Strange Angel

Ever heard about the founder of NASA who ran a devil-worshiping sex cult? Strange Angel is a story that, when you read it, you think it has to be fiction. John Whiteside Parsons was an eccentric who, in his short life (spoiler alert: he blew himself up) helped create the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, became a cult leader and summoned a demon woman, got into a court battle with L. Ron Hubbard, and was accused of spying for both the Communists and the Israelis. His life was so astonishing it was made into a HBO TV show: it ran for two… show more.

For my entire life, since I was seven years old, I had one science hero, Leonardo da Vinci. Then I found a true all-pro, planetary weirdo to marvel at, John Whiteside Parsons. Not quite a scientist, more a techno-engineering DYI genius. He really really made things, including himself, go boom. Like Parsons, as a youngster, I loved making explosives from scratch. He was THE pioneer who brought the world into the rocket age. And oh, on the side he was a downtown L.A. sex-crazed occultist.