“James Curcio is currently collecting submissions for an anthology entitled The Immanence of Myth (click the following link for submission guidelines). In the article below (a version of the anthology’s introduction), he lays out the ideas that will frame the anthology — particularly concerning the evolving role of mythology in our post-industrial, highly technologized, capitalist society.”

Read the full article now from Reality Sandwich.

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), is our rendition of the book in audio form. Music in these episodes is by P. Emerson Williams, Gordon Bash, Tracer, Scott Landes, David Resnick, Jason Benson, and James Curcio.

Want to read the novel instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

Hard copy on Amazon.

Past Episodes feed (iTunes or direct)

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This book will likely be broken into three sections: a deconstruction & analysis of “myth” as a concept, some forms of modern myths, and a section dealing with personal myths & experience- how myths (your own or others) have transformed or affected you. (see below)

The premise of this book is that myths actually have an essential function in our daily lives, as a meaning-creating method of interpreting our experience, rather than being an “untrue but regularly held belief” or a fanciful story from a bygone era. We hope to redefine this idea in section 1 & provide unique examples in section 2 & 3:

For section 1 we are looking for essays that explore the concept of myth outside the “box” of one particular worldview. This can include analysis of existent myths but we are not creating an annotated bulfinch’s, and those examples should be used to support your central thesis.

Section 2 - articles on modern mythology, for example in media (movies, TV, literature, Internet), pop culture, and corporate/brand use of mythological techniques.

For section 3 we are looking for personal-essay style encounters with myth. These can be humorous, dramatic, or anything in-between but should not be journal entries– in other words, you have to provide the reader a means of understanding how myths have affected you, and how the reader can understand their own lives through a mythic lens.

In all cases, cite your references, and please proofread & spellcheck your work.

Submit your work as a Word or Open Office document.

Publication:
• We will be releasing this anthology through Mythos media. The first edition will be made available as a free PDF and POD hardcopy. We will push this through several online channels but each contributor should also promote it to their network of contacts. If this effort is successful we will push it to in-store publication.
• Your work will be published nonexclusively, meaning you can publish your submission (as submitted) at a later date with someone else if you so choose. If we partner with any publishers in a later edition we will insist on the nonexclusive use of your work unless you say otherwise.
• Submission does not ensure acceptance.
• Your submissions will be edited. We will attempt to include you in that process when possible but we maintain the final editorial decision. Please don’t submit if this will be a problem.
• We are not maintaining a strict guideline on length. Shoot for between 1500-7000 words.
• The first edition will be unpaid and available to contributors at the base printing cost. We may be able to offer a flat rate on later editions if the 1st edition does very well but this is not assured.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 10th, 2009.

Publication date TBD

SEND SUBMISSIONS TO: jamescurcio AT gmail DOT com and subscribe to the blog at http://joinmycult.blogspot.com to keep up-to-date.

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), are four installments of the book in audio form. Music in these episode is by P. Emerson Williams, Scott Landes, Nate Sampsel, and James Curcio.

Want to read the novel instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

Past Episodes feed (iTunes or direct)

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), are two installment of the book in audio form. Music in this episode is by James Curcio, Nate Sampsel, and P. Emerson Williams.

Want to see what J read in the script in episode 7? Check out this video.

Want to read the novel instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

Past Episodes feed (iTunes or direct)

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), is an installment of the book in audio form. Music in this episode is by Scott Landes (from subQtaneous).

Want to read it instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

Past Episodes feed (iTunes or direct)

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), is an installment of the book in audio form. Music in this episode is by P. Emerson Williams & James Curcio and contains outtake material from subQtaneous as well as some early source material from the upcoming soundtrack to the movie Y (currently in pre-production).

Want to read it instead? : Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

Past Episodes feed (iTunes or direct)

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), is an installment of the book in audio form. Music in this episode is an acoustic jam with Scott Landes and James Curcio.

Want to read it instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

Past Episodes

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), is an installment of the book in audio form.

