Category: discordianism

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More On The Kabouters, Operation Mindfuck and the Lemuel P. Grant Influence Lodge

The Kabouters article in question.
When researching the roots of Discordianism, I’ve found that one rabbit hole inevitably leads down another and so it’s best to just keep on burrowing.

Such is the case of our last post about an article on the Kabouters that Lord Omar (aka Kerry Thornley) co-opted and redistributed (via kopyleft) under the auspices of the Ancient Seers of Bavaria, all of this part of Operation Mindfuck (OM), the Discordian Society’s covert campaign to illuminate the masses.

While reviewing the Kabouters article in question, I noticed that in the right margin Thornley wrote: “Stolen for you by the Erisian Liberation Front of the Lemuel P. Grant Lodge” which I figured was just some vague reference that popped out of Lord Omar’s pineal gland to confuse us all the more.

Kerry Thornley's Paranoid Flash Illuminator zine, July 1970. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
Kerry Thornley's Paranoid Flash Illuminator zine, June 1970. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
Afterwards — in the same section of the Discordian Archives where I’d discovered the Kabouters article — I came across a couple copies of Thornley’s Discordian newsletter The Paranoid Flash Illuminator, one of which stated: “Lemuel P. Grant Influence Lodge grows rapidly on both fronts presently active, E.L.F. and the Uncle Remus Chapter of the Black Lotus Society…” and that “…Operation Mindfuck is gathering momentus…”

Of course, none of this helped clarify what the Lemuel P. Grant Lodge actually was until I read through the next copy of Paranoid Flash Illuminator, which elaborated further:

In case you were wondering, Lemuel P. Grant Lodge of the Bavarian Illuminati is named after its founder: “At 327 St. Paul Avenue SE stands what remains of a house which survived the burning of Atlanta only to be consumed 100 years later by the ravages of neglect. It was built in 1858 by Col. L.P. Grant…When General William Tecumseh Sherman’s forces put the torch to Atlanta on November 14, 1864, they left the engineer’s mansion unscathed despite that fact that it had been used as a Confederate hospital because paraphernalia used in Masonic rituals had been found inside. They had instructions not to harm the homes of Masons.”

Kerry Thornley during his Sacred Mind Ashram period in Atlanta, 1972. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
All of which suggests a Freemasonsic conspiracy of epic proportions that continues to this very day!

Although it’s sometimes near impossible to separate fact from fiction with much Discordian Society propaganda, the Sacred Mind Ashram referred to later in the above newsletter was an actual concept that Kerry and his wife Cara entertained during the period they lived in Atlanta in the early-70s. However, this idea of a “hip school for little kids” apparently never progressed beyond the concept stage.

As for the Good Vibe Machine, I have no idea what that actually was, though it would have made a great name for a 1960s sex toy.

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discordianism greg hill illuminati

The Kabouters Meet Discordianism?

The Kabouters-Discordian Connection, More Proof! Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.

Recently, El Sjaako inquired if there was any evidence that Mal-2 had contact with the Kabouters.

Here’s how Wikipedia describes the Kabouters:

Kabouters were a Dutch anarchist group in the 1970s. It was founded by Roel van Duyn and one of its objectives was to set up an alternative society based on Van Duyn’s ideas as stated in his book,“De boodschap van een wijze Kabouter” (The Message of a Wise Kabouter). Van Duyn for some time worked at an organic farm and asked the farmer if they were going to get a harvester. “No,” the farmer responded “Noisy machines chase away the kabouters [Dutch gnomes, elves or leprechauns], and we need them to keep our plants healthy.” That is why Van Duyn used this image.

While once again wading through the Discordian Archives the other day, I stumbled upon this startling document produced by the Ancient Illuminated Seers of Bavaria which demonstrates that Greg Hill at least had a clue as to who the Kabouters were.

Ewige Blumenkraft!

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discordianism greg hill letters subgenius

The Difference Between the Church of the SubGenius and Discordianism

Greg Hill's note on the difference between the Church of the Subgenius and Discordianism. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.

While wading through the Discordian Archives the other day, I came across a hand-written note by Greg Hill commenting on the difference between Discordianism and the Church of the SubGenius.

Sayeth The Polyfather:

“The SubGenius is more DADA, while Discordianism tends to be more Surrealist. It is like having two different delicious flavors of the same revolting ice cream.”

