A GREAT PROFIT IN THE LAND

This is Sean David Morton. By trade he's supposed to be a prophet. Back in the 1990s, I interviewed this guy. If I remember correctly I was doing a cover story for the old LA Reader about Y2K and millennium panic. He made a couple of predictions that didn’t happen, and after that he mailed me newsletters but we had no more contact. The last time I heard tell of him, he was solidly on the 2012 prediction bandwagon. On his website he describes himself thus…

“Sean uses his talents and abilities to predict future occurrences and trends such as earth changes, political events and stock market fluctuations. He has an astounding “hit rate”, or percentage of successes. His extreme accuracy has led radio host Art Bell to call him “America's Prophet! A modern day Nostradamus with more hits than Barry Bonds and the Russian Mafia!” In 1985, tired of the fast paced life in Los Angeles, Sean went on a worldwide spiritual quest, which led him to England and Ireland, where he became involved with the Green Stone saga (one of the stones in the hilt of Excalibur.)” (Click here for more on Morton)

Bill Burroughs used to describe this stuff thus…”It’s all a racket”, and, unfortunately this may be true in Morton’s case. The Wall Street Journal reports…

“NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil suit against "America's Prophet" Sean David Morton, alleging he lied about using his psychic expertise in investing more than $6 million from investors. Morton, of Hermosa Beach Calif., solicited individuals over nationally syndicated radio broadcasts, public appearances and newsletters to put money into Delphi Associates Investment Group. He claimed his psychic ability would be used to invest in foreign currencies, the SEC said in a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In one newsletter, the SEC quoted Morton as writing "I called ALL the highs and lows of the market, giving EXACT DATES for rises and crashes over the last 14 years." Attempts to contact Morton were not successful. The $6 million in investments Morton received allegedly were placed in bank accounts for various entities including Vajra Productions LLC, 27 Investments LLC and Magic Eight Ball Inc., the SEC said. The SEC further says those companies, and others that received money, were simply shell companies controlled by Morton and his wife, Melissa.” (Click here for more.)

Click here for The Flying Lizards

Or would you prefer to click here for Led Zeppelin? (for Peromyscus)

Or click here for Barrett Strong

Or you could always click here for The Beatles

The secret word is Grift

AND TALKING OF 2012 (and also money)...

(Did we run this before? I can’t remember.)

WHEN RIGHT GOES LEFT

I have always thought of David Brooks as the token conservative idiot at The New York Times, but this column sent by Munz makes some sense. I might also ask why the left isn’t also hitting to streets to demand our own brave new world. Of course, when the left make a move – as with the anti-globalization folks – they are too often confronted by some variation of the above, whereas the Tea Baggers seem to have the law on their side. (Those are Peruvian riot police.)

“About 40 years ago, a social movement arose to destroy the establishment. The people we loosely call the New Left wanted to take on The Man, return power to the people, upend the elites and lead a revolution. Today, another social movement has arisen. The people we loosely call the Tea Partiers also want to destroy the establishment. They also want to take on The Man, return power to the people, upend the elites and lead a revolution. There are many differences between the New Left and the Tea Partiers. One was on the left, the other is on the right. One was bohemian, the other is bourgeois. One was motivated by war, and the other is motivated by runaway federal spending. One went to Woodstock, the other is more likely to go to Wal-Mart. But the similarities are more striking than the differences. To start with, the Tea Partiers have adopted the tactics of the New Left. They go in for street theater, mass rallies, marches and extreme statements that are designed to shock polite society out of its stupor. This mimicry is no accident. Dick Armey, one of the spokesmen for the Tea Party movement, recently praised the methods of Saul Alinsky, the leading tactician of the New Left. (Click here for the whole column.)

AN IMAGE FROM A COMMENT

Earlier today our pal Slinkymalinky left a link to this image as something of a gauntlet on yesterday’s bear cavalry post. A short but spirited discussion followed among military leaders, some of whom were fictional and others dead.

