The works listed herein are ones I've read that made me think, or laugh, in a
quasi-meaningful way, or are useful to a developing Subgenius awareness. I post
it here hoping to get a similar list from other folks, or comments about these
that may help me look at 'em in a different way. Regardless, all of these I
highly recommend to help open that stubborn seventeenth nostril of awareness.
So crucial, that number 17.
I'll hold my comments until after some response, unless they're necessary.
These are in no particular order.
Nonfiction:
Games People Play by Eric Berne, M.D.
March Of Folly by Barbara Tuchman
Semiotext(e) USA ed. by Jim Fleming and Peter Lamborn Wilson
-- excellent, excellent, excellent. Someone *please* recommend more stuff in a
similar vein.
Fair Use - The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2 by Negativland
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
-- Thanks, Ivan, for recommending this one on HOS.
Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus
The Boy Scout Handbook / Fieldbook
Outposts by Russ Kick
-- similar to High Weirdness but mostly books
Survival by U.S. Dept. of the Army
The Hacker Crackdown by Bruce Sterling
Behold A Pale Horse by William Cooper
Kooks by Donna Kossy
-- Kooks has a great chapter on W.Cooper, proving reasonably well that he's
full of it. Regardless BaPH is still a funky read.
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
-- A *thick, long* read, the kind you've gotta put down because it's too much
info to absorb in a month, but well worth it. Lotsa stuff you've never heard
about.
The Big Book Of... series, various authors, esp. BBoConspiracies,
BBoUnexplained, BBoHoaxes, BBoDeath
Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Secret And Suppressed ed. by Jim Keith
-- Don't, don't, don't get the Anarchist Cookbook without also getting Secret
And Suppressed. S&S has a good chapter with lots of evidence indicating that
TAC is probably CIA disinformation. TAC has never been revised since 1971, and
most of it is so out-of-date as to be useless, but it's still fun to tell the
bobbies you've got a copy. Mine has notes from various sources including S&S
indicating what never to try making.
Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
-- Also wildly out of date but an interesting landmark.
Re/Search series, esp. #11 on Pranks!
The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
Fiction: (admittedly short, but I tend to prefer "truth" to "fiction"; just
wanted to include some works that had characters acting in a decidedly Dobbsian
manner)
Libra by Don Delillo
Metzger's Dog by Thomas Perry
-- A quick popcorn-like read but lots of fun; they blackmail the CIA and shut
down LA for kicks
Dahlgren by Samuel R. Delaney
Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
Masks of the Illuminati by Robert Anton Wilson
-- Yes, it may be a dumbed-down outtake from the Illuminatus! trilogy, but I
found the trilogy...well... a bit masturbatory. 'Scuse me. I like this one
better, so nyeahh.
Zodiac by Neil Stephenson
just about anything by Bruce Sterling or William Gibson or Heloise
Of course, one might say that all you ever need to read again will come from the
Sacred P.O. Box, so...
Phloighd
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: talysman@my-dejanews.com
I'd recommend What Do You Do After You Say Hello? too, because
it's jammed full of more stuff, and Berne is a pretty easy read. I would
NOT recommend Harris's version (I'm OK, You're OK). definitely a
Pink version...
> Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
> -- Also wildly out of date but an interesting landmark.
I thought there was an updated edition called Fax This Book?
I would add:
Goedel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid, by
Douglas R. Hofstadter.
(this will get some angry responses...)
A Generation of Vipers, by
Philip Wylie
(if you can find it...)
Prometheus Rising, by
Robert Anton Wilson.
also: The Illuminati Papers
Right Where You Are Sitting Now
Coincidance
these are some of his best *nonfiction* books
The Selfish Gene, by
Richard Dawkins
not extremely important in a specifically SubGenius context,]
but this is the book that invented memes...
I may add others later.
Papers
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: !!!bmyers@ionet.net (TarlaStar)
-Fiction-
"Imajica" by Clive Barker
"The Past through Tomorrow" Robert Heinlein
"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (I know I'll take shit for this one but I
think everyone should read it when they're 18 and still idealistic)
"The Little Prince" by Antoine de St. Exupery
"Salome" by Viereck and Eldridge
"The Valis Trilogy" by Philip Dick
"Shibumi" by Trevannian
"Vineland" by Thomas Pynchon
"Prince Ombre" (can't remember the author)
"Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" by Kate Wilhelm
"Earthly Powers" by Anthony Burgess
"The Last Temptation of Christ" by Nikos Kazantzakis
-Non-fiction-
"The People's Almanac" by Wallace and Wallechinsky
"The Art of Eating" by M.F.K. Fisher
"The Curve of Binding Energy" by John Mc Fee
"Critical Path" by R. Buckminster Fuller
"Triste Tropique" by Claude Levi-Strauss
"The Forest People" by Colin Turnbull
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: twgs@whatsthepoint.net (Jahweh Lynch)
>
>Goedel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid, by
> Douglas R. Hofstadter.
