New John Allegro website

Jan Irvin, one of the authors of the excellent, comprehensive book, Astrotheology & Shamanism, has created a new website devoted to the work of John M. Allegro, with input from Judy, his daughter:
http://johnallegro.org

I read John Marco Allegro: The Maverick of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a biography by his daughter and found incredibly fascinating. At times it read like an archeological adventure story story ala Indiana Jones with the conspiracies and the secrets of history being unveiled. An amazing human being, John Allegro was a master linguist and historian who was in charge of deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls. While never a participant in drug culture, he had revealed the ancient cults of fertility and sacred mushrooms that were there roots of Christianity and other major religious branches.


Here are the main websites of Jan Irvin and Andrew Rutajit, authors of the book
Astrotheology & Shamanism:
http://gnosticmedia.com
http://pharmacratic-inquisition.com

PBS 'Quest: Nanotechnology Takes Off' show starts Tuesday

Great new half hour show on PBS in high-def; award winning computer graphics,,, it's about the interface between technology and ecology with a focus on the bay area labs and hubs. First episode is about nano-technology and the Molecular Foundry in Berkeley and is available online here:
http://www.kqed.org/quest/

or, if you don't have 1/2 an hour now you can see the promotional spot here:
http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/4

Scientists breed 'sheeple' for organs!

(?)engineered sheep that have have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells are being used for human organ transplants:

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/

newscientist.com


is this for real? kinda wacko-

The Mind-Bending New World Of Work

Motion capture is starting to transform how businesses market their products as well as design and manufacture them, with technology similar to that seen in the film "Minority Report."

Link>>> BusinessWeek, April 2, 2007

Hat tip to KurzweilAI.net

Full-colour glow-in-the-dark materials unveiled

Up till now it's been green or blue, now a rainbow can glow for hours:

> > newscientisttech.com

3D morphable model face animation

The implications of this technology are mind-boggling. The video starts with an introduction to concept but when they get to animating Tom Hanks, Audrey Hepburn and Mona Lisa, you wont believe your eyes.

Alex Grey in CoSM The Movie (Trailer)

hacking blogs from my throat

I don't get to use this blog as a journalistic endeavor.... no continuous opinions, observations or rants. Mainly because I'm a full-time science student now, with a pt-time job, so it's hard to be a good blogger. Eventually, I'll upload the hundreds of artworks and poems I've wrote during my psychedelic hay-day, and my recent academic dissertations. So for now, I will continue to bring you nifty and fun tid-bits for the psychedelically-minded.

With that said, let me direct you to a super-fun and informative blog (in the true, bloggy sense) from the smartly fukd-up and funny folks who brought us Trip Zine, The Resonance Project and Psychedelic Illuminations:
Dosenation.com

Also, I just found, tonight, a seemingly VERY cool blog with interest in Global Psytrance:
monkeysfist.co.za

they (monkeyfist) go on to recommend a humor blog: comicjock.com which has very good new jokes.

And Satori's Psychedelic blog is also one of the best networks of psychedelic news, culture and media available in blog-space.
Check it out:
Satori Blog

Over the passage of time I am sure this web-window will expand and contribute novel thoughts to the global discussion. For now, this is my way of recording novelties that stick out to me. So turn off the TV (or better yet, hook it up to your computer), and sit back and accept the galactic gifts plopped into our laps. this metaphoric solstice.

Off Topic quote of the day.

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
— Plato

Richardson first presidential candidate to enact medical marijuana legislation.

LINK.

High school student builds fusion reacto

Tip of hat to WIRED:

"High school student Thiago Olson has gone beyond basic physics class. Way beyond. Using parts and materials scrounged from the local hardware story and eBay, Olson built a working fusion reactor. In November 2006, a few tiny bubbles in his neutron dosimeter told him that he'd achieved success: Fusing hydrogen nuclei into helium.

While it takes far more energy to run than it produces, Olson's nuclear reactor is pretty bad-ass, producing 200 million-degree plasma at its core -- or, as Olson points out, “several times hotter than the core of the sun.”

Now that's an impressive hack."

LINK

"Extreme Celebrity Detox" with ayahuasca

24 minute episode. 3 Brits partake in week of altered states in Peru. Funny tv show premise but actually a rather well-done portrayal of shamanic trip & transformation.

Giuliani's marijuana statistics

Mind-boggling but true.
40 second clip:

Zoomquilt pt. 2

News from Aeon:

"Most of you have already seen the original Zoomquilt which came out a few years ago...

www.duracel.de/zoom/zoom.htm


Part 2 has been released!

zoomquilt2.madmindworx.com/zoom...2.swf

The technical implementation of the Flash transitions is not as smooth as the original, but the zoom goes on for quite a bit longer... very cool!"

No vacuums, just noodles please...

Scientists revelation: The universe is a bowl of noodles!
Light and matter unified in 'string-net liquid' theory and Herbertsmitherite is a new type of matter that may be the silicon of the quantum computer.
Go to: New Scientist

Smells Like Green Spirit

WIRED NEWS > >

Nice Wiki list of electronic music genres

Looks like about 200 of 'em:
Link

Walter Cronkite & America's Disastrous War on Drugs

Here's the link to the first part and then you'll see parts 2 - 6 on the menu:
YouTube

Marijuana as wonder drug

An article by Lester Grinspoon, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, first published in the Boston Globe:

A new study in the journal Neurology is being hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine. It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine that we still need "proof" of something that medicine has known for 5,000 years.
[. . .]
If marijuana were a new discovery rather than a well-known substance carrying cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug.

