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"Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia may become to the 21st century what Principia Discordia became to the 20th. Which
means--I don't know what the hell that means."
Robert Anton Wilson (The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy, on an early draft)
Reverend Loveshade says "e" has received two main criticisms from Discordians of Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia:
The Tales of Shamlicht. 1) It Is too tied into Discordian traditions; and 2) It is so unlike any Discordian work ever
made that it's not even Discordian. The complete irony in those sincerely-made and opposite-extreme statements is
a clue. This book is not just for Discordians; it's for anyone who's willing to open their eyes, ears, and especially
their mind.
Don't try to pigeonhole this book which the publisher has pigeonholed for legal protection as "educational." While it
blends real philosophy with humor, fact with fiction, logic with absurdity as does Principia Discordia, it moves in
several different directions. The animal sex articles (sex-changing fish, self-copulating worms, and sexual-boundary
ignoring bonobos) lead up to the "naked ape" Homo sapiens. Read these if you don't mind challenging every limit
your society and your own mind have placed on sexuality. While the book calls itself personist, this is a different
personism than that developed by Peter Singer, and challenges assumptions society and probably you made about
what it means to be a person. While it claims to be Discordian, this roller coaster book travels through that reality
tunnel--then suddenly twists and turns into a completely different direction.
If you think you know sex, read the animal sex articles; if you're overwhelmed by college exams, read "The Priest of
Toilet Tissue," if you think you're a prisoner of society and law; read "Knowing We Are Free." And if you want some
new holidays and you think you've seen every potty joke imaginable, read its collection of "Holydays" and "The
Alternate Fivefold Blessing of Eris" and "Babysitter Eris." You can also embrace the modern classic "Five Blind Men
and an Elephant" which is a twist on a twist, and take a ride on the shoulders of "The Adulthood Fairy"--if you don't
mind seeing some of your most fundamentally-held beliefs about adulthood and childhood uprooted and exposed as
modern human-made inventions.
Here's another clue: Rev. Loveshade received numerous online proposals of marriage and sex--and
encouragements to commit suicide.
Rev. Ivan Stang, chief priest of the Church of the SubGenius, wrote that the book was laid out on an FBI-seized
computer--that is not a joke. The Ek-sen-trik Discordians were part of a national and perhaps international
investigation, and several parts of the book were seized by the authorities or, as the book calls them, "The Agents of
Greyface."
So to call the book "controversial" is an understatement. A small-town Texas police department declared portions of
it felonious, and the Ek-sen-trik Discordians were investigated and arrested for everything from obscenity to
organized crime to terrorism. Through follow-up investigations by the FBI, CIA, and probably Homeland Security,
after a few years all charges (except for possession of marijuana) were dropped and all material was returned. But
as you can see on the copyright page, the publisher still insisted the book be inspected again by "agents of the
United States Government" before they would publish it.
Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) wrote that "this inspiring volume
makes a splendid auric pippin to be lobbed amongst the bickering goddesses of our contemporary debate.' For
those not yet in the know, that's a reference to the golden apple marked "To The Prettiest One" tossed by Goddess
Eris in the midst of three vain goddesses who each claimed it was hers. R. Crumb (Keep on Truckin', Mr. Natural,
Fritz the Cat) who is seemingly unshockable, wrote, 'My initial reaction is, “Whu-u-?”' Interestingly, both of them had
their work investigated for pushing some of the same legal and moral boundaries this book pushes even further.
The Discordian S. John Ross aka Pope Leo of Novus Ordo Discordia, the Gospel of St. Pesher the Gardener (and
Cumberland Games & Diversions, Risus) wrote the outstanding "foreplay" for the book, telling about how he came to
Discordianism through a Christian pastor, a pumpkin, and a felt triangle. And don't pass up the fine and amusing
afterplay which has a never-before-published meeting between Reverend Loveshade and Discordianism co-creator
Greg Hill better known as Malaclypse the Younger.
The book contains some nudity (there's a pregnant young girl on the cover, so you've been warned), and a few
words you can't yet say safely on television. As the book cover says, read with your mind open--and the curtains
closed.
means--I don't know what the hell that means."
Robert Anton Wilson (The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy, on an early draft)
Reverend Loveshade says "e" has received two main criticisms from Discordians of Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia:
The Tales of Shamlicht. 1) It Is too tied into Discordian traditions; and 2) It is so unlike any Discordian work ever
made that it's not even Discordian. The complete irony in those sincerely-made and opposite-extreme statements is
a clue. This book is not just for Discordians; it's for anyone who's willing to open their eyes, ears, and especially
their mind.
Don't try to pigeonhole this book which the publisher has pigeonholed for legal protection as "educational." While it
blends real philosophy with humor, fact with fiction, logic with absurdity as does Principia Discordia, it moves in
several different directions. The animal sex articles (sex-changing fish, self-copulating worms, and sexual-boundary
ignoring bonobos) lead up to the "naked ape" Homo sapiens. Read these if you don't mind challenging every limit
your society and your own mind have placed on sexuality. While the book calls itself personist, this is a different
personism than that developed by Peter Singer, and challenges assumptions society and probably you made about
what it means to be a person. While it claims to be Discordian, this roller coaster book travels through that reality
tunnel--then suddenly twists and turns into a completely different direction.
