Enjoy the Solstice everyone!

The new edition of Maybe Quarterly came out on time, you can find it online here.



*

Not Dark Yet

We don't follow the Gregorian calendar that much @ the MLA, but I'll use it here for convenience. For RAW comment on multiple calendar use, check out this time last 'year'.

If you want to start planning your studies for '2007' Gregorian [or 1428 Islamic; 5768 Hebrew; 134 l'Ere Pataphysique, etc] then you can catch a glimpse of some amazing, upcoming courses on the MLA instructors page.

If you prefer to use (say) the 'Pataphysical Calendar you can work out the course dates for yourself, with the perpetual calendar which displays in the Right Hand Column. :-)

NB: The month 'Décervelage' translates as something like 'unbraining'...

You might want to investigate the ECOlogical Calendar...

Maybe this time...

• You may notice that Bob has started his own blog - RAW data - about a week ago - you can always find the link in the right hand column of this blog.
• A new issue of Maybe Quarterly should appear on the Winter Solstice
  
• Blogger has recently upgraded, any contributors having problems logging in, let me know. You will notice that you can now word search this blog (see tool bar at top)

• Good to see the Madison Underground Press getting a new website together. I particularly enjoyed watching a slideshow of Bobby's images in his Gallery. Good to have them gathered together in one place [the Patatows!]. Even so, these do not include all of this prolific artist's output. I really loved his Shakespeare in Ulysses image, made for Illustrated James Joyce some time last year. As well as on the MUP site, I have tried to index material used in Maybe Quarterly and in this Only Maybe blog. Look in the Imperfect Index under Bobby, for words and images.

FW - Pg 309, 12/04/06

Though perhaps somewhat battle ravaged I've come through now The Study Period. (Book II, Chapter 2)
Which to my great relief Joe C suggests as maybe the wake's most difficult episode, and ain't it though! 2 months it took me, my eyes pinballing around the page, jerked hastily about by endless footnotes, w/ shem & shaun annotating in the margins, and losing my place at every turn only to restart some elsewhere as it's all the same looking greek to me! Sometimes it would take days before I'd read through to where I already was, a time ago or 2 or 3. With on the page before the last, the 4th footnote: "I've lost the place, where was I?"

Supplimented by Ellmann's bio my Joyce study has become damn spooky, fucking hilarious, & a little sad.

Over @ Buddhafart: 6:01

Bruce Eisner's Vision Thing - RU Sirius podcast

Just added a link to Bruce Eisner's Vision Thing [right of the screen]. He has lots of stuff that might interest Maybe people...Sounds like family.

e.g: RU Sirius Podcast -- Tribute To The Still-Very-Much Alive Writer Philosopher Prankster Robert Anton Wilson

RU Sirius Radio Show #78: Robert Anton Wilson Lives!
[first section on Borat - UK Prankster aka Ali G. The RAW section starts at about 17:23]

We talk about the great writer/philosopher/prankster Robert Anton Wilson with Lance Bauscher, director of the documentary “Maybe Logic: The Lives and Ideas of Robert Anton Wilson” and the force behind the “Maybe Logic Academy.” And we talk to Eric Wagner, author of “An Insider’s Guide to Robert Anton Wilson.” And best of all, Bauscher brought in some reading/performances from the upcoming audio book version of The Illuminatus Trilogy!, which will be released by his Deepleaf Production company.
Hear Ken Campbell reading the audio book! Yeh! He put the stage show of Illuminatus! on in London

You can see Ken with RAW here - and what about this letter from Ken Campbell!

Sub-Genius Alert

A new course will start on Monday, but you can still enroll for it at the Academy.
Running Your Own Cult:
Do's and Don'ts

This course is really Volume Two of "The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack -- The Bobliographon," a new SubGenius book from Thunder's Mouth Press which will be in stores by November. This material -- basically a behind-the scenes history of The Church of the SubGenius and an investigation into the nature of belief -- requires way too much multimedia to work as just a book. But it's perfect for an 8-week online course.
At the end of the course, students will have designed and developed their own religious cult to the point of marketability.
Rev. Ivan Stang is compiling the most telling true-life anecdotes, photos, video and audio clips that illustrate the Church of the SubGenius story since 1980. These "most telling" moments are also usually the funniest, although some are tragic indeed. They also prompt all manner of questions and observations about the nature of religion and philosophy.

