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Arts & Letters
Art is a jealous mistress, and if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband and an ill provider.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1860
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- Déjà Vu Is history repeating itself? The Déjà Vu blog investigates... Marine Mammals — A Navy dolphin discovers a torpedo off the coast of California; in 1856 an experiment brought camels into the U.S. Army. Fit for the Job — Chris Christie’s weight-loss surgery sparks presidential rumors; in 1905 William Howard Taft reduces the old-fashioned way. Trip of a Lifetime — A one-way trip to Mars generates thousands of willing participants; in 1609, the Virginia Company deems Jamestown is the place to be.
- Roundtable Insight and analysis from renowned writers and thinkers. Her Majesty's Rat-Catcher — Jack Black, the most famous rat-catcher in Victorian London, killed up to 8,000 rats in a year. The Most Talented Dogs in England — In 1895, a British weekly publishes the breathless letters of its dog-obsessed subscribers The Complete Syllabus: Animals — A list of books used in our Summer issue, “Animals”.
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Whilst I have no doubts that for certain creative people mind altering substances may be useful most alcoholics and drug addicts are NOT creative
Posted by roger Ramrocker on Thu 8 Apr 2010
Another entry:
Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" (1972)
Marijuana. The strongest most world tilting marijuana available on the planet (or Mexico).
Posted by Matt on Wed 14 Apr 2010
What reference was used to write this table?
Posted by Felipe Machado Cardoso on Thu 15 Apr 2010
Interesting list, but why in the world would marijuana/hashish be categorized as a "downer"? Marijuana is a mild psychedelic, and belongs in the bottom-right category.
In fact, what does the category "downer" even mean? It's traditionally used to identify CNS depressants (alcohol, barbiturates, etc) but here it's an odd mix of opiates and psychedelics.
Posted by Rhayader on Mon 19 Apr 2010
Doesn't anybody drink wine? I like the "tea and sherry" for Carson McCullers
Posted by mkipniss@aol.com on Mon 19 Apr 2010
Let's not forgot Ayn Rand: Benzedrine and Nicotine: Atlas Shrugged.
Why do you think John Galt's speech is so damn long?!
Posted by Kent Johnson on Mon 19 Apr 2010
Kerouac's On the Road, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and none of Hemingway's work made the list?
Posted by gLblank on Mon 19 Apr 2010
What the hell is Faulkner's Road to Glory? Throw a stone and you'll hit a book he actually wrote on whiskey.
Posted by EOlivera on Tue 20 Apr 2010
What, no Dylan Thomas? The man literally drank himself to death...
Posted by mike on Wed 21 Apr 2010
Yeah, Peyote does it for me
Posted by Artist on Wed 21 Apr 2010
Interesting, but Castaneda shouldn't really be on the list, he was a fraud and made up those experiences.
Posted by Selmanruz on Thu 22 Apr 2010
Whither Philip K. Dick?
Posted by Pat J on Mon 26 Apr 2010