Ed Kemper

 

I'm still not reading as much as I would like to, so I made a trip to the bookstore a week ago, thinking if I bought some new books that would help. Because the 2,000 books I already own that I haven't read aren't inspiring me. It actually worked though, so money well spent!

I first heard of Big Ed Kemper on Netflix's show Mindhunter (are we going to get a season 3? I really hope so). Kemper was known as the Co-ed Killer, he used to pick up hitchhiking school aged girls in the Santa Cruz area, murder them, and then have sex with their corpses, including their severed heads. Ed murdered his grandparents, who he was living with, when he was 15 and was sent to Atascadero State Mental Hospital. Kemper has a high IQ and was basically able to game the system. The doctors pronounced him cured and let him go, later on further compounding their grievous error by expunging his juvenile records which allowed him to buy guns. Hey, cool. Ed had severe Mommy issues: he ended up killing his mom (and having sex with her corpse, ew) and her friend one night and then ran. For some bizarre reason, he got halfway across the country and then stopped, called the cops back home, confessed to his crimes, and waited for someone to come and get him. No one had even discovered his mom and her friend yet. If only all serial killers were as obliging, am I right? 

Kemper is still in prison, where he's been since 1973. Great use of taxpayer money, California. Seriously. This guy is a complete and utter nutbar. He's sick. Necrophilia and cannibalism and God only knows what else. Just ick. I enjoyed the book though, Matera has a really great writing style and I felt guilty for laughing out loud, since the subject matter was so disgusting and sad and dark. 

Dancing with Myself

 

I'm obsessed with Billy Idol.

I have no idea why, really. I mean, yeah, he's totally cool and makes awesome music. But for the last several months, he's pretty much all I've listened to. I spend hours every day watching his videos on YouTube (and not reading, so there you go). Oh well. Eventually, it will pass :)

Billy started out a punk rocker with the band Generation X and moved on to a solo career. Billy really epitomized the decade of the 80s: more, more, more. Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll nearly killed him a dozen times. He lost the love of his life because he couldn't stop himself from stepping out on her. He spent days, weeks, months, years, high as a kite. At one point his father came over from England, determined to get him off drugs. He was in a horrific motorcycle accident in 1990 and nearly lost his leg (and his life). 

Billy's a survivor, though, with an interesting perspective on life. He's still making great music (his latest single, "Bitter Taste" dropped a few months ago, and it's fabulous). Still trying to be a good dad and granddad (Billy Idol as a grandfather kind of blows my mind). It was a very interesting look at a life of excess but also the knowledge gleaned from learning from your mistakes. 

Now do yourself a favor and go listen to "Rebel Yell" :)