Want to read it instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

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The psychedelic prologue to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning, Join My Cult! has been rewiring drug-addled brains for the past five years. Now, here, for the first time (because we never bothered to get around to it before), is an installment of the book in audio form. LISTEN (mp3)

Want to read it instead? :

Join My Cult! eBook (PDF)

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A Mythical Tale Of Frontier Life Told In Words & Pictures

They who suffer tribulation and pain need suffer never more again!

Dr. Chak Votan’s patented elixir combines a variety of robust, natural ingredients to provide a wonderful remedy. It cures most ills, including (but not limited to): Aches, Coughs, Constipation, Incontinence, Neurosis, Nervousness, Stammers, Eruptions, Night Terrors, Cannibalism, Somnambulism, and Complacency.

Accept no substitute. It’s the Primordial Libation that effects proper cures where other remedies and treatments fail!

Interview with the author/illustrator about the process of creating a myth, Reality Hackers, working on Dragon Magazine & Magic The Gathering and the I Ching (Alterati.com).

Pick up the early release edition.

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There have also been rumors, discussions, or what-have-you about future release of a new, fully edited edition of Join My Cult! and Fallen Nation. I’m not making any final decision about this until the end of this year… but it is a definite possibility.

More free writing available here. (Including 1st edition free PDF of the sequel to JMC!, Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.)

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As promised, following the release of the 2nd “Fear & Loathing On The Internet” installment, here is the full res (.wav) version of the installment of the audio installation I prepared for Foolish People’s Terra Extremitas’ event in Amsterdam.

This is an acoustic journey into the Bardo, linking the narratives of my 2nd, mythically inspired novel, Fallen Nation Babylon Burning, and the upcoming film, Y.

First played with accompanying theatrics at the Foolish People Terra Extremitas event in Amsterdam, August 08. Includes original music by Scott Landes (Collide, Mankind is Obsolete), Jon Siren (Mankind is Obsolete, Hate Dept), James Curcio (Babalon, subQtaneous), and Peter Emerson Williams (Choronzon, Veil of Thorns).” Listen or download now

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On that note… I recently re-coded and designed that site, and put a ton of old content there, from writing to full music albums. Enjoy at your leisure.

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Amidst all of the turmoil that has occurred both in the US and abroad in 2008, many of the media giants are stomping around blindly. There is no better time for truly independent groups of artists, musicians and myth makers to band together to collaborate, share and grow their myths. This is why Mythos Media formed in 2006-2007, and it remains our singular goal. The time is ripe now, but we need to meet each other halfway.

The purpose of this mailer is to alert you to what we have been doing over this past year, and what we look to create in 2009. The days of purely passive media are through. Sure, everyone likes to unwind and watch a movie from time to time, but always existing in that state of consumption leaves people shut-down, and isolated. This is why social media is exploding, even if major corporations are trying to turn the Internet into an ad-laden, vapid wasteland.

We all need stories that we can participate in, and a framework for us to collaborate and create work together. This is our goal moving forward- not only building our own myths but creating a sandbox for you to build your own as well. We believe static media like books and DVDs are merely entrance points into interactivity, collaboration, and the creation of new myths in the future, using technologies that are still being refined even as we speak.

We hope you join us.

–James Curcio, Christmas Eve, 2008.

See the full, unabridged State of the Union, with tons of free books, music and more, go here: http://www.mythosmedia.net/content/2008/mm-12-08.html

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(Photo by Matthew Cooke.)

kaRIN: The primary song writing for Collide is still primarily Statik and myself. Over the years, we are just trying to evolve as much as we can and not make the same songs over again. We were very lucky to have gathered up some great live players, so the live influence and the fact that all of our live members contributed to each of the songs is definitely evident on Two Headed Monster.

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However, in this case the other members, who often get referred to in the reviews as “the live band,” are all talented musicians in their own right. Who knows the names of the band that played with Tori Amos when touring for Little Earthquakes, or PJ Harvey’s bandmates on Rid of Me? (Don’t check with Google. I’m just making a point.) This is a fault purely of the press- and the simple bottom line of what sells tickets and records.

