In one of those serendipitous discoveries, I found that Comcast's On-Demand is showing a documentary on Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic trip across the United States in a painted bus called "Further." Although the hour was late and sleep called, I had to immediately watch "Magic Trip," the History Channel-funded film.
The film, pieced together from movies taken by Kesey and crew on the trip (the initial motive for the journey was to make a film), was exhilarating and hilarious, although the antics of the proto-hippies now seem ill-conceived, jejune and wasteful.
How wonderful and relevatory to see characters in "living color" I'd only read about previously. Kesey with his physical power and charisma, bursts from the screen. Neal Cassidy, the hero of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," also shows his legendary physical dynamism and electric non-stop raps. Although he was constantly on speed, driving through the night and talking even when no one is listening except for the microphone, Cassidy despite his love of nutty,unexpected adventures comes off as an adult, knowing how to change tires and get out of frequent scrapes with the highway patrol. Cameo appearances are made by an amusingly proper Larry McMurtry, perplexed when his old Stanford chum Kesey and the Pranksters show up at his home in a rarified Houston neighborhood, a sadly diminished Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. A young and beardless Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead play a significant role in the film's look at the famed Kesey acid tests, the subject of a book by Tom Wolfe (not even mentioned).
The less famous members of the crew come off as silly, confused, bewildered, infantile and mentally derangedl. I felt something like pity for them, along with the sick fascination of watching impaired people acting out their delusions. One or two of them show intelligence in commenting upon the experience. Others are just children trapped in Kesey's artistic and social experiment.
Frequent LSD trips mark the cross-country journey. Kesey is an early LSD apostle, although the film shows Timothy Leary and Ram Dass shunning the group when it shows up at Kesey's LSD experimental station in New York. Kesey first took acid as part of a government-funded experiment at Stanford. The experiment is shown is excruciating detail, with Kesey recording his observations in a tape recorder, then in an interview with a nurse who may be a Nurse Ratched prototype. Kesey's psychedelic visions sound pretty much like any other acid trip, showing how mundane and unordinary the so-called "revelations" really were.
Like other "happenings" and political street theater projects of the time, the trip of Further doesn't hold up aethetically. Most of the crews' antics while on acid don't appear very imaginative and innovative. Yet, the film, with its comments from Kesey and Cassidy and its constant attempt to show the context of the times, still possesses great charm and energy. As with Andy Warhol's similar aesthetic experiments with a crew of acolytes, Kesey's experiment looks like a grand failure. At the end, he turned against the counter-culture folks who kept showing up at his Oregon farm, and the widespread use of acid, although he kept maintaining the value of its use for select visionaries such as himself.
Kesey says to an unnamed interviewer who sounds like "Fresh Air's" Terry Gross that he kept writing to the end. Yet, at least in posthumous works that have been published so far, he never reached the heights of his earlier works, the classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "Sometimes a Great Notion." Kesey wasted much creative energy in the Magic Trip. While the film is amusing, I wish we would have had instead later, artistically mature, books from Kesey.
By the way, I was glad to hear Kesey say he didn't like the movie made from "Cuckoo's Nest," although he liked the Broadway play (Kirk Douglas played Randall McMurphy.) Kesey thought the movie, starring Jack Nicholson, focused too much on the conflict between McMurphy and the Big Nurse. On reviewing the movie several years ago, I hated the misogynistic portrayal of Ratched, although Louise Fletcher won an Academy Award for her performance.
....Note: Terry Daughtery, interviewed by Southern Bookman after his fine biography on Donald Bartheleme, will have a biography out this month on "Catch 22" writer Joseph Heller. A riveting excerpt is in this month's Vanity Fair.
Many couples strive to have a wedding like the types they see on Television or in bridal magazines. But this is so unrealistic that it basically sets you up for disappointment. It's a wiser approach to strategy a wedding that puts the focus on the couple and never on extravagant extras. This article can assist yous make a decision what is essential for the wedding ceremony.
Get help! No matter if you receive aid from family members canada goose jackets
friends or employ a wedding planner, don't attempt to plan the marriage ceremony all by oneself! Planning a wedding ceremony is a massive job for 2 people today, and can give you pressure that you don't require. Delegate responsibilities - to ensure that you may remain tranquil and have enjoyable with it!
On the subject of a wedding, make sure to contemplate the date of your marriage ceremony in accordance to everybody that you simply would like to possess go to. This really is critical for the reason that whilst it is actually meant to be your unique day, you need to make sure that you aren't triggering logistic problems for individuals that you simply would like to possess attend but can not as a result of other schedule conflicts.
If you are having only 1 beautician performing all of the makeup and hair designs, it is best to be sure the bride may be the final to possess it accomplished. Fresh makeup and hair is heading to make all of the difference in the look with the bride on her massive day.
It really is effortless to neglect the fundamentals within the midst of one's massive scale wedding ceremony organizing. Apart from the crucial points like choosing a venue, selecting a caterer, and picking out a dress, you will also ought to make certain you've makeup, tissues, and perhaps even some Advil. Making a checklist of all of the basic and tiny Supra Shoes
issues you could want is a excellent method to be ready.
As mentioned above, dream weddings exist only on television and in bridal publications. Real people have genuine weddings that are occasionally low important but nonetheless beautiful occasions. The couple really should be the center with the marriage ceremony, not the decorations and particulars. By adopting the smart techniques within this write-up, you may possess a gorgeous wedding ceremony without having an extravagant budget.
Posted by: thamenunteels | 12/07/2011 at 03:59 AM
Are you certainly one of those people that cannot cook to save your life? Have you burned water or spilled an entire carton of milk? Do not be concerned -- cooking is easy, and this write-up is here to show you how! Read on to locate out basic ideas to help you cook far better!
It is a very good notion to cook your green vegetables in boiling hot water. For those who spot the veggies in cold water and wait for it to come to a boil you'll canada goose jackets
a lot of the green color since the chlorophyll in them will leech into the water.
Freeze overripe bananas. You don't need to throw out brown bananas. If they're overripe before you'll be able to eat them, just freeze them for later. Overripe bananas are nonetheless ideal for smoothies. You are able to even use them as an ingredient in baked goods like banana bread or muffins.
Shop your home-baked goodies and leftovers that require refrigeration in square or rectangular-shaped storage containers. Round containers are fantastic, but take up precious refrigerator space although square and rectangular containers make essentially the most in the limited shelf space. Rectangular storage containers also are less difficult to stack and shop and save on space in your cupboards too.
As you'll be able to see, cooking isn't so tough as you might have created it out to be. As long as you stick with basic recipes and follow the straightforward strategies laid out in this write-up, you will be cooking like a pro and saving oneself income on food in no time.
Cooking Guidelines For Your On The Go Life-style
Have you usually wanted to turn out to be a far better cook? There are numerous guidelines and ideas on the best way to enhance your method in cooking. Studying tips on how to cook superior Louis Vuitton Online
get pleasure from it much more can improve the quality of life for you and your family. Read this write-up for some neat suggestions that cooks of all experience levels can use.
Posted by: thamenunteels | 12/13/2011 at 04:21 AM
bhpsf gfozx moncler 2012 モンクレール アウトレット ダウンジャケット 女性用 zkstr hvhrwn Ken Kesey's "Magic Trip" - Southern Bookman cpyuhzv bottes ugg pas cher 2011 bottes ugg bottes ugg laine tvwquaf qzpms bottes ugg grenoble bottes ugg bottes ugg original iyfmcdkn bottes ugg pour homme bottes ugg kit entretien bottes ugg dgarsuyt
Posted by: accercebome | 11/18/2012 at 09:07 PM