possible, collect the item containing the evidence
• Collect paint chips separately (without fragmenting)
• Take reference samples of each color, ensuring they are scraped down to the base color
• To package, use paper or rigid plastic container

(on clothing)

• Collect fragile evidence first
• Collect clothing and package individually

Postmortem Samples

(Alcohol)

• Obtain clean arterial blood (10 ml)
• Obtain urine (10 ml)
• Obtain vitreous humor (10 ml) (the liquid in the eyeball)

(Blood for DNA)

• Obtain clean arterial blood (10 ml)

(Blood for serology)

• Obtain clean arterial blood (10 ml)

(Drugs)

• Obtain clean arterial blood (10 ml)
  
• Obtain urine (10 ml)

(Toxicology)

• Obtain clean arterial blood (10 ml)
  
• Obtain urine (10 ml)
  
• Obtain vitreous humor (10 ml)
• Obtain stomach contents

(Diatoms)

• Obtain a portion of femur (15 cm)

Sources: http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc3.html
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/collect.html#8
(2) Encyclopedia of Forensic Science
Picture sources: here

Book Review: Uncut Diamonds by Karen Gowen

UNCUT DIAMONDS
Writer: Karen Jones Gowen
Challenge: What's In A Name Challenge
Kindle: here
Genre: Literary Fiction

How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis: The story of a young woman, Marcie McGill, her husband, Shawn, their five children, and her sisters. It chronicles the day-to day-events in their lives as they struggle with inflation, job loss, severe weather, family dynamics, and the subsequent strains on the McGills' marriage.... Marcie is involved in typing up her grandmother's handwritten journal. Excerpts from the journal are used to parallel the events in Marcie's life. There's also a subtle parallel to the current economic depression. Gowen has a good command of language. There are a few expletives that may bother some readers, but they're used in a pretty inoffensive way.

My Thoughts:
Karen is a great writer. Her stories are rich in detail. I felt I lived her life, I felt I suffered when she suffered. There was one moment in the book where someone knocks on the door and she's afraid to answer, I felt that fear. She writes characters with unique personalities and none of her characters are cliche or cookie-cutter. They show real emotions, sometimes even negative ones.

This story is timely as well. Although the book takes place in the seventies (and some journal entries from early in the twentieth century, it discuss a subject that faces many--not only in the US but around the world--financial hardship. I love how the characters deal with it.

Only one thing bothered me about the kindle book: I couldn't understand the parts that related to the Mormon culture. Terms such as: the calling, the branch, the testimony. Because I'm not Mormon, I couldn't quite understood what was happening at those moments. Now, there is a glossary at the back but with kindle it's kinda irritating to have to flip back and forth. However, those parts are few and for most people, it won't distract from the wonderful story. Hmm, here's an idea: read the glossary before reading the book!

Awards!

I have received the Stylish Blogger Award from three different blogs! Can you imagine? All my hard work has paid off. And sadly, I'm one of the most unstylish people I know.

I received it from: (click the names to be taken to their site)

This brownie-loving Star Trek fan writes young adult and adult paranormal fiction. She has also written short stories that are now in anthologies. She taught herself how to juggle, but cannot juggle and hula hoop at the same time, even though she a champion hula hooper. Check out her blog HERE.

Marie Rearden lives in Ohio with some cool cats. She is writing her first novel and when she sells her first, she wants to buy her mom a pair of diamond earrings. How sweet is that! You can check out her blog HERE.

Crystal is a writers and home-school mum. She writes novels of the YA/MG genres. When she was thirteen, she quit piano lessons because she was sick of playing other people's music and wrote her first composition. That's talent! Check out her blog HERE.

Now, I must share seven things about myself. These are some things that I love (besides writing and my family):

1. the smell of a freshly opened can of coffee
2. rhubarb
3. thunderstorms and rain
4. learning new things
5. when you're just about to fall asleep and you feel like your body is falling
6. The Daily Show
7. and blogging.

(I took these from another awards post mostly because I'm lazy.)


Now, in light of what recently happened in Japan, I want to give the award to these people:
(1) Claire Dawn at Points of Clair-ifiction. She lives in Japan and I haven't heard from her yet. I hope she's all right. Check out her blog.
(2) Patrick Tillett - his wife is Japanese and I'm sure she has friends and family there. I hope everyone she knows is all right.
(3) Margot Kinberg is not from Japan, but she's been working hard to support those who suffered from the Christchurch earthquake. Please visit her blog and support those in need. Even a small donation will help.

Japan: It's Really Sad. So, So Sad.

Because half my family live in Japan, I'm watching what is going on there. My heart goes out to the victims. We just had Christchurch and now we have this...



