Jon Ronson Saves!

Salon’s Joanna Smith Rakoff subtly turns on the heat in this in-depth ’02 interview with Ronson: http://dir.salon.com/story/people/conv/2002/03/14/ronson/index.html Because Ronson’s books go off in so many tangents, often, I feel as if sometimes readers might easily miss an extemely relevent bit of info. For example, Salon questions Ronson on his choice to agree to watch over [...]

Ronson’s voice is almost hypnotizingly calm when he’s on radio… http://huffduffer.com/flash/player.swf?soundFile=http://saminnes.co.uk/Jon_Ronson_Worst_internet_date.mp3

Jon Ronson’s The Men Who Stare at Goats makes many startling claims; the film based on the book goes even further, though granted the film’s not meant to be non-fiction.  But the book IS meant to be non-fiction, and some question Ronson’s representation of the ‘facts.’   Jim Channon, the retired Army colonel featured in both [...]

I knew it the whole time! Ronson runs the Psychopath Test on Conan… oops, be careful what you ask for, CoCo! Actually, no, though Conan does meet several of the classic criteria, he’s ultimately judged by Ronson as ‘not’ a psycho… although there’s certainly Something wrong with the guy!  Still, love the hair… http://teamcoco.com/video/jon-ronson-psychopath-test

Only slightly dated Colbert interview with Jon Ronson about The Men Who Stare at Goats.  Colbert tries to pull the ol’ sparkly eyes move on Ronson, then pressures him to attempt to stop the heart of a goat… with dire results!  http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/249700/september-17-2009/goat-lab—jon-ronson

In an interview posted on his website, www.jonronson.com, Ronson argues he’s really not so much of a faux naif, meaning someone who sort of pretends to be dumber than they are in order to trick others, or lull them into some false sense of security so they’ll reveal a bit of info they might otherwise [...]

Ronson’s on Conan this Wednesday (18 Jul 11).  Rock on, CoCo!  Maybe it’ll make up for having Seth Green on the show… http://teamcoco.com/schedule

This is the first article I’ve seen where Ronson, albeit indirectly, tackles the topic of alien life.  His interview with Paul Davies (for the Guardian, of course) is a good read.  Davies is on the SETI (Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Post-Detection Task Group.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2010/mar/06/paul-davies-aliens-welcome-jon-ronson Davies’s website: http://cosmos.asu.edu/index.html The article ends with a ‘damn interesting’ reference to the [...]

The Book Show asked Ronson which book everyone should read before the age of 21.  His pick?  Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut!  An unusual choice, perhaps, but not one I disagree with… although I’d say everyone would have to re-read it before they turn 35, just to makesure they are old enough to comprehend at [...]

Too busy to be bothered with reading?  How about just listening… Ronson’s radio archives are up on BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/jonronson_on.shtml And This American Life: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/contributors/jon-ronson As his site says, each segment ”… delves into a world of personal stories surrounding the central theme which all shed light on the human condition. Sometimes Jon goes in search of answers [...]

From a Tomorrowland article: “In 1979, the United States Army created a top-secret New Age unit called the First Earth Battalion. It was to be a testing ground for new fighting techniques such as remote viewing, walking through walls and killing goats just by staring at them. The army’s plans for a troop of Om-chanting [...]

My sympathy and support for our friends in Great Britain as they commemorate this day, 7 July…the sixth anniversary of the London bombings.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings One of the survivors was Ms. Rachel North, mentioned in Ronson’s book, The Psychopath Test.  A whirlwind blogger, she posted of her experiences daily:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4670099.stm  

This article doesn’t reference Jon Ronson but it’s no coincidence it came out just after his book, The psychopath Test.  Regardless, Ronson jokes a lot about his psychopath-spotting abilities but in his book he seems as skeptical at times about the ability of a checklist to diagnose such things accurately each time.  This article, therefore, isn’t so [...]

No surprise Stanley Kubrick was obsessed with Napoleon (to the point of having an entire library of books on the dictator)… but his type font obsession…now that’s interesting! http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=160926.0

To look like Clooney… they’re basically twins. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/01/why-i-run-ronson-hattenstone-catherine-bennett-clooney

“Most goat-related military activity is still highly classified.”

“If you recognize some of those [psychopathic] traits in yourself, if you’re feeling a creeping anxiety about it, that means you are not one.” – Jon Ronson Another great review of The Psychopath Test, by Kylie Sturgess, Skeptical Inquirer Magazine, The Magazine for Science and Reason: http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/book_review_the_psychopath_test_a_journey_through_the_madness_industry

In his books, which all feature him as a character, Ronson seems at times sensitive to criticism. He’s concerned when critics pan his work, call him either a ‘shill’ or ‘stupid,’ as he’s said. To be sure of the meaning, I had to look up shill–a shill is a person who ‘poses as a customer [...]

Fans of Hunter S. Thompson, read how the great Gonzo inspired Ronson’s style in this article for The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/feb/22/huntersthompson

Sure you could Google this in a nanosecond.. but I’ve done it for you!  Why?  Because I care.  I want this guy’s writing to be read!  So wake up!  No, I’m not a nut (do non-nuts have to say they aren’t nuts?).  I’m also not a believer in conspiracies just for the sake of believing [...]

Or anyone else you know for that matter?  Odds are, you DO know a psychopath.  I found that I do.  Like Ronson, who simply took a crash course on psychopath-spotting, which he chronicles in his new book, The Psychopath Test, you can learn the tricks on snap analyzing people who may or may not be [...]

Have you read the man’s work?? Probably, if you are visiting this site…but if not, get clued in quick! Ronson’s non-fictional accounts of the odd and bizarre world we dwell in may save your life! At a minimum they’ll alter the way you view your life and the society we live in. He’s the author [...]