As Hot and Wet as Cooked Liver: The Sex Magicians Chapters Five and Six

I miss Schlitz.

The Sex Magicians Chapter Five: What is Property? (p.40-41) 

The main thing that jumps out to me from this very short chapter is the list of individuals Markoff Chaney considers for his "Fraternal Order of Hate Groups," as this gives us one of those windows into Robert Anton Wilson's political opinions around this time. Robert Welch and Robert DePugh were both far-right, anti-Communist "activists," George Wallace was the famous segregationist governor of Alabama who provided us with the iconic photos of white supremacy in the Deep South, Jerry Rubin was the most useless member of the Chicago Seven and later proved himself a moronic hypocrite by embracing the "greed is good" philosophy of the eighties, Ti-Grace Atkinson is a radical feminist and proponent of political lesbianism and Eldridge Cleaver was a leader of the Black Panthers. While I'd argue that Cleaver, despite his criminal activities, had the most legitimate grievance out of this motley crew, Wilson would obviously been less than pleased with the Soul on Ice author, as he had recently held Timothy Leary under "revolutionary arrest" in Algiers after Leary had fled to that country. 

Chaney's meeting with the butler promises an interesting development in our small-statured anarchist's sexual career. Probably the funniest part of this chapter would be Chaney's mistaken belief that "Au revoir, ma cherie" translates as "good-bye to virginity." So at this point we know he is in for an encounter with a rich eccentric with some interesting sexual peccadillos: more on this later. 

The Sex Magicians Chapter Six: Where did the universe come from? (p. 42-55) 

The chapter titles are becoming more gnomic. 

Joe Smith is an unpleasant and unsympathetic character, in my opinion, especially because he reminds me very much of a contingent of people who, earlier this month, turned over our country to a wannabe-dictatorial regime. By the second paragraph of the chapter we know that Smith and his wife are your run of the mill American idiots whose prejudice is born of not being able to see past the tip of their noses and living an extraordinarily unexamined life. I don't particuarly feel anything for Matilda or Smith as the "sanctity" of their marriage is slowly, inevitably sacrificed by the end of the chapter. 

Chapter six ramps up the pornographic qualities of The Sex Magicians as the Mama Vibe takes over our dumb fuck character's consiousness (and conscience). I will admit that while Joe is walking past the marquees (the funniest bit in this chapter) I did not understand how SHE SUCKS MEN DRY had a double-meaning. Maybe that shows my inherent perversion or the fact that I try to keep finances firmly away from the forefront of my mind. I guess I'd rather think about oral sex than money...go figure. I laughed aloud at FELLINI'S TOM SAWYER and THEY LIVE FOR SEX AND ALLAH. 

The Ore House sounds like a grand place with a curious pun choice for a name. Since gold is heavily associated with Tiphareth in Kabbalah we might be able to stretch the gold centered puns at the topless restaraunt as a sign that the soul of our novella is sex. Sex appears in many different forms as Smith's mind twists everything into references to un-American activities. There's a curious connection between food and sex throughout the chapter, from Smith eating his cheeseburger while being increasingly overcome with sexual delirium, to Briggitte's forsaken steak and accepted peach pie and her display with the bananas. Sex and food are about as far apart as anything can be in my mind- I remember even as a young man being particuarly repulsed by the Seinfeld episode where George discovers the aphrodisiac qualities of pastrami- and that probably made me more uncomfortable than anything else in a chapter where Wilson seems to be deliberately making his character as uncomfortable as possible. 

Honestly, I'm curious why someone as vivacious as Briggitte would see anything of worth in a Joe Smith type of fellow, but some guys have all the (thoroughly undeserved) luck. Joe Smith is certainly stiff and fucked-up and whatever happens to him because of his moment of, admittedly understandable, weakness, I hope it changes him irreparably. Fuck off Buster and to hell with Mayor Daly, indeed. 

In honor of the stomach-turning simile that I've chosen as this week's title, here is the late, great Bob Eisenstein telling a joke to Jerry Seinfeld on Curb Your Enthusiasm.