Look at the cars driving away. Trying to get away as fast as they can! My mum was suppose to go to Japan this month. I hope she hasn't left yet...Update: My mum is safe. I'm just trying to contact my family and friends. A lot of lines are down.

I've received awards but I'll post those tomorrow.

Cryptography and Cryptanalysis: Atbash Cipher

The Atbash cipher is a very old substitution cipher. (A substitution cipher is when you substitute one letter or word with another.) Hebrews scholars used this code for biblical text. Basically you substitute the last letter with the first and the second with the second last letter.

Example: A would be substituted with Z, B with Y, U with F, P with K...

It is a very weak cipher because it only has one possible key, and it is a simple monoalphabetic substitution cipher.

Try solving this code:

Dszg rh blfi uzelirgv xlwv-yzhvw nlerv?

I've Fallen In Love With My Consciousness

James Joyce

This year I've taken up reading Virginia Woolf -- known to often write in the narrative form: Streams of Consciousness.

What is it?

According to Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

Narrative technique in nondramatic fiction intended to render the flow of myriad impressions — visual, auditory, tactile, associative, and subliminal — that impinge on an individual consciousness. To represent the mind at work, a writer may incorporate snatches of thought and grammatical constructions that do not seem coherent because they are based on the free association of ideas and images. The term was first used by William James in The Principles of Psychology (1890). In the 20th century, writers attempting to capture the total flow of their characters' consciousness commonly used the techniques of interior monologue, which represents a sequence of thought and feeling. Novels in which stream of consciousness plays an important role include James Joyce's Ulysses (1922), William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (1929), and Virginia Woolf's The Waves (1931).

Virginia Woolf, Faulkner, and Joyce? They're literary masters! Why isn't the narrative device more popular? Why don't I use it?

Um, because it's difficult to pull off. Have you ever tried to read the novels by one of those authors? "Flowing, fast read" isn't one way I would describe the reading experience. Change of thought mid-sentence. Often a lack of plot or character development.

So why are you writing like this, Clarissa?

Well, for me, I love trying new writing challenges and also, it fits the story I'm telling but is it easy? Not at all.
Have you ever tried streams of consciousness writing? Did you succeed?

"Such fools we all are, she thought, crossing Victoria Street. For Heaven only knows why one loves it so, how one sees it so, making it up, building it round one, tumbling it, creating it every moment afresh; but the veriest frumps, the most dejected of miseries sitting on doorsteps (drink their downfall) do the same; can't be dealt with, she felt positive, by Acts of Parliament for that very reason: they love life. In people's eyes, in the swing, tramp, trudge; in the bellow and the uproar; the carriages, motor cars, omnibuses, vans, sandwich men shuffling and swinging; brass bands; barrel organs; in the triumph and the jingle and the strange high singing of some aeroplane overhead was what she loved; life; London; this moment of June."

-Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/stream-of-consciousness#ixzz1FpapAIOC 
Picture Source: here

Mystery Writer's Guide to Forensic Science: Collecting Evidence IV

Over the next few weeks, we're going to be discussing the collection of evidence at a crime scene. I've decided to list things to collect and how to collect them alphabetically. This week in the alphabet of crime collection, we will be examining letters:

G - I

Glass

(at the scene)

• Shoes and clothing of suspects or other objects contaminated with glass should be wrapped in paper and submitted to the Laboratory for examination.
  
• All glass found at hit-and-run scenes should be recovered. The search should not be limited to the point of impact, since headlight glass may be dropped off at some distance away as the car leaves the crime scene. Glass from different locations should be kept in different containers. All glass should be collected because more than one type may be present. In addition, if just a few representative samples are saved, individual pieces that could be physically matched with glass remaining in the headlight shell of the suspected vehicle may be overlooked.
  
• Place small glass fragments in paper bindles, then in coin envelopes, pill boxes, or film cans which can be marked and completely sealed.
  
• Place large glass fragments in boxes. Separate individual pieces with cotton or tissue to prevent breakage and damaged edges during shipment. Seal and mark the box containing them.

Hairs

(on moveable objects)

• Collect and protect the complete item.

