Another good one gone: Arthur Hlavaty has died

Arthur D. Hlavaty at Lunacon 45 in 2002. (Mark Olson photo via Fancyclopedia 3). 

I am sorry to have to report that prominent science fiction fan Arthur Hlavaty, 83, has died. Here is the announcement from Bernadette Bosky on Facebook.   And also here is Kevin Maroney on Bluesky.   The death also has been announced on File 770 (seventh item).  Writer Jo Walton has posted a new poem, "On the death of Arthur Hlavaty and Sophie Kinsella."

Arthur was a twelve time nominee for the Hugo Award for best fan writer. He published many fanzines and also was a prominent blogger. This article at the Fancyclopedia lists much of his fannish activity and you can follow the links to online versions of  his zines. 

Arthur founded The Golden APA, which counted both Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea as members. He often wrote about how Illuminatus! had influenced him. His support of this blog was much appreciated. 

When Arthur had to post about an obituary on his blog, his headline would be, "Another Good One Gone." Hence my own headline. 

Jacob Sullum's 'Guns and Dope Party' book

Robert Anton Wilson advanced the idea of a "Guns and Dope Party" (originally suggested, if I recall correctly, by writer Bill Helmer) to bring together "gun nuts" and "dopers" into a libertarian alliance.

I have cited writer Jacob Sullum quite a few times in this blog, as he is very good about writing about the "war on some drugs," as RAW called it. I recently noticed that Sullum has a new "guns and dope" book out.

The book is called BEYOND CONTROL: Drug Prohibition, Gun Regulation, and the Search for Sensible Alternatives. From the publisher's blurb:

"Decades of research have produced scant evidence that popular gun control prescriptions, such as assault weapon bans, universal background checks, restrictions on ownership, and red flag laws, work as advertised. Research on the impact of the war on drugs likewise provides little reason to believe that its doubtful benefits outweigh its myriad costs. In both cases, the burdens often fall on peaceful individuals who pose no threat to public safety, and the policies seem ill-designed to reduce the problems they aim to address.

"Sullum notes that critics of gun control and critics of the war on drugs make similar points, complaining that these policies are unfair, invasive, poorly targeted, and ineffective. But because these two sets of critics tend to come from opposing political camps, they usually overlook their common ground. Beyond Control surveys that territory, showing that conservatives and progressives share concerns about overcriminalization, overzealous law enforcement, draconian penalties, and the erosion of civil liberties."

My local library doesn't have his book so I submitted a request for it to be purchased. 

More here. 

A James Joyce Christmas parody

James Joyce photographed by Man Ray. 

The Scriptorium Philosophia Substack written by "Hilarious Bookbinder" has Christmas stories in the latest issue, parodies of famous writers. Here is the James Joyce parody:

Snowrun sleighrun river crack with ice then came St. Nicholas before the bells but after the hooftrod down through Dublintown. Aye, but blown cold through the pub where Stephen Daedalus sat rapping for his pint. 

—Well, says Joe, he’ll be down the chimney and all.

—What of? says Stephen, pay my five pound to the barman then?

—May ask for the English to leave as well. 

The voice of Jenny behind, the lilt of a jig in 6/4 time, the loop, the warm soft joygush lickflow of the music sneaking past, invading. The hard notes behind the sound. Masters in This Hall on uilleann pipes.

—No, says Joe. The pack is the thing, all full of wallets, inkpots, olive branches, swords, daisies, Turkish lamps, knocker-uppers, buckshot, tin whistles, shiny Irish pennies, cakes and cream, puppies, beehives, medals for bravery, winedrunk from an auroch’s horn, wheels, keys, wax candles, stars plucked fresh from the firmament, oilskin coats, snails, Russian stamps, and tweed flatcaps.

—That so for gifts? says the barman. I’ll nae get paid afterall.

Tom again: I especially liked the Raymond Chandler and Scott Alexander parodies. There are also parodies of E.L. James, Cormac McCarthy, Tom Clancy, H.P. Lovecraft and Lee Child. The comments have parodies of Olivia Nuzzi and Philip Roth. 

