MO' SPEED THAN FIYAH

Bush will win, simply because of the state of fear that many Americans are in, and he will ride this wave of fear back into the presidency.

And frankly, though I would hate Bush to win, I wouldn't vote for Kerry either. Kerry actually supported the invasion of Iraq while it was happening, and does a 180 and makes opposition to the war the center of his campaign? WTF?!

After the first time I saw that movie, I was absolutely, positively sure that I would never touch any drug my entire life. And then look what happened. muahaha

Let's not forget that religion has plenty of its own side effects. Like, don't you think the world would be a better place today if George W. stayed a cokehead and never 'found God'?

Ephedrine can be useful if you want to stay awake and alert. But if you pop a handful expecting to get high, you'll end up regretting it when your heart feels like its about to explode out of your chest.

And just as I post this, the Google ads banner displays a link for ephedrine weight loss pills. Synchronicity at its best.

This article should get a lively debate going :)

With a Nod to Vinyl, CD's Take Over the Turntable
By MICHAEL GWERTZMAN

F you really want to prove yourself as a disc jockey, you have to do it with vinyl.

That's been the mindset ever since D.J.'s emerged as musicians in their own right. Spinning vinyl records on analog turntables, manipulating them manually, scratching and doing tricks: a D.J.'s skills and status were determined by his ability to do it with wax on wheels of steel - that is, vinyl on two turntables.

The Technics SL-1200 MK2 Turntable, introduced in 1979, has been the undisputed turntable leader among D.J.'s, with a sturdy feel, adjustable and accurate pitch control and powerful platter torque. But after more than 20 years of turntable dominance, the D.J.'s steadfast allegiance to vinyl appears to be slipping, if not altogether severed. Spinning off CD's instead of vinyl has become the norm among the top tier of touring club D.J.'s, and that preference is starting to filter down to the wider consumer market.

File sharing, the proliferation of affordable CD burners and the high cost of vinyl records have all had a hand in vinyl's fall. But the strongest force has been the development of high-quality CD alternatives to the conventional turntable. Known as CDJ's and digital turntables, these units allow manual control of CD's by use of a record-sized platter that acts as a control mechanism for the CD.

D.J.'s are able to produce the same audio effects possible with vinyl records - including the coveted ability to scratch - by dragging the platter back and forth.

The four leading units, the Technics SL-DZ1200, introduced over the summer, along with the Pioneer CDJ-1000MK2, the Denon DS-5000 and Numark's CDX, feature a similar core design, with each unit adding its own feel and features. All aspire to do the same thing: let D.J.'s spin CD's with the same manual control they were accustomed to from a vinyl turntable.

Pioneer CDJ-1000MK2

Pioneer's first-generation model was a breakthrough when it was released in 2001, offering the closest digital approximation of the vinyl experience. Its current version, the CDJ-1000MK2, has become the market leader in digital decks.

With an eight-inch jog wheel front and center, the CDJ is designed to work like a vinyl deck. D.J.'s grab a corner of the jog wheel to speed up a track or slow it down as they would with a record. And like the classic Technics turntable, the Pioneer [ www.pioneerprodj.com ] has a pitch control slider that controls a track's beats per minute, offering expanded speed options (up to plus or minus 100 percent).

But it's the "vinyl" mode that has made the Pioneer model attractive to vinyl D.J.'s. With this option engaged, the jog wheel becomes a control pad for a virtually spinning turntable platter. The D.J. can press down on the jog wheel to stop a track while it's playing, rotate the wheel backward and rewind the track to a desired section.

The vinyl-like manual control is a solid foundation for an array of inventive digital features. Loop playback lets D.J.'s choose a few seconds of a track that they want to repeat endlessly. D.J.'s can also set three hot cue pads, which instantly return or forward a track to a set time. And the master tempo mode preserves a track's pitch while letting the D.J. alter its speed. That means no more Chipmunk vocals when a track is sped up.

