Dear friends,
Three messages in this newsletter: news about Flying Lasagna Enterprises' RAW Ring and Pendant Replicas, the latest Hilaritas Press Podcast, and a new Swedish translation of Illuminatus!
This episode of the Hilaritas Press Podcast features a look at Aldous Huxley. Podcast host Mike Gathers and podcast producer Ian Blumberg interview Nicholas Murray. Murray is a freelance author and journalist based in Wales and London. Born in Liverpool, he is the author of several literary biographies including lives of Franz Kafka, Aldous Huxley, Bruce Chatwin, Andrew Marvell and Matthew Arnold, five collections of poems, and two novels. His biography of Matthew Arnold was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1997 and his biography of Aldous Huxley was shortlisted for the Marsh Biography Prize in 2003. His biography of Franz Kafka has been translated into nine languages.
Join us each 23rd of the month for a new deep dive into one of the thinkers or ideas that influenced Robert Anton Wilson.
Next month's episode will be on Timothy Leary with guest John Higgs.
A note from Rasa...
The idea for starting an improbably named business such as Flying Lasagna Enterprises began with Bob’s spiral ring. One of my life’s great honors was when Bob’s daughter Christina gave me Bob’s ring after his passing. It was an opulent gesture of saying thank you for my simple efforts at “being there” when the estate, and in a large sense, Bob’s legacy, fell into Christina’s hands. I put the ring on a small altar on my desk so that I could see it while I was working on Bob’s websites, and then later when I started editing and redesigning his books for Hilaritas Press.
At some point I had the thought that sumbunall RAW fans might like to have a copy of Bob’s iconic ring. Christina loved the thought, and so to get an idea of what we might be able to offer, I took the ring to a local goldsmith who made an exact replica. I also asked him to make a pendant based on the ring as well. We were very pleased with the results, but to produce more than a few would be impossible for our local goldsmith. We contacted a small company in Rhode Island that a jeweler friend had suggested. My dear friend Marlis (who first introduced me to Bob and Arlen many years ago) accompanied me to the shop in Rhode Island. They had made a copy of Bob’s ring, and we were delighted to see it was equally as nice as the one our local goldsmith made. We were excited driving home, talking about “Bob’s Ring Project” – excited to get started.
Recently, RAW's other daughter, Alexandra Gardner, volunteered to take over operations of Flying Lasagna Enterprises. A little bit about Alexandra: her interests and training have included hypnotherapy, advanced shamanic practices, and Vajrayana. 
When I asked her for some tidbit about her life in the house of RAW that she might share, she offered this reflection...
"What comes up for me is how much I always miss Bob and Arlen around the holidays. And how I miss watching the old Hollywood classic movies with them. I’ve never known anyone more fun and educational than Bob to watch great movies with, and Arlen had such a deeply childlike enthusiasm for the holidays, that it rubbed off on all us kids.
They made everything perpetually interesting in their own eccentric ways. The sounds coming from their epic, convoluted, and admiring conversations, along with the clacking typewriter, became the underlying background "music," no matter where we lived or what the circumstances were. And the circumstances were unvaryingly kaleidoscopic!
In thinking about the holiday season coming, Alexandra is hoping to see an interest in Flying Lasagna Enterprises get off the ground. She says, "Don’t forget to give yourself or that special someone a RAW’s spiral ring or pendant to celebrate the mid-winter return of the Sun, watch some great old movies, and raise a toast to Bob and Arlen!"
Click here to visit Flying Lasagna Enterprises
for Rings, Pendants and More!
Please note: Pendants are in stock and can be shipped immediately. Rings are special orders, made for your size, and will take longer. Given delays in the supply chain, and other issues involving the pandemic, be sure to place your ring order sooner than later!
Cool news from Sweden!
Pelle Lindhe has informed us about the release of a new Swedish translation of Illuminatus! from the publisher Vertigo Förlag. Pelle (the translator) writes that the translation has been in the making since 2014. He says this was "a re-translation of the submitted translation, which was almost unreadable, with English syntax and loaded with synonym confusion and poor word handling." Yikes! Imagine an Illuminatus! that had those kinds of errors!
Pelle adds, "The book is very nicely bound, sewn-through-the-fold, laid with linen cloth, with gold lettering and a silk reading band. Made by the very competent book binder Totem in Poland. It’s biblical."
Click here to visit Vertigo Förlag
