Leonard Cohen died last week.

Leonard Cohen told us “Things are gonna slide – slide in all directions. Won’t be nothin’ you can measure any more. The blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold, and it’s overturned the order of the soul. When they said, ‘Repent,’ I wonder what they meant…”

It’s crazy time, babies, and here’s the best advice I’ve given myself: hope for the best and prepare for the worst, and I couldn’t be more serious about either. Also, have a chat with a racist or try to understand the struggles of a working class neighbor. Make bridges, not enemies, but always be prepared to immediately confront and attack a bully. This is the only tactic that works with bullies. One warning is probably fair, but then hell on earth. No joke. It’s an all-in bet that it helps to be committed to beforehand.

On another note, this weekend VICE ran a great interview with the Robert Greenfield, author of a new biography on the Acid King. Here are a few words…

Though not a household name, Augustus Owsley Stanley III, a.k.a. Bear, was an underground hippie legend who some say is largely responsible for the zeitgeist of the 1960s counterculture movement, thanks to the ultra-pure LSD he manufactured. Put it this way: If Bear wasn’t on the scene, there would literally be no acid in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Bear manufactured millions of hits of “White Lightning,” the cleanest LSD this side of Albert Hofmann, at a time when the drug was still legal. He’s directly credited with expanding the minds of many of the most influential figures of the 60s, including John Lennon, who once tried to obtain a lifetime supply of Bear’s potent product. The chemist even used the money he generated selling LSD to help fund the early days of the Grateful Dead when they resided in Haight-Ashbury. He also worked as the Dead’s sound engineer, even creating their “Wall of Sound” and the notorious “Steal Your Face” logo, inspiring the dancing bear icons, and recording some of the band’s best recordings, live and in the studio.

His influence was omnipresent, even if below-the-radar of the pop culture canon, and would have continued to affect and inspire lead figures of the era if he wasn’t arrested by federal agents in late 1967. (LSD was made illegal by late 1966) Once he was released from prison, Bear never made LSD again, though he continued to be involved with the Grateful Dead and the counterculture scene until his death in 2011.

Here’s a collection of 77 YouTube videos entitled “Timothy Leary, Owsley Stanley, Hunter S. Thompson & MKULTRA.” God bless the United States of America.

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Released in 1959, Santa Claus was billed as bringing viewers “an echanting world of make-believe.” In reality it’s known in some circles as the worst movie of all time, and was even given the MST3K treatment for its ridiculous story about a grumpy, kinda scary Santa battling an inept demon. Here’s the breakdown from the Wiki…

On December 24, Santa prepares for his yearly journey at his Toyland castle in space.[1] He plays the organ while his children helpers from all over the world sing. Meanwhile, in Hell, Lucifer instructs his chief demon Pitch to travel to Earth and turn the children of the world against Santa.

In a busy marketplace, Pitch attempts to convince five children to “make Santa Claus angry”: Lupita, a poor girl; Billy, the son of wealthy but negligent parents; and three troublemaking brothers. Pitch fails at convincing Lupita to steal a doll from a vendor but succeeds in convincing the brothers to break a shop window…

Unable to travel to Earth before nightfall on Christmas Eve, he instead uses equipment to watch Pitch and the children. One device allows him to view Lupita’s dream, induced by Pitch, in which she is tormented by life-sized dancing dolls who entice her to steal. He also listens as the three brothers plot to break into Billy’s home and steal his presents. They also attempt to write a letter to Santa claiming they have been good, but Santa’s voice informs them that he can see all they do.

Merlin the Wizard, Santa’s most trusted assistant, gives Santa a sleep inducing powder and a flower that allows him to disappear. He then retrieves a magic key that will open any door on Earth from Vulcan and prepares his mechanical reindeer. On Earth, the three rude boys plot to capture and enslave Santa. Meanwhile Lupita and her mother say a prayer and Lupita says that she has wished for two dolls, one of which she will give to Baby Jesus.

During Santa’s journey, Pitch makes several unsuccessful attempts to sabotage Santa’s delivery of toys in Mexico City. Santa succeeds in reuniting Billy with his parents, who had left him alone to go to a restaurant. On a city rooftop, the three brothers prepare to capture Santa and steal his toys. They see Santa’s sleigh in the sky and hurry indoors to find that they have only received coal. After a failed attempt to steal the sleigh, Pitch succeeds in emptying Santa’s dream powder bag while Santa drops the disappearing flower.

Santa’s trip is nearly complete when he is chased by a vicious dog outside a large house in Mexico. Finding himself without the powder or the flower he climbs a tree to escape the dog. Pitch appears and proceeds to wake the household and calls the fire department to report a fire at that location, so Santa will soon be seen by many people. With dawn approaching, Merlin assists with a last-minute escape and Pitch is defeated after being doused with the spray from a fire hose.

Before returning to the castle Santa makes one final stop, leaving a doll for Lupita. His labors now completed, Santa steers the sleigh back to the castle, content in the knowledge that he has brought happiness to all of the Earth’s children.

Given the title of this post and the general nature of this blog, you’d've been right think this was going to be a blurb connecting the ancient god Saturn with Santa and Satan. If you want to know more about that click here. If you’d rather just watch this whacked-out movie, have at it…

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