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Dr_Evil_Mouse

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  3. Harvard Psychedelic Club

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    Harvard Psychedelic Club

    As they say, "a trip down memory lane."

    Here's some rare footage of an experimental LSD session that I came across doing research for my next book, a group biography of British writer Aldous Huxley, philosopher Gerald Heard, and Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. It's from a television program, circa 1956, about mental health issues.

    The researcher, Dr. Sidney Cohen, was dosing volunteers at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Los Angeles. Aldous Huxley, who first tried mescaline in 1953 and wrote about it in his seminal book, The Doors of Perception, got Gerald Heard interested in the spiritual potential of psychedelic drugs.

    Heard then turned on Bill Wilson, guiding him on an LSD trip supervised by Dr. Cohen in the summer of 1956 -- perhaps in the same room we see in this video. Wilson, who started AA in the 1930s, thought LSD could help alcoholics have the "spiritual awakening" that is such an important part of the twelve-step recovery program he popularized.

    Heard and Huxley set the stage for better-known psychedelic research of Timothy Leary, Richard "Ram Dass" Alpert, Huston Smith and Andrew Weil, who are profiled in my 2010 book, The Harvard Psychedelic Club.

    V5d4wWGK4Ig

  7. Azz Whoopin'

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    for the most part those moments were not as impressionable on me as tone and words.

    I think this is the whole point. I don't remember any actual physical moments, but can remember the atmosphere, tone of voice, and look in the eye. And one devastating comment alone can leave a real mark. It reminds me of the questions around kids and swearing, that it's not the words themselves that are so important, but their delivery and intent.

    I keep thinking of that line in Night at the Museum - "Who's evolved?"

  11. Azz Whoopin'

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    I got the occasional lickin' for... ggez, I don't remember half the times. Years down the road, imo, it's all just made me more liable to snap at intense moments and do stupid, mean shit in times of high stress. No doubt there's a rich psychology behind it.

    And conversely, I've known plenty of people who got the deal for pushing too far as kids, but that never stopped them from being rotten, pushy, and manipulative as adults; in fact, it would get worse once they were away from the threatening parent, and what would stop them from getting still more so without the more of the same? Violence can't be the answer.

    I would prescribe instead three hits of acid with, say, the Dalai Lama. That would knock some sense into the little fucker.

  20. You know what really grinds my gears at Christmas?

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    I've reverted back to Happy Holidays because I think the whole "screw political correctness: Merry Christmas!" movement has gotten stale and mainstream' date=' like U2 and '72 Dead, "oooh look at me, I'm taking a stand and saying Merry Christmas! look at me! look at me". Fuck you, and Happy Holidays.[/quote']

    Right. On.

    What they said :) .

    I don't really see the difference anyway between a holy-day and a Christ-mass. They're both a kind of shorthand for something that ends up not getting much attention in the broader picture. As it is, it's hard to get much of a "speak truth to power until they ritually torture and murder you" vibe out of this season. Maybe I need to look harder.

  24. yayyyyyy God

    in Politics

    Posted

    Pat Robertson favors marijuana legalization

    By Stephen C. Webster

    Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 -- 3:29 pm

    Count this among the 10 things nobody ever expected to see in their lifetimes: 700 Club founder Pat Robertson, one of the cornerstone figures of America's Christian right movement, has come out in favor of legalizing marijuana.

    Calling it getting "smart" on crime, Robertson aired a clip on a recent episode of his 700 Club television show that advocated the viewpoint of drug law reformers who run prison outreach ministries.

    A narrator even claimed that religious prison outreach has "saved" millions in public funds by helping to reduce the number of prisoners who return shortly after being released.

    "It got to be a big deal in campaigns: 'He's tough on crime,' and 'lock 'em up!'" the Christian Coalition founder said. "That's the way these guys ran and, uh, they got elected. But, that wasn't the answer."

    His co-host added that the success of religious-run dormitories for drug and alcohol cessation therapy present an "opportunity" for faith-based communities to lead the way on drug law reforms.

    "We're locking up people that have taken a couple puffs of marijuana and next thing you know they've got 10 years with mandatory sentences," Robertson continued. "These judges just say, they throw up their hands and say nothing we can do with these mandatory sentences. We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of 'em.

    "I'm ... I'm not exactly for the use of drugs, don't get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."

    Robertson has in recent years come under fire for increasingly flamboyant comments, such as calling for the assassinations of foreign leaders and blaming gay people for the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina.

    Conservatives signing up for drug policy reform

    The segment, while significant for illustrating a key conservative stalwart's shifting opinion on the drug war, was mainly a plug for a new conservative group called "Right on Crime," which parlays the arguments of groups like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) into conservative-leaning messages.

    "Our marijuana prohibition laws, which send people to prison for merely possessing a plant, are clearly immoral," LEAP executive director Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore narcotics officer, told Raw Story.

    "As a Christian, and as a former law enforcer who is now working to undo the damage these laws have done to our families and our communities, I'm glad to see Pat Robertson joining the chorus of faith leaders calling for reform."

    Some faith-based groups, like the Council of Churches and Church IMPACT, also helped promote California's failed Prop. 19 ballot initiative, which would have legalized marijuana cultivation, sales and consumption by adults over 21-years-old. It failed to gain a majority in the state's 2010 elections.

    President Obama has maintained his opposition to the legalization of marijuana, although his Department of Justice has largely taken a hands-off approach to states where voters have approved the drug's use if prescribed by a doctor.

    Pat Robertson was a Republican candidate for the presidency in 1980, but saw his political ambitions dashed in the primaries by Ronald Reagan. Though he later earned Robertson's endorsement, President Reagan went on to significantly escalate the war on America's drug users.

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