I don’t know the other members of Collide’s band well enough to talk about them, though Kai Kurosawa’s muscianship is clearly impressive. However, having known, worked with, and on several occasions lived with Scott, I wanted to share a little of that, and some reflections of my own work with him and how he influenced me- before jumping into a review of Collide’s album on its own ground.

I first met Scott in 98 or 99 during my Sophmore year at Bard College. Our mutual friend Jim introduced us, and he promptly blew me away with the intensity of his playing- and in the process snapped at least one of the strings on the Mexican strat that I owned at the time.

From that point on, we began a many-year long collaboration which oftentimes veered into the obscure or plain bizarre. Scott got me to take music more seriously- it was hard not to, what with how passionate he is about it. He would literally stay up all night playing until his fingers bled. (And then keep playing.) One part of what motivated me to take Jazz harmony and music theory classes was so that I could keep up with him on my chosen instrument at the time, bass. On the other hand, I’d like to think that I helped him learn to take music a little less seriously. Oftentimes, we would have absurd jams so ridiculous that we’d fall over laughing. These first meanderings took the form of Bile Shower, a truly awful concoction which was a great deal of fun to create, and which wreaks pain and havoc upon whomever has the poor sense to subject themselves to it.

This did eventually lead to more serious projects, such as Babalon, but throughout I would say that there’s always been an underlying comedy in most of the work we’ve done together, even those which got more production attention, like subQtaneous. (Here is a live recording of Waiting and a demo of Save The World, two of my favorites from what we recorded with Babalon).

After Babalon broke up, Scott joined forces with Collide, and a little while thereafter, with Mankind Is Obsolete. I had MKIO stay at my apartment several months back, when they were still on their colossal year+ tour, and got to briefly reconnect with him and meet some new faces. Here is a band operating completely without a label, living out of a van, playing gigs varying in size and grandiosity from Warp tour dates to some people in a corn field. (Read Part 1 and Part 2 of my review and interview with Mankind is Obsolete from last year before they hit the road.) Living off of tuna and celery and playing music every night. It just goes to show that though the days of excess Guns N’ Roses got to experience might be gone, if you are committed enough, you can hit the road and find an audience.

I’ve been involved in several musical projects since Babalon, and some studio work with Scott since. However, I’ve yet to meet someone with his singleminded passion, dedication and drive for the art. It is truly a rare thing. If you have the opportunity to see him perform with Collide, Mankind Is Obsolete, or any other bands that he chooses to work with, I highly suggest you take it. I always look forward to seeing him on stage, or having another opportunity to collaborate.

Look for a review of Two Headed Monster next week.

–James Curcio.

(As a final note to the Fallen Nation readers out there- yes, the character of Cody was based- in part - on Scott.)

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Just a quick announcement for those that have been following along here because I can’t contain myself- You read the title right. The film rights to Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning have been optioned by Invictus Films & SB Productions. Expect many more updates to come!

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The voices you will hear in this soundtrack will be the voices inside the actor’s head. The rest you will just have to imagine- or better yet, get your ass to the event.

Also, after the Terra Extremitas event in Amsterdam, we will be providing you with a version of this soundtrack with the actors lines added- which may or may not have video, depending on how the filming at the event goes. Enjoy!
Soundtrack Credits:

Writing: James Curcio, Jason Stackhouse.

Production & Art Direction: James Curcio.

Music: P. Emerson Williams (Choronzon, Veil of Thorns), James Curcio, Scott Landes (Collide, Mankind is Obsolete), Jon Siren (Mankind is Obsolete, Hate Dept).