Course materials:
The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack -- The Bobliographon -- Ivan Stang (November release)

A motherload of SubGenius Multimedia --
(available exclusively through MLA course)

8 week course
November 20 - January 21 Course Overview Here

Bob - waving not drowning...

[flash forward!] RAW has started his own blog - in December...RAW data

Just a quick update. I lifted this from Douglas Rushkoff's great website. As you may know, Douglas initiated the cascade of money and goodwill which bailed Bob out of a sticky situation. I believe he now has enough money for the next six months of medical care, etc - but he can never have enough goodwill or good vibes sent to him.

You can go to Rushkoff's site and add comments to this page, if you want to send good wishes for all the clear thinking, optimism and great jokes that most people seem to like RAW for...and if you haven't read Bob yet, what a treat! So much to look forward to! Enjoy!

Hitler loves Black Jesus

Off Course - On Course

Philip Farber's course moves into its second week - you'd have to move fast to get in now and catch up. Fascinating Stuff. Meta-Magick: Where Magick Meets the Brain / Magick and Neuro-Linguistics

Early Warning: the Rev.Ivan Stang approaches, with his 8 week course November 20 - January 21 Running Your Own Cult: Do's and Don'ts. You can read the Course Outline Here and sign up here if it interests you. I heard a rumour (OK, OK I just started a rumour) that Bob Dobbs himself may participate - an extremely rare chance to go into orbit around him - or go straight to Church.

This course is really Volume Two of "The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack -- The Bobliographon," a new SubGenius book from Thunder's Mouth Press which will be in stores by November. This material -- basically a behind-the scenes history of The Church of the SubGenius and an investigation into the nature of belief -- requires way too much multimedia to work as just a book. But it's perfect for an 8-week online course. At the end of the course, students will have designed and developed their own religious cult to the point of marketability.

Several interesting sessions also getting set up for the new year, with Starhawk, Antero Alli - go check it out.

Great Minds...

I want to tell you a little about one of our most prolific contributors (to courses, forums, the Maybe Quarterly and this blog). You can find links to all Bobby's pictures and words, thought-forms and jokes, in the Index (at right of page).

He and his crew over at Madison Underground Press produce all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff, and art in many styles. Have a look in their store for Fun time Comics, and/or Okey-Dokey... And think how much free art you can find if you check out that Index, like I told you...

In fact, why not check out all the links we offer (very little slack or filler around here).

Go look at the MLA shop, and you will see the general forum will only cost you $60 for a whole year. You can come hang out, and test the waters, if you don’t feel like diving into one of the online courses. You’ll find some interesting people. Hidden behind the avatars you may find artists like Bobby, published authors (like Erik Wagner who wrote a great intro to the work of our founder, Robert Anton Wilson) and John Higgs (see previous post), sound engineers like Oz Fritz (All Around the World), DJ Fly Acrillic (another major contributor to all MLA projects), rappers, musicians, magicians, healers, tricksters - old and young. Come and hang out...high IQs welcome, but please remember to pack your sense of humour, too. Many of us simply have day jobs, and then come chill out with great minds from all over the planet.

I enjoy getting to hear samples of people’s music, see advance copies of (for instance) Fun Time Comix #7 and Suburban Legend Comics Issue 4, get great links and gossip and conversation, recommended films and books, a reading group, etc. For $5 a month? Not bad, huh? If you decide to do a course you get access to the general forum thrown in for free! Even better!



A few more: How about Prop and crew - MindSpray ep album “What’s Inside?”, or Fly Agaric 23's book of poems "World Piss" and his musical stuff on MySpace

I don't try hip street talk (I hit 60 this year) to praise this stuff (I'll just sound like a Cosmic Schmuck) but I like the stuff these guys do. Check it out.

OK, I sometimes say provocative things, I admit (in the privacy of the forum I don’t feel the need for the kind of careful choice of words I make out here) – but generally we offer a pretty friendly place and a warm welcome – following RAW’s one and only rule:

If you can’t achieve tolerance, at least attempt courtesy.

So even when discussions get heated (and they can and do) you won’t find any stupid flaming. We don't have moderators, censors or filters, we have a self-organising community...you may want to respect people's privacy, of course, and feel free to wear a mask yourself...

Happy Birthday Tim!

This blog has become a slight monoculture for a while - perhaps people have courses to attend.

Anyway, I received the 'positive' version of Tim Leary's adventures a couple of days ago, and then found that the author has joined our forum so seems available for chat about it! Excellent!

I had time to read some more today, only to realise that I had started reading it on Tim's birthday! Haha! Synch!