All these features mean the CDJ-1000 is not for the recreational D.J. At $1,300, the CDJ-1000MK2 costs as much as two Technics vinyl decks, and far more than the starter D.J. sets on the market. Pioneer offers a lower-priced model, the CDJ-800 ($600), slightly smaller than the 1000 and offering fewer options for pitch control and hot cues but with the same basic platter controls.

Denon DN-S5000

At $900, the Denon DN-S5000 takes the concept of vinyl mimicry a step further. Like Pioneer, Denon [ www.usa.denon.com ] has given its deck a jog wheel prominently placed in the middle, but this one actually spins like a motorized vinyl platter. The wheel can be fitted with an actual 45-r.p.m. record that works as a control surface for the spinning platter.

D.J.'s can manipulate the spinning platter to speed up, slow down, rewind or stop a track, and the platter's movement makes these actions intuitive for any D.J. with vinyl know-how.

The platter's belt-drive motor closely emulates the torque and feel of the Technics vinyl deck, and makes cueing and mixing records a similar process. There's also a pitch control slider with two pitch bend buttons that let D.J.'s digitally bump a track forward or backward, the audio equivalent of nudging a spinning vinyl record with a finger.

Scratchers will be satisfied with the DN-S5000. The spinning platter provides something missing on the CDJ-1000: a visual aid. Scratch D.J.'s can use the platter to know exactly how far to spin a record back to return to a particular scratch point.

For digital tricks, there are a number of sample, loop and play modes that expand on the Pioneer model's capabilities, although the DN-S5000's interface can be a bit confusing.

The easiest feature is the set of four sample banks, each capable of 15 seconds of recording time. Once set, these loops can be jumped to at any point.

An innovation is the DN-S5000's alpha mode, which essentially turns one unit into two. Alpha mode lets D.J.'s play two tracks simultaneously from the same CD, with separate audio outs dedicated to the alpha and main sound channels. But because the alpha and main tracks share the same platter interface, it's easy to become confused about which track is assigned to what, creating the potential for performance disasters.

Technics SL-DZ1200

With its SL-DZ1200, Technics has kept things basic. There are no multiple play modes and no confusing control interfaces. D.J.'s schooled in the SL-1200 will be able to get started right away with its digital progeny.

Technics' parent, Panasonic [ www.panasonic.com ] is marketing the DZ-1200 as a digital turntable, and it plays tracks from both compact discs and SD Memory Cards. Like the Denon unit, the SL-DZ1200 uses a spinning platter as a control mechanism for the selected track, and the touch is remarkably similar to the SL-1200.

Scratch D.J.'s can give the SL-DZ1200 a workout: the 10-inch platter has a sturdy, rugged feel and plenty of room for hands. The audio sounds clear and punchy.

For digital add-ons, Technics has kept the options limited. Four sample pads, storing up to 32 seconds of audio, are just above and to the left of the platter. Once recorded, the samples can be laid over the main track's audio.

There is also a looping function, along with four cue pads that can jump to and from different points on a disc.

But the Technics' extra features, especially a built-in set of audio effect processors and on-board sample editing, don't add much to the core D.J. experience.

And while the spinning platter emulates the analog SL-1200 well, it's physically much more sensitive. It's easy for a track to spin wildly out of control with the slightest push.

With a price around $900, the unit doesn't stack up next to the Denon or Pioneer models in terms of extra features. But it is remarkably easy to use right out of the box and flawlessly performs the essential functions that D.J.'s expect from digital turntables.

Numark CDX

Numark's CDX takes the vinyl emulation design full circle. It is a full-size unit with an actual 12-inch record set on top of a spinning platter.

From afar, the $800 unit looks like a vinyl turntable with its tone arm and cartridge ripped off, and the design is based around Numark's own TTX turntable.

Numark [ www.numark.com ] has always courted "turntablists" as customers, the hard-core scratch D.J.'s who perform routines and tricks, and the CDX is presented as the most scratch-friendly option on the market.

