Tag Archives: cult
Kool-Aid Cult
Rev. Jim Jones at an anti-eviction rally Sunday, January 16, 1977 in front of the International Hotel, Kearny and Jackson Streets, San Francisco Photo by Nancy Wong This weekend we observed the 40th anniversary of the mass murder/suicide tragedy at Jonestown in Guyana. The utopian cult lead by the the charismatic Jim Jones had its [...]
Back Through Heaven’s Gate
The comet Hale-Bopp was visible to the naked eye in the second half of 1996 but it disappeared into sunlight before re-emerging to the visible eye for the entirety of 1997, becoming the brightest object in the sky in the spring of that year. I remember going out night after night to spot the comet [...]
Sounds of Scientology
Religion is a lot of things, but most obviously we can distinguish one sect, order, school or institution from another through their trappings: robes, candles, books, paintings, statues, gestures, poses and music. Music is central to faiths all over the world – songs are emissaries of religious stories, time capsules of historical events and they [...]
Celebrating Ed Wood
Continuing our string of spooky October posts, today we celebrate the birthday of filmmaker Ed Wood who was born on October 10, 1924. Wood died of a heart attack at the age of 54, but first he made a series of science fiction and monster films that weren’t so much scary as they were scary-bad. [...]
