The bookshelf photos seem to be popular, so here are a few more. From Chad Nelson.
Another from Chad. What's the deal with the framed photo of a buffalo?
Another Chad. He does seem to have a few books.
Another from Eric.
Another from Eric.
One more from Eric
Top shelves of my living room bookshelf.
Another from my living room.
Bottom from my living room bookshelf.
Another of my bookshelves.
At his blog, Jechidah, Apuleius Charlton has a new post up to answer a question posed by Spookah, "Apuleius, I feel curious, which other books would you consider essential reading for anyone interested in magic”?
About 33 books are listed, in three categories: "How Can Anyone Believe This Shit?," "Practical Magic (You Already Know It) and "Some Discretion Needed."
When I visited him in August, Apuleius told me his biggest magic influences are William Blake, Aleister Crowley, Robert Anton Wilson and Alan Moore, and all of these folks are represented in the list.
There's also a photo of one of Apuleius' bookshelves. I love bookshelf photos; if you download the photo and blow it up, you can read many of the titles, and try to figure out why Apuleius has two copies of Somnium, the wonderful fantasy novel by Steve Moore.
From SEVEN DAYS, Volume 1, Number 8, May 23, 1977, via RAW Archives (e.g., Martin Wagner) on Twitter.
As we wait to see how Elon Musk's great adventure turns out (well, I'm waiting, at least), there are a couple of Twitter accounts I wanted to point to.
Doctor Richard Waterleau is working on a book about reality tunnels and runs a lot of art like the above. He also has a Substack and a digital workshop.
Fuckup Solutions, LLC, ARC, DDD, POEE, KLF, LMNOP is a Discordian account, a bit hard to describe. Many of you might well enjoy it; it is sometimes quite amusing.
Of course, I follow many Twitter accounts, but those are two I don't believe I've mentioned here.
I also recommend my RAW list, which includes several accounts.
While we wait for an actual film or TV adaptation of Illuminatus!, there is a website called This Movie Does Not Exist that uses artificial intelligence to make posters for nonexistent movies. You can make three free movie posters, then you have to pay, so I made three Illuminatus! posters. The one above is one that I thought wasn't terrible. (Here is one of the rejects). If you give it a try, please post the link in the comments.
Bob Dylan with Allen Ginsberg in 1975. Creative Commons photo by Elsa Dorfman.
One of the more curious facts about Robert Anton Wilson is that he didn't like Bob Dylan. ("Dylan seems to me a totally pernicious influence -- the nasal whine of death and masochism.")
In general, RAW is not who you go to for discussions of popular music, though he's fine when discussing classical music or jazz. The rest of us I guess can just shrug and wonder why RAW never noticed how great the Beatles were or the Rolling Stones (for the first 20 years of the band's existence, anyway).
Bob Dylan has a new book out about popular songs, and apparently it's quite interesting; see Tyler Cowen's review. "This is one of the better books on America, and one of the best books on American popular song."
Prop Anon has posted two more articles by Robert Anton Wilson at his Chapel Perilous website.
"Extra-Terrestrial TV," from the Berkeley Barb, is a piece that discusses claims that aliens were about to do a broadcast on TV.
"Hefner Vs. the Narcs" is also from the Berkeley Barb and concerns the death of Bobbie Arnstein, an aide to Hugh Hefner. It's a piece that was already reprinted by Martin Wagner.
Prop recently completed his biography of Robert Anton Wilson and has been posting many articles and documents he uncovered during his research.
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Although I don't listen to podcasts all the time, I have checked out all 14 Hilaritas podcasts; yesterday I listened to the one released Oct. 23, about Marshall McLuhan, the "medium is the message" guy. It was pretty good; it features Andrew McLuhan, the media philosopher's grandson.
The moments I liked included discussion of how to learn about McLuhan if you are a newbie; the suggestion is to watch interviews on YouTube. Andrew McLuhan admits reading grandpa's work can be tough sledding and compares it to reading poetry. He also said he learned when teaching courses about McLuhan's work that the students actually prefer getting homework assignments. It reminded me of RAW's insistence that Prometheus Rising readers need to do the exercises.
I was less convinced when Andrew McLuhan talked about FDA regulation of drugs and said that in a similar vein, the government should regulate social media; a few minutes later, he did admit it's not an exact analogy.
As usual, there are useful links at the official podcast site, and you may be able to listen using your favorite smartphone app. The podcast is officially released at Podbean, Apple, Google, Spotify and TuneIn, but I've also been able to get it at Podkicker, the main podcasting app on my smartphone.
The podcast to be released Nov. 23 is on Claude Shannon; I'm really looking forward to it.
Duncan Trussell (Creative Commons photo). Source.
Robert Anton Wilson was mentioned in a Joe Rogan podcast this week that featured Duncan Trussell, also a comedian and podcaster. It's about 7:45 into the podcast.
Chad Nelson writes (on Wednesday), "Yesterday he had fellow comedian and podcaster Duncan Trussell on. About ten minutes in, Trussell gave a shout out to “the great Robert Anton Wilson,” and explained RAW’s efforts to get his readers into a state of generalized agnosticism. I may be overreacting since I’m a huge fan of the show, but I was shocked when I heard it.
"Sadly, it came in the middle of a busy, stoned conversation so there was no “who was RAW?” follow-up inquiry from Rogan. Trussell also went on to mention Discordianism ever so briefly.
"As far as I know, it’s the only time RAW has ever been specifically named on the podcast, which surprises me since McKenna, Lilly, Leary, Castaneda, Watts and other RAW-like thinkers and contemporaries are discussed all the time."
"I have some Great News! I completed the manuscript for Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson and sent it to my publisher. It will be ready to enter the world in the Fall of 2023!
"I have been working on this book for an awfully long time and I cannot wait to share it with everyone who wants to learn more about the great Robert Anton Wilson. One thing I can say is that I sought to be as critical as I possibly could while still giving RAW his props. I hope the result is a balanced presentation on the man’s life and work."
More here, including news about the new podcast I've covered in this blog and other Prop activities.
I asked for more specifics on the publication schedule for the book, to be published by Strange Attractor, and Prop promised, "More news soon."
John Higgs has another newsletter out, and for me the big news was that he had decided to let two of his short novels, The Brandy of the Damned and The First Church on the Moon. I really liked both of them when they came out. I couldn't really make out why John is doing this, but in any case, get 'em while they are still available.
The newsletter also plugs a new podcast, "Adventures in Nutopia," by David Bramwell; the second episode, apparently out soon, "includes David interviewing me, Daisy Campbell and Michelle Olley about reality tunnels."
Here is a description of the first podcast: "With the help of philosopher Alan Watts, we’ll unpick the past two thousand years before meeting guests George Monbiot, Jeremy Lent, mythologist Sharon Blackie and non-binary artist Brooke Palmieri, to learn about some of the most exciting and innovative ideas and movements and myths – from Ecological Civilisation to The Commons – that just might help guide us into a more networked, inclusive and sustainable future." (Source.)
John also thinks big changes are coming in the next couple of years.
