the new Steamshovel Press

Article Provided by Steamshovel Press (http://www.steamshovel.press)

Welcome to the new Steamshovel Press. Beginning in 1988 I began publishing a zine that reflected my interest in what I have settled to call “parapolitics”–a term that may have been coined by the much honored Peter Dale Scott, who has since abandoned it. The cartoon word for it in corporate media sources (Cnn, FOX. MSNBC, CBSNBCABCEPSBetc) remains “conspiracy theory”, which covers all forms of analysis except the conspiracy theories concocted by the corporate news. Most people have come to accept this formulation about what passes as informaton in their daily experience. Steamshovel served as a metaphor for the process of pushing all that aside to allow a look at the many points of view and streams of thought that exoist outside the ever narrowing scope of that corporate media.

Steamshovel produces many issues that it now makes available on line and has a facebook discussion page named after me, “Kenn Thomas”, now an editor emeirus in the Steamshovel environment. The current, 2015, issue of Steamshovel became the first hard copy in issue in several years–suare bound, color, a hundred pages if a bit pricey at $20–but also super cheap ($4) for the electronic/kindle edition. The old steamshovelpress.com web site got retired and this new one has taken its place. I hope to do this regular blog here and all of the back issues are available here as well, plus sample articles from throughout Steamshovel’s history.

This new effort has ben made possible with the work of the new Steamshovel publisher Olav Phillips as well as from Larry Overman, who began the process of getting the back issues and current issue out electronically. They deserve great appreciation fot this. I considered myself retired this work after a dozen books and a lot of travel and lecturing, and in furtration with the manipulations of the new social media and how it in many ways squelched the creativity of the parapolitcal underground. Others of my time as a zinester and alternative-scene networker had gone grey, several people died (Jim Keith long dead, but John Judge, Ed Sherry, etc), the zine thing stopped, and many conference organizers stopped as well. And I just got old, with health considerations and less energy.

I rallied for one last effort with the help and encouragement of these new guys, plus Ron Patton and the others at PARANOIA magazine who gave that zine a new online life as well. That seems to have turned into what you are reading now. I am happy to keep it up as time, health and energy permits, even glad to lecture again if anyone knows of a good venue to give a talk. I would really like to address a conspiracy conference with talk of my old friends and the past effort to keep the discussion going about all the things left out of public discussion, then as now. So do send along tips and ideas.

Send submissions to Olav Phillips at – [email protected]. He plans a new issue of Steamshovel for the Summer. The daily discussion happens, as much as I hate it, in “Kenn Thomas” at facebook and I will periodically write longer things here.

Thanks! kt

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