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New York Review of Books: Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht

Posted by  on 17 January 2013, 3:38 pm
One of these World Naked Bike Ride partiers is an offspring of an original Ek-sen-trik.

From Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht.

Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht is now listed in the New York Review of Books!  They list it as Philosophy/Humor, which is more-or-less accurate.  The book’s been listed elsewhere as Educational, New Age, and Personal Development, which are more or less accurate too.  Of course it could also be listed as backup toilet paper.

What book have Robert Anton Wilson (who saw an early draft), Rev. Ivan Stang, R. Crumb, Alan Moore, Sondra London aka The Erisian Elestria, Reverend Jason “Pee Kitty” Levine, Adam Gorightly, Johnny Shellburn, S. John Ross aka Pope Leo and Malaclypse the Younger aka Greg Hill (who never saw the whole book but read some selections) and others been talking about?  Feel free to find out!

You can see comments by the above, preview it or buy it at Amazon.  Or even better you can buy it at discordia.loveshade.org/store.

What’s that?  You don’t believe the New York Review of Books would actually list an independent Discordian tome?  Check http://assets.nybooks.com/media/ipl/independents.pdf  (Note this pdf may change with time).

Are You a Contributor?

You can still get an additional discount on the already discounted $20.00 $15.00 cover price but you’ll need to respond by 18 January 2013 date extended to 14 February 2013. Send an email identifying yourself to edcheap@loveshade.org by then and see yourself in print!

(Note: we’d give contributors one for free but we can’t get the books free either! Something about the book’s publisher Anaphora Literary Press wanting to make money or something).

One of these World Naked Bike Ride celebrants is an offspring of one of the original Ek-sen-triks. Original image by AlexaWooga with art by A. L. is under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License and/or the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 (your choice of usage).

Anonymous Lifeforms reporting for Reverend Loveshade

Filed under Announcements, books, Children of Eris, Counterculture, Discordian Literature, Eris in the Mainstream, Games, High Madness, Operation Mindfuck, philosophy, Poetry. Tagged , , , , ,
11 Comments

Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht ON SALE!

Posted by  on 18 October 2012, 11:49 am

Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of ShamlichtAfter legal complication, printing problems and other technical difficulties, Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht is now available!  And if you’re on our list of esteemed contributors (see below), you can get your copy at discount!

S. John Ross aka Pope Leo (GURPS, Cumberland Games & Diversions, Warehouse 23, Novus Ordo Discordia: The Gospel of Pesher the Gardener) penned the outstanding foreplay.  Our blurb writers include Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson (who saw an early draft), Rev. Ivan Stang, R. Crumb, Sondra London aka The Erisian Elestria, Reverend Jason “Pee Kitty” Levine, Adam Gorightly, and others.

 

Quotes about the Book

“This inspiring volume makes a splendid auric pippin to be lobbed amongst the bickering goddesses of our contemporary debate.” — Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Lost Girls)

“Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia may become to the 21st century what Principia Discordia became to the 20th.  Which means–I don’t know what the hell that means.” — Robert Anton Wilson (The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Schrödinger’s Cat Trilogy, Masks of the Illuminati)

“Buy it and BURN THIS BOOK FOR ‘BOB’!” — Rev. Ivan Stang (The Book of the SubGenius, High Weirdness By Mail, the Church of the SubGenius)

 

Buy it and Burn It!

Feel free to buy two copies, burn one publicly, and hide the other!

The book is now available for $20.00 $15.00 American money at

http://www.amazon.com/Ek-sen-trik-kuh-Discordia-The-Tales-Shamlicht/dp/1937536181.  Or even better you can buy it through our store at http://discordia.loveshade.org/store/.

 

Esteemed Contributors

We would love to be able to give a free copy of Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht to everyone who contributed, but as you can see from the long list below that would not be practical.  However, if you are on the following list, you can receive a special discount for a book if you buy through Amazon.com!  Just send us an email with the name you used to contribute to:

edcheap@loveshade.org

We will assume you want your Amazon.com discount sent to the email you use to contact us unless you tell us otherwise.