> (this will get some angry responses...)
Not from me. Finally somebody mentions an INTERESTING book. No offense,
but all of the books Phloigd mentioned were SO DAMN BORING, I couldn't read
through 'em even if I wanted.
I think sometimes people forget we are a RELIGION and not some sort of
intellectual wank. Along those lines:
The Bible (various authors)
The Gateless Gate (goes by various other titles) by Mumon
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
Ubik or VALIS, by Phillip K. Dick
and of COURSE The Book of the SubGenius and Revelation X.
--
"Marry a rat or a dog late in life. Avoid monkeys."
- My Chinese Fortune (oh by the way remove whats to email)
JIGGY WEEK: http://www.thepoint.net/~twgs/jiggy/jiggy.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bureau of Control <carlg@pop.net>
>
> "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand (I know I'll take shit for this one but I
> think everyone should read it when they're 18 and still idealistic)
>
I got my lifedose of Ayn Rand, with supplemental doses of Rush (the Canadian rock
band, not the American fat boy), 20 years ago, when I was in high school. It
immunized me against prepackaged ideologies...except for the Church, of course.
Problem is, most of the right/libertaian kids I knew who read this became grouchy
Young Republicans.
> "The Valis Trilogy" by Philip Dick
And Eye In the Sky, Ubik, Solar Lottery, Time Out of Joint, A Scanner Darkly, The
Zap Gun, Clans of the Alphane Moon, Man in the High Castle, and The Man Who Japed.
Vermilion Sands - J.G. Ballard
Discworld stories - Terry Pratchett
Good Omens - Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
>
>
> "Shibumi" by Trevannian
I read this one. I liked the bit about the hit man starting a Volvo-kicking fad. He
also wrote "The Eiger Sanction"
> "Vineland" by Thomas Pynchon
The Crying of Lot 49V
Gravity's Rainbow
Mason & Dixon
LOTS of Wm. Burroughs
Temporary Autonomous Zone - Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey). Also Immediatism &
Millennium
The Invisibles series (DC/Vertigo) - Grant Morrison
The Invisibles - Huxley (travels through Haiti/Vodou culture in the 1960s)
How Real Is Real? - Paul Watzlawick
Power: Its Origin and the History of its Use - Bertrand de Jouvenel
Ways of Seeing - John Berger
Lipstick Traces - Greil Marcus
The Revolution of Everyday Life - Raoul Vaneigem
Situationist International Anthology - Ken Knabb
Up They Rise! - The Incomplete Works of Jamie Reid (did Sex Pistols graphics)
WRAB: Pirate Television (graphic novel) - Matt Howarth
Dog Soldiers - Robert Stone
The Dreadnought Hoax - Adrian Stephen (brother of Virginia Woolf)
Illuminatus! & related - R.A.Wilson AND
Illuminati - Larry Burkett (fiction - paranoid Christian take on these guys)
666 & 1000 - Salem Kirban - Christian sci-fi classic with illos often appropriated
by Subgenii.
Mumbo-Jumbo, by Ishmael Reed (Illuminatus-like conspiracy novel in Harlem
Renaissance). Also, Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down
The Morning of the Magicians - Louis Pauwels & Jacques Bergier
The Illuminoids - Neal Wilgus
Report from Iron Mountain - Robert Lewin - 1960s fake position paper "proving" that
war is good for business. Resurrected by 1990s militia groups who didn't understand
Washington DC dry humor
Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer & Roughing It - Mark Twain
Those About To Die & The Hellfire Club - Daniel P. Mannix - both heavily slanted
through use of questionable historical sources but an entertaining read
Re/Search Pranks!, Industrial Culture Handbook, J.G. Ballard,
Burroughs/Gysin/Throbbing Gristle, Incredibly Strange Films, Incredibly Strange
Music
Movies:
Repo Man
The President's Analyst
The Manchurian Candidate
High School Madness, Babes in Khaki, and other fictional movies by Firesign Theater
Dawn of the Dead
I was gonna post to my web page the Syllabus of the Institute of Cultural
Teratology, about 75K of similar titles, but I'm pretty lazy...
