.. This is a very, very deep problem of our time in that we no longer have a religious basis in our lives. Even with religion, with the churches, they are no longer convincing with their dogma. And people need a deep spiritual foundation for their lives. In older times it was religion, with their dogmas, which people believed in, but today those dogmas no longer work. We cannot believe things which we know are not possible, that are not real. We must go on the basis of what we know, that everybody can experience. On this basis, you must find the entrance to the spiritual world. Because many young people are looking for meaningful experiences, they are looking for this thing which is the opposite of the material world. Not all young people are looking for money and power. Some are looking for a happiness and satisfaction which is of the spiritual world, not the materialistic world. They are looking, but there are no sanctioned paths. And, of course, one of the ways young people are using is with psychedelic drugs.  ..

A Conversation with Albert Hoffman

]]> http://eksith.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/the-bicycle-ride/ Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:22:45 +0000 eksith http://eksith.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/the-bicycle-ride/

An animation by David Normal depicting the first acid trip of Albert Hoffman, the discoverer of LSD.

Uzun, yorucu ve bunaltıcı bir dönemin hemen ardından; daha uzun, daha yorucu ve daha bunaltıcı olacağı her halinden belli bir dönemin hemen öncesinde tekrar merhabalar. Battlestar Galactica ile ilgili yazacağım yazıları biraz daha ertelemem gerekecek gibi görünüyor.

Daha uzun, daha yorucu ve daha bunaltıcı olacak dönemde bir parça yükümü omuzlaması, dert ortağım olması için, önümüzdeki ay içerisinde okumaya fırsat bulamayacak olsam da üç adet cillop gibi kitabı kütüphaneden ödünç aldım.

İlk kitap Marvin Minsky‘nin The Emotion Machine adlı eseri. Yapay zeka alanındaki çalışmalarından haberdar olsam da, Minsky ve fikirleri hakkında açıkçası çok da bilgi sahibi değilim. Bu kitabı okumadan önce belki de Minsky’nin içerisinde yapay zeka, akıl, beyin vb. konulardaki görüşlerini derli toplu bir şekilde sunduğu The Society of Mind adlı kitabını okumalıydım. The Emotion Machine ile sırayı bir nebze olsa da bozmuş olacağım sanırım, canımız sağolsun artık.

Genel bir fikir vermesi açısından, kitabın konusunu kısaca özetlemeye çalışayım. Minsky’nin bu kitapta ve diğer eserlerinde temel olarak yapmaya çalıştığı şeyi,  popüler bir anime serisi olan Hagane no Renkinjutsushi‘ye (Fullmetal Alchemist – a.k.a. FMA) selam durarak anlatmaya çalışalım. Simya (alchemy) disiplininin konu edildiği FMA serisinde, bir nesnenin simya ile dönüştürülmesi sürecini üç adımda özetliyorlar: İdrak etme (understanding), parçalara ayırma (decomposition), ve yeniden inşa (reconstruction). Benzer süreçleri Minsky, insan aklı ve beyni ile, özellikle düşünme eylemi ile, izlemeye çalışıyor. Minsky kitabın ilk bölümlerinde beynin ve aklın nasıl çalıştığını anlamaya yönelik oluşturduğu teorileri sunuyor. Kabaca, düşünme eylemenin belirli aksiyonlardan oluşan bir dizi çok daha küçük parçalara indirgenebileceğini iddia ediyor. Böylece, karmaşık düşünme sürecini meydana getiren göreli çok daha az karmaşık lego parçalarını tespit edebileceğimizi düşünüyor.

Kitabın ikinci bölümünde ise, düşünme eyleminin ve sürecinin nasıl işlediğini idrak ettiğimizde, Minsky bu bilginin (lego parçalarının) yapay zeka kullanılarak insanlarla benzer düşünme süreçlerini takip eden ve dolayısıyla duygulara / hislere sahip makineler (emotion machines) üretme konusunda bizlere nasıl yardımcı olabileceğini tartışıyor.

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İkinci kitabımız, büyük üstad, yüce insan, sevilesi, sayılası tonton dedemiz Daniel Dennett ile ilgili hazırlanmış bir kitap. Cambridge University Press’in Contemporary Philosophy in Focus (CPiF) serisi dahilinde yayınlanan bu kitabın editörlüğünü Andrew Brook ve Don Ross yapmış. CPiF serisi felsefe alanında çığır-açıcı eserlere imza atmış, çalıştığı alana önemli katkılarda bulunmuş, kendi döneminin ve sonrasının akademisyenlerinin fikirlerinin oluşmasında önemli rolü olan, fikirleri sadece kendi çalışma alanı ile sınırlı kalmayıp diğer birçok alandaki düşünürleri ve onların çalışmalarını etkilemeyi başarmış saygıdeğer felsefe düşünürleriyle ilgili olarak hazırlanmış kitaplardan oluşuyor.

Tüm bu güzel sözleri hak eden Daniel Dennett’in birçok farklı alanda çalışmaları mevcut. Bu alanlardan en önemlileri: Bilinç, gelişimsel psikoloji (developmental psychology), bilişsel etoloji (cognitive ethology), yapay zeka (artificial intelligence) ve evrim teorisi (evolutionary theory). Dennett’in özellikle bilinç konusundaki çalışmaları ile ilgili önemli bir detay, kendisinin bilinç konusunu hem felsefe alanı içerisinde hem de nörobilim alanı içerisinde inceliyor olması.

Not. Geçtiğimiz ay Sabancı Üniversitesi’nde Darvin Yılı Kutlamaları vesilesiyle konuşma yapmak için gelen Dennett üstadımız hakkında Evim Çalışkanları güzel bir yazı hazırlamıştı. Dennett’in eserlerini okumadan önce onu kısaca tanımak isteyenler için güzel bir başlangıç.

Bağlantı: Evrim Çalışkanları sitesindeki Dennett yazısı

Bu kitap (ve genel olarak CPiF serisi) ile ilgili olarak hoş bir detay kitabın klasik bir biyografiden ziyade düşünsel bir biyografi olması. Kitapta yer alan çeşitli makalelerde, alanlarının (bilişsel bilim, bilgisayar bilimi, evrim teorisi vb.) önde gelen araştırmacaları Daniel Dennett’in eserlerinin ve fikirlerinin kendilerini ve alanlarındaki çalışmaları nasıl etkilediğini anlatıyor. Bu şekilde, hem Dennett’in fikirleri hakkında bilgi sahibi olurken, hem de Dennett’in çalışmalarının disiplinlerarası etkileşimdeki etkilerini birinci ağızdan okuma fırsatımız oluyor.

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Çok keyifli bir eser olacağına inandığım üçüncü kitabımız ise, George Mandler‘in MIT yayınlarından çıkmış olan A History of Modern Experimental Psychology (Modern Deneysel Psikoloji Tarihi) kitabı. Mandler, 1879 yılında Wilhelm Wundt’un deneysel yöntemlerin kullanılmasına olanak sağlayan ilk muntazam laboratuvarı kurması ile başlayan modern psikoloji tarihininin izini 20. yüzyılın sonlarına dek sürüyor. Bu tarihsel yolculukta iki konu özellikle ilgimi çekeceğe benziyor. İlki, 1930′lar Almanya’sında psikoloji alanının geçirmiş olduğu dönem (henüz kitabın içeriğini detaylı olarak gözden geçirme fırsatım olmadı ancak, Albert Hoffman’dan umarım bahsediyordur); ikinci konu ise, özellikle 20. yüzyılın sonunda kendi kimliğini kazanmaya başlamış bilişsel psikoloji alanının doğuşu ve bilişsel bilim ile etkileşimi.

April 16, 1943

Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered

In Basel, Switzerland, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical research laboratory, accidentally consumes LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938 as part of his research into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds. After taking the drug, formally known as lysergic acid diethylamide, Dr. Hoffman was disturbed by unusual sensations and hallucinations. In his notes, he related the experience:

“Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant, intoxicated-like condition characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away.”

After intentionally taking the drug again to confirm that it had caused this strange physical and mental state, Dr. Hoffman published a report announcing his discovery, and so LSD made its entry into the world as a hallucinogenic drug. Widespread use of the so-called “mind-expanding” drug did not begin until the 1960s, when counterculture figures such as Albert M. Hubbard, Timothy Leary, and Ken Kesey publicly expounded on the benefits of using LSD as a recreational drug. The manufacture, sale, possession, and use of LSD, known to cause negative reactions in some of those who take it, were made illegal in the United States in 1965.

“Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered,” The History Channel website, 2009, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=4924 [accessed Apr 16, 2009]

On This Day

0069 – Otho committed suicide after being defeated by Vitellius’ troops at Bedriacum.

1065 – The Norman Robert Guiscard took Bari. Five centuries of Byzantine rule in southern Italy ended.

1746 – The Duke of Cumberland defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie (and his Jacobites) at the battle of Culloden.

1818 – The U.S. Senate ratified Rush-Bagot amendment to form an unarmed U.S.-Canada border.

1862 – Confederate President Jefferson Davis approved conscription act for white males between 18 and 35.

1862 – In the U.S., slavery was abolished by law in the District of Columbia.

