When the Pentagon spied on Nixon

Richard Nixon in 1972 (public domain photo). 

Robert Anton Wilson used to rail about the national security state and how much power was held by unelected bureaucrats. You can see some of those comments if you search this blog for "National Security Act." See for example, this blog post on John  Barth, where Wilson writes about "the sense of uncertainty and dread that has hung over this nation since democracy was abandoned in the National Security Act of 1947 and clandestine government became official. Sometimes I find it astounding that we have lived under fascism for 40 years while continuing the rituals of democracy .... "

The New York Times recently published a piece by James Rosen (gift link) on the extensive spying the Pentagon carried out on Richard Nixon and his aides.  

The piece, "Seven Pages of a Sealed Watergate File Sat Undiscovered. Until Now," describes how Nixon finally found out about the spying. Nixon did not believe he could prosecute the people responsible and reveal the spying without discrediting the military and having his own secrets revealed, but the two people primarily responsible were sent far away from Washington, D.C., and were wiretapped.

Rosen writes, "The Joint Chiefs’ spying formed only one prong of the campaign against Nixon, the most spied-on president in modern times. Declassified documents and scholarship published since 1974 have established that the F.B.I., under its director, J. Edgar Hoover, spied on Mitchell, the attorney general, and that the C.I.A. detailed its personnel to various units associated with Nixon, including the Watergate burglary team and 'components intimately associated with the office of the president,' as the agency admitted in 1975."

A fan writer's tribute to Arthur Hlavaty

Cover for Dillinger Relic 23, one of Arthur Hlavaty's zines posted at Fanac.org. 

Andy Hooper, a prominent science fiction fan who writes a lot about fanzines and fannish history, has justed posted a good tribute/obituary for Arthur Hlavaty. Arthur was a BNF, a "big name fan," nominated many times for the Hugo Award for best fan writer, although many of us knew him as a friend of Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson and the founder of The Golden APA. 

Hooper mentions that he went through a number of Arthur's zines as he was working on the piece. As the Hugo nominations imply, they are well worth reading. Many of his zines are available at Fanac.org.  At one section of the site, they are alphabetized by editor; scroll down in the H section. From the zine pictured above: "Then someone else called up to report that he just read ILLUMINATUS last week, and he's already started hanging out with witches and smoking hash. Some people are just fast learners."

Hooper's piece mentions "Goldencon, a 1980s gathering of Illuminati fandom," does anyone have any more information? 

Danny Robinson's Patreon

The Headies. From left: Grant Robinson - keyboards and vocals, Todd Purse - drums, Danny Robinson - vocals and guitar, Billy Frolic - guitar and vocal and Justin Vavala - bass guitar. Yes, it's the same Todd Purse who is the 'Tales of Illuminatus' artist. 

Danny Robinson, who made a soundtrack album for Tales of Illuminatus No. 2 as "Danny and the Darlings," now has a Patreon. As Bobby Campbell says, he's "he's sharing demos, shop talk, lyric sheets, background lore, and vegetarian recipes as he endeavors to get his forthcoming album pressed on vinyl!"

Here is more information on the soundtrack album; you can read my interview with him and you can read up on his new punk rock opera. 

Rock album includes 'Illuminatus!' song [UPDATE]

I did not hear about it at the time, but in 2019 the Philadelphia rock band Eye Flys released the EP Context. And as Bobby Campbell mentioned in his latest newsletter, the album includes the track "The Triumph of Hagbard Celine." As with most Bandcamp tracks, you can check out the song before deciding whether to buy it. I had trouble making out some of the lyrics, but I did hear "submarine" and "immantize the eschaton" and other words.

"This is an album of commanding, lean noise rock absolutely brimming with vitriol," says the band, describing its music. More information here.  

Update: Please help Bobby with the lyrics; see the comments. 

Does Hagbard Celine shave? Maybe!

 

In his latest newsletter, "By Hagbard's Beard," Bobby Campbell explains how he wrestled with a particular question with his Tales of Illuminatus! comic book adaptations: Does Hagbard Celine have a beard or is he clean shaven? I'll let you follow the link for Bobby's solution!

Lots of other interesting news and bits at the link, don't forget to click through Bobby's links! For example, Bobby is working on his plans for a Maybe Day event on July 23 in Berkeley, California: "I've been scouting venues and bugging the locals. Speaking it into existence one step at a time :)))"

Technical difficulties at RAW Fans Germania

 

Robert Anton Wilson Fans Germania is an excellent website of RAW material maintained by Martin Wagner. The main website is currently down because of technical difficulties. Martin is addressing this, but in the interim, please use the site archive. 

Mass market paperbacks are going away

 

A fascinating article in the New York Times details a major cultural shift for readers -- mass market paperbacks are going away. Of course, the Illuminatus! trilogy originally was published as a trio of mass market paperbacks.

I used to buy many mass market paperbacks. I still have my original paperbacks of Illuminatus! But nowadays, when I buy a cheap book, it's an ebook. I have hundreds of books on my Kindle, most of them purchased on sale for a couple of bucks or so. Mass market paperbacks used to be the easiest way to be able to read anywhere. But because I have a smartphone, and a Kindle app on my phone, I have a big library I carry everywhere I go. 

