A FORTUITOUS SUICIDE?

As the news filters out about how “DC Madame” Deborah Jeane Palfrey hung herself at her mom’s house in Florida, I can’t stop the nagging doubt. Is this shit on the level? Okay so I’m a paranoid cynic with an unhealthy love for a good conspiracy, and yes, she was facing horrendous hard jail time, but her own reported words have an ominous ring. At various time Palfrey has repeated…

"If taken into custody, my physical safety and most probably my very life would be jeopardized, rape, beating, maiming, disfigurement and more than likely murder disguised in the form of just another jailhouse accident or suicide would await me," And on another occasion, "No I'm not planning to commit suicide," and she added that she was “at risk of being killed and that authorities would make it look like suicide. If she was found dead it would be murder." "I'm planning on going into court and defending myself vigorously and exposing the government,"

The secret word is Decriminalize

MAY 1ST – UP THE WORKERS!

THIS BLOG IS STILL PROTECTED BY...

ALBERT HOFFMAN -- RIP

(Thanks Munz)

Albert Hoffman died at 102. Another young life cut short by psychedelic drugs.

DON'T FUCK WITH BLACK TRIANGLES (#2 in a series)

“2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113.”

AND THIS FOOL WANTS TO RACHET UP THE DRUG WAR

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided he wants to "send a message" to youngsters that smoking reefer "unacceptable". Previously Cannabis was downgraded to class C drug in the UK which made possession largely a non-arrestable offence. This, however, isn’t good enough for Brown, he claims he’s worried about the "more lethal" (lethal????) use of skunk - a strong form of the drug. Click for the full story. (Thanks Ed.)

The secret word is Dope

DOC'S PAPERBACK CLASSIC'S # 40

“The lady below is totally correct. No one goes into space without lipstick.”

MY WHITE BICYCLE

It was, of course, a tune by the 1960’s band Tomorrow (for whom the dubious Twink played drums) but, much more important it was a scheme of the Dutch Provos by which white bicycles were left all over the city and were free for anyone to use, and then, having taken to the free ride, to leave for the next person needing no-cost transport. Sadly it was one of those great counter culture ideas that faded with the 1970s – and was also beset by an odd geographic entropy whereby the bicycles seemed to ultimately wind up in the outer suburbs of Amsterdam and have to be rounded up with great trouble and expense, which was hardly the original idea. The idea has, however, been resurrected in a number of European cities, and is proving particularly successful in Paris. Munz has sent a full report.

The secret word is Pedal

YOU MELTED OUR HOME, YOU BASTARDS!

This blog is still affiliated with The White Panther Party

DOC'S PAPERBACK CLASSIC'S # 39

“In space we always wear lipstick.”

WHEN THE FOOD RUNS OUT

I still have not martialed my thoughts about the world wide food riots. All I can say is that it’s just another scene from the science fiction movie I have seen over and over. I also find it hard to not fly into a rage when I read that one of the multiple causes of the crisis – aside from the bloody oil barons and their controlling sheiks – is the corn to ethanol boondoggle in which more than a quarter of the last crop cycle was eaten up by this ineffective and criminally wasteful piece of greed. And this is not even to take into account endemic Western obesity. For relevant details read Daily Kos

The secret word is Larceny

"LIFE IS HELL AFTER ALL"

Our good friend Yukiko writes…
“Mishima wrote that the truth lies not in the sultry end of a mystic labyrinth sailing up a tropical river, but on a very plain surface of a dry hot rock under the sheer sunlight. The basic idea of the Buddhism is that life is hell after all, so, with the concept we can get along with anything. People live with their own sadness.”

Edward Lorenz, (Father of Chaos Theory) – RIP

DOC BACK -- FANS DELIGHTED

Doc40 fans gather, overjoyed that, after his recent lapse, the Old Doc is back on the blog. They can’t wait to see how he’s going to react to global food riots, and if he’ll manage to avoid somehow working in reference to how Solent Green is made from people. (The picture is lifted from Tom Sutpen)

The secret word is Overjoyed

NOTHING IS TOTALLY 100% ALL BAD

The poster sucked, the film sucked, but the credits by Saul Bass (with the cats) were truly fucking amazing for the 1962 movie “Walk On The Wild Side” with music by Elmer Bernstein.