 

'Jukebox Musical' by Danny and the Darlings annotated

As I mentioned in a recent post, Jukebox Musical by Danny and the Darlings is a soundtrack album for Bobby Campbell's Tales of Illuminatus No. 2. It  is available as a free digital download at Bandcamp. 

The album consists of ten covers of 1950s era rock and roll tunes. As this sort of music was considered "old" even when I listened to it in high school in the 1970s (I was a weirdo because I would play Elvis Presley songs on the jukebox), it seems to me that for many listeners today, the songs on the album might seem rather obscure, although I recognized many of the song titles. 

Here is the track listing for the album, with brief explanations  and links for more information. (These are rather punk rock versions of the song and the resemblance to the originals varies somewhat, although I commend the attempt to bring these tunes into the present. But try some of the originals.) 

1. That's All Right. The tune dates to 1946, but is remembered as Elvis Presley's first single in 1954. 

2. Rip It Up. A 1956 hit for Little Richard. 

3. You Can't Catch Me. A 1956 single for Chuck Berry. 

4. Breathless. A 1958 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis. 

5. Pretty Thing. A 1955 Bo Diddley single. 

6. Oh, Boy! A particularly great song by a particularly great band, The Crickets (i.e., Buddy Holly and his band). Holly's 1959 plane crash death may be rock music's greatest tragedy ever. 

7. I'm  Walkin'. A 1957 single issued by Fats Domino. 

8. Nervous Breakdown. An Eddie Cochran tune.  (He is probably most famous for other songs such as "Summertime Blues." Cochran died age 21 in a 1960 car crash in Britain. 

9. Be-Bop-A-Lula. 1956 Gene Vincent tune. 

10. Rock Around the Clock. This 1954 hit by Bill Haley & His Comets helped launch rock and roll. The song is mentioned in Illuminatus! 

I don't have detailed music credits for the album, but "Danny" is Dan Robinson of Wilmington,  Delaware. I will try to find out more. 

Sunday links

From The Mgt.? (Source)

"My son’s friend, traveling in China, is staying at a hotel chain called ‘James Joyce Coffetel’, and instead of a Gideon Bible, they leave a copy of Ulysses by the bedside."

FBI releases Bigfoot file. 

Conservative writer argues, 'We Are Repaganizing."

"They need to make you hate some group." By Noah Smith, compare with RAW's "Shocking Hidden Facts About Male Non Violence" in Email to the Universe. 

Tyler Cowen's top classical music of the year. 

What we read last month

What Mark K. Brown read last month (reads and re-reads)

Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins  11/21  

Buddhist Scriptures ed. by Edward Conze  11/24  

Wasp by Eric Frank Russell  11/25  

The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler  11/26   

The Man Who Japed by Philip K. Dick  11/29

As usual, there is considerable overlap between what Mark reads and what I read. I've read the Conze, or a Conze edited book that is very similar. I've read Russell, Chandler and Dick, but not those particular titles. Mark is reading The Magus by John Fowles, as he mentioned in the comments recently, I may ask for a brief report when he finishes. 

What I read last month:

Melmoth the Wanderer, Charles Maturin.

For Emma, Ewan Morrison.

Operation Wandering Soul, Richard Powers.

A Non-Euclidean Perspective: Robert Anton Wilson’s Political Commentaries 1960-2005, Robert Anton Wilson. (Mark already read it). 

Vanishing World, Sayaka Murata.

As usual, everyone else is invited to say in the comments that they have been reading. 

RAW Semantics on globalism and Scandinavian systems

Artwork by Brian Dean at RAW Semantics 

RAW Semantics has a new blog post up, "RAW political #5 – global / local / po," which further wrestles with RAW's politics in the light of the new book. Some of it discusses globalism versus local control, but there is also an interesting section which suggests how to reconcile Robert Anton Wilson's praise for Scandinavian style social democracy with RAW's interest in anarchism. One excerpt: 

"Returning to anarchy for a moment – if you see anarchism in terms of no government, no tax (and perhaps no regulations), then RAW’s liking for the Swedish model seems to contradict his anarchist ideals. But if you think of anarchist societies as decentralised, egalitarian, cooperative, communicating in flatter hierarchies, etc, then the seeming contradiction dissolves. Even the anarchistic preference for contracts – voluntary agreements rather than top-down enforcement – factors historically in the Swedish model (eg resulting from a relative absence of both feudalism and tyrants as kings).