--
The Bureau of Control - An official sponsor of the Millennium Bug!
http://www.vermilion-sands.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: wsmiii@ix.netHAMSTERKIDNEYScom.com (Little Bill)
Newsgroups: alt.slack
Subject: Re: An Incomplete Subgenius Reading List
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 23:10:10 -0400
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In article <B1E26520966824932@willow18.verinet.com>, axel@SPAMXverinet.com
(axel heyst) wrote:
Wait a minute. No one has mentioned:
Goodnight Moon
The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins
Where the Wild Things Are
If I Ran the Circus
and, less importantly:
On Certainty - Ludwig Wittgenstein
Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramanhansa Yogananda
The Whole Shebang - Timothy Ferris
Synergetics I and II - R. Buckminster Fuller
The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus
Wonderful Life - Stephen J. Gould
Denial of Death - Ernest Becker
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition - APA
--
When I imagine a tree, I am not spectating a resemblance;
I am resembling a spectator. - Ryle
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Modemac <modemac@shell1.tiac.net>
Text stolen from my Web site. Maybe I should sue myself.
I should mention that I happen to be in love with the person I call my
Queen...and one of the things I love about her is her obsession with
books. She's the biggest book fanatic I've ever known, and her book
collection has to be seen to believed. While I'm certainly no slouch
when it comes to reading books, and I've read my fair share, my book
reading has tapered off because of my interest in the Net...but she
more than makes up for it. Rare is the day when she doesn't buy a new
book (and read it within the next couple of days), while she's always
encouraging me to try other books that I'd never thought of looking at
on my own. She's found more strange and unusual books than I could
ever have imagined...but fortunately, my own weirdness has also rubbed
off on her a bit.
_________________________________________________________________
Fiction
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
If any book deserves to be listed first, this is the one. My first
real hobby-cum-obsession back in high school was J.R.R. Tolkien. I
fell passionately in love with his works, to the point where I
memorized the Elvish writings (known as the Tengwar) and had a working
knowledge of Tolkien's invented languages of Quenya and Sindarin. This
link proves I wasn't alone in my Tolkien obsession: the power of his
writing was felt by many people, and it continues to be explored
today. His books are still grand fantasy in the style of the classic
mythology of old, and Middle-earth will forever be an influence on the
genre of "fantasy" in science fiction.
See Also: The J.R.R. Tolkien Information Page
Snow Crash and The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash has been called "cyberpunk with a sense
of humor," and that may well be the best way to describe it because it
touches on both the strengths and weaknesses of this terrific book. I
haven't read a book in years that's as fun as this one: it's full of
believable scientific concepts that take satirical jabs at everything
from the Internet to business franchises. The plot is rather thin, in
a Hollywood fashion -- even to the point where it ends with a chase
scene, a shootout, a hostage standoff between the good guys and bad
guys, and a happy ending. But in spite of this weakness, the weird
characters (especially Y.T. the RadiKs Kourier) pull the reader
through the story at a breakneck pace. The story is also hilariously
funny, and that's a real plus when compared to most of those other
doom-and-gloom "future anarchy" stories.
Snow Crash inspired me to try Stephenson's The Diamond Age, and I'm
glad to say that even though this new book is a far more complex and
enthralling work. In addition to its fascinating glimpse at
nanotechnology and the not-too-distant future, this book also goes out
of its way to try to subvert you, the reader! I found myself
repeatedly struck by the urge to send this book to my young niece, in
the hope that it would inspire her to rebel against the Conspiracy and
become someone more independent.
See Also: Jeni's Snow Crash Page
A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
This book is far more than merely the best comic book ever written.
Watchmen is a work that demonstrates the strengths of the graphic
novel as a unique way of telling a story, where the details of the
visuals are as important to the story as the text. This is truly the
Citizen Kane of comic books, and it's also been fortunate enough to
receive the acclaim that it deserves. A superb science fiction story,
and an interesting satire as well, Watchmen is a book you won't soon
forget.
See Also: Watching the Detectives: A Guide to Alan Moore's Watchmen
The Dark Beyond The Stars by Frank M. Robinson
This one is reccommended by my Queen as "the best 'hard' science
fiction novel I've ever read." A generation ship has been seeking life
elsewhere in the Universe for two thousand years, and the ship is
slowly breaking down over the course of the long years...while the
Captain, immortal and obsessed, is determined to take the ship into
the Dark (a starless void between the arms of the Galaxy). It
certainly left an impression when I read it: it's a believable look at
an aspect of science fiction that doesn't receive as much attention as
it deserves, with an emphasis on character development and believable
science. This was apparently the only major science fiction novel
written by this author before his death. (An aside: Do you remember an
old role-playing game called Metamorphosis Alpha?)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Another book that causes the reader to sit back and wonder if the
protagonist (Ender Wiggin) is anything like him...even though we're
certainly not the super-genius Ender was bred to be, we've all felt
alone and isolated at times, the way he does. Combine this with a hard
military setting influenced by Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and a
prophetic vision of the way "anonymous" personalities on the Internet
are affecting our opinions and beginning to have an affect on our
society as a whole; it all adds up to an unforgettable classic that
will surely be remembered fifty, one hundred, and more years from now.
