11 Comments
Jan 23Liked by Erik Davis

Eldritch Musk!

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Jan 24Liked by Erik Davis

Looking forward to reading more content here from you (or anywhere really). See you tonight!

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Jan 23Liked by Erik Davis

I enjoyed this flicker very much. Always a pleasure to read your posts and books.

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Hi there. I still love California but I almost want to congratulate you for escaping the US!

Some Alembic events are streamed and others are not, so it depends. For my PKD course, we stream the lecture and then turn it off for Q&A. I think Kat Harrison's seminar will be streamed, we are . Usually the streaming policy is explained in the relevant Eventbrites. https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-berkeley-alembic-foundation-44559759063

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I found your account of your changing relationship over the years with Twitter (and non-relationship with Facebook) moving, and familiar. And I agree with your take on Substack. I enjoy occasionally hearing your voice, and seeing the world through your eyes (High Weirdness is one of my favorite books; my copy has more highlighting-per-page than 99.5% of the books I own), and am glad I can continue to do so. Please continue being you; please continue reporting on that phenomenon. Best of luck on your exploration of the burning shore, and I hope you have a terrific 2024.

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Thanks for the words of encouragement! I absolutely adore seeing or hearing about my books getting all marked up, I can't tell you how satisfied it makes me. They are chewy, and sometimes I worry that folks glide over the density. Nice to know you are getting into the nitty gritty!

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Such thoughtful and insightful writing. I no longer live in the Bay Area, let alone the US. So are any of the events you mentioned available as recordings. Thanks.

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I'd wager you'd feel at home on Mastodon, which still has some scruffy countercultural vibes, no ads or aggressive algos, and your name comes up there on occasion https://newsie.social/@stevesilberman/111547061258605377

But staying away from social media is also a good option.

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Yeah I think its time for me to try a post-social media existence. I have been on bulletin boards and listservs and SM for decades now. I think minimizing screen time is a theme now. Plus I like to chat with my friends on the phone, that fills in a lot of the yen for chattering virtual contact.

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Jan 23·edited Jan 23

You're discussion of extreme sports and transgression was super interesting!

Have you ever seen Point Break?

"Bodhi : If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price."

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Yeah but it's been ages. Its one of those films that keeps coming up, so I am gonna see it again. But the extreme sports=psychedelic angle is really important. The Kiwi James Oroc was an influential 5MEO proponent and author who was also a well known extreme sports journalist and practitioner. He was also a wonderful adventurous soul. He died paragliding, alas.

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