So the links on the right to I Have America Surrounded will take you to the relevant website and blog.

If you wonder why I specified this as a 'fair' or 'postive' biog, I gather the other one out has less sympathy for this complex man. I haven't read it, so I can't say if it appears judgemental, or simply puritanically shocked, or whatever - or even a calculated character assassination. You can go find it, if curious. Robert Greenfield's Leary biog on Amazon. According to one reviewer the last words may hint at what I said: "Those who love Timothy Leary will hate your book. And those who hated him will never read it".

I have to say that I find John Higgs' book entirely fascinating. I knew quite a lot, in fragments, but he puts the jigsaw together into a coherent whole - filling in quite a few gaps in my knowledge - and successfully evoking that critical period in modern history.

From Paul Krassner's blog:

"There is one thing people should know about Tim Leary," says British writer John Higgs. "He was fucking funny!" Shortly before his death, Leary was asked about Richard Nixon calling him "the most dangerous man in America." "It's true," Leary replied. "I have America surrounded." Which is why Higgs titled...


Oh, and I managed to get a signed copy of Brian Barritt's out-of-print book "The Road of Excess" from his private stash - Be Quick!

Good Jokes

fuzzbuddy just pointed us to an hour of Bob in his prime on video.

Enjoy it here on Google Video.

If you want a downloadable version, get over to Grey Lodge.

As they say:

Several people have asked for 'downloadable' copies of this movie. So, here it is. Recorded in Santa Cruz California in 1990, Bob talks about The DaVinci Code long before it was even a glint in Dan Brown's eye. ;) I have also included links to the Google video and YouTube copies as well. The torrent is a DivX rip of a DVD, made from the original high 8mm copy of the movie. Includes the Q and A session as well as the talk. Enjoy, seed and share, share share.Also, if you like this video and enoy Bob and his ideas, pop over and make a donation. Every little bit helps.

Even Better

Glandmaster just pointed me to the boing boing site again, which contains a note which I will copy here, or you can click over to their site, here

Today, I received this email from Bob's daughter, which contains a note from Bob. It's very moving. People opened their hearts and their wallets, and Bob is going to be able to live out his remaining days in peace. Thank you all very much.

On behalf of my Dad, RAW (Bob), I want to throw my arms around you "like a circle 'round the sun!" for your loving graciousness in posting Bob's need on your site. As of about 5 minutes ago, over $68,000 has come in. We are all overjoyed as it now means that we can continue to celebrate this phase of his life in the comfort of his own home, with all the care he needs, until his passing, honored by the loving support of so, so many wondrous folks. Just last week I was sick with heartache as we were faced with giving his notice and now, the world has simply and completely - transformed. Last night, he dictated a note that he wanted me to forward to you - below is the text. He is very weak, cannot sit up or eat on his own, and as he struggled with a whispery voice to express his gratitude, he broke into tears several times. How my heart swelled as I gazed at this man who has been both one of the most frustrating - and incredible - beings I have ever known. I would not be who I am today, had I not grown up with him.

Much love, Christina Pearson

BOB'S NOTE:

Dear Friends, my God, what can I say. I am dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and totally stunned by the charity and compassion that has poured in here the last three days.

To steal from Jack Benny, "I do not deserve this, but I also have severe leg problems and I don't deserve them either."

Because he was a kind man as well as a funny one, Benny was beloved. I find it hard to believe that I am equally beloved and especially that I deserve such love.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, know that my love is with you.You have all reminded me that despite George W. Bush and all his cohorts, there is still a lot of beautiful kindness in the world.
Blessings.
Robert Anton Wilson

Situation improving

The flood of contributions has covered Bob's bills for this month - and his situation has stabilized.

Feel free to contribute, of course (always nice to pay for someone's medicinal dope cookies!)

I noticed in the (mostly delightful) Comments and contributions on Douglas Rushkoff's site that a couple of people thought of it as (or at least called it) an internet scam. You can go to RAW's official site to see that contributions to that PayPal address definitely go directly to him.

I also noted the usual nonsense (whining - "I could do with some money too" - or "why should I have to pay for his inability to deal with money" - even a Viagra ad from someone called 'dickhead' or some such) - which I either take as clumsy jokes, or really sad people who prefer to send bad vibes, rather than simply ignore something they do not wish to contribute to. They probably think of themselves as nihilist punk comedians, or chaotic magicians, but I can't even raise the energy to flame them.