FREE BOB DYLAN

Agent 00Soul has sent over this very comprehensive site from which you can download Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour. It may actually stay around since it would appear to have at least the tacit tolerance of XM Radio.

DON'T FUCK WITH TOMMY UDO (#1 in a series)

“I'm askin' ya, where's that squealin' son of yours? [weird laugh] You think a squealer can get away from me? Huh? [crazy laugh] You know what I do to squealers? I let 'em have it in the belly, so they can roll around for a long time thinkin' it over. You're worse than him, tellin' me he's comin' back, ya lyin' old hag! [maniacal laugh]”

MO' EGO-TRIPPIN'

People have been emailing me saying that Nick Cave has copped my semi-spoken vocal style for his new “Dig, Lazarus, Dig”. Me? I kinda a doubt it. What would Cave need with a trick from my worn bag even I was on his radar? I’m sure he came to the thing by his own route, but it’s a nice. Judge for yourself.

The secret word is Aggrandizement

“Coming of age in a fascist police state will not be a barrel of fun for anybody, much less for people like me, who are not inclined to suffer Nazis gladly and feel only contempt for the cowardly flag-suckers who would gladly give up their freedom to live for the mess of pottage they have been conned into believing will be freedom from fear.” -- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Kingdom of Fear

BACK FROM THE DARK GODS

Sorry for all the missing time, my friends. I’d like to say I was abducted by aliens, and give you all the intimate information on the application of the anal probe, but cool as it might sound, it would not be the truth. To say the that I was with the Old Dark Gods might be partially true, but something of an exaggeration, although I could frequently feel their fetid, heated breath someplace in back of me. The reality is that I simply fell victim to creative overreaching, the passage of time, the shock of flesh, and a lack of realization that I am no longer twenty five. For a while I stumbled under the iron hooves of a lost and distorted reality, but now I have righted myself and, although still a little damaged and somewhat weak, I tentatively reenter the fray (Doc The White?), and hope that we can only grow from here on out.

The illustration above is by Jett, a real good pal of hours. He asked me if I thought a series of paintings of Lovecraft’s Dark Gods would be commercial, and I told him that they were infinitely commercial, and I hope when Jett has more, he will give me a link to the gallery that I can post.

Meanwhile, I have received some excellent links. Bob Dylan in a special version of Hard Rain. A web page devoted to Jones, the cat in the movie Alien. A dancing lesson by James Brown. A battlefield account by me of the great 1968 Grosvenor Square, anti-Vietnam demonstration, and (if the wasn’t enough ego) a short snatch of a performance by me and Andy Colquhoun earlier this year at an art gallery where the sound sucked. And finally Boss Goodman pontificates on drugs.

And even more finally, the Deviants have contributed a new working of “Lost Johnny” the old song I wrote with Lemmy to a Motorhead tribute CD. Click for details.

The secret word is Nyarlathotep (the Crawling Chaos)

IS NOTHING SACRED?

ALL ABOUT ACID

On the second day of my gradual return to regular posting, a second item on LSD shows up. Yesterday the British Army on acid and now an acid history comic. (Thanks Valerie) Is the Jungian collective consciousness trying to tell us something?

The secret word is Bicycle

THE BRITISH ARMY ON ACID

While the Doc is gathering his forces and scattered wits, here, after all the kind words of encouragement, is a short but neat film clip – from Noudela – of a British army experiment when, back in (I would imaging) the 1950s, soldiers were dosed with acid to see how they would perform. And discovered that you can’t operate a rocker launcher while tripping.

The secret word is Bird

MAYBE AN EXPLANATION IS IN ORDER...

