I met the Walrus

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. 38 years later, Levitan, director Josh Raskin and illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina have collaborated to create an animated short film using the original interview recording as the soundtrack. A spellbinding vessel for Lennon's boundless wit and timeless message, I Met the Walrus was nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Animated Short and won the 2009 Emmy for 'New Approaches' (making it the first film to win an Emmy on behalf of the internet).

Corrupt US judge receives 28-year jail term for his role in kids-for-cash kickbacks & Iran VS US prisons

An American judge known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom manner was jailed for 28 years for conspiring with private prisons to hand young offenders maximum sentences in return for kickbacks amounting to millions of dollars.

Mark Ciavarella Jnr was ordered to pay $1.2m (£770,000) in restitution after he was found to be a “figurehead” in the conspiracy that saw thousands of children unjustly punished in the name of profit in the case that became known as “kids for cash”.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has overturned some 4,000 convictions issued by the former Luzerne County judge between 2003 and 2008, claiming he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles – including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea. Ciavarella Jnr, 61, was tried and convicted of racketeering charges earlier this year but his lawyers had asked for a “reasonable” sentence, claiming that he had already been punished enough. (HE'S A FUCKING CORRUPT JUDGE, HE CANNOT BE PUNISHED ENOUGH!)
Federal prosecutors accused Ciavarella Jnr and a second judge, Michael Conahan, of taking more than $2m in bribes from the builder of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care detention centres and extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the facilities’ co-owner. Ciavarella Jnr filled the beds of the private prisons with children as young as 10, many of them first-time offenders convicted minor crimes.

Wow they found two of them, I'm really surprised at how these two corrupt judges were convicted, were they annoying at the cocktail parties or something? I'll start getting optimistic when more are found. The American Prison System is just business now. Human Resource management... Private prisons ffs, how could you ever let it come this far.



also check this out:
I Thought Solitary Confinement in Iran Was Bad -- Then I Went Inside America's Prisons
We throw thousands of people in prison for the books they read, the company they keep, the beliefs they hold. Here's why.

Walking Between the Worlds: Links between Psi, Psychedelics, Shamanism and Psychosis An Overview of the Literature

Interesting article I got linked by a friend, read all of it (there's a lot!) here.

Sharing the intro and two excerpts here:

In folk lore there is a belief that many people who have an acute psychotic breakdown exhibit signs of psychic ability. Research into this folk lore is virtually non-existent, but some interesting work by Neppe (1980) and Persinger (Persinger & Makarec, 1987) psi suggests that there might be some foundation for it. My research into the pineal gland is now exploring this same area from a neurochemical perspective.

The pineal gland makes a neurohormone called melatonin which is one of the key regulators of the circadian and seasonal biological rhythms. It also makes a mono-amine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor called pinoline (Methoxytetrahydrobetacarboline (MeOTHBC)) which acts on the GABA receptors and whose chemical structure is virtually identical with the harmala alkaloids, which are key ingredients in the ayahausca drink used by Amazonian people specifically for inducing a state of consciousness in which they state that they go out-of-body, experience travelling clairvoyance, divination and shamanic healing. The suggested neurochemistry for these effects implicates serotonin. Serotonin (5 Hydroxytryptamine (5HT)) has frequently been implicated in certain aspects of psychoses. Pinoline is a neuromodulator which prevents, amongst other effects, the breakdown of serotonin. This results in an accumulation of physiologically active amines including dimethyltryptamine (DMT) within the neuronal synapses which may lead to hallucinations, depression or mania depending on the amines being affected (Strassman, 1990). DMT is the other main ingredient in ayahuasca. There are also interesting links with the serotonergic activation by psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin and MDMA which have all been implicated in triggering psychotic episodes, and more specifically with inducing a state of consciousness which has many similarities with both an acute psychotic breakdown and with shamanism, which traditionally uses psychedelic plants in order to achieve the desired state of consciousness.

A key link between all of these various experiences is the dream state of consciousness. Psychologically, both the shamanic initiation experience and that of an acute psychotic breakdown share many similarities with the dream state. It appears that the normal every night experience of all human beings is connected with the more extreme experiences of psychosis and shamanism through the same neurochemical pathways that underlie all these experiences. And, as the research at Maimonides (Ullman et al, 1975) and since has shown, the dream state is a psychic state of consciousness par excellence. This suggests that the anthropological reports of psychic abilities being exhibited by shamans may have some foundation, and suggests that some people who have experienced a psychotic breakdown could be seen in other cultures as people with a particular and highly valued gift - the gift of walking between the worlds.