If you think you know sex, read the animal sex articles; if you're overwhelmed by college exams, read "The Priest of
Toilet Tissue," if you think you're a prisoner of society and law; read "Knowing We Are Free." And if you want some
new holidays and you think you've seen every potty joke imaginable, read its collection of "Holydays" and "The
Alternate Fivefold Blessing of Eris" and "Babysitter Eris." You can also embrace the modern classic "Five Blind Men
and an Elephant" which is a twist on a twist, and take a ride on the shoulders of "The Adulthood Fairy"--if you don't
mind seeing some of your most fundamentally-held beliefs about adulthood and childhood uprooted and exposed as
modern human-made inventions.
Here's another clue: Rev. Loveshade received numerous online proposals of marriage and sex--and
encouragements to commit suicide.
Rev. Ivan Stang, chief priest of the Church of the SubGenius, wrote that the book was laid out on an FBI-seized
computer--that is not a joke. The Ek-sen-trik Discordians were part of a national and perhaps international
investigation, and several parts of the book were seized by the authorities or, as the book calls them, "The Agents of
Greyface."
So to call the book "controversial" is an understatement. A small-town Texas police department declared portions of
it felonious, and the Ek-sen-trik Discordians were investigated and arrested for everything from obscenity to
organized crime to terrorism. Through follow-up investigations by the FBI, CIA, and probably Homeland Security,
after a few years all charges (except for possession of marijuana) were dropped and all material was returned. But
as you can see on the copyright page, the publisher still insisted the book be inspected again by "agents of the
United States Government" before they would publish it.
Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) wrote that "this inspiring volume
makes a splendid auric pippin to be lobbed amongst the bickering goddesses of our contemporary debate.' For
those not yet in the know, that's a reference to the golden apple marked "To The Prettiest One" tossed by Goddess
Eris in the midst of three vain goddesses who each claimed it was hers. R. Crumb (Keep on Truckin', Mr. Natural,
Fritz the Cat) who is seemingly unshockable, wrote, 'My initial reaction is, “Whu-u-?”' Interestingly, both of them had
their work investigated for pushing some of the same legal and moral boundaries this book pushes even further.
The Discordian S. John Ross aka Pope Leo of Novus Ordo Discordia, the Gospel of St. Pesher the Gardener (and
Cumberland Games & Diversions, Risus) wrote the outstanding "foreplay" for the book, telling about how he came to
Discordianism through a Christian pastor, a pumpkin, and a felt triangle. And don't pass up the fine and amusing
afterplay which has a never-before-published meeting between Reverend Loveshade and Discordianism co-creator
Greg Hill better known as Malaclypse the Younger.
The book contains some nudity (there's a pregnant young girl on the cover, so you've been warned), and a few
words you can't yet say safely on television. As the book cover says, read with your mind open--and the curtains
closed.
| Review for Amazon.com by Johnny Shellburn |
The front cover of the
first edition, the 2012
printing by Anaphora
Literary Press.
first edition, the 2012
printing by Anaphora
Literary Press.
Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht, was written by Reverend
Loveshade with others. It has the dubious distinction of having been part of a
major investigation by the FBI, perhaps the only Discordian work other than
Principia Discordia to be the subject of a major governmental investigation.
Reviewer Johnny Shellburn said, "Back in the day, I wrote book reviews and
actually got paid for it. The only problem was I got told what to read and what to
review. Here I can review what I want."
Loveshade with others. It has the dubious distinction of having been part of a
major investigation by the FBI, perhaps the only Discordian work other than
Principia Discordia to be the subject of a major governmental investigation.
Reviewer Johnny Shellburn said, "Back in the day, I wrote book reviews and
actually got paid for it. The only problem was I got told what to read and what to
review. Here I can review what I want."
The proposed "crotch
cover" that was not
chosen by Anaphora
Literary Press.
cover" that was not
chosen by Anaphora
Literary Press.
The working cover for
Ek-sen-trik-kuh
Discordia.
Ek-sen-trik-kuh
Discordia.
Cover copyrights remain with the
individual copyright holders. For
details, see discordia.loveshade.org
individual copyright holders. For
details, see discordia.loveshade.org
Apocrypha Discordia
Book of Eris
Discordian Coloring Book
Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia
The Idle Warriors
The Prankster and the
Conspiracy
Principia Discordia
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy
Voices of Chaos
Zenarchy
Zen Without Zen Masters
Book of Eris
Discordian Coloring Book
Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia
The Idle Warriors
The Prankster and the
Conspiracy
Principia Discordia
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy
Voices of Chaos
Zenarchy
Zen Without Zen Masters
Reviews for currently
unreviewed books are
coming.
unreviewed books are
coming.
