Principia Discordia

Principia Discordia => Principia Discussion => Topic started by: Cramulus on June 16, 2008, 04:24:28 PM

Title: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Cramulus on June 16, 2008, 04:24:28 PM
I was talking to St. Mae last night. (the owner of discordian.com) She said she was contacted by a guy who says he was collaborating on a book with Kerry Thornley before he died. She said it was a book on Discordian Demonology, and catalogued the numerous Discordian demons.

She's trying to figure out the best way to distribute it to the community. I think it'll probably be PDF'd and hosted on discordian.com for their ten year anniversary.

I'm very curious.  :p

Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Mourning Star on June 16, 2008, 04:30:57 PM
Neat I guess.

Whatever.  New shit to read at least eh?
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: A.N. Other on June 16, 2008, 06:49:30 PM
What qualifies as a Discordian demon?
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Bebek Sincap Ratatosk on June 16, 2008, 06:58:51 PM
Awesome!

Of course, now we'll have to wonder if he was collaborating with Kerry, or if he just claims that ;-)
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Thurnez Isa on June 16, 2008, 06:59:25 PM
Quote from: K-Scar on June 16, 2008, 06:49:30 PM
What qualifies as a Discordian demon?

I believe half of us are on that list
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: AFK on June 16, 2008, 07:34:03 PM
Quote from: K-Scar on June 16, 2008, 06:49:30 PM
What qualifies as a Discordian demon?

I have some suggestions but will refrain, for now. 
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: hooplala on June 17, 2008, 02:20:49 AM
This should be fun.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Reverend Loveshade on June 17, 2008, 05:56:50 AM
Quote from: Ratatosk on June 16, 2008, 06:58:51 PM
Awesome!

Of course, now we'll have to wonder if he was collaborating with Kerry, or if he just claims that ;-)

Personally, I have my doubts Kerry Thornley was much involved.  He was dealing with paranoia for about the last 10 years of his life, and cut off associations with just about everyone.  His old friend Robert Anton Wilson said that Thornley became convinced Wilson was with the CIA, and for a while Wilson himself had a mild fear that when he left his home Thornley might be there to attack him out of deluded self-preservation.

Thornley's paranoia may have begun with Jim Garrison's investigation of the connection between Thornley and John F. Kennedy's assassin (or supposed assassin) Lee Harvey Oswald.  Or it may have begun earlier, for apparently Thornley, Oswald and a few others who were in the U. S. Marines together were subjects in some type of military experiment involving brain-affecting chemicals.  (Adam Gorightly wrote about this in The Prankster and the Conspiracy, which is where much of this post is from.  I'm writing from memory, so may be a little off on a couple details).

In any case, Thornley became increasingly incoherent.  I once heard him rant in the very late 1980s or very early 1990s, and he talked about having a warehouse full of information on various conspiracies.  He then asked a reporter what year he was born; when the reporter told him, Thornley said, "You'll be dead in three years, probably by fire."  He sounded completely serious, whereas Thornley in his right mind apparently always had a sense of tongue-in-cheek about him.

During those last years, Thornley traveled here and there and would suddenly disappear, sometimes living on the street or with whoever was willing to deal with his mental illness, for which he refused treatment.  Apparently, that's a common problem among those suffering from what they call or used to call (I'm not a psychologist, so don't know for sure) paranoid schizophrenia--if you're paranoid, you're likely to think the doctor is out to get you.  He then had several medical problems and ended up getting regular dialysis after suffering kidney failure.

All in all, it seems unlikely he trusted anyone enough during those last years to work on a book with em.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Reverend Loveshade on June 17, 2008, 06:46:31 AM
I just heard from St. Mae.  The good saint said whether the work is from Thornley's writings or not, what Mae has seen so far is good stuff.  The guy's an artist, and did some drawings that impressed Mae.  And a connection by mail seems more likely to me than an in person connection, which is what I was thinking at first.  Maybe I was stuck in my own reality tunnel?  In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing the work too.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Auguste on June 17, 2008, 10:46:03 AM
This might be fun to repost as the Necronomicon or Goetia on wannabe-Pagan boards.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: hooplala on June 17, 2008, 01:08:09 PM
Quote from: Reverend Uncle BadTouch on June 17, 2008, 05:56:50 AM
Quote from: Ratatosk on June 16, 2008, 06:58:51 PM
Awesome!

Of course, now we'll have to wonder if he was collaborating with Kerry, or if he just claims that ;-)

Personally, I have my doubts Kerry Thornley was much involved.  He was dealing with paranoia for about the last 10 years of his life, and cut off associations with just about everyone.  His old friend Robert Anton Wilson said that Thornley became convinced Wilson was with the CIA, and for a while Wilson himself had a mild fear that when he left his home Thornley might be there to attack him out of deluded self-preservation.