1905 – Andrew Carnegie donated $10,000,000 of personal money to set up the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

1917 – Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia to start Bolshevik Revolution after years of exile.

1942 – The Island of Malta was awarded the George Cross in recognition for heroism under constant German air attack.

1944 – The destroyer USS Laffey survived immense damage from attacks by 22 Japanese aircraft off Okinawa.

1945 – American troops entered Nuremberg, Germany.

1962 – Walter Cronkite began anchoring “The CBS Evening News”.

1972 – Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon. It was the fifth manned moon landing.

1975 – The Khmer Rouge Rebels won control of Cambodia after a five years of civil war. They renamed the country Kampuchea and began a reign of terror.

1982 – Queen Elizabeth proclaimed Canada’s new constitution in effect. The act severed the last colonial links with Britain.

1992 – The House ethics committee listed 303 current and former lawmakers who had overdrawn their House bank accounts.

April 16, 1972

United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong

In an effort to help blunt the ongoing North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong after a four-year lull.

In the first use of B-52s against both Hanoi and Haiphong, and the first attacks against both cities since November 1968, 18 B-52s and about 100 U.S. Navy and Air Force fighter-bombers struck supply dumps near Haiphong’s harbor. Sixty fighter-bombers hit petroleum storage facilities near Hanoi, with another wave of planes striking later in the afternoon. White House spokesmen announced that the United States would bomb military targets anywhere in Vietnam in order to help the South Vietnamese defend against the communist onslaught.

These actions were part of the U.S. response to the North Vietnamese offensive, which had begun on March 30. The North Vietnamese had launched a massive invasion designed to strike the knockout blow that would win the war for the communists. The attack was called the Nguyen Hue Offensive by the North Vietnamese, but was also more commonly known to Americans as the “Easter Offensive.” The attacking force of North Vietnamese included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. The main North Vietnamese objectives, in addition to Quang Tri in the north, were Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south. The fighting, which continued into the fall, was some of the most desperate of the war as the South Vietnamese fought for their very survival. They prevailed against the invaders with the help of U.S. advisors and massive American airpower.

“United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong,” The History Channel website, 2009, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=1789 [accessed Apr 16, 2009]

On This Date In History: In 1938,  Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman was fooling around with synthetically made lysergic compounds as he researched their effects. On this date in 1943, he somehow accidentally ingested lysergic acid diethylamide. He noticed strange sensations and hallucinations after he went home. He had “discovered” LSD. In the 1960’s, intellectuals like Timothy Leary publicly touted the drug as “mind expanding.” Trouble was, often the drug resulted in very very unpleasant and dangerous effects that resulted in all sorts of undesirable mischief and even suicides and such. It was made illegal in 1965. All in all, the mistake in 1943 was probably one the world could have done without.  Here is a history as described by Dr. Hoffman.

On this date in 1947, a mistake at the port in Texas City, Texas resulted in disaster(see slide show and local history). The details of this are sketchy but basically, a ship loaded with 2300 tons of ammonium nitrate. Now, ammonium nitrate was used in explosives during WWII.

What To Do with a 150 foot, 30 ton barge 100 feet Inland?

If you recall, the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City brought down a building with a few hundred pounds of the stuff. 2300 tons? Well, a fire broke out and the whole ship exploded. Some 581 were killed. Other ships in the harbor were lifted out of the water. At that time, chemical plants were connected with pipelines. They all exploded. The harbor caught fire. The ships anchor was found two miles away. The blast caused the Richter scales to suggest a small earthquake. A 500 home community was flattened. A ship was sent across the harbor and grounded. The crew scrambled away not knowing that there was fire. That ship exploded the next day. The fires burned for a week. Texas City no longer handles ammonium nitrate.

Another Famous Birthday Boy

A third mistake on this date in 1962? I should think not! Robert and Langston Symon became the proud parents of Robert Bruce Symon, Jr. The young lad had trouble getting his lungs to expand and there were fears he would die. But, after heartfelt prayer from the struggling youngster’s grandmother, the lungs got filled and they’ve been bellowing ever since. While he went on to marry Snow White, he has become like his favorite of the 7 dwarfs, Dopey. And his colleagues couldn’t agree more.  Oh yes…perhaps of equal significance…Pope Benedict XVI was born on this date in 1927…the same year as Robert B. Symon, Sr.

BTW…I bet the fine citizens of Louisville don’t know that April 16, 2002 was designated as Bob Symon Day and the aforementioned received a key to the city. That’s what I call a fine use of municipal resources!

Weather Bottom Line: We’re finally going to get out of the muck on Thursday and temperatures will respond in kind with highs in the low to mid 60’s.  Plenty of sunshine on Friday and low 70’s.  Saturday is Thunder Over Louisville and right now I see no indication of much data to support a notion of rain.  The GFS socks us in with clouds about 3am on Sunday.  The ETA puts a 15,000 foot cloud deck on about 8 pm but neither advertises rain until Sunday and Monday.  There may be some thunderstorms then but there is nothing that really jumps out at me from the vertical profiles prog that would suggest anything overly threatening.  I suspect that the rain chances we see late on Saturday or even Saturday afternoon showing up on various sources is more from a conventional wisdeom looksee based on looking at maps or for some perhaps a CYA.  But again, I see nothing from the vertical profile progs that lead me to believe it won’t be anything but a fine day for an airshow and a nice night for fireworks.

alphainventions

http://alphainventions.com/

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) is a psychoactive drug which brings about weird changes in our perception.

Before the drug was banned in the late 1960s in view of potential risks in taking it, a lot of research had been done in clinical settings. Many users also published reports of their experiences. Although the effects of LSD vary depending upon the dosage, the mood of the user and the setting, certain common trends have been observed.

Enhanced visual perception

The first prominent effect of the drug is an enhanced sensitivity of our perceptual faculties:

Random details of my surroundings suddenly stood out strongly, and somehow appeared to be ‘meaningful.‘ -Dr. Rudolf Gelpke.

Strange shapes and patterns are seen even when the eyes are closed. When its discoverer, Albert Hoffman, first became intoxicated with it, he reported seeing fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors with his eyes closed. Ordinary objects and surfaces seem to ripple as if breathing.

moire patterns are enhanced under LSD

Depersonalizations

Often, intense depersonalization is experienced in this early stage. A user realized that “she was unable to distinguish her body from the chair she was sitting on or from her lover’s body.” (Frosch, Robbins, & Stern, 1965). According to Dr. Gelpke, my own hands somehow were in my way: I put them in my pockets, let them dangle, entwined them behind my back . . . as some burdensome objects, which must be dragged around with us and which no one knows quite how to stow away.

Distorted sense of time

Time seems to be stretching, repeating itself, changing speed or stopping (wikipedia).

It felt like everything that was going to happen, everything that had just happened, and everything that was happening for about 3 seconds before and 3 seconds after where I was in time, was condensed into one moment. [http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=4048]

Synaesthesia

Colors are heard and voices are seen:

Here is the experience of a 25-year old advertising agent, related by John Cashman, taken from Hoffman’s book:

I think it was several minutes before I realized that the light was changing color kaleidoscopically with the different pitch of the musical sounds, bright reds and yellows in the high register, deep purple in the low. I laughed. I had no idea when it had started. I simply knew it had. I closed my eyes, but the colored notes were still there. I was overcome by the remarkable brilliance of the colors. I tried to talk, to explain what I was seeing, the vibrant and luminous colors. Somehow it didn’t seem important. With my eyes open, the radiant colors flooded the room, folding over on top of one another in rhythm with the music. Suddenly I was aware that the colors were the music. The discovery did not seem startling. Values, so cherished and guarded, were becoming unimportant.

Transcendental experiences

Finally, strange transcendence may be experienced involving ‘ego death’, sensation of ‘being born’ and ‘harmony with the universe’.

The 25-year old agent, quoted above, realizes the presence of a large, pulsating and luminous egg suspended in the room. Slowly the egg dissolves into a flower that, according to him, was like no flower I have ever seen. Its incredibly exquisite petals opened on the room, spraying indescribable colors in every direction. I felt the colors and heard them as they played across my body, cool and warm, reedlike and tinkling.

The petals of this flower are soon perceived as being eaten up by its own black, shiny center “that appeared to be formed by the backs of a thousand ants”. This is followed by the horrifying realization that the black thing was actually devouring me. I was the flower and this foreign, creeping thing was eating me!

Finally, I felt myself dissolving into the terrifying apparition, my body melting in waves into the core of blackness, my mind stripped of ego and life and, yes even death. In one great crystal instant I realized that I was immortal. I asked the question: “Am I dead?” But the question had no meaning. Meaning was meaningless. Suddenly there was white light and the shimmering beauty of unity. There was light everywhere, white light with a clarity beyond description. I was dead and I was born and the exultation was pure and holy. My lungs were bursting with the joyful song of being. There was unity and life and the exquisite love that filled my being was unbounded. My awareness was acute and complete.

Bad trips

Psychedelic Art by Erik Parker

In a bad trip, the experiences can be terrorizing. This is hell, I thought. There is indeed no Devil and no demons, and yet they were perceptible in us, filled up the room, and tormented us with unimaginable terror. Imagination, or not? Hallucinations, projections? – insignificant questions when confronted with the reality of fear that was fixed in our bodies and shook us: the fear alone, it existed. - The experiences of a painter.