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art discordianism greg hill kerry thornley

The Church of the Laughing Christ

Another Greg Hill sketch for Kerry Thornley's Church of the Laughing Christ. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
A Greg Hill sketch for Kerry Thornley's Church of the Laughing Christ. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.

For your general amusement, here are a couple of rough sketches Greg Hill produced inspired by a Discordian Cabal that Kerry Thornley cooked up called the Church of the Laughing Christ.

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discordianism robert anton wilson

Yesterday’s Synchronicity

The Axe Murderer and The Buddha
 
This is a photo of RAW and yours truly from the spring of 2001. In it he is sporting a shirt that says “I have seen the fnords” and of course wearing his famous ring with the spiral on it. A couple years back I had a dream with RAW in which we engaged in a deep discussion about the meaning of his ring, and how it was an allegory to The Buddha.
Photo courtesy of Greg Bishop.

Yesterday I was reviewing a list of potential posts for Historia Discordia, one of which is a piece I wrote on
Robert Anton Wilson’s passing back in 2007. So I got to wondering what day RAW died, and thought it would be apropos to coincide posting the piece on that date.

I did a quick Google search and, as our crazy Goddess would have it, RAW died on the date of January 11th, which is just the sort of stone cold synchronicity one encounters when pulling cosmic triggers and rolling golden apples. Perhaps a day late and a dollar short, we share with you now my RAW eulogy.
—Adam Gorightly

 

Continue reading “Yesterday’s Synchronicity”
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discordianism greg hill principia discordia zines

Greg Hill’s Discordian Newsletter: The Greater Poop

From the late-60s through the early-70s, Greg Hill published a newsletter called The Greater Poop aka The Greater Metropolitan Yorba Linda Herald-News-Sun-Tribune-Journal-Dispatch-Post and San Francisco Discordian Society Bulletin and Intergalactic Report & Pope Poop, a networking tool of sorts where Hill kept his fellow Popes and Momes informed about new initiates, cabals, projects and other current Discordian doings.

The early issues were a one page long sheet that was folded four times and mailed. The first few issues composed in long hand and later issues typed, often including hand drawn illustrations by Malaclypse himself.

Back (mailer) side of Issue #29 of The Greater Poop.
Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
Front side of Issue #1 (archive copy) of The Greater Poop. Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.


As The Greater Poop evolved, it sometimes encompassed several pages, such as Issue #30, a ten page monstrosity that we’ve have posted here in its entirety.

This issue includes an announcement of the printing of the 4th Edition of the Principia Discordia and the official rescinding of the 1st thru 3rd Editions… along with the rest of reality.

 
The Greater Poop #30, July/August 1970


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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brenton clutterbuck discordianism kerry thornley video

Chasing Eris: Tantra Bensko on Kerry Thornley

Brenton Clutterbuck of the worldwide Chasing Eris project quest poses with the original cover page of the Paste-Up Principia Discordia (known as the Sacred PUD). Courtesy of the Discordian Archives.
My young friend, Brenton Clutterbuck of Chasing Eris fame, is working on a book about contemporary Discordia, which I expect the Goddess will ultimately approve of.

Along the way I’ve tried my best to introduce him to a number of fellow Discordians, among them Rosemary Tantra Bensko, who in the following video describes her introduction to Kerry Thornley and the subsequent ritual the two engaged in concerning butter and cats licking thereof.

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book discordianism greg hill illuminatus! robert anton wilson robert newport

Discordian Culture Jamming: ANARCHO-SURREALISM by Mordecai Zwack

The following review of Illuminatus! entitled “Anarcho-Surrealism” was among the Discordian Archives I was first turned onto by Bob Newport in the early 2000s. At first blush, the document appeared to have been composed by Greg Hill — under the pseudonymous moniker of “Mordecai Zwack” — circa 1974-ish during the period he was living in NYC.

Later, while combing through correspondence between Robert Anton Wilson and Greg Hill from the period, I soon discovered that they actually collaborated on the piece. This would explain the Mordecai moniker in the byline, as Mordecai — it just so happens — was the first name of RAW’s Discordian persona, Mordecai Malignatus aka Mordecai the Foul.

In retrospect, “Anarcho-Surrealism” seems a prime example of Discordian Culture Jamming, in the sense that RAW was writing his own clandestine review of Illuminatus! with the covert aid of Discordian Society co-founder Greg Hill, aka Malaclypse the Younger, Omnibenevolent Polyfather of Virginity in Gold (K.S.C.).