Thornley's paranoia may have begun with Jim Garrison's investigation of the connection between Thornley and John F. Kennedy's assassin (or supposed assassin) Lee Harvey Oswald.  Or it may have begun earlier, for apparently Thornley, Oswald and a few others who were in the U. S. Marines together were subjects in some type of military experiment involving brain-affecting chemicals.  (Adam Gorightly wrote about this in The Prankster and the Conspiracy, which is where much of this post is from.  I'm writing from memory, so may be a little off on a couple details).

In any case, Thornley became increasingly incoherent.  I once heard him rant in the very late 1980s or very early 1990s, and he talked about having a warehouse full of information on various conspiracies.  He then asked a reporter what year he was born; when the reporter told him, Thornley said, "You'll be dead in three years, probably by fire."  He sounded completely serious, whereas Thornley in his right mind apparently always had a sense of tongue-in-cheek about him.

During those last years, Thornley traveled here and there and would suddenly disappear, sometimes living on the street or with whoever was willing to deal with his mental illness, for which he refused treatment.  Apparently, that's a common problem among those suffering from what they call or used to call (I'm not a psychologist, so don't know for sure) paranoid schizophrenia--if you're paranoid, you're likely to think the doctor is out to get you.  He then had several medical problems and ended up getting regular dialysis after suffering kidney failure.

All in all, it seems unlikely he trusted anyone enough during those last years to work on a book with em.


There are a series of interviews with Thornley with Sondra London from around '92 (I have them on my blog somewhere, if you are interested go here: http://baronvonhoopla.blogspot.com/2007/11/9th-anniversery-of-omars-check-out.html (http://baronvonhoopla.blogspot.com/2007/11/9th-anniversery-of-omars-check-out.html)) where he seems more or less completely coherent.  If he was able to maintain this sort of discourse it seems likely to me he could still collaborate on projects.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Raphaella on June 17, 2008, 02:06:03 PM
I watched those interviews a while ago. He did seem lucid enough to me as well, but one can never be sure of these things. TimeCube.com guy seems lucid enough as well, so there you go.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Cramulus on June 17, 2008, 03:53:49 PM
Its been a few years since I've read the Prankster and the Conspiracy , but I got the impression that though Thornley went batshit crazy for a while, at the end he kind of calmed down. He was living with Sondra London, accepting visitors, and was relatively coherent, if not a little frazzled by several years of total insanity.

I'm sure he must have done some writing in those last days. And I'm very curious about it.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Verbal Mike on June 17, 2008, 05:14:47 PM
I personally look forward to seeing this new tome.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Reverend Loveshade on June 17, 2008, 11:53:01 PM
QuoteThere are a series of interviews with Thornley with Sondra London from around '92 (I have them on my blog somewhere, if you are interested go here: http://baronvonhoopla.blogspot.com/2007/11/9th-anniversery-of-omars-check-out.html (http://baronvonhoopla.blogspot.com/2007/11/9th-anniversery-of-omars-check-out.html)) where he seems more or less completely coherent.  If he was able to maintain this sort of discourse it seems likely to me he could still collaborate on projects.

Cool.  I'll be busy through the weekend, but after that I'll definitely have to check that out.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on June 18, 2008, 03:13:45 AM
It's not a thread about oldskool til Uncle BadTouch comes in and bloviates.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: drjon on July 14, 2008, 07:29:54 AM
From what the wunnerful St.Mae communicated, I'm very much looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration. It fits in with what I know of Lord Omar's final works, and see no reason in myself to doubt the authenticity.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Reverend Loveshade on August 03, 2008, 06:30:23 AM
DrJon: So what on Earth would you know about Discordian oldskool?  Who the hell are you, anyway?  Some high faluting n00b? Did you gather together oldskool and newskool writings and put them in a book, such as Apocrypha Discordia?  Do you help get the long-missing 'The Myth of Starbuck' and the first edition of Principia Discordia into our hot little hands?  Huh?  Did ya?

Oh.  You did?

Nevermind.
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: The Good Reverend Roger on August 03, 2008, 06:46:37 AM
Quote from: Reverend Uncle BadTouch on August 03, 2008, 06:30:23 AM
DrJon: So what on Earth would you know about Discordian oldskool?  Who the hell are you, anyway?  Some high faluting n00b? Did you gather together oldskool and newskool writings and put them in a book, such as Apocrypha Discordia?  Do you help get the long-missing 'The Myth of Starbuck' and the first edition of Principia Discordia into our hot little hands?  Huh?  Did ya?

Oh.  You did?

Nevermind.

http://uniknor.un.funpic.de/page2.html
Title: Re: New Oldskool Discordian Text?
Post by: Mourning Star on August 03, 2008, 06:47:08 AM
Quote from: Reverend Uncle BadTouch on August 03, 2008, 06:30:23 AM
DrJon: So what on Earth would you know about Discordian oldskool?  Who the hell are you, anyway?  Some high faluting n00b? Did you gather together oldskool and newskool writings and put them in a book, such as Apocrypha Discordia?  Do you help get the long-missing 'The Myth of Starbuck' and the first edition of Principia Discordia into our hot little hands?  Huh?  Did ya?

Oh.  You did?

Nevermind.

Shut up Uncle BadTouch.