Meaningfulness

Heavenly or hellish, the experiences are intensely meaningful for most users. The above-mentioned painter realizes: I realized that in the horror of the passing night I had experienced my own individual condition: selfishness. My egotism had kept me separated from mankind and had led me to inner isolation… Therefore everything had seemed strange and unconnected to me, so scornful and threatening.

According to Dr. Hoffman: “Such a variety and contradiction of reactions to a drug is found only in LSD and the related hallucinogens. The explanation for this lies in the complexity and variability of the conscious and subconscious minds of people, which LSD is able to penetrate and to bring to life as experienced reality.“

How does LSD bring about such changes?

LSD primarily affects by interfering with the normal activity of a chemical called serotonin in those areas of the brain concerned with transmission of visual information. Ordinarily when serotonin-containing neurons are activated, they release serotonin, whose action helps the brain to filter incoming sensory messages. Without the action of serotonin, the brain would be flooded by perceptual and emotional input-particularly visual input-and people would experience more sensations, see more details, distort visual images and even see things not actually there. (Comer, 1995).

Notes:

Here are the two text references mentioned in this post.

1. Frosch, W. A., Robbins, E. S., & Stern, M. (1965). Untoward reactions to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) resulting in hospitalization. New England Journal Medicine, 273, 1235-1239.

2. Comer, R. J. (1995). Abnormal Psychology, 2nd ed. New York: Freeman and Co. p. 461.

3. The explanation of LSD’s effects in Comer is referenced to Jacobs, B. L. (Ed.). (1984). Hallucinogens: neurochemical, behavioral, and clinical perspectives. New York: Springer.

I know that’s some kind of awful of an excuse for an interesting title, but you’ll have to excuse me for that bit of informality, as I’m more or less far too excited to post properly, as is evident by this neverending run-on sentence.

The source of this excitement is the Gene Wilder party, which, after many cancellations and non-cancellations, will be tonight! 

There was a bit of a scare earlier, when our computer became overloaded and stopped working.  I was sure I would fail BEDA, not even a third of the way through it, and was very disappointed in myself, even thought it wouldn’t have been my fault.

So, before I jinx it all– I read.  All day so far.  Actually, I did begin to watch more of Clean Slate, but after less than two minutes I stopped and came in here to write this.  What did I read?  More Augusten Burroughs, of course, in the form of the entirety of Possible Side Effects.  In the way that Wolf at the Table was more about Augusten’s father, this was more about his mother.  I can’t decide which I like better, though I definitely laughed out loud more while reading Possible Side Effects.  It was generally more lighthearted, anyway.

Besides reading, really all I did was a teensy bit of knitting, attempting to make a very long scarf but stopping and frogging it before it became so.

Now, since I have exhausted my list of topics (what I did today) with not even three hundred words under my belt, I am going to tell a story, a story from when I was young, if I can think of one…

For a short time, maybe months or maybe a year or two at the most, I shared a bedroom with my older brother, Jake.  We had bunkbeds.  He was on the bottom bunk, and I was on the top bunk.  Every so often, we would play a game before going to sleep, each of us in our respective locations, which involved throwing a stuffed animal up into my bed, then back down into his, and so on, in a circular motion.  It sounds so simple, nowadays, but back then I loved it so much.  Another game we played before bed, somewhat similar, was where Jake would try and pull my sheets down into his bunk, with me trying to roll up in them so he couldn’t.

When it came time for Jake to move upstairs into the newly remodeled attic, and time for my sister, Clara, to move into the room with me, I took my new position in the bottom bunk and she my old position in the top bunk.  Unfortunately, from then on bedtime was not nearly as fun.  Although, I did notice that there were an awful lot of stuffed animals between the bed and the wall.  Hmm…

Hey, did you know that there are 44,100,100 links that come up when one googles ‘twenty-five?’

Also, it is quite interesting to search your birthdate on Wikipedia.  On my birthday, in 1980, Alfred Hitchcock died.  So did Albert Hoffman, in 2008, the first known person to synthesize and ingest LSD.

Oh, joy of joys.

Well, I now need to shower and pack for the party, so I bid you farewell.  I’ll have lots to talk about tomorrow, once the party has ended and I am tired but full of new memories.

Question Eight:  What is a memory you have from a party you once went to?

Viaggi acidi: intervista ad Albert Hofmann 

Burg (Basilea). Zero virgola cinque milligrammi di acido lisergico in soluzione. Tre gocce, un sorso. Si siede e aspetta. Il sole entra nella stanza bianca del suo laboratorio di ricerche farmacologiche, secondo piano della Sandoz, Basilea. Sono le due del pomeriggio di un giorno speciale, il 19 aprile 1943: il chimico Albert Hofmann, 37 anni, da cinque impegnato in esperimenti sugli alcaloidi contenuti nella segale cornuta, ha appena ingerito la prima dose di LSD della Storia.

Aspetta, e ancora non sa di avere appena socchiuso quella che Aldous Huxley, un decennio più tardi, avrebbe chiamato «la porta della percezione». Ancora non sa che quella soluzione incolore – dietilamide dell’acido lisergico ottenuta per caso, provata per curiosità – vent’anni dopo avrebbe fatto il giro dei mondi possibili, conquistato ragazzi californiani, musicisti anglosassoni, scrittori europei, sognatori viaggianti. Avrebbe creato ostinati cercatori di sé e grandi parole come Rivoluzione Psichedelica. Avrebbe generato lampeggianti terrori, rivelazioni solitarie, decadenze floreali, paranoie, infelicità, amori, illuminazioni, nuovi sguardi sul mondo, nuovi mondi.

«No, non sapevo niente di tutto questo. Non potevo immaginare. Ero solo un giovane chimico seduto sulla propria sedia, nel proprio laboratorio, dentro al confortevole mondo delle formule, in attesa di qualcosa.»

Oggi Albert Hofmann ha i capelli bianchi, voce rauca, accento spigoloso da svizzero tedesco, sorrisi improvvisi. Ha appena compiuto 86 anni, ha provato ogni tipo di allucinogeno chimico, ha fumato l’oppio, ha masticato le piante magiche degli indiani d’America, i funghi sacri di Messico e Centroamerica. Da vent’anni è in pensione. Ha quattro figli, nove nipoti, una moglie. Cerca ancora una sintesi di quello che ha vissuto. E cercando, scrive, pensa, nuota, guida velocissimo, viaggia.

Hofmann abita (per dir così) in bilico su tre confini della vecchia Europa, in una villa solitaria tra le colline sopra Burg, cinquanta chilometri da Basilea, Svizzera, duecento metri dal confine con la Francia, quindici chilometri da quello con la Germania. Dalle sue finestre vede l’Alsazia e i Vosgi. Ma i suoi occhi azzurri guardano molto più in là, sono affacciati su quel pomeriggio del ‘43.

«Bevo e aspetto. Guardo fuori. Sale piano qualcosa di strano, un soffio, una vibrazione. Di colpo mi cambia il quadro ottico. Vedo per la prima volta: gli oggetti hanno colori abbaglianti. Sento per la prima volta: è come se ogni più piccolo rumore avesse trovato la strada segreta per arrivare fino a me, con precisione. È a quel punto che succede.»

Hofmann chiude gli occhi, rallenta il racconto, sceglie le parole.

«Improvvisamente ho paura. Sento che mi sto staccando. Si è creata una distanza tra me e il mio corpo. La paura diventa terrore. Mi alzo, ho una sola idea: voglio andare a casa. Salgo sulla bicicletta e tutto quello che vedo intorno è diverso. Ho la precisa sensazione di essere immobile. Sto pedalando sempre più veloce, lo spazio intorno a me si allarga, mi inghiotte. Non ho vie di scampo, non riesco a muovermi. I rumori intorno diventano colori, lampi di blu, strisce di rosso.

Non so come, mi ritrovo a casa, da solo. Sono seduto sulla poltrona, gli oggetti sono animati, si muovono, il mondo è completamente diverso eppure io penso: è così che deve essere. Penso: sono pazzo, voglio tornare indietro. Panico, panico. Lontano da me, molto lontano, nel mondo delle cose, vedo comparire il mio assistente, poi mia moglie. Sento parole, c’è un medico. Sono nel mio letto. Sento che dentro di me si sta fermando il cuore, si sta fermando il tempo. Sto morendo e nessuno se ne accorge. Il cuore è fermo. Dico al medico che ha la faccia sfigurata: “Sto morendo”. Ma lui mi sta misurando la pressione, mi ascolta il battito, dice: “È tutto perfetto, non si preoccupi”.

D’improvviso la paura rallenta. Sono nel mio letto, non mi può succedere niente di terribile. Ecco, piano piano, cado nel torpore. I pensieri rallentano, smetto di reagire. Il tempo ricomincia a fluire, è notte fonda, ho sonno. Dormo benissimo e alla mattina, quando mi sveglio, provo una sensazione bellissima. Intorno a me è tutto nuovo, tutto fresco, tutto piacevole. Mi guardo intorno e ho la netta sensazione di essere in un mondo nuovo.»

