James W. Moseley 1931-2012

James W. Moseley was the publisher of Saucer News which eventually became Saucer Smear.
There are a number of tributes to the passing of Jim online:

www.notaghost.com...

www.mojomachine.net...

copycateffect.blogspot.com...

reply to post by CardDown
Bloody hell?!

I liked his attitude and the amount of time he dedicated to ufology and all its characters - ufoology as he called it.

He'd likely baulk at the sentiment, but he was easily a stalwart of the scene throwing custard pies at the idiots and fools from his typewriter at Saucer Smear.

Later on I'm going to dig out a couple of his interviews and smile.

Every arena of study needs a Jim Mosely. Even the oldest of the Saucer Smear articles are a hoot to read!

Beamed Up but Not Forgotten.

It dawned on me that many people might not know who Jim Moseley was as he was very much someone on the outside of the inside of ufology....something like that.

Greg Bishop's Radio Misterioso show has featured several interviews with Moseley over the years with this being the last...

Anyone who has been in the UFO biz for even a little while knows about the legendary Saucer Smear zine. What started out as a small and fairly serious newsletter over 50 years ago has evolved into the publication of record for all of the arguments, infighting and feuds amongst researchers and others in the field. Balanced with Moseley’s sharp humor and eye for a good story, Smear remains the only UFO publication that is eagerly awaited and read from start to finish as soon as “nonsubscribers” get their copies in the mail, usually about once a month.

Jim Moseley: Saucer Smear and other Foibles

The interview can be downloaded with a 'right-click' from here. It was a good interview but iirc the sound was a little up and down.

Another good interview was with the Paracast show. He did quite a few with Steinberg and Biedny and it's remember exactly which one was the best. The one I'm thinking of should be this one here from 2006. If it's the one I'm thinking of, Jim recounted a tale of an early ufologist who had allegedly had 'relations' with a sheep and had defended his encounter on the grounds that the sheep was female!

The good thing about Moseley was his ongoing belief that there was a real phenomenon at work and that it was buried beneath mountains of BS, lies and foolishness. The reputation that was thrust on him was that of a debunker or someone whose purpose was to heap scorn on ufology. He was that alright and yet he was still a nuanced man with the ability to hold several concepts at the same time.

People like to hold to the belief of an x% of sightings reports being genuine and their numbers vary greatly. *If* that's true then the remaining reports were, and are, BS. It seems to me that Moseley could consider that small percentage and still have a lot of fun highlighting the endemic silliness that formed the rest.

Here's a Jim Moseley scrapbook in the making:
Blue Blurry Lines: James W. Moseley 1931- 3012
Contains newspaper articles, photos and videos- more to come...

Originally posted by CardDown


James W. Moseley was the publisher of Saucer News which eventually became Saucer Smear.
There are a number of tributes to the passing of Jim online:

www.notaghost.com...

www.mojomachine.net...

copycateffect.blogspot.com...

I used to visit Jim in his Fifth Avenue Office and in 1978 he invited me to his annual UFO party. Below is the notice in SAUCER PHONE of the night's activities and who attended. I'm mentioned in the 3rd photo. I still have this copy of SAUCER PHONE, which evolved into SAUCER SMEAR. Jim was one of the good guys in UFOlogy and he will be sorely missed, as well as Karl Pflock.

Yep, Mosely will be missed. Maybe now he's getting some of the answers be's been seeking. His wit and humor and his ability to not take others or himself too seriously were a treasure, a bright spot in this confusing field of ufology. He was the quickest to point out when the Emperor had no clothes...

The Paracast will be doing a tribute show this Sunday with Gene & Chris, Jerome Clark, Tim Beckley,Alan Greenfield and others...

I hope the interdimensional aliens took Moseley for a ride around the universe before taking him to the Purgatory HQ. He might spend some time in that resort before lifting him to the highest planes of Heaven. Ah, ufology will miss ye olde editor and Supreme Commander! One miracle I would tremendously enjoy now would be a new issue of Saucer Smear - "miscellaneous ravings" and "tidbits of trash" from the other side. Rest in peace old man. Be blessed you and your chuckling typewriter for keeping ufology sane and buttkicked.

Remembering Jim Moseley (1931-2012), the Voltaire of American Ufology by Antonio Huneeus

Just as I returned from a two-week trip to Chile I found the sad news that my old friend the “Supreme Commander” James W. Moseley, better known as Jim Moseley, had passed away...

Can't link it, but see the story and photos at
www.(nolink)/remembering-jim-moseley-1931-2012-the-voltaire-of-american-ufology/

I was personal (long distance) friends with Jim for a number of years, but I had stopped communicating with him about 4 years ago. (He ticked me off re. something personal) but he -loved- his best'est friend (like a brother) Gray Barker. Now, him and Gray are sitting somewhere in a beautiful universe, laughing it up.

Edit To Ad
I went and saw that The Paracast roundtable memorium show is ready for listening.

Jim Moseley's colleague from the "Saucer News" days, Gene Steinberg, put up a memorial page shortly after Jim's death. Initially it was just a placeholder, but now the site has gone live. It's still a bit rickety and the content is uneven, but it looks like things are rolling.

Take a look, I've got a hand in this, and hope for the site to be more than just a big obituary. Jim was a fun guy, but also made some serious contributions to the field, and this will be a place to remember him and share that work.

JAMES W. MOSELEY, REMEMBERED