Comments on: What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been

By: bill the turk

bill the turk — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 13:38:57 +0000

Over the years, my interest in the work of Cornelius Castoriadis has more than once led to a moment of conversational awkwardness, when it turned out that the other party had been quietly distracted by the effort to figure out what the anti-totalitarian left had to do with taking peyote.With time I have learned to detect the signs of struggle early…

You think you’ve got problems? Try writing a PhD dissertation on ‘I’ as an indexical term with special reference to the work of Hector-Neri Castaneda…

(Mind you, some of the literature on that topic looks as though it might have been written by someone on peyote.)

By: e-tat

e-tat — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:16:13 +0000

This convinced me that Anthropology (at least as taught at my alma mater) was, for the most part, bullsh*t.

Because it accurately represents the object of study ?

By: Brock

Brock — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:49:35 +0000

Sadly, an excerpt from Casteneda (the bit where he turns into a crow) was used in my Anthropology 101 textbook.

This convinced me that Anthropology (at least as taught at my alma mater) was, for the most part, bullsh*t.

By: Alex Earl

Alex Earl — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:29:15 +0000

‘I have no idea what a real anthropologist is, these days.’

Touche. And, indeed.

By: tps12

tps12 — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:26:44 +0000

Plus there’s that odd “gringo” dropped in about a third of the way through. Would Salon have published “wetback” just as casually?

Chill out, whitey.

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:49:02 +0000

when he started talking about being connected to some seperate, self-sustained reality, any thought that he was a real anthropologist went out the window

I have no idea what a real anthropologist is, these days.

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:58:27 +0000

That’s a lot of work by the Salon author, dedicated to debunking someone debunked more than a quarter century ago. And the author doesn’t seem particularly skeptical about sources who promote his point of view. Plus there’s that odd “gringo” dropped in about a third of the way through. Would Salon have published “wetback” just as casually? Somebody wake the copyeditor, please.

By: I'm Clean Mom

I'm Clean Mom — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 06:56:47 +0000

Re: “the effort to figure out what the anti-totalitarian left had to do with taking peyote.”

This takes effort?

By: wierd starwars » Strange What Long a It s Trip Been

wierd starwars » Strange What Long a It s Trip Been — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 06:50:07 +0000

[...] … Over the years, my interest in the work of Cornelius Castoriadis has more than once led to a jiffy of conversational awkwardness, when it turned out that the other party had been quietly distracted by the effort to figure out what the … Strange Fruit launched since a poem with reference to the lynching of a black man written by a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx Abel Meeropol, who used the pen name Lewis Allan (the names of his two youth, who died in infancy). continue here… [...]

By: news of the wierd » Strange What Long a It s Trip Been

news of the wierd » Strange What Long a It s Trip Been — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 06:06:52 +0000

By: josh

josh — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:17:57 +0000

I have to admit that I too initial mixed up the two CCs (I forget which one I heard about first), and for I time I did think there was a guy who was associated both with the anti-totalitarian left and peyote. Which seemed like the coolest thing ever to my high-school self.

By: r4d20

r4d20 — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 01:55:06 +0000

My friend’s husband is really into finding wisdom through natural chemicals. Gravity is natural but a rock from the sky will still kill your ass.

Lol. I remember a segment from the Daily Show many years back about some kids who died after taking too much Ephedra aka. “Herbal Extacy” at a Rave. J.S. quoted some of the friends of the deceased saying “It’s so unexpected. We thought it would be safe because the bottle said it was ‘All Natural’” and then added “…they said before quaffing a refreshing Hemlock Smoothie”.

I’m sure it loses something in my re-telling, but I remembering laughing my ass off and thinking it was a great way of illustrating the utter stupidity of those who naively equate “Natural” with “Good for you”.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 01:13:48 +0000

My friend’s husband is really into finding wisdom through natural chemicals.

Gravity is natural but a rock from the sky will still kill your ass.

By: Walt

Walt — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:13:09 +0000

You know, I never knew that the books were supposed to be true. I thought the “as told to” structure was just a narrative device. (Admittedly, I’ve never read them.)

By: Alex Earl

Alex Earl — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:05:22 +0000

I remember picking up the first book in the Carlos Casteneda series a few years ago and getting a huge kick out of it. I do believe certain drugs can provide valuable life-altering experiences, and his book legitimized that for me in its own way.

At the same time, when he started talking about being connected to some seperate, self-sustained reality, any thought that he was a real anthropologist went out the window. Neurochemical explanations are sufficient for my purposes.