I feel I owe the regular readers of Doc40 some explanation of how come the blog suddenly vanished from the face of the earth. I’d ready mentioned that I was humping a deadline on a book, but that was just the start of it. Overworked, getting sick, running out of cash, weird externals also demanded my attention, not least a sudden regime change at LA CityBeat, and domestic distractions like my cat Newton becoming increasingly dotty and ancient. Starting to feel like the walls were closing in, I began to realize I wasn’t the multi-tasking tear-away of yore, and a self protective animal instinct kicked in, causing me to retreat into a form of hiding, just pushing on with the book project, and feeling too frayed at the end of each day to do much more than fitfully crash. (I had also stopped taking valium, because the depressions I knew weren’t good for me.)
Thus you have my true confession. Sorry to all who missed me and especially those to whom I owe emails. Thanks to those how expressed their concern. I will live to fight another day, but that doesn’t always sound like the best of news. Doc40 will return and gather strength. I begin to understand why Dr Thompson shot himself, but homie don’t play that.

The secret word is Exhaustion.

FOUR GRAND?

Once again today finds me working like a bloody cart horse and then working some more. (Damn but I’ll be glad when this current push to the end is over, but then I’ll be wondering how come I don’t have any fucking money, or at least as much as I thought I would.) In the meantime there is some stuff to read. I have a new column on LA CityBeat on political sex scandals and there’s a reprint posted on Yahoo News of an interview I did for the NME way back in 1977 with Fats Domino that they ran to celebrate Fats’ 80th birthday. Come to think of it, I’d really like to do a book that’s a collection of my old rock writing. If anyone has any ideas, leave a comment.

The secret word is Weary

I WAS NEVER A STAMP COLLECTOR BUT...

What a trip to get a letter with this stamp stuck to it.

ARTHUR C. CLARKE -- RIP

To go with the great picture from Valerie, MrMR adds what will resonate with plenty of us at and early age. “1968, laying down on the floor in front of the first row of seats in the cinema, five consecutive nights, lots of friends , lots of LSD. Five amazing nights of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” thank you Arthur C. Clarke.” I would also add that, if I remember correctly, first “adult” books that I read as a child (as opposed to books written for children) were "Dracula" and "Childhood’s End", and when the aliens took all the children, I really wanted to go with them.

The secret word is Monolith

"The creator has moved on, Dave."

DON'T DROP THAT ATOM BOMB ON ME

Jon sent me this fab piece of Cold War ephemera. It’s Seattle Civil Defense Manual 1951 (in its entirety) explaining how exactly to survive an atomic attack. (Although it could be equally applied to any medium sized city.) Specifics include how to build your own personal bomb shelter, tips for the aftermath of a blast (”wait at least one hour to give lingering radiation some chance to die down!”), how it kills you, and more. Just to make sure you are left in no doubt as to the identity of the enemy, and can easily recognize the commie bastards when they come at you, the pamphlet includes a list of “subversive organizations” from the House Un-American Activities Committee. Quaint? Sure. But maybe not as quaint as the bullshit that will be the legacy of the current administration when half a century has passed and they don’t really matter any more. (Click for the full fabulous facsimile)

OR LOOKING AT IT ANOTHER WAY...

The secret word is Annihilation

DOC'S PAPERBACK CLASSIC'S # 38

"Those moon girls are impossible on St. Patricks Day, especially after a couple of Jamesons."

"And even worse when they're wearing green."

"I think I'll rip the wing off their plane."

DON'T DRINK THE WATER...

I seem to have now just about recovered from my bout with bacteria, and I hope there will be no more interruptions in the Doc40 service as we know it. On the other hand, reading this Yahoo New story from some girl does make me wonder. Oscar Wilde told us not to drink water because “fish fuck in it”, but this as a lot more serious and maybe just one more reason to stick to Jack Daniels

"A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe. But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health. In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky." (Click for the rest of the polluted story)

...YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S BEEN IN IT

The secret word is Splash

OUR FLAG IS STILL THERE

Not only over-worked, underpaid, hard driven and prone to complain, I am now diseased. I fear have fallen victim to some kind of bronchial infection, and the only consolation is that Munz sent over this pic to keep the flag flying. But I hope, if I keep taking the pills I will be recovered in a couple of days.

The secret word is Crude

SHIRT? I DON'T NEED NO STINKING SHIRT

Every so often, ever since Doc 40 started posting pictures, discussions have arisen about how I post a lot of what some of the ladies have called, with a kind of retro charm, “cheesecake”. (Often cheesecake in skintight spacesuits or hugging Daleks.) Thus to maybe redress the balance hereeeeeeee’s Marlon when he was… Well, you know? Like, Marlon. (And also yet another ploy to cover the fact that I’m not contributing anything too profound because I’m working too fucking hard.)

