Joseph Matheny's Blog, page 13
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.
November 10, 2021
‘XEN: THE ZEN OF THE OTHER’ REFLECTS ON EASTERN MYSTICISM, WEST COAST WILDERNESS, AND KEROUACIAN ISOLATION
A review of Xen: The Zen of the Other audio drama at The Contributor by Joe Nolan.
An excerpt: “I enjoyed reading Xen: The Zen of the Other, but the audio radio play is even better. Its gusto voice acting, hypnotic musicscapes, and mystical plot all add up to a transporting experience that’s beyond what we normally expect from a book recording.
‘XEN: THE ZEN OF THE OTHER’ REFLECTS ON EASTERNMYSTICISM, WEST COAST WILDERNESS,AND KEROUAC-IANISOLATION
A review of Xen: The Zen of the Other audio drama at The Contributor by Joe Nolan.
An excerpt: “I enjoyed reading Xen: The Zen of the Other, but the audio radio play is even better. Its gusto voice acting, hypnotic musicscapes, and mystical plot all add up to a transporting experience that’s beyond what we normally expect from a book recording.
November 6, 2021
The First Internet Hoax – Inside A Mind
An urban legend tells of a group of scientists who successfully escaped into another dimension.
Join me as we go back in time to a place where the internet was like nothing we see today.
Ong’s Hat is a ghost town in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. Many Myths and Legends are said to exist within the area. Such as the Jersey Devil and a tale revolving around a military operation that came into the town and took several individuals nearby who were never heard of again.
This is the story of Ong’s Hat.
October 31, 2021
Xen: The Zen of the Other- The Audio Drama and Freebies This Samhain
Hello Everyone,
It’s that time of year again when the veil is thin between this world and the other. It is the time when the conditions for connections and transmissions are at their strongest. In celebration of that time, I have some unique trinkets for you.
Xen: The Zen of the Other– The Audio DramaAs you may have gathered from the structure of Xen: The Zen of the Other, it is primarily a series of recordings and notes gathered together as a record of a time in the life of Ezra Buckley. The work was always intended as an audio drama primarily and novel secondarily. With the help of Panicmachine and P.Emerson Wiliams, we have finally finished producing that very audio work.
Xen: The Zen of the Other, the audio play, is now available for purchase and download at digital.panicmachine.comIt is also available at your favorite streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and many more options. Just search for Xen: The Zen of the Other on your favorite service.
The audio play is over 6 hours in total and includes a final version of the ebook in PDF, Mobi, and epub. It is priced for the season at a very affordable $6.66 USD.
PURCHASE Xen: The Zen of the Other Audio Drama for DOWNLOAD ON BANDCAMP
Xen Audio Drama Trailer:
https://jmatheny.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/xen-audio-trailer.mp3
Xen Video Trailer
CREDITS
Xen: The Zen of the Other
Written by Ezra Buckley. You’ll have to decide for yourself if that’s a real name or not.- https://thepsychopath.org
Background information by Cameron Whiteside, if that indeed is his real name.- https://whereiscameron.wtf
Produced by P. Emerson Williams- https://pemersonwilliams.wordpress.com
The voice of Joseph Matheny performed by himself- https://josephmatheny.com
The voice of Ezra Buckley performed by Chris Gabriel aka memeanalysis- https://memeanalysis.com
The voice of Ralph performed by P. Emerson Williams
The voice of Tiamat performed by Anna “Maiya” Young- https://www.godmonsters.com
The voice of Racoon 1 performed by Iskandar Sakut abn Mayu (aka Eian Orange of Z(enseider)Z)- https://eianorange.zenseiderz.org
The voice of Racoon 2 by performed Deb Petrochko – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(mythology)
The voice of the waitperson performed Missy G – https://afieldofred.wordpress.com
The poems of Ezra Buckley read by Joseph Matheny
Xen: The Zen of the Other © Copyright 2021 Joseph Matheny
All Rights Reserved
Legit requests for review copies may be made here. Please send your name, publication, and email address.
SoundtrackThe music of the Xen audio drama is also available as a soundtrack.
On Utenfor, the tendrils and tentacles that usually emerge from P. Emerson Williams’ guitar remain as a subterranean presence, transmitting a meditative current through the ground and water, with the occasional flash of fire. If this collection is declaimed for human ears or the watchers, to record the tale in their eternal silence, well, that remains to be seen.
Purchase and download at: https://digital.panicmachine.com/album/utenfor
About P. Emerson Williams:
P. Emerson Williams is a multi-media artist delving in music, art, writing, and video. More people listen to the sounds of P. Emerson Williams every day than realize it, for much of it is embedded in extensive associated and pseudonymous projects past, present, and ongoing. A visionary artist and an illustrator, his work takes projects spanning physical and digital media, genres and modes of performance to strange realms.
FreebiesTo celebrate the release of the Xen audioplay, I have decided to make the following ebooks downloadable free of charge for five days.
Ong’s the Beginning (2021 authorized version) (PDF) Liminal by Cameron (Kindle) Xen: The Zen of the Other (Kindle)The Kindle books will be free to download starting Sunday, October 31, 2021, until Thursday, November 4, 2021.
Statio NumeroThe third and final piece of the Liminal Cycle is, of course, Statio Numero. I wanted to give you some updates about the progress of that work.
As some of you may know, my process uses a lot of cut-ups, trance work, and other divinatory methods that would classify my work as “received text.” Looking at how it is currently evolving, it seems like Statio Numero will be an extensive, sprawling, interdisciplinary work that will take a little more time than Xen of Liminal took. I currently estimate the completion date of Q4 2023.
I think this will probably be my last public artwork, so I want to get it right. I think you’ll enjoy it. Watch this list or my website at https://josephmatheny.com for announcements of the release date.
Media AppearancesI will no longer be giving any more interviews to the press. There are a few interviews in the pipeline that I did earlier this year, but beyond the eventual release of those in the future, do not expect to see any new interviews with me. I have interview fatigue, and I also have begun to question a lot about the entire artist interview process, its meaning, relevance, context, and a host of other questions I have about the whole process. There’s plenty of interviews out there, most of which can be found here.
I don’t know that I have anything else to say, I am tired of talking to the media.
I initially decided to stop interviews in late 2019 but then my inbox filled up with requests to comment on the rising phenomena known as QAnon. I felt it would be irresponsible to not signal my feelings that this movement represented a very real threat to freedom and civility n public life. I’ve been both an observer and a target of this weird tendency since the late nineties and I felt I had some unique insights that may assist newcomers to the reality of online conspirituality cult behavior. I have done what I can and I can only hope people continue to pay attention to the strange and dangerous constellation of thought and behavioral control that has evolved on the Internet over the last 20 years.
I submitted an introduction to the Hilaritas Press re-issue of Robert Anton Wilson’s Reality is What You Can Get Away With.
I won’t ruin it by telling you too much, but I think you’ll enjoy the very personal connection that I have with that work and my stories about hanging out with RAW during the period of that book’s first release.
Because that work references significant media properties, I expect it may take the folks at Hilaritas a while to secure all the necessary clearance. I have faith that they will, in the end, ensure all the rights and re-release this classic work soon.
Things To Listen ToThis piece on the wonderful podcast Hermetix really speaks to the internal dialogue I have these days concerning media, culture, and the artist’s place and responsibility therein. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
