William S. Burroughs Shopping Lists

On EBay, someone is selling a couple shopping lists written by William S. Burroughs. I have no idea how this person came to own these items, or why they were saved, but I’m glad they’re around. Shopping lists are truly ephemeral items; I don’t know a single person who crafts them with any intention of hanging on to them. But are they any less important than some of the other things that people are more likely to save? They’re a transactional record of sorts; documenting the material items that you have an immediate need for. I can learn much more about a person from their shopping lists than from their electric bills or whatever. Sometimes it’s the records that we never intend on keeping that are more revelatory of our true selves than the ones we consciously archive.

Apparently, Burroughs loved cats, tea, and waffles, and was perhaps a bit of a germaphobe.

Link via Boing Boing.

Timothy Leary Archives Digitization Project

The Timothy Leary Estate is seeking private donations to help pay for the digitization of the Timothy Leary Papers. Contained in his archives are personal papers and memorabilia such as report cards and other schoolwork, photographs, correspondence with luminaries such as Allan Ginsberg, Aldous Huxley, Jack Kerouac, Abbie Hoffman, Robert Anton Wilson, and research materials from his time at Harvard University. Additionally, there are thousands of documents detailing the entire psychedelic movement. Apparently the archives will go to the Library of Congress or another suitable repository upon completion of this project.

Donate here if you have some cash to spare.

Link via Boing Boing.

FREE John Sinclair Benefit Flier

This is a flier for a 1970 Milwaukee benefit show/concert for John Sinclair, the one-time manager of the MC5 and leader of the White Panthers. Sinclair was sentenced to 10 years in prison after handing off several joints to an undercover officer. The show featured local bands Furry Quim Slash, Rain, Trapped in Amber, and others. The benefit was held at the Holy Rosary church basement. The flier features Thor fighting the system “for all victims of pig injustice!” This appeared in the Feb. 1, 1970 issue of The Kaleidoscope, a Milwaukee underground newspaper.

GROK – Universal Love Church

From the Kaleidoscope, Jan. 16, 1970. Click on the image for an enlargement.

Published in the Kaleidoscope, Feb. 1, 1970

Haere-mai
Maori for “Welcome”
DEAR FRIENDS, ANGELS, VISITORS, AND FELLOW WORLD CITIZENS……
Greetings from HAWAIKI in the South Pacific, smallest Sovereign Nation on Planet Earth. THIS is a message for ALL concerned about World Peace and Universal Love…ALL the signs indicate the approach of the long=predicted Armageddon, when the forces of Good will battle the forces of evil for control of the Earth.