The secret word is Stella!

Also, courtesy off our wonderful hipspinster, here’s a new adventure of Simon’s Cat.

BUGS BUGGING YOU?

Did I is say recently that the Pentagon was getting out of hand? Well Jesus H. Christ on a Harley, this is beyond all reason. The story comes from the London Daily Telegraph. I’d say more, but I've a evil deadlines, and have not had the time of late to write a whole lot of original thoughts for Doc40 (or put a new selection of tunes on DOCTUBE). But this has to be something to contemplate…

"Insect 'spies' fitted with video camera implantsBy Sophie BorlandScientists are creating real-life "flies-on-the-walls" by fitting insects with special implants that enable them to be used as spies. The creatures are being installed with special electrodes, batteries and even video cameras that enable them to be remote-controlled and used for surveillance. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is currently experimenting by inserting tiny brain probes into insects such as moths and beetles whilst they are still in the pupa stage. As the creature develops, the implants are naturally incorporated into their body enabling them to send back information to a central computer. The insects, known as "cyborgs", are thought to have many benefits over robots as they would be almost indistinguishable from any other animal. Researchers working for the US military believe they could eventually be used in hostage situations or sent to enemy barracks. They are hoping to engineer insects that could fly up to 300 feet away and then stay in a particular place until they are commanded to leave again.According to New Scientist, which has reported on the developments, "The next time a moth lands on your window sill, watch what you say. "It may look like an innocent visitor, irresistibly drawn to the light in your room, but it could actually be a spy - one of a new generation of cyborg insects with implants wired into their nerves to allow remote control of their movement."Be warned, flesh-and-blood bugs may soon live up to their name."Larger creatures such as rats, pigeons and sharks have also been installed with spy devices by the US military with varying levels of success. Rats have been implanted with electrodes in their brains to control their movement and they have then been trained to sniff out particular scents such as human bodies and explosives. Sharks are said to be particularly useful as they have a remarkable sense of smell that allows them to detect very faint scents of chemicals. Who's watching you? Insects will be fitted with tiny cameras to be useD as spies"

The secret word is Raid

NOW WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A PICTURE OF AYN RAND WITH MICROPHONES?

From Tom Sutpen

KEEP TAKING THE TABLETS

When I read this report for Yahoo News (thanx Munz), I laughed, then I laughed some more, then I coveted my neighbor’s ass and gravened some images..

"High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week. Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy. "As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics," Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday. Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the "burning bush," suggested Shanon, who said he himself has dabbled with such substances. "The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a clasic phenomenon," he said citing the example of religious ceremonies in the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to "see music." He mentioned his own experience when he used ayahuasca, a powerful psychotropic plant, during a religious ceremony in Brazil's Amazon forest in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," Shanon said. He said the psychedelic effects of ayahuasca were comparable to those produced by concoctions based on bark of the acacia tree, that is frequently mentioned in the Bible."

The secret word is Shalt

I also have a witty little piece in this week's LA CityBeat that considers the president primaries as if they were a soap opera.

DOC'S PAPERBACK CLASSIC'S # 33

“So what did you do today, dear?”
“Went to the alien slave auction.”
“That’s nice, dear. And what were they selling?”
“Humans.”

SEMI-SELF PROMOTION

As I think I have already mentioned somewhere back down the line how our pal Rich Deakin has just had a book published called Keep It Together, which recounts the whole hideous tale of The Deviants and The Pink Fairies. I’m not super fond the front cover. (The sight of Twink naked never did much for me.) Larry Wallis and I were somehow relegated to the back cover, so it seems only apt to redress the balance by posting the picture of us. Ken Shimamoto has just written a glowing review. And copies can be obtained from The Bomp Store. Oh yeah, and I wrote the introduction.

The secret phrase is Back In The Day

OUR PRESIDENT

Taken three days ago, Doug the Bass asks,

"Isn't this the true face of America?"