SPACE OPERA

K2 AIN’T JUST A MOUNTAIN IN THE HIMALAYAS

As the two examples below illustrate, the media seem to be bending themselves out of shape about a product called K2 that claims to be synthetic marijuana. It would be nice to think that something might be synthesized or discovered that was quite as good as the accepted recreational drug but totally legal. In my depressingly long life I’ve I heard tell about – and even sampled – all manner of legal and/or herbal highs from morning glory seeds to khat (and don’t even talk about smoking bananas) and none of them have really cut it and usually did little more than make me feel kind of shaky. If I get some K2 and try it, I’ll report back. (Or somebody could even send me some.) Let’s not forget though, that, back in the 1980s, Ed Meese, Ronald Reagan’s psychotic Attorney General, established the right of the US Justice Department to ban any drug it didn’t like.

"(WECT) - A drug called K2 is starting to make waves in Kansas, and it's merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to so-called "legal drugs." It looks and works a lot like marijuana, but it's legal. The synthetic substance has just started showing up around the Kansas City area. "According to about 10 to 15 interviews I've done, it's supposed to be more potent than most versions of marijuana," said Johnson County Sheriff Deputy Chris Farkes. One store said they've had many customers asking for K-2, but don't have it yet. Instead, they offered a number of other legal alternatives. A pricey plethora of pills and extracts that promised everything from body tingles and euphoric rushes to relaxation, pain relief, and mood elevation.
Dr. David Eichhorn, the chair of Wichita State's chemistry department, agreed to analyze the samples. He said it would take weeks to positively identify everything in the drugs, but his preliminary findings were eye opening. "One of the ingredients in there is one that would potentially get across the blood brain barrier and the reality is if you do play around these types of compounds you run the risk of seriously upsetting the balance in the brain," said Dr. Eichhorn. K2 was created in a chemistry lab, and since it's synthetic it's not covered by law - although police who have come into contact with it, think it should be."

"ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2010) — In the last month, Anthony Scalzo, M.D., professor of toxicology at Saint Louis University, has seen nearly 30 cases involving teenagers who were experiencing hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and, in some cases, tremors and seizures. All of these teens had smoked a dangerous, yet legal substance known as K2 or "fake weed." According to Scalzo, K2, an unregulated mixture of dried herbs, is growing in popularity because it is legal, purported to give a high similar to marijuana and believed to be natural and therefore safe. "K2 may be a mixture of herbal and spice plant products, but it is sprayed with a potent psychotropic drug and likely contaminated with an unknown toxic substance that is causing many adverse effects. These toxic chemicals are neither natural nor safe," said Scalzo, who also directs the Missouri Regional Poison Control Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. What makes K2 so dangerous? Further testing is needed, but Scalzo says the symptoms, such as fast heart beat, dangerously elevated blood pressure, pale skin and vomiting suggest that K2 is affecting the cardiovascular system of users. It also is believed to affect the central nervous system, causing severe, potentially life-threatening hallucinations and, in some cases, seizures. While JWH 018, a synthetic man-made drug, similar to cannabis, may be responsible for the hallucinations, Scalzo suspects that there is another unknown toxic chemical being sprayed on K2. K2, also known as "spice," has been sold since 2006 as incense or potpourri. It sells for approximately $30 to $40 per three gram bag, which is comparable in cost to marijuana, and is available over the Internet. K2 use is not limited to the Midwest; reports of its use are cropping up all over the country. I think K2 is likely a bigger problem than we're aware of at this time," Scalzo said. Legislators in Missouri currently are considering a proposed ban of K2, which Scalzo supports. In the meantime, he says that parents should be on the lookout for warning signs such as agitation, pale appearance, anxiety or confusion due to hallucinations. "Look for dried herb residues lying around your kids' room. Chances are they are not using potpourri to make their rooms smell better or oregano to put on their pizza." 

Click here for Afroman

The secret word Hunh?

RADIO FREE HEADPRESS

The excellent folk at Headpress – who will be publishing a book ‘o mine in the not so distant future – have launched a coolly subversive webcast. The insane reactionary rant at the start of this one is not to be missed. Click here.

WHERE WORKERS ARE FIGHTING CAPITALISM, THE BEAR CAVALRY WILL BE IN THE VANGUARD OF THE STRUGGLE

THE FROZDICK FAMILY

“Nicola Frozdick was in constant contact with the Zygotes of Zeta Reticuli.”

