When you come across someone who is going to change your life, you know it immediately.  Looking over my life in retrospect, I think that’s been nearly 100% true.  You never know how, why or when, but that basic super-electric charge is there the second the connection is made.  I’ve been learning many things from many people, here on these internets, but I owe more to Ben Mack than pretty much anyone else I can think of.  I am writing this as a thank you to Ben, and as a heads-up to you, the reader.

There are serious problems in the world today and I have no interest in complaining about them. Whatsoever, yo. I expect my friends to slap me as hard as they can when I start backsliding like that.  Because when I find myself asking “Why?” at this point, I’m just lying to myself.  I know exactly why, I know exactly how to change it, and neither answer is comforting. How do we break the cultural hypnosis?  How do we expect to get people to wake up and change their own lives?  I’m bringing this up here because I believe that Ben Mack has a great deal to teach about mass media, about persuasion and the creation of consensus reality, and most of all about realistic solutions to these problems.

Interested? 

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I was going to do a “We Salute You” tribute, but I realized an interview would be better.  Besides, I’m honestly unsure about how to approach even an introduction to Godforbid.  Do I say he’s one of my favorite rappers?  After all, the dude has moved on from mere hip hop—he’s currently working with That Handsome Devil, making some of the most creative shit I’ve heard since Zappa was wearing tight pants and frowning at the audience. 

Shit...there I go, making music critic comparisons. Here’s the bottom line: this interview is some of the best stuff Brainsturbator has done in 2007.  That Handsome Devil is an amazing band, and I feel confident saying that checking out their music will radically improve your day.  Godforbid is a singular human being, and you’re about to find out why directly from him.

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In the past year, I’ve been becoming a much more optimistic human being.  This is due to two things: first, seeing several of my lunatic projects take on a life of their own (and even make me money), and second, meeting up with a small network of truly amazing people.  GOMAR2 is one of them—I find this fellah to be an inspiration.  I figured it’s only right to introduce him to the Brainsturbator audience, since this is a perfect example of the “win/win/win situation” structure that’s been fascinating me for the past 12 months.

I win, because I get to present you the reader with dope content.  GOMAR2 wins, because he gets his message and his art out through a new outlet.  And you win, because this is a great interview.  An incredible interview.  See, I only wrote the questions, so I’m allowed to say that. In related news, I’ve been snoozing on the depth and extent of my international network of power weirdos, change agents, and grey magicians.  There will be quite a number of interviews in the coming months, so I’d appreciate feedback or criticism if you have any. 

With that said, let’s commence the conversatin’...

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This is Godforbid.  I think your day will be radically improved by getting familiar with his work.  Let me know if I was right.  Big article tomorrow.

Update

Yesterday, when I said “tomorrow,” I was actually not referring to today.

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This will be an unconventional We Salute You.  If you’re new to Brainsturbator, we do an irregular series of profiles on folks I consider to be Important Humans.  In the past, that’s included such admirable primates as Aubrey DeGray, Jacques Vallee, Yoshiro Nakamatsu, even UFC fighter Jeff Monson.  These are all people who are, in their own way, making a positive contribution to the human species.

G. Clotaire Rapaille is not.  At all. Rapaille is a marketing consultant, one of the highest-paid, highest-profile experts on the hidden psychological forces that drive consumers.  He is a very wealthy and successful man, and he has no qualms about the serious social damage that his work has done.  So why write about him—why “salute” him, especially?

I am writing this because Rapaille is a con man.  Rapaille is, near as I can tell, one of the most accomplished, audacious and ambitious con men alive today.  He has woven a tapestry of pre-existing ideas into something he claims is radically new—and he’s convinced the many of the most powerful people in the world that he’s right.  Considering consensus reality is against me here, you might be thinking I’ve set the bar too high—if the Fortune 500 says Rapaille is right, who am I to say he’s wrong? Just a hick with a sharp eye, folks.  I’m not asking you to agree with me, but I do think you’ll enjoy chewing this over.  Let’s take a closer look behind this curtain.

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“I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.”

Is it any wonder this man is one of my favorite directors?  This has been a policy of mine for years—I’m not interested in a movie that’s not at least as weird as my own dreams. I do not watch films to see the subtleties of real-life relationships writ large, or to witness the human drama get re-interpreted....I want huge, insane and beautiful vistas that could only exist in cinema.  (For now.) Alejandro Jodorowsky not only agrees with me, he probably thinks I’m a sissy for not making even bigger and crazier demands.

A few years ago, Jodorowsky basically didn’t exist here on the Internets—thankfully, that’s changed quickly.  Best of all, he’s even working on a new movie, rumored to be funded by none other than Marilyn Manson.  Like any worthwhile human, Jodorowsky is way more complex than we could possibly give him credit for—but we’re going to give it a shot just the same.  Director, actor, magician, occultist, therapist, artist and comic book creator—and that’s just the first couple layers.  Say hello to Alejandro Jodorowsky.

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Thanks to Kory for the heads up on this guy—a goofy, lovable and generous mad scientist from Japan who’s working towards 6000 inventions before he dies at age 144.  He has built an elaborate daily ritual which keeps him energized, loving life, and creating brilliant ideas left and right.

“In my country, the drive to succeed-and the competition-is unbelievably intense. From early on, Japanese children are under enormous pressure to learn. I was fortunate that my parents encouraged my natural curiosity along with my academic learning from the very beginning. They gave me the freedom to create and invent-which I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember.”

This began as a quick “We Salute You” post, because it’s been over a week since my last entry—but Nakamatsu’s beautiful brain has covered so much territory that I wound up with a badass article despite myself.  Please enjoy the ride.

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It’s been a long time since we did up a We Salute You—and I’ve gotten a ton of outstanding suggestions for who to feature next.  I have a list in my notebook of over 50 people we’ll cover by 2008, all of whom are truly incredible specimens...intellectual giants, humanitarian saints, revolutionary daredevils, occult masterminds, superhuman atheletes, and forgotten geniuses.

Instead of all that, I decided to go with a relatively unknown acidhead surfer named Kary Mullis.  He also happened to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, so this article will only partially be a profile of Mr. Mullis.  I also want to explore the immense benefits of psychedelics, the current state of acid science and hallucinogenic research, and the semi-secret history of LSD and it’s use by scientists, artists and creative types from all walks of life.  I think is a path worth exploring, but then again, I’m something of an acidhead myself.

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I actually had forgotten this man existed.  I rejected his existence, now that I look back, because it seemed so absurd --- but Peter Ragnar is perfectly real, and unfortunately for my ego and all it’s petty attachments, so are the challenges he presents.

Peter Ragnar, like Aubrey DeGrey, plans on living forever, but for some reason I suspect Ragnar might come a good deal closer to the mark.  He’s a lot happier, for one thing....plus, let’s face it, he looks way more healthy.  Peter Ragnar lives in the woods in Tennessee, entertaining guests and seekers and generally striking a blow against pessimism, skepticism and materialism with every breath he takes.  He is a healer, martial artist, author, and gigantic Nordic bear of a human being.

Our bullshit detectors tend to go off when we see poorly designed covers like the photo to the left, but suspend that snotty disbelief for the duration of this article.  Has Brainsturbator finally succumbed to some New Age guru?  Definitely --- SEND MONEY NOW.

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