Illuminatus online reading group, Week Six

Antioch Hall at the reopened Antioch College

This week: Page 52 "Saul picked up the ninth memo" to Page 63 "the shadows of Maya."

This section of Illuminatus! introduces one of the major themes of the novel. Given the fact that libertarians and anarchists are doomed, at least in the short term, to live in a statist world ("those on the light side moved about the tasks appointed for them by their rulers" page 58) there is only so much that the libertarian or anarchist can accomplish in the world around him; the task therefore becomes to free yourself, or at least free your mind.

Here is the key passage on pages 62 and 63, after Simon Moon has listened to  his anarchist parents argue:

"You're both wrong," I said. "Freedom won't come through love, and it won't come through Force. It will come through the Imagination." I put in all the capital letters and I was so stoned that they got contact-high and heard them, too. 

Libertarians always have plenty to complain about, of course, but 1969, when Wilson and Shea began Illuminatus!, was a particularly bad time. The Indochina war raged in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and Americans were being drafted to participate in a war that many of them regarded as unjust. Science fiction writer William Gibson was among those Americans who went to Canada to avoid participating in the Vietnam War; years later, RAW read Gibson at the behest of a friend who was trying to keep RAW current on the science fiction scene.

Perhaps partially because they were reacting against a horrible war, many anarchists and artists in the 1960s had a renewed interest in surrealism, which was at least in part the stepchild of dadaism, which was born amid the horror of World War I. Moon alludes to this on page 62, "The young frontal-lobe-type anarchists in the city [of Chicago, where Shea and Wilson lived and worked] were in their first surrealist revival just then ..."

Here is a quote from Surrealism founder Andre Breton, "It was in the black mirror of anarchism that surrealism first recognised itself." (That's from "The Politics of Surrealism.")

The book is explicit about Simon Moon's use of sex magick as a brain change agent and as a means of escape (page 57) but other libertarians also have talked about the need to escape, or at least separate themselves from everyday reality.

This has given rise to (so far) Utopian schemes such as migrating to space (something that RAW advocated, of course) and setting up libertarian communities in floating cities. A more practical approach was advocated in the late Harry Browne's How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, and see also Bryan Caplan's blog post advocating creating a "bubble" for yourself, "Create Your Own Bubble in Ten Easy Steps." (I've tried to follow some of Caplan's advice.)

Neither of these gentlemen were isolated from day to day libertarian issues. Browne ran for president as the Libertarian Party candidate. Caplan is very active campaigning for open borders and pacifism. But both have offered practical counsel for living in a statist world with tasks appointed by rulers.

RAW's "mentor" James Joyce had an autobiographical hero, Stephen Dedalus, who adoped "silence, exile and cunning" as a defense against the twin oppressions of the state and the church. Joyce spent much of his exile from Ireland in neutral Switzerland.

The Internet has for years provided a means for escape, not just for libertarians but for many other interest groups who have been able to use it to find each other. The cypherpunks in particular saw encryption as a means to escape the attention of the authorities, although the cypherpunk project has been hampered by the apparent reluctance of even many libertarians to actually use encryption. (Anyone interested in this topic could consider using TAILS and other tools, such as PGP email. If you want to try encrypting your emails, I suggest using Enigmail with Thunderbird as a relatively easy method.)

A few notes on the text:

Page 54, Arthur Flegenheimer. Better known as mobster Dutch Schultz. Expect to read more about his last words.

Page 57, "everything else in my life has been a hallucination." Simon is trying to get her to "wake up."

Page 58, Malaclypse the Younger, e.g Gregory Hill.

Page 61, " ... the orders will still come from Wall Street."

Page 62, "Antioch in dear old Yellow Springs." Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

RAW lived in the Yellow Springs area for two years, an experience he talked about in Cosmic Trigger Volume 2: Down to Earth and  the Lewis Shiner interview:

You grew up in New York, then moved to Ohio. Why Ohio?

I was offered a job editing a magazine for a place called the School for Living, which later moved to Maryland. The School for Living had a very interesting philosophy, which was "back to nature, live on the land, eat health food" — and a bit of anarchism and Wilhelm Reich. I agreed with about half of that and thought the over half was kind of flakey, but it was interesting. I thought it would be a great idea to live on a farm and see how I did at it.

I enjoyed it. We were there for two years.