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“The question has been raised in a couple forums of what my process has been in building these images- in one case it came up because someone wanted it removed from a “digital art” community because these were “clearly photographs,” when, as you’ll see, that distinction isn’t really quite so clear. It’s a difficult process for me to talk about, both because even after a decade working in Photoshop it is still such an experimental process, and that it is so subconscious that I don’t generally articulate what I’m doing- I just do it. A lot of the process is discovery: adding, stepping back, stepping closer, re-arranging, stepping back- a constant internal dialogue and balancing act which can take hours, days, or even weeks with a single piece. But I’ll give it a shot. “

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The real end to this story was Patron bottles bursting clear blue spume out of ruptured plaster walls; bloody footprints on tiled floors; throat shredding screeching that blended fight and fuck. It was her daring stare as she dropped down on all fours on the broken glass, makeup a dripping mess, leather boots laced to her pared knees, begging for more.
There did come a day when he woke up and she wasn’t there. In the real story, the now dried rose she had given him was lost in the splintered ruins he turned their home into.
Since then, it was one long walk.

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.

Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed: subscribe to iTunes and other podcasting services through this link. Music by Scott and Gordon of Mankind Is Obsolete, and James Curcio.

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We suggest you listen on headphones. Or while driving late at night. (Though we aren’t responsible if you drive off the road.)

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“…that’s all in the past now,” he was saying, “From there, it was like a ball rolling downhill, gathering momentum. Even gentle footfalls can start an avalanche, given the proper conditions. Once it gains enough velocity…anyone who stands in its way will be crushed. What you need to understand…is that the history of man is the history of an ongoing Reality War.” Suke hopped onto his shoulder and chittered. He batted her away and continued without missing a beat.
“What rises to the top? What sinks into obscurity? …I’m not just talking about Darwinism.”
“What are you rambling about?” Agent 506 called back from the driver’s seat, somehow able to make out his crackpot, spit-fire monologue over the deep hum of the engine. “Reality is not up for grabs. That’s the whole point: it’s real.”

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.

Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed: subscribe to iTunes and other podcasting services through this link.

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“He pulled out a notepad and frantically took notes. When the list was complete, he said, “Alright, bitch. Don’t you dare tell me how a bunch of good-fer-nothings like yerselves came on fifty big ones, I don’t need to be an accessory to God-knows-what…and in return I won’t tell you what I done with my sexretary last night,” he grinned and hung up the phone.”

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.

Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed. Music by Marz233 & subQtaneous.

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So it really did happen, then. It wasn’t just the delusions of a fragmented mind. Or…at least not all of it. The cult, the rants, the hallucinogens, the cross-dressing… All these were like billiard balls leading to the ward, on account of the one thing she hadn’t done. Well, she remembered proclaiming some schizophrenic suburban kid a “prophet,” when floored on acid at some nightclub. Jesus was sure she didn’t actually have anything to do with that live grenade said “prophet” later mismanaged in the restaurant.

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.

Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed.

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Adam Trevino plodded up the stairs to his apartment, brooding at the way his sidearm thumped his ribs as he climbed. Might as well fret about the gun; its weight, suddenly uncomfortable, the vast legal machinery dedicated to keeping it in the holster. Better that than to contemplate the empty pocket in his overcoat, where his credentials used to be. Better to walk the streets, dreaming dimly.
His suspension was in its third day. It wouldn’t be reviewed for two more, and in all likelihood, he would be stripped of rank. Orphaned.

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.

Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed, see the Alterati feed if you want to start at the beginning.

This section of Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning was written by James Curcio, co-written by Jason Stackhouse and read by P. Emerson Williams. Music is provided by Babalon, Marz233 and the 233project, Dan Stone, Barbara Smith, and James Curcio.

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12/17/02 17:49:31 The Journal of Dr. Fein, M.D., Ph.D.
I find myself resistant to morning. Waking before the alarm, I hide next to my wife and play dead. Slow breaths, deep. Eyes closed. Relax the facial muscles, don’t clench, you’re asleep. I wonder what I will do when the alarm rings. Call out today? I could, I could just stay right here. I could choose sleep. But then tomorrow? The day after?
Shower, dress. Match tie, because appearance is important. Kiss wife, still maybe—sleeping. Coffee, bagel, long for a cigarette and congratulate self on quitting. Think about fixing the door (creaks) and drive away.
Routine. Structure. My life is together. I am the one in control…

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.

Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed. (Go here to subscribe for free to the feed through services such as iTunes, or to listen to back episodes.)
The original chapter of Join My Cult! excerpted in this episode written by James Curcio, co-written by Ari & Jason Stackhouse and read by P. Emerson Williams. Music is provided by Choronzon, subQtaneous.

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Want to share your psychosis & have thousands see your work?

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No longer right here, right now. Here operated under different rules. Here was a deserted asylum, being slowly eaten by the encroaching forest, vines replacing windows, morning glory augmenting the brick facades of what appeared to be a college campus. Here was timeless. Interrupting his musings, the aging Chevy passed, windows rolled down and some Styx love ballad blasting from the tinny speakers. The fortyish man behind the wheel didn’t slow, didn’t even look around. Jesus waited a polite moment, then crossed the cracked pavement. Dead streetlamps flanked the overgrown paths, some tilting crazily like drunken soldiers. Rusted iron railings drove straight lines through shapeless shrubbery, and as Jesus crept along them, he could hear, in a near-perfect circle around him, the rodents, the insects, the creeping things fleeing at his bow and in his wake. The wave-front of the present had passed, failing to take this quiet place along with it. His carefully reddened flashlight didn’t cast enough light for anyone but a nocturnal pothead or a cat burglar. Jesus smiled to himself at the thought— Been both of those, I suppose.

Order Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning through Amazon.com now.
Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed.
The original chapter of Join My Cult! excerpted in this episode written by James Curcio, co-written by Ari & Jason Stackhouse.

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Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning audiobook feed.
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Joseph Matheny brings us another mini episode of the resurrected Gpod, digging in the archives with the Chicago Underground Industrial Tape Scene.

And Jason Lubyk reads, channels aliens and fucks with your mind.

This shows offering of music:

“Shock The Monkey” originally by Peter Gabriel, remixed by n8ur.

“Daily Grind,” originally from subQtaneous: Some Still Despair In A Prozac Nation, remixed by DJ Doctor Device.

“This is Aryian Bass,” a mashup megamix, by Johan Ess.

“Legit Honey” from Humpasaur Jones’ Keep It Moist.

An audiobook short from the novel Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.

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- James Curcio continues his Alterati.com column Post-genre Blues in podcast format, with a rant on genre and excerpts of DJ Food’s Raiding the 20th Century and the Rosemary’s Baby theme from Fantomas’ Director’s Cut.

- Wes Unruh digs up the random and bizarre. This week: Jenkem. It’s the shit. (Literally.)

-Joseph Matheny resurrects GPod Radio by interviewing Chandra Shukla of Erotox Decodings, chatting about fun, sun and glory days.

- Jason Lubyk’s electronic noise drone pulsates into the realm of the UFO gods - their indifferent cosmic vastness and the earthbound cargo cults that worship them.

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Described as a “stick of dynamite strapped to reality,” (Scenery Zine), subQtaneous is a diverse conceptual, collaborative album. It carves new soundscapes ranging from brutal, pounding industrial to sarcastic hip hop set over carnival music to delicately layered trance. It has been compared to Pigface, probably due to its format, as well as Coil, Mr Bungle, the Tapeworm project, and Frank Zappa.

Interview with James Curcio and P. Emerson Williams of subQtaneous.

We discuss the lyrics of P. Emerson Williams; how subQtaneous helped create relationships; the many versions of “Double Bind”; why it took so long to release their CD, Some Still Despair In A Prozac Nation; why subQtaneous ws formed when so many of the musicians live all over the country; similarities to Pigface; the members who make up subQtaneous; the Abyss of Hallucinations; the complications of working with so many people; what was surprisingly easy recording Some Still Despair In A Prozac Nation; recording “Wake Up”; why the recorded the album in so many different studios; the guitar stylings of Scott Landes; post-punk political commentary; Mythos Media; the influence of Joseph Campbell.

