Monthly Archives: April 2022
Tea’s Weird Week: Hello, I Must Be Going
“I’ll stay a week or two, I’ll stay the summer through, but I am telling you…I must be going.” –Groucho Marx
“I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.”— also Groucho Marx
I was late to coming around to the Internet and social media. I did not get my first email account until 2001. If you weren’t around then, that was pretty late to the game. I was traveling in 2001 to the West Coast and Australia, many of my friends had them, and I saw the value of having one for communication. Especially if I was stranded in Australia (which almost happened, but that’s another story.) I walked from Riverwest to the East Library to get 30 minutes of computer time once a week. Gadzooks, can you imagine? 30 minutes of screen time A WEEK.
I was slow to social media, too. My first social was a MySpace page for Wally Wurst, an anthropomorphic cigar chompin, appletini swilling sausage that was the mascot of an underground comic anthology I edited at the time, called Riverwurst Comics. I set that up, maybe 2003. I didn’t really want to join, but I saw the value of promoting the comic book online, so I’d post some jokes and info on where to buy the rag. I finally created my own profile, also on MySpace, round about 2006, I believe. Then I picked up a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram over the years. I recently set up a TikTok, but haven’t used it– I just can’t even.
Why the hesitation to the socials? I saw exactly everything I would hate about it in the tea leaves– the vile gangbang of unsolicited opinions, failure to recognize different perspectives, the cancel mobs, the threats and bullying by people hiding behind a screen, the moral piety, the lies, the insanity, the schadenfreude, the lack of context, and, of course, the straight up demented stupidity.
Of course there is a good side to it, too. It has helped me keep up with friends, old and new. I can see the cool things they are up to, and that makes me happy. It has helped me network. One time I needed a fog machine for an event, I made a post, and 30 seconds later someone told me they had one I could borrow. Nice work, team! It has helped me promote my books, events, and other work…sometimes.
Let me switch gears and talk about my writing. I would say a majority of it is meant to spotlight people, places, and things that I view in a positive light. Did you Doctor Who fans know that there’s a workshop, Dalek Asylum, that builds their own Daleks (the evil cyborgs in the show, if you’re not a Whovian)? I wrote about that. There’s a great DJ, DJ Bizzon, who wrote a guide on how to be a DJ. That’s pretty cool, I did an interview with him. Recently I wrote about projects to highlight Indigenous culture in Milwaukee. I learned a lot writing that, and it was an honor. Those are three examples of hundreds of articles I’ve written over the last 15 plus years. When I post these, a few friends like or share but they unfortunately don’t get the same attention as something negative.
Sometimes I write about things that happen in the world that are pretty heavy, but they happened and should be examined. A good example of that is my book American Madness. It is about the tragic turn a man named Richard McCaslin’s life took when he became wrapped up in conspiracy theories. I think it’s the most important thing I’ve written. It was a project not for the faint of heart. I put great care into these stories. These stories will take a toll on you.
It’s a rough, often thankless business. Yesterday, I solicited my Facebook friends for info on a tragic story here in Milwaukee that I was assigned to write about. A few people I don’t really know jumped my ass in the comments, lecturing me about… I don’t know– how it was “too soon” for me in particular to report the news, even though channels 12 and 58 have already reported it. These people don’t know me, I’m pretty sure they’ve not read anything I’ve ever wrote, let alone my recent works (writers are hopefully always evolving), and have no qualifications to give me a morality lesson.
“Anyone who thinks you’d tell some kind of predatory or sensationalistic story must not know you very well. Your approach and sensitivity is why I asked you to pick it up,” my editor replied to me when I explained what happened.
My editor knows me better than these people on Facebook– the type of “friends” that never ever ever never leave a positive comment or even a thumbs up, but appear out of thin air to argue with your friends in the comments or pedantically give a “well, actually.” It’s creepy and it was just kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back, as they say, on an already stressful week.
Facebook was the main social where I shared personal stuff. I decided to stay off Facebook for an undetermined amount of time, except for Messenger, which is where I communicate with friends and people I’m working on projects with. There’s a great Tea’s Weird Week group, that’ll probably be the first place I reappear, but for now the talented team of mods will do fine running the joint. I’ll post updates on my work on Twitter and Instagram, but probably not personal shit.
