This is the purest of the Unarian videos. An enthusiastic narrator announces that Uriel is coming to visit the Crystal Cities. We are flown through the cosmos amid beautiful colors and arrive at a wonderful place which resembles a whole city made of sparkling Brion Gysin dreamachines. Uriel appears for a tour of these lavish landscapes. Starting in a swan boat, she sails underwater where she encounters King Neptune and then astrally projects to the domain of Krishna, with whom she is escorted in a magical bubble. During these journeys, she psychically transmits to us the images of Moses, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Theresa. Arriving at the Infinity Pool, we are treated to visages of Hippocrates, Pasteur and Freud. There is a fabulous water ballet sequence. We are shown tableaux which demonstrate that faith is compatible with science. Uriel meets her old friend Einstein on another plane and they ride a bubble of air, from which they espy Leonardo da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa, who is actually the projection of Uriel’s countenance into Leonardo’s psyche. This is all an absolute visual feast. It is also Uriel truly in her element: a world that transcends the dour limitations of consensus reality and takes on the flavor of a beatific storybook. SA

Publisher: Unarius
Video

This is a documentary-style look at untrained painters who explore the “scientific aspect of consciousness” while painting Unarian murals. Using the “scientific principle of energy” the artists lose their “psychic amnesia” and channel a type of art. The narrator describes a science that works not in the lab but through human beings. “Cosmic consciousness,” he explains, “is the basis of Unarian science.” The visuals consist of artists at work on various stages of Unarian murals. In Part 2 there is a round table discussion of the artists that were shown at work in Part 1, discussing the dynamics of working by this method. SA

Publisher: Unarius
Video

If you’re trying to get a handle on what the Unarius Center is like, this is the tape that you want. Uriel guides us on a tour of the El Cajon facility where we see “prototypes of future electronic instrumentation and symbolic representations of life in higher dimensions” which “overwhelm the senses.” Among the sights to be seen on this tour are the star map, a representation of the star fleet landing, the tower of power, the cosmic generator and a model of the crystal mountain cities. It is in this tape that Uriel gives us the most frank explanation of what’s going on. Rooted in a strong respect for science (of this world and others), the ultimate goal is healing the past hurts (whether incurred in this life or a previous one). When all is said and done, there is nothing here that is not to like. These are sweet people offering a sense of community and a lot of hope for the future of everything. SA

Publisher: Unknown
Video

In this two-part tale, Unarian students, working without a script, relive their past lives that occurred 156,000 years ago in order to tell the story of the coming of the higher Unarian consciousness. A tribesman named Zhan has either met or had visions of “tall intelligent beings” in a “magic vessel.” The story revolves around his attempts to convey this to the rest of the tribe and the efforts of the status quo to thwart him. As this tale occurs mostly on an ancient Earth, it is not until the last few minutes of this two-hour saga that we finally glimpse the Unarian world that we hold so dear with its lavish and wonderful visuals. Much of this video is reminiscent in flavor to Herzog’s Heart of Glass, in which the entire cast was hypnotized. There is an other-worldly quality to the performances that makes a convincing case for the claim that the “actors” are indeed in some transcendent state. SA

Publisher: Unarius
Video

Employing a technique similar to that used in Godard’s Alphaville Unarian students simulate a visit to the underground cities of Mars. When called upon to give substance to their visions the Unarians shine most brightly. Using a rich pastiche of Earth locations, actors, sets, models and Unarian paintings, they evoke a wonderful sense of what these cities must look like. Their scale models especially vibrate with more colors than the whole spectrum of our visual field. This is among the best examples of the Unarian vision, fully realized and packed with educational entertainment value. SA

Publisher: Unarius
Video

Happily, the fancy initials after the authors’ names didn’t preclude them from writing a fun book. There is an introduction in which they show off their initials, attempting to answer the question: “What is a fad?” From there on, however, it’s a jolly fun read. Given a time frame as broad as American history, choices had to be made as to what to include, making for an eclectic mix. Herewith are those entries in this volume which occur under the letters A through E to give the prospective reader a taste of this rather fanciful mix:
Adult westerns, Horatio Alger Jr., American Gothic, answer songs, Aromarama, Ayatollah songs, barbershop quartet, Barnum, Batman, Beatlemania, Milton Berle, Betty Boop, Big Little Books, James Bond, boogie-woogie, British Invasion, Busby Berkeley, cakewalk, Calypso, car songs, Casey at bat, David Cassidy, Vernon and Irene Castle, Charlie Chaplin, the Charleston, the Chipmunks, “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Columbia comedy shorts, commercial folk music, Davy Crockett, Currier and Ives, Dallas, death songs, dime novels, disco, double features, Elvis is alive, M.C. Escher. SA

Publisher: Haworth
Paperback: 379 pages
Illustrated

This book will probably land in the humor section of most bookstores, but it is actually a rather fully researched dictionary. As well as providing the meaning for naughty words, it also illustrates contexts for their usage, translations from slang to standard American English, and practice exercises. (These include sentence structure charts, crossword puzzles and “find-a-word” games.) There is also helpful information on the differences between American English and British English. (For instance, if you tell a British date that you’ll honk when you drive up, you have just indicated your intention to vomit in your car.) The flags of various countries are used to indicate cases where meanings vary, and there is also a section on hand gestures demonstrated by a mime. SA

Publisher: Optima
Paperback: 220 pages
Illustrated

This book makes a great case for the archiving of information. Starting with the works of Shakespeare, who “sold [his plays] not to be printed but to be played,” we are treated to a succinct history of copyright as it related to the invention and use of the printing press.
Fast forward to the advent of recording. The main focus of unauthorized recordings was originally opera and soundtracks from movies and Broadway shows. It wasn’t until 1969 that the first rock and roll bootleg appeared. The bulk of this book is concerned with the concise history of rock’n’roll vinyl and CD bootlegs. It is an obsessive chronicle of this phenomenon. Aside from the fact that most bootlegs are of a relatively few artists (Dylan, Springsteen, the Stones), who may or may not interest the reader, this book is a compelling look at the machinations of the record industry. It is only a small exaggeration to say that most artists sign their souls away along with the rights to everything they do. The author presents a believable case in favor of those who “document” through unauthorized recordings “the evolutions and permutations” of this very organic musical form. There is also a lot of information about how the laws of various countries have enabled the manufacture of items of questionable legality (especially surprising are the gaping loopholes in the laws of Italy and Germany). This book came out in 1994. There is an ongoing revamping of copyright treaties, which continue to change as of this writing. No doubt, however, in a world this big there will always be somebody with the appropriate technology who is willing to break the law. SA

Publisher: St. Martin's
Hardback: 441 pages
Illustrated

“This is a book about bumper stickers and the people behind them. It is a portrait of America: a nation of people in automobiles… on the move with stickers expressing a view, sharing a frustration, or offering some perceived insight, solution or wisdom. Mobility, technology, personality and free expression all in one. What could be more American?”
What indeed? This is an extrordinarily thought-provoking look at the human factor behind the sound-bites and slogans that define “us” and “them.” It’s divided into 14 categories (work, family and education, animals, politics, traffic, relationships, religion, pro-choice/life, the environment, peace and war, region, diversity, life and death and miscellaneous), each page includes a life-size reproduction of a bumper sticker (surrounded by smaller ones in the case of multiples), a portrait of each vehicle’s owner and some basic facts about him/her (age, education, occupation, favorite pastimes, favorite book, favorite movie, pet peeve). A brief anecdote explains how each motorist came to have the sticker and in some cases an author’s note about her encounter with the mobile commentators. Given the diversity of opinions expressed, the author is incredibly evenhanded and fair. These are the real people who actually hold these views, so the going gets a little scary at times. This book puts a human face on these mobile propagandists, reminding us that however diverse our beliefs might be, it is members of our own species that adhere to them. SA

Publisher: Beyond Words
Paperback: 176 pages
Illustrated

This is a sort of class yearbook for people who are REALLY INTO comics. The year is 1993. The “superstars” include writers, pencillers, inkers, painters, letterers and colorists who helped create what the editors of this volume determined to be “comics which received wide potential distribution.” The other main criterion for inclusion was whether or not the many people who had been contacted had returned a form sent by the editor. This form included basic stuff like contact address, education and projects they had worked on. It also included a section on “dream projects.” Reading the answers to this query really makes one aware of just how INTO comics you have to be to appreciate this book at face value. The most peculiar aspect to the whole project is that the only index in the book lists the superstars by their birthdays. For the reader who isn’t fanatical about comics, this book provides a scary glimpse at the hard-working people behind the scenes who probably won’t get another 15 minutes like this. SA

Publisher: Krause
Hardback: 256 pages
Illustrated