It synthesizes many of the innovations and features of the other CD decks, but because it has a 12-inch platter, it retains the closest tactile similarity to vinyl.

The platter torque is solid and doesn't suffer from the sensitivity problems of the SL-DZ1200.

The CDX layout is simple and clean, with two easy-to-see Start and Pause buttons just below the platter. On the upper left are the built-in audio effects, and on the upper right is the track navigation and display screen.

There is no sampler, but a there is loop-in function that works like the Pioneer and Technics units. The CDX can play MP3 files stored on CD-R/RW.

There are few extra features or bells and whistles on the CDX; Numark has really focused on its vinyl-like feel and control.

The digital audio effects are good and more useful for performance than the ones on the SL-DZ1200, but this is not the CDX's strong suit. It is a heavy-duty digital deck that offers the closest approximation of working with vinyl records.

happy birthday!
keep on doing what u doing

^^fo'real. When I'm travelling by myself, that's when I get to be totally spontaneous - and get into wild situations as a result. Plus you get exsposed much more to the local scene, whereas being with someone from back home acts like a sort of buffer.

simon - thats wicked. let me know where you'll be headed and when

Tipsy is right. Thailand does have cheap prostitutes!

I'm based in Bangkok until the end of May, but then I'll be travelling around Asia for a year. Most likely Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia-India-Bangladesh-Nepal-Tibet-Sri Lanka. Any of those countries interest you?

Be like Dorothy and follow the yellow brick road

Wouldn't you rather show up at a party and feel generally good vibes, see people enjoying themselves and being friendly, or show up and feel like the party was just a half-hearted attempt to make cash, with everyone keeping within their own cliques?

Whether your dispotition is to embrace or scorn raver idealism, this post is just common sense. In other words, if you enjoy raves more than the average mainstream club (and if you don't, it would puzzle me why you'd visit this site) then it only makes sense to help keep raves different from mainstream parties by supporting those promoters that aren't just out to make a quick cash grab.

"The Way of Zen" -Alan Watts
"The Doctrine of Anatta" -Buddadasa Bikkhu

So what's the party scene like in Lebanon? I hear the clubs there are pretty high class and sorta pretensious, but what about the raves.

sorry but I'm really bored and I just couldn't resist..

Heh no, but I'd sure like to live in one!

Good luck liam!

Partying sober can be really interesting, because you get to observe all the drugged up people from a cooler, detached persepctive. You might even feel as if you were high just from watching people on drugs, its defintely happened to me a few times.

You should all take acid, just make sure not to sit next to the little green elves while on rides.

It feels so strange reading something I wrote almost a year ago, like an echo of a past self reverberating in the present. I still feel very positive about my drug experiences, though at one point I probably pushed myself too far right before leaving Montreal - I'm still not sure how I feel about doing 5-meo-dmt, which really shook me up. Drugs can't be good or bad in and of themselves, it all depends on the user and the way in which the substances are used. Like power tools, drugs can be both effective and powerful tools, or they can cause alot of damage when used improperly.

Its not just a matter of the "concentration" of the different elements; it also depends on the shape of the molecule, how each atom is joined together. Basically, drugs act as chemical "keys" that bind to certain receptors (the "keyholes") in the brain, thus triggering certain neurological functions. Even changing the position of just one atom in a certain molecule can mean the difference between a powerful drug and something which has no effect whatsoever.

I'm jealous, never got to try 2c-b tho I really want to. Liam, how does it compare with 2c-i?

I doubt CNN would even cover this. As far as most Americans are concerned, if it doesn't directly involve them it might as well had never happened.

The agency in the United States reponsible for the collective cognitive imprisonment of its citizens, the DEA, has recently arrested several owners of online research chemical merchants. The implications of this being that important entheogens such as 5-meo-DMT, DPT, and 2c-i will be almost impossible to obtain.