What shall I do without this social media world? You know, I miss seeing my friends. I’m kinda lonely these days, so I think I’ll hit them up and see if they want to meet up for a drink, or do something in the real world. If they think I’m a fuck-up, they can tell it to my face.
I’ll be back into the thicket of social media someday, when it feels right (and following a mass purge of the “friends” list) but for now…I must be going.
Follow me on: Substack//Twitter//Instagram
My latest books are:
Brady Street Pharmacy: Stories and Sketches (2021, Vegetarian Alcoholic Press)
American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness (2020, Feral House)
Tea’s Weird Week: Friday Happy Hour w/ Tea @Lion’s Tooth
Tea as in…Tea Krulos. Just a short column this week to tell you that I’ll be hanging out at my favorite store Lion’s Tooth tomorrow (Friday, April 22) from 5-7pm. Lion’s Tooth is an independent bookstore in Milwaukee and they’ve been selling quite a few copies of my last two titles, American Madness (published by Feral House, 2020, and Lion’s Tooth’s bestselling title to date) and Brady Street Pharmacy (VA Press, 2021). When they mentioned they were re-ordering copies, I suggested a simple Happy Hour hangout, so if anyone wanted a signed copy and get one.
It’s been a very long week filled with lots of writing work, so I’ll be glad just to sit at their bar and get a drink. I’ve reached into the Krulos Secret Stash for this happy hour– the first 5 people to stop in and buy a copy of American Madness will get this limited edition of a comic drawn by Richard McCaslin. This features one of his rarely seen autobiographical comics and a special introduction by me. Feral House did a run of these to tie in with book promotion. I’ve got a small stash of extra copies.
Also, the first 2 people to get a copy of Brady Street Pharmacy will get original sketches that appear in the book. I drew these on pieces of scrap paper with a ballpoint pen to pass the time while working at the Pharmacy. These two I’m giving away are of Pharmacy regulars “Filthy McNasty” (there’s a story about him in the book) and “The Pirate” (who is mentioned in brief).
So there ya go– you can support me, a really fantastic independent bookstore and independent publishers and get some rare items. You know I hate clichés, but I really will be saying TGIF tomorrow. Hope to see you there!
Follow me on: Substack//Facebook Group//Twitter//Instagram
My latest books are:
Brady Street Pharmacy: Stories and Sketches (2021, Vegetarian Alcoholic Press)
American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness (2020, Feral House)
Tea’s Weird Week: There Are About 60 QAnon Followers Running for Congress This Year
I regret to inform you that QAnon followers– about 60 of them– are on the campaign trail, hoping to get elected in this year’s midterms. Two years ago, I wrote a similar column in February 2020 titled “There Are Two Dozen Members of QAnon Running for Congress.” That numbered ballooned to about 75 by Election Day. Most all of them lost, but two of them did worm their way in– Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert.
Now, with a Midterm election this year, Media Matters for America has identified 60 QAnon candidate hopefuls running for Congress. They report that of the QAnon candidates, “Twelve are from Florida, nine are from California, six are from Texas, four are from Illinois, three each are from New York, New Jersey, and Arizona, two each are from Nevada, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Tennessee, Oregon, and Ohio, and there is one each from Rhode Island, Virginia, North Carolina, Vermont, Iowa, Alaska, Georgia, and Colorado.”
You can see the full list with evidence of their Q-aligned posts here: Here are the QAnon supporters running for Congress in 2022 | Media Matters for America
Some notable campaigns:
– The aforementioned Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert are running to hold onto their Congress seats in Georgia and Colorado. Over their two years in Congress they’ve been a consistent source of all sorts of attention for being anti-transgender, islamophobic, traitors, dumb, and just straight up psychotic. The latest from Greene is very much in line with her Pizzagate/ QAnon roots– squawking that “any senator voting to confirm [Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court] is pro-pedophile just like she is,” following a false QAnon narrative that Judge Jackson was lenient on pedophiles.
– Ron Watkins. Watkins is seen as either being mostly or greatly responsible for spreading QAnon ideas. Watkins, an owner and moderator of the 8chan/8kun message boards (where he was known as CodeMonkeyZ), where Q’s mysterious drops were facilitated, is thought to be Q himself, or at the least someone who helped facilitate whoever it is, or more likely, was part of a collaboration between him and other people. He’s running for US Rep in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District. SEE ALSO: HBO documentary Q: Into the Storm.
