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THE NOMADIC ACADEMY OF FOOLS IN FRANCE

Foyer de Campgnes, 10 Pl. Frederic, Mistral 34120, Pezenas

WORKSHOPS

Monday 27th October: The Inner World of the Fool

The fool steps off the cliff into the unknown. Dare you follow?

This is a one-day workshop run by Seani Fool from the Nomadic Academy of Fools in which people can have an introduction to the art of fooling as taught by Jonathan Kay. Today’s workshop has a particular emphasis on how fools can explore and reveal their own inner world.

Tuesday 28th October: The Outer Fool (Physical theatre techniques)

Play the fool and discover archetypes and characterisation through bodywork. Create solo, partner and ensemble work.

Find characters in the body. Taste movement, smell sound, feel sight.

Develop group intuition and trust through breathwork and enhanced peripheral vision.

Wear comfortable clothing and bring food to share for lunch.

Wednesday 29th October: Guerrilla Gardening for Clowns

The world of permaculture meets rebel clowning.

This is a one-day workshop where people can learn the ancient art of clowning and methods of direct action in the context of permaculture design.

EVENING PERFORMANCES

Monday 27th October: 20:00 for the meal and 21:00 performance begins.

Scratch Night and Community meal: An evening of improvised plays and fooling by the Nomadic Academy of Fools. Nothing is rehearsed: everything comes from the moment. Feel free to bring food and drink to share a meal and meet the fools.

Tuesday 28th October: 21:00 performance begins

The Oddwood Cabaret: A night of music and entertainment from the strangely likable folk of Oddwood.

Wednesday, 29th October: 21:00 performance begins

The Jam: The Nomadic Academy of Fools welcome you to jam with them. You can participate or watch. Turn up at 20:30 to be added to the running order.

Hello all, it's time for another chapter release!

Regular readers of this blog will know I'm slowly releasing Liber Malorum - children of the Apple onto the web for all to read and it's time for another chapter - Oath of the Conscious Metanoid by Nathaniel Harris - to be set free.

I've previously released only shorter chunks of the book, but here is the first full-length story that appears within Liber Malorum. I put this story in early as it really packs a punch and introduces some pretty interesting concepts. Oath of the Conscious Metanoid presents readers with their first opportunity to join the Order of the Imaginary Conspiracy. Dare you?

Nathaniel Harris is a multimedia artist with over 23 years experience in sorcery, witchcraft, and magick. A strong willed individual who cannot abide hypocrisy or obsequious office seeing, he generally steers clear of anyone who claims to be a part of the wider (non-existent, according to Nathaniel) 'occult community'. His work may be found at;
http://www.myspace.com/sidereality,
http://www.myspace.com/joythroughdisobedience and
http://www.redpriory.com

Download Chapter 3 - Oath of the Conscious Metanoid by Nathaniel Harris and let us know how you get on with it.

Be@st wishes from Sean

Link: http://www.nomadicacademy.net

Hey all - as friends and regular readers might know, I'm a member of the theatre group The Nomadic Academy of Fools.

Using my special geek powers, I've set up the website (using WordPress blogging software) for the Academy, which you can go take a look at here:

http://www.nomadicacademy.net

All 11 members of the Academy will be blogging there, and posting details of our upcoming events, so go take a look!

Hugs from Seani Fool

(ps - my geek powers are available to other groups. Contact me if you need a site set up similar to this one)

The teasing hand hovers over the face,
Like a new galaxy spinning and twirling in space;
A new star is excited, about to be born,
Waiting to shine on its very first dawn.

Hovering star bright, twinkling at night,
Star holds its breath with all of its might,
And then the star bursts... light fills the dark
When the hand lands, it might leave a mark.

Feel mine lover's soft skin under my hand,
Watch gentle waves lick licking the sand;

I'm so full of love and yet feel all alone,
Hearing the wind and her high whispy tone;

I see in the sea the moon's sweet smile,
Teasing me; Dancing; and yet all the while...

...the smooth soft skin I feel flow through my hand
Is goddess Earth living in beach's white sand.

Sara Mulryan from the fantastic Oracle Occult magazine has just reviewed Liber Malorum in the latest issue 9. Wow, I'm well chuffed with what she had to say about it! Read on:

---

“Do you have the courage to dream, create and destroy?
If your answer is no, please, read no further.”
Oath of the Conscious Metanoid
by Nathaniel J. Harris in Liber Malorum


So, just how do you begin to describe the Liber Malorum – is it a journey, an initiation, a revelation and an introduction to the mysteries? Could it be a ‘how-to’ manual; how-to join a cult, how-to clown, how-to renew your life, how-to lose your mind? Is it a collective of 23 cutting edge magickians, sorcerers and witches whose writing and life experiences have been woven together by a crazed fool into an 7th dimensional tapestry?

