Joan of Arc, Heath Ledger, and Snoop Dogg

Thirteen people died in a fire late Friday [August 5, 2016] night in northern France when fire broke out in a bar full of patrons celebrating someone's birthday, according to reports. The fire was started by an accidental explosion in a bar known as Au Cuba Libre in the town of Rouen in Normandy.

The number of dead climbed to 13 on early Saturday, according to Paris-Normandie, a local news website.

At least six people were wounded, according to reports.

The bar was full of young people celebrating someone's birthday, officials said. (We are waiting for the release of the victims' names and will update this info.)

Tom Mellet shared the following:

This explosion at the Cuba Libre bar in Rouen, France is quite sympropinquitous because its location is exactly 4.00 miles NNW of the Church of Saint Etienne du Rouvray where the Catholic priest was murdered at Mass 10 days ago.
Both the church and the bar are very close to the left bank of the Seine River which really snakes through that area of France.
The name of the bar Le Cuba Libre is not a political sentiment, but rather the name of a drink, the one that we in the USA call a “Rum and Coke.” It was invented in 1901 in Havana by American sailors during the Spanish-American War
The bar was located on Avenue Jacques Cartier, named for the great 16th C French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France.
The 13 fatalities were all young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who were celebrating a Reunion-themed birthday party in the basement.

Joan of Arc was executed in Rouen in 1431. (h/t to Andrew B.)

A new update on the cause of the fire and more from Tom Mellet:

There was no explosion. Birthday candles on a cake started the fire.
Report from a French official:

 . . . the fire was completely accidental. There was no explosion . . . Candles on a birthday cake started the fire after the person who carried it tripped on the stairs leading to the basement” . . . sound-insulating material on the basement's walls quickly ignited and party guests had no time to escape from the basement.

All 13 fatalities were young people between the ages of 18 and 25. They probably all died from smoke inhalation, not burns, as did a 19 year old woman named Joan on May 30, 1431 at a location in Rouen across the Seine River exactly one-half mile!!! north of the Cuba Libre bar at a place called Vieux Marché (the Old Marketplace). 

This proximity is such a tight sympropinquity that I will now measure distance in yards, not miles.

From the Cuba Libre bar, walk 220 yards North on Jacques Cartier Ave. to arrive at the left bank of the Seine River where you cross the Joan of Arc Bridge for 150 yards to reach the right bank where the name becomes Joan of Arc Street. Proceed 500 yards north, make a left on Rue Rollon for 220 yards and you arrive at the spot of Le bûcher the stake where Joan met her fate.

Eyewitnesses described the scene of the execution by burning on 30 May 1431. Tied to a tall pillar at the Vieux-Marché in Rouen, she asked two of the clergy, Fr Martin Ladvenu and Fr Isambart de la Pierre, to hold a crucifix before her. An English soldier also constructed a small cross that she put in the front of her dress. After she died, the English raked back the coals to expose her charred body so that no one could claim she had escaped alive. They then burned the body twice more, to reduce it to ashes and prevent any collection of relics, and cast her remains into the Seine River. The executioner, Geoffroy Thérage, later stated that he "greatly feared to be damned.” Source.

Where have we seen a “tall pillar” before? And in relation to the French? Yes, the tall red pole pictured on Loren's post here from July 17 that represents the discovery by the French explorers in 1699 which gave the name to the capital city of Louisiana: Baton Rouge.

Au Cuba Libre is close to a bakery, as we can see in one of the photographs from the incident. (h/t JP)

Rouen (Latin: Rotomagus) is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandyduring the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries.

In the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale, the protagonist William Thatcher (played by Heath Ledger) poses as a noble and competes in his first jousting tournament at Rouen.

------
On the Facebook page, The Kitchen Sync, Eddie Lin wrote:

David Patrick and I were discussing Leto and LEDGEr / joker earlier...
"The incident in Camden on Friday night sent fans over the LEDGE"
I was writing 'Hanging over the LEDGE' comparing Leto Joker's tattoo and Bale's Machinist drawing - the Hangman

------

Camden's Ledge

Snoop Dog, a/k/a Snoop Lion was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr.

At least 42 people were injured when a fence collapsed during rapper Snoop Dogg’s concert in New Jersey Friday night, authorities said.

The incident in Camden on Friday night (August 5, 2016) sent fans over the ledge at the outdoor BB&T Pavilion around 10:25 p.m. ET, fire officials said.

Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were performing at the time.

Joan of Arc fought under a flag with a lion on it; Heath was in a 1997 tv series Roar; Snoop now goes by Snoop Lion (after Lion of Judah). ~ Johnny Walsh

Normandy: 3 Dead in Church Hostage Incident

A hostage, said to be the priest, was killed by attackers, who stormed a church in the town of Saint Etienne du Rouvray at around 9am this morning local time. The location is in Normandy, France.

The coat-of-arms for Saint Etienne du Rouvray, above, shows two leopards.

Unconfirmed reports said the victim had his throat slit by the armed men, who were shot dead by police officers as they emerged from the church.

Between four and six people were held by the attackers, including the pastor, two nuns and several worshippers.

Initially, it was reported the priest was cut, but later local media discuss this as a beheading.

The priest was Jacques Hamel. Hamel means hameau/hamlet.
Hamel-in ?! ~ JP

Meantime, a shooting has occurred in a Berlin hospital, with one doctor killed and the assailant dying by suicide.

Jihad means "holy war." It appears this is what war looks like in the 21st century.