Best known for his editing role on Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian' and special effects man on Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil', Julian Doyle returns with his B-Movie take on Aleister Crowley in this years 'Chemical Wedding'. Deciding not to take the biographical role, and instead envisioning Crowley in a modern setting, the film took a panning by critics, and Crowley fans alike. We sent in our man, Adrian Dobbie, to find out what Doyles motives and reactions were behind the film... Resurrecting the Beast I've only been in the company of ex-Monty Python collaborator Julian Doyle for half an hour or so but already the conversation has been surprisingly brisk. So far we've discussed the Osirian symbolism behind the story of Abelard and Eloise, the influence of early Christian Britain on the Roman Empire before Constantine and the idea that giants built many of the Neolithic stone circles in the British Isles.  Oh and we've touched on quantum theory too. Just a little.   I'm at Doyle's North London home to interview him about the movie Chemical Wedding, which alongside Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, Doyle co-wrote, directed, edited and produced. To date, Chemical Wedding is by far the most ambitious and commercially successful ...

Taking the Path of Least Resistance in Magic If there is one challenge that magicians face when it comes to determining the effectiveness of magic, it is figuring out if the magic you performed aligned with your internal values. Sometimes, even if we think we want a particular result, we actually don’t want that result. Speaking from personal experience, I always found it odd when I would do a successful act of magic and get the result I desired, but then have the impact of that result not really count for handling my situation. It was only much later that I would recognize that the magic I did at that time was going counter to my internal values. I’ve also noted this type of occurrence with other magicians: they would get results, but when those results were not in alignment with their internal values an essential part of them rejected the results.   Recently I read a passage that I would like to share, which speaks to this issue, “Magick defines suffering as the result of straying from one’s natural path of ‘least resistance’” (Schueler 1988, p. 222). Suffering arises from straying from one’s natural path of least resistance. This is an interesting ...

One of the greatly ignored mediums of our little corner of the web so far has been comics which, in my opinion, produce some of the most compelling, original and revolutionary concepts of our time. When I first thought of who to 'pen' a regular feature, it was imediatly obvious; Scott Carelli, one of the first guests on our podcast, has a passion for comics and all things 'geek' unlike anyone else I can think of, he's also really good at expressing that passion in the written word...   When I was asked to begin writing reviews for comics with a counter-culture spin for Sitting Now, only one comic immediately came to mind: Preacher. Part Western, part Horror story, part Religious Epic, and a lot of weird, Preacher is as counter-culture as it gets. Created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, Preacher is the story of a small town Texas minister, named Jesse Custer, slowly losing his faith in the god he’s devoted his life to. In one bizarre instant, his life is changed forever, and with his gun-toting ex Tulip and a hard-drink Irish vampire named Cassidy, he aims to find out why and who’s to blame. The story that ...

Canadian researcher Nick Longrich discovered the remains what is purported to be the smallest dinosaur of North America. According to Longrich, it is "evidence that the dinosaurs migrated to Asia from the bottom part of the Western hemisphere." Longrich's research is published in the journal Cretaceous Research. ______________________________________________________________ Cosmetic vaginal surgery is on the rise and worrying urogynaecologist Professor Linda Cardozo of King's College Hospital in London as the procedures are ultimately only for vanity and not functional. She warns that the effectiveness or safety of the prodcures is quite founded on very little evidence. ______________________________________________________________ The Independent reports that American scientists have found that sexism in the workplace is advantageous for chauvanist men in comparison to "modern-thinking" men -men who view the sexes equally in competence. On the other hand, women who hold more feminist views have about a $1500 difference in salaries. The research can be found published in the most recent edition of the US Journal of Applied Psychology. ______________________________________________________________ In Portland, Oregon, construction workers complained about roller blading woman's nudity. ______________________________________________________________ A woman was reportedly "tricked into sex" from adivce by a gynaecoloist using a penis cream treatment. ______________________________________________________________ According to Louth Leader, more and more sightings of orange UFO lights have ...

Fantastic new addition to the SittingNow writing-crew, Adrian Dobbie, gets down and dirty with the recent Julian Doyle (Monty Python)/Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) written, Chemical Wedding. Is this release finally what acolytes of Aleister Crowley have been waiting for? or another Magickly-huge disapointment?...   Carry-On Crowley?   Among occultists and Thelemites specifically there has long been a certain desire to see their hero Crowley immortalised on film. The exploits of the Master Therion would seem to offer pre-packaged prime subject matter for an industry that thrives on titillation and sensationalism, but while general interest in Crowley does seem to be on the rise, the definitive Crowley film remains to be made. In the last few years we've seen a number of documentaries of varying quality and lately the internet has been awash with teasers and half-baked trailers promising more dramatized takes on the life and times of the Beast 666. Yet none of these have seemed more likely to come to fruition than Bruce Dickinson's project ‘Chemical Wedding'. For those who may not know who Dickinson is, he is the yodelling, spandex-sporting front man of legendary UK metal band Iron Maiden. I have to admit that when I first heard about the Brit-rock legend touting his ...

Bob's back! One of our favourite guests, and knowledgable chap when it comes to global folklore! In this episode, we build on our discussion in last interview by analysing ZOMBIES! Bob has a new book coming out soon entitled Zombies: A Field guide to the Walking Dead, so make sure you get your hands on that! Bob has some great tales that he picked up on his travels to research this latest book, so join us as we take a journey into the world of Zozobra's, undead-monks and more! This weeks featured music comes in the shape of The Melvins, with the track The Kicking Machine from the album 'Nude with Boots'. You can download the track in MP3 form from the Southern Records site here. Background music comes in the form of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros (no really!) played in Orchestra form! We have some great guests coming up in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more Sitting Now oddness!

In this age of online-piracy, where big US companies like ComCast are strangling consumers bandwidth privileges, who can the big software houses and Internet providers call on to reach the kids of tomorrow? Well, back in the early 90's, it wasn't Superman or Batman that protected classics like Monkey Island and Wing Commander 2. No, it was a bad-ass rapper, come super-hero that the really reached out to the kids.  In this 'caught on camera' expose, witness the mighty 'Double Def' preventing two innocent kids from taking their first steps into a life of crime: If the Internet-Police had such speedy countermeasures today, we could all rest easy! Little is known of what happened to the MC, however it is rumoured that he was accidentally deleted in the late 90's, whilst trying to stop a kid from copying Quake...for shame...he wasn't just def...he was DOUBLE def! Ken Eakins

Experiment: a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc.: a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living. A Sontaran: An ugly potato-headed alien from Doctor Who; heavy-set, thugish and with an obsession for conflict and total domination of the universe. After just one listen of this brutal outpouring, it's not hard to see why these guys chose their name! This, their debut album, is an epic and adventurous work of three 'acts' each lasting anywhere from 15 - 25 minutes. Yes! I know what you're thinking: "Urgh! I hate it when bands do this", but stick with me here.  The album opens with layers of strange electronic ambiance, which are brutally interrupted by an explosion of bowel-emptying doom. The tone and tempo of the record shift around like a disturbed and violent rockweiler, one minute you are nodding along (wishing you had a big doom-fan beard) and the next you are thrown into an almost Napalm Death blast-beat-ridden hellfest. The album takes some seriously cool little sidesteps when you least expect it;  Act II, for example, goes down a, dare I say, almost jazzy avenue at one point! So, I told ...

Here at Sitting Now, we don't claim to be Conspiracy theorists, Mystics or Counter Cultural experts (though, I am working on the latter), we just find it all really interesting and enjoy discussing, and exploring it. Now, i've gone on the record in one of our shows saying that, personally, I find the world of Magic/Magick (call it what you will) fascinating...but a bit too snobby. There are a few exceptions to this rule, and one of those is the author and magician Lon Milo Duquette. In Enochian Vision Magic, Duquette attempts to not only document the fascinating story of Dr John Dee and Edward Kelly's quest to make contact with spiritual entities, but also to instruct the reader in the practical application of their findings in the modern environment. Readers not already familiar with Duquette's writings will feel instantly at ease with this book, while regulars will appreciate his attention to detail/yet solid conveyance of the topic at hand. What I feel separates this work from others on the subject, is the intensive research and notation of the original Dee texts. Duquette doesn't just present the reader with a 'how-to' textbook, he painstakingly explains all the symbology and application of each element. ...

ASVA are probably my favourite of the 'Drone/Doom' (whatever) bands out there, SUNN O)) coming a very close second, so I was pretty excited to get my hands on this release. Formed a few years ago by Stuart Dahlquist (Burning Witch, Goatsnake...and I think he was a part of SUNN O)) at one point as well?), and featuring such names as Trey Spruance (Secret Chiefs 3, Mr Bungle) and the oddly named B.R.A.D. (Burning Witch), this is quite the 'super-group'. In their debut album, Futurists Against the Ocean, ASVA took the slow cue from bands like Earth and then added their own, very unique flavour.  In this record that blueprint was dusted off and added to, giving a much more individual feel to each track. At points far more sinister and claustrophobic than it's predecessor, at others faster and more urgent. Spruance's influence on this record feels a lot greater as well, the varied instrumentation, and what sounds like alternate tunings at some points.  The standout track on this record is the incredible 'A Trap for Judges', which lurches slowly like a grim leviathan nearing some awful, unearthly climax (and can be downloaded from the Southern site here). If you're interested in ...