textfiles/magazines/SOUB/sobfaq.txt

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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?

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 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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