"The Scandinavian system has succeeded on a large (national) scale over decades, unlike the mostly unimplemented alternative systems RAW held as anarchist ideals. From that POV, it looks “global” next to, say, the 120-person voluntary-contractual community. But next to the international Neoliberal order, it looks (or looked) 'local' – an eccentric exception to universal 'laws'. The Scandinavian countries finally had to adapt to some global shifts (eg changes to international financial markets), but even before those periods (eg 1990s) they were never really insulated from the 'inexorable forces of the market'. On the contrary – Sweden, for example, had to export 40% of its manufactured output and had been, since the late 19th century, 'a world economy highly exposed to trends in international trade.'

"You can see the Swedish model as workable on both local and global levels. At least for that type of culture."

Two new 'Tales' related music releases

Bobby Campbell's latest newsletter had a couple of announcements about music releases that deserve a signal boost.  

"Fresh from its staring role as a pivotal plot device/magical MacGuffin in Tales of Illuminatus!, Danny and the Darlings’ Jukebox Musical cassette tape has escaped the limits of fiction and entered our true and real reality, a transcendental object of unprecedented heart and soul, THE ROCK OF AGES!"

The link is to Bandcamp, where the cassette tape is on sale. But a digital download of the album is free! All of the song titles I recognize are from the 1950s, probably an underrated rock music decade at this point. I have downloaded the album and will be checking it out.

The second album is from Steve "Fly" Pratt and it's K9 Rapture, also on Bandcamp. 

Fifteen songs with dog-related titles. As usual with Bandcamp, you can check out the tunes before buying. Steve also has a special on a bulk sale of all of his albums. 

Filker Leslie Fish has died [Updated, note 'Memorial Filksing']

Leslie Fish in 2001. Creative Commons photo by David Gillett

Well known science fiction figure Leslie Fish has died. Although best known in science fiction fandom as a "filker," i.e. a science fiction folksinger, she also was a writer.

"Fish (1953-2025) died Nov. 29 at age 72, while in hospice care at her home," according to an obituary posted at the Libertarian Futurist Society blog by Michael Grossberg. See also this File 770 obit (fourth item) and this Wikipedia bio.  [Update: Like one of my favorite musicians, Cars leader Ric Ocasek, Fish apparently lied about her age! She actually was 81. See below.]

While I could justify this news item by mentioning the overlap between science fiction fandom and Illuminatus! fandom, there is a more direct connection to the interests of this blog.

Fish was part of the anarchist scene in Chicago in the late 1960s that Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea also were part of. See this interesting Jesse Walker article from 2005 in Reason magazine, which also (maybe) reveals who the "real Mama Sutra" was.  But Jesse also shares this bit from when he was researching the article: "The one time I interviewed her, she told me that she had been Robert Anton Wilson's dope dealer when they both lived in Chicago."

UPDATE: More information from Jesse Walker: A Leslie Fish Memorial Filksing will be publicly available live on YouTube. 

Also from Jesse: "Also, the guy who just passed it along tells me that he 'just got consent from the family this morning to disclose Leslie's actual birthdate: March 11th, 1944. So she died at the age of 81.' (Many obituaries said 72 instead, because apparently she habitually lied about her age.)

RAW's Beethoven listening projects, and ours

Beethoven when he was 26. 

Thanks to Eric Wagner, we know that Robert Anton Wilson "once took LSD and listened to all nine Beethoven symphonies, taking a bit more before each symphony, climaxing with the Ninth at sunrise."

