Daisy Erie Campbell announces tour dates

Daisy Eris Campbell has announced tour dates for her one-woman show about coming to terms with her famous father's legacy (i.e., Ken Campbell, who mounted a theatrical production of Illuminatus!)

The dates:

May 16th, 7pm - Boscoe Tent, Brighton Festival, Brighton
June 15th, 7.30pm - Ebenezer Presents, Aller, Somerset
June 23rd, 7.30pm - Kunst Gallery, Belper, Derbyshire
August 31st, 7.30pm - The British Library, London
September 9th, 5pm - The Hub, Leeds

For information on tickets and further details, please go here. 

Thursday links

"The Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, Lebanon, ca. 150 AD. This stunning Roman temple, still very well preserved, is actually larger than the Parthenon of Athens." Source. 

Adam Gorightly's five Discordian rituals. 

Not from Illuminatus! The U.S. government once planned false flag attacks using Soviet aircraft. 

""We had recently become aware that Robert Anton Wilson was available to  speak. He was touring around, setting up speaking engagements in a  really cheap DIY operation — it wasn’t through an agency or anything like that. He was available to speak for $500" Source from Mondo 2000

More JFK files are supposed to be released soon. Jesse Walker article from October, but the deadline is April 26. Of course, the federal government always honors its own rules.

Alex Tabarrok on Facebook.

Why not use this approach to war? 

New book on John Dee

Jason Louv of Ultraculture has a new book out, John Dee and the Empire of Angels: Enochian Magick and the Occult Roots of the Modern World.

Dee, an Elizabethan scientist and occultist, is mentioned numerous times in Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger. 

The book has picked up some nice endorsements from the likes of Douglas Rushkoff and Mitch Horowitz.

Rushkoff: "John Dee is the original Elizabethan mage-scientist, who invented the British Empire and invested it with magical power. He is to Elizabeth what Merlin was to Arthur, except he was real. Here’s the original technology of weaponized memes, psyops, and empire building in a gripping, authoritative account of how and why we became an occult society.”

Horowitz: “Any biographical treatment of John Dee must be nothing less than epic--and Jason Louv has gloriously achieved this in John Dee and the Empire of Angels, a truly comprehensive, broad-spectrum, and lavishly beautiful historical study of the master magus and the counter-current of secret history Dee launched into the world, which has affected us all.”

On Twitter, Horowitz also wrote, "A truly epic work of historicism on John Dee from @jasonlouv. I cannot imagine it being surpassed. Part of the renaissance in occult letters."

What are your reading habits?

As this blog is be definition aimed at readers, I am will share some of my habits and invite you to share yours.

I tend to know 3-4 books in advance what I'm going to read, at least for fiction, although I sometimes will deviate from the immediate plan; I am currently reading the first Iain Banks "Culture" novel, Consider Phlebas (also occupied by a couple of nonfiction, one as an audiobook); next I will read the latest Ada Palmer, Will to Battle, which got put off because I was so busy with Prometheus Award fiction; then the new Richard Powers novel, The Overstory, and then (probably) the two Robert Shea "Saracen" books, Land of the Infidel and The Holy War.  I read The Fellowship of the Ring last year and want to continue re-reading The Lord of the Rings. I am looking forward to the new batch of Robert Anton Wilson books coming soon from Hilaritas.

Finding something to read is seldom an issue for me; it's more an issue of what I will squeeze in next. Still, I try to keep up with what's out there. I look at book reviews in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, in The Week magazine and other sources.

My habit is to become very interested in a writer and explore his or her work. For years, I've read each Richard Powers novel as it came out. I'm trying to keep up with Ada Palmer, who seems to me as the most interesting new SF writer. After two more books, I will run out of unread "Culture" books.

Pale Fire online reading group, Week 14

I recently finished Brian Boyd's Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery. Boyd, an English professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, arguably has no peer as a living Nabokov scholar and gives a close reading of the book. He convincing demonstrates that the book has clear references to works such as Shakespeare's Timon of Athens, Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake, Robert Browning's Pippa Passes, T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets and "The Waste Land," and other works. If you don't think reading an entire book of literary criticism can be entertaining, Boyd's book might change your mind.

In the bulk of the book, Boyd discusses the theory that I also have endorsed, that the actual author is V. Botkin, an offstage minor character, who invents both Charles Kinbote and the exiled Zemblan king and who commits suicide after writing his deranged commentary.