Geomagnetic Fields, Depression and the Role of Melatonin
One of the key factors in linking the pineal with psychosis is the work of Kay (1994). Admission to mental hospital varies with season and time of the month, and mental illness is more common the further north you go, i.e., into long light summers, and long dark winters.
Seasonal variation in the incidence of depressive illness has been recognised since Hippocrates (Lewis, 1934). Onset of depressive illness, admission to hospital, prescriptions of antidepressant medication and incidence of suicide have all been found to show a bimodal annual distribution with peaks in spring and autumn.
Kay (1994) has found, in a 10 year study of admission rates to Lothian psychiatric hospitals, that two weeks after a geomagnetic storm there was a significant rise (36.2%) for male admissions for depression phase of manic-depression and a smaller non-significant rise for women with psychotic and non-psychotic depression. There was no correlation between intensity of storm and admission rates, i.e. if any sort of storm happens, mild or severe, you get increased admission rate, which is consistent with a threshold event affecting predisposed individuals. The effect of geomagnetic storms could range from mild irritability to full-blown depression. Monthly total psychiatric admissions have been positively correlated with solar radioflux levels and indices of geomagnetic ionospheric disturbance.
Kay suggests that geomagnetic storms partly account for the bimodal annual distribution of depression by acting either through desynchronisation of pineal circadian rhythms, or via an effect on 5HT-ergic and adrenergic systems leading to depressed mood and secondary disruption of pineal melatonin synthesis. Alteration in geomagnetic field (GMF) activity is associated with decreased serotonin NAT activity and decreased melatonin synthesis. Geomagnetic storms in spring enhance the suppressing effect of increasing daylight on melatonin synthesis, leading to a phase advance in the circadian rhythm, while the effect of storms in autumn tend to be partially compensated by the pineal response to decreasing light intensity. This is consistent with a Southern Hemisphere peak for psychotic depression admissions in September and October, and a peak in Sweden in April.
The main innervation of the pineal is via adrenergic systems so magnetic fields may affect pineal functioning via this mechanism. Sandyk (1990a) associates depression with decreased melatonin secretion and suggests that melatonin regulates dopaminergic, cholinergic and GABA-ergic functions.
It is also possible that the association between geomagnetic storms and depression could be due to an indirect association with changes in meteorological factors. Atmospheric ionisation and barometric pressure have been shown to affect measures of 5HT activity. Prolonged exposure to abnormal magnetic fields may also have an effect, acting through a similar mechanism to geomagnetic storms. Depression admissions have been associated with exposure to 50Hz e-m fields in the home.

Role of Circadian Rhythms, Melatonin and Manic-Depression
We have two circadian clocks - one is a biological clock which includes the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, the locus ceruleus and the dorsal raphe nucleus - food is the zeitgeber for this clock; the second clock includes the retina, hypothalamic suprachalasmic nuceus (SCN) and pineal gland - light is the zeitgeber for this clock. The two clocks are normally in synchrony but in view of the independence of the two clocks asynchrony is possible, and the affective disorders may be caused by such a dysfunction (Maurizi, 1984).
Disturbances of the noradrenergic activity of the central nervous system (CNS) have been related to affective disorders, which are also accompanied by depressed melatonin secretion and sleep disturbances. Manic-depression is associated with a sleep disorder: in the manic phase the person suffers from insomnia, in the depression state they sleep too much.
Melatonin is mainly secreted at night through noradrenergic stimulation of beta-receptors on the pinealocoytes. Melatonin secretion can therefore be inhibited by beta-blocking drugs. Melatonin secretion is depressed in mental disorders with sleep disturbances such as the manic phase of certain affective disorders, alcoholic abuse and dts with hallucinations.
There are mixed results regarding melatonin secretion in affective disorders - some find decreased nocturnal melatonin secretion in unipolar depressed adults, others do not. Lewy et al (1979) reports increased melatonin levels in bipolar subjects through a 24 hour cycle. Lam et al (1990) report decreased nocturnal melatonin production in bipolar patients compared with unipolar depressed and control subjects. Reiter (1982) suggests that manic-depressives have a low melatonin concentration during suicidal episodes and a high melatonin concentration during manic episodes.
Affective disorders involving circadian dysregulation may respond to interventions that restore a normal sleep-wake cycle. Robertson & Tanguay (1997) describe a boy with bipolar disorder. A trial of melatonin led to rapid relief of insomnia and aborted manic episodes for at least a two year period. Insomnia can be both a symptom and a precursor of mania (Wehr et al, 1987; Leibenluft et al, 1995). On the other hand, sleep deprivation therapy for depression is thought to exert its effect by resynchronising circadian rhythms, while antidepressants and lithium lengthen the pineal circadian cycle period re-synchronising a phase advanced cycle.
In addition, melatonin administration to clinically depressed patients gives negative effects (Carman et al, 1976). The treatment of psychotic depression with daytime melatonin increases psychotic symptoms and abolishes diurnal mood variation. The timing of this treatment would tend to exacerbate a desynchronised rhythm. De-synchronising circadian rhythms is therefore a possible mechanism for mood switching in manic-depressive illness, and manic-depressive patients have been found to be supersensitive to the suppressing effect of light on night-time melatonin synthesis, suggesting that in these people the pineal gland may be generally supersensitive to environmental factors including geomagnetic storms.
Brismar (1987) studied people on beta blockers because of angina, hypertension, etc. and found that those with depressed nightly urinary melatonin excretion suffered from CNS symptoms such as nightmares and hallucinations. Not many people suffer these effects. Another possible site of action for melatonin is the dorsal raphe nucleus. (LSD also acts on the dorsal raphe nucleus.) Melatonin could enhance 5HT levels by acting as a MAO inhibitor in the synapses of the dorsal raphe nucleus.
Abnormalities in circadian rhythm organization are consistent features in manic-depressive illness (Wehr & Goodwin, 1980). Wetterberg et al (1981) suggest pineal involvement. Manic-depressives have an earlier onset of melatonin secretion during depression, with this secretory onset being even earlier in mania (Lewy & Kern, 1984). Manic depressives are also super-sensitive to light with 50% reduction in melatonin production on exposure to 500 lux. Normally one needs 2500 lux for this suppression whereas manic-depressives have complete melatonin suppression at 1500 lux (Lewy & Kern, 1984). It is possible that supersensitivity to light with alteration in retinal perception of light could contribute to a phase advance of those rhythms that are entrained to the light-dark cycle and thus lead to alterations in those function that are influenced secondarily by such rhythms (for review see Kripke & Risch 1986; Rosenthal, 1986; Thompson, 1987).

