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| | | --------------- CURRENT PARAVIEW MEDIA GUIDE NEWSLETTER --------------- | 
March 2006
Paraview Media Guide is a monthly guide to books, magazines, websites, and other media that capture your attention, expand your mind, and transform the world. Leading experts in mind, body, and spirit and the frontiers of science and culture present their media picks. This free newsletter is distributed by subscription only. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or obtain sponsorship information, please see instructions at the end of this newsletter.
PARAVIEW GUEST PRESENTER:
ADAM GORIGHTLY | |
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Paraview author (and self described “crackpot historian”)
Adam Gorightly has
been chronicling fringe culture and conspiracy politics in an
illuminating manner for more than two decades now.
An active contributor to the zine revolution of the late ’80s and early
’90s, Adam’s byline was a familiar sight in many cutting-edge magazines
of the period. He sharpened his literary teeth penning articles on the
paranormal, conspiracies, and fringe culture. His explorations into
these arcane waters eventually led to his first book, published in
October 2001,
The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black
Magic, Mind Control and the Manson
Family Mythos, which has
been described as the mother of all
Manson family tomes. This was followed
in November 2003 by
The Prankster and the Conspiracy: The
Story of Kerry Thornley and How He Met
Oswald and Inspired the Counterculture,
the first bio of the legendary
counterculture figure, chronicling
Thornley’s amazing and tragic life.
Adam’s latest offering,
The Beast of Adam Gorightly: Collected
Rantings 1992–2004, features
many articles from Adam’s formative
years in the zine scene and onward into
the new millennium. An audio recounting
of this period can currently be heard at
binnallofamerica.com.
Presently, Adam is embroiled in several
projects, including a surrealistic study
of famed conspiracy sleuth and Freemason
basher James Shelby Downard. Also
(possibly) in the works is a biography
of Ira “The Unicorn” Einhorn, not to
mention a couple of other articles in
various stages of completion and/or
disarray. |
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ADAM’S TRANSFORMING MEDIA PICKS | | |
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Like so many other young writers, Jack Kerouac’s mythic
On the Road fueled my imagination. The living embodiment of
the philosophy of following your muse, Kerouac burned brightly through a
series of wayward novels that inspired a generation, and will continue
to light a fire under generations of aspiring writers. And although he
was a roman candle that burnt out too fast, Kerouac left behind a
brilliant shower of sparks, illuminating his readers.
The late Hunter S. Thompson was passed Kerouac’s torch and with it
created his own heat. Thompson’s
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was the natural outgrowth of
On the Road, a document of the end of the American Dream. To quote the
good Doctor of Gonzo: |
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We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of
a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you
can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the
right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — the
place where the wave finally broke and rolled back. | | |
When Thompson was at his
best, it didn’t get much better.
Another major influence is Edward Abbey’s
The Monkey Wrench Gang, which recounts the author’s
thinly veiled eco-terrorist activities of the late ’60s and early
’70s. It’s also possibly the funniest damn novel ever. If and when I
finally sit my butt down and write some fiction, The Monkey
Wrench Gang will no doubt be my guiding light and model of how
to do it right. |
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I’m a sucker for low budget B movies—especially the ones with cheesy
special effects and unintentional humor. Combine this with the greatest
wrestler in Mexican history, El Santo, and what you get in return are
such cinematic gems as
Santo: The Vengeance of the Weeping Woman,
Santo in the Treasure of Dracula, and
Santo vs. the Martian Invasion.
These movies are so thoroughly entertaining that the often-mistranslated
English subtitles don’t detract from the simple beauty of El Santo and
his wrestling partner, Blue Demon, body slamming such superhuman
villains as the Wolfman or Frankenstein into submission. In fact, such
imperfections make these movies even more amusing, and ultimately
triumphant! | |
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One of the unsung heroes of rock and roll,
Gene Clark provided a key magical ingredient to legendary ’60s group
The Byrds. During his short but noteworthy stint with the band,
Clark was their most prolific and successful songwriter, penning such
classics as
Eight Miles High, and Feel a Whole Lot Better.
Afterward, Clark became the founding father of country rock, although he’s
never received proper credit for the role he played in shaping the musical
landscape of the period, paving the way for groups like
The Eagles and
The Flying Burrito Brothers.
During the 1970s, Clark fell out favor with the music industry suits and
never received adequate promotion for a series of consistently inspiring
records, among them
The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark and
White Light, featuring the classic tune “Spanish Guitar.” Clark’s
mostly unheralded masterpiece,
No Other, released in the mid 1970s, was his crowning achievement,
fusing together a combination of country and progressive rock tunes filled
with haunting melodies and introspective lyrics.
I also have a fondness for arcane audio oddities, such as those documented
in Irwin Chusid’s heartfelt and often hilarious
Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music. This
wonderful book has a
companion CD that features a sampling of the “artists” chronicled in
Songs in the Key of Z, although if you really want to partake of a sublime
example of outsider music, check out Tangela Tricoli’s
Jet Lady, featuring her magnum opus, “Stinky Poodle.” |
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A warm and nostalgic fuzzy overtakes me whenever I visit Wes Clark’s
Avocado Memories
and his fond remembrances of growing up in California during the 1960s,
a more innocent and, in many ways, more magical time.
Another fave is
The
Modern Drunkard, which unabashedly celebrates inebriation in its
many staggering forms: the wonders of highballs, the magic of martinis,
and the fiery inspiration of a righteous shot of tequila. Rightly
likening alcohol consumption to a religious experience, or a gin-soaked
satori, The Modern Drunkard’s God has a million names, found on
bountiful bottles of myriad labels, proofs, and vintages. From the
glories of Guinness stout to the psychoactive reveries of wormwood
infused absinthe, The Modern Drunkard is your ultimate guide to all
things alcoholic!
And of course, I have to mention
adamgorightly.com. |
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What's New at Paraview
This is the final Media Guide from Paraview.
The next Media Guide will be presented by
Cosimo.
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Copyright 2001-2006 Paraview - All rights reserved. |
 
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