Is it a portal through which the innocent bystander can glimpse the workings behind the dashboard, gain a view of The Work at the edge of comprehension?


OR IS IT JUST A WORK OF
ENTERTAINING FICTION?

Read more

This street animation is awesome!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

I'm thinking a lot about the use of language lately. Particularly how media can use different choices of words to sway public opinion.

On a hypothetical level, if I say "Gordon Brown is a Grade A Chunk of Dick Cheese" and BG responds by saying "No, I'm not"... then variously, the headlines could read:

Faerie Menace calls Brown 'Dick Cheese'

- well, a bit boring. but how about:

Gordon Brown denies being 'Dick Cheese'

- when someone denies something, that doesn't mean it's not true and the media use these techniques to make pretty major accusations. How about "Max Mosley denies Nazi allegations". This allows the media to throw the accusation in, whilst pretending it isn't.

Taking that a step further:

Gordon Brown is "Dick Cheese"

- the use of quotation marks in a headline allow a strong message to be delivered whilst allowing the reporter to hide behind those quotes.

Faerie Menace attacks Gordon Brown

- well, it's true in this case. It was an attack. But just using that word 'attack' can make the article that much more compelling to read.

Gordon Brown under attack

- similarly.

And from leftfield:

FaerieMenace gives Gordon Brown a "Grade A"

- well I did! But the media in this instance has really twisted my words to deceive the public into believe I'm a fan of someone I just attacked!

Oh whoa.

Hmmm, how about something closer to home.

Compare:

Faerie Menace enjoys using pain, power exchange and role-play to take faeries on magical journeys deep into the heart of their sacred sexuality.

Compare with

Faerie Menace gets his sexual kicks torturing young, sexy women!!

Of course, both headlines tell the same story, but one is so much more packed with emotion and vitriol.

I'm becoming more and more on the look-out at the way the media uses headlines to sway public opinion. Perhaps I should do a media studies course? Does anyone know of any good books about this topic?

Hugs to all from the FaerieMenace

Hmmm, have been offline for several days and need to vent some hot air. and cold air too, no doubt. and i'm sure there's fresh air in the mix; cool, intoxicating freshly fresh air.

i changed yesterday. i awoke in the morning the type of person who does not have any tattoos. i went to bed last night as the type of person who has a tattoo. getting it put on is a bit like a violent wand session. the wand was set to high and without the eroticism. well, i'm sure there are some erotic tattoo rituals but mine was from Inka, the tattoo shop in Brighton. tattoo pics will probably be uploaded soon. i love it!

i am poly. one of the last 'General BDSM' topic threads on my favourite website was entitled something like "would you cure your kink if you could?"... there's a big part of me that would like to cure my polyness. i'm really happy with my kinks, fetishes and capabilities. but polyness is a bit tougher. i guess being brought up in a large family where so many couples aspired to long term monogamy has programmed me to desire this in some way. and the thought of having a single partner-in-crime really is appealing sometimes. but it is not me. to pursue that would not be true to myself. and it didn't work out for anyone in my family either...

In the past 2 weeks i moved house, finished an IT contract in Bristol, exited a relationship and a theatre course i was doing came to a close. A very powerful time full of crossroad symbology and potential. A perfect time for a trip back to oz to visit friends, family, exes.

what is the plural of ex? exes? exs? can we create language as we go along? what is there to stop us?

the lady on my arm is a fool, a faerie, a minion of Eris (the Greek goddess of Chaos and all things random) and she looks really fucking hot in her stripey tights. stripey tights do it for me every time. that's a hint if you're going to date me.

dating. she is very beautiful this green-eyed wonder. beautiful, wise, fun-loving, intelligent, well-read, married, poly, left-handed. does she have stripey tights? only time will tell. but that's on the back-burner. oz first.

i have a new hard limit: i don't want to get involved with people addicted to emotion-stablising medications. from my outside perspective, i can only imagine that these things really restrict the depth a person can go to. BDSM, especially SM, is, for me, a powerful journey undertaken by various souls to discover more and more about the selves. don't these medications stop that voyage? don't they stop the uncovering and the revealing? i can only imagine that they limit the journey that is possible, and can't really stomach the thought of really journeying with someone who limits their journey in this way. real emotion is where the real power is. yet i guess i will remain open-minded about this to some degree. i love to be proved wrong. does loving to be proven wrong make me less of a dom? Ha!

