100% agree. It's a big world out there with people of all kinds, living lifestyles you couldn't possibly imagine (in both a positive and a negative sense). Those rare moments you get to connect with those people, human to human, are always interesting as fuck.
Every time I took acid in public, I was a magnet for massive weirdos, but every time it's ended fantastically well.
(Can't responsibly recommend though, there were very real risks of getting stabbed or robbed a couple times)
Having an in-depth conversation with a crossdressing or trans street sex worker at 0100, claiming they were thirty but who looked eighteen at most, looking to do tricks for meth money, while I was outside of a bar on karaoke night on acid.
She showed me her DeviantArt page, which included a drawing of her as a queen on a playing card fellating a shampoo bottle. It was the most fucked up, but interesting drug-addled conversation I've ever had. Very friendly, eventually went down a block to another group of people because quote 'They look pretty drunk'.
Every part of this sounds made up, but I swear it's true.
Edit: For some reason, I think it's important to point out this was a Thursday night.
Brain - Candied
Tapeworm - Fed
Heads - Crushed
Chicken- Ladied
Take that, atheists 😎
I mean, kinda, yeah.
Here is a random list of songs I like, in my opinion under the umbrella of country in one way or another (though some stretch that a little. Or a lot. Don't @ me, die-hard country fans).
Some may, indeed, involve beer, trucks, and American Christian propaganda - but pleasant sounding at least. I'm also confirmed to be pretty lame, and that may be reflected in my choices here.
I also never said you needed to dig deep - some/most of this is like, a fingernail scratch. But if you find something here you dig, strongly recommend diving deeper into the artist.
Merle Haggard - Mama Tried
George Jones - White Lightning
The Highwaymen - Highwayman
Dick Curless - The Heartline Special
Eddy Arnold - Cowpoke
Conway Twitty - Hello Darlin'
Townes Van Zandt - Waiting Around to Die
Sons of the Pioneers - Empty Saddles
Marty Robbins - Running Gun
Willie Nelson - Bubbles in my Beer
Hank Thompson - A Six Pack to Go
Johnny Cash - Sunday Morning Coming Down
Sonny James - Baltimore
Del Reeves - A Dime at A Time
Dale Hawkins - Everglades
Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West - Blue Bonnet Rag
Tim Carroll - I Think Hank Woulda Done It This Way
Buddy Emmons - Orange Blossom Special
Tommy Collins - You Better Not Do That
The Louvin Brothers - Satan is Real [here's that propaganda I told you about - still love this song]
Eddie Noack - Psycho
Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed - Jerry's Breakdown
Tom T. Hall - That's How I Got to Memphis
Roger Miller - Dang Me
There is, in fact, good country music that isn't just about trucks, beer, flags, and right-wing U.S. propaganda.
People have a lot of hate for the genre due to the mass appeal, common denominator examples. But like with all music, dig a little deeper beyond what gets radio play and you can find some good shit.
Man, every so often when I'm at work, I'll still daydream about renting out my local theatre, having them use a black question mark rather than the private rental image on their schedule website with a note that it's a private rental with public access, then playing the Church of the Subgenius' recruitment video (link for the interested: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o0x9ymMQUg8). Or, depending on my mood, one of those desert series stoner rock concert videos.
Only thing stopping me is money, and the fact that ARISE is on DVD rather than Blu-ray - I don't want to do Stang and co dirty like that, it would look like shit.
For me, it's sheer laziness. Can't be arsed to shave more than once every 6 to 10 months.
Do always find it funny when folks react strongly when I do shave. It's hair growth, not a personality.
I agree - figuring out how to take advantage of time dilation for therapeutic purposes would be very cool, and potentially quite useful. This is kind of what I hope comes from renewed research into psychedelics, being able to pick out the mechanisms for all the different effects and developing techniques to cherrypick just a few with therapeutic benefit with a much reduced risk of freak out. We may already be there re:time dilation alone with TCMS or something, idk.
But real talk - which do you see getting funded for wider use first, 5 year retreat in an hour, or psychic prison?
(Actually, saying it at loud it might be even odds, depending on the price tag folks can assign to the retreat)
Man, fuck society's outdated edicts - as long as you're able to feed yourself, you're doing amazing in my book.
What now? A lot of options still on the table, but here's something to think about: one element of the whole fatherhood thing is passing down the knowledge you've gathered from all of this for your child's benefit/enrichment. But you aren't going to have kids, which is fine. So - are there any other means to share your knowledge/experience with the next generation? Preferably in meatspace?
One Christmas, my mother-in-law gave me an unopened bottle of whisky they had in their cabinet for a while. It was some of the best whisky I've ever had. About halfway through the bottle on Boxing Day, I took a moment to look up the cost (it's since gone up in price, but you'll get the idea)
https://dekanta.com/store/suntory-hibiki-30-years-old/
I. Was. Horrified. I have exactly two ounces left, that I will probably consume with my wife on my deathbed.
Holy shit man, what a ride.
I'm glad you figured some of your shit out and are making progress. I've seen more than one person just crumple under less than half of what you've been through. Big ups, dude.