Psychedelic researcher drops out - r.i.p. Dr. Osmond
February 23, 2004 9:39 PM Subscribe
"To fathom Hell or soar angelic, just take a pinch of psychedelic" - Dr. Humphry Osmond, medical hallucinogenic pioneer and the man who gave Aldous Huxley the dose of LSD that inspired The Doors of Perception recently passed on. To place the man in his milieu, visit Acid Dreams to see an acid timeline and a who's who of the era, stop by the acid blotter art gallery, and if you have the bandwidth, check out the classic video clip of LSD being tested on British soldiers.
I wonder if he had the opportunity to take LSD on his deathbed as Aldous Huxley did.
posted by lasm at 10:14 PM on February 23, 2004
posted by lasm at 10:14 PM on February 23, 2004
That video.... holy crap!
"The efficiency of the rocket-launcher team was greatly effected" and "The captain himself then relapsed into laughter" are absolutely golden.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 10:27 PM on February 23, 2004
"The efficiency of the rocket-launcher team was greatly effected" and "The captain himself then relapsed into laughter" are absolutely golden.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 10:27 PM on February 23, 2004
"You see that sh*t Blow up? Man HAHAHAHAHA, Dude, I am so stoned..."
posted by Elim at 10:42 PM on February 23, 2004
posted by Elim at 10:42 PM on February 23, 2004
Good post. Thanks, juju.
posted by homunculus at 10:46 PM on February 23, 2004
posted by homunculus at 10:46 PM on February 23, 2004
Ahh, that video was the best!!
The body language of the guy trying to use the radio near a tree convinces me this is legit. Nice link
posted by efalk at 12:37 AM on February 24, 2004
The body language of the guy trying to use the radio near a tree convinces me this is legit. Nice link
posted by efalk at 12:37 AM on February 24, 2004
Timothy Leary's dead...
No no no no, he's just outside, looking in...
posted by tommasz at 5:16 AM on February 24, 2004
No no no no, he's just outside, looking in...
posted by tommasz at 5:16 AM on February 24, 2004
Ace post madamjujujive.
Especially liked the video. The recruitment department should pick this up and run with it.
posted by Tuatara at 5:51 AM on February 24, 2004
Especially liked the video. The recruitment department should pick this up and run with it.
posted by Tuatara at 5:51 AM on February 24, 2004
That video really made me laugh; I kept waiting for John Cleese or Eric Idle to show up. The efficiency of the rocket launcher team indeed! Great find.
posted by LeLiLo at 6:15 AM on February 24, 2004
posted by LeLiLo at 6:15 AM on February 24, 2004
Actually, I'm pretty sure mescaline inspired the Doors of Perception, not LSD ("he dropped a pinch of silvery white mescaline crystals in a glass of water and handed it to Huxley"). Nice Post, MJJJ!
posted by shoepal at 7:23 AM on February 24, 2004
posted by shoepal at 7:23 AM on February 24, 2004
Love the British soldiers. Great post!
Thanks togdon, fascinating reading. I had not known Alan
Watts was connected to Leary. I got the sacrament from someone connected to Watts (Donny the Punk).
Leary isn't dead, he's still living in my head.
posted by Goofyy at 7:28 AM on February 24, 2004
Thanks togdon, fascinating reading. I had not known Alan
Watts was connected to Leary. I got the sacrament from someone connected to Watts (Donny the Punk).
Leary isn't dead, he's still living in my head.
posted by Goofyy at 7:28 AM on February 24, 2004
Ah! The memories that video conjures! Kick ass post!
posted by Jeremy at 7:40 AM on February 24, 2004
posted by Jeremy at 7:40 AM on February 24, 2004
For a current take on what he calls contemporary shamanism, I recommend Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head, which consists of both personal experiences and an exhaustive review of the literature. He drops the ball a bit when he dismisses psychedelic rock out of hand, but otherwise, it's a thorough and couragous book. (His site's forum is pretty busy, too.)
posted by muckster at 8:40 AM on February 24, 2004
posted by muckster at 8:40 AM on February 24, 2004
Fun post MJJJ. :) My best friend and I, back in the days when we were young, stoned and trying to run a pirate radio show, thought it would be funny one night to do the show tripping. We thought we were brilliant. We laughed and laughed. The audience was just confused...but hey, I'm sure that was true of the nights when we weren't stoned too...
posted by dejah420 at 8:59 AM on February 24, 2004
posted by dejah420 at 8:59 AM on February 24, 2004
great post. i'd never seen that video b4. based on the effects, i'd say that psychedelics are probably the best weapon of mass construction out there. ;p
from my own experience, i would definitely endorse the idea of psychedelics as treatment for mental illness.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:10 AM on February 24, 2004
from my own experience, i would definitely endorse the idea of psychedelics as treatment for mental illness.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:10 AM on February 24, 2004
[ this is good ]
[ and so are psychedelics :-) ]
posted by Asparagirl at 4:44 PM on February 24, 2004
[ and so are psychedelics :-) ]
posted by Asparagirl at 4:44 PM on February 24, 2004
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As far as I can tell Alexander Shulgin is one of the only remaining LSD researchers still out there doing his thing.
BTW - I found the bits about The Brotherhood of Eternal Love as entertaining as the British soldiers.
posted by togdon at 10:13 PM on February 23, 2004