Immanence of Myth, early sample (PDF)

"The following are in-progress chapters for an upcoming work The Immanence of Myth, which picks up and expands on some of the ideas first presented in "Living The Myth" in Generation Hex. This will be an exploration of myth in its function as intermediary between human and world (represented as language, music, sculpture, or any other form of expression), and how the myth-making process underlies all of the beliefs that we hold about the world, no matter how logically consistent they are. Though it is my general preference to simply know this, and explore the creation of myths in different media, I've been feeling lately that an expression of those underpinnings may be insightful, even useful for others. The book will be co-authored with Rowan Tepper, M.A. though the following was written by myself. Please forgive typos, structural inconsistencies and the like, as this book is still in production."

PDF now available.

The secret sex lives of wombats.

As a joke I suggested to someone that they write an article about the psychosexuality of wombats- neither knowing much about wombats, nor their sexuality. Then, I realized I didn't even really know what a wombat looked like. So I did a google image search, and immediately discovered more than I had hoped to. Wombats are freaky little creatures. (PDF article on Wombat sexuality.)

The G-Spot 31: Michael Dean

In this episode, Joseph Matheny concludes his conversation with Michael Dean (part 1 here), and discuss how to make money by releasing things for free, the coming apocalypse, a secret underground lair, and much more.

We're hoping to make the Gspot better with your input, we'd dig it if you'd fill out the Standard Audience Survey to help us do that. As always,
if you have questions, comments, rants or suggestions, call (213) 784-1035

Listen.

Fallen Nation PDF

Just got word that the Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning eBook that's on Greylodge is about ready to cross the 20,000 download mark.

The truth is, though of course I would prefer that I had those many sales, I'd rather people read it than not at all. And I hope that some of those people enjoy the experience, and if they don't come back to purchase Fallen Nation, they look for my next work. (Note: it's usually cheaper to order a book than it is to print it, when you've factored in the ink and paper.)

The more you know.

Female beetles mate to quench their thirst according to new research by a University of Exeter biologist. The males of some insect species, including certain types of beetles, moths and crickets, produce unusually large ejaculates, which in some cases can account for around 10% of their body weight. The study shows that dehydrated females can accept sexual invitations simply to get hold of the water in the seminal fluid.

(Article.)

Sneak Peek: Immanence of Myth

A peek under the hood as I dive into my first full-length non-fiction work. (The book will be co-authored with Rowan Tepper, M.A. though the present first drafts on Key64 were written by myself.)

Though it's explained in this passage, this will be an exploration of myth in its function as intermediary between human and world (represented as language, music, sculpture, or any other form of expression), and how the myth-making process underlies all of the beliefs that we hold about the world, no matter how logically consistent they are. Though it is my general preference to simply know this, and explore the creation of myths in different media, I've been feeling lately that an expression of those underpinnings may be insightful, even useful for others.

Further discussion of myth and culture would be useless or even misleading without an exploration of the various elements that build up this "mythic tapestry," through a philosophical rather than historical exploration of these elements. It is worth noting that many works already exist which provide a systematic philosophical analysis of the ideological history and function of myth.1 (F.N. 1 Included prominently in this list are Cassirer's The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, Joseph Campbell's Masks of God I-IV, Theodore Adorno and Max Herkheimers Dialectic of Enlightenment, Eliade's many works especially Myth and Reality and Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. This is not to say that the postulates or conclusions provided in these works are congruent with one another, or with our own thesis; nevertheless all of them contributed to bringing myth out of the realm of fanciful poetic naturalism.) Though in various ways we are indebted to these works, our ultimate mission is not to explore what myth has been, except inasmuch as that can shed light on what its function is at present, nor is it to merely further the thesis of these works. Rather, it is our aim to continue a movement already well underway, namely, the re-legitimization of myth and myth-making as one of the principle, if not the principle, form of human representation.

We are nowhere with this word "myth" until we can determine what its personal and cultural function is, in total, and where the points overlap between these various elements. In other words, we need to build a map of a cognitive terrain that is not necessarily a “where” or a “when,” and so the rest of this work is dedicated towards exploring what one might call the ideological topology of myth.

Read first draft excerpts on Key64.net.

5x7" Lives of Ilya

5x7" Lives of Ilya
Originally uploaded by agent139

We got confirmation about the audiobook so finally I can share this with you...

ENGAGE. RESPOND. EVOLVE

Live in Philadelphia, NYC, or Jersey? If so- this is where you should be the 19th of April. QXT's 248 Mulberry St Newark NJ 07102. 10pm-3am. $10.

There will be music, dancers, projections, performances, and plenty of giveaways including a signed copy of my novel, Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.

More information is available here.

Fallen Nation review on Spiral Nature

I just saw that they did a review on Spiral Nature of Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, after all. I would nit-pick some of the details (such as classifying it as "occult fiction," I took many pains to make this particular book work just fine for people with little or only passing knowledge of the occult; the autobiographical elements in this book are painted with such a broad brush in this one that it is very nearly entirely fiction, and so on), but it is nice to see someone actually summarize the plot fairly succinctly.

I've never lied about this: I'm god awful at plot synopsis. So far as I'm concerned, plot is something that happens as a result of the characters thinking, wanting, fearing, desiring, and then the ways that those things play out in the world around them and come in conflict with one another. Plot is incidental, and being told the plot of a movie or book tells me so little about whether I'll actually get something out of it or not that I usually don't much care. But I acknowledge that there are few who see eye-to-eye with me on that one, it has most certainly been a thorn in my side with publishers and promotion alike, so- if you're looking for a very basic synopsis of the plot, thank God, here you go:


------------------------------------------------------------------

Fallen Nation James Curcio’s second book, takes up where Join My Cult! left off. Agent 139 and Jesus are in a maximum security mental institution held as suspected terrorists after a restaurant was blown up in the previous novel. Agent 139 wryly comments:

“Bottom line: ideas don’t count for a whole lot in this world, but on their own, they’re mostly benign. Ideals on the other hand can get you a special jacket with one sleeve. Ideals can get you shot.”

Agent 506 breaks them out via mysterious means, and, after a brief visit with Agent 140 fits them with a van tailored with all the tricks and tools they’ll need, the three of them set off on their way to new adventures. They soon pick up a hitchhiking guitarist and decide to form a band, Babalon. The van serves as a tour bus as they pick up groupies and collect followers, making waves wherever they go.

“I like the sentiment of anarchy, but you’re idealizing it. In a world of so many conflicting cultural signals, each person’s idea of what social responsibility is, and how it should be enacted differs. When there is differing opinion, there is conflict. When there is no difference of opinion, there is absolute fascism. Take your pick. The freedom of this ideal turns quickly into the lowest common denominator, the law of the jungle, as people’s priorities and ideals clash with one another. This is exactly how the world is right now, and how it has always been – the war of all against all…You want anarchy? You already have it. In disguise. Anarchy’s always been, and always will be.”

A government agent is charged with the task of eliminating Babalon, perceived as a threat to the status quo by Those In Charge. Cultural warfare becomes more than abstract theorizing when things escalate in a desert battle pitting agent against agent.

(Full review.)

The Well

Rudy Rauben has unleashed another comic, the Well. Check out the panels of the opening episode here.

Alterati.com interview with Rudy Rauben.