[ www.dea.gov ]

This is a sad, sad day for drug fiends

I don't really have any right to post in this thread, because I didn't get to meet Jean-Seb. But since everyone who opens with thread will read Pheonix's post, I think its necessary to add a counterpoint.



How can you possibly even think to make this statement considering you didn't even know him? How can you, Pheonix, make any judgement about the worthiness or unworthiness of "life" that isn't a projection of your own, subjective experience of life? How can you profess to ever be able to truly know the true nature of another person's conscious experience of living, even if you knew every objective, external circumstance in that person's life?



I think there are few people who's lives aren't filled mostly with stress, unease, and unsatisfactoriness, punctated by occasional moments of pleasure and happiness that are usually somewhere off in the future or memories of the past. Emotional pain can be greater than physical pain, and most people are at least willing to grant the option of dying to those undergoing intense physical pain.




It may be seen as selfish to do something to releive one's own suffering at the expense of causing others to suffer. It may also be seen as selfish to demand that someone live their whole life in pain simply so that those around are protected from any emotional debris.



This, in my opinion, is the most troubling thing you have written. Can't you imagine the pain and agony of imagining a million different scenarios of what might have happened had a person said something different, done something different, been at a different place at a different time? To continue to play out all these scenarios in one mind is insanity. The truth is, for every given thing that happens there are always countless other imaginary possibillities of what might have happened. Yet there is only one possibility that is the REALITY of what actually does happen, at least in this world. And one can either accept reality for whatever it is, or go insane trying to fight reality for what it is.

May "God" grant inner peace to those affected by this unfortunate outcome.

if you possesed a modicum of self-respect, you would at least get pure DXM powder

[ www.dextroverse.org ]

welcome to the legion of cough syrup loosers

I HEREBY PROCLAIM THAT GUINEAU PIG IS THE BEST MEAT EVER!!!

seriously its actually really good...its a delicacy in certain countries in S.America

bye chelsea :(

hope u like panama!

So tonight I'm sitting down to eat dinner at a sidewalk restaurant in northeastern Thailand, and or offer was everyone's favorite delicacy: cow penis! There was cow penis soup to start with, followed by baked cow penis with hot sauce for the main course. If you were on a diet, you could order cow penis salad as well. As tempting as it was, I've yet to allow a single cow penis to pass my lips...I stuck to minced duck served in a bowl of the bird's blood.

This movie is the 2 hour version of a 30 second campaign attack ad. There wasn't really any one consistent argument or point to the movie aside from 'Bush is bad'. That's supposed to be shocking news? The only segment of the movie I found really interesting is the account of the relationship between the Bush and Saudi royal families, a relationship based on oil and money. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is one of the most fundamentalist Islamic states and one of the biggest financers of terrorism.

Sun

The hilly, tropical island of Ko Phangan juts out from the Gulf of Thailand. On this island, thousands of people arrive every month for a massive beach party on the full moon. The interior of the island is thick with jungle, but the island's rim consists of many wide, white-sand beaches, the more popular of which are covered with the bodies of sunbathing tourists. It really is the image of the island paradise that people dream of.

Sand

The most popular beach on the island, Hat Rin, is also where the party takes place. Its a wide stretch of sand almost a kilometre long, and is lined with bungalows and dance bars. The full moon party itself is not really one party, but a combination of many different bars and soundsystems right on the beachfront, playing everything from cheesy dance-pop to cutting edge dnb.

Drugs

Despite what anyone says, theres still plenty of drugs on the island - but everyone is slightly paranoid cuz of the Thai cops. During the week I spent on the island, I smoked (very good) weed almost daily, smoked opium a few times, not to mention a couple of strong mushroom trips and mdma. Unfortunately, as the party has become more mainstream over the years more and more people binge drink with or instead of other drugs, which creates a host of alcohol-related problems.

