* (restored)
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Intro
‘The first well-documented hallucinogenic mushroom experience in Britain took place in London’s Green Park on 3 October 1799. Like many such experiences before and since, it was accidental. A man subsequently identified only as ‘J.S.’ was in the habit of gathering small field mushrooms from the park on autumn mornings, and cooking them up into a breakfast broth for his wife and young family. But this particular morning, an hour after they had finished eating, the world began to turn very strange. J.S. found black spots and odd flashes of colour bursting across his vision; he became disorientated, and had difficulty in standing and moving around. His family were complaining of stomach cramps and cold, numb extremities. The notion of poisonous toadstools leapt to his mind, and he staggered out into the streets to seek help. but within a hundred yards he had forgotten where he was going, or why, and was found wandering about in a confused state.
‘By chance, a doctor named Everard Brande happened to be passing through this insalubrious part of town, and he was summoned to treat J.S. and his family. The scene that he discovered was so bizarre and unfamiliar that he would write it up at length and publish it in The Medical and Physical Journal later that year. The family’s symptoms were rising and falling in giddy waves, their pupils dilated, their pulses and breathing becoming fluttering and laboured, then returning to normal before accelerating into another crisis. They were all fixated on the fear that they were dying, except for the youngest, the eight-year-old Edward S., whose symptoms were the strangest of all. He had eaten a large portion of the mushrooms and was ‘attacked with fits of immoderate laughter’ which his parents’ threats could not subdue. He seemed to have been transported into another world, from which he would only return under duress to speak nonsense: ‘when roused and interrogated as to it, he answered indifferently, yes or no, as he did to every other question, evidently without any relation to what was asked’.
‘Dr. Everard Brande would diagnose the family’s condition as the ‘deleterious effects of a very common species of agaric [mushroom], not hitherto suspected to be poisonous’. Today, we can be more specific: this was clearly intoxication by Liberty Caps (Psilocybe semilanceata), the ‘magic mushrooms’ which grow plentifully across the hills, moors, commons, golf courses and playing fields of Britain every autumn. But though Dr.Brande’s account of the J.S. family’s trip would not be forgotten, and would continue to be cited in Victorian drug literature for decades, the nineteenth century would come and go without any conclusive identification of the Liberty Cap as the species in question. In fact, it would not be until Albert Hoffman, the discoverer of LSD, turned his attention to hallucinogenic mushrooms in the 1950s that the botanical identity of these and other mushrooms containing psilocybin, LSD’s chemical cousin, would be confirmed.
‘But if they were obscure to Victorian science, there was another tradition which would appear to explore the ability of certain mushrooms to whisk humans off to another world: Victorian fairy lore. Over the nineteenth century, a vast body of art and literature would connect mushrooms and toadstools with elves, pixies, hollow hills and the unwitting transport of subjects to fairyland, a world of shifting perspectives and dimensions seething with elemental spirits. Is it possible that the Victorian fairy tradition, underneath its twee and bourgeois exterior, operated as a conduit for a hidden world of homegrown psychedelia, parallel perhaps to the ancient shamanic and ritual uses of similar mushrooms in the New World? Were the authors of such otherworld narratives – Alice in Wonderland, for example – aware of the powers of certain mushrooms to lead unsuspecting visitors to enchanted lands? Were they, perhaps, even writing from personal experience? … ‘
How to play MYCOLOGY, the Game
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The Basics
Psilocybe cubensis is a medium strength or typical psilocybian mushroom consisting of approximately .63% psilocybin and .60% psilocin in dried wild mushrooms. Indoor cultivated mushrooms tend to have higher concentrations. Note that potency of mushrooms can vary greatly from one batch to the next. The following chart shows approximate oral dosages for (dried) Psilocybe cubensis in grams.
Threshold: .25 g (1/100 oz)
Light: .25 – 1 g (1/100 – 1/28oz)
Common: 1 – 2.5 g (1/28 – 1/10oz)
Strong: 2.5 – 5 g (1/10 – 1/6oz)
Heavy: 5 + g (1/4oz +)
Onset: 10 – 40 minutes (when chewed and held in mouth)
Onset: 20 – 60 minutes (when swallowed on empty stomach)
Duration: 2 – 6 hours
Normal After Effects: up to 8 hours
Comparative potency of selected Psilocybe mushrooms
Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms time lapse
Drying process of Psilocybe cubensis
I Took PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS as a MUSLIM and Here’s What I Saw…
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Dutch Ban Hallucinogenic Mushrooms
Associated Press, October 7, 2007:
The Netherlands will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the government announced Friday, tightening the country’s famed liberal drug policies after the suicide of an intoxicated teenage girl. The ban in response to the death and other highly publicized adverse reactions involving the fungus is the latest backlash against the freewheeling policies of the past. Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been illegal under international law since 1971. However, fresh mushrooms continued to be sold legally in the Netherlands along with herbal medicines in so-called “smart-shops,” on the theory that it was impossible to determine how much psilocybin any given mushroom contains.
The outright ban came as a surprise: The government had solicited advice from vendors, advocacy groups and the city of Amsterdam, which benefits greatly from drug-related tourism, on how to improve the situation. Mushroom vendors suggested stricter ID controls to prevent underage buyers, and strong warnings against mixing mushrooms with other drugs. Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen had suggested a three-day “cooling off” period between ordering them and using them. The Justice Ministry decided those measures did not go far enough.