Featured songs are:

1. “Double Bind”
2. “Equinox”
3. “Wake Up”

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subQtaneous: “What strangeness have we here? This: a trippy ride through post-industrial atmospheres, guided by multi-instrumentalist and producer James Curcio. Although SubQtaneous seems to be a collaborative effort, with many names in the credits, it’s James Curcio’s name that crops up most often. This music runs riot from dubbed-up rumbling to heavily-fuzzed guitar workouts, from incongruous jazz odysseys to bouts of bad-trip psychedelia. At times, it resembles rock music, particularly on ‘Daily Grind’, which sounds like the kind of mashed-up splattery racket you’d get if you shoved Ministry down a waste disposal unit. At other times, rhythms you could (almost) dance to are hauled into the sonic melee, and there are effect-laden interludes and sample-soaked soundscapes, although even when things get a little mellow the listener can never quite escape the suspicion that monsters lurk just beyond the music. ‘All You Know’ is a jazzy rap, springing forward on the vibrations of a double bass, and in a way it’s the most radical thing here. Stick out a white label 12″ with this track on it, and I bet it would be all over hip hop radio in a week. ‘Panning For Gold In Rivers Of Blood’ sounds like someone slipped the orchestra that accompanies silent movies some amphetamines, while ‘Out Of Control’ belies its title with a tumbling, chopped-up neo-rock rampage. I’m not at all sure who SubQtaneous think is going to buy their wayward art, for it’s obviously not aimed at any particular market, and the band - if indeed there is a band - takes a particular delight in eating generic boundaries for breakfast. But you know what? I’m glad this stuff is out there.”

Veil of Thorns: “Another emanation from the Mythos Media monster, in this case a solo project from P.Emerson Williams. And - somewhat surprisingly - we’re in the rock zone, sort of. Veil Of Thorns are not exactly a band, but the music does inhabit a rocky landscape, even if it sometimes doesn’t seem entirely comfortable there. P. Emerson Williams is responsible for vocals and most instruments, with James Curcio on drums (I’m delighted to note, by the way, that the album was engineered by someone called Fluffy) and together they brew up a dust storm of tight-but-loose guitar riffs and driving, nervy, drums. Let’s sample some: ‘The Enigmatic Barely Atone’ has a lost-in-the-desert feel, as if the sands of the Sahara are shifting under the music as it hurtles towards the sunset. ‘Delusions Of Excitement’ is a fine title for a spooky, sepulchral song - the desert night has fallen, the world is hushed. Even the bass seems muted here, rumbling somewhere in the background as if Steve Severin was hiding behind a pyramid. ‘Corrode And Engulf’ (Veil Of Thorns are great on titles) is a grind of treated cello, half way between a lament and a threat. This music is, naturally, high on atmosphere, and if, at times, it teeters on the brink of proggy indulgence it has enough latent attitude to pull back from the brink. It’s like nothing else out there, that’s for sure.”

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Rudy Rauben has lived and died a few lives, from the sound of it. In a previous incarnation he once served as art director, graphic designer or illustrator for a variety of magazines, including Dragon, Amazing Stories, and Reality Hackers. You may have seen some his of illustrations in collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering or the H.P. Lovercraft inspired Mythos.

This time around Rudy is back with a new graphic novel called The Medicine Show, and another one in the works.

He first contacted me out of interest for Mythos Media, we got to talking, and quickly realized we actually had quite a lot to discuss. I’m going to be sharing some of those conversations with you, wherein we touch on everything from the I Ching, internal Kung fu and the artistic process to bizarre times at Reality Hackers and experiences working for TSR and Wizards of the Coast.

Two part interview on Alterati.com:

Part 1
Part 2

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Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning (the full length novel) is also now available to the public.

Two and a half years. The first edition book is done. 279 pages (first two don’t count), lots of black and white illustration. Oh yeah, also, lots of words. About 100,000 of them.