Were you influenced by your years on the farm?

Yeah, I think so. My children were very young then. I guess the oldest was about eight when we left Ohio. I used to look at the grass and crops and trees and goats and cows and at my children and my wife and myself and think about evolution — all these different types of intelligence. I got fascinated by the intelligence of insects. It turned me into a pantheist. No, pantheist is not correct. The technical word is pan-psych-ist. I became more and more convinced that everything was intelligent.

Next week: Page 63 ("Dad was the first to recover") to Page 73 ("he began thinking of alternate plans.")

Prometheus Award shortlist announced

The shortlist of finalists for the Prometheus Award have been announced, and one of the books is Cory Doctorow's Homeland, a novel about "NSA spying stuff" that I reviewed for Reason.  (Cory reacts to the nomination.)

Here is the shortlist, in alphabetical order by author:

 Homeland, by Cory Doctorow (TOR Books)
 A Few Good Men, by Sarah Hoyt (Baen Books)
 Crux, by Ramez Naam (Angry Robot Books)
 Nexus, by Ramez Naam (Angry Robot Books)
 Brilliance, by Marcus Sakey (Thomas & Mercer)

The Hall of Fame finalists for best classic fiction are as follows:

"As Easy as A.B.C.," a short story (1912) by Rudyard Kipling "Sam Hall," a short story (1953) by Poul Anderson
"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman," a short story (1965) by Harlan Ellison
Falling Free, a novel (1988) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Courtship Rite, a novel (1982) by Donald M. Kingsbury

A "bad" libertarian explains why you should read Justin Raimondo

Like many of my other favorite libertarians, Justin Raimondo understands there is a close connection between being against war and being in favor of civil liberties. "Leave me alone" cannot be separated from "leave everyone else alone, too."

This is not to say that Mr. Raimondo cannot be a little annoying, even to other libertarians. In his guise as "Pope Justin," he sometimes dispenses advice on who is and who isn't a good libertarian, guidance that isn't always welcomed by the heretics. (As Art Carden has joked, "Every movement contains two kinds of people: those who have betrayed it, and me.") Personally, I prefer the ecumenical Bryan Caplan approach. Perhaps that's because I'm a "bad" libertarian, pretty good on civil liberties and peace but a little weak on some of the other stuff. I'm fine with public libraries, for example. (Quick! Find a stake and gather some dry wood!)

Anyway, Justin Raimondo has done wonderful, yeoman work at Antiwar.com, a site that I've given money to and tried to promote any way that I can. His editorials, which one highlight of a very useful and newsy site, argue relentlessly for the need to fight for civil liberties and against war, forming alliances with any willing partner. You can learn a lot by simply following his links.

He's just written a particularly good piece, "Libertarianism in One Country." Here are two highlights from it, aimed at a particular group, American libertarians, although he also is addressing any other American willing to listen:

When we started this web site we did so not only as peace activists but also as explicitly libertarian activists, and we did it in part because we wanted to educate libertarians as well as the general public in a field where confusion reigned. This confusion has always been particularly acute among libertarians because people the world over yearn for liberty – and the US government poses as their champion. And while history is indeed full of little ironies, this is a huge one – because it is Washington, and no other actor on the world stage, that poses the main danger to the peace and freedom of the world.

Inside the imperial metropolis, of course, we are afforded the protections of the Constitution – at least on the surface – as well as enjoying the fruits of an economic system that has produced unprecedented wealth. The irony factor comes into play when we note that our foreign policy of unrelenting aggression has produced only misery and endless bloodshed for the world’s peoples. This is the great American paradox, made all the more acute when we further realize that this policy has undermined our liberty and prosperity at home – perhaps fatally. The bigger and more bloated our empire gets, the less free and poorer we become.

***

We must never forget that the political character of a state, whether it is democratic, theocratic, fascist, or communist, says nothing about the foreign policy it will pursue. A democracy can be and often is relentlessly aggressive, while a fascist dictatorship could just as readily be pacific and isolationist. Indeed, a democratic nation with a Messiah complex is far more dangerous to the world and to its own people than a relatively authoritarian state that just wants to reign over its little corner of the globe. A danger to the world because the special arrogance that infuses would-be messiahs allows them to commit the greatest crimes for the noblest of reasons. A danger to their own people because the very act of aggression and empire-building destroys the liberal character of democratic states, eating away their substance from within.