Gli occhi azzurri di Hofmann tornano a concentrarsi sul presente. Fa impressione ascoltare il racconto di un trip – di un viaggio lisergico – da un piccolo vecchio in giacca, cravatta e ottime maniere che ora si alza, dice «Venga», attraversa il grande salone della villa, supera il pianoforte a coda, le vetrine con statuette azteche, la porta a vetri da cui si intravede l’azzurro della piscina coperta, il verde delle piante, e approda nel suo studio, due pareti di vetri, il resto libri.

Questa intervista con Albert Hofmann è nata in un pomeriggio del gennaio 1992 nella sua villa a Rittimatte, frazione di Burg, una cinquantina di chilometri da Basilea. Quattro ore di chiacchiere, molte tazze di caffè, una passeggiata tra gli alberi a fine giornata, quando la nebbia ha già cancellato il verde dell’Alsazia.

Hofmann vive circondato dal silenzio, è cordiale, ma non si lascia andare subito, ci mette un po’ a imboccare la discesa. È un chimico, sa che le cose vanno fatte poco alla volta. I suoi ricordi sono precisi. Quando parla di esperienze con le sostanze allucinogene, torna a immedesimarsi, come se ogni particolare, ogni sensazione, lo abbia scavato una volta per sempre. Sugli altri ricordi divaga. A volte si lascia conquistare dal silenzio. Gioca con la gatta. Allora chi gli sta di fronte ha il tempo di pensare a quello che è successo anche in Italia, molto indietro nel tempo, a certi concerti, certe feste nei parchi, nel bel mezzo di certi incontri. Di ricordare come quell’onda procedeva, piena di chiacchiere, musica, scoperte, nomi di ragazze, nomi di amici, facce, storie, appartamenti, libri, strade. Di come è stata sfiorata quella generazione che si è messa in viaggio pensando di essere la prima. Di quello che è rimasto. Di quanto tempo è passato.

La gatta salta, Hofmann tossisce. Riprende a parlare. Il suo inglese è indurito dal tedesco e camuffato dall’accento svizzero. Capisce appena l’italiano. Pronunciarne qualche parola lo rende visibilmente felice, ma l’effetto è del tutto incomprensibile. Ci sono un mucchio di domande da fare. Ci sono un mucchio di risposte da annotare. Questa intervista sarebbe stata impossibile senza l’ottimo tedesco (e curiosità e pazienza) di Marco Zapparoli, che ringrazio (Pino Corrias).

Viaggi Acidi: Intervista ad Albert Hofmann di Pino Corrias

musica : grateful dead

El 30 de abril de 2008 dejó esta tierra a los 102 años el descubridor de la dietilamida de ácido lisérgico, que se popularizó como LSD, es buen momento para reevaluar lo que la política y la ciencia conservadoras prohibieron durante décadas, desde los años sesenta, porque hoy vuelve a ser de interés para médicos y psiquiatras.

Transcribo la nota de obituario de la muerte de Albert Hoffman publicada en el periódico Milenio, y un artículo que se tradujo hace años, escrita por otro cerebro químico, Aleander Shulgin, el padre de las llamadas metanfetaminas, mejor conocidas como éxtasis o “tachas”.

Nota publicada en el diario Milenio (fragmento) del 30 de abril

El gobierno suizo aprobó hace dos años un estudio piloto para investigar los efectos de la droga en pacientes muy enfermos. El objetivo es establecer si el LSD puede tener un efecto positivo para la psicoterapia. También si es posible tomar la droga sin riesgos.

Basilea.- El descubridor del alucinógeno LSD, Albert Hofmann, murió a los 102 años, confirmó a dpa una portavoz de la comunidad de Burg im Leimental, cerca de Basilea, donde vivía el investigador retirado. Hofmann trabajaba en la empresa farmacéutica Sandoz tras estudiar química y en 1943 se topó por accidente con las propiedades alucinógenas del LSD (dietilamida de ácido lisérgico), sustancia que había descubierto cinco años antes.

El LSD, prohibido en los años 60, es hoy interesante de nuevo para los médicos y psiquiatras.

El gobierno suizo aprobó hace dos años un estudio piloto para investigar los efectos de la droga en pacientes muy enfermos. El objetivo es establecer si el LSD puede tener un efecto positivo para la psicoterapia. También si es posible tomar la droga sin riesgos.

Antes de la prohibición mundial del LSD se hicieron muchos estudios, el primero en Suiza en 1947. Investigadores de todo el mundo hicieron además un llamamiento cuando Hofmann cumplió 100 años para que haya un análisis sin prejuicios del LSD y sustancias emparentadas.

El LSD es uno de los alucinógenos conocidos más poderosos. Incluso en dosis de un millonésimo de gramo tiene efectos que duran entre ocho y 12 horas.

El LSD se presenta en píldoras, papel secante o gelatina. Se produce en laboratorios ilegales, entre otros en Holanda y Europa del Este. En la naturaleza aparece como parte de un hongo que crece como parásito en los cereales (cornezuelo del centeno).

Los psicofármacos de diseño: presente y futuro

Por Alexander T. Shulguin traducción: zewx

Cada nuevo compuesto producido por el químico es un vislumbre en el universo de lo inaudito. En el momento previo a su concepción nos e podría encontrar ningún indicio de él en parte alguna del universo. Todo lo que es creado por primera vez en mi laboratorio es al mismo tiempo nuevo en el Universo, y por eso nadie puede decirme cuáles van a ser sus propiedades. Hay emoción en la creación de cosas nuevas. Hay millones y millones de compuestos conocidos ya descritos en la literatura científica y que constituyen nuestro legado químico. El último siglo es más el siglo de la creación que el del descubrimiento de nuevos compuestos.

¿Cuál es el motivo para diseñar nuevas sustancias químicas? Hay tres que, a mi entender, son obvios: sustraerse a las leyes sobre fármacos, sustraerse a las demandas de patentes y el desarrollo de herramientas de investigación. Y cada uno de estos motivos muestra al investigador, al científico y al inventor en un papel distinto y bien definido.

El esfuerzo por eludir la letra de la ley ha dado la expresión “fármaco de diseño”. En Estados Unidos se usa sólo en sentido negativo, y el ciudadano medio la asocia inmediatamente a una finalidad negativa. Del químico que participa en su fabricación se sospecha que intenta eludir las disposiciones legales existentes sobre fármacos. Se da por sentado que está implicado en algún comportamiento inaceptable, y las autoridades intentan frenar su actividad y castigarlo. Los propios fármacos se consideran negativos, concebidos con el único fin de atraer al drogadicto, al marginado asocial, a la escoria de la sociedad.

La segunda razón para diseñar nuevas sustancias químicas es diametralmente opuesta. Es un canto a todos los atributos aceptables de nuestra filosofía occidental capitalista. La justificación sería la siguiente: nuestros competidores ganan una fortuna con la venta de uno de los productos más solicitados del año. Para una compañía farmacéutica, puede tratarse de un antidepresivo; para una empresa agrícola, de un pesticida especialmente eficaz y selectivo; para una compañía de tabaco, de un adictivo que hace que fumar sea más agradable o menos dañino. Por supuesto, cada uno de estos productos estará protegido por una patente blindada. El modo de romper este monopolio es encargarle al químico que se meta en el laboratorio y diseñe una molécula nueva que esquive la letra de la ley que protege la patente. La sociedad responde a este modo de sortear la legislación de forma completamente positiva. Este comportamiento será elogiado siempre por entender que es de absoluta integridad. ¿Y qué ocurre con los propios fármacos? Se aceptarán sin problema y serán considerados de gran valor social, puesto que contribuyen a mejorar la calidad de vida.

Sin embargo, no hay que olvidar que, aunque las razones que justifican estas dos filosofías tan dispares como el diseño de fármacos sean diametralmente opuestas, los fines son los mismos. El motivo es esquivar la ley. Y ganar dinero con ello. La única diferencia consiste en la aprobación o la desaprobación social. En ambos casos los procedimientos son idénticos.

La tercera razón para diseñar nuevos fármacos contiene elementos de los dos ejemplos anteriores: la modificación de cosas conocidas para hacer otras desconocidas, pero además tiene un propósito particular: el diseño de instrumentos de investigación. En este caso, pueden crearse sustancias químicas para el uso de los investigadores. Y una de las áreas más atractivas que quedan por explorar que ha cautivado la imaginación de muchos científicos, es el estudio de la mente humana.

Las herramientas a las que me refiero podrían responder a preguntas sobre todo un conjunto de capacidades específicamente humanas: el pensamiento lógico, la autoestima (o su ausencia), la motivación (o su ausencia), la alegría, la euforia, la desesperación o la esquizofrenia. Algunos de estos inventos pueden hacer que una molécula actúe de manera similar a una droga ilegal, con lo que las autoridades considerarán que viola las leyes vigentes. Otros pueden producir productos terapéuticos de gran provecho comercial, y entonces la sociedad intentará recompensar a su creador. Sin embargo, estos fármacos diseñados para explorar la mente, no actuarán como las drogas ni serán comercialmente explotables. Serán sencillamente eso: herramientas de investigación, interesantes sólo en el hombre.

