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<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>The latest ultra-niche bookstore</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>by Micah Toub<br><br>October 30, 2006<br><br>Two months ago, when Conspiracy Culture opened its doors near Queen Street and Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto, readers who gravitate toward books about the occult, the CIA’s secret mind-control experiments, and the JFK assassination found a new place to browse.<br><br>Owners Patrick Whyte and his partner, Kadina Yu, have given themselves the very specific mandate to carry only non-fiction books and DVDs of a “conspiratorial nature.” As Whyte explains, however, the topics that fit into this niche are quite broad. “We use ‘conspiracy’ as an umbrella term for subject matter that is controversial or of a conspiratorial nature, stuff that’s mysterious, paranormal, that isn’t accepted by the mainstream or promoted in the news media,” he says. Category labels above the shelves include “Secret Societies,” “Aliens and UFOs,” and “War and Terrorism,” and the books that line them range from the popular anthology Everything You Know Is Wrong, published by Disinformation, to the more obscure Giza Power Plant by Christopher Dunn, a book covering speculation that ancient Egyptians possessed advanced technologies.<br><br>Whyte’s interest in these subject matters was born when he was in hospital for a hernia surgery as a teenager. An elderly man in the bed next to him, who had gone through the same surgery, was up and about the next day, while Whyte was still in bed suffering. The man explained to him that he performed Reiki – a healing touch therapy – on himself. “I became totally turned on to alternative science and healing,” Whyte recalls. “That got me interested in Egyptian stuff – the pyramids, the sphinx, lost science, and supressed technology.” After 9/11, Whyte’s interests grew to include politics and current events, and soon he was on his computer until 3 a.m. researching conspiracy theories. When Yu suggested last December that he open up a store where he could turn his hobby into profit, he decided to go for it.<br><br>So far, traffic in the store has been slow, but Whyte is hoping that in-store events and a future media launch will start drawing people. On Nov. 22 – the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy – Conspiracy Culture will present a lecture by Bob Ryan, a Toronto JFK researcher who has interviewed people such as Marina Oswald and witnesses of the assassination. Topics will range from the usual question of whether Oswald acted alone to the more far-out theories that Jackie Onassis or the Cuban government were involved.<br><br>While Whyte admits that some of the ideas posed in the books he carries are likely to elicit some eye-rolling, he’s happy to be promoting “a variety of ideas and opinions that are available, so people can stop regurgitating everything they hear on TV.”<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/news/article.cfm?article_id=7449">www.quillandquire.com/</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://toronto.nowtoronto.com/buyselltrade/classifieds/ViewAd?oid=oid%3A262611&name=miscellaneous">hours</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->:<br><br>mon - thurs 12:12pm - 7:07pm<br>fri 12:12pm - 9:11pm<br>sat 11:11am - 9:11pm<br>sun 12:12pm - 5:55pm<br><br>1696 queen st west, m6r 1b3 <br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

Was Just there last night! Was thinking of making this thread myself. Weird! Anyway, it's worth the trip to the store. They have a great selection, even though they're still pretty new. You can rent or buy the movies, which is a nice plus.<br><br>Go out and support Conspiracy Culture! <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=eltedo@rigorousintuition>El Tedo</A> at: 10/31/06 3:29 pm<br></i>

As a fellow Torontonian, I'll be sure to check this out. Scheduling the Nov 22nd lecture now! <p></p><i></i>

Just stopped by there tonight and picked up a book. Beautiful store, tastefully decorated, well lit and clean, with a great ambiance. Couches available for loafing and browsing. Very wide-open, lots of elbow room. <br><br>They have a small overall inventory, but it's bigger than the biggest occult/new age/conspiracy section of any bookstore you've ever been to, and that's the point. Also some nice, reasonably priced nick-nacks, including a beautiful reproduction of Stonehenge at something like 1:60 scale, for a measly 63 bucks Canadian (if I'd had more money, I'd a got it!).<br><br>Definitely worth the drive!<br> <p></p><i></i>

Nice to hear your report, Jerky. I hope to get out there sometime next week.<br><br>The World's Biggest Bookstore has been my local off-the-shelf choice in the "controversial knowledge" department. But the stuff I <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>really</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> want I've had to order, usually through Abebooks. But nothing's a substitute for the art of browsing. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=rigorousintuition>Rigorous Intuition</A> at: 10/31/06 8:10 pm<br></i>

If I could, I'd open one just like it! <p></p><i></i>

Conspiracy Culture's <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARGDY3U-Ung">video review </a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->of book <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>United Arab Emirates Central Bank and 9/11 Financing</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->. <p></p><i></i>

I wish I could go... This is the first time EVER that I've envied anyone for living in Toronto. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p></p><i></i>

I've never been to Toronto. Just the Falls, and some pseudo-remote rented cabins.<br><br>From the limited amount of information that I've seen and heard, Canadian cities seem pretty nice. Perhaps I'll move up there sometime, maybe after New York is underwater or the temperatures up there have risen a bit. Or I could save myself the trouble of "emigrating" and just wait till we become the pan-american union and go to war with Eurasia. <p></p><i></i>

Toronto is nice. And not much colder than here! <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Or I could save myself the trouble of "emigrating" and just wait till we become the pan-american union and go to war with Eurasia.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> I've been thinking much the same lately.<br>Anyway, there is a bookstore in Apple-ton, WI (USA) that carries much of the same material: Shenandoah Books. He had a copy of <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Behold a Pale Horse</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> but it sold before I got there to snag it. Rats. <p></p><i></i>