One of the things I find most delightful about Bob remains his immense tolerance, his preference for positive thought and action, and even when saying rude things about people like Bush he usually adds a disclaimer that he may not have all the facts, or have assessed the situation accurately (he calls it 'checking to see if he has acted like a Cosmic Schmuck').

Hooray for our side...

Robert Anton Wilson needs our help...

We've all worked on staying calm and cheerful, knowing Bob has not felt well enough to run his courses (a useful source of income for him).

I have previously mentioned the eBay auctions, and also that you can simply send contributions to him, if you have ever got anything from his work (and anyone who has read anything of Bob must have come away somewhat changed, and generally improved).

OK, I have a bias.

Anyway, Douglas Rushkoff's blog has mentioned Bob's need for a bit of support right now, and I will repeat the contact material here:

Any donations can be made to Bob directly to the Paypal account olgaceline@gmail.com.

You can also send a check payable to Robert Anton Wilson to
Dennis Berry c/o Futique Trust
P.O. Box 3561
Santa Cruz, CA 95063.

[Update 3rd Oct: nice to see that Boing Boing have picked up on this (pass it on...)]

[4th Oct: Further Update: A huge response (300 posts) on Douglas Rushkoff's site, and apparently this month's rent is now covered. A couple of posts seem cautious that it isn't a scam (reasonable enough on the Internet) and a curse or two (from people who will always have enough money, and will never need a little help from their friends, they think - and rather than just not helping they feel duty bound to tell us all about our stupidity).

Of course, sombunall people wonder how a published writer can run out of money. Perhaps Dan Brown could make a one-off payment for research & inspiration :-)

Self-employed people live a much more precarious existence than employees (note that these contributions go towards paying rent, not mortgage payments - and medical bills, of course).

Half Truth

A zen master lay dying. His monks had gathered around his bed, from the most senior to the most novice monk. The senior monk leaned over to ask the dying master if he had any final words of advice for his monks. The old master slowly opened his eyes and in a weak voice whispered, "Tell them Truth is like a river."The senior monk passed this piece of information in turn to the monk next to him, and it circulated around the room.

When the words reached the youngest monk he asked, "What does he mean, 'Truth is like a river'?"

The question was passed back around the room to the senior monk who leaned over the bed and asked, "Master, what do you mean, 'Truth is like a river'?"

Slowly the master opened his eyes and in a weak voice whispered, "OK, Truth is not like a river."

Love Under Will

This Life would simply seem a whirlwind fantasy

If it were not for the History inherent,

The Time-Bound wisdom and knowledge.

This Heart would ring in fools paradise,

Proclaiming the Virtue of all and nothing,

But for the discernment of my minds eye, the courage of my conviction.

And Today would be a Gods wet dream

Were it not for the torment

Of Yesterday and Tomorrow,

For Love would live so Perfect

Were it not for the Prophet

Who speaks in error.

And I too may be quick to praise the Gods

For all our Worldy treasures, for all our living gifts,

Were it not for the Beauty of these mortal hands

That did so daringly, in Grace and Folly,

Lay down the Stele and the law,

and bless the face of human kindness.

Loves sweet intoxication, divine holds our futures dear,

But Love is fickle, hasty and rash -

It is only the Will of mortal man

That pays for Life in Work and coldhard Cash.

For you, My Love, I would pay the Gods a thousand thanks

But for the roads we build by these mortal hands.

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering" ~ St. Augustine

Written for Love, Life and Amelia.

Equinocturnal Greetings

The Equinox has arrived again (however you define the exact day).







The students of MLA have produced yet another edition of the quarterly magazine.

Congratulations and thanks to all concerned.



*

Hail Eris!

Delightful to hear that the astronomers got thrown into disarray by the discovery of a planetoid further out than Pluto, but larger.

After some dispute, 'they' - the International Astronomical Union (IAU) - have decided to downgrade Pluto from planet status, rather than add this new object in. It has had some nicknames for a while, but they have settled on Eris - Goddess of Discord (and named its moon after Disnomia, apparently Eris's lawless daughter).

All Hail Discordia!

For those of you recently arrived, the Discordians (who worship Eris) appear prominently in Illuminatus! - the magnum opus of RAW the founder. And if you want true enlightenment on the subject I can only recommend The Book - Principia Discordia.

You can find the various editions, etc at the link below if you wish to compare versions of:

THE PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA
or, How I Found the Goddess and What I Did To Her When I Found Her

THE MAGNUM OPIATE OF MALACLYPSE THE YOUNGER

Wherein Is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely Anything

For those of you into astrology, Antero Alli has pointed out an Eris ephemeris, here.