Y éste es mi trabajo, en esta tercera área de diseño de fármacos; un trabajo que he descubierto que es increíblemente atractivo. Me gustaría describir una pequeña parte de este peculiar mundo de herramientas. El diseñador de una nueva herramienta, un nuevo compuesto, un posible fármaco, se parece mucho a un artista. Tiene un lienzo en blanco ante sí. Tiene una paleta con pinturas, toda la serie de sustancias químicas, solventes, catalizadores y reactivos. En sus manos están la técnica y el talento para crear. En el caso del artista, se trata de pintar; en el del químico, de sintetizar. Y siempre se tiene una imagen intuitiva del cuadro final. Hay un objetivo. Quisiera ilustrar todo esto con un ejemplo.

Se trata de un fármaco de investigación llamado N,N-diiso-propil-triptamina, o DIPT. En cuanto a las consideraciones de diseño iniciales, tenía una idea bastante clara de lo que quería crear. He producido mis creaciones más satisfactorias usando uno de estos tipos de lienzos: el núcleo de la fenetilamina o el de la triptamina. En esa ocasión, sabía que tenía que utilizar la triptamina, pero, ¿cómo embellecerla? La experiencia me había enseñado que rellenando mucho el nitrógeno básico conseguía un compuesto con actividad oral. ¿Debía colocar un grupo en el anillo aromático? No. Nada de complicaciones. Mejor un producto simple, y podría ser un producto simple e instructivo. Debo pedir perdón por mezclar las metáforas del artista y el del químico, pero muchos de los conceptos de la creación de una pintura o de un compuesto son idénticos.

Sigamos con la imagen mental. ¿Qué tipo de vegetación química pongo en la parte derecha del lienzo, sobre el nitrógeno básico? ¿Qué tal un par de grupos de isopropil? Nunca se ha usado en este caso concreto y tienen una atractiva y entrelazada naturaleza tridimensional. Una hermosa forma de dar volumen. En cuanto al concepto, el diseño, está perfilado, y es el momento de poner el óleo en el lienzo. Esta etapa del proceso puede ser difícil o sencilla, pero siempre promete ser instructiva.

Y puede llegar a ser especialmente instructiva si todo va mal.

Despues de la desesperante situacion de mantenerme al dia con los blogs de audio, ahora les dejo esta nota q me parecio muy interesante y q lei hace tiempo en una revista gratuita local muuuuuuy chida (“La rocka”) acerca de esta droga, q, aunque estoy en contra de las adicciones, me parecio relevante postearles esto. Asi q aki les dejo 30 datos acerca de esta droga en la historia, el cine, la literatura y la musica. Los creditos estan al inicio de la nota.

A sus 102 años, Albert Hoffman murió de un infarto el

29 de abril de este año. Tuvo solamente un hijo, uno

que él mismo llamó muy ‘problemático’: la droga que

conocemos como LSD, el ácido lisérgico.

Por Issa Villareal

1. Todo empezó por error

El LSD es una droga creada accidentalmente

por Albert Hoffman en 1938, en una

farmacéutica de Suiza llamada Sandoz de

Basilea. Lo que investigaba eran derivados

químicos de un hongo que crecía en hierbas

como el centeno. En su libro LSD: My

Problem Child, Hoffman habla de su investigación

y experiencias con la droga.

2. El suero de la verdad

MK-ULTRA fue un proyecto de la CI A en

Estados Unidos de interrogación con químicos

y manipulación mental. En los años

50 y 60 torturó con drogas a pacientes de

hospitales psiquiátricos con LSD en grandes

cantidades durante semanas.

3. Un largo recorrido

A diferencia de la marihuana y la cocaína,

los efectos del LSD son sustancialmente

largos: pueden durar más de 12 horas, con

un clímax de más de 3 horas.

4. Una imagen ácida

En el filme musical Across the universe

(2007) los protagonistas viajan en un autobús

con Dr. Robert (interpretado por Bono,

vocalista de U2), mientras experimentan

con LSD. Es una alusión a las fiestas psicodélicas

del escritor Ken Kesey y sus amigos.

5. En el nombre del viaje

La larga duración de los efectos del LSD y

su desconexión con la realidad le ha valido

el nombre de “viaje” a cada vez que alguien

consume la droga.

6. El día de la bicicleta

(Bicycle day)

El 19 de abril se celebra el primer viaje

“a propósito”: en 1943 Hoffman ingirió una

dosis considerable de LSD para probar sus

efectos y salió a pasear en bicicleta. Durante

el camino empezó a alucinar y a ver a su

alrededor distorsionado, derretido, como

un sueño.

7. Una musa ácida

Brian Wilson, líder de la legendaria

banda The Beach Boys, compuso “California

girls” en su primer viaje de LSD. La canción

viene en el disco Summer days (And summer

nights!!) de 1965.

8. Un viaje hacia abajo.

El consumo del LSD en la última década ha

disminuido. De acuerdo con la Encuesta nacional

de salud y uso de drogas (NSDUH por sus

siglas en inglés) de Estados Unidos, son más

usados entre jóvenes adultos la marihuana, la

cocaína y las drogas psicoterapéuticas.

9. En el cuerpo

El LSD se conoce como “ácido”, “papel”,

“punto” o “gota”. Sus efectos son alucinaciones

potentes, mayor atención a detalles,

sensación de espiritualidad y de energía.

También produce mareo, ansiedad, escalofríos

y cambios de humor drásticos.

10. De probador a creador

A Ken Kesey, autor de la novela One

Flew over the cuckoo’s nest, le tocó ser

conejillo de indias del ácido lisérgico para el

proyecto MK-ULTRA. Dice que al protagonista

de su novela lo vio en uno de sus viajes.

11. De colores

Cada papel o pastilla de LSD tiene patrones

y diseños que suelen asociarse con diversas

“marcas” de la droga. Las pastillas pueden

venir en figuras como estrellas y flores.

12. De la boca de Albert

Hoff man

“Los alucinógenos nos llevan a otro

mundo, a un tipo de mundo de sueño

que sin embargo se experimenta como

totalmente real, e inclusivo más intenso,

y en consecuencia de algún modo más

real que el mundo ordinario de la realidad

cotidiana”.

13. El momento periodístico

“The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” es un

texto del periodista Tom Wolfe donde describe

un viaje ácido por autobús con el

escritor Ken Kesey y su círculo de amigos

–entre ellos, The Grateful Dead– en sus

llamadas “pruebas de ácido” (“acid tests”).

14. Por la boca de los demás

El LSD se ingiere oralmente, a través

de papeles o pastillas. Según Erowid.org,

cada una tiene una dosis de entre 50 y 150

microgramos. Existen dosis más grandes,

las llamadas micropuntos, cuyos efectos

son aún más intensos y duraderos.

15. La primera vez

Una de las entrevistas más famosas a

John Lennon es la que le hizo Jann Wenner

para la revista Rolling Stone en 1970. En ella

el Beatle habla de su primer viaje en LSD y

de su uso de heroína. La puedes escuchar en

línea en la página de la revista: http://www.

rollingstone.com/news/story/16313366/

john_lennon_the_rolling_stone_interview

16. Distribución rockera

El encargado de sonido de The Grateful

Dead, Owsley Stanley, fue uno de los distribuidores

masivos de LSD en California y

fue encarcelado al menos una vez durante

los años 70 por ello. Él es el responsable del

“Wall of sound”, el sistema de sonido de alta

calidad que usaban los Dead en sus giras.

17. Hollywood, siempre al

frente

La película El viaje (1967) trata de un

joven que experimenta con LSD después

de que su esposa lo dejó. Es actuada por

Peter Fonda y Dennis Hopper, y fue uno

de los pocos filmes escritos por el actor

Jack Nicholson.

18. Dulce ácido

El LSD apareció en las calles de Estados

Unidos en 1963, con dosis colocadas en

terrones de azúcar.

19. Las palabras y las cosas

Michel Foucault, filósofo e historiador

francés, probó el LSD en 1975 en el Valle de

la Muerte, Estados Unidos. “Con lo único

que podría comprar esta experiencia en

mi vida es con el sexo con un desconocido”,

afirmó al respecto.

20. Aquello de los Beatles

Comúnmente se dice que “Lucy in

the sky with diamonds” era una canción

dedicada al LSD, por las iniciales en el

nombre de la canción. Sin embargo, en

varias entrevistas los Beatles aclararon

que estaba inspirada en un dibujo de

Julian, hijo de John Lennon. En cambio,

“Tomorrow never knows” (de Revolver,

1966) sí está adaptada e inspirada en un

libro de Timothy Leary llamado La experiencia

psicodélica.

21. Viaje indomable

La próxima película de Gus Van Sant,

director de Mente indomable (1997),

hará una adaptación de “The Electric

Kool-Aid Acid Test”, el texto periodístico

de Tom Wolfe, a estrenar en el 2009.

22. La bandera del rock

Bandas que tenían una relación

estrecha entre el ácido lisérgico y la

música: The Beach Boys, The Beatles,

Pink Floyd, The 13th Floor Elevators,

The Grateful Dead y The Butthole

Surfers.

