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Oct 05
Users with a birthday within the next 7 days: theyellowdart (40), torgo23 (39)

R2N - the calendar of our lives

Also: Reb - you better let us know your plans soon because arrangements are already being made for the weekend...

At some point it would be tempting to have a psychedelic jam session

One person would play one note and everybody else would sit in awe for the next 15 minutes appreciating the subtleties of that single one tone.

Than somebody would play another note and all hell would break lose...

I found this video the other day. The blurb written about it says:

The earliest known case of musicians recording while under the effect of LSD from Los Angeles 1966. A pioneering aural kaleidoscope of shifting moods and complex atmospheres unlike anything done before and hardly since. Recorded at a time when psychedelic music did not yet exist as a genre. “LSD Underground 12” should rank as one of the greatest psychedelic music discoveries of the past 20 years. A pioneering acidhead sound unlike anything that came before it and hardly anything since... Before there was psychedelic music, there was LSD Underground 12. Recorded under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles in the Summer of 1966, this mind-blowing musical journey represents the earliest known case of musicians recording while under the effect of LSD. The result is a pioneering aural kaleidoscope of shifting moods and complex atmospheres unlike anything done before and hardly since. Recorded at a time when psychedelic music did not yet exist as a genre, it is not surprising that the music flows freely across genres, from eerie Middle Eastern desert moods and nocturnal west-coast jazz grooves into full-blown acid-rock guitar soloing, while the hallucinogenic tension is sustained and released through outbursts of piercing Avant Garde, Fluxic chaos and minimalist stasis. Sold briefly via mail-order, the 1966 record was only rumored to exist until Lysergia's recent research verified its existence. In view of its pioneering historical status and outstanding musical quality, "LSD Underground 12" should rank as one of the greatest psychedelic music discoveries of the past 20 years. A pioneering acidhead sound unlike anything that came before it and hardly anything since... a musical riddle rising from the psychedelic catacombs. ‘LSD Underground 12’ is a vinyl LP collection of rare lysergic tracks that were recorded in Los Angeles during the summer of 1966. A Precursor to the psychedelic movement, ‘LSD Underground 12’ documents the earliest case of music being recorded by people under the kaleidoscopic effect of LSD, and it’s predictably mind-bending. It's ventured deeper into obscurity since its brief initial release, but with the help of Lysergia’s extensive research, it is now getting the deluxe treatment it deserves. With its pioneering historical status, ‘LSD Underground 12’ s a must-have for any psychedelia fanatic.

Fascinating - I'll give it a listen and see if it match my personal psychedelic favorites like 'Bitches' Brew' and 'Eyes of Stanley Pain'

In my opinion Eyes of Stanley Pain and Bitches Brew are better than this album.

I think we are probably not too far from this album.

to Reb in South Africa on his birthday

Hobb, hoping that you guys will have a great time in South Africa for sure and back with lots of smiles.

Love the picture!

We are back from South Africa now. I will maybe make a mega post of pics from the trip in the next few days.

We saw tonnes of animals - including a large bull elephant getting angry with the car.

We are alive and back in Cambridge now. So we almost got mugged in Cape Town, had to hide in our train cabin as we passed through a certain area, and almost got attacked by an elephant in Kruger. We had a ridiculous amount of animal encounters. A large bull elephant challenged the car which was certainly scary. Lions also walked up to the car and looked in but the windows were closed and doors locked. A few people got hurt while we were there. Packs of vervet monkeys moved throught the campground on a few days. They had babies and attacked some of the campers. One lady ended up with some serious bites to her legs which required stiches. Fortunately the worst thing that happened to me was a sunburn.

