what is D DUBS READS?

The Dream Machine

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 17:09:48 -0500

The 21st-century version of the Merry Prankster’s “Furthur” bus, found in Québec.

Via You Drive What?

California Marijuana Legalization Debate

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 13:10:55 -0500

Here is former Judge James Gray speaking about the advantages of legalizing marijuana in California. California is one of the fourteen states that currently allows medical marijuana, but the DEA still disrespect state laws by raiding legal dispensaries and head shops. These businesses act according to state law, and some of them make a lot of money for the state by paying taxes, yet our federal government is so afraid of relinquishing control they don’t even have that they are willing to go into a state like California and break state laws. Listen to the video - Judge Gray does a lot better job of articulating his points than I do.

Via Stop the Drug War.

The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda

Wed, 3 Mar 2010 18:35:31 -0500

This may be the first book that truly exposed me to psychedelic literature. I have just completed it for my third time, and it was just as fresh as the times I read it during college.

Carlos Castaneda was an American author who wrote a series of books about his experiences with traditional Mesoamerican Shamanism. The books that follow The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge are also excellent, and I plan on re-reading the series and reviewing it. This book is written in first person by Castaneda, and describes his apprenticeship with a Yaqui shaman named don Juan Matus. The two met in 1960 while Castaneda was seeking first hand knowledge about the hallucinogen peyote. Don Juan agreed to help Castaneda, but refused to speak about peyote for a long time. Eventually, don Juan and Castaneda shared experiences with mescalito (peyote), datura inoxia (jimson weed) and humito (a smoke-mixture comprised of various herbs and psilocybe mexicana).

Castaneda describes his experiences with these plants and the realm of the unknown they took him to, which he calls nonordinary reality. This term indicates that the realm was a reality, but different from the ordinary reality experienced by human beings during their daily lives. In Castaneda’s interpretation, ordinary reality was simply a description of life that has been pounded into everyone’s awareness since they were infants. Having had a few experiences with this realm myself, I definitely agree with Castaneda that these are real places and real events that one experiences. They are different from everyday reality, but they are just as real as anything experiences during an ordinary day. It is something one has to undergo alone, and it cannot be explained using our ordinary language and syntax.

It is difficult to say what is so magical about The Teachings of Don Juan; it is a journey to foreign places. It is in essence an adventure story written by an anthropologist. As the series progresses, it seems to me as if parts of Castaneda’s intellect are reshaped by his apprenticeship with don Juan, and it becomes easier for him to explain his experiences in nonordinary reality in words. Many people think that Carlos Castaneda was a fraud, and that his writings are entirely fictitious. The first time I read through the series I did not know of this dissenting opinion, and I treated his words as fact. After having read some of the criticism of Castaneda’s books, it is easier for me to approach these books in a more open manner. It is as if his core message is true, but some of the details are embellished. At any rate, this is a wonderful book. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. And stay tuned for a few more Castaneda reviews... I am looking forward to re-reading the series and posting my opinions.

5/5 Stars. 210 pages. Published 1969.

Rainbow Bill

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 22:23:13 -0500

I saw this on People of Wal Mart a few weeks ago, and have been meaning to post it here for my readers. As a huge fan of tie dye, I thought it was refreshing to see something new like this guy’s amazing beard.

Here is the original source.

Hey... do you want some drugs?

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:31:36 -0500

This is one of the weirdest YouTube videos I have come across recently. Hope y’all enjoy!

Alice in Wonderland Tattoo

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:03:26 -0500

Absolutely amazing. Disney and Tim Burton’s remake of Alice in Wonderland will emerge one week from today, on March 5.

I’m definitely excited for the release, as the original Lewis Carroll novel is one of my favorite books. A review for the book was posted last year, and can be found here.

Photo via Technoccult.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:15:41 -0500

This novel, penned by Dominican-American author Junot Diaz, won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. That’s all I knew of it before starting it last October. I have read it off and on since then; it never really grabbed my attention until I had some free time today to sit with it and finally finish it.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is set in New Jersey and the Dominican Republic and follows a set of characters through the 1940s to the 1990s. Most of the book focuses on the main family’s negative experiences with violent dictator Rafael Trujillo. The story chronicles not only Oscar’s tale, but also that of his sister, Lola, and their extended family.

The novel opens with an explanation of fukú, which is generally seen as a great curse, that seems to be plaguing the family. Only a zafa, or counterspell, can ward off fukú. The narrator of the story, Yunior de Las Casas (Lola’s on/off boyfriend) explains that the re-telling of this tale is a form of zafa.

There are plenty of times that the idea of the family’s fukú make total sense - many of the women are raped or beaten by Trujillo’s Secret Police, while the men of the family are expected to keep their mouths shut or face the option of quiet death - but as a Westerner, the idea of fukú can be a foreign one. This novel is essentially a very sad tale with a lot of science-fiction references thrown in (Oscar is often described as a fatboy nerd - the kind of dorky virgin bullies pick on in high school) and it works very well. I’m sad it took me so long to finish, but it never really grabbed me. Almost every fourth word is in Spanish dialect, which kind of disturbs the flow a little bit.

Still, this is a great story - and you should probably read it. This is a great sample of modern fiction at its best.

4/5 Stars. 340 pages. Published 2007.

How To Distract a Free Throw Shooter

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:16:04 -0500

One Utah State fan is doing more than his part while Idaho’s taking it’s shot at some free throws. Look for shirtless cupid Bill to the right of the goal in this clip, nearly naked and very distracting.

Via YesButNoButYes.

Soul Train Line Dance Video

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:46:02 -0500

I thought this might brighten up somebody’s day. It did for me! This episode was shot in 1973 and features The O’Jays “Love Train.” The line includes Fred “Re-Run” Berry from the 70s television show “What’s Happening.”

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:54:19 -0500

The first time I tried to read this book, eight years ago, it didn’t speak to me; I’m not sure I even finished it. There is a lot of similar sentiment on the Internet that I have noticed about Siddhartha. For me, being told to read this in high school was a mistake. I simply wasn’t ready for the teachings that Hesse includes in this novel.

Siddhartha is a book written about a man named Siddhartha who leaves his father’s home to become an ascetic, roaming the forest with his best friend, Govinda, begging for food and shelter. Gotama, the Buddha, comes across their path and Govinda leaves to join the monks following Buddha. Siddhartha decides that he will leave and finds a beautiful woman, Kamala, who he falls in love with and devotes himself to. While living with her, Siddhartha works for a merchant by the name of Kamaswami and becomes enchanted by his newfound riches. He forgets his former lessons. He eventually leaves Kamala and returns to a ferryman that helped him while he was an ascetic with nothing to give in return. The ferryman and Siddhartha spend many years together in meditation and peace. News that Gotama, the Buddha, has passed away sends a flurry of people to the ferrymen, because the monks need help crossing the river. Kamala is one of these people who needs help, and she brings her son Siddhartha along with her. Old man Siddhartha meets his son for the first time, and loves him unconditionally. Unfortunately he loses young Siddhartha to the forest and is very sad. Govinda shows up at the end of the book and asks Siddhartha how he found peace and there is a brilliant dialogue between the two characters.
 I think this is one of those books that can deliver a different message to each reader. It can also be read many times. It is fairly short and a good book for relaxed contemplation.

5/5 Stars. 152 pages. Published 1922.