23. Documentación

Aldous Houxley, autor de El

mundo feliz (1932) y Las puertas

de la percepción (1954), fue otro

de los escritores que experimentaron

con las drogas alucinógenas. No nada

más escribió acerca de ello, sino que

ya enfermo y encamado, pidió por

escrito que lo inyectaran con LSD para

morir.

24. El infierno en la

mente

Daniel Johnston, el cantautor residente

de Austin, Texas, que sufre de

bipolaridad, probó el LSD por primera

vez en un concierto de los Butthole

Surfers en los años 80. Según el documental

“The Devil & Daniel Johnston”,

vio al Diablo y se volvió una figura

recurrente en sus alucinaciones y en

sus canciones.

25. Una religión

Timothy Leary fue promotor

del misticismo y la espiritualidad a

través de las drogas psicodélicas.

Según cuenta el historiador Richard

Davenport-Hine, su organización, la

Liga del Descubrimiento Espiritual

(LSD, por sus siglas en inglés), tenía al

“LSD como sacramento”.

26. Ps icodelia y rock

El psiquiatra de Inglaterra Humphrey

Osmond fue quien creó la palabra

“psicodélico” en 1956 en relación a

la estimulación de la mente. 10 años

después fue acuñado el término “rock

psicodélico” por el líder de la banda

13th Floor Elevators, Roky Erickson,

durante una entrevista.

27. Malviaje masivo

Cerca de 10 mil personas fueron

atendidas en una clínica gratuita

del distrito Haight-Ashbury en San

Francisco, California, entre julio y septiembre

de 1967. ¿El motivo? Los “malviajes”

y el abuso del LSD luego de

la popularización de la droga en festivales

psicodélicos como el “Human

Be-In”.

28. ¿Hoy en día?

3.4 por ciento de los alumnos de

tercero de secundaria en Estados

Unidos han probado el LSD alguna vez

en su vida, según cifras del 2006 de la

encuesta Monitoring the future.

29. Más allá

Syd Barrett, uno de los fundadores

de Pink Floyd, fue otro de los rockeros

conocidos por su uso constante de

LSD, que muchos relacionan con el

crecimiento de su locura.

30. ¿Letras en México?

Margarita Dalton, alguna vez esposa

del escritor José Agustín, publicó

Larga Sinfonía en D (1968, editorial

Diógenes), una novela que habla del

viaje en LSD de tres chicos mientras

escuchan Revolver de los Beatles.

A Review

Slum Goddess From The Lower East Side

Some Thoughts On The Autobiography Of Suze Rotolo:

A Freewheelin’ Time

by

R.E. Prindle

1.

Sandoz The Great

Hofman Holding LSD Model

     In 1938 Albert Hofman, a Swiss chemist working for Sandoz isolated LSD-25.  In 1938 young Tim Leary was 18 years old.  It was in 1943 that Albert Hofman discovered the effects of LSD.  Seventeen years after that LSD burt onto the world through the agency of the now, Dr., Timothy Leary, a psychologist with Harvard University.

     LSD was adopted by the Bohemian society and all its offshoots as the appearance of the new chemical Messiah:  Better living through chemistry as the slogan was.  Its use quickly spread through the folk music community of Greenwich Village in New York City.

Timothy Leary Is Dead

     In 1923 a fellow by the name of Tuli Kupferberg was born and his partner Ed Sanders came along in 1939 a year after I did.  Kupferberg and Sanders were poets who became influenced by the folk scene forming a band sometime in 1964 originally called the Village Fugs, later the Village was dropped and they became simply the Fugs.  In 1965 they released their first LP on Folkways.  Now, cut one, side one was little number entitled Slum Goddess From The Lower East Side.  Sort of OK as a song, funny, as were a lot of Fugs songs.  Like Dylan they searched for social significance rather than write trite love songs.  Unlike Dylan you could easily understand the meaning of the lyrics.  Slum Goddess was one and then there was a song that many of us thought significant in the social sense back in those days entitled:  Boobs A Lot.  ‘Do you like boobs a lot?  Gotta like boobs a lot.’  As I said deep and intense meaning.  This was followed by a song eulogizing jock straps.  ‘Do you wear your jock strap?  Gotta wear your jock strap.’  So the Fugs were with it.

     At some point after 1965 the Village Voice decided to run a feature depicting some East Village lovely as the Slum Goddess From The Lower East Side.  Suze Rotolo had the dubious honor of being selected as the very first Slum Goddess.

     To what did she owe this honor?  Well, she was famous on the Lower East Side for being featured on the album cover of Bob Dylan’s second LP, The Free Wheelin’ Bob Dylan.  She was at that time, 1962, I believe, Bob’s girl friend or, at least, one of them, perhaps the principle one but one can’t be sure as Bob had others as ‘part time’ girl friends.

     Thus one has to go back to the summer of 1961 to discover how Suze Rotolo began her odyssey to become the very first Slum Goddess.  Suze tells her story in her autobiography issued in May of 2008 called A Freewheelin’ Time.  It is a bitter sweet story not lacking in charm.  Bob was born in 1941 while Suze was born three years later.  All the disparate elements in our story born at separate times were slowly moving to a central focal point in New York City from 1961 to 1965 or so.

     Suze and Bob were of that age when freewheelin’ seemed possible while the psychological social moment was about to congeal and then vanish before it could be realized as psychological moments do.  Some catch the golden ring as it come around, some don’t.  Bob did, Suze didn’t.

     Suze was born in Queens, over there on Long Island, as a red diaper baby.  In other words in the romanticized Communist parlance her parents were Communists when she was born.  She was brought up in the faith.

     Bob described her as a libertine dream or some such epithet.  I’m not sure Suze saw herself in the same way.  I think she expected a little more of Bob than to be his sex toy.  As a Communist she should have had a more freewheelin’ attitude.

     Suze seems to have been brought up completely within the Red religion much as a Christian might be a Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran or as Jew in whatever stripe of Judaism it might be.

     She edged into race agitation at a young age.  She met Bob when she was seventeen while she had been working for CORE  (Congress Of Racial Equality) for  a couple years before that.  She would have been fifteen or sixteen.  Whether she had sexual experiences with the Africans she doesn’t tell us.  In her search for a raison d’ etre for her life she found herself in Greenwich Village in the Summer of ‘61 where she met the twenty year old Bob Dylan just in from the Iron Range of Minnesota.  They were mutually attracted, quickly forming a sexual relationship.

     Bob as everyone knows was and is Jewish.  He came not only from a Jewish background but from an orthodox background.  Hibbing, Minnesota, his hometown, had a Jewish population of about three hundred families with their own Jewish establishment and synagogue.

     According to Beattie Zimmerman, Bob’s mother, Bob was a good boy who attended services regularly while investigating the nature of the various Christian churches.  As a mother Beattie’s version of things must be interpreted through the eyes of mother love.

     Father Abe was not only a practising Jew but the President of the Hibbing chapter of B’nai B’rith and its terrorist arm the Anti-Defamation League.  In addition Beattie, Bob’s mother, was the President of the Women’s auxiliary, Hadassah.  So Bob isn’t just Jewish but comes from a very committed Jewish background.

     As the President of the Hibbing chapter, Father Abe would have attended statewide gatherings in Minneapolis, regional meetings wherever they were held and possibly if not probably national meetings in NYC and elsewhere.  Now, within the international Jewish organizations heavy hitters attend various levels of meetings where they meet and learn something of the various local and regional people.  Thus, it may be assumed that Abe Zimmerman as a name at least was known on the national Jewish level.  Kind of the Jewish Who’s Who, you know.  Bob says that he had contacts to help him when he got to New York.  Those contacts would have come through Father Abe while being part of B’nai B’rith and ADL.  Bob wasn’t entirely alone out there.

     Bob’s Jewish name is Sabtai after the last acknowledged Jewish Messiah, Sabbatai Zevi.  There have been many that filled a Messianic role since Zevi not least of which was Sigmund Freud and possibly Albert Einstein.  Bob may have been encouraged to take the role for himself.

     At any rate when Bob approached thirteen and Bar Mitzvah time Abe brought in a special Rabbi from Brooklyn to instruct Bob.  Now this is really signficant.  He was probably a Lubavitcher or ultra-orthodox Jew.  When Bob publicly expressed his Judaism after his Christian stint he chose to do so as a Lubavitcher.  Very likely that was no coincidence.  Having received his crash course in orthodoz Judaism Father Abe next sent his son to a Zionist summer camp for ’several ‘ weeks for each of four successive summers ending at the age of seventeen.  This would have the effect of introducing him to young Jews not only of the region but from around the world while at the same time estranging him from his fellow Hibbingites giving him his strange cast of character.

     Camp Herzl was named after the originator of Zionism, Theodore Herzl.  the camp with a spacious hundred and twenty acres is located on a lake near Webster, Wisconsin.  Herzl is not your basic summer church camp but a national and international gathering place where young Jews from around the US and the world can meet and get known to each other somewhat.

     The camp is conducted exclusively for Jews along Jewish lines eliminating as many goyish influences as is possible.  At least when he was seventeen Bob was playing the Wild One showing up in a mini biker cavalcade.  One may assume that many national and international Jewish figures made appearances over the four years to both instruct, encourage and look over the upcoming generation.

