Dutch filmmaker Jan Kounen, primarily known for his ultra-violent gangster flick Doberman and El Topo-esque western Blueberry, spent several months in the Amazon with Shipibo Shamans experimenting with Ayahuasca, a psychoactive infusion prepared from vines and plants containing DMT (Dimethyltryptamine). Ayahuasca is a holy sacrament which the indigenous people and Shamans of the Amazon have known as a powerful holistic purgative medicine capable of great healing and transformation for thousands of years.

While in the Amazon, Kounen made the documentary Other Worlds. The film depicts the Shamanic culture and their underlying belief systems which stem from their knowledge of the Invisible. According to Kounen, the objective of the documentary “is to impress upon viewers that these little-known Indians developed veritable cognitive technology through their own sciences of the spirit, thousands of years ago. To me, these men are warriors in the battle to unlock the mysteries of consciousness. Shamans consider the greatest ally and the worst enemy of every individual to be one and the same… himself or herself.” In the film, Kounen primarily shows the therapeutic power of the Shamans and their plant teachers. This power is a type of ancestral psychoanalysis or human psychotherapy backed by 4,000 years of experience and practice.

Inexplicably, Other Worlds made in 2004 has never been released in the United States. It is only available on import DVD.

In this excerpt from the film, we see night vision shots of Kounen after he has ingested Ayahuasca followed by CGI images the director created to replicate his visual experiences during his “trip.”
 

 
In another excerpt from Other Worlds, Nobel Prize winner Kari Mullis, DMT cosmonaut Rick Strassman (author of The Spirit Molecule) and artist Alex Grey

Meher Baba at Paramount Film Studio, London, April 1932
 
Funny thing about silence. Humorist Josh Billings called it “one of the hardest arguments to refute” and the Slits called it a rhythm, while Francis Bacon called it “the virtue of fools” and six gay activists in New York in 1987 equated it with death. John Cage wrote a famous composition about it to show how much noise can be made at a concert with nobody playing their instruments.

Followers of Meher Baba have made a holiday out of it. On this day 85 years ago, the Indian-born mystic Baba went voluntarily silent at the age of 31. He would stay that way for 42 years, until he died in 1969. Funnily enough, no-one saw it coming. Born in the cosmopolitan Indian city of Pune to part-Zoroastrian-part-Sufi Persian parents, Baba seemed to have had it going on before his transformation to mysticism, according to Wiki:

His schoolmates nicknamed him “Electricity”. As a boy he formed The Cosmopolitan Club dedicated to remaining informed in world affairs and giving money to charity — money often raised by the boys betting at the horse races. He had an excellent singing voice and was a multi-instrumentalist and poet. Fluent in several languages, he was especially fond of Hafez’s Persian poetry, but also of Shakespeare and Shelley.

Baba’s persona, work and metaphysics enrapture lots of folks in the West, many of whom celebrities ranging from Gary Cooper to Pete Townshend. As you can see below, though a silent man for most of his life, Baba was a chatty bastard.
 

 
The great inventor Nikola Tesla was born on July 10, 1856.

 
Louisiana swamp rocker Dale Hawkins proves in this video that punk rock was around waaaay before The Seeds, The Germs or The Ramones. With his sneering vocal style and Pork Pie hat, Hawkins looks like a low rent Frank Sinatra (or a member of The Specials) and sounds like a Bayou version of Johnny Rotten. Yeh-Yeh (Class Cutter) is a wiseass classic and juvenile delinquent’s dream. Sadly, Dale died of cancer in February of this year. But he never stopped rocking, performing until shortly before he died. He left behind several dozen recordings, most of which are still in print. His biggest hit was Suzie Q and that song alone places him among the immortals of rock and roll.
 

