RAW semantics

These are so great! Distressed concrete is underrated.

Thankyou! Yes, the moral framing section is possibly the part of the book I'm most pleased with. And for RAW fans it hopefully gives an added depth to the Patrist/Matrist thing.

Hi-res atmospheric image of Robert Anton Wilson, graffiti wall in background. From RAW semantics.

The incomparable Robert Anton Wilson died on this day (11 January) nineteen years ago. More than ever, read his books!

Comic-style image of Robert Anton Wilson in astronaut suit, earth behind him. From Raw Semantics.

GLOBAL rawsemantics.home.blog/2025/12/04/r...

TEXT: Wikipedia – highly decentralized, community-edited, consensus-based, transparent. Some centralised elements, eg non-profit Wikimedia Foundation owns the site’s servers; some admins, elected by the community, have special privileges. This piece [link] details a recent campaign of “right-wing attacks” on Wikipedia’s credibility. Grokipedia – top-down, AI-run, no community editing or public edit logs, its internal decision-making considered opaque. Musk is widely reported as being the main lever-puller when it comes to things like political tone. Jimmy Wales has some interesting things to say about Wikipedia and Grokipedia in his interview with Lawfare [link]. Meanwhile, this piece [link] claims “a majority of Grokipedia’s entries are just cribbed from Creative Commons Wikipedia articles, [while] much of its user-created content is based on absurdly unreliable rightwing sources like InfoWars, The Gateway Pundit, Natural News, and VDare.”

This is a footnote from my last blog post (rawsemantics.home.blog/2025/12/04/r...) comparing 𝗪𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 & 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮. (Wikipedia has been under attack by some conservatives, who regard it as biased. But I trust its decentralized *reliability* model a million times more than I trust Musk's Grok).

RAW restricted A detailed look at the current conservative obsession with “censorship”, through a Robert Anton Wilson agnostic lens…

For a list of examples of things which could (erroneously) be framed as censorship, but which don't necessarily fit a binary logic of "free speech" vs censorship (eg algorithmic down-ranking of viral content), see my 'RAW restricted' post: rawsemantics.home.blog/2024/02/29/r...

Many things that aren't censorship or which don't fit into a "free speech" vs censorship EITHER/OR logic can be dishonestly framed as censorship. This seems one of the main games of Musk, Vance et al. And some US "libertarian" media (eg @reason.com) tend to swallow it whole bsky.app/profile/noup...

Widescreen image of Robert Anton Wilson at global science fair, with geodesic dome in background. From RAW Semantics.

Comic-style image of Robert Anton Wilson in astronaut suit, earth behind him. From Raw Semantics.

GLOBAL rawsemantics.home.blog/2025/12/04/r...

Multimillionaire Taibbi has little to lose by frivolously suing. He gets to hurt a critic & dissuade others from speaking out. And it does seem frivolous: his case is that he received no money from Musk. But that wasn't Higgins' claim in the book! A lawsuit built on a straw man? To silence someone.

Supposedly defamatory quote from Owned, by Eoin Higgins: "Taibbi's Twitter Files reporting is a perfect example: he spent decades building up credibility and credentials only to, in one high-profile moment, cash in to launder a CEO's cherry-picked corporate opposition file on his opponents. It's hard to argue it didn't pay off: Taibbi's Substack boomed because of the reporting and his promotion on Twitter, subsequent disputes with Musk aside."

Staggering that Taibbi is suing a book's author over passages like this. Matt claims his lawsuit *protects* free speech, but I think it has a chilling effect on legitimate criticism. I recommend @eoinhiggins.bsky.social's book. I've read Taibbi's complaint (its ironies seem off-the-scale to me).

Front page of Robert Anton Wilson's Trajectories journal #7, 1990, featuring an article, 'Entering Cyberspace', that mentions author William Gibson.

Timothy Leary was a huge fan & early promoter of William Gibson's novels. (There's a dedication to Gibson in Leary's 'Info-Psychology', and Tim interviews Gibson in his book, 'Chaos & Cyber Culture'. Robert Anton Wilson was also a fan...

YouTube video by Kotaku Playing Timothy Leary's Lost Games

I had 'Mind Mirror' on floppy disk, way back when. From Tim's 'KnoWare Cyber Deli'. youtu.be/oE0lviWmZQo?...

Wild! A very early Tim Leary computer game based on William Gibson's (@greatdismal.bsky.social) novel Neuromancer. And it's playable. bsky.app/profile/srem...