     The post-war years were very traumatic for the Jewish people.  The death camps of the Nazis dominated their minds.  They were psychologically devastated and unbalanced looking for Nazis under their beds before they went to sleep at night.  One may safely assume that Bob and his fellow campers had to watch extermination movies over and over lest they forget.

     The State of Israel was founded in 1948 while the first of Israel’s successful wars occurred in 1956.  The ‘56 war was a seminal event bolstering the spirits of the Jews turning them aggressive as they now believed they could fight.  After ‘56 they began to come out of themselves.

     For whatever reasons as Bob entered high school his personality began to disintegrate.  Perhaps he had to cease being Bobby Zimmerman to become what his people expected of him which was a probable religious leader who then became Bob Dylan.  As always Bob would combine two cultures, Jewish and Goyish.

     After an extremely rocky year in Minneapolis where Bob shed the remnants of his goody goody image of Hibbing he became the dirty unkempt Bob Dylan of his rush to fame of the Folk years.

     Thus as Bob and Suze met in the Summer of ‘61 they were both searching for something to be.

Part 2.

Why Do Fools Fall In Love?

Just We Two

     The question now that Suze and Bob have gotten together is to sort out the various accounts of what happened.  Bob says everyone has gotten it wrong.  However his own account in Chronicles I is no more factual than the accounts of his biographers and commentators.  Suze doesn’t provide us with much more clarity.  While Bob tells it like he wanted it to have been Suze on the the one hand protects her memory of what she wants to keep as a beautiful memory while glossing over her own actions at the time to keep it so.

     Bob goes through the romantic notion of constructing their bed with saw, hammer and nails.  This is a charming story and I’m embarrassed to say I took him at his word.  You simply can’t.  Chronicles came out four years ago so Suze has had plenty of time to read it and mull over Bob’s ruminations.  Thus she must be aware of Bob’s story of the bed.  She says it was an old bed the landlord left from another tenant.  Another beautiful tale of Bob’s down the tubes.

     Suze rather unflatteringly depicts Bob as a rouster and fairly heavy drinker.  She was offended that Bob, who was posing as Bob Dylan, not yet having officially changed his name, didn’t level with her and confide that Dylan was a pseudonym that looked better on a marquee while his real name was Zimmerman and that he came from Minnesota rather than being an orphan from New Mexico.  Coming home one night, as Suze tells it, Bob, stumblingly drunk, dropped his ID and she discovered the truth as she picked it up.  Even then she had to drag the truth out of Bob.

     These problems mounted up.  There was immediate hostility between Bob, Suze’s mother and her sister Carla.  The mother seems to have instinctively seen through Bob, while I’m sure Carla soon learned that Bob was doing her sister wrong.

      As we know from Chronicles Bob had other ‘part-time’ girl friends, pick ups and whatever.  As the folk crowd was a fairly tight knit group even if Suze didn’t want to hear the obvious Carla who was employed by the Folklorist, Alan Lomax, could hardly have been unaware that Bob had a laissez faire attitude toward romancing the girls.

     Indeed, Bob’s understanding of Suze was that she was his Libertine belle.  As a libertine therefore he could hardly have believed fidelity was a necessary condition.  I don’t know if Suze considered herself a Libertine but as a Communist both fidelity and jealousy were forbidden by the dogma so speaking consistently with the belief system neither mother, Suze nor Carla had grounds for complaint.   Nevertheless both mother and Carla wished to separate Bob and Suze.

     Bob records his side of the conflict in his song Ballad in Plain D.  In his usual high flown language Bob says in his song:

“The tragic figure!” her sister did shout,

“Leave her alone, goddamn you, get out.”

All is gone, all is gone, admit it, take flight.

I gagged twice, doubled, tears blinding my sight.

My mind it was mangled, I ran into the night

Leaving all of love’s ashes behind me.

     Within a few months he was married to Sara who he kept waiting in the wings.  Subsequently he tried to keep Sara and his growing family in Woodstock and the Slum Goddess Of The Lower East Side out on the side.  Suze, apparently not quite as Libertine as Bob supposed, declined the honor.

     Just as Bob blithely romanticizes his early NY years in some sappy Happy Talk that belies his songs and what nearly everyone has written about him so Suze adopts a near virginal girlish pose.  Her story of how she left for Italy and her true blue yearning for the perfect love of Bob who sent those charming letters purloined from old country songs is also belied by the various biographers.  To hear Suze talk she never looked at a boy in Italy and certainly never dated one let alone kissed or petted.  Yet by her religious Communist ideology that would have been no sin, even would have been a virtue.  In fact she did have an Italian boyfriend who was apparently dropped down the memory hole at autobiography time.

     When she did return the road of romance was much more rocky than she lets on.  Carla who stayed home where she could watch Bob was privy to his doings which were much more libertine than anything he accused Suze of.  He had to have slept with Liam Clancy’s live in somewhere in there.  He’s accused of being a womanizer and you can’t be a womanizer without a lot of women.  So whatever Carla knew it was somewhat more than an earful and I’m sure that between Carla and her mother Suze heard it all.

     Suze out of respect for this young love which, after all, must still occupy a sacred spot in her life never expresses but the mildest resentment of Bob but letting her sister speak for her she says that ’she (Carla) felt I was better off without the lyin’ cheatin’ manipulative bastard.’  Right on all counts I’m sure except for the last although as Bob claimed to have no parents Carla could justly so surmise.

     At any rate if Suze couldn’t make up her mind her mother and Carla could.

     Ballad In Plain D again:

Beneath a bare light bulb the plaster did pound

Her sister and I in a screaming battleground,

And she in between, the victim of sound,

Soon shattered the child ‘neath her shadows.

—–

The wind knocks my window, the room it is is wet.

The words to say I’m sorry, I haven’t found yet.

I think of her often and hope whoever she’s met

Will be fully aware of how precious she is.

     And then Bob married Sara and ruined her life.

     While Suze and Bob talked marriage there is no reason to take that seriously; he talked marriage with Echo too.  I don’t think Bob had any notion of marrying aouside his faith.  The mother is the culture carrier; Bob is firmly within the Jewish culture so there could have been no chance that he would have taken other than a Jewish wife.  Even then he may have married only to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful and multiply.  Once he had fulfilled that duty he broke the marriage apart.

3.

The Slum Goddess

I'm Leaving Town Tommorow

     Suze was now a young woman of twenty or twenty-one alone adrift in New York City.  While she and Bob were having their tempestuous romance the times they were a changin’.

     Tim Leary, up in harvard, had embraced psychedelics.  Once in love with LSD he wanted to share his love with everyone.  He became the High Priest of his psychedelic religion.  I can recommend both his autobiography and his volume of reminiscences: High Priest.  The latter is a spectacularly well written book if tending toward tediousness.

     Leary’s experiments attracted the dark angel of the Hippie years, Allen Ginsberg.  Ginsberg also attached himself to Dylan tying the Beat and Hippie decades together.  Vile man.

     Bob had introduced Suze to Marijuana and what else I don’t know, perhaps LSD.  He himself was into the pharmacopeia also undoubtedly dabbling in heroin although if he did he is still an addict or was successful in kicking the habit after his retreat from fame in ‘66.  That whole thing about the motorcycle accident may have been just rehab.  He sure needed it.

     As Bob notes the effect of LSD on the Greenwich Village folk scene was to turn people inward destroying any sense of community.  Suze then was attempting to navigate this terra nova.  Along with turning people inward, LSD, the drug scene, turned the scene sexually rasty in ways even the Communists couldn’t have imagined.  The Pill coming along at this time certainly was as influential as LSD in changing sexual mores.

     Suze, if aware of this, makes no mention of it in her auto.  The Fugs released Slum Goddess in 1965 although they may possibly have been playing it around the Village for a year or two earlier.  The Slum Goddess is not a savory woman.

     That Suze was selected as the first Slum Goddess strikes my sensibilities as a negative compliment.  Her presentation of it implies a souring experience.  Shortly after her selection she chose to withdraw from Village life.  She gives as the reason that her earlier relations with Bob caused upleasant curiosity and that was certainly true.

     The scene turned absolutely rotten after 1968 when between drugs, profound negativity and the progressing degradation of the Hippie movement anyone with any sense of dignity was driven out.

     Suze must have been one of us for she left the scene behind.  There are few today who choose to remember it.  As for me, life is life, there it was and there was I.  I was who I was; je ne regret rien.  I hope Suze doesn’t either.  Bob?  He just stays on the bus and doesn’t get off.  Reality can be such a drag.

Forget About Yesterday

Option 1: A Mediterranean diet and regular activity

Research on the bone health of one of the oldest persons in the world, who recently died at the age of 114, reveals that there were no genetic modifications which could have contributed to this longevity. The research team, directed by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona professor Adolfo Díez Pérez, pointed out a healthy lifestyle, a Mediterranean diet, a temperate climate and regular physical activity as the reasons for his excellent health. <link>

Option 2: LSD.

