Newsgroups: rec.pyrotechnics
From: tip@mercury.aichem.arizona.edu (Tom Perigrin)
Subject: Re: new-need books, please help
Followup-To: rec.pyrotechnics
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 1995 01:56:37 GMT

In article <DHqxtB.7x5@twisto.eng.hou.compaq.com>, EDN@Bangate.Compaq.com
(E. David Neufeld) wrote:

> >Did you know that Jolly Roger has only one hand, the other having been
> >blown off following his own recipies?
> 
> Do you mean the author of the Jolly Roger Cookbook only has one hand, the
> other was blown off?   If so, please elaberate what happened and how you
> know this!

Yes.   There have been rumors to this effect floating around the net for a
few years.  About a year ago I flamed the JRCB in great detail, and a
person who claimed to have been "Jolly Roger" sent me e-mail telling me how
full of crap I was, and then told me that the formula that had led to him
losing a hand should have been safe except for careless handling...

I have heard further rumors to the effect that the real author of the
author of the JRCB is a San Francisco performance artist who makes very
unusual art displays that include machines that shoots flame 30 INTO the
audience, robots that pinch and grab spectators and fling ball bearings
hard enough to break glass, etc...   He is quoted as saying "Art shouldn't
be safe... the audience needs to feel involved!"  (not a direct quote,
words to that effect)

This artist (who will remain nameless as I don't fancy getting sued), had
his hand blown off a few years ago while making rocket motors.   His
published account (In "ReSearch", a arts magazine of the SF Bay Area),
states that he was just pulling the rocket off of the spindle.  There are
photos in the article which show that this artist has lost a hand.  
Unverified oral rumor from a fellow performance artist in the bay area
stated that the fuel was a chlorate/S/sugar mix...   the latter may be
totally false rumor, but it would help link JRCB with this artist, since
the JRCB has just such a deathwish fuel in it.

Of course, this is all speculation, innuendo, and some communication in
perfectly spoofable e-mail.  For all we know the author of the Jolly Roger
may be dead, healthy, incarcerated, in congress ... who knows??????  And at
this point, I am not sure we can ever be sure.


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If I was smart, I'd have a clever .sig