The secret word is Hail (or is it Heil?)

Buddy Miles -- RIP

END OF THE WORLD UPDATE

As if the Mayan calendar and late Terence McKenna’s Time Wave Zero theory weren’t enough (scroll back to Feb 8), now see what NASA is tossing into the strew that’s brewing around the year 2012.

"On January 4, 2008, a reversed-polarity sunspot appeared—and this signals the start of Solar Cycle 24," says David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center. Solar activity waxes and wanes in 11-year cycles. Lately, we've been experiencing the low ebb, "very few flares, sunspots, or activity of any kind," says Hathaway. "Solar minimum is upon us." The previous solar cycle, Solar Cycle 23, peaked in 2000-2002 with many furious solar storms. That cycle decayed as usual to the present quiet leaving solar physicists little to do other than wonder, when would the next cycle begin? "Intense solar activity won't begin immediately," notes Hathaway. "Solar cycles usually take a few years to build from solar minimum (where we are now) to Solar Max, expected in 2011 or 2012." (For the full story)

The secret word is Aurora

POLAR BEAR CUB CAM

A three-month-old polar bear named Wilbär is being raised by its mother in Stuttgart, Germany, the city's zoo has revealed after keeping the news secret since his birth. (Click for video)

DO NOT PASS GO

Doc the Bass sent over following and very disturbing report from Yahoo News that tells how the USA – the supposed land of the free – has more of its citizens in the slammer than any other nation in the world. Reason’s cited are mandatory minimum sentencing, and three-strikes laws, but does not mention the savagely high number of those doing time are related to the never ending War on Drugs.

"For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator. It urges states to curtail corrections spending by placing fewer low-risk offenders behind bars.
Using state-by-state data, the report says 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults. Whether per capita or in raw numbers, it's more than any other nation.
The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said." (Click for the whole shameful tale.)

The secret word is Greybar

THE TESLA 'FRO

Every wonder how I get my hair the way it is? (Thanks Valerie)

THE ROBOT WARS ARE ALMOST HERE

The folLowing was sent by Valerie, culled from the New Scientist. It would seems that the military really knows no bounds.

"Governments around the world are rushing to develop military robots capable of killing autonomously without considering the legal and moral implications, warns a leading roboticist. But another robotics expert argues that robotic soldiers could perhaps be made more ethical than human ones.
Noel Sharkey of Sheffield University, UK, says he became "really scared" after researching plans outlined by the US and other nations to roboticise their military forces. He will outline his concerns to at a one day conderence held in London, UK, on Wednesday.
Over 4000 semi-autonomous robots are already deployed by the US in Iraq, says Sharkey, and other countries – including several European nations, Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore and Israel – are developing similar technologies
Governments around the world are rushing to develop military robots capable of killing autonomously without considering the legal and moral implications, warns a leading roboticist. But another robotics expert argues that robotic soldiers could perhaps be made more ethical than human ones." (Click for the full story.)

The secret word is Gort

QUE?

This make no sense unless one is a Fawlty Towers afficianodao.

GIMME THAT BRAND NEW RELIGION

Jettboy, a regular reader and commentator on Doc40, and a definite veteran member of our funhouse, emails me that he has co-founded a new religion. He calls it The Church Of The Volcano God, and states “I'm not sure if it's a joke or not anymore; the emails keep pouring in.” But promises “rum, cigars and samba for ALL!” So, if you feel the need for a new faith, just click here and check it out. Jett doesn't say if it has tax exempt status. Or involves human sacrifice.

The secret word is Theocratic

RALPH NADER DOES IT AGAIN

Once upon a time Ralph Nader was a revered figure, the defender of the consumer, but now he has degenerated into an egomaniac who would rather be in the spotlight than think through the results of his actions. After seven hideous years of having the country made increasingly uninhabitable for all but the wealthy, Nader will happily risk throwing a close run presidential election to the Republicans so they can keep driving their bus down the road to war, crippling debt, a neocon police state, and unlimited corporate welfare for the corporations he once challenged. Or as one blogger put it “he's a delusional self-involved prick who is destroying his own legacy with these vanity runs.”
(Click for the full story)

The secret word is Fool