Joseph Matheny's Blog, page 12
June 29, 2022
Visions Of Heaven and Hell Documentary Ep 2 and 3 1994 (VHS)
Just ran across this piece from 1994 wherein I was interviewed about technology. Yeah, I’ve changed my opinion a bit since then but here it is for posterity. My bit starts at about 10:35
(God, I miss that hat. It was the best. F*** whoever stole it at the TAZ show.)
Visions Of Heaven and Hell Documentary Ep 2 and 3 1994 (VHS)
June 21, 2022
INCYDENT W ONG’S HAT (Polish)
For our Polish-speaking friends.
W latach 1980., w opuszczonym od lat 1930. miasteczku Ong’s Hat w USA, przeprowadzono pewien eksperyment całkowicie finansowany przez prywatny budżet. Czego dotyczył? Kto go sponsorował? Jaki miał cel? I dlaczego zainteresowało się eksperymentem wojsko? Czym było tajemnicze “Jajo”? Kto dzisiaj korzysta ze skradzionej w brutalny sposób wiedzy?
May 13, 2022
Conversations with Diane Di Prima
This book includes a chapter that is comprised of an interview I did with my late, great, friend Diane DiPrima. I miss you, my friend.
Conversations with Diane Di Prima“Diane di Prima (1934-2020) was one of the most important American poets of the twentieth century, and her career is distinguished by strong contributions to both literature and social justice. Di Prima and LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) edited The Floating Bear (1962-69), one of the most significant underground publications of the sixties. Di Prima’s poetry and prose chronicle her opposition to the Vietnam War; her advocacy of the rights of Blacks, Native Americans, and the LGBTQ community; her concern about environmental issues; and her commitment to creating a world free of exploitation and poverty. In addition, di Prima is significant due to her challenges to the roles that American women were expected to play in society. Her Memoirs of a Beatnik was a sensation, and she talks about its lasting impact as well. Conversations with Diane di Prima presents twenty interviews ranging from 1972 to 2010 that chart di Prima’s intellectual, spiritual, and political evolution. From her adolescence, di Prima was fascinated by occult, esoteric, and magical philosophies. In these interviews readers can see the ways these concepts influenced both her personal life and her poetry and prose. We are able to view di Prima’s life course from her year at Swarthmore College; her move back to New York and then to San Francisco; her studies of Zen Buddhism; her fascination with the I Ching, Paracelsus, John Dee, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, alchemy, Tarot, and Kabbalah; and her later engagement with Tibetan Buddhism and work with Chogyam Trungpa. Another particularly interesting aspect of the book is the inclusion of interviews that explore di Prima’s career as an independent publisher-she founded Poets Press in New York and Eidolon Editions in California-and her commitment to promoting writers such as Audre Lorde. Taken together, these interviews reveal di Prima as both a writer of genius and an intensely honest, direct, passionate, and committed advocate of a revolution in consciousness”–
BookApril 28, 2022
Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know: The Strange Story of Ong’s Hat
Stuff They Don’t Want You To KnowThe legend sounds like something out of The Twilight Zone. A group of renegade Ivy League scientists gather in secret, in a small, abandoned town, to conduct bizarre experiments… and they discover a path to an alternate universe. But where, exactly, did this legend come from? What’s the line between fact and fiction? Tune in to learn more about Ong’s Hat.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Link to page: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/182-stuff-they-dont-want-you-t-26941221/episode/the-strange-story-of-ongs-hat-96134742/
April 27, 2022
Statio Numero & Other Updates
I have a review/interview section here, but some people have expressed being overwhelmed with the number of links on that page. Admittedly, it is a lot, and I am overwhelmed at the prospect of organizing and categorizing this batch of links. So, until I get around to doing that unenviable organizational grunt work I have put together a FAQ.
What is Ong’s Hat?A collection of text, audio, and video pieces about the Ong’s Hat ARG projectHopefully, this will serve as a quick, easy-to-digest, and concise resource for people who want to know what the Ong’s Hat ARG was. As you might be able to tell, I am tired of talking about, arguing about, and listening to endless speculation about a project I started over 30 years ago and concluded over 20 years ago. I’m on to new projects, and I will no longer conduct interviews about this subject.
Ong’s Hat: The Beginning Statio Numero Now In Pre-production PhaseAs I mentioned in a previous email, I have completed writing Statio Numero, and Statio is moving along in the pre-production phase. It is now officially copyrighted and registered with WGA. I will be announcing casting calls sometime in the next few months.
A bit of a teaser here- The three parts of the complete trilogy contain a cipher, in three parts. Once uncovered and deciphered the message must be interpreted correctly, which in turn will divulge GPS coordinates to a geocache. There will be several items in the cache, among them, a bag holding 100 troy ounces of silver. (pictured below)
Also included in this and other secondary geocaches (the continental US only, sorry) will be several signed first editions of a few of my books, etc. This should kick off in late 2023 with the release of the full interdisciplinary version of Statio Numero. I want my last public media piece to be memorable.