SEX CHANGE WEEDKILLER

“Last week I was a boy.”

The atrocities we humans are inflicting on our fellow species pile up so fast we need wings to stay above them (to paraphrase the good Captain Willard.) This is one of the most recent stories of what we’re doing to frogs…

“Atrazine, one of the most commonly used and controversial weedkillers, can turn male frogs into females, researchers reported on Monday. The experiment is the first to show such complete effects of atrazine, which had been known to disrupt hormones and which is one of the chief suspects in the decline of amphibians such as frogs around the world. "Atrazine-exposed males were both demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized as adults," Tyrone Hayes of the University of California Berkeley and colleagues wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The chemical had been shown to disrupt development and make frogs develop both male and female features -- termed hermaphroditism. This study of 40 male frogs shows the process can go even further, Hayes said. "Before, we knew we got fewer males than we should have, and we got hermaphrodites. Now, we have clearly shown that many of these animals are sex-reversed males, Atrazine has caused a hormonal imbalance that has made them develop into the wrong sex, in terms of their genetic constitution.” (Click here for more.)

Meanwhile, in Australia, it’s raining fish…
“Lajamanu, a small community in the Northern Territory of Australia, has experienced a “rain of fishes.” Hundreds of spangled perch, some frozen, some still alive, fell from the sky onto the desert community.”

The secret word is Ribbet

SWEET GENE VINCENT

Primal rocker Gene Vincent is one of Doc40’s major icons. Our pals at The Houndblog have posted a veritable Gene Fest. (Click here.)

And don’t forget Mick’s own little book about Gene. Click here for info.

And talking of books, here's a link for a place you can seemingly buy my books in India. Click here

ANOTHER BILLBOARD ON THE LOST HIGHWAY

But what seeming grounds do these fools actually have for impeachment? No answer is forthcoming since the loony right will apparently say anything, until called on it at which point they either bluster or clam up.

SPACE OPERA

DRUG WARRIORS JUST WON’T GIVE UP

“I may be stoned and naked, but I’m happy and safe from vampires.”




As if the case hasn’t been clearly made that pot is not some demon hell drug and will smoked come what may, I fail to see why local politicians here in LA still want to impede the inevitable, and shut down the local marijuana stores with nitpicking local ordinances. Are they just benightedly perverse or being paid off by the big brewers or the drug enforcement industry?

“Medical marijuana advocates upped the ante Tuesday in the legal battle over Los Angeles’ pot dispensaries by suing the city, claiming the ordinance that takes effect later this month is so restrictive it will cause even law-abiding businesses to shut down. Americans for Safe Access, the nation’s main medical marijuana advocacy nonprofit, filed the lawsuit with the Venice Beach Care Center and the PureLife Alternative Wellness Center, two dispensaries that have operated in Los Angeles since 2006 -- before the city's moratorium on the centers took effect. The 11-page suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court says the sweeping marijuana ordinance passed by the City Council in January and signed into law by the mayor Feb. 3 “severely restricts access to medical marijuana by effectively forcing plaintiffs, as well as the vast majority of collectives in the City, to close their doors.” The suit alleges the city ordinance violates state law, and it seeks a court injunction and restraining order to stop the measure from being enforced. In the suit, dispensary operators object to the “onerous restrictions” of the law that is scheduled to take effect March 14, such as a rule that gives them only seven days to relocate to 1,000 feet away from schools, parks and places of worship but does not provide maps to show where they are allowed under the law. "We want to work with the city to comply with its regulations, but such unreasonable requirements make compliance impossible," Yamileth Bolanos, operator of the PureLife Alternative Wellness Center, said in a statement.” (Click here for more.)

Pic lifted from Viceland

The secret word is Blunt

Click here for Junior Murvin

FACE OF THE PIG

This is the disgusting soon to be ex-Senator Jim Bunning (right) who, this week, gleefully left more than 100,000 Americans without food money for his own demented self-aggrandizement. Someone get a rope.