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The book that first opened my eyes to "hard" science fiction and made
me realize there was more to the genre than blasters and spaceships.
Dr. Asimov's concept of psychohistory has been so influential that
there have been attempts to develop theories along those lines in real
life. This is also (of course) the source of the famous quote from
Salvor Hardin: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
_________________________________________________________________
Non-Fiction
PGP: Pretty Good Privacy by Simson Garfinkel
Here's a book that deserves to be on your bookshelf! PGP is the best
damn encryption program out there (it's so good that even the Church
of Scientology and the FBI can't crack it), but the documentation that
comes with the program is confusing and intimidating. If you're new to
hacking and you want to protect your files, you may be scared away by
the difficult instructions. That's where Simson Garfinkel's excellent
book comes in: it's a beginner's guide to PGP that will have you up
and running within minutes. It includes pointers on handling your PGP
keys, using the Internet PGP keyservers, and even a fascinating
history of data encryption and the difficulty of keeping it legal in
the face of the Conspiracy.
See Also: PGP: Pretty Good Privacy
Adcult USA by James B. Twitchell
Rick Dagwan's teaching opened my eyes and made me realize how a mass
medium such as movies or television can be used to manipulate the
beliefs, desires, and feelings of a great many people -- often to the
point where an expert at media manipulation can become rich, or
powerful, or both. (Is it just a coincidence that we end up electing
the politicians who run the best TV commercials?) Advertising is one
of the most insidious tools of the Conspiracy, in that it is so
omnipresent ithat many of us don't even realize just how much of an
effect it has on us. This is where books like Adcult USA come in. This
book is a searing jolt of truth that wakes ups up and shows us just
how much of our culture is shaped through advertising (the entire
Christmas holiday season, for starters), while at the same time
reminding us that we like to be advertised to. Because we've been
bombarded with advertising for our entire lives, we've become used to
it and this makes us receptive to short messages that insinute
themselves into our culture. Adcult USA can be seen as a wake-up call
or just a hell of an entertaining read, but it's likely to make you
think twice when you watch TV or read.
Flim-Flam! by James Randi
If you enjoy looking at the weird and unusual, you could easily be
tempted to consider the folks on the fringe to be a bunch of
entertaining, harmless, and often friendly kooks...and sometimes, this
is true. People have the right to believe anything they want to
believe, so long as they cause no harm to others. But some of those
dupes of the Conspiracy are far from harmless, and they enjoy nothing
better than separating innocent people from their money, using
pseudo-science and nonsense as a shield to keep from brought to
much-deserved justice. So-called "psychics" rip unsuspecting people
out of huge sums of money, and in some cases lives have been lost
because terminally ill people have shelled out thousands of dollars to
phony "healers" who do nothing but perform a few parlor tricks. James
Randi exposed many of the most notorious pseudo-scientific and
"psychic" rip-off outfits with this book, and it's still a must-read.
Randi has followed up his work with a number of equally noteworthy
books, such as The Faith Healers, The Mask of Nostradamus and his
Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and
Supernatural. His works will certainly open your eyes and warn you
(once again) that blind faith is dangerous.
Of Mice and Magic by Leonard Maltin
The book that turned me on to animated films. Well-known movie critic
and buff Leonard Maltin wrote the second great book on American
animated cartoons (the first being Tex Avery: King of Cartoons), and
he gives us a look at all of the great cartoons of old, from Betty
Boop and Koko the Clown through the eras of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny,
Mister Magoo, and even Fritz the Cat. His book is somewhat out of date
now, as the animation renaissance of the past ten years or so has
brought a new rebirth to the animation industry...and in fact, the
definitive book on the new era of animation hasn't been written yet.
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Like so many others, I bought this book when it was all over the New
York Times best-seller list. What's more, I actually tried
understanding it, even though the concepts it presented made my head
swim. But the book did re-ignite my interest in science, something
that had been effectively killed during my sentence in that
Conspiracy-dominated hell known as high school. The problem with the
education system today is that it's designed to get kids in and out as
quickly as possible, while doing as little as possible to make
subjects like math and science interesting for kids. Most people who
go on into a career in the sciences were influenced by a certain
teacher, someone who took pains to interest his or her students and
make them realize science is more than just memorizing facts from
poorly-written textbooks. I never had a teacher like that (until
college, when I met Rick Dagwan), and while I'd had a passing interest
in black holes (the subject fascinated me when I was younger), my
interest wasn't sparked until I read Professor Hawking's book. There
are far too few books on science that can truly be considered
inspirational, and this is one of them. It inspired me to look more
into true science, and for that I am thankful.