I hope you all are doing well.
April 6, 2022
let’s be conspiracy theorists: hollow earth, inter-dimensional travel, oh-my!
This is a take that’s a little different than the normal podcast we usually feature on here. I love listening to these young people giving their hot takes. The volume is a little low on this so prepare.
listen to us do our best to explain a conspiracy theory to one another and candidly discuss. do tall beautiful giants and aliens live inside our hollow earth? is ong’s hat the true tale of inter-dimensional travel? in glowing hour we touch on some shorter and more fun theories. also, fuck helicopters flying around LA all afternoon, we promise we are investing in better mics for next season.
March 29, 2022
LEGEND TRIPPING (PT 1) : A GROWING AMERICAN PASTIME
LEGEND TRIPPING (PT 1) : A GROWING AMERICAN PASTIMELegend Tripping- the process of seeking adventure by going to places known to be associated with paranormal events. In the episode we offer some background on legend tripping in America (wait for Part Two for the best international destinations), including Capt. McKerry’s Vault on the Ohio River (Indiana)~Goatman’s Grave in Missouri~Ong’s Hat (ghosttown in NJ~Mountain Meadows Massacre Site (UT)~Winchester Mystery House (CA)~The Marshall House Hotel (Savannah GA)~Bloody Lane at Antietam (Sharpsburg, MD~Fort Monroe (Hampton, VA~ Murder Hotel (Chicago)~The Bridgewater Traingle (Mass)~ The 8 Best Places to find Bigfoot (in US).
Link: https://player.fm/series/series-2354660/legend-tripping-pt-1-a-growing-american-pastime
March 16, 2022
South Jersey Is Also The World: The Ong’s Hat Conspiracy Theory
(Note: This is a paid-only, Patreon link. I’ve heard it and it’s well done.)
Today we focus on one of the most fascinating conspiracy theories out there: the legend of ONG’S HAT, which mixes together the military industrial complex, academic outlaws, and inter-dimensional travel all in one of the most remote pockets of the Pine Barrens. What’s real? What’s not? Why do some people want to believe so bad? And how is Ong’s Hat – which pre-exists the internet itself – a blueprint to things like QAnon today?
March 12, 2022
Creeps In The Crypt
Creeps In The CryptIf you like the paranormal, the macabre, the strange, and the unusual then you’ll be dying to listen to Creeps in the Crypt every week!
In this episode, we are talking about a small ghost town in the pine barrens of New Jersey with an insane conspiracy theory surrounding it.
https://player.fm/series/creeps-in-the-crypt/episode-36-ongs-hat
December 21, 2021
Another Trip Around the Sun
They say it’s my birthday —
Welcome to my new Substack, which replaces the old TinyLetter Email Newsletter. I hope you enjoy this new format. Remember, you can also view this newsletter in your browser at https://josephmatheny.substack.com/p/
A Very Merry UnBirthday to MeIf you know me at all, you know that I either ignore my birthdays entirely or I throw a crazy large party with 200 + people, bands, booze, drugs —et al. Lately, it’s been the former as I enter my twilight years, with the days of my emulating Hunter S. Thompson behind me.
On December 24th of this year, I will turn the big Six-Oh, so, I wanted to do something special.
I’ve decided to take a cue from Rob Brezsny, who likes to “Reverse Panhandle.” In that same spirit, I’ve decided to give out presents in recognition of my entry into the ranks of sexagenarianism. (Is that a word?)
I will be giving away 10 copies of Xen: The Zen of the Other, the audio drama, either from Audible or Bandcamp, your choice (but only one per winner). All you have to do is be one of the first 10 to answer the following question:
In part one of The Liminal Cycle trilogy, the novella/movie treatment Liminal , by Cameron Whiteside, Cameron’s friend, Spencer tells Cameron there is only one way out. What is that way?
Email the answer to: contest AT wldcrd.infoWith the subject line: Xen Audio ContestIn the email body: Answer the question and indicate your preference for Audible or Bandcamp format.I will respond to the winners when I return from the holiday on the week of January 3rd.
If you aren’t familiar with Xen or the trilogy it is a part of, there’s a write-up here that covers it nicely without spoilers.
From the deep archives
Found in the wild: A print redux of an old BBS era post of mine. It’s from Kadrey’s Covert Culture Sourcebook 2.0, a book that has several contributions from me.
Happy Solstice, Yule. et alI hope you all have a pleasant holiday; whichever way you choose to celebrate it (or not).
See you on this new list in 2022, which is shaping up to be a year of many new, exciting projects.