Dancin

The night of the party was absolute madness. The entire stretch of beach was almost impassively packed with thousands of human bodies. By morning, the beach was strewn with dozens of people passed out face down in the sand - not to mention the scores of people having sex on the beach, alongside others dancing through the morning as if the party would never end.

It was a messy scene. A crazy, unforgettable night of excess, and then finally the chemical high wears out and the last of the sickly-faced foreigners drags their body off the beach and prepares for a long trip home.

^^ From the point of view of a traveller, most of the Arabs in the Middle East are among the most hospitable people I have ever met. Alot of people are nervous going to the Middle East because they assume that the people there will hate all westerners. In fact, most Arabs are actually honoured to receive visitors from other countries, and one of the most commonly heard words is "Welcome". In my experience travelling in the Middle East, I've had countless strangers invite me for tea, go out of their way to offer directions and assistance, even offer rides on everything from a bicycle to a donkey.

thanks for all your replies...i miss you all

oh and how could i have forgetten this picture!? sorry camel face..

what site is that from?

"It has clinically accepted applications in the treatment of narcolepsy, weight control, and attention deficit disorder"

this reminds me of requiem for a dream

Neoform I suggest you be more careful. Today the FBI may pore through GMail accounts searching for such terms as "box cutters" and "flight instruction". Tomorow, who knows, they may be after people whose GMail accounts contains such terms as "trance dj" and "cargo pants". And guess who's gonna be at the top of their list!

Nice topic. Death and the states of consciousness that occur as one progresses towards that state (ie. near death experiences) are a topic that fascinates me.

There is a certain paradox in the relationship between death and consciousness. It should be self-evident that I cannot be conscious of my own death (if death is interpreted as end of consciousness), so, from a subjective point of view, I can never be dead since my consciousness will always register me as being alive. I began to wonder what exactly happens to our consciousness as we approach the moment of death...as our last hours, minutes, and seconds collapse...until the point in time that consciousness can approach but never reach. Since our consciousnes arises out of chemical states of the brain, as can be attested by altering consciousness through psychoactive drugs, certainly chemical changes that occur in the brain only immediately before death might produce unique states of consciousness unlike that which we have ever experienced. And since our subjective experience of time arises out of our state of consciousness, there is no reason to rule out the possibility that the moments before death might subjectively seem to last longer than one's entire life up to that point, or perhaps even to eternity.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead, for example, is a guide to the process of dying as experienced by the deathly ill patient. According to this manual, there are three states that characterize the experience of dying. The First Bardo (state) is experiencing a clear, white light of overwhelming intensity. If one can embrace this light, one will be in a state of absolute peace and unity. On the other hand, turning away from the light results in a spiral of hallucinations and delusions that characterize the Second and Third Bardos. Its interesting to note that many people who have Near Death Experiences report such a white light (often at the end of tunnel), and that the christian conception of Heavan is usually of a white colour. So perhaps heavan isn't a place at all, but simply a near-death state of consciousness. Furthermore, the likelihood of one being able to embrace the luminousity of the white light surely depends on the type of person one is at death (based, in turn, on how one has lived their life). It is thus no surprise to hear that some Eastern traditions regard the purpose of life as precisely being a preparation for the act of dying.

While this paradigm of thinking about death certainly is fascinating, recently I've come across quite a credible (but bizzarre sounding) scientific theory that literally implies that in a sense I can never die. I am referring to the Many-Worlds (or Universes) interpretation of quantum mechanics, which states that every possible outcome that can (or will) ever exist, in fact DOES exist in a parallel universe. So, there are parallel universes in which there are others versions of "me" that have already died, that have never graduated high school, and that have woken up on the right rather than the left side of my bed this morning. The reason why many scientists beleive this is abit to detailed to go into right here, but it relates to quantum uncertainties and the observation that an electron can be observed as both a wave and a particle. (If you want to understand where this theory comes from, try this link: [ www.station1.net ] and many others).