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
A heart-felt plea for enlightenment, inquiry, and open-mindedness from
one of the great scientific philosophers of our time. Dr. Sagan was a
champion of the skepticism movement because he always treated the
subjects of his criticism with fairness, honesty, and compassion. He
finished writing this book as he was suffering from the disease that
took his life, and his peers have stated that he felt this book would
be the his work. This added a new level of awareness, and gave
strength to his convictions. Sagan attacked the ongoing (and
increasing) plague of pseudo-science that always draws more attention
than the actual research that furthers the cause of science. He looks
at UFOs, crop circles, "psychic" phenomena, conspiracy theories,
legends of Atlantis, and all of the fringe elements that serve to keep
a great number of people in the dark. Dr. Sagan was a crusader for the
cause of true science, and his words live on in this outstanding book.
(One of the points of the book is the the basis of a long-standing
rule used by skeptics: junk science books sell far better than true
science.)
_________________________________________________________________
Slack!
High Weirdness by Mail by Ivan Stang
The true SubGenius Holy Books are The Book of the SubGenius and
Revelation X: The "Bob" Apocryphon, but High Weirdness by Mail was the
book that truly opened my eyes for "Bob." Published in 1988, it was a
groundbreaking book that opened the door to the widening field of
crackpotology, and a number of more "serious" books looking at the
fringe elements of society have all credited High Weirdness as their
inspiration. The addresses in that book are now more than ten years
out of date, but the book is still worth reading for the vicious,
hilarious, and outrageous reviews of all of the addresses contained
therein. The writing reveals a great part of the true purpose of the
Church of the SubGenius, and it was the writing of High Weirdness that
inspired me to send my money to "Bob" and become a fully ordained (and
paid-up) SubGenius minister.
This very Web site, the First Online Church of "Bob," is designed to
follow the ideals of High Weirdness, in that I attempt to offer my own
opinions and give some (hopefully) useful commentary on the many links
provided here. A few other Web sites tout themselves as "High
Weirdness by Internet" and purport to be the successors to the
SubGenius Holy Tome, but all those other sites do is offer a lot of
pointless links without the all-important commentary. (I would hope
that this Web site would be a lot less interesting if I just served up
a bunch of links without saying what they're about.) This is what
inspired me the most about High Weirdness by Mail, and I hope that
this Web site will inspire you to put some of yourself into your own
Web pages. Don't just offer a page of "cool links" -- tell us what you
think of those links, and let us know why you think they're worthy for
you to place on your own Web site. And track down a copy of High
Weirdness by Mail to use as your own starting point.
See Also: The Church of the SubGenius
Kooks by Donna Kossy
If High Weirdness offered a glimpse into the world of kooks,
crackpots, and the fringe, then Donna Koosy's Kooks is a five-star
luxury cruise. Miss Kossy takes the best and most outrageous parts of
her Kooks zine and puts them together to give us an in-depth look at
people so far out there, you'll have trouble believing that this stuff
really exists at all...except that it's right here, in front of your
own eyes. There are racist publications galore, UFO kooks,
misunderstood pseudo-scientists, and other visionaries -- all of whom
are given a fair, understanding, and honest look by Miss Kossy. Many
of the most famous kooks are given in-depth presentations, including
the Raelians, Wilhelm Reich, the trepanation folms, and lots lots
more. Your brain will never be the same after this.
See Also: The Kooks Museum
The Big Book of Conspiracies by Doug Moench
The Big Book Of... series of graphic books must have been printed
especially for SubGenii, because it seems as if each and every one of
those books appeals directly to us. The theme of each book is the
same: Told in a comic-book graphic format, we are given a sarcastic
look at the long history of certain social trends of the fringe
elements of our society, which have had a long-range effect that has
served to shape history. Sample titles from this series include the
Big Book of Death, Big Book of Urban Legends, Big Book of Martyrs, and
so on. My favorite is the Big Book of Conspiracies, a wise-mouthed
book that can easily be subtitled "A Basic Introduction to Conspiracy
Theories." They touch base with all of the biggest crackpot theories
of history -- the JFK assassination, the Black Helicopters, the UFOs,
the Freemasons, the Men in Black -- and treat each and every theory
presented as the truth...which only makes the reader wonder just which
ones are only delusions, and which ones just possibly could be the
real truth...