Get yourself Discordian Culture Jammed:

Continue reading “Discordian Culture Jamming: ANARCHO-SURREALISM by Mordecai Zwack”
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book discordianism greg hill jfk jim garrison kerry thornley lee harvey oswald zines

The Origins of “Historia Discordia”: A Flashback Review of The Prankster and the Conspiracy

Back in 2004, Brian Doherty of Reason Magazine reviewed The Prankster and the Conspiracy (Amazon Kindle, Paperback) and titled his review “Historia Discordia,” a title that, with Brian’s consent, I’ve decided to use for this website, as well as the forthcoming book Historia Discordia: The Origins of the Discordian Society coming soon from RVP Publishers.

Reprinted with permission, here’s Brian’s article from Reason Magazine:

Continue reading “The Origins of “Historia Discordia”: A Flashback Review of The Prankster and the Conspiracy”
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book daisy eris campbell discordianism illuminatus! kenneth campbell play robert anton wilson robert newport robert shea video

Kenneth and Daisy Eris: A Campbell Clan Discordian Continuum

Illuminatus! poster for the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool production, 1976.
On November 23rd, 1976 (which just so happens to be a high holy day in Discordianism, both due to the mystical manifestation of the number 23 and because it’s Harpo Marx’s birthday) an Englishman named Kenneth Campbell premiered a ten-hour stage production of Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea’s Illuminatus! (Amazon Kindle, Paperback, Hardcover) at the Science-Fiction Theatre in Liverpool. In true Discordian fashion, the production consisted of five plays of five acts each, with each act 23 minutes in length. As Wilson wrote in Cosmic Trigger (Paperback):

Ken Campbell’s adaptation was totally faithful to this nihilistic spirit and contained long unexpurgated speeches from the novel explaining at sometimes tedious length just why everything the government does is always done wrong. The audiences didn’t mind this pedantic lecturing because it was well integrated into a kaleidoscope of humor, suspense, and plenty of sex (more simulated blow jobs than any drama in history, I believe.)

Working with the National Theatre (under the Patronage of Queen Elizabeth, no less!), Campbell arranged for the two Bobs, Wilson and Shea, to be flown across the pond for the London production premiere. In appreciation of Her Majesty’s largesse, Wilson made a cameo appearance: “The cast dared me to do a walk-on role during the National Theatre run. I agreed and became an extra in the Black Mass, where I was upstaged by the goat, who kept sneezing. Nonetheless, there I was, bare-ass naked, chanting ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law’ under the patronage of Elizabeth II, Queen of England, and I will never stop wondering how much of that was programmed by Crowley before I was even born.” According to Michael Coveney’s Ken Campbell bio, RAW was so nervous about his nude cameo that he dropped some acid before going on stage, as well as doling out hits to other actors in the play.

At some point, during the course of the production (if I got the story straight), Kenneth Campbell’s daughter, Daisy Eris Campbell, was conceived backstage. More on the adventures of Daisy Campbell in a bit….

A year after of the Illuminatus! stage production, a Discordian reunion of sorts took place that included Bob and Arlen Wilson, Louise Lacey, Greg Hill, Bob and Rita Newport, as well as several other friends of the Wilson’s who traveled to Seattle to take in the Illuminatus! stage production during its stateside run.

‘Twas a chilly Seattle night (as the story goes), so someone (who shall remain nameless) produced enough MDMA for Wilson and all his colleagues (ingested between the second and third acts) which in due time took the chill from the bones of the assembled Discordians—and cranked up the glow surrounding their collected auras—as they sat entranced by the spectacle which unfolded.

Wilson (l) and Shea (r) during the Illuminatus! publication period.
The MDMA notwithstanding, Louise Lacey recalls the Illuminatus! stage production as a “sublime experience” which had one and all rolling in the aisles.

In the spirit of the Illuminatus! stage play—and filled with the same sort of Erisian inspiration as her dearly departed father—Daisy Eris Campbell has taken on the task of creating a stage adaption of Wilson’s Cosmic Trigger, which you can find out more about in the YouTube video to follow.

Here’s a great article on Ken Campbell, Illuminatus! and other Liverpool romps.

And this just in! An update from Daisy Eris!

UPDATE: January 8, 2014: More on the 1978 Seattle Stage Production of Illuminatus!.