What we read last month

What Mark Brown read:

Cocktail Time by P. G. Wodehouse  1/3/2026 
Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin  1/14  
The Night Life of The Gods by Thorne Smith  1/22   
The Charwoman’s Shadow by Lord Dunsany  1/29
Llana of Gathol by Edgar Rice Burroughs  1/31

What I read in January: 

A Kiss for Damocles, J. Kenton Pierce.
Hellenistic Philosophy, John Sellars.
Red Heart, Max Harms.
Beyond Control, Jacob Sullum.
The Fourfold Remedy, John Sellars.
Forged for Destiny, Andrew Knighton.

As usual, the rest of you are invited to post in the comments about what you read last month. 

RAW and his editors

 

Michael Johnson's latest Substack, "Ezra Pound and Robert Anton Wilson and Publishing and Editors," examines RAW's general disdain for the editors he worked with. There are lots of interesting comments to the post. The piece is "part one," and I am really looking forward to part two. 

Bobby Campbell on the Robert Shea anthology

 

One more item, if I may, from Bobby Campbell's latest newsletter: 

"Wanted to make sure I mentioned this wonderful addition to the Illuminatus! canon, an excellently crafted spotlight on co-author Robert Shea. My enthusiastic review is enclosed below:

Meet Bob Shea! The legendary co-creator of Illuminatus!, Hodge to Robert Anton Wilson's Podge, a luminous man of letters, friendly suburban zen buddhist anarchist, and visionary creator of better tomorrows, that you are most welcome to enjoy today!

Tom Jackson has crafted a perfect introduction to Robert Shea's literary labyrinth, a guided tour of his revolutionary ouvré, wherein Shea's unique voice delivers enlightening epiphanies as casually as an old friend discussing the weather.

Make no mistake, the mystic mystery of Illuminatus! continues right here and now!

More on the book here. 

In a comment on my recent post about the latest Hilaritas podcast, podcast host Mike Gathers said the podcast on the Shea book and the Vincent Murphy podcast were two highlights in the 2025 podcasts. I thought the Shea podcast was good, too --- not because I was on it, but because Mike Shea told so many wonderful stories about his father. 

Maybe Day event planned in Berkeley, California, in July

Wilmington Comic Fest at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware 1/10/26

Bobby Campbell's latest newsletter has an announcement that I think deserves a separate blog post, so that it can get a little attention: " I have set my sights on an in-person Maybe Day event in Berkeley, California on July 23, 2026. We'll see!"

I hope this comes together, and of course as I learn more, I will share here. 

Bobby of course is the founder of the annual Maybe Day celebrations on July 23, and the more recent midwinter Maybe Night events. At first, these were online celebrations, but recently Bobby has shifted more toward in-person events, such as his Wilmington Comic Fest conventions. 

I am a big fan of the possibilities of the internet, but there also is something to be said about in-person meetups. I certainly loved my time with Gregory Arnott and Bobby at Confluence in Pittsburgh, and I got to meet up with Gregory and his wife at another Confluence. 

Free 'Tales' webcomic and other Bobby Campbell news

 

In his latest newsletter, Bobby Campbell announces that Tales of Illuminatus No. 2 has now been released as a free webcomic, so that everyone can now read it. Print and digital copies remain available, as the free version likely won't be around forever. 

"I'm super psyched to have this out in the wild, and hopefully catch more folks up on our illuminated tales as we ready the next installment," Bobby says.

Bobby has combined two separate newsletters, previously on Substack, and moved to a new platform,  ghost.io, for a combined newsletter, Gloria Discordia. If you got the previous newsletters you should be getting the new one; otherwise, sign up here. 

I'll have a separate post on some of Bobby's other news, as I don't want it to get lost in the Tales announcement. But you can go ahead and read all about it. 

History lessons

A couple of history offerings that caught my eye, one of possible interest to RAW fans and one  that might interest Robert Shea fans.

RAW was a World War II revisionist, and I recent ran across an announcement from Thaddeus Russell for an online course, "World War II: The Great Blowback," scheduled for Feb. 9-12:

"To most Americans, World War II is the only 'good war'—the one conflict you’re not allowed to question without being accused of bad faith or worse.

"But over the last two decades, a growing number of of scholars has been assembling a very different narrative: that U.S. policy under Franklin Roosevelt turned regional wars into a truly global war, guaranteed the realization of the Holocaust, and was principally responsible for producing the greatest catastrophe in human history.

"This is the new history of the Second World War that I’ll be presenting in a 4-part live course at Unregistered Academy."

More information here.  

While I am open to World War II revisionism, I admit to being cool to the "Allies made Hitler did it" school. Speaking of which, Russell's Substack also has a recent interview with Darryl Cooper. 

Meanwhile, Tyler Cowen recently did a mini-review of Jack Weatherford's  Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China, which covers the period of history in Robert Shea's two Shike novels. Tyler wrote, "A fun and good book, think of it as explaining how Kublai Khan beat Song China but subsequently lost to Japan.  The Ainu play a role in a wide-ranging and still historically relevant story."