RAW also listened to Beethoven in other interesting ways. Cosmic Trigger II, in the "Attack of the Dog-faced Demons" chapter, records that "In a farm in Mendocino, 1972, I was preparing for the Mass of the Phoenix, a ritual designed by Aleister Crowley in which the magician attempts to activate his 'True Will.' I had taken 250 micrograms of Acid, played some Beethoven, and, when I felt ready, I went to my makeshift Altar and began the Invocation."

In the link above, you can can see that in 2012, Eric Wagner also wrote about "my 11:32 project to listen to all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas eleven times each.  I've modeled the sonatas as parallel with the eight circuits of the nervous system, so I've almost finished the Sixth Morphogenetic Circuit, and I look forward to metaprogramming Beethoven shortly."

Eric has a new listening project. He recently wrote to me, " I plan to work through the 24 brains in Leary’s Info-Psychology over the next 24 weeks. A discussion I had with Dr. Johnson about Leary’s skill as a writer helped inspire this idea. Music for week one: Haydn Symphonies 97-100."

An update: "Last week I reread the first half of Info-Psychology and started Game of Life and read the brief summary of state one in Musings on Human Metamorphoses, pg. 90; Design for Dying, pg. 85, and Flashbacks, pg. 385, all by Leary. This week I plan to read Game of Life up through state 2.

"Music for the week: Haydn Symphony 100, Beethoven Piano Sonata Op. 101."

I am not doing anything as elaborate, but I am currently listening to all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, in order, concentrating on a particular sonata each week. This week is Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1. Sviatoslav Richter is my favorite piano player, but Richter did not record all of Beethoven's sonatas, although he recorded many, so I also listen to Igor Levit, Alfred Brendel, Wilhelm Kempff, etc. Perhaps not related to the Beethoven, but also I have been reading a bit of primary source Epicurean philosophy each day; right now, I am doing the "Letter to Menoeceus." (Another translation here.) 

News from Bobby Campbell: Expect new 'Tales' announcement

Bobby Campbell apparently is busier than ever. His latest newsletter has many news items. 

One is this  hint about a coming Tales of Illuminatus! announcement: "The next installment in our Tales of Illuminatus! series is developing very nicely, with announcements to follow in due course, though steady yourselves for something of a curve ball!"

Also, Bobby is finishing another comic book series: "I’m going to take some time for my somewhat neglected personal work, specifically Agnosis! #3, which will finally complete the OKEY-DOKEY graphic novel.

"Follow along with those developments here: Bobby Campbell’s STATE OF THE ART"

Much more news here, including some items I have covered and some that were new to me. 

An alternate cover for the Shea book

 

When Rasa was creating covers for Every Day is a Good Day, the new Robert Shea anthology I edited, this was one of the possible covers. It was decided that it was not a match for the optimistic tone of the book, but nonetheless, I enjoyed looking at this dramatic artwork, and (with Rasa's permission) I am sharing it here. 

Maybe Night to return

 

Bobby Campbell has announced the return of Maybe Night. It is the third annual winter solstice celebration of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake and it's set for Dec. 21. 

MAYBE NIGHT 2025 is our 3rd annual virtual celebration of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake :))) (The nocturnal equivalent of Bloomsday's commemoration of Ulysses)

We will once again engage the COLLIDEORSCOPE on December 21st at www.maybeday.net/night

We will also be broadcasting a live panel of illustrious Joyceans discussing Jeems Jokes' enchanted chop suey! Join us for this the first official meeting of the international Winter Wakeans Reading Group!

Let this serve as a clarion call for FW and/or Joycean art, video presentations, writing, and whatever else besides!

(I recommend sending in links to your creations, but you can also send things to be hosted on the Maybe Night site directly)

The idea is simple: Make something cool • Share it • Explore the others!

You can contact us at weirdoverse@gmail.com

Approximate deadline for submitting Maybe Night offerings is December 15th

Also! As always, do please feel free and encouraged to create and post Maybe Night content using your own ways and means. A decentralized and self-organizing Maybe Night would be just the thing to wake the Finnegans up, up, and away to ever greater glory!

More here.