The terrorist attacks in Paris plunged France, as well as the western world, into a state of shock, jitters and defiance. From the opening salvos of this strike, security analysts have now begrudgingly acknowledged that this terrorist cell, however small, acted with the coordinated precision of a trained tactical unit. It began at 11:30 AM […]
The Yorkshire Ripper: a study in stellar forensics
Peter Sutcliffe, aka The Yorkshire Ripper, terrorized the north of England in and around the cities of Leeds and Manchester from 1975 until 1980. The case received sensational press coverage in its day and was both a burden and embarrassment for the British police services which, in the pre-computer era, had at one point dedicated […]
Lady Gaga rides a big snake
Even from her earliest days as a performance artist and musician, Lady Gaga was deemed to be too provocative and eccentric. Which only goes to show, if you just stick with what youâre good at, you can make it work. Lady Gaga recently revealed her birth time on her Twitter feed, so that means about […]
FELONIOUS MONK: book review by Horoscope Guide
This review first appeared in HOROSCOPE GUIDE, August 2014, and is reprinted here with the permission of editor and reviewer Ken Irving: ~~~~~~~~~ A little over two years ago I reviewed a mystery novel called Scorpio Rising, by Alan Annand. This title was actually the first in what he calls his âNew Age Noirâ series, […]
Vedic Astrology & Career Selection
Career Selection As an astrologer, if youâre capable of addressing the perennial issues of relationship and career, your own career success is assured. In ancient times, choosing a career was relatively simple, and in India at least it was laid out along the lines of the caste system. If you were a Brahmin, youâd be […]
The cliché of Mercury retrograde thinking
As an author I try to be mindful of clichés and avoid them like the plague. Clichés include phrases like: think outside the horoscope, kill two Geminis with one stone, take the Taurus by the horns, etc. Weâve seen these word-groups so many times theyâve become stock communications devices, comfortable crutches we can lean on […]
SCORPIO RISING: book excerpt 4.18
This chapter finds astrologer Axel Crowe in New York, where his vaastu consultation for a wealthy womenâs-wear designer is interrupted by a frantic call. The sister of his longstanding client Kevin Blaikie has been murdered in an apparent street mugging gone sideways. Crowe goes to the billionaireâs Central Park condo to consider the case. ~~~~~~~~~ […]
SCORPIO RISING: book excerpt 3.12
In this third excerpt, taken from Chapter 12 of SCORPIO RISING, we continue to follow the steps of astrologer Axel Crowe who, after 14 years of strict tutelage under his fierce Tantrik guru, is cast off to swim on his own. ~~~~~~~~~ Axel Crowe rode the streetcar from Queen Street West across the city to The […]
SCORPIO RISING: book excerpt 2.9
A couple of years ago I wrote SCORPIO RISING, the first book in my New Age Noir mystery series. In Scorpio Rising, criminal profiler Axel Crowe investigates the killing of a New York heiress, and discovers her death is linked to two other murders on the same day: a dot-com millionaire in San Francisco, and the team leader […]
Robin Williams’ divine spark of madness
Eclipses have an awesome capacity to plunge us into darkness, leaving us wondering what the hell happened. In the wake of Robin Williamsâ suicide, such is the collective state of mind of fans throughout the western world. If there was one word to describe Robin Williams, it might have to be manic. As far as […]