LINK>> Boston Globe

CBC NEWS - Psychedelic medicine

Great mainstream coverage on the new wave of psychedelic medical research.
12 minute editorial, pass it on.

Pt. 1

Pt. 2


Thanks to Satori's blog for the head's up on this piece.

Hofmann's Potion on YouTube!

This is a wonderful and well-made documentary. I whole-heartedly recommend it to everyone.
Here's a bit of background info from The Spirit of Basel in case you don't know who Albert Hofmann is:

"Swiss Albert Hofmann is reputed to be one of the most important chemists of our times. He is the discoverer of LSD, which he considers, up to this very day, as both a "wonder drug" and a "problem child". In addition he did pioneering work as a researcher of other psychoactive substances as well as active agents of important medicinal plants and mushrooms. Under the spell of the mind-expanding potential of LSD the scientist turned increasingly into a philosopher of nature and a visionary critical of contemporary culture."

Albert Hofmann recently celebrated his 101st birthday.


HOFMANN'S POTION

New Pinchbeck monthly column

From Press Release Newswire:

Critically acclaimed author Daniel Pinchbeck has just debuted "Prophet Motive," a new exclusive monthly column for the Conscious Enlightenment Publishing family of magazines, which includes Conscious Choice (Chi), Whole Life Times (LA), Common Ground (SF), Seattle's Conscious Choice and ConsciousChoice.com

They go on to give a flattering intro to Daniel Pinchbeck which you can read HERE.

To go straight to his new coloumn, click HERE.

Crazy psychedelic movie

I encourage anyone who has undergone a shamanistic voyage to watch this movie. It was filmed entirely in Goa, India, but you don't have to be all about Goa Trance to enjoy it. From the beginning of the movie till the conclusion I found it somewhat confusing and disjointed, but the conclusion wrapped up all the chaos in a succinct and fulfilling finale that will be poetically rewarding for anyone who understands how the most difficult and unexpected 'trips' can be the most profound awakenings.
So put aside an hour and 15 minutes and watch The Wonderland Experience:
(here's the google-video link so you can watch it full-screen)
The Wonderland Experience

The public wants to know: What do psychedelic people eat?

LINK:
NY Times Restaurants reviews with Daniel Pinchbeck

Psychedelic research lecture, Santa Cruz

Michael A. Ruderman has organized a lecture with neuroscience researcher, Matthew Bagott at the University of Santa Cruz, Friday, March 9th.

Here's the info:
UCSC CAMPUS
March 9th 5:00 P.M.
Physical Science Building Seminar room 240

Psychedelic research in humans? Is that even legal? After decades of regulatory restriction, scientists in the U.S. are again studying psychedelics in humans. In the intervening decades, science has dramatically advanced, with many findings and tools relevant to psychedelics.
While studies using animals and cells have deepened our knowledge, they have done so without lessening our puzzlement. Can scientific research with human volunteers
adequately address the unusual effects of psychedelics?
Matthew Baggott will discuss the challenges of human psychedelic research and what we can hope to learn. He will outline a modest program for research, emphasizing
measurement of phenomenology as an important step and illustrate the approach with preliminary results from his ongoing research.

contact: aspire_core@ucsc.edu

Weird...

"Mutable As shapes in the weird clouds."
-1815 Alastor

Weird word:
Wordorigins.org

wyrd = destiny,
or 'turn' of events... also see legal term 'verses,' as in 'turned toward.'

Mapping the brain's circuitry

Deconstructing brain wiring, one neuron at a time
February 28 , 2007

LA JOLLA, CA – - Researchers have long said they won’t be able to understand the brain until they can put together a “wiring diagram” – a map of how billions of neurons are interconnected. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have jumped what many believe to be a major hurdle to preparing that chart: identifying all of the connections to a single neuron.

In the March 1 issue of the journal Neuron, the researchers describe how they modified the deadly rabies virus, turning it into a tool that can cross the synaptic space of a targeted nerve cell just once to identify all the neurons to which it is directly connected.

Read the full article at the Salk Institute website.

Dangerous Drugs

Watch this classic sketch by Sasha Cohen (of Borat fame) as Ali G interviewing some 'expert' about dangerous drugs. So funny!



(This was sampled a lot in psytrance a few years ago. Can you spot them?)

weeeee!!

Fun robot ride:

Giuliani To Run For President Of 9/11

NEW YORK—At a well-attended rally in front of his new Ground Zero headquarters Monday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani officially announced his plan to run for president of 9/11.

"My fellow citizens of 9/11, today I will make you a promise," said Giuliani during his 18-minute announcement speech in front of a charred and torn American flag. "As president of 9/11, I will usher in a bold new 9/11 for all.

READ FULL ARTICLE AT The Onion

Mad world in Iraq

A pongnant little montage of the Irag war: