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Reviews
If you’re looking for a book, this is not for you.
This is an experiential experimental ride through counterculture.
And, just like any good piece of counterculture, it isn’t really that.
It’s definitely more than a memoir; a blueprint of how things were and are at a specific period of time for a specific type of person.
It’s also a book, and one I enjoyed immensely.
(Note that you want to consume this alongside the audio components for the full immersion. Totally worth it.)
–Jonathan Bartholomew author of the Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine series
Joseph Matheny’s Ong’s Hat Complete, a combined text and audio book, was excellent, and I loved how he mixed the two media.
– Orbific
Incredible story behind one of the pioneers of the internet. The interviews are EXCELLENT! What a great idea to have an audio component! This is an important documentation of early internet history. I highly recommend it!
–Michael Kennedy
Ong’s Hat Compleat is a monumental document of a ground-breaking, multidisciplinary, intermedial artwork. Oft cited but rarely understood, Ong’s Hat was the last great simulation of the twentieth century and the first fantastical rabbit hole of the twenty-first. Its influence continues to resonate today with all manner of sci-fi, ARG, reality-switching and remote viewing projects walking – consciously or not – in its footsteps. Now, with Ong’s Hat Compleat Joseph Matheny and Sequoyah Kennedy have produced the definitive record, a conversation and archive that takes you on the deepest dive possible into the Mariana Trench of 1990s counterculture, cyberculture, mail-art, living books, chaos magic and beyond. Equal parts podcast, seance and dossier, Ong’s Hat Compleat opens up the world of its subject in a way that enhances, rather than dissolves its mysterious aura. An essential purchase for anyone wanting to take a sidereal step out of this century and its troubled times.
—James Riley, University of Cambridge, author of The Bad Trip and Well Beings.
If you’re feeling stuck in a creative project spend a few hours with Sequoia and Joe. Incredible things might happen.
Anonymous User
Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT audio sample
The guide to experiencing this interdisciplinary work.
The guide to experiencing this interdisciplinary work.
Note: While this guide was created for the now-discontinued SendOwl version, it 100% applies to the new Internet Archive version.
Introduction to Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT
Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT is a multi-layered work designed to be experienced in various ways, depending on the experiencer’s preferences and level of engagement.
Structure and Components
The work consists of two main elements:
Original Notes: A KINDLE, PDF, or EPUB document containing the author’s initial draft, providing background information and links for further research.
Audio Conversations: Chapter-by-chapter discussions between Joseph Matheny and Sequoyah Kennedy, exploring the material in depth.
Suggested Approach
While readers are encouraged to engage with the content in any order they prefer, the author recommends the following sequence:
Read the original notes (KINDLE, PDF, or EPUB)
Listen to the audio conversation for each chapter
This approach allows readers to first gain a foundational understanding through the notes and then delve deeper into the material through the conversations.
Author’s Note
The current format of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT evolved from an initial draft created a year prior. After careful consideration, we decided to present the work in its current, multi-format structure rather than as a traditional book.
Readers are invited to explore and enjoy the work in whatever order suits them best.
I think the interview is a new art form. – Jim Morrison
Initially conceived as a traditional book, this project has evolved into a multifaceted, interdisciplinary work that better reflects the complex ideas it contains. The transformation from a standard book format to a more dynamic, digital-age presentation was necessary to fully capture the essence of the concepts explored.
Joseph Matheny 