Thus melatonin, as an integral aspect of our circadian rhythm is implicated in manic- depression.

Team Rockit - Aura & Majical Cloudz - Bugs don't Buzz

“My “act” has ended by becoming an integral part of my nature, I told myself. Misere mei deus för vi gör vad fan vi vill. It’s no longer an act. “

INFINITY MAFIA

Grimes shared this on her blog, I don't know the name of the artist and song but at the risk of sounding like an idiot it might be "team rockit - aura" (Yay it's correct! Soundcloud page here). Awesome song and video, and is that Grimes herself in the video or just a girl who looks and sounds like her? :p 

Scandinavian languages are so awesome in music, my mother is Norwegian and some of her family's side live in Sweden. I've never been there, my sister has though, and I don't speak Norwegian but my mom does (along with Dutch, French, Spanish, English, German, and basic Thai!), I'd consider learning it but at the moment I'm still too busy slacking on my Japanese.

And here's another great song she shared, by Majical Cloudz who collaborated on the track Nightmusic.

Grimes & Majical Cloudz - Nightmusic & Be a body

Just reposting this cause I've been playing this song so much lately.



So then what am I? Be a Body

Western & Eastern Meditation

Ten procent of the Belgian population is on antidepressants

A recent news article stated that 1.1 million Belgians are on antidepressants, there are little over 11 million Belgians... The price of these vile drugs was dropped by ten procent to bait more weak fish... Unbelievable, ten procent, how sad is that? The problem I have with these drugs is, they have a small side effect that cause people on them to go on... violent rampages like shootings (This website SSRI stories features over 4800 cases where people on SSRI's exhibited extreme violence, including 66 School shootings... good luck with that gun control Obama...). What kind of messed up side effect is that... and why is it being muted in the media...

From 2011 to compare here are antidepressant stats from the US: "The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics found that 11 percent of Americans over the age of 12 takes an antidepressant, with about 14 percent taking the medication for more than 10 years."

But hey psychiatry, let's not work on causes or helping people through it, let's ignore Neurolinguistic Programming exists which can erase some traumas in a half hour session, let's not be responsible for our own consciousness and just take pills, cause goddamn those drugs must make you so... much... money. You have to hope that this isn't the death of the mental health sector, which to be fair never really was alive. I'd rather have ten procent of the population work on their problems actively WITHOUT having the increased chance that they go on a violent rampage causing more mental health problems in the world. What a world...

Russian dashcams can give you the good kind of goosebumps too

Don't Believe In Anybody Else's BS - Robert Anton Wilson

Via Relaxed Focus

the T

Via Relaxed Focus