Joseph Campbell Loves UGOD

"Angel Tech", a review.

"Angel Tech is a guide for the realisation of the multidimensional self. It is also a workbook for an Invisible Institute of Higher Learning where teachers walk amidst our daily lives, ready to share the appropriate education towards our inevitable graduation. These teachers appear directly from the No Coincidences Department in a vast array of cloaks and guises... and These teachers are us."

"Here are the great neurological scripts of the past synthesised and modernised for our day: the Tarot, Cabala, Alchemy, the Hindu Chakra system. And here to - praise be to the Sun Absolute! - is a refreshing absence of the Cant, the pomposity and the deliberate mystification that makes most books on those subjects unreadabe" Robert Anton Wilson, author of Prometheus Rising.

Available from: www.NewFalcon.com
A course, facilitated by the author, runs from Sept. 25- Nov.19 only at MaybeLogic.net

This book was written for Karma Mechanics and those brave souls surfing the crest of humanities futures. That means you, me, your next door neighbour, architects, intellectuals, artists, scientists, hippies, heroes, bogeymen and even literary critics. Perhaps especially for literary critics.
Facilitating greater communication between right and left hemispheres of the brain, while at the same time assisting in the expansion and development of their creative expression, this is a rip-roaring rollercoaster through the very essence of what makes us human, taking us high upon the turrets of our devilishly crafted structures - the initial feeling of peril being replace, or perhaps refined, into wicked-dangerous-fun - and showing us a glimpse of what lies beyond.

This book is like horseradish sauce to my surloin steak, cranberry to my vodka, and a skeleton key to the limitless expression of the multiple personalities i have for so long tried to keep locked in the basement. "A guide to the realisation of the multidimensional self", it states, but...

What in the name of talking red cabbages does that mean? Is this just another book offering enlightenment, power, knowledge, success, riches, 1000 virgins and extra ketchup with your happy meal? Hell no! This is a book offering a workable formula that, once imbibed, will give you the fantastic, once in a lifetime, oppotunity to take a look and how you got where you are right NOW, and how to get where you want to Do (also RIGHT NOW!). If used correctly, this book will trample on your answers, eschew your beleifs, rape your sense of certainty, kill both your hopes and your fears, and arrange an appointment for a face to face meeting with the big man himself - you, the decision maker! At which point you will hopefully have more good questions than answers, and the fortitude to take risks based upon a hunger for something new and exciting.
Taking as its foundation Timothy Learys 8 circuit model of the mind, a psychological model based on the law of octaves, it explores the connections between mind, body and the universe (our environment), utilising the ancient technologies and devices inherent in tarot, alchemy, the Hindu Chakra body, cabala, astrology and other systems in order to discover a deeper sense of freedom and more creative ways of interACTing with our world.
The hardware for this experience is divided into 2 "schools" and 8 "grades". The first school (focussing on the terrestrial circuits 1-4) is concerned with "Karma Mechanics", those of us committed to designing our own lives, with the skill and wisdom needed to effect positive actions, rather than relying on the robotic repetitions of our preconceived REactions, often conditioned through unwarranted punitive methods and thus instilling fear in anything they touch. These grades contain all the needed information on surviving on this planet, even thriving on this planet.
The second "school" is concerned with developing intelligence beyond survival on this planet. There are only a few things we need to do in order to survive this planet, and in fact they are simple. This school is for those brave souls who recognise, organise and transmit possible futures for this world, for my world, for yours. Beyond simple survival there are infinite possibilities for the future touch, flavour, colour, smell, sound and shape of this one mighty rock in an ocean of life. Chapters focus on the 4 extra-terrestrial circuits of the mind, dealing with humanities purpose (entelchy), its collective story and higher orders of space, time and intelligence than the ones sold to you on ABC or FOX.

Its a no non-sense, uncensored exploration through deep space, covering ground usually reserved for the intellectual elites of NASA and James Bond.
Included in these simple, de-jargoned instructions for crafting your own reality and maintaining your spaceship are enlightening excercises and lots of fun pictures. One point I have to make is that Antero has crafted this book like a chef, taking all the readily available ingredients (such as well known models of the psyche) and preparing them with experience, skill and a passion for fine dining. Rather than a collection of old techniques regurgitated for a quick profit, it is an exquisite 8 course meal served at the five star hotel of your mind.