So, what has this got to do with death? Well, since there is a world for every possibility, there will be some worlds in which versions of "me" exist and other worlds in which "I" have already died. But since I cannot be conscious of a world in which I no longer exist, therefore my consciousness will always be rooted in a world in which I am still living. Thus, whenever there is a possibility of either living or dying (and hence, a replication of this world in one in which I survive and another in which I die), then my consciousness will always continue in that world in which I survive - the implication being, the in a sense at least one "version" of me - or the only version that is identified as I - will always be alive.

Heres an example: Suppose I were to take a loaded gun, aim it at my temple, and press the trigger. There are two possibilites: the first (and most likely one) being that the gun discharges meaning that I die. The second one is that the gun somehow malfunctions and I continue to live. Since both are possibilities, then this act causes the world to branch into two: a world in which the gun works and I die, and a world in which the gun manfunctions and I survive. But since I can obviously only continue to exist in the second world, therefore I will see perceive over and over again, no matter how many times I may try to shoot myself in the head, that the gun always seems to mysteriously malfunction. (Don't try this at home, folks =p)

Since I'm only gonna be a few more days in Israel, it seems like I'm gonna make it! Whats more I've taken some pics so you can see what i've been up to...

I spent a couple of days in Jerusalem...the tension here is THICK. Soldiers everywhere, cuz this is the city that both jews and palestinians want as their capital. Here's me with the Al Aksa mosque in the background, which is the 3rd holiest place in Islam. The crumbling wall in front of it is the Western Wall, 1st holiste place in Judiasm.



Also in Jerusalem, just a stone's throw away, is Via Dolorosa, the street where Jesus supposedly walked, bearing the cross, on the way to be crucified. At the end of the street is a church marking the spot where Jesus was crucified....inside is a maze of dark medeival-style passageways with priests roaming around. Eerie place...



Leaving Jersalem, I ended up meeting this chill Israeli guy who had become a drifter after loosing his business. We stayed together at Ein Gedi, next to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth...



A few days later, I crossed over into Egypt's Sinai desert. Along the coast are a bunch of simple hut-style camps right on the beach. My first stop in Egypt was a beach called Ras Hasartan...



After getting bored of sitting on the beach all day and smoking joints (it DOES happen!) I arranged with a local guide to take me into the desert for three days of camel trekking. Here is my guide and the camel..



The Sinai desert is such a beautiful place! So vast and empty, one can wander for days without seeing another soul...


.


The last place I visited in Egypt was the town of Dahab, another seaside place with incredible coral reefs...I got to dive there, and its really another world underwater.



So thats all for now...next I'll be going to Thailand where hopefully i'll be raaaavvvvvvvving at the full moon bash...

montreal memories...

YaY Thailand! Send me an email if you do end up going. I'm not there yet, but from what I hear its inexpensive and has alot of interesting places, whether you'd rather just lie around on an island or trek to remote hill-tribes. I'm budgeting around 15-20$ per day while I'll be travelling there, which I here is reasonable.

As for something close to home, I really recommend a trip to the Andes in S.America, such as Ecuador-Peru-Bolivia. I did this trip last summer over 2 months, and had some of the most incredible experiences of my life. Its also safe, cheap (figure around 15$/day), and is really incredible: I trekked to Machu Picchu, went mountain climbing in Bolivia, and got to participate in an ayahuasca rite with Shuar in Ecuador! PM me if you want more info.

In my opinion the 'peak' of the rave experience is most readily accessible through drugs. Frankly, as much as I've had amazing experiences partying sober (and most of my 1st year of partying WAS sober), they quite simply are on a different plane than my very best drug-enhanced parties.

While I do beleive that altered states of consciousness are accessible through meditation / visualization / etc, I think its the very rare person that can completely access the MDMA-induced state without a chemical aid.

Then again, one of the problems with the 'peak' rave + MDMA experience is precisely that it can be too good, making it difficult for some to maintain a sense of balance and moderation. So those who party sober are quite likely making a wise decision.