Scott Apel's wild novel

I have just finished reading The Uncertainty Principle?, an oddball detective novel (or maybe, as the text says, an "anti-detective novel,") by Robert Anton Wilson's longtime friend, D. Scott Apel. It is quite a wild ride, and I found it hard to stop reading. The hero is private investigator Alec Smart, there are I think three  novels that feature him. 

Several real  people appear in the book under fictional names, including Robert Anton Wilson, Arlen Riley Wilson and Philip K. Dick. Here is one of the descriptions of the RAW character, "Timothy Aleister Finnegan,":

From my perspective, I stood facing an avuncular guy who couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a writer. He was middle-aged, a few inches shorter than my six feet, but well-matched with his wife. He had a large, round face which tapered down to a pointed gray goatee, and he wore his salt-and-pepper hair slicked straight back against his head. He looked like nothing so much as the unlikely offspring of a cherub and a satyr. He had an infectious smile, accentuated by laugh lines radiating around his sharp blue eyes. In those eyes was a hint of endearing devilishness; a touch of the Trickster. The cherub as confidence man. There's an old joke that says, "After you shake hands with him, be sure to count your fingers." I felt like if I counted mine now I might find six. 

The Uncertainty Principle? is available as a paperback (about $15) and a Kindle ebook (about $1).  I have published a couple of interviews with Scott, here is one. 

John Higgs does David Lynch podcast, makes appearances

 

Want to know more about the new John Higgs book about David Lynch? Check out his podcast on the "Highly Irregular" podcast with host John Bernard. 

More news, including UK appearances to discuss the book, on the latest free issue of his Substack newsletter. There is also a paid tier now, as the newsletter explains. 

RAW talks to Art Bell

 I prepared for my recent podcast with Rasa on Midnight Frequency Radio by listening to much of the above, Robert Anton Wilson's 1997 interview on the Coast to Coast AM late night radio show featuring the late Art Bell. (Carl Richardson, the host of Midnight Frequency Radio, was Bell's brother in law and is still close to Bell's widow and children).

The Art Bell interview is a lot of fun. One reason I liked it is because Bell asks RAW about topics RAW did not usually cover. So, for example, he gets RAW to talk about the Big Bang Theory (the scientific theory, not the TV show) and about oil companies. 

Are we living in a simulation?

 

Illustration by Andrei Castanha on Unsplash

Here is a sentence I liked from Michael Johnson's latest Substack piece, "On the 'Simulation Hypothesis':

“You and I and that wall, that empty bowl of cereal in the sink, the lava lamp, the ‘69 Mets, and Krakatoa, are all just in the mind of God.” 

Many people joined me in thinking Michael's latest was mind-expanding, judging from the large number of comments that it drew. And there's some good stuff on Robert Anton Wilson's theory of perception. 

Oz Fritz on Pynchon's 'Shadow Ticket'

Oz Fritz has written a long blog post on Thomas Pynchon's latest novel, Shadow Ticket, "Magic Realism in Pynchon's Shadow Ticket." ("This post will inevitably contain spoilers," he warns).

Here is a bit to give you an idea:

"Common knowledge in the Pynchon universe holds that his historical novels include some subtext on the present time. Shadow Ticket is set mostly in 1932 when Fascism appeared in the ascendent around the world including the United States. Fascism plays a dominating role in the novel both in the macro geopolitical aspect and with the individual experiences and encounters by the characters. The story's timeline finishes around Christmas 1932. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in January, 1933. The Hitler movement in the U. S. first comes into the picture at the start of chapter 4. Hitler gets blended with Charlie Chaplin's humorous caricature of him from The Dictator followed by a serious portrayal that seems accurate until he's described as someone who "says whatever comes into his head." The real Hitler did not have that trait, he never went off script in his meticulously crafted speeches. This kind of verbal diarrhea clearly fits a contemporary American politician."

I can't summarize everything in the review, but there's an interesting comparison between Pynchon and the likes of Robert Anton Wilson and Vladimir Nabokov. The post ends with "To be continued ..." so keep an eye out for more. 

See also Eric Wagner's review at this blog.  And you can read Peter Quadrino's review, too! 

A Scott Apel book I missed

When I was recording the podcast that I wrote about yesterday, Rasa held up a book for me to see during one of the commercial breaks. It was called Forrest Trump: The Half-Wit and Wisdumb of America's Last President and First Fuhrer. Rasa explained the book is by Scott Apel and told me the introduction was hilarious.

The book, which I'd missed when it came out, is attributed to "Tom Asspain," so I wrote to Scott and asked if I could name his as the author. He gave me the go-ahead.

"When the Cheeto Benito was re-elected in 2024, I felt like I had to perform some act of civil disobedience, not that it would do any good. I decided if I could throw a book like that together in a weekend, I'd do it. My writer/editor/publisher persona took over, however, and I insisted it look good and list all the sources, so it took about a week to assemble. I'm happy with it, but it makes zero difference to the state of politics in Amurikkka today.