Guide to Amsterdam’s Smart Shops
Tatanka Mushroom Amsterdam
The Magic Mushroom Gallery Smartshop Amsterdam
The Rise of Psychedelic Truffles in Amsterdam
Where are the best magic truffles in Amsterdam??
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Species
1. Psilocybe cyanescens: Psilocybe cyanescens grows on woody debris – in the presence of woodchips and mulched plant beds (particularly under rhododendrons). In the U.S., P. cyanescens occurs mainly in the Pacific Northwest, south to northern California. It can be found as well as in Western and Central Europe. This species was likely introduced to Europe, where it occurs mainly in cemeteries, botanic gardens and city parks.
List of the (186) known Psilocvybian Mushrooms
Comparative Psilocybian Mushroom Strengths
Images of the Different Species
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Hunting
30 Days of Magic Mushroom Hunting
Foraging Psilocybe Mushrooms with Alan Rockefeller
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The Florida Mycology Research Center
Helping the research needs of Mycologists and Mushroom Growers since 1972
How To Place An Order:
FMRC no longer takes any credit card or online orders. This is because many are aware of all the records kept on such type orders. Although our customers order items from FMRC for Legal and Academic reasons, they do not want to be included in any “watched activity” or similar list, which the said OnLine method of payments can produce.
If you run across an item you wish to order, just write it down, include payment made out to FMRC, POB 18105, Pensacola, FL 32523, and just mail it in. Be sure to give a good readable shipping address. This is your best protection when ordering mycological items and it has proved itself since 1972.
Overseas And Out of Country Orders: Send payment in U.S. Dollars “CASH” or International Postal Money Order. Any check or Postal Money Order must be drawn on an U.S. Bank. If you send cash, large amounts should be insured. Canada orders should send “Canadian Postal Money Orders” making sure the amount is in U.S. Dollars and not Canadian Currency. These can be bought at your local post office. Payments should also include extra funds to cover Airmail Shipping. Without extra funds for this postage, orders are shipped by low cost land or boat. This can take many weeks sometimes. You may contact us at FloridaMycology@cs.com if you have any questions or need help with the extra money needed for this Overseas and Out of Country shipping.
For mail orders, simply write or type items you wish to order. Use catalog numbers whenever they are given. Always give complete description of item. Show what item cost. Total up the entire order. There are no other hidden charges like postage, handling, or insurance. You send only the amount listed. The best method of payment is a U.S. Postal Money Order made out to FMRC. Personal checks are accepted. FMRC will replace any item which is faulty, and will stand behind products listed in this catalog 100%.
As all products offered by FMRC are for “In-Vitro research purposes only, FMRC waves all responsibility for any injuries or legalities incurred through the use or mis-use of any products it sells.
Update (2019): The Florida Mycology Research Center has had its DEA registration revoked because primary researcher provided psilocybin mushrooms to non-DEA registered individuals and let visitors keep such mushrooms that they found on his property.
Get your mushrooms here (defunct)
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The Effects
from mushroomshowto.com:
Physical: Physical effects are all related to how many mushrooms are consumed. Low doses exhibit effects along the lines of feelings of relaxation or peace, a feeling of heaviness or lightness, and loss of appetite. Higher doses cause numerous effects like a feeling of coldness in some users, numbness of the mouth and adjacent features, nausea, weakness in the limbs (making locomotion difficult), excessive yawning which usually occurs during the come-up, swollen features, pupil dilation, and stiffness in points of the body, often the result of the users staying in awkward positions because of their inability to accurately judge the flow of time and their level of fatigue.
Sensory: As with many hallucinogens, the sensory effects are often the most dramatic of the experience. Most general doses cause a noticeable enhancement and contrasting of worldly colors, surfaces that seem to ripple, shimmer, or breathe, and some visual hallucinations. Heavy experiences cause complex open and closed eye visuals, objects that warp, morph, or change solid colors (juxtaposed with the free-flowing and changing colors of LSD), a sense of melding into the environment, trails, and auditory hallucinations. Intriguingly, some users speak about the feeling of their senses overlapping or synesthesia. A rather interesting genetic trait (which occurs in 1 in every 23 individuals), it causes, for example, a visualization of color upon hearing a particular sound.
Emotional: Feelings of euphoric bliss, relaxation, peace, wonder, anxiety, or fear have all been reported. A childlike sense of intrigue about the world on common doses is contrasted with cosmic revelations and perceptions of a “higher power” on large amounts. Some users may experience intense episodes of hilarity. Emotions can be experienced with increased sensitivity. Heavier trips carry the increased possibility of a surreal event known as ego death, whereby the user loses the sense of boundaries between their self and the environment, creating a sort of perceived universal unity. Also, anxiety and paranoia are possible and if they become severe enough they could culminate into a bad trip.
Psychological: Mushrooms cause the mind to conduct itself in an unusual manner. Abstract thoughts develop and are often difficult to explain to others correctly. A more-thorough thought pattern becomes apparent, climaxing in deep philosophical or introspective silence. Complex personal issues may be taken on full force by more experienced users, helping them arrive at a conclusion and make an appropriate change to their lifestyle. During this process, a user may also gain a new perspective on a thought they’ve held for years. The mind seems to flow more lucidly from idea to idea, making such things as improvisation easier. The natural filters of the mind are bypassed, causing a large increase in mental stimulation and creativity. Time dilation has been reported, with minutes and seconds taking an unusually large amount of time to pass. There may also be some indecisiveness in deciding what to do or get.