Amor et Hilaritas

Just a quick note to say Bob has some more items going up for auction on eBay.

Help pay for his medical bills (including medical marijuana for the pain of post-polio syndrome) and his carers - well I dunno, maybe his rent and bills - if he gave you anything in your life, from a bright idea to a belly laugh, from a glimpse of hope to a profound thought - now you have a chance to return the favour.

The auction includes books, magazines, T-shirts (worn by the wholly holy one himself - probably holey), and later this week a Tarot deck (one card at a time) and some more of the very hard-to-get Discordian currency the Patatow, etc.

Oh, go look here, and bid merrily.

Note: You may need to refresh the search page to see latest bids.

The Academy has a student bar

Vico's Bar can seem quite strange as, although it feels like quite an intimate bar, it has many hidden extensions and dimensions.

You may find a series of asymmetrical and diverse rooms each of which, at various times, has become specialized for various activities. No one has a full map of the rooms, and very few people have access to all areas, yet no secret hierarchy seems apparent - far from it - in certain rooms (designed to demystify authority figures with dressing up and uniforms and mirrors and such like) you can grant yourself any title you chose, pick any costume you like, and get treated accordingly for the rest of the evening. You get what you wish for. If you dress as Royalty or Celebrity, and then start to take the next door in search of the best room that you could imagine, various large bodies may delay you, steer you, monitor you, look after you - sometimes asking what you would like to do from a very limited range of options, and never leave you alone for a moment. You may get the finest dope available, but you probably won't be allowed down into the main room, which resembles a combination of a western saloon, a smugglers' tavern and a tapas bar in Seville, with clusters of lucid dreamers and virtual realists, chaoticians and magicians, and all the other occupants of border territories. Royalty and celebrity do not always find a warm welcome in such an atmosphere.

The original design of the building incorporated several studio spaces, as well as workshops, cutting rooms, a small laboratory (allegedly), the film library and onward and outward to the better known of the quiet rooms, the Borges Memorial Library of Babel, the Aleph Sanctuary and the Bucky meditation dome. The louder rooms include the club and the theatre. It might sound a bit hectic, but the rush hour at the original opening has died down now. Sometimes, since the MLA Tavern has also opened nearby, you can ask the bar staff to reach behind the row of Klein bottles which releases the lock on the door into 'the back' and go walkabout without coming across other people, though the traces of their occupation may remain. All maps stay incomplete, as other occupants and participants repaint walls, knock through doors, and seal off areas for performance events, leaving the building permanently changed.

As for those back rooms, people go in and people emerge, and the stories they tell often seem like some elaborate hoax of a traveler's tale, but the atmosphere in the room when they come out may tend to encourage such elaboration on the (probably mundane) truth. Callahan leans on the bar, wiping glasses, and pays attention. Behind him, pinned to the wall, you can see a yellowed piece of paper with these words:

Top Ten Reasons Why Beer is Better than Jesus

10. No one will kill you for not drinking Beer.

9. Beer doesn't tell you how to have sex.

8. Beer has never caused a major war.

7. They don't force Beer on minors who can't think for themselves.

6. When you have a Beer, you don't knock on people's doors trying to give it away.

5. Nobody's ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured over his brand of Beer.

4. You don't have to wait 2000+ years for a second Beer.

3. There are laws saying Beer labels can't lie to you.

2. You can prove you have a Beer.

1. If you've devoted your life to Beer, there are groups to help you stop.

Several tables regularly fill up with those who enjoy to speculate on the possible current state of play of the building. Here in the airlock of the building punters dropping in for a quick coffee, a smoke and a game of backgammon mingle with the hardcore arts laboratory crew and the workmen, the theoretical physicists with the intertextual cut-up crowd, and those attempting to compile and update an accurate map of the whole building and its attractions.

Tesla visualization classes seem very popular, at the moment. Just by multiplying a real number and an imaginary number, you can set your mind to generate fractal patterns, and then roam at will up and down the self-similar fields. The class use for a text Tesla's first notebook, before he took off on his Man Who Fell To Earth phase - pouring patents out and letting Edison get the credit for electricity - and all that later material offering free energy, universal communication and so on (those later notebooks probably remain in the possession of various Intelligence Agencies).

The Mind Map on the wall just grew, I guess. Occasionally details get filled in, involuted self-referential patterns too condensed for words, leading into graphics and maths symbols. These may curl in an Escher delight, produce strange fractal miniatures and filigrees - here, there and everywhere (step ladders and Bobby and Banksy may have something to do with this) while deeper waves spread out, turning into large friendly letters...