"I even sent print copies to Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, Meyers, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart (and every Daily Show host), hoping to get some mention or traction, but all I got is...silence. No response from anyone. C'est la merde."

He added, "When I first published it, I was worried that jackbooted Trumpenazi stormtroopers would track me down and shoot me. But seeing as how that's only happening in Minnesota, I guess I can let my guard down a little.

"I just hope Thomas Paine approves of my stealing his name."

The book is on Amazon (just $1 for the Kindle) and on iBooks.

All about RAW on 'Midnight Frequency Radio'

 Art Bell was a popular nighttime radio DJ who hosted the Coast to Coast AM late night radio talk show for many years. In one of his episodes, he interviewed Robert Anton Wilson.

Carl Richardson -- Art's Bell's brother-in-law -- is the host of a current podcast, Midnight Frequency Radio, that functions as kind of a tribute to Bell. And on a recent show, he had Rasa and I on to talk about Robert Anton Wilson. I've put up a YouTube video but you should also be able to find it on many podcasting apps.

Synchronicity artwork

 

The artwork, above, is “The Buzz” by creationtrip. It was posted on X by Lucid Dreams, with this quote from Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson: “Synchronicity is as universal as gravity. When you start looking you find it everywhere.”

Hilaritas podcasts: John Zerzan and Nick Tharcher

I have two Hilaritas podcasts to mention this time.

The newest, above, is with John Zerzan, here's the description: "Hilaritas host Mike Gathers chats with John Zerzan about anarchist Max Stirner, and John's interest in Anarcho-primitivism, in episode 53 of the Hilaritas Podcast."

With the excitement over Maybe Night, I managed to miss December's podcast announcement, but it sounds like an interesting one: "Hilaritas host Mike Gathers chats with Nick Tharcher, publisher at The Original Falcon Press, about his many years in the publishing of occult books, in episode 52 of the Hilaritas Podcast." Listen here.  I liked Tharcher's first appearance on the the podcast, I'll bet this one is good, too. 

Not too late to listen to the November podcast, on Robert Shea, featuring Mike Shea (with me in a supporting role). Mike tells great stories about his father. 

I've linked to the Hilaritas Press podcast pages, but you should be able to find these episodes on your favorite podcasting app. Fifty three episodes and counting, browse them here. 

Hilaritas releases 'Quantum Psychology' audiobook

One of Robert Anton Wilson's most popular books, Quantum Psychology, is now an audiobook. Here's the announcement from Rasa:

We are kinda astounded at the popularity of our audio books. We've created audio books for Prometheus Rising, and the three Cosmic Trigger books. Now, you have the opportunity to enjoy an audio book of RAW's Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You and Your World. 

Professional voice actor and narrator Zane Acord spent a good part of the last year recording this new audio book. There's a family connection that brought us to Zane. One of the benefits of all the help we get from our RAW Trust Advisors. Click here to see our whole list of Advisors. [Blogger's note: Zane is the son of Gary Acord, a member of the RAW Trust Advisors]. 

Quantum Psychology is one of the more popular titles from RAW. We are always amused by writer John Higgs' comment when asked about his favorite RAW book. He said, 

“O man, favourite RAW book? That’s a shifting target. Although it’s clearly Cosmic Trigger. But occasionally, Prometheus Rising. When it’s not being Cosmic Trigger. Which it always is. Unless it’s Quantum Psychology.”

Click here for more info and links to purchase the Quantum Psychology Audio Book

James Burt performance announcement

British writer James Burt announces a public event:

"I’m performing on February 28th at In a Land Gallery in Hebden Bridge. Also appearing is Rosy Carrick, reading from her new collection; Halifax poet Toria Garbutt; and our friend Lou-Ice, coming from Sweden to perform River love/Ecosexual, which is about “feeling attracted to nature and having sexual or romantic relationships with it”. Lou’s piece is about being in love with a river, wild-swimming, passion and protecting our world.

"I’ll perform a new piece The Haunting of Wuthering Heights, which I am currently working on. It’s about a book that’s also a haunted house.

"Tickets are £5, which is a bargain. You’ll get four performers and Swedish treats. After the show, we’ll pack away the gallery then head down the pub.

"Full details and ticket booking on the In a Land Website."

From James' latest newsletter. 

'Wetwired' podcast on the Illuminatus! trilogy

The Wetwired podcast had Chapel Perilous author Prop Anon/Gabriel Kennedy as a guest for a podcast on the Illuminatus! trilogy. Listen here. 

See the website for Chapel Perilous: The Life & Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson for other interviews and podcasts, including an interview with Grant Morrison.

Scott Alexander on Scott Adams

In a previous post, I referred to Scott Adams as "my Ezra Pound," noting that I wasn't on board with many things he said or did but that I remained a big fan of Dilbert up until Adams' death. That post in turn linked back to an earlier one, about an excellent Robert Anton Wilson essay about Ezra Pound. 

The blogger Scott Alexander has now weighed in with a long piece on why he loved Adams, and the ways in which Adams went off the rails.  And today, that was followed up with highlights of the comments about the piece, with Scott Alexander's replies. 