Those are the three most famous campaigns for this year. But what might be more dangerous is the lesser known, unwatched campaigns. After Marjorie Taylor Greene won her primary in a deep red district, I wrote a follow up column titled “Well, it Happened- Meet Your First QAnon Congressional Representative,” in which I said:
“I can’t help but feel that a terrible door has been opened with Greene. It’s tempting to downplay her win– she’s just 1 of 435 members of the House of Representatives, but what is going to follow? An entire QAnon caucus? A task force to investigate Democrats for imprisoning “mole children?” A Flat Earth Party? It seems like any batshit crazy bad idea is possible right now.”
Sadly, I still don’t think that’s far-fetched. Please be sure to vote!
Please Clap Dept.: The TWW podcast is on spring break, but I was guest for a second time on the great Fascinating Nouns podcast. You can check it out here: fascinatingnouns.com/tea-krulos
My book American Madness can be bought at: Lion’s Tooth//Bookshop.org//Amazon
And please rate/ review on Goodreads, Amazon, and/or share on social media. I appreciate the support.
Tea’s Weird Week: Phantom Patriot Featured in New Primus “Conspiranoia” Video
Primus has released their first new track in 5 years. It’s titled “Conspiranoia,” and it has some connections to my book American Madness. My book is about Richard McCaslin, who styled himself as a conspiracy commando called the Phantom Patriot. Inspired by Alex Jones, McCaslin fashioned himself a superhero costume and heavily armed himself. He raided a place in the forests of North California called the Bohemian Grove in 2002. Conspiracy says that the world’s most rich and powerful men sacrifice people in a Satanic ritual in front of a giant statue of an owl within the Grove. Richard had a standoff with the police and was arrested.
Les Claypool, bassist and singer for Primus, has a ranch close to the Grove in Occidental, California. Richard’s arrest did not become a huge story, but it was picked up by a couple of California newspapers. Claypool, who read the news stories and was inspired to write a song titled “Phantom Patriot,” which appeared on his solo 2006 album Of Whales and Woe album.
I thought it would be pretty great if I could interview Claypool about this, so I doggedly emailed his talent agency until they agreed to set up a short phone interview with him. He was understandably nervous talking about Richard (“is this a stable individual, would you say?” was the first thing he said to me), as he didn’t want to face violent retaliation. Richard originally liked the “Phantom Patriot” song (he described it as a “modern day folksong”) but, like everything, it soon entered the web of the conspiracy when he saw symbolism in the accompanying video (which, Claypool explained to me, had nothing to do with him– it was just a piece of animation that paired nicely with the track). Richard took his own life in 2018.
When I saw the title of the new Primus song, I remembered a quote from Claypool, which appears on page 98 of American Madness, where Claypool describes the Bohemian Grove:
“…there’s all this mystery of what happens in the Grove with the Bohemian Club, it’s a collection of the elite as well as a bunch of artists,” Claypool explained. “Actually, my old music teacher was a trombonist for the Bohemian Club way back in the day. But there is this mystery, and a bit of conspiranoia as to what goes on there and some of it is fairly extreme.”
After American Madness came out, I did try to email Claypool’s talent agency a couple times to get a copy of the book to him, but got no reply. Les, if you’re reading this, I’d love to send you a book. But maybe he ended up reading it anyhow…
When I saw the link to the video, I set aside 11 minutes 38 seconds to give it a good look. I really love it, it’s a great prog rock that sails the seas of cheese of an epic subject– the ridiculous but sad Conspiracy World.
We meet Lloyd Boyd, conspiranoid who launches himself into the sky in a lawn chair to prove the earth is flat. Ridiculous, huh? Well, no, a Flat Earther named “Mad Mike” Hughes did die in 2020 after launching himself into the skies above Barstow with a rocket for the same goal. What about Marion Barrion, contrarian, who puts cat urine in her eyes, garlic cloves in her nose, and taping dryer sheets to her head to ward off COVID? Not far fetched at all, especially considering the President of the United States of America recommended injecting bleach. That’s the real problem– not the Lloyd Boyds and the Marion Barrions with their tin foil hats, but the people like Trump and Alex Jones who exploit and profit off of their mentalities.
The video goes into a beautiful tapestry of conspiracy classics– Bigfoot, black helicopters, chemtrails, and gay frogs. Many of these topics are discussed in American Madness. My eyes widened at the 4:21 mark, where we see a quick flash of the Great Owl of Bohemia statue in the Grove.