Painters and designers shaped up these words - words have to know their place. Often someone clumsier might add large scrawled sarcastic comments, but it needs confidence and panache to do such a thing in front of this crowd...some feel safer lurking...

Still, it exists (in some sense) - and any crucial words or symbols accidentally covered up get lovingly reconstructed (if missed) by calling a Fahrenheit 451 Committee meeting which attempts to replace missing material from what anyone can remember, but as they pass Maui-Wowie round to open the committee meeting the new version often becomes accepted.

Words of power and evocative phrases often survive because of their position, or because of the grumble that goes up when wall-writers (with spray-cans at least) get even close to obscuring them.

The Alchemist has always had a seat in Escher's Corner. Sometimes you'd notice him, and sometimes you wouldn't see him - no one saw him enter or leave. Some assumed that he had a secret panel, and probably
slipped in when everyone in the room blinked and missed it, others thought he remained in a superposition of states until observed correctly, there were as many explanations as punters but all agreed on one thing - if anyone knew where the secret laboratory was, it was him, and that being invited to his table, though not always a comfortable experience, was likely to be extremely interesting, especially if he was looking for guinea pigs for some new concoction (he had a policy of always trying them himself before releasing them for the use of others.)

Note to Contributors

It appears that Blogger and Google have a beta test going on - which led to some strange behaviour by the system when I tried to log in today.

In the long run we will get a more flexible blog layout, greater security, etc - but for now you get challenged that you will need a 'Google Account' in order to use blogger...

If you form part of the paranoid gang (about integrated services, and monopolies, etc) then you may not like this trend, but we could always reposition ourselves later.

As it happens, I jumped through the hoops only to get told that they didn't need to upgrade me just yet...So I just wanted to let you know you might experience strange behaviour from the Blogger login page.

The Google account you will need (eventually) does not include a Gmail (google email) account - but if you would like one (and it hasn't become available in your area yet) then contact me through the forum, as I have plenty of spare invites - I have beta tested Gmail for more than a year already, and I like it.

COURSES: don't forget that courses keep happening, you can still get onto David Jay Brown's course on The Science of Sex and Drugs, which started this week.

6 week course from August 14 - Sept 24
For more information, please visit www.maybelogic.org

Antero Alli will reprise his 8-Circuit course starting on September 25th.

FW - Pg 137, 8/7/06

After over a hundred page SLOG through the relentless hypnagogic babel of the riverrunning nat language, Mr. Joyce drops the jiggerypokery and talks straight turkey meet to mate.

The resistence training having paid off sparkling dividends, the well worn reader earns a bit of the familiar Ulysses style blinding clarity. The culmative effect on my neuro semantic field seems already like that of a magic mushroom feast. (a similar tweaking of connotation & denotation, the cambridge caveman speaking more of the many.) Though RAW, Leary, & Mckenna have already said as much.

I asked Joyce in a dream once where for he got all his juice. He said he had picked a fight w/ the monster in the sky (God) and no one seemed sure who had won...

Reading is awesome!

Where do bearded men come from?

You can see here

My kind of magic, from the magic beard man, Eugene Burger. I'll drop a few quotes, as some of our members into magick may think that 'my kind of magic' has nothing to do with what they have got involved in (maybe they see 'stage magic' as little more than card tricks done by 'skeptics about the supernatural'), but I think the gap can prove smaller than some might imagine.

I think the central image of magic, the central metaphor, is transformation. And 'I thought it would be interesting to take an example of something that I think is magical thinking and to look at it specifically to see what is going on, because all of us indulge in magical thinking at one time or another. All you have to do is buy a lottery ticket and you are in the midst of magical thinking: All reason tells me that I am not going to win, and yet whenever I buy a lottery ticket it's the only time I enjoy giving money to the State!

I would like to talk about a person who clearly seemed to indulge in magical thinking and his name was Emil Coue. Coue was born in 1857 and died in 1926. He was an obscure pharmacist in France. Around the turn of the century his interests turned to hypnosis and autosuggestion. In 1922, he wrote a rather famous book called Self-Mastery Through Auto-Suggestion. He made trips to England and to the United States and claimed to have effected many rather remarkable cures for people.
[…]
If that's all true, then I think we can restate the game of performance magic this way: that the performance magician is telling you that you are the magician in your own life. You are the agent of transformation, your own transformation, and other peoples' transformation -- the people whom you come into contact with, the people you love. You are the agent of transformation; you are the magician and that is a fabulous, liberating, and even a little scary notion, because it puts all of the responsibility back on me. If I want my life to be different, I am the magician and I must make this happen. If I want a relationship to be improved, I am the magician and it's up to me, I can't wait for the other person.

