http://www.brainsturbator.com/site/comments/kary_mullis_doc_ellis_and_a_meditation_on_lsd/

My all time favorite is MLB pitcher Doc Ellis, who pitched a perfect game in 1970 while he was tripping, and by his account, tripping his balls off.  Doc Ellis was a rare breed in many respects.  Later, in 1974, he came to the conclusion—probably not while tripping—that his teamates has gotten soft and needed a lesson in keeping it real.  At a press conference before a game with the Cincinatti Reds, he announced:

“We gonna get down. We gonna do the do. I’m going to hit these motherfuckers.”

The man was definitely not kidding:

Ellis opened the contest by drilling leadoff hitter Pete Rose in the ribs; hitting the next batter, Joe Morgan, in the side; and then plunking Dan Driessen in the back to load the bases. Although clean-up hitter Tony Perez managed to dodge Ellis’ pitches long enough to draw a walk before being hit, Dock aimed his next two offerings at Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench’s head, whereupon he was unceremoniously yanked from the game by Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh.

Of course, this isn’t all a fun, happy parade of beautiful success stories and baseball love.  LSD has destroyed plenty of people as well: Phillip K. Dick probably could have used a bit less acid in his life.  Syd Barrett disappeared, and Matisyahu used acid back in the 90s and....well, just look at him now.

Well, it might actually be illegal to publicize someone’s private emails without permission, but:

Don’t you realize how many young - YOUNG - kids are reading your site, looking up to you, and getting this rah-rah LSD cheerleader bullshit?  You don’t even pretend to care that these drugs have destroyed peoples minds and peoples lives, you just focus on whats GOOD ABOUT ACID and you’re setting kids up for a bad expereince, period.  I can’t believe that decades after we all saw this kind of naive hippie bullshit FAIL here you are again resurrecting this bullshit again and setting up a new generation for the same mistakes.  RIGHT ON.

Reminded me, for some reason, of Hunter “Don’t Do Drugs” Thompson’s most eloquent and hypocritical passage from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:

That was the fatal flaw in Tim Leary’s trip. He crashed around America selling “consciousness expansion” without ever giving a thought to the grim meat-hook realities that were lying in wait for all the people who took him seriously… All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding for three bucks a hit. But their loss and failure is ours too. What Leary took down with him was the central illusion of a whole life-style that he helped create.

It also reminded me of a conversation I had with an early guru of mine, who told me part of The Gig was pushing people off cliffs to see if they could fly.  I asked how to tell if people were ready, and she said you can generally tell if someone is unprepared because they hit the ground after you push them.

Take that to mean whatever you want it to mean, I guess.

It’s the same old tired supposition that we should censor ourselves so children with inadequate guidance will be less likely to do themselves harm.

I can hear Mrs. Lovejoy now, “Won’t someone PLEASE think of the children?”

Yeah, “psychedelics” aren’t for everyone. Someone with the pre-disposition for schizophrenia can develop the disorder after a single dose. Fragile psyches beware!

I’m feeling a bit like a meta-physical Darwinist. We are “the captains of our fate.” We get what’s coming to us. If we don’t like it, tough titty, we brought it on.

FULL SPEED AHEAD!