State of unBeing FAQ

eZine lover (@eZine)

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State of unBeing

 · 5 years ago

  

 
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                        State of unBeing FAQ 
                        2.0 --   April  1994 

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                           iNTRODUCTiON 

     What with the overwhelming success and popularity of the e-zine State of 
unBeing during its slightly more than one year reign, it seemed time to run up  
a brief FAQ to answer some of the more frequently asked questions (what did  
you expect, cookie recipes?) about it.  Depending on the reception and more  
developments, more editions may follow.  Let us know if it seems that  
something was omitted.  You can reach the editor, Kilgore Trout, at  
<kilgore@bga.com>. 

                                                 -- Crux Ansata 

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                      QUESTiONS ANSWERED iN THE 
                             SoB FAQ 

     1) What is State of unBeing? 
     2) Where, and when, can SoB be found? 
     3) How can I get involved? 
     4) Just why DO you always use a lowercase 'i' in your titles? 
     5) You're all a bunch of commie leftists, aren't you? 
     6) How did the Secret Service raid turn out? 
     7) Who *are* you people? 

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-- 

 1) What is State of unBeing? 

     State of unBeing is an online e-zine dedicated to bringing you "quality 
literature *and* literary trash," as I believe Hagbard put it.  In the words 
of Kilgore Trout, "We may be literary trash, but we're *original* literary 
trash."  The indirect successor of the ill-fated underground newspaper Where 
There's a Will There's an @ and kind-of brainchild of Kilgore Trout, SoB has 
been bringing the best original literature in America for free, over the 
phosphors to you. 

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 2) Where, and when, can SoB be found? 

     Ideally, State of unBeing is released on the 23rd of every month.  Nei- 
ther rain nor sleet nor dark of night will let us out of the house, so some- 
times Kilgore gets it done.  Occasionally it is delayed a day or two, or, in 
the case of issue #8, seven months.  (See issue #9 for details on the Secret 
Service raid that delayed that issue...) 
     The home of State of unBeing is Kilgore's own BBS, iSiS UNVEiLED 
<(512)930-5259>.  The first BBS to officially carry the e-zine was THE LiONS' 
DEN <(512)259-9546>, and they still carry a full run of issues.  Many other 
boards in the Austin, Texas, area now carry at least some issues.  Outside the 
Austin area, SoB is available on TEENAGE RiOT (Quebec, Canada) <(418)833-4213> 
(NUP: COSMIC_JOKE) and on MOGEL-LAND (Pennsylvania) <(215)732-3413>. 
     On the internet, distribution is handled by Hagbard through io.com (ftp 
to /pub/SoB), but a Veronica search will turn it up and it is mirrored through 
several Gophers.  It is now being carried on the World Wide Web, address 
<http://io.com/~hagbard/sob.html>. 

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 3) How can I get involved? 

     Submissions can be sent to Kilgore Trout by uploading them to the sysops 
of any of the above boards, to the submissions subdirectory at io.com, or over 
the internet to <kilgore@bga.com>. 
     If you sysop a BBS and want to become a distribution site, contact Kil- 
gore at one of the above boards -- preferably iSiS UNVEiLED -- or direct to 
his email address. 
     Either way, if you have a copy of SoB, upload it to all the boards you 
call.  Then print up a couple of dozen copies and give them to friends.  Print 
up more and give them to enemies, employers, teachers, homeless people, store 
owners, legislators, strangers, maybe even Agent Williams (US Secret Service). 
Remember, though, do not charge money, except possibly to defray paper and ink 
costs.  Making a profit off this e-zine is in violation of copyright laws. 

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 4) Just why DO you always use a lowercase 'i' in your titles? 

     Um, I don't know.  Uh, because it's cool, I guess.  No!  Wait!  It is  
k-rad and elite.  All REAL hackers and phreaks do it.  Don't you? 

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 5) You're all a bunch of commie leftists, aren't you? 

     No, we are right-wing commies.  Actually, we are a front for the Chris- 
tian Coalition. 
     Truthfully, though, we are a number of different political, social, and 
religious backgrounds that have come together for open discussion.  We welcome 
submissions on almost anything from almost any political, etc., position.  You 
must be willing to be attacked in later letters to the editor. 
     But you knew that already. 

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 6) How did the Secret Service raid turn out? 

     Okay.  As you may have heard (see SoB #9), State of unBeing offices and a 
few of the authors were raided this summer following leaks that the special 
anti-government issue "knew too much."  No arrests were made, and most of the 
equipment was returned.  Many files were destroyed, however.  Since that time, 
some authors have chosen to rebuild or rewrite their submissions, and others, 
I am sorry to say, have simply been intimidated too much.  The reissue of #8 
may be sadly short. 
     But how did it turn out?  Well, it still is turning out.  Tachyon is 
trying to get to the bottom of the issue, or so we assume.  He is often 
"disappeared" and his investigations have drawn a lot of attention to himself. 
We wish him the best, and will print his findings in SoB, when he can get them 
to us. 

     Version 2.0 Update:  Issue number eight did come out in March of 1995. 
Agent Williams says that we cannot talk about the SS raid anymore.  He says 
he does not exist, and that he is a figment of our imagination, but you make 
the call.  Check out issue 8 for his letter addressing the issue. 

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 7) Who *are* you people? 

     Now it is time for a biography of a few of State of unBeing's authors 
and, of course, our Esteemed Editor.  This is by no means a complete list, and 
we have new authors almost every issue.  If you have written for SoB and want 
to see your biography here, you know how to get it to us.  Maybe we'll add it 
in a later release. 

