Peckerwood Manor

Greetings, Manor Hors! Periodically, "The Roving Pecker" presents urgent missives from filthy esteemed guest writers. Today's is from Raincoaster! Enjoy.  § The "Red Market," it’s called. Like many of the darker places on the internet, it’s not really somewhere you want to end up. Not that you have much say about it by the time you get there: you’ll be dead. Yo u’ll be...inventory.  For the Red Market, you see, is the online marketplace in human remains. For art . For morbid philosophizing. For collecting. But also for birthday gifts . For decor. But most of all, for profit . This is the story of that marketplace, as told in the book These Were People Once: The Online Trade in Human Remains, and Why It Matters from Berghahn Books. "These were people, once. Now, disarticulated, robbed from their resting place, the remains were relegated to anonymous things, fragments, stripped of their humanity." Huffer and Graham, These Were People Once Damien Huffe

There are many reasons that DeShawn is known as "The Lucky Duck." Residing at Gamahuche Lake - one of many fine tributaries abutting the Manor - he's famed for his superstitious beliefs. Yes, that clattering from the kitchen you heard last week was DeShawn, who routinely hurls and breaks dishes for good fortune. If you have flowers in your room, you already know that DeShawn will fervidly waddle forth and remove or add flowers from your vases, since there must be an even number. And I don't even need to remind you of the conniption fit he threw when Raincoaster forgot to wear polkadots to last New Years' Eve gala, as he'd ordered us all to do.  But maybe there's something to his beliefs. Most ducks live to 5 or 6 years old - 10 years, tops - but DeShawn is a hale and hearty 27. Or maybe he's just smart. Yesterday, Tiana the Tiger was aiming to feast on Confit de Canard de la DeShawn. No such luck for Tiana, since DeShawn had just eaten 12 grapes for go