It looks like it’s going to take a couple weeks for Booksurge to place Fallen Nation through online retailers (Amazon, Waldenbooks, B&N, etc) so I’m making the exact same book available through lulu temporarily. I’ve ordered copies through them for the first round promotion and reviews, they look great. Also, a PDF of the pre-release version (before final editorial and layout) is in the most recent Greylodge Occult Review, here.

More related media- interview on Reality Sandwich, where we talk about the background and myth behind this story (and the ones that have come before, and will come after), Bedtime Stories With The Antichrist #3 & The G-Spot Episode 4, which both include audiobook content from Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.

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Pi

The Fountain deals with some of the most central issues we face as humans, the big ones: life, death, what is lost, and what remains. He does so in a visually stunning, deeply moving manner. Aronofsky’s background in myth and metaphor is as clearly apparent as most people’s complete lack of understanding in these areas. To begin with, from review to review, and even in the wikipedia entry (a source well known for its standard of infallibility), there is talk of this story taking place in three times, or of consisting of three plots: a Conquistador, set in the time of Spain’s conquests and search for glory, a scientist, dead-set upon saving his dying wife, and an astronaut or mystic, exploring a nebula referenced in the other “time-lines” as relating to the Mayan creation myth. These converging and diverging time-lines seem to confuse people, as they try to track how they might relate to one another, and try to wrap their heads around three different stories.

Read the full article on Alterati.com

The Fountain torrent

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“Philadelphia-based writer James Curcio’s novels resemble strange and intricate life stories, bubbles of fiction floating in the depths of the collective subconscious. Occasionally they rise to the surface and burst into the conscious mind, releasing dreamscapes where fantasy merges with the mundane. Demigods cavort with goth-punk teenagers. Ambivalent authority figures lord over underground networks. Pseudo-shamanic rituals and sex magick abound.

In his 2004 book “Join My Cult!”, Curcio tells of a group of disillusioned teenagers whose rites of passage include experiments with sex and drugs, dabblings in dark magick, and associations with a mysterious organization known as the “Mother Hive Brain Syndicate.” Described as an occult novel, the story takes place across simultaneous “reality grids,” wherein a single character can inhabit multiple identities. When dealing with subjects like the occult, shamanism, and ritual magick, part of the process involves investigating hidden dimensions of reality that may prove difficult to depict with words. Curcio agrees, noting that “occult” translates to “hidden,” and such realms must be experienced personally to be truly understood. Here he talks about the paradox in expressing the ineffable, the downsides to guru-hood, and the potency of the archetypal world.”

Read the interview here on Reality Sandwich.

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“What kind of material?” you ask.

Read On..

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Once again, agent139 gives us original music, monologues, and dream fragments from an undisclosed underground lair.
In this show you will find music from Philip K Nixon, Veil of Thorns, and subQtaneous, and a reading of a passage of the soon-to-be-released Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.

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Described as a “stick of dynamite strapped to reality,” (Scenery Zine), subQtaneous is a diverse conceptual, collaborative album. It carves new soundscapes ranging from brutal, pounding industrial to sarcastic hip hop set over carnival music to delicately layered trance. While the tracks are tied together by a common theme – the corrosive dark side of capitalism, and its effects on our psyche – none of the musicians involved in this project try to beat you over the head with their ideology. Instead it remains, as the title would imply, an almost subliminal experience that slowly gets under your skin, and doesn’t come out in the wash.

We’re proud to announce that the final mastering session has been completed. The CD will be available shortly, in the meantime here is a free sample track:

Transit of Venus.

Credits:

P. Emerson Williams (Choronzon, Veil of Thorns): Vocals.
Scott Landes (Collide, MKiO), Ryan Moll (Rumpelstiltskin Grinder): Guitars.
James Curcio: Drums, percussion, bass.
James Curcio and Ken Schaefer: Production.

You can download a .rar of the whole album (192 kbps mp3s) and the cover art HERE.

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