My dommes include: the sea, the wind and the woods. Mistress Nicotina also has on-and-off control of me from time to time, but from her I try to escape. She sure is a all-pervading domme innit! Creeping up from behind, wanting me to kiss her, to sit on my face so that others may smell her sex on my breath. She comes to me when I least expect it and asks of me, "just one kiss?" but I know she wants more than that. She wants me body and soul. Can't we just be friends????

BDSM-wise: rape-play, fighting whilst fucking, resistance, interrogation and above all-else: defiance does it for me more and more. i am so much more into overpowering a defiant faerie using my mind, my body and my will than using ropes or other constraining devices. but i know these tools too have their place in this world.

oh, are you still here? i can't believe you read this far through all my random musings. big hugs to you! send me a 'hello' x x Sean

Mike Gleason, from The Pagan Activist has reviewed Liber Malorum. The Pagan Activist is a mammoth site with stacks of book reviews, forums, news, polls, sample spells and other useful and engaging pagan and activist inspired resources.

Mike gave Liber Malorum a full 5 moon rating! Here's a snippet of what he had to say:

Read more

I'm in the process of collecting all my various writings from various scenes (occult, pagan, activist, clown, BDSM) and putting them here on my blog.

Well, many moons ago (in 2004) the European Social Forum was in London. Adrian Harris (founder of the Dragon Network) and I put together a little text called "An Introduction To Pagan Activism".

Read more

I thought that headline would grab your attention!

The hunt is now on to find Cthulhoid agents in our seas. Scientists, under the guise of conducting innocent experiments, are now gearing up to raise Cthulhu from the depths of the ocean and the depths of our collective subconscious.

I quote:

Twenty-five octopuses will today begin twiddling a Rubik's Cube in the name of scientific research.

Marine biologists concede they have little hope of the eight-limbed sea molluscs solving the fiendish plastic puzzle. Instead, the month-long project at 23 Sea Life Centres across Britain and Europe will examine octopus intelligence in an attempt to discover if they have a favourite tentacle for picking things up – much as humans are right or left-handed.

Insider information (that won't be published in any report!) reveals that it is not just Rubik's Cubes that will be lowered into the tanks, but also various water-safe versions of the Necronomicon. If one of the octopii can manage to either solve the cube, or immanentize the eschaton, it will be a massive year for Cthulhoids the world over.

Take hope great Cthulhu-lover! Our eight-legged water bound (distant) cousins are unlikely to fall for the bait and summon any of the great old ones... Nor are they likely to solve all-blue on the Cube. Light one red and one black candle and you will remain safe.

Full story at The Independent.

Ooh! I found this article whilst browsing the lulu.com forums:

Blackwell's is to become the first high-street bookseller in the UK to offer print-on-demand books while customers wait. The innovation will be delivered by an "Espresso Book Machine" (EBM), which can print and bind any one of a million titles.

Set to be piloted this autumn in a branch that is yet to be announced, the chain plans eventually to install EBM machines in all 60 of its shops across the UK. The machine can currently print about 40 pages per minute, but a newer model due later this year is expected to double that speed.

Read the full article on the Guardian website.

Teal Talking Raven, one of the founding ministers of the original Companions Circle, has written a review of a chunk of Liber Malorum!!

Here's what is written:

"All the characters and incidents in this book are purely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events that have taken place is purely coincidental synchronistic."

That official disclaimer before the beginning is a strong hint of the powerful foolishness that follows. After a fun prologue the book begins in The Garden (you know where) and poetically sheds new light on that infamous universal trouble-instigating scenario from an alternative perspective.

Chapter 56 (5 + 6 = Magical 11!) tells the story of a profound talk and discussion led by (book character) Seani Fool about the key elements of Fool Sorcery and the re-creative possibilities of funner chaos. My shaman-fool partner Chammy said that this chapter covers the 'gritty-nitty' of shamanic clowning.

So join us (you must show you aren't a bot) and read the exerpts digest these apples, then contact Sean for more possibilities. Yay fun restoration!

hugs to all from Seani Fool

Here it is - Chapter 2 of Liber Malorum - Stop This Crazy Thing.