 
The shape-shifting Clinger Sisters went from mainstream pop concoctions in the early 60s to Christian balladeers in their later years. But their 1969 detour into proto-punk, under the firm hand of rock Svengali Kim Fowley, is what makes the sisters stand out. Years before the Runaways, Suzi Quatro or Blondie ever put foot into a recording studio, the sisters (as The Clingers) recorded a garage punk cover of the Easybeats’ Gonna Have A Good Time and etched a small notch in the studded leather belt of female punkdom.
 

 
Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the newest member of the Dangerous Minds team, Marc Campbell:

Marc Campbell was the lead singer and lyricist for THE NAILS who recorded two critically acclaimed albums for RCA records. He’s best known for the cult hit 88 Lines About 44 Women. Later this year, Campbell will be releasing his first solo album, Tantric Machine. He is also working on a book, 44 WOMEN, an erotic memoir spanning the 60s and 70s, from the hippies to the punks. “Having been passionately involved with the social and artistic revolutions of those decades, I see many connections between the two and how one grew out of the other. 44 WOMEN pays tribute to the power and glory of sex, drugs, rock and roll…and LOVE. It is dedicated to the women in my life who did their best to keep me human.” Marc currently lives in Austin, Texas with his beautiful Turkish girlfriend and his chihuahua, Freddy. He likes good wine, rock and roll and hardboiled detective novels. He agrees with Timothy Leary that “intelligence is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”

I’m sure Dangerous Minds readers will enjoy Marc’s eclectic pop culture postings. As some of you have probably already noticed, we’ve often linked to some of Marc’s Facebook posts here and think he’s the perfect addition to the band. Welcome Marc!

 
Bob the Tan Man from Tim & Eric’s Season Cinco has launched his own website where you can write to him, download a “Me Me I’m a Tan Man” ringtone, buy autographed pictures and even get Bob the Tan Man himself to call you!

Wow! But what would I say to him?

For the personal recorded message service I record a short personal message to the fan. Almost about anything.

This is the most popular and just an example. The message can be just about any length. It’s all worked out prior to any recording.

Hi (Their Name) Bob the Tan Man here from the Tim & Eric Awesome show. I’m sending you a short message about your (occasion here). I’m sorry I had to miss it. I’m sure it would have been a great time and it would have been great to meet you. Best wish’s and hope you have an Awesome day.

Give as much detail about the call. 5 minutes can be a long time.

When there is nothing to talk about the call will end.

I like how he let’s you know this!
 

 
There needs to be a new category called “Things Japanese People Like.” I’m gonna do that now.

As sold on Gumption Style.

Thank you Jesse Merlin!

 
Dangerous Minds readers who are lucky enough to live in Los Angeles (I love saying that) get yourself over to the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre’s website right away to reserve your FREE tickets to a special screening with the creators of one of the single best, most genius comedy series of ALL TIME (so say I!):

Come and witness the nonsensical wonders of science as Robert Popper & Peter Serafinowicz present an audio/visual presentation of handpicked episodes from their BAFTA nominated comedy series Look Around You: Season One, on the day of its DVD release. The critically acclaimed series, which first premiered on BBC AMERICA and currently airs on Adult Swim, guides us through a series of madcap science experiments. In Season One, viewers observe a colony of ants build an igloo, find out the largest number in the world and more.

*Please ensure you have your copybooks at hand as you will be asked to take down notes from the screen.

Tickets are FREE but a reservation is required. Limit TWO tickets per customer.
Tickets will be released on Friday, July 9th.

The password is “thants”

Below, the wonderful “Germs” episode:
 

 
Detroit techno soldier Monty Luke hepped me to this rather remarkable clip from an unnamed American music show in 1969. It seems apropos since last week marked the 39th anniversary of Jim Morrison’s death, and his ghost still haunts what once was the Doors Workshop in Los Angeles. Below, the LizKing notes that music in the future “might rely heavily on electronics and tapes” and feature performers “using machines.”

You think he figured that electronic music geniuses like John Oswald a.k.a. Plunderphonics would have such a blast blowing out the Doors, as shown in the fan video after the jump?