Timothy Leary's computer games

A video, above, talks about "Timothy Leary's Lost Games." One of them, Neuromancer, is available at the Internet Archive. 

The video and the game link are via RAW Semantics on Bluesky. 

Greek philosophers interacted with Buddhists and Hindus, back in the day

I have already done a blog post on Hellenistic Philosophy by John Sellars.  As I mentioned earlier, it focuses on three main philosophical schools of the period: Skepticism (which sheds light on RAW, himself a philosophical skeptic), Stoicism (currently having a moment) and Epicureanism (a philosophy I am very interested in).

RAW had many interests and a complex philosophy which can't be summed up in a few words, but it is also fair to observe that he was simultaneously interested in currents of Western philosophy but also knew a lot about Eastern philosophies and religions, including Buddhism. As I finished Hellenistic Philosophy, I noticed a nice bonus: A brief but fascinating appendix,  "Looking East," which explores contacts between Greek philosophers and their counterparts in India.

I had  known that the Greek skeptic philosopher Pyrrho had traveled with Alexander the Great's army and reached India (there's a book about this, Greek Buddha by Christopher Beckwith, that I've been meaning to read, as I'm a Beckwith fan), and Sellars mentions the book, and many others that also sound very interesting.

Sellars is careful and cautious, and he isn't convinced that Indian philosophy influenced Greek philosophy in a substantive way, but he also shows there were more contacts between the two groups than one might think.

He mentions, for example, that Ashoka, the famous  Indian Buddhist ruler, "send Buddhist envoys to the land of the 'Yonas' (from 'Ionians,' i.e. Greeks), and it goes on to name the Mediterranean rulers to whom they were sent. Some of these envoys were themselves Greeks who had embraced Buddhism. Indeed, the inscription not only says  that these envoys were sent, but also claims that these areas were successfully conquered by Dharma, Buddhist teaching. In exchange, some of these Hellenistic kings, notably Ptolemy II of Egypt, sent envoys to India. Some have claimed that Buddhist communities developed in the Mediterranean world, with a text by Philo describing an unusual and otherwise unknown monastic community cited as evidence. Others have claimed to have found  Buddhist gravestones in Alexandria." There are other possible encounters cited.

All of this seems fascinating to me, and Sellars names plenty of other books to explore. 

Circling back to RAW, Sellars' book toward the end has this quote from Sextus Empiricus, a famous Skeptic philosopher: "Skeptics are philanthropic and wish to cure by argument, as far as they can, the conceit and rashness of the Dogmatists." 

John Higgs on the counterculture

John Higgs' latest book is about David Lynch.

As I mentioned recently, John Higgs has announced that his Substack will have a paid tier that includes substantial essays and an annual book. There will still be a free newsletter devoted largely to his latest books.

The newsletters with the substantial essays are known as "New Moon Letters," and John has just issued "New Moon Letter 1." As John is still trying to get the news out about his new offering, that first issue is free for everyone to read in full.  John's essay is about the modern counterculture, and how it can function as an alternative to the online world. See also Ted Gioia's recent "state of the culture" newsletter. 

Adam Gorightly's 'Saucers, Spooks and Kooks' now a movie

Adam Gorightly's book, Saucers, Spooks and Kooks, is now a documentary movie, out Jan. 22. Trailer is above. Preorder here.  And there is a Substack newsletter. 

"The film explores how disinformation helped fuel the UFO mythos, and how that fog continues to cloud what we think we know about UAP."

It sounds like the book, which I liked. See my writeup for the book. 

Adam of course also is an important historian of Discordianism. See his official website. 

 

New 'punk rock opera' from Dan Robinson

I've written a bit about Dan Robinson lately, both about the Jukebox Musical album, his official soundtrack album for Tales of Illuminatus No. 2, and an overview of him and his band, the Headies.  He wrote to me announce his new Danny and Darlings solo album, Goddamned Wonderful.

"Just released a new project as Danny and the Darlings.  It’s something I had been working on for awhile, and wasn’t sure when I was going to release it. But with the recent escalation of fascist violence against those living in America, I thought the time was now.  This is an anti-fascist punk rock opera.  40 minutes of protest music, all recorded in my bedroom.

"It’s a story about a regular dude who’s abducted by aliens and is imbued with god-like powers  of unlimited love and all the perks therein.  His message of hope catches on and he eventually gets the attention of the tyrannical right-wing power structure who aim to take out our hero, in the most biblical way possible."

Available on Bandcamp. 

See also Ted Gioia's recent "state of the culture" essay, which argues that Bandcamp is part of "the new counterculture." 

"Substack, Patreon, and Bandcamp give artists around 90% of revenues and total creative control. And other indie channels are in development with similar plans to support creators," he wrote. 

Oz Fritz on what helps him as he battles cancer

Oz Fritz, who has been getting treatment for cancer, reveals in a new blog post what he has leaned on to help with his mental outlook:

"It seems advantageous to keep one's mood and spirits up as one navigates through cancer treatment. This can often prove difficult depending how much pain and discomfort the body experiences; harder too when it drags on for months or years. Everyone finds their own tools and methods to handle the possible depression, anxiety, downerness, fear and pain. I have found Aleister Crowley's The Book of the Law  (Liber Al) an excellent, non-chemical way to alleviate and banish debilitating thoughts and emotions."

