The world is in a dark place

 

A huge explosion in a building as a result of a bombing by Israeli warplanes. Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash, published in February, 2025. 

Last week, when Brian Wilson died and I visited Leon Russell's recording studio, I wondered what Robert Shea would say about the Beach Boys and Russell. (I am under the impression that Shea paid more attention to rock music than RAW. Shea for example was a big Beatles fan. ) This week, I wonder what the two Bobs, Wilson and Shea, would say about about all of the warfare in the world. Both were involved in the antiwar movement during the Vietnam War. Shea participated in more than one protest in Chicago, not just the one described in Illuminatus!. 

Let's see, the war between Russian and Ukraine is raging and if anything seems to be more intense. Israel, still fighting in Gaza, has bombed Syria and is now bombing Iran. One of the New York Times articles I read said the strikes and counter strikes between Israel and Iran may last for weeks, not days. So, what do we need to stumble into World War III? China deciding the world is distracted and it's a good time to make a move on Taiwan? Or is there some other trouble spot I'm not thinking of? The world seems in a dark place. 

Hilaritas Press nears completing original mission, issues new catalog

Some news from  Hilaritas Press, the publishing imprint of the Robert Anton Wilson Trust.

The small press has just issued a new catalog, download your PDF copy here.  You'll get a 40-page catalog of books by Robert Anton Wilson and other interesting authors.

It's also worth taking a moment to note that the original purpose of Hilartas Press was to reissue the works of Robert Anton Wilson in definitive editions, making them easily available to his faithful readers. That original mission is almost done! If I am counting correctly, there have been 23 RAW titles republished or published. There are a few titles that the Robert Anton Wilson Trust does not control (such as, for example, Illuminatus!) but most of the books that Hilaritas has the rights to have been published. A reprint of a remaining title, Playboy's Book of Forbidden Words, is in the works.

It's not as if Hilaritas is going out of business. Other books are in the works. Keep your eye out for news!

H.P. Lovecraft on Star Trek?

 

On X.com, a screenwriter named Zack Stentz writes (with a clip), "This episode was written by beloved horror author Robert Bloch, who's doing an homage to his friend and mentor H.P. Lovecraft's novella "At The Mountains of Madness," also about a race of artificially created servants who destroyed their creators (also called "the Old Ones.")

Apparently it's this episode.  I wonder if RAW spotted it? 

The costuming would appear to be a tribute to some of the old covers SF magazines used to have. 

Hat tip: Tracy Harms. 

A different look at 'Ulysses'

Photo of Dublin by Gregory Dalleau from Unsplash 

Here is an interesting article that analyzes James Joyce's Ulysses in terms of Dublin's poor public transport: 

"A wide-awake city of tech firms, theatres and tourist attractions, Dublin is one of the EU’s richest metropolitan areas; it is also the only large western European capital without a metro. No Dubliner would have been more frustrated with the situation’s absurdities, and MetroLink’s slow progress, than Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of James Joyce’s Ulysses."

The article, by Dermot Hodson, gives a close reading of Leopold Blooms travels around the city, and his thoughts on how public transport in Dublin could be improved: "Ulysses is a peripatetic story. For 17 or so hours, Bloom walks across Dublin, encountering friends, acquaintances and foes ....  Bloom covers nearly nine miles on foot. It is little wonder how tired he is by the time he climbs into bed next to Molly."

An interesting piece. Hat tip, Tony Smyth in the comments in Tuesday's post. 

Maybe Day 2025 announced

 

Bobby Campbell has announced plans for Maybe Day 2025. There's a new approach, an emphasis on actual events with face to face interactions, although online stuff is still cool, too. Here's Bobby:

"MAYBE DAY 2025 IS COMING!

"But this time w/ a twist :)))

"MORE INFO HERE: https://maybeday.net."

Follow the link; the festival, below, is what Bobby is hosting. Other folks are encouraged to set up events, too. 

Leon Russell's recording studio in Tulsa

 

An equipment case for "Eric Clapton group" in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Many of Clapton's band members at one time were based in Tulsa. Of course, I liked the number. 

RAW fans, can you name the pop/rock star who advised his fans, "Find out all you can about Buckminster Fuller." 

That would be Leon Russell. I am in Tulsa this week, visiting relatives, so I visited the restored Church Studio that Russell owned. 

Russell is not well remembered now, but he had a huge career, as this Wikipedia article explains. 

The Church Studio in Tulsa. 

Philbrook's 'Shike' exhibit

Charging Samurai warriors

I am currently in Tulsa visiting my mother, and yesterday I went to a local art museum, Philbrook, formerly a 1920s period mansion owned by a rich oilman, converted into a museum. The current main exhibit is "SAMURAI: Armor from the Collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller," and the exhibition of samurai armor and weapons includes the time period of Robert Shea's first two "solo" novels, the Shike books. 