KiLGORE TROUT:  (real name, Kevin Midland) Editor and publisher of a number of  
  subversive publications, including Where There's a Will There's an @ and  
  STATE OF UNBEiNG.  Despite attempts to jail him on subversion, sedition, and  
  even child molestation, he always has managed to stay one step ahead of the  
  law.  Even the recent Secret Service raid failed to turn up enough evidence  
  to warrant jail time.  Originally one of the Illuminatti (not one of the  
  Five, but pretty darn close), he has turned against these "people" and their  
  plans to enslave humanity.  He swears he will continue publishing the truth  
  until it kills him, or the government does. 

TACHYON:  Originally simply a student and sometime investigative reporter,  
  Tachyon attracted government attention due to his investigations for State  
  of unBeing #8, which would have been his first SoB release.  Following the  
  raids, he took it upon himself to investigate.  We wish him the best, and  
  hope he resurfaces someday. 

CRUX ANSATA:  "Ansat" is a student and writer in the central Texas area.   
  Although his material for #8 wasn't done yet, his activities as a funnel for  
  other writers, especially Bobbi Sands, brought a couple of SS agents to his  
  door.  He now, however, looks forward to the weekly visits from Agent Wil- 
  liams. 

BOBBi SANDS:  (real name:  Alison Kelly) Is an Irish Republican Army volunteer  
  from Belfast.  Taking her name from Bobby Sands, the H-Block Martyr, she  
  does occasional ops for the international revolution and occasional politi- 
  cal pieces for SoB.  At last report, she was "vacationing" in Washington 
  D.C. 

CAPTAiN MOONLiGHT:  "The Mad Red of Austin," Moonlight has never done anything 
  illegal that can be proven.  A Socialist Transcendentalist Democrat, most of 
  Moonlight's articles revolve around his political beliefs, heavily influ- 
  enced by the beliefs of the Irish Socialist James Connolly.  He takes his 
  name from one of the names used by leaders of the White Boys, a revolution- 
  ary Irish organization dedicated to freeing the land from the foreign land- 
  owners and giving it to those who worked it.  (Their name refers to the 
  white shirts they wore in order to identify each other at night.)  He be- 
  lieves in the complete revision of government by International Revolution, 
  armed if necessary, and tries to follow George Bernard Shaw's words in 
  _Maxims for Revolutionists_:  "He who can, does.  He who cannot, teaches." 
  To the People of the World he says, "Fight for your rights with knives and 
  forks if you have to!  Either fight for us or fight against us, but find 
  what you believe in and FiGHT FOR iT!" 

DARK CRYSTAL SPHERE FLOATiNG BETWEEN TWO UNiVERSES:  The SoB author with the 
  distinction of having the longest handle, DCSFBTU is one of the authors be- 
  longing to the SoB School of Neo-Lovecraftian Weird Fiction, or the SoB 
  School of Neo-Decadence, following primarily the theories set forth by Love- 
  craft, among others, and works for the atmosphere in weird fiction and 
  poetry, dealing both with the supernatural and literature the darker tenden- 
  cies of man's mind.  His writings are influenced by his studies in the 
  Occult, as well as his reading of weird authors, primarily the French and 
  English Decadents, the Lovecraft Circle, and scattered writers in Europe and 
  America, such as Arthur Machen, M. R. James, and Edgar Allan Poe.  He be- 
  lieves that we are all "Dark Crystal Spheres Floating Between Two 
  Universes", being caught among sometimes conflicting Realities and Worlds. 

i WiSH MY NAME WERE NATHAN:  Overwhelmed by the rigors of political 
  rhetoric, this writer (and yes, he is indeed a male) has made a habit of 
  submitting often cryptic short stories to SoB.  Nathan is a pissed-off 
  antisocial college student, always looking for a laugh.  He has been 
  honored with the distinction of "Most Polite SoB" and works hard to 
  fulfill the duties of his rank every day.  He derives much of his personal 
  wisdom from the teachings of Beavis and Butthead, as well as many of his 
  masturbatory fantasies.  He foresees someone someday contacting him and 
  saying, "I understand the symbolism!  Under that corny plot, I found 
  meaning!", upon which he will faint dead away.  

GRiPHON:  Griphon is a native Texan, but is currently serving a four year 
  "term" at college in Memphis, Tennessee.  His goal, if you could call it 
  such, is to be a writer or maybe even open a publishing house with Kilgore 
  and put out some good, deserving, counter-culture material.  Griphon focuses 
  mainly on prose and poetry, but has been known to write a damn fine essay 
  every now and again.  His favorite writers include T.S. Eliot, Albert Camus, 
  Kathy Acker, Ernest Hemingway, and Sylvia Plath.  You can usually find 
  Griphon at a coffeehouse or a live show when he's not on the Drag with 
  Kilgore or at school.  Griphon is into Zen and other Eastern philosophies, 
  taking every opportunity to enter new stages of consciousness through 
  meditation or hitting a bong. 

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State  of  unBeing  is copyrighted (c) 1995 by Kilgore  Trout  and  Apocalypse 
Culture  Publications.  All rights are reserved to cover, format,  editorials, 
and all incidental material.  All individual items are copyrighted (c) 1995 by 
the individual author, unless otherwise stated.  This file may be disseminated 
without restriction for nonprofit purposes so long as it is preserved complete  
and  unmodified.   Quotes and ideas not already in the public  domain  may  be  
freely used so long as due recognition is provided. 

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