More here.

The cancer treatment for Oz seems to be going well and he is in my thoughts. 

My 'Ezra Pound' has died

 

Scott Adams (Creative Commons photo, source).

Robert Anton Wilson was famously able to see the good in reviled people, notably Ezra Pound; as I blogged last year, one of my favorite pieces in A Non-Euclidian Perspective was an early piece about Pound in which RAW wrote:

"To see Pound as he  is -- a man of genius and goodwill, of folly and rage, of love and integrity and hatred and dishonesty -- is to admit that such contradictions can exist in the human personality. That is not a comfortable thought -- it is especially uncomfortable to those of us who are, like Pound, idealists intent on changing the world -- so we prefer to brush it aside and go on playing our life-myth that the universe is one big Western Movie where the 'good guys' (us) are fighting the 'bad guys' (our enemies.)"

There's another good quote at my link to the previous post. 

I certainly didn't like Adams' politics or many of the things he said (this New York Times obit has a selection) but I always loved "Dilbert" and I even subscribed to the paid service offering a "Dilbert" relaunch, I am here posting a few of my favorites. I thought the strip remained funny and topical right up to the end, perhaps your mileage may differ. I also liked his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. I haven't gotten around to his book on framing yet. 

Updates: Last year's reading and Michael Johnson's new RAW series

A couple of updates on recent blog posts.

My end-of-the-year list of the books I read in 2025 has been updated with links. In many cases, I wrote about a particular book, either here or elsewhere.

Michael Johnson has continued a  series on his Substack newsletter that all RAW fans should take a look at. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post,  it began with  "Robert Anton Wilson on Plant Intelligence, (Part One?".  Now we have, in rapid succession, "Robert Anton Wilson and Plant Intelligence: Evoluationary Views and Speculations Beyond Darwin," and then part three, "RAW's Erotic Panpsychic Cosmotheism." Don't skip the footnotes! 

It was nineteen years ago ...

 

I did not remember that yesterday was the anniversary of Robert Anton Wilson's death, at age 74, until after I did Sunday's blog post, but other folks remembered. On Bluesky, RAW Semantics, e.g. Brian Dean, posted the above artwork and wrote, "The incomparable Robert Anton Wilson died on this day (11 January) nineteen years ago. More than ever, read his books!"

Also on Bluesky, Klaster Chaosmos posted a thread which included a photo of a shelf of RAW books and a link to RAW's books at Hilaritas Press. 

Nineteen  years! Certainly RAW hasn't been forgotten, but what can we do to bring him more to the attention of the world at large? 

Sunday links

 

New art from RAW Semantics on Bluesky. Note he is active on Bluesky again. 

Texas A&M bans Plato. 

Bob Weir has died. 

Erich von Däniken has died. 

Tyler Cowen on the best art of the century, so far. 

New movie and book recommendations from Scott Sumner. I really like that guy's blog. 

An interesting philosophy book

I have been reading an interesting book that I had my wife give me for Christmas: Hellenistic Philosophy by John Sellars. 

If you aren't familiar with the term, "Hellenistic" doesn't simply mean "Greek." The Hellenistic period is a specific time of ancient history, from the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) to the death of Cleopatra in 30 B.C. In other words, it covers the time after the heyday of the Greek city state and figures such as Pericles and before the complete Roman takeover of the Mediterranean. The period is when the successors of Alexander ruled a huge swath of territory in southeast Europe, northern Africa and Asia, imposing a Greek speaking elite.

As Sellars explains in his book, the Hellenic period saw the rise of Epicureanism and Stoicism, and a revival and reinvention of skepticism, also known as Pyrrhonism. There were other philosophies active, too, although Sellars concentrates on those three. Plato's Academy kept going during this period, although it went through a skeptical phase, Cynics were active and Aristotle also still attracted scholars. Sellars, if you don't know him, is an expert on ancient Greek philosophy who has written quite a few books. Most are about Stoicism, although he also wrote a good, short book about Epicurean ethics, Fourfold Remedy, which I read last year.

My main motive in wanting to read the book is my strong interest in Epicureanism; I wanted to learn more about the milieu from which it emerged. But the book also offers an outline of Stoicism, which has experienced a recent revival of interest, giving Sellars a market for  his books that goes beyond college students studying philosophy.

But a nice bonus for RAW fans is the focus on skepticism. Robert Anton Wilson had many influences, but in a sense he also was a modern skeptic. His model agnosticism and "maybe logic" was opposed to certainty and ideological dogmatism. 

So it's interesting to read about philosophers  of skepticism and how some of their thoughts seem to prefigure some of RAW's.

Here is one of the passages in the book, in the chapter  on "Knowledge," where Sellars is talking about how Metrodorus interpreted Carneades. (They were two figures in the Academy in this period, when it was going through its skepticism phase.) "On that view, Carneades was thought to have held that a wise person could hold opinions about some things so long as they do not assent to the truth of those opinions." To my ears, this sounds a bit like RAW's saying, "I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions."