Let me explain how the near mugging happened. We were walking back from the waterfront well before dark, as we were told to not be out after dark. On one street a man in a security uniform approached us and asked where we were heading so we told him the street name. He told us we can't go that way because there is a festival happening tomorrow and they need the street cleared and directed us to another street. As we approached the street the security guy told us we saw another man in a security uniform. He approached us and asked where we are going, again we explained. He said we can't go that way but to follow him because it is peak hours and you need a ticked to walk the street. We followed him a short distance to a bus terminal where he told me I'd have to put my bank card in an ATM so that it could print out our walking ticket. There were several other men at the ATM and the security guy explained again how to get a walking ticket. The guys at the ATM nodded in agreement and said he is telling the truth and all I needed to do was put my card in and it would print us a ticket. Obviously this made zero sense. So I explained that I didn't have card on me. They continued to try and force me to put a card in the machine and I kept explaining that I didn't have a card (which was a lie). Linda said since we don't have a card we will just go back the way we came. The security guy said we couldn't do that either. It was painfully clear that we were now surronded by 4 or so large men. Another security guy arrives and explains that he is the supervisor and that I have to put my card in the machine. I just kept saying "that's great but I don't have a card!". I was becoming a little more animated at this point. Linda was also waving her arms in frusteration. They kept pushing me towards the ATM and I kept telling them I didn't have a card. Finally two women came over and said just tell the guards you don't have a card and they will let you past. The security guys and other men backed off and we booked it out of there. So in total there were 3 men in security uniforms, 3 or so other men, and possible the two women (I think they were look outs for actual security or police). Pretty elaborate scheme!

The train ride across South Africa was beautiful but the train broke down and ended up being 10 hours late. This unfortunately brought us into Johannesburg late at night. Johannesburg at night is a dangerous city and we had been advised many times to not be out a night there. Now before hitting Johannesburg another train broke down and blocked a line. I think we ended up on a different line, one that the metro trains use. The metro in Johannesburg is absolutely not safe. This line brought us throught a area called Soweto. If you are white you are highly advised not to go to Soweto unless by tour bus and certainly you don't want to end up in Soweto at night. I was looking out my window as we pulled into Soweto. I noticed several people look at me and then moved behind pillars or other types of cover and peer back at me. The looks and feeling made me uneasy so I put my window up a little bit. Linda was standing outside the cabin looking out another window. We had made some friends from South Africa on the train and this one guy came out of his cabin and says "Just so you know we are in Soweto." To which we replied "Ok". He then says "Ya you should go back in your cabin, close you windows, and close you door." I had read a brief bit about Soweto on the train and it has said (paraphrasing) white people should not go to Soweto. So heeding his advice we did what he suggested. The whole train ride and experience in South Africa made me hyper aware of my skin colour and in places like Soweto as well as some other places it made you a target. I imagine this is what it feels like for people of other skin colours in areas less accepting of non-whites. Even though I have always had a great deal of sympathy for people who are targetted by racism I can now feel a great deal of empathy towards those situations as well. Shortly before we arrived ing Johanesburg our freind from the train said he would make sure we were safe and looked after. So when we got the the train station he tried to get us a train to the airport (where we were picking up our car) but couldn't because the trains had stopped. So he went outside and left all his stuff with us to get us a cab. He negoitated a fair price and got the cab driver to come inside and escort us out. The cab driver was from Soweto. He offered to drive us around when we come back to Johannesburg, I think implying that we could hire him and he would take us around Soweto as a guide. Soweto I believe is extremely poor and they are desperatly trying to increase tourism to it. The town is trying to make improvements that way to increase their local economy. It would have been a great experience but there was no time for that. Because our friend from the train was so generous and so excited to meet Canadians, we got his address and told him we would send him something from Canada. A lot of people in South Africa assumed we were American but we corrected them and they usually got excited that we were Canadian. Two people on the train told us that when they get home they were going to brag to everyone that they met Canadians.

