NEWS: RAW R.I.P.

CELEB: RAW R.I.P.

When I read that cult author Robert Anton Wilson had died, I wasn’t sure if it was true or a prank.

Here’s the case for his death being legitimate and real: Wilson, called RAW by fans and friends, was aged and infirmed at the time of his alleged passing; the former associate editor of Playboy was 74-years-old and had allegedly spent the last week in hospice care.

On his own blog, Wilson said doctors had told him his death was eminent. According to his lifelong friend Paul Krassner, former editor for underground publication The Realist and current contributor to the Huffington Post, told me Wilson had been suffering from post-polio syndrome.

Here’s the case for the whole thing being a scam: Wilson, the author of rambling, conspiracy-theory masterpiece The Illuminatus Trilogy, had been proclaimed dead before. The man himself once wrote, “according to reliable sources, I died on February 22, 1994.” His published works are more or less the Bible for conspiracy theorists. It would be fitting if he faked his death to hang out with John Dillinger and John Lennon in a UFO or something.

So far, his death has only been reported on blogs and other online sources. Wilson, while a cult author with an admittedly narrow-casted appeal, still is a fairly important cultural figure, and it’s somewhat surprising major media wouldn’t report his death.

But apparently, it’s true. After apologizing for a line of inquiry that might have been in questionable taste, I asked Krassner via email if Wilson was really dead.

“I think the question is in good taste, but yes, it's true,” Krassner responded.

Krassner said he was working on an article for the Huffington Post about Wilson’s death.

“I assume mainstream media will begin to pick up the story as obituaries appear. So far a magazine, Paranoia, is publishing one,” Krassner wrote.

Wilson’s really dead, it seems. The Illuminati no doubt lives on.

I know this is a mistake...but an appropriate one nonetheless.

haha, amazing.

All Hail Eris!

He is not dead, just starting a life in a new novel somehwere, perhaps in the
Universe Next Door.......
The man was a RAW genius, and a true iconoclast.
Eat of him, drink of him

Just to add a bit of flame to the conspiracy angle, you should check Bob's blog out. The last entry is the announcement of the time and date of his 'passing'. As with most blog entries, it is signed as himself. Oh, and Bob: I'm writing this on the SG site. You know why. Thanks for all those lunches.

In my early twenties I read his book Cosmic Trigger. I wasn't able to think about anything in quite the same manner afterwards. The only other book that had an effect even remotely similar to this was Henry Miller's Tropic of Capricorn (yes I said Capricorn, not Cancer). Take this for what you will.

"Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence." From Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson

"Please pardon my levity, I don't see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd."

I like the way he approached the end, if his blog is any indication.

Dead, eh? That's what THEY want you to think!

Seriously though, I love his final blog entry. I hope I can approach death in such a great state of mind and with such a great sense of humor.

Here's hoping those who never knew of him will finally be exposed. It's a sad day.

Enter Chapel Perilous!

oh Bob you fool! I will miss you! but I have most of your books to read and re-read. Maybe I will meet you some day in an alternate Omni-verse!!

The world has lost a little brilliance.

I think there was similar confusion/skepticism when the media reported Andy Kaufman had died.

Pardon my ignorance, but who?

-TM

Like Saddam Hussein, can somebody please upload a cell phone video of RAW's passing to dispel the conspiracy theories? Even Timothy Leary had the foresight to broadcast his death over the internet. Since RAW's death is more probably more true than not, my sympathies go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Watching the movie Man on the Moon was a little amazing because every single person in the theater stayed long after the credits had rolled, because I'm pretty sure they half-believed Andy would stand up from one of the seats and shout "Gotcha!"