Bad Shroom Trip — Jefferson Street Incident
Heroic 8 Gram Shroom Trip Report
JON DOE’S SHROOM TRIP, RAW (UNCENSORED)
61 Year Old Tries “Magic Mushrooms”
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Figurehead
María Sabina was the Mazatec curandera from Oaxaca, Mexico who encountered the amateur mycologist and international banker R. Gordon Wasson on a trip to Mexico in 1955. On June 19th, 1955 she introduced him to psilocybin mushrooms during a healing ceremony. He became the first Westerner to experience the effects of these psychedelic fungi, followed shortly thereafter by Valentina Wasson. Wasson wrote about his experience with María and the psilocybin mushrooms in an article for Life Magazine in 1957.
In the Life Magazine article, Wasson referred to María Sabina as “Eva Mendez” in an attempt to protect her privacy, but the attempt failed. Over the coming years, María Sabina was inundated with visitors from the United States. The onslaught of “young people with long hair who came in search of God” disrupted her village and led to her arrest on more than one occasion by local federales. She sometimes turned visitors away, and sometimes introduced them to the mushrooms they sought, occasionally charging a fee, and often not.
María Sabina died in 1985 at the age of 91.
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In the movies
Shrooms (2007)
‘A group of walking clichés are on a trip into the countryside of Ireland for the sole reason of getting high off the mushrooms that grow out there. Tara (Lindsey Haun) ends up eating a deathcap mushroom after being told not to & suffers a seizure. Afterwards she is able to see future events when entering a kind of trance…but she can’t control it.
‘She sees all her friends & herself being killed off by a hooded & cloaked killer which may or may not be related to a local ghost story. A story that relates to a crazed monk who worked in a children’s home nearby.
‘Unsurprisingly the cast begin to get picked off by a hooded & cloaked killer. Tara tries to use her visions to save everyone but they always seem to come too late. Coincidental, eh?
‘Throw in a whole load of attempts to give the film a ‘trippy’ feel, two random hicks that are bit ‘rapey’ & a twist that is so obvious it’s almost insulting & what you have is a way below average slasher horror movie.
‘Shrooms was popular when it first came out in 2007. Looking at it now, that makes no sense. It doesn’t have an original bone in its entire body. The cast are incredibly forgettable.’ — Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life
Trailer
MAGIC MUSHROOMS (2017)
‘After an awkward teen boy and his girl crush switch bodies after taking mushrooms, he discovers that attraction is more complicated than he thought. Magic Mushrooms is an unexpected, wry reflection on gender identity and coming-of-age sexuality.’ — Canadian Film Fest
Trailer
The Secret of the Magic Mushroom (Troma) (2009)
‘There’s the tall one and there’s the short one. They are best friends. In order to celebrate a drunken four-eyes party, they go deep into woods of Silschede. Soon the alcohol makes them more aggressive than it’s good for them. Tey starting a silly punching game in which the tall one kills the short one. He is shocked and can’t believe it. When he tries to dispose the body a wicked dwarf is suddenly around him and tells him of a rare kind extremely vitalizing mushrooms, which can bring his dead friend back to life again. But to find these magic mushrooms is everything else but easy…and who knows if those mushrooms really got the effect the dwarf is promising.’ — Werner Timm, IMDb
The Psychonaut (2015)
‘Comedian Shane Mauss goes on a series of adventures to deepen his understanding of psychedelics. He describes the indescribable and takes us through some of his most intense experiences, while getting the added perspectives of some of the top scientists and experts in this realm. With moments of both confusion and clarity, this documentary is an honest account of the experiences of a genuine Psychonaut.’ — Psychedelic Experience
the entire film
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Mushrooms and the Law
from Erowid.com
USA: Psilocybin mushrooms are not specifically named in the U.S. federal scheduling system, however their two primary active chemicals Psilocybin and Psilocin are both Schedule I in the United States. This means they are illegal to manufacture, buy, possess, or distribute (sell, trade or give) without a DEA license. Fresh and dried psilocybin mushrooms are considered containers of Psilocybin and Psilocin, making them illegal to possess as well.
Because spores contain no psilocybin or psilocin, they are legal to sell and possess (in all states except California, Georgia, and Idaho). But in most states, it is illegal to cultivate or propogate spores into mycelium since mycelium generally contains both psilocybin and psilocin.
Some states in the U.S. (Florida, New Mexico) and some countries have ruled that growing psilocybe mushrooms does not qualify as ‘manufacturing’ a controlled substance (psilocybin).
International: Country by country
Tested for in Standard Drug Tests? NO
Tested for in Extended Drug Tests? Sometimes
Possible to test for? YES
Detection Period in Urine: 1-3 days
The first thing to know about mushrooms and drug tests is that psilocybin and psilocin, the primary psychoactive substances in psilocybe mushrooms, are not commonly tested for in the standard drug test. The basic drug test, currently used for nearly all corporate and sports testing programs, checks for 5 types of substances
Cannabinoids (marijuana, hash)
Cocaine (cocaine, crack, benzoylecognine)
Amphetamines (amphetamines, methamphetamines, speed)
Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
Phencyclidine (PCP)
Even the extended employment drug tests used by most companies do not test for the presence of psilocybin or psilocin. For more information on the basic and extended drug tests…see the Drug Testing Vault.
