Simon Sleeps, Simon Says

(not Simon!)

Alex Taylor's "Beasts" series continues with homicidal sleepwalking zombies -- three words I would have heavily wagered to never type together. Alas, they exist, and you can further research them HERE.

Featured in the Gainesville, GA Times, March 8th, 1988, Prof. Taylor tells of a one Simon Fraser. No, not the Jacobite clan chief loosely paralleled in Starz's Outlander TV series; this Fraser had other issues. Best for a bedtime read? You tell me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Beast #1: Read What Thou Wilt

It seems wholly unfitting to publish a column about someone as unChristmas as Aleister Crowley. Somehow, my father managed a mere 500-word column to describe a man who, by Christian standards, is the epitome of evil. To be criminally neutral perhaps, I suppose it depends on one's perspective. Crowley lost me after the first paragraph below. Poor cat!

Professor Taylor includes an overview of Crowley's evil, part of which entails his boasting of ritual sacrifice. Was he indeed a murderer? Maybe not, but he apparently enjoyed the publicity created by such assumptions. You might find this as a common trait among professional provocateurs: Create controversy, leverage the position, profit (or is it "prophet"?).

Originally appeared in the Gainesville Times, March 1, 1988. 

 

*Liner note: Damn you Ozzy Osbourne! I've been mispronouncing Crowley's name all this time because of that song. 

UPDATE 12pm EST 12/24/2019:
The wife and I flip houses as a side occupation. We love rehabbing projects, redecorating, etc., therefore we are always looking for our next. Late yesterday, Maria sent me her list of potentials, and THIS HOME was one of them. Nothing really notable until my jaw dropped upon viewing its 23rd photo. I find coincidence as entertaining as the next person, but this... I mean, what are the odds?

Alex Taylor's Beasts: Part 1

This column isn't about me of course, but if you've ever wondered what sort of childhood I endured, sharing a domicile under the protection of such an intellect, let's just say it was "interesting". 

Originally appearing in the Gainesville Times, February, 23, 1988, Alex Taylor lays out his series that will study the cases of some of the world's worst human beasts. Oh, and before anyone comments on his use of carnivorous humans, remember, this was 1988, and in-context generalities weren't parsed as in today's Inclusive Society of the Offended™. I'm sure most of you get it. 

Love, Mom.

We hear all too much about bad journalists, bad journalism, fake news, yadda yadda... We've also endured the constant castigations of zealous police who've not only overstepped their authority, they've committed atrocities incomprehensible to conventional understanding. When it comes to capital crimes and coverups from our most precious defenders, nothing could be worse. 

Prof. Alex Taylor, a former Tampa Police Department detective, reminds us of a migrant case from Prohibition-era Chicago, 1932, ending during WWII. Originally published in the Gainesville Times, February 16, 1988, we learn of a terrible injustice righted by the love, devotion and suffering of the victim's mother, championed by two dauntless reporters. Additional info HERE.

Liberty of the (op)Press(ed)

I'd label this a timely column given the state of liberties taken with journalism lately. Such arguments, it seems, have always been in play.

Originally published in the Gainesville Times, February 9, 1988. Alex Taylor shares the birth of a U.S. freedom.

 

"It's not libel if it's the truth!" ~Anon

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