(on fixed)

• Using tweezers, collect fibers and package

(control samples)

• Head: pluck 30-40 hairs from various areas
• Pubic: pluck 20-30 hairs
• Others: Pluck 10-20 hairs from areas of interest.
• Combed and plucked hairs are packaged separately

Insect: flies and maggots

• There are four stages in the life cycle of flies: eggs, maggots, pupae and adult
• The first insects that should be collected are the adult flies and beetles.  These insects are fast moving and can leave the crime scene rapidly once disturbed.  
• The adult flies can be trapped with an insect net available from most biological supply houses. 
• Once the adult flies have been netted, the closed end of the net (with the insects inside) can be placed in the mouth of a "killing jar" (which is a glass container with cottonballs or plaster soaked with ethyl acetate, or common fingernail polish remover). 
• The jar is then capped and the insects will be immobilized within a few minutes. 
• Once they are immobile they can be easily transferred to a vial of 75% ethyl alcohol.  
• Beetles can be collected with forceps or gloved fingers and placed directly into 75% ethyl alcohol.  
• The investigator should search for the presence of eggs, which are easily overlooked. 
• After this step, the larvae should be readily apparent on the body. Generally speaking, the largest larvae should be actively searched for and collected.   Additionally, a representative sample of 50-60 larvae should be collected from the maggot mass.  
• These insects can be placed directly into a killing solution or ethyl alcohol.  

Sources: http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc3.html
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/collect.html#8 
http://www.forensicentomology.com/procedure.htm#scene
(2) Encyclopedia of Forensic Science
Picture sources: here, here

Book Review: North And South by Elizabeth Gaskell

NORTH AND SOUTH
Writer: Elizabeth Gaskell
Challenge: What's In A Name Challenge
Kindle: here
Genre: Literary Fiction
How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis: "North and South" is Elizabeth Gaskell's 1854 novel that contrasts the different ways of life in the two respective regions of England. In the North the emerging industrialized society is sharply contrasted with the aging gentry of the agrarian based South. The plot of "North and South" centers around the main character Margaret Hale, the daughter of a non-conformist minister who moves his family to an industrial town in the North after a split from the Church of England. With important underlying social themes, North and South stands out as one of the greatest novels in the history of English literature.

My Thoughts: Don't get me wrong, I loved this book. It's one of those books I would read over and over and over. However, I will say this: WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST! Yeah, you heard me! You can watch it here. Why? Because it will make the book easier to understand.

The story is amazing. However, the writer loves words. Long, long, long paragraphs of words. Like black blobs coming to eat me. So sometimes my eyes ran and hid in the dialogue and shorter paragraphs.

Personally I like to see a bit more whitespace...

Also, there are multiple POV switches (as is the case in many of the classics) which can leave a reader confused. Besides, wouldn't you rather picture Mr. Thorton as Richard Armitage in your mind anyway?

The book is free on Kindle and soooo worth the price. The internal dialogue scenes where the two MCs discuss their feelings for each other are some of the most romantic I've ever read.

An Award and A Request

Sierra's Writing Adventure handed me a really cool blog award! Write hard! Sierra's a microbiologist who also writes mysteries and thrillers. How cool is that! Be sure to check out her blog. She's a crusader and blogs really interesting things. Go click her follow button.


Now, I have a request.

Lately there have been multiple blogs about making blogging life easier for readers. Especially because of the Crusade and the coming A-Z Challenge. I have made some changes to make it easier for my readers: I put my follower button near the top, the comment button is at the bottom, the comment box opens in a new window. And, I'm trying to reply to each comment and visit the visiting blogs. I'm trying...

However, one request: When I visit your blog and leave a comment, please don't email me back a reply. I think they're sweet but they're really jamming up my email. Also, I don't really respond to them unless they have a question or request and I feel guilty about it. I hope I'm not offending anyone. Because I love all my followers.

Cryptography and Cryptanalysis: Rosetta Stone

Cryptography (writing and study of secret/hidden information) and cryptanalysis (decoding of secret/hidden information) fascinates me. In fact, I use codes in all my mystery novels. Because of this, I thought I would share some interesting facts with you about codes over the next few weeks.

This week, I want to talk about the Rosetta Stone. I know that some think it's a software program that helps you learn languages. And while that is true, it's more, much more.

This is the Rosetta Stone:

Up to the time they discovered this stone, there were problems understanding  Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Why?

Because the usage of the hieroglyphic script had become increasingly specialised even in the later Pharaonic period; by the 4th century AD, few Egyptians were capable of reading hieroglyphs. That's sad because many hieroglyphic script can still be seen all over the world.

Egyptian hieroglyphs became an ancient code. What could crack this code?

In 1799, a French soldier on an expedition to Egypt found the Rosetta Stone. The stone was a decree issued at Memphis, Egypt in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts:

• the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs
• the middle portion is demotic script
• and the lowest is Ancient Greek

Because it presents essentially the same text in all three scripts (with some differences between them), it provided the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Picture Source: The Stone, The Hieroglyphs
Source: Wikipedia