It is, however, technically possible to detect psilocybin and psilocin with a drug test and we have received reports of psilocybin testing during criminal probation and a school-related drug test. Because they are less standard, these tests are more expensive to give than the basic test. The more expensive and comprehensive drug tests are sometimes used in cases where there is specific reason to believe that psilocybin mushrooms use is an issue; for example, an individual who is on probation for mushroom use might be specifically tested for the presence of psilocybin in hir system. However, generally mushroom use does not cause an individual to test positive on most random drug tests given by an employer or school.
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*
p.s. RIP genius Sly Stone ** jay, Howdy, Jay! So true, destruction bait with a reward in tow. Oh, man, that’s really fucked up about your friend. In the imagination or fiction, anything can go, but imposing your fantasies literally and physically on others, especially when they’re young, is evil. Big word, but … I feel like that line needs to be drawn, especially if you’re someone who ostensibly understands what that desire is about. I had a close friend years ago, fellow transgressive dreamer and related art maker, I thought, who crossed that line with a very young guy, and I couldn’t even speak to him or be around him for over ten years and not until he’d done a ton of therapy. But every situation is unique, and if remaining friends with him is of value to you and to him, I’m sure you have a good reason and know best. Gosh, thanks about ‘Guide’. I suppose what I’m trying to say is imbedded somewhere in that novel. Things good otherwise and mostly? ** Misanthrope, Oh, that’s really close. In LA that’s just driving to the supermarket. Back to my old saying ‘Confusion is the truth’. Why people can’t look at a situation they don’t understand and accept that they can’t understand it and just enjoy the mystery its beyond me. Right, The Boiler Room, Statictick wobbling around, etc. It all comes back to me now. ** _Black_Acrylic, Haha. Is it called Paisley because paisley was invented there or something? For me: hot fudge sundae. That’s my kryptonite. The blog will be vacationing for two weeks starting on Monday while I’m over Stateside, but I can launch the post soon after the blog’s return, no problem, if you want to make it in the meantime. Thanks, buddy. ** Steeqhen, Hey. Over here, the LA protests and Trump fascist response are almost the only thing in the news right now, so they’re inescapable. No, my parents didn’t force me clean my plate or whatever unless I’m repressing a memory. My food fastidiousness is one for the books. Sadly, the doctor had to operate on my toe, which was good, but I was in no shape in the foot region to go to the Destroyer gig. But Zac went, and I’ll get a review today. Nice about the bigger room. Enjoy tomorrow whence it’s present. Never played Skyrim, but it sounds like the recent Zelda games, so I get the allure. ** Bernard Welt, Hi, B. I don’t know how I do it myself. I’m a mystery. The LA situation is terrifying, yeah. And me about to go over there. I have more than slight fears that something big will happen while I’m there and that I won’t be allowed to leave the US and come back here, but I’m not going to cancel the trip out of somewhat understandable paranoia. Yikes. ‘The Clock’ is incredible. I saw about, oh, six hours, I think? It must be strange to be an artist and make something that so obviously is going to be the best thing you ever made while you’re still youngish. I was being lazy brained about the no good biopic comment. I was only thinking of the Hollywood stuff for some reason. Interesting about you’re hitting it off with Schnabel. He’s such a better filmmaker than visual artist. I don’t remember you telling me about the panel. Are you writing something out about Tim or just going to shoot the shit re: him? I vaguely remember meeting Reinaldo Arenas, but I’m not completely sure. I know Tim knew him. But meeting him at Tim’s at a party something rings a real seeming bell. Do you know the writer Mark Doten? He lives in Mexico City, and he’s great, and I think you guys would hit it off, and you should meet him if you haven’t if you go there. ** Hugo, Hi. It’s true, I have younger friends who have mentioned the immense pressure to be able to speak about the Harry Potter verse knowingly when they were kids. Video games are one of the great art forms if rarely used to its potential. I made a video game with Zac and a couple of other people several years ago, a haunted house walkthrough game (sort of part of the research for ‘RT’). We only made a playable prototype that we presented at an event here, but we want to go back and finish it or find the funds to finish it. It’s cool and kind of dumb, very 90s retro CD-rom style. It wasn’t so difficult to make, but we worked with this game designing company in the UK who visualised our ideas and instigated the movement/interaction stuff. We can meet and talk here for sure. Oh, you and Alice are friends. That’s cool. Bizarre and lanky sounds promising and A-okay to me. And meeting Alice would be swell too. So, yeah, let’s do it. I’ll be gone for two weeks in the States, but I’ll be back here in early July. Interesting counsellor you had there. I miss Crystal Castles. And, well, Solondz too, although I heard he’s working on a new film. In Paris, it’s kind of sunny and clear and warm but not too warm. Maybe that’s heading your way? I’m not sure how the air currents work around these parts. ** Diesel Clementine, Hi, nice to see you. ** Steve, Did ‘Salo’ have a chocolate component? Why wouldn’t it, I guess. Yeah, in the 70s you basically just hauled in a stack of your on 45s and LPs and cued them up. They had records there to use at the station, but they were pretty much what constituted 70s dreck at that point: prog, country-rock, mainstream disco, etc. No help. I’m not letting myself get doomy about some huge fascist US clampdown, or not yet. Keeping the faith. ** julian, Chocolate is very virtuous if used judiciously. Rimbaud is singular. Said many times, but reading him when I was his age, 15, changed the way I thought about myself permanently, as a potential writer and also in terms of having a great reason to reject adults’ disrespect for people my age. ‘Crash’ is really good. I think those are Ballard’s two must-read books. Speaking of psychedelics, … voila! (The post up above specifically). ** pancakeIan, Hi. Chocolate pancakes are good. Thanks about ‘My Loose Thread’. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t thinking of George regarding Jim, or not consciously at least — he’s deeply imbedded in my thinking. I don’t remember if I had a real life model for that character. I’ve known a lot of boys in the kind of George realm, so it might have been one of them. Thank you! Enjoy your today whatever that involves. ** Carsten, Thanks, man. Well, I certainly don’t want the blog’s doings to make one forget the hell all around it. It’s just a pit/rest stop. We’ll see what happens re: the 14th. I don’t know. I don’t want to bring that stuff in here very much, although it’s borderline impossible not to right now. ** Alistair, Yeah, I would be extremely cautious about leaving the US right now or for the foreseeable future, which is insane, but there is literally no logic or truth in practice at the country’s borders, and hardly within the place itself. I have many friends in your situation. It’s horrifying. But I think we have to hope and fight. No other choice really. Biggest hugs to you. ** Alice, Morning to you. I don’t think it’s just me, but in the last couple of years I’ve become friends with and/or admirers of so many people, most of them artists of some kind, who are dedicated to, in your words, ‘breaking against the gender binary to discover a sense of expression beyond it’. And in ever enlarging and excited/exciting communities. It’s extraordinarily inspiring and the work being created is genuinely innovative. So, all the governmental horrors aside, I feel very hopeful. ‘Chelsea Girls’ is on YouTube. Not the greatest quality print, but … it’s here. I haven’t seen all of the screen tests. I mostly remember the writer ones (Joe Brainard, Ted Berrigan, …) because I was so surprised to see them there. I hope the ‘Lonesome Cowboys’ version is watchable enough. Eric Emerson is so amazing in it, in particular, I think. I have this site Soap2day bookmarked. It’s an illegal site, I guess, or it would have to be, but they have a billion films watchable for free there from the big new blockbusters to extremely odd, barely ever released movies, and I like to fish through there and try things out. If you want to try it, it’s here. I’m seeing Sparks as soon as I get back from my trip, and some experimental stuff, and then Neil Young on a whim. You take care too! ** Tyler Ookami, Hi, Tyler! Good to see you, pal. Right, of course, Ubu and Archive, our relative saviors. ok.ru can be pretty surprising too. Thanks! How are you? What’s new? ** HaRpEr //, All hail your relaxation. Yeah, there are good biopics, of course, your suggestions being the antidote to my tossed off answer. I wasn’t thinking deep. I love Pavement to death. I just saw ‘Pavements’. It’s not a dream come true, but it’s full of great things, and, if you like them, you’ll be glad. So sad about Sly Stone. Not terribly unexpected given his poor state, but such a genius, that guy. The recent doc on him is worth watching if you haven’t seen it. ** horatio, I know, right? That one especially perked me up too. Odd. Very sorry to have used the wrong pronoun re: Ross. I hate when my brain gets lazy. I hope to watch your film maybe even today. I had a messy little doctor thing yesterday that ate my hours. I always made scrapbooks for the George Miles Cycle books as I was writing them, and I found that really useful, although I can’t explain or even figure out why exactly. Iow, sounds like a plan. I’m happy to know that Steve Albini was an enlightened person who understood that ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement’ is easily in the running for the greatest song ever unleashed upon the public. Smart dude. Thank you. ** Okay. I restored that old post up there for you today. Use wisely. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
Dennis, Yeah, it’s frustrating. Of course, it took me years to get to that point myself about things. But still…two adults…who cares, you know?
Yep, a short drive. I’m in the suburbs. A 30-minute drive ain’t nothing. I just wish my commute was like that.
Wow, I didn’t know Sly Stone was still alive. That’s sad and a true loss.
I only did “mushrooms” once. I put that in quotes because I think the ones we bought outside the Guns N Roses concert in 1992 were fake. Didn’t do shit. Though they tasted like shit. 😛
The 2007 Shrooms film looks like good fun and I will try to seek it out. I do have a soft spot for UK drug-themed films from around that sort of time. You ever seen Human Traffic? Saw that at the cinema and remember it being a particularly good/embarrassing one.
My chocolate update today is forgoing the usual treats from Markys, instead visiting the Cookie Pie Man stall at the nearby Springs. This time it was a pistachio and white chocolate cookie surprise and very nice it was too.
Hi!!
I’m back! It’s way more fun to be in Hungary with the secure knowledge that I can return to Vienna once my visit is over, but it was truly lovely to see both family and friends in person. Although, as I was writing this, I heard that there’d been a school shooting in Graz today, so… I don’t know. Wow. This is devastating. The world is crazy all over after all, it seems.
How have you been, Dennis? What’s happening in your world?
Love taking a handful of shrooms and never coming back from his trip, Od.