So it comes as a great gift, and it is also a kind of shocking challenge because I think many people don't want to be the magician. They fight it. It's much easier to play the roll in life of the victim, "poor me." Magic says "no more poor me." It says, "you are the magician, and what are you going to do to make your life more magical?"
[…]
Margaret and I have a dear friend whose name is Max Maven who has a theory that little boys get into magic because of what we might call character disorders. I'm sure Max has a better phrase here! But this happens usually just before puberty. Here's this little boy who is powerless, whose parents might be hassling him, whose teachers are a pain in the neck, whose friends might be problematic as well and this kid is powerless and now he discovers magic. It's interesting how little boys go through a magic period very often. Not everybody, but certainly a lot more than you think. This little magic period, some of them get out of it. Others like Margaret and me get drawn into it. The idea is, here's this powerless kid, eleven or twelve years old. What gives him power? Well, having a secret.

We should talk about the phenomenology of the secret. What does the secret do to a person? Knowing a secret is power. So we have this little kid who is having all these problems in life, not terrible problems, but problems of estrangement, problems with parents, teachers and peers. This kid learns a couple of magic tricks, he can make a coin disappear, and that's power.

Dynamo ("the UK's David Blaine") might appear to fit this profile...

Off-course, of course, maybe

The Academy has entered a summer recess - no courses running right now - but the general forum [$60 per year] has plenty of new members, and a wide range of esoteric subjects under discussion.
NB: you get free membership to this forum as part of the deal when you sign up for a course - but you can just join it separately.


David Jay Brown has a course called The Science of Sex and Drugs set for August 14th - Sept 24th.

Antero Alli will reprise his very popular Angel-Tech (8 Circuit Model) course from Sept 25th - Nov 19th.

Patricia Monaghan intends to re-run her course The Goddess Path in the Spring of 2007, and apparently this can count towards Graduate credits (whatever that means - as a dropped-out autodidact (!) I have no idea...)

If you don't know much about forums, and online learning, you could browse the demo page

Course updates, costs, relevant texts and materials, etc - listed here.

Too Polite to Ask...

As a rather cautious researcher I did once go in pursuit of some insight into the Holy Grail, by exploring the original stories. It came as quite a surprise to find out that it might appear as a cup (either from the Last Supper or the cup that caught the blood from Jesus’ wound) or a plate/bowl/dish, or a stone (philosopher’s stone), or a cauldron, or even a bloodline (Holy Blood, Holy Grail – sang graal, and all that). The stories seem confused and confusing.

The main function of the Grail seems like a ‘motivator’ for people – setting out on a difficult quest, the grail works as the carrot (ordeals of the adventure work as the stick). You might also relate it to the crock of gold at the foot of the rainbow, or almost any other kind of enigmatic and well-hidden treasure.

It has become a weak metaphor for the elusive ideal in any particular field of endeavour (‘the holy grail of stamp collectors’) – and of course has found itself mocked and maybe trivialised in Monty Python and the Holy Grail – as well as never getting clearly defined (Cathar treasure, or Cathar secret) in books like Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail (exploring the Rennes-Le-Chateau mystery).

After some reflection, I decided that the Grail looks like little more than a Macguffin, to me. Alfred Hitchcock used this word for an object (sometimes a person or event) around which the plot revolves (the secret plans, or phial of uranium, Maltese Falcon or treasure map or whatever). “People search for it, pursue it, steal it, kill for it, try to find out what it is...and yet for all its apparent importance to the plot, its only real value is as an excuse for people to do things”.

You may also find a connection with Vonnegut’s wampeter:

A wampeter is "the pivot of a karass, around which the souls of the members of the karass revolve." A karass has two wampeters at any time, one waxing and one waning.

"Whom does the grail serve?"

Psychopharmacology aug. 2006

Amazing what happens when scientists from a University get drugs that kids been doing for yonks!

Seems like the beginning of time once again. Every time.

hehe
Mushroom Fnord

Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance
Acrillic Figa

FW - Pg 68, 7/20/06

FW - Pg 38, 7/10/06

I've started reading FW straight around the double ends joined, figured I might keep a travel log.

Over @ Buddhafart: Local Boy Bikes Path

Stephen Dedalus