Outposts: A Catalog of Rare and Disturbing Alternative Information by Russ
Kick
Published in 1995, this exceptionally useful tome is as close to a
successor to High Weirdness by Mail as we're likely to see. The author
gives an admittedly biased review of hundreds of small-press books and
alternative zines published in the past few years, with an especial
focus on controversial issues. With such chapters as "Cyberculture,"
"Drugs," "Freedom," "Merry Mischief," and "Sex," you can get an idea
of the type of publications he looks at, including Neo-Nazi
revisionist books (and books from their arch-enemy, the Southern
Poverty Law Center), the gray area of legal and semi-legal drugs,
whacked-out comics and artists, lots of books and magazines about sex,
and many of the same magazines and publications mentioned on this very
Web site and other SubGenius sites. You'll be guaranteed to discover
at least a few books you've never heard of before and will want to run
out and buy immediately.
See Also: Outposts 2
REsearch #10: Incredibly Strange Films
You're bound to find one or more of these books at your local Tower
Records or other "hip" music-and-book store. The RE/Search series took
an exhaustive, in-depth look at the underground of our culture and
showed us what's really great about it, dealing with such subjects as
Bob Flanagan, Super-Masochist, Angry Women, Incredibly Strange Music,
Pranks!, and more. Their book on Incredibly Strange Films is an
incredible look at the low-budget "exploitation" and other underground
films that have been made over the years by people who love making
movies, insist on following their own visions, and refusing to submit
to the corporate image of Hollywood. Sure, the movies were trash --
but this book will show you how much fun trash can be! Includes
interviews with Russ Meyer, Joe Sarno, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and
other gods of the underground film movement; in addition, we get
essays and analyses of classics you've never heard of such as Young
Playthings and God Told Me To. This book is an eye-opener for any film
buff, and it's only one of the many RE/Search books. (These publishers
were successful enough to branch off and rename their publishing line
to X-RE.)
See Also: X-RE/Spec's
SCHWA World Operations Manual
Designed to capture your attention with a single glance, this
dangerous book is actually an instruction manual describing how you
can begin your own campaign of INSIDIOUS, PERVASIVE SUGGESTION to
promote the SCHWA ideal under the very nose of the Conspiracy, make
MONEY, and make the masses more aware of the dangerous control being
enacted upon the Stickpeople at all times by the Alien Flying Saucers!
But even if you don't understand the true message of the Book, you
will still be gasping in awe when you view some of the most
frightening, incredible clip-art I have ever seen. The crisp
black-and-white images reach out and grab you with their simplicity,
giving you the urge to copy it and USE it. The SCHWA Corporation (R)
does more with black and white than many massive advertising companies
do with millions of dollars of full color multi-media.
See Also: SCHWA
_________________________________________________________________
Zines
Fringeware Review
Who needs WiReD? Fringeware Review is the magazine to look for if you
want an look at some of the really bizarre and attractive stuff to be
had on the Net! These folks have taken a look at the Net "trends" and
each issue has its own theme. (They even did one issue spoofing
WiReD.) In addition, they have a catalog of products that can't be
beat!
2600: The Hacker Quarterly
As the Net becomes more and more a part of everyday life and the
Conspiracy tries harder and harder to control it, hackers are becoming
more and more of a necessity in this crazy world. The government and
the mainstream media usually portray these people as criminals,
software pirates, and "computer terrorists;" while it's true that
these people exist, they're not the true hackers. The real hackers are
the ones who seek information for its own sake (not solely for
profit), who refrain from causing malicious damage to people who don't
deserve it, and who value privacy and freedom of information. This is
why the Conspiracy hates hackers. The increasing popularity of 2600
magazine reflects the necessity of hacking in today's society; in
fact, members of various professions consider it a more useful source
of information than many standard textbooks.
Gauntlet: Exploring the Limits of Free Expression
A lot of magazines pride themselves with taking on controversial
issue, but few magazines do so with the guts that Gauntlet has. These
guys say that no issue is too taboo, no subject too controversial to
cover between their covers...and so far, they've been right. Issues of
this magazine have dealt with the pro- and con- arguments for the
legalization of prostitution, black racism, child pornography, banned
comic books, Scientology, and many more stories that would cause any
Conspiracy-owned publication to run away screaming. An in-your-face
look at the true meaning of the phrase "free expression."
AdBusters
Anti-Conspiracy warriors of the first order! Adbusters Quarterly
magazine is a MUST-READ for anyone who wonders about the effect
television and advertising are having on our lives. Television lies to
us regularly and refuses to tell us the truth: that the REAL product
being sold is actually US, the viewers. WE are being sold to the
advertisers, who then use their advertisement to plant desires into
our heads and make us BUY THINGS WE DON'T REALLY NEED OR WANT. This,
of course, is the work of the Conspiracy. But those who resist the
insistent seduction of television have banded together and launched an
advertising backlash movement known as CULTURE JAMMING! Check out this
link and see just what is going on!
