[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIn19@” subhead=”A Wild Ride Through Wild Lives” text_orientation=”center” button_one_url=”https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Foam-Complete-Trilogy-One\/dp\/0692507353\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Richard+Thieme+FOAM&qid=1621975025&s=books&sr=1-1″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _dynamic_attributes=”title,content” _module_preset=”default” content_font_size=”16px” subhead_font_size=”22px”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9kYXRlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJkYXRlX2Zvcm1hdCI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJjdXN0b21fZGF0ZV9mb3JtYXQiOiIifX0=@[\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]Can a person be transformed by the power of love \u2013 even if they come from another planet?<\/p>\n
Jack Teufel arrives in a flash of light in the middle of a bitter Midwest winter. He comes, he insists, from \u201cthe Skein,\u201d a intelligent network that cobwebs the universe.<\/p>\n
Jack prepares for his role on earth by studying cable TV, the Internet, and other media so he can broadcast interactions with humans to a vast pan-galactic audience for whom \u201chumans are the funniest species in the universe \u2026 and the sexiest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Populated by a host of memorable characters, FOAM is wildly satirical as well as deeply touching. This unusual book may shock you, will make you laugh, and may challenge your reality – but you will never forget it.<\/p>\n
FOAM’s disparate cast members include:<\/p>\n
Jack, an alien, downloaded from The Skein to do improv with earthlings;<\/p>\n
Heidi, with whom Jack hooks up at the bus station when he arrives in the Midwest, who is completing training as a masseuse and making money on the side with fetish sites;<\/p>\n
Her favorite model, Roni, distraught by her lover Jimi’s transition into Jimmy;<\/p>\n
Her go-to guru for strength and support, Dr. James John Gillespie, who leads small groups to discover that the “paranormal” is normal;<\/p>\n
Bobby Jakus, \u00a0who knows Gillespie is right, as he already communes with discarnate spirits through automatic writing; <\/p>\n
Bobby takes a job with janitor Juicy Fruit, where he meets Pancho Sanchez a hard core hacker who partners with Don Coyote (a righteous vigilante patrolling the mean streets of cyberspace) in pursuit of corruption in cyberspace and beyond;<\/p>\n
Rupert Rapell, coping with a midlife crisis by having an affair with Carrie Fischetti at the bank where they work – and where Rapell does his fair share of corrupting more than cyberspace; his wife, Addie Rapell. <\/p>\n
Bunny Isadora, a customer at the Oasis Caf\u00e9, who confronts Jack as a “walk-in Nordic” from another planet.<\/p>\n
Dade the barista at the cafe who provides the illusion of stability in a coffee shop likened to purgatory.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Foam-Complete-Trilogy-One\/dp\/0692507353\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Richard+Thieme+FOAM&qid=1621975025&s=books&sr=1-1″ button_text=”Buy FOAM in 1 or 3 Volumes from Amazon or the Author” admin_label=”buy FOAM on amazon” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/thiemeworks.com\/uploads\/Foam-Vol-1-Cover.jpg” title_text=”Foam-Vol-1-Cover” admin_label=”Foam 1″ _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/thiemeworks.com\/uploads\/Foam-Vol-2-Cover.jpg” title_text=”Foam-Vol-2-Cover” admin_label=”Foam 2″ _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/thiemeworks.com\/uploads\/Foam-Vol-3-Cover.jpg” title_text=”Foam-Vol-3-Cover” admin_label=”Foam 3″ _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Post Nav Section” _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#ededed” global_module=”2999″ saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_post_nav in_same_term=”on” _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_post_nav][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Can a person be transformed by the power of love \u2013 even if they come from another planet? Jack Teufel arrives in a flash of light in the middle of a bitter Midwest winter. He comes, he insists, from \u201cthe Skein,\u201d a intelligent network that cobwebs the universe. Jack prepares for his role on earth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
FOAM! <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p> is a stunning new novel from Richard Thieme available at Amazon in a single volume print edition and in three print volumes as well as three e book volumes for Kindle and Nook. <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p> FOAM IS UNIQUE <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p> What does it mean to be human? What is the human condition? Can a person be transformed by the power of love \u2013 even if they come from another planet?<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p> These central concerns of the novel are also the concerns of the unusual protagonist of <\/span><\/span>FOAM:<\/i><\/span><\/span> extraterrestrial <\/span><\/span>Jack Teufel<\/b><\/span><\/span>, who appears in the sagebrush in Utah one day in a flash of light and travels to a city \u201csomewhere in the upper Midwest\u201d in the middle of a bitter winter. <\/span><\/span><\/p> The tale follows Jack as he practices being human by using the internet, cable TV, and other media, seeking to understand human beings, and wandering into serendipitous contact with a skein of characters whose diverse paths fold into a satisfying and unexpected unity.<\/span><\/span><\/p> At the same time, his more-than-human brain broadcasts his encounters to a vast galactic audience for whom \u201chumans are the funniest species in seventeen galaxies \u2026 and one of the sexiest.