An editorial about ebooks

The other day, one of the accounts I follow on Twitter posted a link to a downloadable PDF of one of Robert Anton Wilson's books.

I didn't retweet it and I'm not posting a link here. I have enormous respect for the gentleman who posted the Tweet, but I still urge people to purchase new RAW books, buy used books in the resale or trade market or check them out of the library. That's what seems the best interest of Robert Anton Wilson's children, who don't seem to be wealthy and more than likely can use the royalties from the sales of RAW's books. I don't have a problem frankly with the technically illegal circulation of books by authors who have been dead for decades -- I think copyrights in the U.S. seem far too long -- but that does not describe the situation here. Wilson died only about seven years ago. It seems reasonable to respect the literary property rights of his heirs.

I raise the matter because I want to make the point that when no reasonable legal alternative exists, people resort to illegal measures. The title in question cannot be purchased as an ebook on Amazon.

As I write this, Daisy Eris Campbell prepares to mount a stage production of RAW's Cosmic Trigger. Her efforts have deservedly garnered quite a bit of publicity. Want to buy a copy of Cosmic Trigger for your Kindle or Nook so you can read it and see what all of the fuss is about? You can't, because no ebook edition can be purchased.

Much of RAW's fiction have been turned into ebooks, but many of his books remain unavailable in digital format. Fixing that situation seems overdue.

Compare the activity — or inactivity — of the RAW estate with that of some of his contemporaries. Philip K. Dick's literary executor, Paul Williams, worked very hard to keep PKD in the spotlight. Timothy Leary's estate put out a new biography, provided his papers to the New York Public Library and maintains a vigorous Internet presence. Robert Shea's literary executor, Mike Shea, made sure years ago that all of Shea's work became available as ebooks, answers friendly emails and generally works with anyone who wants to keep Shea's work alive. New Falcon has been reprinting the Shike novels. What has the RAW estate done since Wilson's death?

Adam Gorightly on Illuminatus Reading, Week Five

Adam Gorightly has put up a meaty, interesting post at Historia Discordia keyed to Week Five of the online Illuminatus! discussion that I've been hosting here. You'll want to read all of it, but here's a bit I especially liked:

In a previous post, I commented how Illuminatus! is a mental exercise of sorts in trying to distinguish what is true and what is false in the book. In their quest to bust the Illuminati, Goodman and Muldoon arrive at the theory that the clues they’ve uncovered suggest the same thing: that the reality of the Illuminati is both true and false. And perhaps that’s the final secret of Illuminatus! (maybe): that it’s partly true and partly false and it’s ultimately up to the reader to decide for themselves which parts are true and which are false—so it becomes a different reality tunnel for each reader/experiencer.

I've archived Adam's post on the links page at upper right.

Wednesday links

Ivan Stang interviews RAW on the Hour of Slack.

Gmail now encrypting all of its email messages.

A letter from RAW to Lady L. 

Metadata reveals sensitive, private information.

Is the social justice left abandoning free speech? 

Steve "Fly" Pratt and John Sinclair news roundup

Some months ago, Steve "Fly Agaric" Pratt wrote me and asked if I'd pen a press release for the new album he did with John Sinclair, the famous countercultural icon. I said sure. I asked Steve to send me some quotes. I didn't hear back. I forgot to remind him. Time passed, and I got busy with other stuff, and the album was released. So Steve, sorry the press release didn't get written, how about a blog post at my blog?

Here is the official press release on the album, which features Steve's music and Sinclair's words. The Guardian article is here.  It links to a stream of the album.

And here is the direct link to the stream:

Steve also wrote to me recently to tell me about an article online about a legal case involving Sinclair.

Steve wrote, "I wanted to turn you onto one of the most detailed descriptions of the Sinclair trial i have ever come across, by Hugh Buck Davis.

On reading, i found myself stumbling into the universe of 'Schroedinger's Cat' and some flashbacks to Illuminatus!"

Illuminatus! group reading, Week Five

Page 42 "ILLUMINATI PROJECT: MEMO #7" to page 52 "the Islamic and Catholic traditions respectively." 

Page 44, "Congressman Koch," presumably Ed Koch (1924-2013), who also was a mayor of New York. 