If you want to read a book that focuses solely on ancient Greek skepticism, Sellars suggests reading Ancient Skepticism by H. Thorsrud. 

Robert Anton Wilson (and Joseph Matheny) on Tubi

Most of my American readers should be familiar with Tubi, the website/app/TV channel which offers movies and TV shows. The programs are free and supported by commercials. 

Via Reddit's r/Robert Anton Wilson site, I recently learned that Robert Anton Wilson: The "I" in the Triangle, a documentary nearly two hours long, is available now on Tubi. 

The credits list Joseph Matheny as the director and one of the "stars," along with RAW, so I asked Joseph for more information, and he responded with helpful notes, as it his wont:

"That's the I in the Triangle talk I sponsored and had taped in my friend's occult bookshop in 90.  A younger me makes an appearance, doing a whimsical introduction. It is also available for sale on DVD, etc., on my friends' Original Falcon's website, and free to download from places like Archive.org and YouTube. 

"It was a lot of fun, and Bob and I hung out for a few days, and he taught me how to make a martini, using a method and formula he picked up from reading about W.C. Fields. I use that recipe and method to this day. This was before Bo moved to Santa Cruz. He was still living in LA. Of course, he and Arlen would move to Santa Cruz to be close to his kids. 

"Here's some pics of that visit. We're hanging out at Nina Graboi's, (my downstairs neighbor) smoking some hash I had scored."

'Finnegans Wake' reading group has begun

The Finnegans Wake reading group for 2026 on Reddit has begun. It's handy for people who have never tried a reading group and don't have one physically nearby. I am trying to get caught up, and as the organizers point out, it's not too late to join and get up to speed. (This is one of the two reading groups announced as part of Bobby Campbell's Maybe Night). 

Here is the information and schedule for the readalong. You can also access the schedule directly.  The actual reading group posts are at Finnegans Wake on Reddit. 

Talking with Dan Robinson of Danny and the Darlings

Dan Robinson

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about Jukebox Musical by Danny and the Darlings, an official soundtrack for Tales of Illuminatus No. 2. The album consists of punk rock style renderings of various 1950s rock and roll tunes. In that post, I annotated the songs and provided a link for downloading the album. The download is free, although a vintage-style collector's item cassette tape also can be purchased. 

But when I wrote the post, I was a bit frustrated because I could not find much information on the Internet about Wilmington, Delaware musician Dan Robinson, the Bobby Campbell pal who was behind the project. So via Bobby I got contact information for Dan, and he agreed to talk to me about his main rock band, The Headies, and his Danny and the Darlings side project. Read on!

RAWIllumination: Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and about your band?

Dan Robinson: My name is Dan Robinson and I’m from Wilmington, Delaware. I’ve been writing and playing my own music since I was 15 years old, back in the late 1990’s.  I’m both self-aware AND a punk rocker, a huge fan of super hero comics, old cartoons, and all rock and roll. 

I used to be evangelical about rock and roll.  I see it as the true American religion.  I spent my 20’s giving super-liminal instruction, intended to share the freedom that I felt that the music had given me… what I had seen.  But I realized that the subtleties of what I was shown are difficult to share, and like certain Buddhists who shall remain nameless I rejected dogma and moved into metaphor to express that which is difficult to express.  I called this Meta-Pop.

My main gig is singing and playing guitar in the Headies, a punk band with power-pop and bubblegum tendencies.  We’ve been playing together since 2008, and we’re all best friends.  All of us write and the sum of our albums reflects the interaction of five positive personalities.  We just finished recording our next full-length album, out this spring on vinyl LP from Bloated Kat Records.

But the Headies consists of real people with real lives outside of rock and roll.  I needed a little bit more… I needed 24 Hour Rock and Roll.

Danny and the Darlings is my solo project in which I write everything and play all the instruments.  This way every step I take is a rock and roll step.  I’m inspired by the sidewalks in my neighborhood, every sacred brick, every blade of grass so holy.  Sometimes I get so into writing I think god is telling me what to sing. 

RAWIllumination: Can you tell me how "Jukebox Musical" came about and became an official tie-in album for "Tales of Illuminatus No. 2"?

Dan Robinson: Bobby Campbell and I have been causing trouble together since ‘98, co-creating comics and general guerrilla rock, always with an eye towards the romantic and hopeful.  He asked me to record “Rock Around the Clock” as a plot device for issue two.  (We’ve always “soundtracked” our comics, an affectation lifted from Chynna Clugston’s “Blue Monday” and Jim Mahfood’s “Grrrl Scouts” etc…) 

The idea was that the song would appear in the narrative as well as on a somehow magical mixtape that’s circulating and exists BOTH in the story and in the world of the reader.  Earth Prime haha.

My background in rock and roll has led me to this moment.  I populated the cassette with first wave gems, not the biggest hits but meaningful numbers that spoke to me.  Fan fiction of the first chapter in a holy book.