In the last part of the book, Boyd offers a further theory that the ghosts of John Shade and his daughter, Hazel -- shades of the Shades -- helped inspire the composition of the book. For those who think that it's an unlikely theory, Boyd discusses "The Vane Sisters", a short story which features an acrostic that has a message from two sisters who have died. (Nabokov had to point out the acrostic after The New Yorker magazine rejected the story.)

Incidentally, Brian Boyd knows who Robert Anton Wilson is, or at least has heard the name.

I wrote to him recently, noting that I could find only very expensive copies of his book about Nabokov's Ada and asking for an ebook edition. I mentioned my blog and the online reading group for Pale Fire and explained that I usually write about Robert Anton Wilson.

Professor Boyd pointed to me to where I could find an ebook of his Nabokov's Ada: The Place of Consciousness, and pointed out his free Ada website, which has very detailed annotations on the novel. He ended, "Enjoy, and keep blogging. I have very little time to read for pleasure but I'll keep my antenna alert for more on RAW."

Looking ahead to the next reading group: California author, English teacher, Jeopardy game show champ and RAW scholar Eric Wagner has volunteered to lead an online discussion group at this blog focusing on Joseph Kerman's classic study, The Beethoven Quartets. Expect discussion that will included Beethoven and the book, but also Robert Anton Wilson's deep interest in Beethoven.

"I plan to write weekly pieces on the Kerman Beethoven book starting August 6, with the official group beginning August 13 and running eighteen weeks until December 10," Eric says.


About the Kerman book, Eric says, "I gave copies of this book to both Robert Anton Wilson and Rafi Zabor. I took a copy of it with me when I appeared on Jeopardy."

Eric is the author of An Insider's Guide to Robert Anton Wilson.

I expect to be able to check my copy of the Kerman book out of the excellent local library system I use, renewing it as necessary -- that's what I did with the Brian Boyd book -- but I'm putting the reminder up here to give the rest of you time to make necessary arrangements.

And what should we do beyond? The answer, I think, comes from Hilaritas Press, which has new editions coming out soon of the three "Historical Iluminatus" books and then will do the two Cosmic Trigger sequels. They would certainly be a good focus for online discussions.

A nod toward the Noid

The latest podcast from Studio 360 (a joint public radio/Slate show) opens with a 15-minute segment about the Dominos pizza Noid TV ad campaign in the 1980s. It was a popular ad campaign that had a cult following, but there's a sad footnote to it: A man named Kenneth Lamar Noid who suffered from mental illness viewed the ad campaign as a personal attack. He took two pizza employees hostage at a Georgia Dominos location, demanding money, pizza and a plane ride before surrendering to police. No one was hurt. Noid committed suicide several years later.

The Robert Anton Wilson connection: One of Noid's demands was a copy of The Widow's Son. The podcast mentions the title of the book but does not give the name of the author or any other further details.

BTW the podcast was pretty good and I plan to try other episodes. The podcast is available on iTunes and the usual podcasting apps.

Hat tip: Michael Johnson.

A few comments about Syria

Dennis Kucinich, announcing his campaign for governor of Ohio. (Photo I took covering the announcement.) The woman in blue is his wife, Elizabeth, who's from London.

With the recent military strike in Syria by the U.S. and its allies, it seems appropriate to say something here, given Robert Anton Wilson's long antiwar stance.

I've long been opposed to American military involvement in Asia, like everyone in the U.S. antiwar movement. But it seems like the new strikes are particularly dangerous. How would a war with Russia be in anyone's interest?

If I can try to find something positive in the current situation, I would like to point out that there are people who agree that President Trump's military action was illegal and unwise. They don't hold power, they go up against a bipartisan consensus, but they are there.

Dennis Kucinich, my former Congressman, is now running for governor of Ohio. He issued a statement today. It begins, "President Trump acted without congressional authorization in ordering a military attack against Syria tonight. This is a clear violation of the United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8 which makes it clear that only Congress has the power to declare war."

He also said, "The President’s confrontation with the Russian military based in Syria endangers American troops stationed there.  There is a danger of a much wider war with both Russia and Iran."

Full statement available here. 