Page 44, "And 'illumination' was one of the words hippies were always using ... " The paragraph about light and illumination reminds me of "All things that are, are lights," a phrase from John Scotus Eriugena quoted in the Cantos of Ezra Pound.  The quotation provides the title for Robert  Shea's historical novel, All Things Are Lights,  which features a hero who practices tantric sex, much like Simon Moon. I have previous suggested that All Things Are Lights is a "thematic prequel" to Illuminatus!

Page 45, "Here, kitty-kitty-kitty," Hagbard is training the self-destructing mynah birds.

Page 45, "One of those scientists ... " Dr. Charles Mocenigo.

Page 48, "That character in Washington is a mental lunatic, and he means it." Illuminatus! was written in 1969-71, but unfortunately the satire on U.S. intervention in remote areas of the world hasn't dated.

Page 51, " ... the pivotal role of secret Masonic lodges in the French revolution ... "  I found an article about this, but it doesn't list many sources.  

Note: All Things Are Lights was re-released as an ebook under the Creative Commons License by Shea's son; you can download free ebooks here. 

Next week: Page 52 "Saul picked up the ninth memo" to Page 63 "the shadows of Maya."
 

'Ulysses"

I recently finished reading Ulysses by James Joyce, and more recently completed two books about that book: Ulysses by Hugh Kenner and Ulysses and Us by Declan Kiberd.

While I realize that no one book can answer all of my questions about Joyce's work, I'm struck by the fact that even the EXPERTS can't agree on fundamental questions about what happens in the book. Depending on who you read, Molly Bloom in the last section is expressing a positive affirmation of life, masturbating or drifting off to sleep. In the Kiberd book, Molly is masturbating but Stephen is just peeing when he walks along the beach early in the book. According to Kenner, Molly is falling asleep, but Stephen is masturbating  on the beach. I also thought neither author quite captured what Joyce was trying to do.  I'd like to find one book that kind of ties things all together for me.

Here is Martin Amis on the difference between Joyce and Nabokov: "If you go to Nabokov’s house, metaphorically speaking, you get his best chair, in front of his fire, with his best wine. If you go to James Joyce’s house, you come into this big drafty edifice, and there’s no one there. And then you find him tinkering around in some scullery. And he offers you two slabs of peat around a conger eel, and a glass of mead."

Context here. 

"Teenset" interviews Simon Moon!

Editor's Note: Before her recent, fatal accident, Miss Glass was a leading expert on subversive affairs. 

[The following are jpeg images of the infamous article from the March 1969 issue of "Teenset" magazine cited in "Illuminati Project: Memo #5," page 40 of Illuminatus!  Scott from Wisconsin obtained these images for me from Avo, who hosts a site dedicated to information about Frank Zappa. My sincere thanks to both of those folks. -- The Mgt.]

 

 

    

Illuminatus group reading update

I've been putting up links to the "Weekly Posts" page for the Illuminatus! discussion at the top right of this page, and I wanted to point out that I've been trying to include meaty posts from other blogs that contribute to the discussion. So far, that's been Adam Gorightly's Historia Discordia, but if you happen to write something on another blog that contributes to the discussion, and I miss it, please tell me and I'll put up a link.

I've also reorganized the various links and and apps on the right side of the page by  putting up  a new "Illuminatus Resources" area, and again, I'm open to suggestions.

As for Mr. Gorightly, please see his new post on Kerry Thornley and the Illuminati Lady. 

Thursday news roundup

Steve Moore

Steve Moore has died. John Higgs named a moonbase in First Church on the Moon after him; see this interview.  Daily Grail comments.

Pipzi Williams haiku. 

Setting the record straight on Giordano Bruno? John Merritt says (on Twitter), "A much needed screed against a major misconception about Bruno."

Adam Gorightly on the Berkeley Illuminati and Illuminatus! 

New release of Steven 'Fly' Pratt's ebook. 

The Guardian streams Pratt's collaboration with John Sinclair.

Illuminati training video leaked.

Cosmic Trigger play updates

bOING bOING has finally noticed Daisy's production. The website has a huge audience, so this is a very useful way of getting the word out. I tried to get them to notice the Illuminatus! online discussion, but nobody's taken the bait so far.

An "informal RAW talk" has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at the Black Dove Pub in Brighton, England, featuring John Higgs, Daisy Eris Campbell and others. Details here.