The Headies 

From left: Grant Robinson - keyboards and vocals, Todd Purse - drums, Danny Robinson - vocals and guitar, Billy Frolic - guitar and vocal and Justin Vavala - bass guitar. "This was taken at our practice space (Todd’s garage) in North Wilmington, Delaware 12/24, before we played the Newark Punk Rock Flea Market."

RAWIllumination:  Is there a particular Headies album you want to recommend to someone new to the band?

Dan Robinson:  If I had to pick one Headies album to share I’d say Growing Up in the Multiverse… my overall favorite group of songs and we’re all very very in the pocket.  Meta-Pop has been our most popular record, but Multiverse could be our best.

RAWIllumination: You say that rock and roll is a religion for you. Who are some of the important "gods of rock" in your pantheon?

Dan Robinson: I used to say that I feel about the Ramones the way religious people feel about Jesus.  They were sent to save us.  The first album is a promise fulfilled, the ultimate modernist rock and roll album, utterly reverent towards what came before, what they were building on, but distilled, truer, spritely.  The world is a better place for it.

But what came before?  LITTLE RICHARD.  Without whom none of this is possible, but the entire first wave… sure Elvis, but Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran.  It didn’t need to be a phenomenon or the zeitgeist to have the value it presented…. a real freedom, not “won” by an army.  A freedom they couldn’t even imagine.  

Lou Reed said, “Rock and roll is so great, people should start dying for it. The music gave you back your beat so you could dream. A whole generation running with a Fender bass…”

The Velvets and the Stooges and the MC5 and the New York Dolls.

It was thick in the air back then.  More people could taste it.  But it never ever goes away.  And what’s the problem with being a true believer???

Best Lookout Records band - The Mr. T Experience.

Most formative band for me - Plow United 

DAN ROBINSON DISCOGRAPHY

ninja attak - “my first time” 7” (1996)

ninja attak/the Crash split 7” (1997)

Power of IV - “Walking Distance” LP (1999)

Power of IV - “Slight Rebellion Off Madison” LP (2002, rereleased 2024)

Power of IV - “Massive Psychic Damage” 7” lathe cut picture disc (2025)

Endless Mike Jambox - “Another Hot Freshy-Freshy” LP (2005)

THE HEADIES

“It's a Superman's World” EP (2008) 

“Sugar and Spice (and Everything’s Fucked)” LP (2008)

“Black Bubblegum” LP (2010) 

“Impostors” split 7” w/the Boys Club (2012)

“Meta-Pop” LP (2012)

“Last Show at My Parent's House” Live Album (2013)

The Headies/Plow United split 7” (2015)

The Headies/Wringer split 7” (2015)

“(Every Little Thing Breaks My) Punk Rock Heart” 7” (2015)

“Growing Up in the Multiverse” LP (2020)

“Meanwhile…” EP (2024)

 and upcoming!

“Contempo Casuals” LP (2026)

DANNY AND THE DARLINGS

“Heavy Cream” EP 2024)

“Operation: Golden Goose” LP (2024)

“Wilmington Optimist” LP (2025)

“Jukebox Musical” cassette (2025)

Michael Johnson on RAW and plant intelligence

Michael Johnson has a major new essay up, "Robert Anton Wilson on Plant Intelligence, (Part One?" which I recommend to everyone who reads this blog. Here is the opening bit:

A poor kid born three years into the Great Depression, near Brooklyn, who contracted polio as a child and was enamored of Weird Tales and mathematics and poetry, you might think Wilson would not be a good candidate to develop a pantheist, vitalist, panpsychist point of view. He was not a hiker (the polio), but in the 1970s in Northern California he and his wife Arlen were very much involved with modern paganism and definitely did magickal rituals in Berkeley and met other pagan artists and intellectuals in the redwoods in Northern California. What was the trajectory? How did he develop this mystical outlook?

The Allen Ginsberg centennial

Allen Ginsberg in 1979 (Creative Commons photo, more information). 

Allen Ginsberg was born on June 3, 1926, so as Eric Wagner remarked on Facebook, June is the Ginsberg centennial. 

The Wikipedia bio will fill you in on the writer RAW called "our major living American poet," in Coincidance.  

New books in public domain include 'As I Lay Dying'

Each year, a new batch of books (and other creative works) enter the public domain. This year works published in 1930 enter the public domain. 

This year, the books that go into the public domain include As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (RAW was a Faulkner fan) and Standard Ebooks already has an edition out.  Here are 20 new books offered by Standard Ebooks, including The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, The Castle by Franz Kafka and mysteries by Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. 

'Non-Euclidean' in 'Reason' magazine

 

Reason magazine, in the March issue, publishes a review of A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005.

The short piece by Brian Doherty, a noted historian of libertarianism, begins, "The works of Robert Anton Wilson, especially the Illuminatus! trilogy, were an alternative path to libertarianism, in the late 20th century. His influence has been less appreciated than that of his fellow novelist Ayn Rand, whose apodictic certainty based in ancient Greek philosophy he hilariously lampooned via the made-up novel discussed within Illuminatus!, Telemachus Sneezed."

There isn't a posting yet at the Reason website I can link to, but Rasa has posted it on Facebook.