Chemist Albert Hoffman, who created LSD in 1938, has died in Switzerland at age 102. Mr. Hofmann first produced LSD in 1938 while researching the medicinal uses of a crop fungus. He accidentally ingested some of the drug and said later: “Everything I saw was distorted as in a warped mirror”. <link>

+ info sobre esta nueva edición en Sin Futuro Y Sin Un Duro

The second ‘On the Line’ or as we’ll call it until someone suggests better – Assemblage (it’s got archaeological meaning but no environmental meaning – so it’s not right yet – please help) is below. We’d also like to draw people’s attention to a request from a reader with regards to the Irish Civil War which we received over the weekend.

Thomas Monaghan’s father was in the free state army. Thomas has a photograph of him in uniform and when he went to reframe it he found a note on the back saying: “Michael Monahan Born in Cappataggle on the 23 may 1903, joined the Pat (?) army Sept. 1922, discharged from same March 1924. Photo taken in Clarmorris nov 1923″. Thomas understands that he joined up in Dublin, was sent to Fenit, Co Kerry and then marched all the way to Castle McGarrett, Co.Mayo where he was Quastermaster. Tom would welcome any information by email to monahansr@comcast.net

So to the ‘assemblage’…. First off, an assemblage is an archaeological term meaning a group of different artefacts found in association with one another, that is, in the same context (Wiki). The context here is our surfing and all things archaeological, environmental and ancient beer (or drugs) related.

This time round our attention was drawn to Network Nature which has the 103^rd edition of the Tangled Bank Blog Carnival -

As Cath Ennis describes the Tangled Bank (and blog carnivals in general) – It’s ‘One of the broadest blog carnivals around, it is named after Charles Darwin’s famous metaphor and features articles from across the fields of science and medicine. Reading a carnival gives you access to posts you might never stumble across by yourself; contributing to a carnival brings your work to a whole new audience.’

As our regular readers will know, one of our principle research interests is the archaeology of intoxicants – mostly ancient ale/beer. Intoxicants have been part of society from earliest times. So, our interest is not entirely confined to alcohol. It’s with that in mind that we note in Wired the death of Albert Hoffman, the inventor of LSD. Hoffman originally began studying the use of several plants and fungi for use in the pharmaceutical industry and synthesised LSD in 1938. Hoffman first synthesized LSD-25 in 1938 but it was later, in 1943, while re-synthesizing it, he accidentally absorbed a small quantity through his fingertips and serendipitously discovered its powerful effects before his bicycle ride home……

Via Mulley we came across John Smyth’s blog. Smyth is a Galway based photographer and posts some great shots on his blog.

Here’s an interesting post about mapping and biblical archaeology from Tyndaletech via ancientworldbloggers.

From infoactivism on animal agriculture/factory farming and on a related note a film screened recently on More Four.

Given our economic woes here’s how to build your own low impact eco-home…

And, finally for now, Jazz biscuit on binge drinking and alcohol in Ireland – which we’ll post more on shortly – and more on the same subject from Turbulence ahead.

On Tuesday, Barack Obama strongly condemned his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, in light of Wright’s comments including allegations that the CIA gave AIDS to African Americans. Still no word from Wright as to who the CIA slept with to get AIDS in the first place.

Comedian and Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken said Tuesday he will pay about $70,000 in back income taxes he owes to 17 states dating back to 2003. Franken owes the money because all 17 states have a 35% “Smugness Tax.”

Members of Truckers and Citizens United staged a rally in Washington, D.C. Monday protesting high gas prices. Unfortunately, the truckers ran out of gas and couldn’t afford their trip back home.

Computers went on sale to the general public for the first time ever in Cuba on Friday. The change means that when Cuban citizens want to flee to America, I can now book their leaky rafts on Travelocity.com.

Basque nightclub, a popular Hollywood hotspot where Lindsay Lohan held her birthday party, burned down early Wednesday morning. Making matters worse, at the time of the fire, Lindsay Lohan was not inside.

Miley Cyrus says that she is embarrassed about a revealing photo spread she did for Vanity Fair magazine. The most embarrassing thing for Miley? Being in pictures with Billy Ray Cyrus.

Vivid Entertainment has announced they will be releasing an 11-minute sex tape starring Jimi Hendrix that was filmed over 40 years ago. The tape features one minute of sex, interrupted by a ten minute guitar solo.

Jessica Walter, who played the grandmother on “Arrested Development,” has signed on for a role on the CW’s updated version of “Beverly Hills 90210.” Walter will play a high school sophomore.

According to a new poll, the summer movie that people are most excited about is the film version of “Sex and the City.” The poll was conducted exclusively among people living in the year 2000.

“Lord of the Rings” star Sir Ian McKellen will be reprising his role as Gandalf in the upcoming film version of “The Hobbit.” In addition, fans of the “Lord of the Rings” will be reprising their roles as virgin audience members.

Due to the dwindling number of salmon this year, fishing has been banned along the West Coast for the first time in 160 years. And in just three days, police have already arrested thousands of bears.

An Ohio woman claims to see an image of Jesus in the ultrasound of her unborn fetus. The woman considered having an abortion, but feared she would become pregnant again 3 days later.

Hundreds of people have evacuated Maine this week due to record floods. Hundreds more also evacuated the state, when they realized they live in Maine.

A governor in northern Saudi Arabia has ordered authorities to punish men who flirt with women in public places by cutting their hair. On the flip side, men who don’t flirt with women will be executed under suspicion of homosexuality.

A dolphin at Sea World died Monday after colliding with another dolphin while performing aerial tricks. The good news: Sea World restaurants now offer 2-for-1 specials on their Filet o’ Fish sandwiches.

Former baseball star Darryl Strawberry is writing his autobiography. The book will be titled, “Hey, Remember When Baseball Players Did Drugs That Weren’t Steroids?”

And finally, Albert Hoffman, the scientist who created LSD, died Tuesday at the age of 102. Hoffman is survived by his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and the giant spiders that were eating his face.

El alucinógeno LSD afectó las vidas de millones de la llamada generación hippie, en los años sesenta. Los Beatles la celebraron de manera velada en “Lucy in the sky with diamonds“.

Pero no pasó mucho tiempo antes de que la droga fuera prohibida en casi todo el mundo. Sin embargo, Albert Hofmann siempre defendió a su problemático “hijo” de quienes lo prohibieron.

El científico aducía que el poder del LSD para alterar la actividad mental podía contribuir al análisis del funcionamiento de la mente, y al estudio de enfermedades como la esquizofrenia. También defendió el LSD de quienes lo utilizaban con propósitos recreacionales.

“El LSD puede abrirnos los ojos. Sin embargo, hay otros caminos tales como la meditación, la danza, la música y el ayuno”, decía.

Accidente

En 1938 Albert Hofmann se encontraba estudiando en Basilea (Suiza) los posibles usos médicos de un hongo que se halla en el trigo y otros cereales, cuando sintetizó la droga.

Pero no fue sino hasta abril de 1943, cuando Hofmann descubrió las propiedades psicodélicas del LSD, la abreviación en alemán de dietilamida de ácido lisérgico, luego de que accidentalmente una gota del potente compuesto cristalino le cayó en el brazo.

La reacción fue de “angustia, vértigo y visiones sobrenaturales, al mismo tiempo que un profundo sentimiento de felicidad y paz”, dijo Hofmann al diario español El País.

El científico describió su viaje de vuelta a casa como sentirse bajo la impresión de que todo se hubiera detenido, pese a ir a gran velocidad en su bicicleta.

“Todo lo que veía a mi alrededor estaba distorsionado, como si estuviera encerrado dentro de un espejo”, diría Hofmann años después, recordando su viaje lisérgico frente a las cámaras de la televisión suiza.

“Ácido” y psiquiatría

La droga, conocida como “ácido”, fue entonces manufacturada comercialmente y utilizada para el tratamiento de pacientes psiquiátricos, antes de cobrar popularidad entre los hippies.

El LSD creció en popularidad como una droga recreativa antes de ser prohibida primero en Estados Unidos y luego alrededor del mundo.

“El LSD se ilegalizó en 1968 dado que se convirtió en la droga de moda en Estados Unidos. Fue la sustancia de culto de los hippies y los movimientos antiguerra de Vietnam. Por estos motivos políticos fue ilegalizada”, señaló Hofmann a El País.

Hasta el momento de su muerte, el científico luchó por la legalización del uso del LSD en manos de los psiquiatras y siempre manifestó que su mayor deseo era que la ciencia pudiera experimentar e investigar nuevamente con el compuesto.

Fuente: BBC Mundo

The inventor of LSD, aka Acid, died this week at the age of 102. Fact check – he invented, and repeatedly used LSD, and lived to be 102. This sends a clear message to the youth of today – trip your brains out and you will live a long and healthy life. I am inspired to trip like crazy and start planning my 100th birthday party, probably while I am tripping. I wonder – when he died, and began his journey to the spirit world, did he think he was just tripping again? When he met Whomever greets us on the other side of the veil, did they have trouble convincing him of his fate? “Uh, dude, you’re not tripping, you actually just died and crossed over into the spiritual realm.” “That is so trippy that you would say that, you are the best hallucination of God I have ever witnessed.” “That’s because I really AM God. And you really did die, i swear.” “That’s what you said LAST time I tripped. And then I realized it was just my cat talking to me.” “Mr. Hoffman, I am not your cat, I am your Creator.” “Great. Let me find a string of yarn and we’ll have some REAL fun!!”