I'd like to meet:
to crib a great line from a friend of the page: Enemies...Timothy Leary made friends of enemies, including the man who busted him and contributed to his "5 years in the penalty box" (that's prison to the rest of us). I'm referring to G. Gordon Liddy, arch-conservative ex-Watergate Burglar who had warm praise for Tim in later years. That spirit continues on here. It could melt ice on Pluto. And you know, things aren't looking too good on Pluto these days... If you have a gripe or don't like, think me too wise or not enuff, perhaps you thought 9/11 was an inside job or see the number 23 whenever you wipe your bum. Let me say to you, fellow sentient being: let Tim's spirit extinguish it, the fear, the sadness, the loneliness, the cold. "The aim of the game is to feel real good" -Timothy Leary, PhD. We endorse the Good Doctor's Prescription!
A NEW SERIES: The current five major Timothy Leary Myths DeMythafied:
1.) "Timothy Leary is alive or parts of him are." This refers to Timothy's intention to have his head frozen (expertly portrayed in the documentary film "Timothy Leary's Dead" but shown in the credits to be a hoax). Fact is: Timothy told many friends in the final months of his life that he didn't like most of the people he met in the cryogenic community and that his fear was "being awakened in some future surrounded by men in white lab coats with clipboards." But this was not to happen, because Tim decided to be "put in the blender." He was cremated, and a portion of his ashes were shot into space with people including Star Trek creator Gene Roddendberry. At night, if you know where to look, Leary's ashes circle the globe every 96 minutes. But gravity will have her way, and one day in the distant future a trail of light will be all that remains of the physical matter of Timothy Leary.
2.) "Leary invented LSD." No, a Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann discovered LSD. Tim Leary perhaps did more than any other person to promote the remarkable effects on the mind of LSD and hallucinogens. A good book on the creation and impact of LSD is _LSD: Mein Sorgenkind_ (LSD: My Problem Child) by Dr. Hofmann.
3.) The phrase... Often misquoted (with "Tune In" put first) but never matched for sheer cosmic bravado, it got Timothy Leary into a whole heap a trouble, including at one point a 37 years jail sentence (tantamount to life since he was nearing 50 years of age). "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" grew out of a conversation Tim had with the media philosopher Marshall McLuhan who told him that he needed a "snappy" slogan if he wanted to sell the wonders of LSD to the world. One day in the shower it came to him. In sum: Take LSD (the "Turn On"), find people who have also had their mind's expanded by LSD (the "Tune In") and finally cut off all ties with culture and society in order to go within (the "Drop Out"). For years, the slogan has been permutated so that "Tune In..." precedes "Turn On" -- a little like trying to change channels on your TV before it is on. [We've all done that though....] It even appears this way in the summary notes on the book jacket of the recent Leary biography by Robert Greenfield. Couldn't they afford one more fact-checker? (or perhaps a more thorough biographer?)
4.)"Tim broadcast his death live on the Web." While he did issue regular updates about his declining health (some in video and pics) his home page switched to text updates of his final days. His last words were reputed to be: "Why not? Why not? Yeah." And as he held his adopted stepson's hand, Zach Leary and others said he faintly whispered the word "Beautiful..."
5.) Ask a question, make a claim, let's consider it. "History is an argument without end" -a historian whose identity is disputed.
Music:
The Beatles. The Stones. Bob Dylan. The Grateful Dead. Cubensis. Jefferson Airplane. Jimi Hendrix. Janis Joplin. Charlie Parker. Charles Mingus. John Coltrane. Antonio Carlos Jobim. Maynard Ferguson. Joan Baez. Joni Mitchell. Talking Heads. Ministry. Blues. Jazz. Punk. Hardcore. Industrial. House. Hip-Hop. Electronic. Ambient. Space (did I leave anything out?)
Movies:
Timothy Leary Clip
Timothy Leary discussing Cannabis & psychedelics as Sacraments. Don't settle for anything less than being the Star of your movie.
Television:
Who needs it when we can move things around on our screens and use the Web to change the top-down flow of information and entertainment?
Books:
Books by Timothy Leary:
The Delicious Grace of Moving One's Hand. The Collected Sex Writings (1998)
Design for Dying (1997)
Chaos and Cyber Culture (1994)
Flashbacks (1983)
Changing My Mind Among Others (1982)
The Game of Life (1979)
The Intelligence Agents (1979)
exo-Psychology (1977)
What Does WoMan Want (1976)
Neurologic (~1973)
Confessions of a Hope Fiend (1973)
Jail Notes (1970)
High Priest (1968)
The Politics of Ecstasy (1968)
Start Your Own Religion (1967)
Psychedelic Prayers (1966)
The Psychedelic Experience (1964)
The Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality [Textbook] (1957)
Heroes:
First and foremost: my wives. Zach Leary. Jack Leary. Susan Leary. My grandkids. Socrates. Alan Watts. Marshall McLuhan. Ralph Abraham. James Joyce. Thomas Pynchon. Elves. Gnomes too. ..and Pixies. John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Yoko Ono. Sean Lennon Ono. Albert Hofmann. Gordon Wasson. Aldous Huxley. Al Hubbard. The great folks at Erowid.com and all dogs.