The Book Of THoTH

Writers who really changed my way of looking at the "paranormal" (as well as the "normal," if there is such a thing) include Jacques Vallee, Carl Sagan, John Keel, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Anton Wilson. These are just a few, but they played an especially important role in reweaving my synaptic fabric.

BoT: When did you start your writing and research?

MT: I immediately saw the value of the Web; most of my research hinges, to some extent, on access to the Internet and email. It’s difficult to envision a more empowering tool.

BoT: What makes you want to write or speak about these things?

MT: It’s almost instinctual. I think a lot of us are effectively living in a sort of consensual delusion, and I share William Burroughs’ interest in "wising up the marks." Which is ultimately selfish, I suppose, since I enjoy discussing weird things and it definitely behooves me if people know what I’m talking about. And to my considerable surprise, a lot of people do: a most pleasant discovery, especially for someone living in the Midwest, which isn’t the most cerebral place in the world.

BoT: Do you find your writing/research easy or not?

MT:  When it’s going well, it’s almost organic. When it’s not . . . well, it’s suddenly work. So I try to step back and approach it playfully.

BoT: What’s the easiest thing about your writing or research?

MT: I’ve grown as a writer over the years -- writing on a daily basis certainly helps. I think I’m reasonably articulate, and I love putting thoughts into words.

BoT: What’s the hardest?

MT: Disciplined research. I don’t have the sheer dogged diligence of someone like Stan Friedman or Nick Redfern; I tend to daydream. Which, while not crippling, can get in the way of self-imposed deadlines.

BoT: You write about just about everything. Could you tell us briefly about the main concepts behind your views?

MT: One of the things I hope to talk about in Halifax is this extraordinary -- and wildly scary -- point in history in which we find ourselves. We’re on the cusp of either extinction or transcendance, and both of these outcomes can take many forms. Will the future be engagingly nonlinear or drearily predictable? The clock is ticking very loudly. Strangely, only a handful of people seem to be listening -- and even fewer are actually *doing* anything.

BoT: Who are your favourite researchers/writers?

MT:  [Already answered, sort of. :-)] 

BoT: The Book of THoTH is about bringing a greater resource of wisdom for those who want to explore further, what would be your message to those who are just beginning in their quest?

MT: Love the Net, but build the foundation of your knowledge on printed books. Not that books are inherently more truthful, but I personally find more "meat" on the printed page than on my computer screen.

Also: Learn to love synchronicity.

BoT: Are there any skeptics in your area of writing or research, and what would you say to them?

MT: Actually, I think I might *be* one of the "skeptics," at least so far as transhumanism is concerned. And I use the term "skeptic" in its true sense, free of the caricaturish associations it’s developed within ufology.

When I wrote "After the Martian Apocalypse," I was routinely treated to "expert" debunkings of the Face on Mars. essentially, geologists claimed that it only looked like a face to certain people -- "believers," presumably -- because of a neurological predisposition to "see" faces when presented to novel stimuli.

But there’s also a biological prediposition to *not* see faces even when the faces are unquestionably "real." Not surprisingly, we never heard about this latter possibility except from a few curious agnostics. And we heard even less then the "hard-wired to ’see’ faces" argument was refuted by scientists. This sort of thing is symptomatic of a very clumsy and hopelessly binary way of looking at the world.

BoT: Where do you see yourself in say 5 years time, and what will you have achieved?

MT: Hopefully my book-in-progress, "The Cryptoterrestrial," will be in print and I’ll be well on the way toward finishing something else -- maybe fiction. And I’d like to write for television.

BoT: Have you any advice for people wanting to follow in your footsteps?

MT:  Nothing that doesn’t sound like a total cliche! I’m really still learning. And I think that’s for the best.

BoT: What are the best resources that people can use to learn more about your area of interest/research?

MT: I keep my blog stocked with weird, challenging stuff. The URL is http://posthumanblues.blogspot.com . For a
sampler of individually reviewed books I like, take a look at http://www.mactonnies.com/bookreviews.html .

BoT: How’d you come to be involved with the New Frontiers Symposium?

MT: Paul invited me. And there was no way I was going to turn him down; we share reservations about some of the more typical UFO conventions. I’m quite excited to see how this goes, and to meet the other attendees. It’s a good line-up and a good location.

BoT: What’s your talk at the symposium going to be about?

MT: I’m going to talk about the imminent extinction of the human race -- and why, contrary to popular belief, that’s a *good* thing.

BoT: Are there any projects that you’re currently working on?

MT: I’m writing a book about indigenous "aliens" -- beings that have lived here on Earth all along, but seem extraterrestrial to us because of simple ignorance and deliberate subterfuge. How’s that for paranoid?

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