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p> A student of improv, Jack tries to always say \u201cyes.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p> FOAM<\/i><\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s disparate cast members include:<\/span><\/span><\/p> Heidi<\/b><\/span><\/span>, with whom Jack hooks up at the bus station when he arrives in the Midwest, who is completing training as a masseuse and making money on the side with fetish sites;<\/span><\/span><\/p> Her favorite model, <\/span><\/span>Roni,<\/b><\/span><\/span> unbalanced by her lover <\/span><\/span>Jimi\u2019s<\/b><\/span><\/span> transition into a male identity as <\/span><\/span>Jimmy<\/b><\/span><\/span>;<\/span><\/span><\/p> Her go-to guru for strength and support, <\/span><\/span>Dr. James John Gillespie,<\/b><\/span><\/span> who leads small groups to discover that the \u201cparanormal\u201d is normal;<\/span><\/span><\/p> Bobby Jakus, \u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span>who knows Gillespie is right, as he already communes with discarnate spirits through automatic writing; <\/span><\/span><\/p> Bobby<\/b><\/span><\/span> takes a job with janitor <\/span><\/span>Juicy Fruit<\/b><\/span><\/span>, where he meets <\/span><\/span>Pancho Sanchez <\/b><\/span><\/span>a hard core hacker who partners with <\/span><\/span>Don Coyote<\/b><\/span><\/span> (a righteous vigilante patrolling the mean streets of cyberspace) in pursuit of corruption in cyberspace and beyond;<\/span><\/span><\/p> Rupert Rapell<\/b><\/span><\/span>, coping with a midlife crisis by having an affair with <\/span><\/span>Carrie Fischetti<\/b><\/span><\/span> at the bank where they work \u2013 and where <\/span><\/span>Rapell <\/b><\/span><\/span>does his fair share of corrupting more than cyberspace; <\/span><\/span><\/p> Bunny Isadora, <\/b><\/span>a customer at the Oasis Caf\u00e9, who confronts Jack as a \u201cwalk-in Nordic\u201d from another planet. <\/span><\/p> Dade<\/b><\/span> the barista at the cafe who provides the illusion of stability in a coffee shop likened to purgatory.<\/span><\/p> By the time most major characters arrive at two climactic meetings \u2013 the men at Sex Addicts Anonymous and the women at Women Who Love Too Much Anon \u2013 Jack is in danger of going native and must choose between remaining on earth or returning to \u201cThe Skein,\u201d a network of trans-galactic sentience, from which he believes he came. <\/span><\/p> The narrative is wildly satirical and laugh-out-loud funny as well as deeply touching as it explores the power of love to make an alien soul more human. <\/span><\/span><\/p> The novel draws on the rich experiences of the author, Richard Thieme, over a lifetime of exploring spirituality, religion, sexuality, technology, and the worlds of hackers, security professionals, spies, and in a serious scholarly work of history, the relationship between governments and UFOs.<\/span><\/p> Four appendices support the narrative \u2013 a short story, \u201cSpecies, Lost in Apple-eating Time,\u201d about the evolution of consciousness (published in anotherrealm and <\/span><\/span>Mind Games<\/i><\/span><\/span>); an interview with Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell about his life-changing experiences returning from the moon; an interview with Joe McMoneagle, a remote viewer in the Stargate Program; and an interesting idea from Bucky Fuller. <\/span><\/span><\/p> Praise for Richard Thieme<\/span><\/p> \u201cYour mind is a door I didn't know existed.\u201d <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cThe depth, complexity and texture of Thieme's thought processes break the mold.\u201d - Brian Snow, Senior Technical Director, NSA (ret.)<\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cI quite liked your story. I've been reading science fiction lately and yours was right up there.\u201d - John Updike, author<\/span><\/p> \u201cGive me Richard Thieme. His mind is in orbit but his feet are on the ground.\u201d - Dan Geer, CISO, In-Q-Tel (CIA)<\/span><\/p> \u201cI am deeply grateful to you ... one seldom finds one so sympathetic and discerning. Once on a snowy morning in Moscow, Boris Spassky declaimed four pages of <\/span>Bullet Park<\/i><\/span> in Russian. I was very encouraged as I am by you.\u201d - John Cheever, author<\/span><\/p> \u201cThieme's very imaginative writing has a complexity that raises the narrative to the fringes of slipstream. We're left wondering what's real and what's not.\u201d - Steven Pirie, <\/span>The Future Fire<\/i><\/span>, UK<\/span><\/p> \u201cThieme takes us to the edges of cliffs we know are there but rarely visit. He wonderfully weaves together life, mystery, and passion with creativity and imagination.\u201d - Clinton C. Brooks, Senior Adviser for Homeland Security and Asst. Deputy Director, NSA <\/span>(<\/span><\/span>ret<\/span><\/span>.)<\/span><\/span><\/p> Richard Thieme earned his 'wings' in cyberspace. He shares his intelligence - his brilliance, really - as he steers his starship through the stars.\u201d - Jennifer Leigh Marais, science writer in South Africa.<\/span><\/p> \u201cBeautiful descriptions and intriguing concepts\u201d - <\/span><\/span>The Fix<\/i><\/span><\/span> (UK)<\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cThieme is truly an oracle for the Matrix generation.\u201d - Kim Zetter, author of <\/span>Countdown to Zero Day.<\/i><\/span><\/p> \u201cRichard Thieme: GENIUS!\u201d - Thuthuka Sithole, a Zulu security researcher in South Africa<\/span><\/p> \u201cRichard Thieme sees deeply into the nature of the human spirit and expresses with great clarity what he observes.\u201d - Joel Garreau,, <\/span><\/span>Washington Post<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cYou are a practitioner of <\/span><\/span>wu wei,<\/i><\/span><\/span> the effort to choose the elegant appropriate contribution to each and every issue you address.