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a nominal Republican, really more of a libertarian, had a good statement on Twitter: "These offensive strikes against Syria are unconstitutional, illegal, and reckless. The next speaker of the House must reclaim congressional war powers as prescribed in Article I of the Constitution. @SpeakerRyan has completely abdicated one of his most important responsibilities." 4,320 retweets as of this morning, which means 4,319 that weren't me.

I could also have quoted Glenn Greenwald and other folks, mostly libertarians and progressives.

We need a viable antiwar movement in this country.

Pyramid power

It would seem there is life in the pyramid design yet. Story here. 

Maybe April 23 is a good day to immanentize the eschaton?

Fox News illustration for the end of the world. 

In an amusing echo of the April 23 references in Illuminatus! comes this Fox News story: "Biblical prophecy claims the Rapture is coming April 23, numerologist says."

"Is the Rapture finally here? One Christian numerologist says a biblical sign strongly suggests it.

"David Meade tells the U.K.'s Daily Express newspaper that on April 23, the sun and moon will be in Virgo, as will Jupiter, which represents the Messiah."

The first paragraph of Illuminatus! places April 1 as the date when the nuclear powers come close to war, and says that the paragraph was written on April 23.

On second thought, with the new Syrian crisis, and the threat of U.S.-Russia confrontation in Syria, maybe this stuff isn't so funny, after all.

Hat tip, "Hagbard Celine," @amoebadesign on Twitter. 

Martin Wagner's Cosmic project

Martin Wagner, who maintains an important site in Austria for his Robert Anton Wilson research (German version here, but also see his English version) has an important new project: A collection of documents that annotate Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger book.

More soon when this launches.

Follow Martin's archive on Twitter. 

RAW inspired antiwar music video

I don't really know much the above other than what I saw on Twitter this morning, so I'll quote the Tweet (from CosmicTriggerthePlay): "Kopyright Liberation Fnord? RAW-inspired video/trailer from the re-mix album out May 23rd, with work inspired by the JAM's 2023 from the 400. This track is by Mark Love/Merk... scratch video by Andy Gell, vocals @OliverSenton as Bob!"

Pale Fire online reading group, Week 13

Next week, in the final entry, I want to talk about Brian Boyd's book, Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery, which I have just finished. But this week, I want to mention another book, The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov, by Andrea Pitzer, an interesting book which I read in January.

I am not sure why Nabokov's history would be "secret," but Pitzer's point is that Nabokov's biography is largely reflected in his fiction.

Andrea Pitzer 

There are many references to mirrors and reflections in Pale Fire, which is a case in point, and in fact there is a chapter on Pale Fire in Pitzer's book.

The killing of John Shade at the end of Pale Fire may be read in at least two ways: (1) Gradus, the assassin from Zembla, attempts to kill King Charles or (2) Jack Grey, the American escapee from the insane asylum, is attempting to kill Judge Goldsworth, who had him put away, and mistakenly kills Shade, who resembles the judge.

In any case, a man his shot dead in the course of an attempted killing of another person, and Pitzer's book describes in detail the fatal shooting of Nabokov's father, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, He was shot to death in 1922 in Berlin by assassins who were attempting to kill someone else (who they failed to even wound.)

Pitzer's book has other instances of how Nabokov's life is reflected in his fiction. For example, Nabokov's wife was Jewish, and anti-Semitism and prejudice in general is a theme that recurs in Nabokov.

Chaos in Britain, and a new book

Ben Graham, from his Twitter account.

Historia Discordia has a guest post by Brenton Clutterbuck, "Chaos in the UK: From the KLF to Reclaim the Streets." It's a history of chaos and Discordianism in Great Britain, told in the form of an interview with Ben Graham, author of A Gathering of Promises: The Battle for Texas’s Psychedelic Music, from the 13th Floor Elevators to the Black Angels and Beyond (Zero Books, 2015).

Much of Ben Graham's work looks like something that would interest sombunall of you, so go here for his website, which includes poetry and journalism, including an interview with Bill Drummond.

Mr. Clutterbuck in a sense buries the lede in his piece -- at the very end, he reveals that his book, Chasing Eris, documenting his worldwide trip to learn more about Discordianism, will be released in May (or thereabouts). (Mr. Clutterbuck went from Australia to much of the U.S. and then on to Britain, although he rightly decided I was too boring to visit, so I've never met him.) I'll have more news on the book as it becomes available.