This is one of the shorter chapters and one written by myself to help weave the book into a tapestry.

Happy Reading!

Sean

Hello... anybody out there? bernie/bernadette or simply BURN here. starting up this blog to talk about magic and activism and protest and all the good things. Say hello in the comments below...

Burn

Would you believe me if I told you this pic was taken outside the butt plug museum in Shanghai during my recent trip there?

hugs from sean

Hello all, how are you doing?

After last week's release of the Liber Malorum prologue, readers of this blog and elsewhere have been asking for more samples.

Well here it is. After asking the man himself, I'm now releasing Chapter 1 - The Orchard Of Becoming - by Frater Kaotec.

Kaotec is a fellow founding member of the HYDRA coven and a good friend of mine. He is one of five contributors that have more than one story within Liber Malorum and he is a genuine Child Of The Apple.

Since writing "The Orchard Of Becoming" he has released his own title on the Templars and a secret history of British occultism. Writing as "Stephen J Ash", The Black Knights was released on the 700th anniversary of the demise of the Templars. Go and check out if this sounds intriguing to you.

Kaotec lives in London and maintains an occultural blog here.

Download Chapter 1 - The Orchard Of Becoming - by Frater Kaotec.

Be sure to drop me a note and let me know how you get on with it!

Sean

After many requests, I'm releasing the prologue of Liber Malorum to anyone who'd like to read it. You can download it here.

Hopefully this gives you a taste of what the book is about and some of the directions it heads in.

Let me know how you get on with it by commenting here or by sending me a message.

Love and apples,

Sean

I was really chuffed to see Amazon has made Liber Malorum the "perfect partner" to the Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. Wow! The Illuminatus Trilogy is my all-time favourite book!

Snoopy Dance!

Someone at Amazon must have read Liber Malorum and really got into it. I just wish they'd got around to stocking it! Any day now...

When John Denver first sang Shanghai Breezes, and I quote:

And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see

it's the same old sun up in the sky

And your voice in my ear is like heaven to me

like the breezes here in old Shanghai

he must have been staying on the outskirts of town. It is sad to say that because of the constant smog, there are no visible stars and I can't see the moon either. On Sunday, when she was full, there was not a speck of lunar love above this city due to the constant blanket of grey. I have come down with a nasty lurgy which is really quite sad as it really is dilapidating to the point that I can't muster the energy to get out there and explore during my spare time. gutted.

Well the good news is that my local area (west shanghai) is really wonderfully friendly, with loads of delicious food places and smiley people. I have learnt kung fu, and about 8 other chinese words.

My throat feels like some uber-domme (lady pinque?) has stuffed a handful of vacuum cleaner dust down it! congested and full of grey matter. I hope it'll clear out pretty smartly! My free time here is really limited what with a heavy work schedule.

Hopefully my lungs and throat will be clear tomorrow, just like the breezes here in old shanghai.

xx Sean

Update 1/May/2008: There will be another round of auditions in late June. Phone the number below if you are interested in working with the Nomadic Academy of Fools, or come see us in Brighton. I'll announce the details shortly.

People who know me personally will know I'm a part of the Nomadic Academy of Fools. Auditions for next year are taking place next week and so applications close this week.

See the attached email for more details and to get involved:

Applications for Jonathan Kay's Nomadic Academy of Fools closes this Friday 25th April

After a highly successful first year, applications are now being invited for the year beginning September 2008. For more information on the application process please go to www.jonathankay.co.uk and to apply please download and complete the form on the Nomadic Academy page.

NAF is a travelling centre of creativity with a unique approach to developing an invigorating and concentrated training that explores the relationship between the performer and the audience for people who have already developed a body of professional work in which they have regular contact with the audience and who are interested in developing and crafting this relationship.

The Academy is run by the Jonathan Kay, who draws from a tremendous range of skills and experience, but more importantly with an unparalleled enthusiasm, passion and commitment to the value of this work and its impact on the performer's work.

PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE CHANGED OUR NUMBER. FOR ENQUIRES PLEASE CALL JOYCE ON 01903 501 262

I have had a truly amazing year in the academy learning the art and science of the Fool. It's very challenging exploring some of the darker recesses of my inner world - and often exposing them to an audience. JK's Fooling system is a kind of cross between shamanism, improvised theatre, self-exploration and appreciation for the many archetypal forces that are with each of us all the time. The audience (both inner and outer) are perpetually of prime importance.

If this sounds interesting to you, please give Joyce a call on the number above.