Things We're Observing This Month
September 2023
What the staff is reading this month:
The Anomalist provides reliable daily updates compiling all the high strangeness that’s fit to print. Each post is also laden with their trademark witty commentary. Check out their publisher page for quality printed material by luminaries like Jacques Vallée, Brad Steiger, and Joshua Cutchin. It’s the default homepage on all of The Observer’s company-issued laptops.
High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies by Erik Davis
No, not that Eric Davis. This
has a PhD in Religious Studies and writes books about peculiar things permeating from the fringes of society. The latest effort from the “scholar of the strange” reveals the esoteric connections uniting the mystical experiences reported by mushroom-man Terrence McKenna, Discordian-trickster Robert Anton Wilson, and sci-fi prophet Philip K. Dick. The author’s engrossing anecdotes are overlaid with philosophical arguments and words like “portmanteau.” We never imagined that a book with a fleet of shroom-UFOs (ShrooFOs? That’s a portmanteau … we think) on the cover could be so academic!
1980s FATE Magazines: The back issues of the planet’s longest-running paranormal magazine don’t disappoint. Under the steady direction of Mary and Curtis Fuller, FATE kept a measured editorial tone while exploring a seemingly endless supply of Fortean mysteries (‘Killer Kangaroos’ no less!)
Book reviews from a young Jerome Clark, aka “Mr. UFO Encyclopedia,” reminded us just how many influential UFO tomes were published in the eighties.
What the staff is watching this month:
Mysterious Universe on YouTube - The Down Under’s dynamic duo reveal themselves in all their visual glory on their YouTube channel. Some people have falsely accused them of having “faces made for radio;” but we heartily disagree. They clearly have faces made for simulcasting a podcast on a YouTube channel! In all seriousness, the accompanying video of camera-ready hosts Aaron and Ben is clean, professional, and adds an engaging new element to the MU experience.
“One of us is going to have to change their shirt.” Hosts Aaron Wright and Benjamin Grundy have worked together so long, they subconsciously coordinate wardrobes.
What the staff is staffing this staff:
East of the Rockies, You’re on the Air! Check out these unique items we received featuring the likeness of all-time great paranormal talk show host, Art Bell. First-rate work from The Hellmouth Paranormal and MSG 317!
“Turn off your radio!”
The Observer is a zine that covers topics of high strangeness. Click the image to request a free physical subscription.
Instagram? Is nothing sacred and strange any longer?!?!
That Erik Davis book looks really interesting.