Factsheet 5
This is the Web page for Factsheet 5, one of the best sources for
independent publications and fringe literature to be found in America.
The vast majority of the zines listed in Factsheet are the folks who
publish for the love of publishing: they have only a little money, but
they have lots of ideas and a burning desire to get their words into
print. Of course, most people prefer to read slick, senile,
advertising-dominated rags like Rolling Stone, preferring not to
notice the zine revolution happening right in front of them. (This Web
site is kinda bare, though the magazine is definitely not.)
See Also: UWI's Web's Edge
_________________________________________________________________
Catalogs
Loompanics Unlimited
By now, most people are familiar with probably the most outrageous,
envelope-pushing book catalog in the world. With books on how to
commit armed robbery, build explosives, beat polygraphs and more, they
are a natural target of people like Senator Diane Feinstein and others
who serve the ideals of the Conspiracy. A current sampler catalog
lists selections of particular interest to libertarians, including
books on self sufficiency, homesteading, living cheaply, exposing the
corruption of the government & police, conspiracies, and lots more.
Great books, although you might want to use a PO box or maildrop.
Paladin Press
Not as well known as Loompanics, but Paladin Press may have more of an
effect on the grey area of publishing because of the effect of a court
case involving one of its books. Paladin specializes in controversial
and unusual material, and they revel in producing books about private
investigation, revenge, exotic weapons, explosives, and other fun
subjects. But the fun stopped when Paladin was sued because one of its
books, Hit Man, was included as evidence used by a man who butchered
three people...it seemed that the psycho had actually intended to use
the book as an instruction manual for murdering his victims. Now the
families of the victims are suing Paladin Press, claiming the
publishers are liable because they published the book. This case may
have a chilling effect on all publishers, especially ones who produce
controversial materials...and its a case that may make it all the way
to the Supreme Court.
Prometheus Books
Tons of ammo for undoing myth and propaganda from all sides. The
catalog also offers hard-to-find books that take a hard look at
religion, UFOs, the paranormal, silly beliefs and claims of all sorts,
current events, politics, and more. Prometheus is the home of many
great skeptical publications, and they take pains to reprint many
long-suppressed books that have been difficult to locate.
Illuminet Press
Are you looking for the most wild-eyed, outrageous, unbelievable,
paranoid conspiracy theories in existence? This is the place. Read the
newsgroup alt.conspiracy for a while and you'll get an idea of the
sort of publications being put out at Illuminet Press. These folks are
the champions of the downtrodden and the paranoid: they'll publish
your books and your manifestoes and those labors of love that you
spent your entire life compiling. You'll get the flying saucers, the
frame-ups, the coverups, the Men In Black, the One World Government,
and just about anything else from Illuminet. Needless to say, their
catalog has to be seen to be believed!
--
Reverend Modemac (modemac@tiac.net)
First Online Church of ?
URL: http://www.tiac.net/users/modemac/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: Peter Hipwell <petehip@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: alt.slack
Subject: Re: An Incomplete Subgenius Reading List
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 14:49:43 +0100
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Phloighd wrote:
>
> The works listed herein are ones I've read that made me think, or
> laugh, in a quasi-meaningful way, or are useful to a developing
> Subgenius awareness. I post it here hoping to get a similar list from
> other folks, or comments about these that may help me look at 'em in a
> different way.
NONFICTION
There is no nonfiction
FICTION
"No Heaven For Gunga Din" -- Ali Mirdrekvandi Gunga Din
Think this was some sort of minor cult hit in the 60s. Blurb has Peter
Sellers saying "it's the funniest thing I've ever read". Author got a
job working for Allied forces during WWII and taught himself English
(sort of). Book is about dead British/American generals and A.M.G.D.
after WWIII wandering about in some afterlife place. My favourite bit is
where they camp in the forests outside Heaven and wage war on it for
a few decades. Really weird imperfect prose with many great coinages,
unique wry/naive style.
"War With The Newts" -- Karel Capek
Flawed in parts, but so rich and mad that I'd still give it 10/10.
Multiple prose styles used to detail the progress of the discovery,
exploitation and ultimate revenge of the giant newt race.
"Life: A User's Manual" -- George Perec
The perfect example of minute observation, multiple tales, strange
intertwined lives, and more. Still my favourite book.
"Filling The Gap" -- Terry-Thomas
T-T is as nuts as his acting might indicate. This is sort-of an
autobiography, but really just T-T rattling on about whatever is on
his mind, telling really, really bad jokes and so on and so forth.