If you haven't read them, the Shike novels, Shike: Time of the Dragons and Shike: Last of the Zinja, are set in medieval Japan and cover fictionalized versions of two exciting events: A famous Japanese civil war and the Mongol invasion of Japan. As the Wikipedia article explains, secret societies also are part of the plot: "Shike posits a clan of grey-clad warrior monks, the "Zinja", which, it is stated by Abbot Taitaro, is related to several other secret societies throughout history, including specifically the White Lotus Society in China, the Hashishim (assassins) in the Middle East, and the Knights Templar in Europe, among others. Through an aside in All Things Are Lights, the Zinja are therefore linked, however tenuously, to Shea's other writings on secret societies, most notably his work with Robert Anton Wilson in The Illuminatus! Trilogy."

It was cool to see an exhibit that helped bring the Shike books to life. 

A naginata, a Japanese pole weapon, and a sword.

Portuguese edition of 'Illuminatus' from Brazil

 

Via Nick Helweg-Larsen, I learned that a Portuguese language edition of Illuminatus! has been published in Brazil. Here is the website for the project.  It is a limited edition, funded via a crowdsourcing campaign. The site does not accept international orders, but a direct sale may be arranged via the email address contato@editorafnord.com.br. (Shipping is likely to be expensive, blame the Brazilian government, not the publishers). Payment can be accepted via via Wise transfer or PayPal. 

Information from the website, via Google Translate:

LIMITED EDITION

Only 1023 copies of this edition were printed.

There are only 323 copies left, which are being made available to the general public.

We will not be reprinting in the future.

Funded on 09/13/24 with 101% of the goal, our campaign on Catarse achieved the publication of the Illuminatus! Trilogy, the masterpiece written by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea, for the first time in Brazil in a limited, special and unique edition.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a revolutionary literary work written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Conceived during the 60s and published in the 70s, it was a pioneer in exploring themes such as conspiracy, secret societies and government manipulation, in a chaotic odyssey full of philosophy, occultism, satire and counterculture. The trilogy was a major milestone in experimental literature for challenging traditional narrative conventions, abusing techniques such as non-linearity, jumping between places, dates and characters without warning, and metafiction, such as moments in which the characters question whether they are just characters in a book.

Its irreverent nature and unique narrative style made it a cult work, considered by many to be one of the most important works of the last century. The idea of ​​"controlled chaos" permeates the work, challenging conventional notions of order and meaning. Influenced by the flourishing of Discordianism, a movement described by its followers as a religion disguised as a joke disguised as a religion, the trilogy addresses complex and sensitive topics without taking them too seriously, but with unparalleled competence. It is up to the reader to take responsibility for their own analysis of the data presented, forming their own view without the influence of chewed-up interpretations.

Although it was initially published as a trilogy, Illuminatus! was written as a single book, later divided by the publishers. The idea was to publish a small part of the text to test the public's reception, which embraced the book and made it an absolute success, leading to the publication of the other two volumes.

Hilaritas Press podcast: RAW and Friedrich Nietzsche

 

I am a bit late on reporting on this, but the most recent Hilaritas Press podcast sounds very interesting and I will listen soon: Mike Gathers interviews Eric Wagner about RAW's interest in Friedrich Nietzsche.

The official site with links is here, but you should be able to find this podcast at many of the usual places. 

“More than any other writer in the history of philosophy, Nietzsche set out to refute everyone who came before him, without exception and without mercy, and he had the intellect to do a damn good job.  He tears down so many accepted ideas that you’re left floating in a kind of nihilistic void.  Many people find this terrifying.  I find it exhilarating, and I manage to recover from it every time I subject myself to re-reading something by Nietzsche.”

– Robert Anton Wilson,

from the essay, "Brain Books,"

from Trajectories, and

now in Beyond Chaos and Beyond

•••

“Wilson’s attitude toward Nietzsche is my attitude towards Wilson.”

– Mike Gathers

Reminder: There's now a Hilaritas Press edition of Beyond Chaos and Beyond, and it's a good book. 

Unique art book from J. Christian Greer

 

I should have mentioned this earlier, but it looks interesting: VOID MACHINES: The Paper Shrines of J. Christian Greer "showcases over seventy-five 'paper shrines,' psychedelic collages created by J. Christian Greer. Printed in full color, this oversized collection provides a whirlwind look at Greer's sublime visions of divine friendship, abject terror, and erotic delight. Offering a panorama of sacred forces, the paper shrines showcased in this book were created with materials taken from manga (including Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, Shigeru Mizuki’s Kitaro, and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, etc.); comics (Jack Kirby’s Silver Surfer, Jeff Smith's Bone, etc.), mass-market publications on Persian rugs, precious gems, medieval manuscripts."