\u201d - Hal McConnell, NSA analyst (ret.)<\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cRichard Thieme's clarity of thinking is refreshing and his insights are profound.\u201d - Bruce Schneier, author and security guru<\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cRichard Thieme teaches experts to see with 'beginners' eyes' and hackers to think like philosophers. More than a great thinker, Thieme is an original soul. When you read Richard Thieme, you believe in the Matrix.\u201d - Sol Tzvi, Senior Security Practitioner, formerly with Microsoft Israel, rock star, and entrepreneur<\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cRichard Thieme has inspired me to see myself and the world around me in a different light. His writing represents a glimpse into the inner workings of a most extraordinary mind.\u201d - Becky Bace. NSA (ret.) <\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cThieme's writing illuminates unorthodox but deeply profound ways of understanding ourselves and everything around us.\u201d - Jennifer Granick, Director of Civil Liberties at the Stanford University Center for Internet and Society <\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cThieme's words more than inspire, they teach us how to think. The reader is left reeling, dizzy with insight.\u201d - Robin Roberts, CIA R&D (ret.)<\/span><\/span><\/p> \u201cRichard Thieme is the real Enoch Root\u201d - anonymous<\/span><\/span><\/p> A Review of FOAM<\/span><\/p> A book that will prompt a \u201cWTF?\u201d, in a really, really good way \u2013 at least for some readers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p> January 10, 2016<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p> Richard Thieme is not the sort of author who will appeal to everyone, but those who are willing or able to tune into his particular wavelength will find the FOAM trilogy to be worth the trip (choice of words intentional). As with Philip K. Dick, the plot is almost beside the point, being a delivery vehicle for ideas and insights which will linger independent of the story. Not that the story doesn\u2019t also hold many charms, it\u2019s just that this is not the sort of book where the story is all there is to it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p> The plot is one consisting of many disparate characters increasingly intertwined in a six degrees of Kevin Bacon sort of way, but without the connections and intermingling seeming overly contrived. It\u2019s the sort of story that might been seen if one were given the ability to observe what happens to those one interacts with daily in the hours when they are not in one\u2019s presence. Truth is stranger and more complex than any fiction that humans can create, and Thieme\u2019s book is one of those stories where the author\u2019s view of the truth is put forward in the guise of plausible fiction \u2013 a more easily digested and familiar form to deliver the dose of \u201cWTF?\u201d (think of P.K. Dick or maybe Haruki Murakami) that is also provided gratis as part of the deal.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p> Richard Thieme is also a speaker, consultant and observer of the human condition (including time spent as a priest) in \u201creal\u201d life, and those who have interacted with him in those roles will find this book to be enjoyable on another level, as references familiar and obscure are woven throughout the tale. Much as an audience member who is also a musician can find pleasure in noticing the fragmentary riffs that a musical performer has appropriated from many sources and playfully inserted into an epic solo, those who have been exposed to Thieme\u2019s work in other contexts will recognize recurring pop-culture touchstones and themes (pardon the pun) from various sources. We are all products of our experiences, and both Thieme and his characters rely on shared experiences and reference point to establish bonds and communicate \u2013 sort of like that Star Trek TNG episode where the alien species communicates by way of references to history, myths and legends, allowing a short phrase to convey not only direct meaning, but contextual reference and nuance derived from shared knowledge of the source narrative.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p> What\u2019s it all about? It would be easy to tersely sum up the plot, but doing so would likely lead many to either dismiss it or flock to it, with both groups likely missing the point in the process. The context is the content. The best that I can say without prejudicing the prospective reader is that it\u2019s ultimately about being conscious and being human, with the recognition of all the glories and flaws inherent to both conditions. Perhaps the most interesting character is the one that does not covertly appear \u2013 the overarching entity consisting of the interactions of all the characters and contexts presented, which is in its own way a character on a larger stage that is left to the reader\u2019s imagination.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p> Should you read the book? Maybe, maybe not. It\u2019s not the sort of book that will please everybody.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p> If you\u2019ve gotten through this review and become at least mildly curious about what exactly could be in this book that I\u2019m tap-dancing around, you might be the sort who will at least give Thieme a chance. You might like his style and ideas, or you might not, but books aren\u2019t all that expensive, so how much have you really got to lose? Donate the thing to the local library or to a thrift store if it doesn\u2019t meet your needs, or give it to a friend (or enemy) whose neurons need to be tweaked a bit.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>