If your name isn’t on this list, contact us anyway!  We might have accidentally left your name off and might even be feeling generous.  Unlike Pat Robertson, we aren’t perfect.

Adam Gorightly, Alan Moore, Al Barger, Alden Loveshade, Alien, Anonymous Lifeform, Ashibaka aka Shii, Bellydancer Upyours, Binky the WonderSkull, BloodStar, Brother Femtomoment, Brother Kob, Bumper Bunny, Captain ‘Sesame Seed’ Rogers, C. S. Martin & Steve Lewis, Danacasso, Dorian Jack (family), Dr. Isaac Clarke, Dr. Octopussy, Dr. Sinister Craven, Emily Sander aka Zoey Zane (family), Fairy Princess Yoshikyoko, Gamemaster Loveshade, Greg Hill (family), Herr Bookmonger, His Wholiness the Rev. DrJon, Icarus 23, John Wilkes Harvey Oswald, Kerry Thornley (family), Lani Lina Lian Lain, Max Flax Beeblewax, Miley Ray Cyrus, Miley Spears, Nixie Nurita, Nurse Devine Stripling, Paco the Fruit Bat, Perlie the Pony Girl, Pope Higgins, Pope Hilde, Princess Unicornia, Professor Cramulus, Professor Mu-Chao, R. Crumb, Reverend Loveshade, Rev. Ivan Stang, Reverend Jason ‘Pee Kitty’ Levine, Robert Anton Wilson (family), Saint The Mary, Sister Hooter, Sister Lorraine of Fairy Tree, S. John Ross aka Pope Leo, Sondra London, Sparky Newberg, St. Verbatim, TawTew the Naturally Perfumed, Toby Bruno, Untroubled Teen, Zeus, Xists.

This offer will expire at the End of the World at midnight Dec. 21, 2012!  If the world doesn’t end then, you have until midnight Pat Pineapple Day, Jan. 18, 2013!  So claim your discount now!

Anonymous Lifeforms reporting for Reverend Loveshade

Filed under Announcements, books, Counterculture, Discordian Literature, Eris in the Mainstream, Games, High Madness, Operation Mindfuck, philosophy. Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
11 Comments

Breaking the Copyright Spell

Posted by  on 5 April 2011, 9:50 am

Wizard People is a hilarious piece of illegal art.

I love that phrase “Illegal Art” , it sounds so subversive. It indicates that somebody was creative in an unauthorized way. It sounds dangerous, clandestine. You’re not legally allowed to have those thoughts, you’re not legally allowed to express yourself this way!

Wizard People is the work of Brad Neely, a sharp-ass cartoonist. (Have you seen his accounts of Sodom and Gomorrah, JFK, and George Washington? Go!) He created this audio track to accompany Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s a Mystery-Science-Theater style audio overlay which poses as a reading of the novel. Except that Brad Neely hasn’t read the novel. You can find the whole delicious enchilada on youtube.

We live in this overwhelming information culture. Information is being blasted at us from every angle. We’ve moved beyond the old television dichotomy of “content creator” and “content consumer”, which makes less and less sense as times goes on. Our role is to engage in a creative feedback loop which produces better content over time.  That’s part of why you can comment on anything on the net – it’s theoretically supposed to improve things! Feedback is how data systems get more intelligent and make better data. So its’ essential that we’re able to comment freely.

Furthermore, we live in the era of reappropriation. Most of the great stuff we’re seeing these days is a remix of something else. The rules are that once you put something out there into culture, people get to play with it. Comment on it. Use it for something other than its original purpose. This is an act of creation through juxtaposition. This is what happens when you take collage to its natural conclusion.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Warner Brothers doesn’t like people commenting on its intellectual property unless your comments might somehow drive DVD sales — so they pulled the plug. That’s right, if you’re going to show Harry Potter, the audience has to listen to it too. You’re not allowed to make your own comments or do silly voices. You have to sit quietly with your hands folded and enjoy the movie that we, the producers, made for you, the consumer.

