Maybe you missed all of this. No one would be surprised.

Evidently, a bunch of folks on Reddit got to discussing some of the various photographs of the Boston Marathon crowd, and began to see some suspicious similarities and odd behaviors in a few people in the crowd. They took their stab at some amateur sleuthing, and began to circle candidates and draw lines to interesting aspects. Before long, the best of the photos were posted up to 4Chan, and the armchair analysts made a fair case that more than a couple of folks need to be checked out.

Of course, the respectable news services—when they weren’t making spurious announcements that the bitter, lone wolf, white, domestic, right-wing extremist behind this was arrested and on his way to jail—decided this whole Reddit/4Chan thing was a load of laughable crap and cautioned people not to take any of this seriously.

Yeah. Well, know who did take it seriously? The FBI and other law enforcement agencies who reviewed the 4Chan photos and found that at least one of their subjects exactly matched up with a guy they were zeroing in on from a Lord & Taylor surveillance camera. And the quality of the photos was good enough to base an APB on.

Truly it is a matter of time, even mere days.

As if that weren’t enough, you probably heard that some whackjob sent some ricin-filled letters to a US Senator and the President of the United States. A third letter was intercepted by the FBI on its way to an unidentified Mississippi individual. Not many leads, unfortunately, so the FBI revealed the contents of the letter to the public, hoping someone could identify the author by his signature of “KC.” Every letter contained the phrase “To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance,” followed by &#147I am KC and I approve this message.”

Not quite as stymied, a blogger decided to try something that is not being included in the official press releases. She googled that statement about exposing wrongs and found it was a quote from a chiropractor. Following that quote, she was surprised to see the same quote on another page—this time being quoted by someone else in an argument to an individual curiously named Kevin Curtis, out of Mississippi.

Too perfect a coincidence; the blogger than googled Kevin Curtis and discovered he was, among other things, a professional Elvis impersonator and—figures—a proud Democrat. And on his Facebook page, she saw the phrase &#147I am KC and I approve this message.” More damning—elsewhere on his Facebook tabs was that same quote from the chiropractor. Further sites found that Mr. Curtis was quite fond of both phrases, and sprinkled them all over his various posts and rants.

The blogger contacted The Blaze for advice, who assured her credit for the story but requested they take it from there. Using some more substantial source checking and conference with law enforcement, turns out she got him. Curtis was arrested shortly after, where law enforcement also learned that Curtis has an imagined hatred of the Senator.

Seriously, law enforcement might want to check into this Internet thing. Seems to be producing results.

Update: It must be noted that the FBI has cleared two of the more prominent individuals in the 4Chan photographs; it is possible that two others have been cleared, although the FBI’s main suspects are indeed in the photos.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.