More here, see the reviews. 

Ireland 'the most educated country'

 

Trinity College Library, Dublin. Photo by Zach Plank on Unsplash

Interesting, in the light of Ireland being a literary hotbed: 

"Ireland’s population are the most educated in the world — with 52.4% (1.8million) of the population aged between 25-64 having a bachelor’s degree or higher.

"While, of course, the whole numbers of people with bachelors degrees may be higher in countries with a higher number of people, percentage wise Ireland is the most educated; beating out countries such as Switzerland (46%), Singapore (45%), Belgium (44.1%) and the UK (43.6%) who round out the top five."

Source.  Article via this blog post. 

A revisionist historian

Robert Anton Wilson was deeply skeptical of the official account of World War II, and for example in this interview by Lewis Shiner, he said, "I'd also like to write a book about Pearl Harbor. The revisionist historians have been thoroughly slandered and are mostly out of print. I wouldn't be adding much original; I think everything worth saying has been said by Charles Beard and Harry Elmer Barnes and James J. Martin and a few others. But their books are out of print or hard to find. My book would be just one more effort against what Barnes called 'the historical blackout.' One more effort to put the facts on record." (Of course, the book was never written but this Jeff Riggenbach book, which I read years ago, has a similar intent). 

RAW would perhaps be interested in Thaddeus Russell, a historian who has made World War II revisionism something of a specialty. Russell has a new Substack newsletter, with pieces such as "Even Hitler Wasn't Hitler"  and "The Fate of the Free World Depends Upon You Liking Winston Churchill."  All of the pieces so far have been previews -- you have to pay a few dollars to read the whole thing -- but enough is posted for free, you can get the idea. 

Here is Jesse Walker's 2011 interview with Russell.

Here is a brief biography. He graduated from Antioch College, the university associated with Simon Moon in Illuminatus! Above is the image for one of his books, A Renegade History of the United States. 

More on the latest edition of the John Higgs KLF book

As I wrote recently, I recently read the 10th anniversary edition of John Higgs' The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds. I guess it counts as a re-read, although the edition I read has thousands of words of footnotes, as John comments on the book in hindsight.

The footnotes make an unusual book even more unusual. As I read it, I noticed some synchronicities with my own life -- for example, Reykjavik, Iceland, figures in the book as a place where the band Echo and the Bunnymen played a concert, and the book is largely about Illuminatus!  I recently worked on an Illuminatus-related project with Spookah, who lives in Reykjavik. 

And then I came across John's footnote on page 78: "One of the consequences of writing this book is that I am regularly contacted by people who have read it and then been plagued by a storm of synchronicities of their own." This gave me the odd feeling that John was talking to me, as in the incident (mentioned in the book) when RAW is watching "Harvey" on TV and a character suddenly talks to "Mr. Wilson."

I wrote to Spookah to ask if he is an Echo and the Bunnyman fan (I was going to freak out if he said, "Yes, it's my favorite band. Why?"). Spookah has read the book twice, too, and his reply was interessting:

Yes, I have indeed read the book, twice now. The second time around was a couple of years ago, as I grabbed a copy of the tenth anniversary edition signed by John Higgs.

I like his footnotes, I find it interesting to see him thinking out loud, reflecting on his own writing.

Actually, this book originally came to me in what I see as a pretty synchronistic way. I was at the time backpacking around the planet, and had been reading Illuminatus! for the first time while in Hawaii and New Zealand. Then I arrived in Bali, and found a copy of John's book in a second hand bookstore. I picked it up because, browsing it, I saw that RAW was often coming up in it.

John's book really provided me with a most welcome context for Illuminatus, and these two together got me started on all things RAW and Discordianism.

I think John Higgs does an excellent job at presenting RAW's ideas in a fun and clear way to people who might not be familiar with it.

I don't know if I would call myself a 'fan' of Echo & the Bunnymen, but I certainly think they were one the best British rock bands of the 80s, and albums such as Heaven Up Here or Ocean Rain are some of my favorites of that decade. Crocodiles and Porcupine are very good as well.

(the photograph on the cover art of Porcupine is at a waterfall in Iceland that is now amongst the most visited places in the country, it's called Gullfoss)

John Higgs remarks,

Most of the time when people tell me of their synchronicities, they lose something in the telling. What they find meaningfull is pretty personal and hence their stories often sound more like coincidences than anything more. But there is an exception to that - which is the stories that involve rabbits. They often sound far weirder. I think I included in those footnotes the story of a woman who was reading the stuff in the book about Pookahs while her daughter played in the garden - only to come inside and tell her mum she had been playing with a giant invisible rabbit. That freaked her out!

Also, John promises his new book will be announced soon.