Multimillionaire Taibbi has little to lose by frivolously suing. He gets to hurt a critic & dissuade others from speaking out. And it does seem frivolous: his case is that he received no money from Musk. But that wasn't Higgins' claim in the book! A lawsuit built on a straw man? To silence someone.

Supposedly defamatory quote from Owned, by Eoin Higgins: "Taibbi's Twitter Files reporting is a perfect example: he spent decades building up credibility and credentials only to, in one high-profile moment, cash in to launder a CEO's cherry-picked corporate opposition file on his opponents. It's hard to argue it didn't pay off: Taibbi's Substack boomed because of the reporting and his promotion on Twitter, subsequent disputes with Musk aside."

Staggering that Taibbi is suing a book's author over passages like this. Matt claims his lawsuit *protects* free speech, but I think it has a chilling effect on legitimate criticism. I recommend @eoinhiggins.bsky.social's book. I've read Taibbi's complaint (its ironies seem off-the-scale to me).

Photo-montage for Maybe Night 2025 featuring RAW, Orson Welles, Dublin madam, radiator woman, a UFO and a pub.

21st Dec - Maybe Night 2025: write your own script! (will be offline 'til after Xmas, myself). Check out @bobbycampbell.net's site: maybeday.net/night/
(montage pic: rawsemantics.home.blog/wp-content/u...)

Photo-montage for Maybe Night 2025 featuring RAW, Orson Welles, Dublin madam, radiator woman, a UFO and a pub.

21st Dec - Maybe Night 2025: write your own script! (will be offline 'til after Xmas, myself). Check out @bobbycampbell.net's site: maybeday.net/night/
(montage pic: rawsemantics.home.blog/wp-content/u...)

RAW political #5 – global / local / po Some thoughts on the global-local axis in RAW’s “political” writings. Considered in practical, po & SNAFU terms…

'RAW political #5 – global / local / po' - NEW substantial post on the global-local axis in #RobertAntonWilson writings. With Po & SNAFU & Scandinavian model. rawsemantics.home.blog/2025/12/04/r...

I discuss, with Reason mag's Jesse Walker, a point of slight disagreement on the new RAW anthology - in comments under this post. (Btw, unlike Substack, NO algorithm showing unrelated "related notes" & NO stupid FB-style "see more" clicking for hidden comments) rawsemantics.home.blog/2025/12/04/r...

RAW Semantics on globalism and Scandinavian systems Artwork by Brian Dean at RAW Semantics  RAW Semantics has a new blog post up, "RAW political #5 – global / local / po," which further wrest...

RAWIllumination.net: RAW Semantics on globalism and Scandinavian systems @rawsemantics.bsky.social - www.rawillumination.net/2025/12/raw-...

RAW political #5 – global / local / po Some thoughts on the global-local axis in RAW’s “political” writings. Considered in practical, po & SNAFU terms…

'RAW political #5 – global / local / po' - NEW substantial post on the global-local axis in #RobertAntonWilson writings. With Po & SNAFU & Scandinavian model. rawsemantics.home.blog/2025/12/04/r...

Collage of recent bc projects: Tales of Illuminatus!, Jukebox Musical, Maybe Night, Early RAW, and the as yet unannounced Invisible College Reunion

Status Update! talesofilluminatus.substack.com/p/walking-th...

Cartoon by RAW Semantics depicting JD Vance shouting at underling: "One more word, Bumstead, and I'll fire you!". (From the Robert Anton Wilson SNAFU riff).

"Have you said thank you once?"

Cartoon by RAW Semantics depicting JD Vance shouting at underling: "One more word, Bumstead, and I'll fire you!". (From the Robert Anton Wilson SNAFU riff).

"Have you said thank you once?"

Biggest ORWELLIAN propaganda coup in my lifetime? The widely held belief in the USA that helping Ukraine survive & defend itself = war(mongering). And that helping Russia achieve the aims of its military invasion unhindered = peace/"negotiation". War is peace. Ignorance is strength.

Russia's air strikes have continued regardless of anything Trump has said or done, in some cases intensified. Presumably they've taken notice?

Biggest ORWELLIAN propaganda coup in my lifetime? The widely held belief in the USA that helping Ukraine survive & defend itself = war(mongering). And that helping Russia achieve the aims of its military invasion unhindered = peace/"negotiation". War is peace. Ignorance is strength.

Me too. Leary's contagious enthusiasm, well before Gibson appeared on the radar of the custodians of respectable culture!