Oh wow, didn’t know Mark Doten lived in Mexico City. We were there for just a week in January, to escape the inauguration, and love it and will probably visit again, but November will be Oaxaca and environs only. Do not plan to try to meet up with any ancient and revered curanderas, interesting as that would be. I am, though, making an effort to meet more Native-American dream workers. I met Mark Doten when he book-toured in DC and I bought a few copies of Trump Sky Alpha so I could give signed copies to friends. Jesus I wonder what he’s thinking these days.
I had a good chat last night with a friend who’s gotten Canadian citizenship through his parents, as I’m trying to do, and he had good tips how to get through the laborious process. Actually, I *am* a citizen, I just need the documentation.
Yeah, Schnabel’s had the capacity to put heart into his films, which . . . ’nuff said. He was incredibly kind to me and told a large audience he loved a poem I read, so I’m in his emotional debt.
You know what I wish? I wish I knew rich people who would invite me to stay for free in interesting places. The past two years is the first time in a while that I’ve had enough poetry publications to be eligible for most residencies, though, so that’s the next step, I guess.
I’m not writing about Tim; I’m actually stepping in to take the place of Terence Winch, who’s got to have some hospital tests done, something the docs don’t seem to think is urgent and we his friends are trying not to worry about. I have a lot of dream conference work to do before then, so I’m just going to read a little from Tim’s DC days, reminisce . . . The main thing is to introduce G-9 to younger readers who don’t know it. Terence and I were talking about how it’s one of the great American poems, up there with Whitman, and although we see it mentioned here and there, it doesn’t have the status we think (know) it deserves.
Maybe you have advice, though I’d understand if you don’t: Tim and I wrote this short play for Kenward and Joe on the way to Calais one summer, performed it for them in the gazebo, a very happy memory, and it’s really good and hasn’t been published. I’ve asked a few of the people in the New York School study groups if they think of a journal or publisher who’d be interested but haven’t gotten any suggestions. I doubt you are very much in touch with that kind of folks, but if you think of anything . . .
The work for the Happy Fingers method goes on. (5000 Fingers of Dr T reference)
XXOO
PS I sent you the Pee-wee doc via WeTransfer, which would show up as a link in your email box. It was a few days ago and may expire before long
Wow, what a lovely collage of the mind-expanding shroom. I’ve pretty much sworn off all substances except nicotine (& caffeine if that counts), but psychedelics remain fascinating. But then I’m living proof that you can get your god(s) vision without their aid–a near-death experience & lengthy hospitalization can do that to you.
María Sabina is the real deal. An utterly gorgeous poet too. She’s in Technicians of the Sacred.
You’re right about wanting to keep politics as far away as possible from this blog. Let’s hope we get to keep doing that.
Saw there that you’re going to see Neil Young this year: where & when? To cure my spleen I watched two comfort movies this weekend that feature his music: Dead Man & Beau Travail. The score to the former & Safeway Cart from the latter were soul-soothing to say the least. And the films themselves age beautifully. Peak Denis & Jarmusch in my book.
Hey Dennis,
Met up with my friend Shannon today; I’ve talked a lot about your work to her. I consider her the queen of film in Cork, though she would hate that!! She goes to Cannes and Venice every year for the festivals, has a pretty great podcast about film, and has interviewed actors and directors on the podcast, mainly Irish ones like Lee Cronin (Evil Dead Rise) and John Crowley (Brooklyn, We Live in Time). If/When I try get a screening of Room Temperature set up in Cork, she will be the brains of that operation!!
I love mushrooms; never tried psychedelic ones, not the biggest fan of eating them, but I just love fungi and mushrooms as a creature. More animal than plant, more plant than animal. They’re the future to me. In a thousand years, we’ll have mushroom pets that walk around like little pikmin creatures, and in a million they will be the dominant species! I do want to try shrooms in the future, though once I’m off my meds. I am a casual subscriber to the stoned ape theory, that consciousness and our brains developed through apes experimenting with shrooms. Though I’m not well-read on the matter bar articles and youtube videos.
Skyrim is basically like Breath of the Wild, though way more RPG, with classes and races. Magic is a big part of the game, but you can also just brute force your way with weapons. Having to balance between carrying the best equipment but also making sure they’re not taking up your entire weight capacity lest you lose the ability to run is great, and armour’s warmth is vital when it comes to the many mountains and even being out at night. I do think that Skyrim and GTA V basically made the videogame market become oversaturated with games trying to be openworld and forgetting that those games worked because they were at the core great games, but we seem to be slightly moving out of open-world fatigue. In saying that, the openworld aspect of Mario Kart World has me dying to play it. I’ve seen there’s secret missions and places off road, and I watched a video of someone trying to get across the map without touching roads or rivers which was entertaining.
I was reading through the whole PS, and you and Zac’s game sounds right up my alley. It’s in vogue at the moment for low poly, ps1 horror games, but even besides that, I love exploration horror games. If ye ever finish it or want people to test play, let me know!!
Was the operation a toenail thing? I once had to get an ingrown toenail removed, and watching my toe get tourniquetted (?), injected, and then have half my toenail get cut down the middle was fascinating. It had grown so far down the side of my toe that it came out with a pop. Sad you missed the concert but I’m sure hearing about it or seeing a video will fill in a bit of the void. Going to Charli XCX next week, my first time seeing her despite being an avid fan of hers since the 2017 mixtape days. It was so strange seeing her become a ‘main pop girl’ when a few years ago people called her stuff ‘pots and pans music’. A bit vindicating, though I’m sad I never got to see her at a more intimate show. I guess that’s the nature of living in Ireland and so far away from Dublin.
