Herman Kahn on Acid

Chip Berlet cberlet at igc.org
Thu Sep 20 06:22:36 PDT 2001


Hi!

Time for a humor break.

As the former Washington Editor for High Times Magazines I can state with some authority that there are some people and some experiences that should not be mixed with acid.

The idea of the rotund Herman (mutually assured destruction) Kahn on acid is enough to cause a flashback.

Watching Fail Safe and Strangelove while tripping would not be advisable for the faint of heart.

Star Wars, however..... I went to see Star Wars in NY with half the office staff of High Times. This was an office that was piped for nitrous oxide, and each room had a spigot and bowl of balloons with "High Times" imprinted on them. When the space ship jumped into hyperspace, the entire audience screamed. Rush.... We were not alone.

My favorite story, though, is the group of college students who thought it would be a great idea to ride a roller coaster on acid. The experience was so terrifying that they could not get out of the car at the end of the ride. Whereupon the attendant just smiled and said, "Hell, guys, it's a slow night, just ride it again...." Nooooooooooooooo....

I, of course, do not abuse drugs in any way.

-Chip Berlet (Not my real name, as Max S. knows)

----- Original Message ----- From: "Dennis" <dperrin13 at mediaone.net> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2001 11:38 PM Subject: Re: Herman Kahn on Acid


> > Yup, Ian remembered right. Pg. 197 of Martin A. Lee and Bruce
> > Schlain's book on the CIA and LSD has this.
> > "Kahn experimented with LSD on repeated during bthe 1960's, and
> > he vistited Milbrook and other psychedelic strongholds on the
> > East Coast.from time to time
> > the rotund futurist(Kahn weighed over 300 pounds) would stroll
> > along Saint Mark's Place in the East Village, observing the flower
> > children, and musing on the implications of the acid subculture..."
> > Turn On, Tune In, Drop Bombs!
> > Michael Pugliese
>
> And let us not forget the civilian Pentagon advisor played by Walter Matthau
> in "Fail Safe," the dramatic cousin to "Strangelove." Recall the dinner
> party scene where, in a pre-dawn debate, Matthau's character is going on
> about how strategic nuclear war _ saves _ lives. This leads to the climatic
> showdown in the Pentagon itself, between Matthau and an Air Force officer,
> as US jets are about to hit the SU with their payloads. Worth watching at
> the moment. Make the above mentioned films a home video (or DVD) double
> bill. The Real Thing will happen soon enough.
>
> DP
>



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