LOU WILL BE LOU

This 1974 Australian Lou Reed press conference has been making the blog rounds but some of you may not have seen it, and if so click here.

DOC'S PAPERBACK CLASSIC'S #71

A SIGN FOR THE TIMES #5

SENATOR BLOCKS DOLE PAYMENTS, “TOUGH SHIT”

Every election we – the sheep – vote these pigs into power, so they can immediately pick up their bribes and serve the interests of their corporate paymasters. If you have any doubts, just read on…

“Tomorrow, unemployment benefits will officially end for hundreds of thousands of Americans, thanks to maneuverings by Senate Republicans to prevent a vote that would have extended those benefits. Unless the extension is passed soon, some 1.1 million of the nation’s unemployed will see their unemployment expire in the coming month, and 5 million will lose benefits by June. The House finally voted to extend benefits on Thursday, after several days of stalling and posturing. But in the Senate, the measure was blocked by Kentucky’s Jim Bunning. Politico reported that late into Thursday night, Bunning held out against repeated Democratic attempts to pass the extension by unanimous consent. In response to entreaties from colleagues across the aisle, other Republican senators rose to defend Bunning’s right to obstruct the vote, and Bunning himself was heard to utter, “Tough shit.” (Click here for more.)

The secret word is Porcine

Click here for Woody Guthrie

BOOZE WITH NO HANGOVER?

Drunkenness has always resembled an analog of Christianity. Pleasure comes with retribution hard on its heels. Sunday morning inevitably follows Saturday night, and price of pleasure must be paid in pain. But maybe all this will change, and drunks will not be running for Alka Seltzer (or more) while fearing the fizz.

“Booze, for all its magical wonder, still has big drawbacks: You can't sober up quickly, and you often get a hangover. Now Korean researchers have found a way of tweaking booze to limit the fallout — without cutting its strength. Doctors Kwang-il Kwon and Hye Gwang Jeong of Chungnam National University studied the properties of oxygenated alcohol - booze with oxygen bubbles added - which is a popular concoction in their country. In these drinks, oxygen is added the way carbonation is usually added to soda, and the scientists wanted to know if these oxygenated beverages affected people differently than non-oxygenated ones. The answer was a resounding yes. So why does adding O2 to booze lessen the nasty after effects? When you drink ethanol, you body needs to oxidize it to water and carbon dioxide in order to process it. This occurs via hepatic oxidation, where the liver does its thing to counteract the liquor you've just poured down your gullet. The enzymes that process alcohol require oxygen to function, and it's thought that by storing the oxygen in the alcohol itself, the system functions more quickly and efficiently.” (Click here for the whole story.)

PANCAKES -- JUNKIE STYLE

IF IT'S PANCAKES YOU REALLY WANT

THIS BLOG IS STILL PROTECTED BY...

HOW COULD WE FORGET THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES?

Our good pal Wendy has chided Doc40 for forgetting how, last week, it was anniversary of the 1942 Battle of Los Angeles, when either aliens or the Japanese wrought havoc in the skies over what TV news likes to call “the Southland”. Just to complicate matters a version of the event was recreated in the dire Steven Spielberg comedy 1942, which, since it took a wholly terrestrial position at a time when rumor insisted Speilberg was softening us up for an alien arrival, tended to create even more conspiracy theories. Here’s the basic story from the UFO perspective…