Where we stayed in Cape Town and in Kruger National Park for the conference I was almost embarrased to be white. Both places 98% of the tourists were white europeans with the rare North American. It was painful and embarassing to watch white people with european accents who have hyper inflated egos command black staff around. I felt dirty because it certainly felt like colonialism was still in full force. Rich white people being disresptful, rude, and demanding to black staff. I certainly felt embarassed for how other white people were acting. Now the cross section of europeans (and a few North Americans) I was observing were mostly doctoral scientists (which I think caused the hyper inflated egos). Linda and I took some time to learn a few of the basic ways to be respectful. For instance if you are approaching someone to ask for directions, a drink, or anything really at all, you always start with pleasantries. So you don't say "excuse me could you tell me how to get to X" - that is rude. You always start with "Hi, How are you?" and a short exhange of niceness and maybe some humour, then you ask for directions, etc...Even though we sometimes do this naturally it is feels more natural to approach a stranger when you need something with "excuse me, but could you...." Of course there were simplier things that we often do more naturally. At the end of a meal I would stack the plates and utensils so it was easier for the staff to take them away. The staff frequently commented that they appreciated it. We also learned road etiquette such as pulling over to let fast drivers by, using 4 way blinkers as a way to say thank you, or high beams to say you're welcome. I know at times we were accidently disrespectful but we made a serious attempt to more aware social interactions and it became normal and habitual by the end. I can't say that for 99% of the people at the conference. At one point while were talking with a waiter a european man at another table interrupted with "Oi! Another beer here!" and there seemed to countless times of other nonsense. Another example of just general rudeness was ordering take out and you get a receipt with your order number on it. So Linda and I line out out of the way so people can come and go. Not europeans at this conference. They all packed around the counter as close as possible some holding their receipts up like they are trying to trade stocks in a rush. To be honest by the end of the trip I had had enough of this type of attitude. which manifested itself with me shoulder checking a man at the airport and knocking him onto a chair. We were trying to catch our flight out of Amsterdam and people were "rushing" towards the gate. We reached a bottleneck where Linda went ahead and I noticed two men trying to get come agaist the flow so I stopped and let them by. A man behind me tried to rush in front of me immediately after I let the men go by. So I just started walking at the same time, tightened up the shoulders and plowed him over as he tried to butt in front. I saw him double over a chair and I kept walking. I'm not proud of it...but it felt good.

Kruger Park is insane. Everywhere you go there is wild giraffes, elephants, tortises, warthogs, zebras, a variety of beautiful antelopes, etc... At one point we went to a look out where we had this vast view of a savanna and we saw 3 herds of elephants and one herd of water buffalo crossing it. The water buffalo were following the elephants - presumably to watering holes. Seeing it in that scope was actually a little moving. We have some videos from there. I will try and post some pictures and videos tomorrow.

If I think of more to add to this post I will!

* Not all the ignorant rude people were from the conference. Some were just rich people there for safari"

Glad to hear you and Linda survived and our back home safely.    

Thanks for typing up your experience. I enjoyed the 'adventure tourism' bits in Soweto and Kruger and I liked how you dealt with the emotional and racial aspects of the trip too. Being a "tourist" is considered normal by most North Americans but I've always felt uncomfortable in the role (even just in trips to Newfoundland) and nothing like other tourists acting like jerks to bring that home. I'm glad you tried to make some peace with it.

Hopefully you can relate some more stories in person soon.

Give us a call tonight (28th) so we can make arrangements for tomorrow. I have a minor dental emergency that will need to worked into the plans.

So I am trying to post pictures but I can't seem to find the icon to add pictures. Are you able to see the icons for quoting, youtube, pictures, etc?

*Found the issue - seems to be an issue with Firefox. I will post pictures soon.

So many great pictures that they look like postcards!    

How did the owls end up in that basket?

The creature crossing the road is a slender mongoose

Reb,

Many thanks for the stories.  The rudeness of Europeans and the colonial feel and reminiscence of apartheid is unsettling, but thanks for making us Canucks look good, eh?  

Also, you've taken some absolutely stunning pictures.  I've had to grab a few for my desktop so I can soak them in on a more regular basis.  Props my friend, and it's apparent that you have a knack for photography.

Overall, glad you had an experience of a lifetime and you and Linda are back home safe and sound to share.   :)

Thanks! It certainly was an adventure and glad I was able to experience a small part of Africa!