I couldn’t find a date on this AP article (above) which chronicles a day in the life – and in the cups – with Hunter S. Thompson. His love of Chivas on full display, Thompson also stresses the importance of a big breakfast – what else would one expect from a proud son of the Bluegrass State? I found this [...]

I haven’t seen this new book yet, but after hearing this Coast-to-Coast interview with Dennis McKenna, I can’t wait to read The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss – Dennis’s new memoir about his psychedelic adventures with his brother Terence. Has there been a more eloquent spokesperson for the psychedelic experience than Terence McKenna? For me, McKenna even eclipses early enthusiasts [...]

A controversial magician and writer, Kenneth Grant left his mark on the landscape of modern occultism. Grant’s book The Magical Revival plays a seminal role in the interpretation of H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos – casting the fantastic tales as spiritual revelations and not just creepy monster epics. Grant also takes credit for bringing the occultist/artist Austin Osman Spare and his work [...]

This 1970 documentary film by Ray Laurent profiles the Church of Satan and its founder, Anton LaVey. Satanis: The Devil’s Mass features footage of church rituals, interviews with church members and, of course, plenty of LaVey monologues, explaining what Satanic philosophy is all about.

As some of you may know, I’m currently a Writer in Residence at the Main Library in Nashville, TN. This means I’ve been spending a lot of time downtown, close to my various beats near the 5th Avenue galleries and the art spots in The Arcade; blocks from The Contributor offices, and in eye-shot of Legislative Plaza where I had direct access to the goings-on during Occupy Nashville’s stand there.

While directors as diverse as Michael Moore, Werner Herzog and Jean-Luc Godard have made films balanced between documented facts and manufactured fictions, it was French director Chris Marker who invented the film essay.

I was sad to hear about the passing of Sherman Hemsley earlier this week. The Jeffersons was a progressive, challenging show and Hemsley’s George Jefferson came off as a kind of black Archie Bunker, always at odds with his circumstances, never knowing when to keep his mouth shut. I preferred Good Times to The Jeffersons as a little kid, but The Jeffersons was funny and it had a pretty great theme song (although not as good as Good Times’).

A few weeks back I was flipping through a Southern culture magazine at a drug store when I found out that Harry Crews had died at the end of March. The novelist, short story writer and memoirist was one of my literary heroes and -since we’re not doing a Coincidence Control Network podcast this afternoon – I felt it was my responsibility to slip in at least one pop-culture obituary here at the blog.

Readers who are familiar with the artist Satty may have discovered his work the way I did – leafing through the pages of Terence McKenna’sThe Archaic Revival, delighting in the mystery and psychedelic weirdness of Satty’s collages which illustrate that volume.