Thursday, November 20, 2008
What a Trip!
(1)
Whew. After seeing how 'altitude sickness' affected Ann's ability to speak in her usual brisk and coherent manner I was a bit worried, and today's TODAY SHOW brought the welcome news that the team had decided against becoming high altitude heros. Excellent decision! By the way, an Acid Trip would have been much safer and at least as astonishing. At least. Acid does not cause brain swelling and bulging eyes, for example. Or brain damage.
And also by the way, I just read the 'Acid Trip' entry above and find that my experiences with those substances was much different. That article needs a redo, but I'm busy at the moment, just beginning to work on my 4th beer. And naturally at this stage of inebriation I can't resist doing a parallel description (parody?) of the article above:
Level 1 (30 minutes to one hour)
Nothing for the first 15 or 20 minutes. Then a kind of restlessness. Something isn't right. A bit of anxiety (expecially the first time). A need to take deep breaths now and then.
Level 2 (two to three hours)
The buzz begins. At first it is very much like a booze buzz, but then it continues to increase in intensity. You start loving it. This is a very sensual time. The buzz exceeds every previous booze buzz. You are astonished, but the buzz continues to increase! You notice strange visual effects: angles that had previously seemed normal become distorted. The visual world becomes very colorful. Quite beautiful. Closed eyes reveal an amazing kalidescope of color, not the usual blackness. Synthesia appears: sound bleeds over into visual, and music becomes a visual as well as an auditory experience. (The reverse does not happen.) It's the most beautiful thing you have ever seen or ever will see.
Level 3 (varies, usually less than one hour)
This level defines the midpoint of the trip and varies depending on how much Acid you have done. The 'perfect dose' of Acid will bring you to the 'chaos point' then allow you to recover into levels 4 and 5. The 'perfect dose' is rarely achieved, however, because of various factors such as, for example, how long since your last meal, etc. (Blogger went belly-up at that point and I abandoned the blog and the booze for supper. Yum.) The 'chaos' state is difficult to define or describe because normal cortex functioning has disappeared. You will recognize as it approaches and you won't like it.
Level 4 (four or five hours)
This level begins out of chaos and you will rejoice at the first taste of it. You can do little more than observe, at that point, but what a scene! Visual effects become less intense as your normal thinking functions return bit by bit. It is as if you were totally disassembled but are now being reassembled as you watch. It is an astonishing revelation which changes your understanding forever.
level 5
By far, this level takes the most time to play out, and it is difficult to point to the end of it as it tapers off. If you can fall asleep, you are out of it. Total: about 12 hours.
Whew. After seeing how 'altitude sickness' affected Ann's ability to speak in her usual brisk and coherent manner I was a bit worried, and today's TODAY SHOW brought the welcome news that the team had decided against becoming high altitude heros. Excellent decision! By the way, an Acid Trip would have been much safer and at least as astonishing. At least. Acid does not cause brain swelling and bulging eyes, for example. Or brain damage.
And also by the way, I just read the 'Acid Trip' entry above and find that my experiences with those substances was much different. That article needs a redo, but I'm busy at the moment, just beginning to work on my 4th beer. And naturally at this stage of inebriation I can't resist doing a parallel description (parody?) of the article above:
Level 1 (30 minutes to one hour)
Nothing for the first 15 or 20 minutes. Then a kind of restlessness. Something isn't right. A bit of anxiety (expecially the first time). A need to take deep breaths now and then.
Level 2 (two to three hours)
The buzz begins. At first it is very much like a booze buzz, but then it continues to increase in intensity. You start loving it. This is a very sensual time. The buzz exceeds every previous booze buzz. You are astonished, but the buzz continues to increase! You notice strange visual effects: angles that had previously seemed normal become distorted. The visual world becomes very colorful. Quite beautiful. Closed eyes reveal an amazing kalidescope of color, not the usual blackness. Synthesia appears: sound bleeds over into visual, and music becomes a visual as well as an auditory experience. (The reverse does not happen.) It's the most beautiful thing you have ever seen or ever will see.
Level 3 (varies, usually less than one hour)
This level defines the midpoint of the trip and varies depending on how much Acid you have done. The 'perfect dose' of Acid will bring you to the 'chaos point' then allow you to recover into levels 4 and 5. The 'perfect dose' is rarely achieved, however, because of various factors such as, for example, how long since your last meal, etc. (Blogger went belly-up at that point and I abandoned the blog and the booze for supper. Yum.) The 'chaos' state is difficult to define or describe because normal cortex functioning has disappeared. You will recognize as it approaches and you won't like it.
Level 4 (four or five hours)
This level begins out of chaos and you will rejoice at the first taste of it. You can do little more than observe, at that point, but what a scene! Visual effects become less intense as your normal thinking functions return bit by bit. It is as if you were totally disassembled but are now being reassembled as you watch. It is an astonishing revelation which changes your understanding forever.
level 5
By far, this level takes the most time to play out, and it is difficult to point to the end of it as it tapers off. If you can fall asleep, you are out of it. Total: about 12 hours.