This is pure froth of the highest degree.
"Figures of Earth" -- James Branch Cabell
This guy wrote a lot of books from the 20s to the 40s concerning a
made-up medieval lord, and his descendants, and god knows what. Having
read several, I think he becomes cloying/repetitive after a while, but
just to read this... it's what you might call a cynical fantasy with
weird twists, narrational deviancies, wordgames, fucking-aroundness,
and so on.
"Collected Gems" -- Wm. McGonagall
The only poetry you will ever NEED.
"Tales of a Rat-Hunting Man" -- Brian Plummer
This man LOVES hunting rats. This is what he lives for. Tales of his
adventures with ferret training, shotguns, maggot factories, poachers,
and just generally stuff like that, y'see.
"Secrets of the Great Magicians" -- Walter Collins
Only book along these lines I've found. Good if you want to find out
methods used for performing levitations, disappearances, etc. etc.
"The Shocking History of Advertising" -- E.S.Turner
Best advertising book I've read, vastly entertaining account of how
the "art" developed and was constrained (and it is vastly constrained
both in extent and triumphalism, compared to the nuisance it used to
be). Covers radio years, but doesn't get to TV (this is an old book).
[That's enough].
--
"I want to write about the philosophy of sitting in chairs because I
have a reputation for lolling." -- Lin Yutang
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Peter Hipwell <petehip@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
talysman@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>
> In article <35BDD6F7.BBC7F9E2@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>,
> Peter Hipwell <petehip@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> wrote:
> >
> > There is no nonfiction
>
> you meant to say "there's no FICTION".
>
> everything is secretly true.
Why are YOU PEOPLE too lazy to use capital letters at the start of a
sentence? This annoys and baffles the living snot out of me. And I have
a GOOD DEAL of living snot.
> > "Figures of Earth" -- James Branch Cabell
>
> a good book, but I'd definitely recommend "Jurgen" as a more truely
> SubGenius book.
>
> what with all the sex and stuff.
I think Jurgen poorer than either "Figures of Earth" or "The Silver
Stallion". Yes, Jurgen was (ridiculously) involved in an obscenity case
because of that "sex" part, which is quite entertaining, but the
marriage scenario is one of JCBs turgid dully thudding repetitions.
Jurgen's pointless meandering is unenjoyable.
And then something happened which is indelicate to mention, and in any
case would not interest the reader.
>
> this of course leads to:
>
> "Job: a Comedy of Justice" -- Robert A. Heinlein
>
> lots of people don't like this one. this is probably because they
> don't realize it's Heinlein's tip-of-the-hat to Cabell, especially to
>"Jurgen".
This is unfair. This is a Mayan before a Tarla. I could gore,
and possibly shriek, but I refuse to rise to your red rag.
RED L.E.D. FLASHING EYE CARDBOARD CUTOUT HORROR TURD BOOK.
> also:
>
> the complete books of Charles Fort
>
> this is perfect excremeditation material.
Yes, I have the collected works in hardback, on tissue thin paper.
Also:
"The Mind of a Mnemonist" -- A.R. Luria
Case study of a man who had a perfect memory. And synaesthesia. This
helps and hinders in various ways. Side reference to Borges story goes
here, for the people who actually enjoy reading that sort of stuff.
"Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" -- Charles
MacKay
Title says it all. Compiled mid 19th century, covers lots of ground,
mini-biographies of alchemists, history of the Crusades, laws against
facial hair, financial madnesses, etc. etc.
"Under Milk Wood" -- Dylan Thomas
Mind-rotting sludge.
--
"I want to write about the philosophy of sitting in chairs because I
have a reputation for lolling." -- Lin Yutang
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: hkhenson@netcom.com (Keith Henson)
Stuff you need to understand what is going on.
Society of Mind by Dr. Marvin Minsky
Engines of Creation by (now doctor) Eric Drexler
Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (others of his too)
Evolutionary Psychology books
Moral Animal by Robert Wright
Evolution of Desire by David Buss.
Born to Rebel by Frank Sulloway
There are lot of others, but these will really crank open the Nth nostril.
Keith Henson
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bob_Chapman@SLAQ.brown.edu (Crazy Bob)
OK, I told myself I'd avoid this thread, but I just have to say one
thing:
The ONE book you NEED to read, that you MUST read in order to TRULY
understand what's REALLY going on:
*"Manufacturing Consent" by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky
If I could FORCE every man, woman and child in America to read ONE
book that would be the one.
Another interesting book:
*"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn
And that's ALL I'm gonna say in this thread.
StCBtC
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