My house is a bit of a mess at the moment with my roommate moving out, been here about 4 or so years so they have a lot of stuff. We got a new washing machine though, the last one was at the minimum 9 years old, and the warranty was 10. So that’s good.
I need to start getting my stuff packed into bags so I can move it all easier tomorrow, but I’m just putting it off. In my pedantic organization mindset, I set up a simple spreadsheet for my video game backlog, so I can see what I’m playing and what I want to play next. Going to set something up for films too, and then start planning my weeks out so I can mark out what days I have to watch a film, and what days I have to do [blank]. It feels weird having to plan these things out, but my brain needs a bit of structure or else I just become a ghostly figure who does nothing but think.
Oh forgot to mention!! I remember Shrooms when it came out. I was about 5 or 6 but because it was an Irish film it got a lot of attention here, and my little brain fell in scary-love with the poster, a skull made from moonlight and bent mushrooms. I still haven’t seen it, I doubt it’s much good. But maybe someday I might meet the director or designer of that poster and warm their hearts with the impact that their film had on little child me
Hi Dennis
First off, I would like to say that the weather up here hasn’t improved; it’s dreadfully mild when it isn’t raining. The day is coloured with white and greys, and I can’t find anything comfortable to wear whenever I go out on one of my walks because it’s either too hot or too cold, or it rains and makes sweating unbearable. Nevertheless, we persist.
I would love to play your video game btw, it sounds up my alley. I love the warm, uncanny feeling of primitive 3D graphics. I think there’s something really compelling there. I loved the feeling of a horror video game as a kid. I think I just liked feeling alien in there.
I’m very down to meet you in Paris, Alice is too. She doesn’t get out of England much, so I wanna show her a good time down there. I assume she will fit in quite well. July works, my birthday is on the 26th, so it’s the last real month of being 21 (a dubious, slightly overrated age) – and I’m free for nearly all of that time. I do expect Alice to ask you about Ryan Trecartin since she’s a big fan, so be prepared for that (Alice, I know yr laughing reading this, but I’m just being real for the both of us 😉 )
As for right now, some personal drama has popped up between some close friends of mine. So emotionally, I’m a bit volatile, I guess. Funny, I mentioned my old counsellor, since she would probably have been a great help. I might email her again after this. I dunno, I’m really drama averse, I hate confrontation. I remember a quote by Gide where, in a letter, he told his friend, “Rather than confronting opposition, I prefer to adopt the opinion of the other party.” = I feel this has been true of me for most of my life (though there are many lines and limits to what I will put up with). – But I would rather not lose people who I find important to me and my heart. Anyhow, wish you the best. And thank you for offering to meet me in Paris.
Hi Dennis! It’s wonderful to hear that share you possess that optimism. The local circles I’ve involved myself in have enabled my own. In my first year of university, I was jaded from living by myself for the first time. Suddenly these repressed feelings jumped me. I wasn’t sure how to respond. This coincided with the start of my transition. I felt like I couldn’t act for myself and instead made decisions under pressures in my life that I’ve seen challenged. I’m thankful to have a circle of friends that pushed me out of that isolation. By going to social events, I witnessed how others could make a space for themselves to express themselves. It didn’t just challenge my prior expectations of gender. It also gave me the space to breathe during my difficulties in finding myself. I feel I wouldn’t have gained that insight if not for the perspectives of young people who were the same age as me. I hope those perspectives are listened to by others.
Thank you for sending those links! It’s interesting to see where you can find certain films on different platforms. For example, I’ve had luck finding works I’ve wanted to see on the Internet Archive. Also helps that I have friends who host regular watch parties. Those are events that I appreciate. I host my own in a little group chat I keep for my social circle. Tomorrow is the next screening. I’ve never seen it, but I’ll be watching Paul Verhoven’s Showgirls. It’s fascinated me for a long time. Do you have thoughts on the film?
I hope those shows will be a great time. Reminds me that I need to give Sparks a listen. They’ve existed around me for a while. I know certain friends who are deep into their discography. A lot of the shows I’ll be seeing will be of artists I’ve been wanting to see in a live capacity for some time. My last concert was Slowdive up in London and it was a wonderful experience. On the topic of shoegaze, I’ll also be seeing My Bloody Valentine later in the year. Need to remind myself to get ear protection for that one lol. May also see Swans too. I know their new album will be their last “big sound” release, so I’d like to see them perform under that setting.
I hope that your week has had a nice start. I’m spending the day inside but tomorrow I’ll be picking up some scrapbooks. Our conversations have motivated me to sketch out certain characters. There are portraits of them that have been lingering in my mind for a while. I feel ready to put it down on a note and see where I go from there. Take care!
Hi! I’ve actually never had a chocolate pancake, or a magic mushroom. But I learned a lot about those today……..including the fact that I could grow them in Florida, looks like.
Thanks for humoring my ideas about George/Jim . I thought I saw some similarities, from what I heard you say in interviews . Not that you need to consciously base all your characters on real people . Something makes me doubt the narrator of ‘Marbled Swarm’ was inspired by someone you knew…….at least I hope not .