This isn’t why we have copyright laws! The original intent was to encourage creativity by preventing people from releasing the same product over and over again, not to block off certain types of expression and commentary. What Brad Neely is doing doesn’t hurt Harry Potter or Warner Brothers at all. The brand guardians are just trying to protect this impression of Harry Potter which actually belongs to all of us. What the media warlocks need to learn is that culture is for everybody.

The irony is that this sort of thing that makes viral-marketers stiff. They want you have discussions and in-jokes and create new content around their brands. Neely’s work is, in part, a commercial for Harry Potter.

If you want to feel some ownership of this 21st century cargo cult we’re all trapped in, be like Brad Neely. Don’t be satisfied with the consumption of mass produced mainstream crap, personalize it and make it yours. Take an idea and twist it into something new. If you perform a genuinely creative act, if you subvert the original intent of the piece, what you’re doing is not theft, it’s art.

Filed under Counterculture, Internet Refuse. Tagged 
2 Comments

Hey Jim… (The Apple Dialogues)

Posted by  on 10 January 2011, 9:00 am

Hey Jim is a collaborative project created by many members of the Discordian Society. It consists of a series of letters. Here’s an index of them.

This sexy sexy PDF was made by Pariah.

Hey LMNO v3

Filed under Counterculture, Discordian Community, Discordian Literature, Fragments, Internet Refuse, Rants.
4 Comments

Assange is Not the Target

Posted by  on 7 December 2010, 11:11 am

Julian Assange deflects accusations using tai-chi

We are living in the backdrop of a great movie, no? At the time of this writing, Julian Assange, the head of WikiLeaks, has released hundreds of thousands of secret government shenanigans, and promises that many more are to come, including damning information about major American financial institutions. His websites and bank accounts have been seized and numerous politicians call for his assassination. This morning he was nabbed in London for having unprotected sex with two (easily bribed) Swedish chicks. Everybody wants this cat dead.

But when it comes down to it,  Julian Assange isn’t even the real target.  They should be worried about the leak phenomenon, which is much larger than some Australian whistle blower.

Swarms have awesome powers in the information age. A swarm of Internet trolls will prank call the same phone number over and over again until the target goes berserk. The cops may be able to track down one or two of the trolls, and the victim may have the resources to send those chucklefucks up the river, but this does not hurt or deter the other 999 trolls in the swarm. They are well protected by numbers and anonymity.

So let’s be clear: this isn’t about Assange. He’s barely even a player. He’s just the monkey in the unfortunate position of holding the flag right now.

Assange represents a new feedback loop within the global information system. Some of the system’s information has been purposely hidden in a way that it is not subject to external feedback. Assange just managed to dredge it up to the surface where it’s subjected to the same mechanisms that are normally focused on public actions. (BTW: this is theoretically what journalism is for) So they can kill Assange, but it won’t stop the leak phenomenon. Just like how they can nuke the pirate bay, but it won’t stop Internet piracy.

Assange has succeeded at creating a structure which makes private information subject to public commentary. Now he’s just the meat associated with it and is not in any way necessary for the process to continue. Do they think that if they lock up Assange for eternity that government agents will no longer leak classified info? Do they think nobody else will set up a site to receive leaks? The Internet is built for communication between individuals and the masses – do they think that’s just going to go away?

As soon as the website went down, a number of mirrors appeared. Some government stooge at Columbia warns that even talking about WikiLeaks is a form of thoughtcrime. They’re trying to suppress the leaks, but in doing so, have unleashed the raw power of the Streisand Effect.  They’ve made the information more valuable, interesting, ready to be spread.

They can go ahead and kill him, or his website, but it will just create more variations, just like when they axed Napster and it created gnutella, limewire, and eventually, torrents.  The response to WikiLeaks must be a systemic response. Hopefully the response will be to operate in a more transparent way, to be aware that even private comments have a way of ending up on the Internet, so we’ll have to play it clean.

Wishful thinking, I know.

Filed under Ataxia, Counterculture. Tagged ,
3 Comments
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