RIP RAW

Robert Anton Wilson died today. If you're not familiar with RAW, you might want to check out his Wikipedia entry, which describes him as a "novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher." If you at all consider yourself a student of the weird, you've probably already read some of his writings.

His most famous book is probably The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which he co-wrote with Robert Shea, but some of his other works may be more accessible to the newcomer. Volume One of Cosmic Trigger remains one of my all time favorites, and the three volumes of The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles are an entertaining, fictionalized account of the evolution of the Illuminati. Masks of the Illuminati is another fun read.

Wilson influenced a great many people, and he continually urged people to question, which seems to be a less and less popular activity for most folks these days. He made quite a contribution during his time here among us.

I'll end this post with a great RAW quote: "I used to be an atheist, until I realized I had nothing to shout during blowjobs. "Oh Random Chance! Oh Random Chance!" just doesn't cut it."