I peeked at you mentioning the director Todd Solondz earlier . I love ‘Happiness’ . I remember reading the published screenplay of it when I was at Disney, in one of those huge Virgin Megastores they used to have around. Remember those ? They were like Tower Records, but with book/magazine sections too . Guess they all went under years ago.
later!
What do you think are the virtues of chocolate? When I first read A Season in Hell, I didn’t know much of anything about Rimbaud’s story, so I assumed he was much older when he wrote it. I guess he existed in a time before the concept of a “teenager” as we know it today, so the expectations for a man his age were different. I’ve always been said to have an authority problem, so I always really appreciate when a young person shows their full potential. I might try microdosing shrooms with my friends when I go back to Chicago in August. My friend did it for the first time the other day and it seemed like a good experience for her. Do you have a preferred psychedelic?
Hey Dennis. So sure I commented on yesterday’s post but it didn’t go through for some reason. Probably said something about loving chocolate (in excessive moderation), an upcoming sleepover (that I’m now in the middle of), and wished you the best for your upcoming travel, ending with something on one of the books I’d read that day. It’s scary that my commenting is predictable, so I’ll think of ways to switch it up. Until I do, and given the general lack of thinking space/privacy afforded to one at a sleepover, Mycology’s Greatest Hit is an excellent title for a blog post, because of the elision (?) of the expected S at the end of that last word. A fitting tribute to Sly Stone, from what I know of him.
PS- In the middle of my recent crashout, I calmed myself down by drawing Nixon yaoi (an old trick of mine; it really does work to help you get in good cheer) and a friend of mine remarked that he wished he knew what the old man was like in person and I thought of you, who did know him and had him over for dinner. In small ways like this, you are often on my mind.
Re: SALO, I was referring to the fact that the actors were really eating chocolate in the scat scenes.
When grey market weed dispensaries opened in New York, many were also selling psychedelic mushrooms, but there was a big crackdown. Some delis and gas stations sell “magic mushroom chocolate bars,” but they never specify what’s in them, so it’s unlikely to be psilocybin or anything else psychedelic.
After you quit weed and LSD, did you keep using mushrooms?
It looks pretty definite that my first show will be Saturday. I’ve signed up for an account with the website the station uses to broadcast, and I’m trying to complete my first set list before I meet with the station manager. The studio is very small, so they don’t have a music library. All of the music will be played off my laptop’s hard drive, so I’ve been spending the day downloading songs. Were there many other DJs at your station in the ’70s who had similar taste?
Mushrooms are definitely cool. I know my stepdad loves magic mushrooms in a super un-cool way (i.e. turning on bad electronica, talking about how we’re all the same deep down, etc.), so they don’t have any of the transgressive appeal that drugs often come packaged with – I imagine parents getting into micro-dosing has probably done more to stop drug use than any other initiative in history. I like the idea of falling into my own subconscious though, I’m just nervous about dissappating interesting mysteries about myself – I dread finding out I’m entirely motivated by something simple, like being liked by everyone or having lots of money. But your post today definitely sets up a compelling argument in the other direction so… who knows?
Yes, we are in agreement about imposition of fantasy on other people, that’s a great way of putting it. It’s not something I’ve ever had to really do a lot of soul-searching about, given I’m pretty asexual and like guys who are older than me, but I definitely hate it whenever I see it. Hopefully going to talk it over with my friend tomorrow, but yeah, if it’s as simple as I think it is I have no qualms about really cutting him off. I may take your lead with the “we can talk again when you’ve had a ton of therapy” tack. Thank you for the reality check about this friend, you’re a saint (or the alternative, if that’s more your style). My sister (big fan of I Wished, FYI) says “hi!”, by the way!
P.S., Diesel Clementine, I was worried your name was totally procedurally generated by some simple algorithm, so it’s cool to know it’s a mishmash of two things you like. The two things not being congruent is a nice wrinkle too, so thank you for sharing!
Hey. I got my dissertation marked, which was the opening of the novel I’m working on now. It got a passing mark but God, the person who marked it really really hated it and I could tell. They disparagingly called it churlish (which I was going for at points), though also called it innovative, so for sure it wasn’t all bad. Stuff like this doesn’t really get to me, I don’t care at all if someone likes it or not, but I do think now that once it’s done I should try and send it to people who I actually trust the judgment of in case they pick up on something I missed. More to see how certain things affect certain people rather than looking for guidance. Anyway, they at least didn’t find it boring. I’m writing what I want to read more than anything else and surely someone else’s taste out there crosses over with mine?
Also, if I’ve offended someone’s modesty with my stylistic sensibility then I’m sort of impressed with myself, and I’m of course sticking to my guns if it’s the last thing I do. I refuse to be mediocre. It’s just interesting to think about how people perceive what you write. The marker was suggesting that future edits should cut what happen to be my favourite passages in the hopes of normalising it which I’m unwilling to do. Why can’t I write about ‘Grease’ and ‘Pinocchio’ and the opening of ‘Superman’? Try to stop me.
Am yet to imbibe in mushrooms, I have conflicting reports about the effects. Some tell me that they are more anxiety inducing than acid, some say they are more relaxed. I always liked the idea of acid being a chemical, it seemed more punk than ingesting something from the earth, which sounds kind of hippyish. Such a weird defense of weed that it’s natural and thus can apparently never have any negative effect at all.
Anyway, I’m not in the right place for resuming my psychedelic explorations at the moment, but I’m eagerly awaiting coming to a point when I will be.