“It is very rare that among the annals of Ufology there should appear a UFO case which involved military, yet is accompanied with actual photographic proof. Such is the case of an event which took place over the Los Angeles area on February 25, 1942. A giant UFO would actually hover over the city, and be witnessed by hundreds of observers. As America was gathering its senses after the shocking attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, there was a heightened feeling of insecurity and anxiousness. The skies were being watched as never before as a giant UFO moved through California, alerting the military and civilian watchers as well. This case is known as the "Battle of Los Angeles," and is one of the most important cases in Ufology. It would be early morning on February 2, 1942 when the incoming craft sirens were first heard in the Los Angeles area. Many Americans were expecting another wave of Japanese fighter planes, and thought this is what they would see as they left their homes, and ventured outside. How wrong they were! The first sightings of a large UFO would be made in Culver City, and Santa Monica. Air Raid Wardens were ready to go at the first hint of an invasion. But, this invasion would be something other than Japanese planes. The giant hovering object was soon lit up by the gigantic spotlights of the Army's 37th Coast Artillery Brigade. Everyone who looked up was shocked by the sight of the giant UFO sitting above their city. Military aircraft were sent to confront the object. Because of a well-organized alert system, the whole California southern section was searching the night skies in a matter of minutes. What they saw were beaming searchlights illuminating the night sky, all of them converging on one thing-a UFO. albeit, on a smaller scale. The beams of light would soon be accompanied by tracer fire from anti-aircraft artillery, all of the rounds aiming at the invading craft. The giant UFO would take direct hit after hit, yet without damage. The 37th Brigade was relentless in its attempt to bring down the large object, but found no success. The barrage of spent shells would fall over the entire area-no place was safe this night. Many were injured, and there were even reports of death from the falling shells. According to newspaper reports, eyewitnesses described the sight of the UFO like a "surreal, hanging, magic lantern." As the large UFO moved into more lighted areas, view of the object became better. It moved directly over the MGM studios in Culver City. Fortunately, an extremely good quality photograph was taken of the object-beams attached, tracer fire visible. This photograph has become a classic UFO photograph. The UFO would soon move over Long Beach before disappearing altogether.” Click here for more.

Click here for contemporary radio report

The secret word is Weird

AT LEAST ONE DOOR REMAINED CLOSED TO SELLOUT

Munz sent over this rant by John Densmore, the drummer of The Doors, about the use of songs in TV commercials. The piece isn’t exactly new – except to me – but we seem to be dealing in history today and it says a hell of a lot about the world we live in. (And also Jim’s ancient hippie integrity.)

“Dread ripples through me as I listen to a phone message from our manager saying that we (The Doors) have another offer of huge amounts of money if we would just allow one of our songs to be used as the background for a commercial. They don't give up! I guess it's hard to imagine that everybody doesn't have a price. Maybe 'cause, as the cement heads try to pave the entire world, they're paving their inner world as well. No imagination left upstairs. Apple Computer called on a Tuesday--they already had the audacity to spend money to cut "When the Music's Over" into an ad for their new cube computer software. They want to air it the next weekend, and will give us a million and a half dollars! A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS! Apple is a pretty hip company...we use computers.... Dammit! Why did Jim (Morrison) have to have such integrity? I'm pretty clear that we shouldn't do it. We don't need the money. But I get such pressure from one particular bandmate (the one who wears glasses and plays keyboards). "Commercials will give us more exposure," he says. I ask him, "so you're not for it because of the money?" He says "no," but his first question is always "how much?" when we get one of these offers, and he always says he's for it. He never suggests we play Robin Hood, either. If I learned anything from Jim, it's respect for what we created. I have to pass. Thank God, back in 1965 Jim said we should split everything, and everyone has veto power. Of course, every time I pass, they double the offer!” (Click for the rest)

Click here for The Doors

THE FROZDICK FAMILY

Zenobia Frozdick was heavily committed to multimedia consumption.

SPACE OPERA

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

Sometimes you play with your food and sometimes your food plays with you.

But talking of food…

…DOES SUPERGIRL REALLY LOVE THAT CHICKEN?

The secret word is Fried

THE KID WENT PUNK

A ripple of perverse net interest has suddenly swirled around this 1987 ABC After School Special. Yesterday, on Boing Boing Cory Doctorow wrote “ABC After-School Specials hit their zenith (or nadir) with The Day My Kid Went Punk, a punksploitation show to rival the CHiPS "Rip and Destroy" episode (and yes, that's Bernie Kopell, the doctor from the Love Boat, as the outraged dad)” On Doc40 we not only note that it took ABC a full decade to catch up with punk, but, being less sane than most sites – and never ever prejudging our excellent readers – we also offer you nothing less than a link to the whole damned show if you want it. Click here to watch.

Click here for the Clash

WE ARE THE CHILDREN YOUR PARENTS WARNED YOU ABOUT

“If you thought those little blonde telepathic Midwich bastards were bad, wait until we get going.”