At the 6:23 there is great conspiracy mega-list– some real, some invented for comic effect, some– who knows? It’s hard to tell what are real beliefs and what are jokes these days. Different images flash on rows of TVs, and then at the 8:45 mark, there he is– the Phantom Patriot (same photo as above). Personally, I’m thrilled to see the Phantom Patriot acknowledged. Richard, however, would have dismissed this as some kind of government psy-op program to hide the truth, part of the mass web of conspiracy orchestrated against him. Here’s the video:
I’ll give Primus the last word on this one: “Be wary of conspiranoia/ as purveyors, abound/ for an open mind too open/ spills its contents on the ground.” I couldn’t agree more. That describes exactly what happened to Richard McCaslin.
American Madness is currently being developed into a documentary and this month director Eric Hayden is filming a recreation of the Phantom Patriot’s raid into the Bohemian Grove. I’ve seen pictures of the recreation of Richard’s costume and it is a spot on duplication, down to the last stitch. I’m very excited to see his final footage.
Here is my request, if you’re reading this. Buy a copy of American Madness: Lion’s Tooth//Bookshop.org//Amazon
And please rate/ review on Goodreads, Amazon, and/or share on social media. I appreciate the support.
SEE ALSO: I wrote about the Bohemian Grove shutting down their summer encampment for the first time in 142 years (because of COVID) here: Tea’s Weird Week: Summer Plans are Canceled for the New World Order | (teakrulos.com)
Please Clap Dept.: My article from the March Milwaukee Magazine, “Visibly Indigenous,” is now online. It was a great honor to write: How Milwaukee’s Native Community Is Working to Be Un-Erased (milwaukeemag.com)
Tea’s Weird Week, S4 ep10: The Big French Fry Perfume Beaver Fever Tiger Nuggets Corpse DJ Oregon Trail Charles Darwin Diary Mystery Finale: Me and Heidi talk weird news, trivia answers, closing track by The LOL, “Six Feet Under the Dance Floor.” Fun times!
Listen here: Tea’s Weird Week S4 ep10: The Big French Fry Perfume Beaver Fever Tiger Nuggets Corpse DJ Oregon Trail Charles Darwin Diary Mystery Finale (podbean.com)
Spotify//Soundcloud//Google Podcasts//iHeartRadio//PlayerFM//Apple//Stitcher//Pocket Casts
Tea’s Weird Week: The World According to Gorb
On this week’s podcast episode I caught up with my old friend “Gorb.” We used to co-host a pirate radio together, called “Gorb & K-duck in the Morning.” I had previously done a couple other shows, one was called “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” The station was 104.5FM, the Wireless Virus. On our show, me and Gorb played music, made jokes, and talked about random topics. We did it early Sunday mornings (not a typical time for pirate radio broadcasters) and when the show was done, I’d walk from the Sydney Hih building (a legendary counterculture complex of apartments and studios) downtown up to the Brady Street Pharmacy to work the morning shift.
The last incarnation Wireless Virus was shut down in an FCC raid on the Sydney Hih building in 2001. Pirate radio was sort of the precursor to podcasts with the added thrill that the FCC might bust your ass and confiscate your radio broadcasting equipment. I have fond memories of being on the air with Gorb at Sydney Hih and doing my other shows in the previous station location, which was located right on Center Street in the basement of a short lived venue called Canada World. I met a lot of cool people through the station. I loved creating my own media, and I still do, I’ve just switched to blogging and podcasting rather than a pirate radio show and photocopied zines.
Thanks for joining in the adventure, Gorb!
Tea’s Weird Week, S4 ep09: The World According to Gorb: I asked Gorb ten big questions, plus our Clip-O-Rama contest, weird news, trivia, and a track by Mandy Cappleman, “Spinning Wheels.”
Listen here: teasweirdweek.podbean.com/e/tea-s-weird-week-s4-ep-09-the-world-according-to-gorb
Spotify//Soundcloud//Google Podcasts//iHeartRadio//PlayerFM//Apple//Stitcher//Pocket Casts
Follow me on: Substack//Facebook Group//Twitter//Instagram
My latest books are:
Brady Street Pharmacy: Stories and Sketches (2021, Vegetarian Alcoholic Press)
American Madness: The Story of the Phantom Patriot and How Conspiracy Theories Hijacked American Consciousness (2020, Feral House)
teakrulos.com 