theFreshScent

George Carlin, one of the most prolific comedians of all time, has passed away. I’m sure most of you are aware of this, and it’s not like we’re doing any original reporting here, but as a blog that focuses on Counter-Culture we would be totally remiss not to put something here.

Plus, personally, I thought he was an amazing comic.

First, let me link you to two New York Times articles. The first is your boilerplate life recap and the other is more of an opinion piece.

Now that’s done with, I can move on to the point of this post…

For me, watching George Carlin was eye opening. It was the first time that I recognized a comic could be more than either cynical or slapstick, but an extremely insightful agent of social commentary.

This man was able to observe everyday life and make incisive observations on how America (and our 20th century mentality) operated. More than that, he was able to convey them in a way that made us laugh and realize just how absurd life can really be at times.

Beyond the tricky wordplay or the foul language, he will always be one of the most intelligent and iconoclastic people in modern entertainment. For that we should all thank him.

Rest in peace George, you funny motherfucker.

Update: Thought I’d throw some extra stuff into this post. First, a couple of classic Carlin quotes:

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don’t have as many people who believe it.

Electricity is really just organized lightning.

Is there another word for synonym?

If a man is standing in the middle of the forest speaking and there is no woman around to hear him…is he still wrong?

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

Religion convinced the world that there’s an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do. And there’s 10 things he doesn’t want you to do or else you’ll go to a burning place with a lake of fire until the end of eternity. But he loves you! …And he needs money! He’s all powerful, but he can’t handle money!

As a matter of principal, I never attend the first annual anything.

Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time.

Next, there’s a great article by Jerry Seinfield about George and his mutual respect as a comedian.

San Diego State just became home to one of the largest school-related drug busts in recent history. The final toll? Around 100 people were arrested, 75 of them students. The police confiscated 4 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of weed, 350 ecstasy pills, 4 guns and $60,000 in cash.

Considering this is front page news almost everywhere, this article going to be a simple news recap. Instead, we wanted to take a different angle, and talk to someone on the ground. It’s so easy to have an opinion made up by reading a single AP news article, but there are always other sides to a story.

Through a contact, we were able to interview an alumni from the most prominent fraternity involved in the drug sales - Theta Chi - and get a feel for what the local response is to this drug bust.

Let’s get on with it…

theFreshScent: This seems like an extremely serious issue and could possibly affect Theta Chi’s charter. Were these drug dealings completely common knowledge among house members, as the AP news article suggests?

Theta Chi Alumni: It would be safe to say that most brothers in a chapter know what the other brothers are up to, especially brothers who live at the fraternity house. If it is found to be true that drugs were sold on the premises, there is no doubt that their charter will be revoked. Theta Chi holds a strict no tolerance policy on drugs. Even alcohol is not allowed on chapter premises.

To see the rest of this interview, read on…

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The grandfather of psychedelic experimentation, Albert Hofmann, has passed away.

Best known for his discovery of LSD (or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide for you scientific types), Albert is also responsible for the synthesis of psylocybin. I don’t know how many of our readers have had mind-altering experiences, but they are the direct result of this little known man, his scientific skills and a small dash of luck.

After creating LSD-25 and leaving it alone for 5 years, Albert accidentally ingested a small sample while revisiting his work. Without that small mistake, he would never have taken 250ug of LSD on his bike ride home.

It’s a sad day for responsible people worldwide, not the morons who take 15 tabs and end up arrested by police while trying to catch the sun in their mouth. It took serious balls to be the first person to take a trip down Hallucinogen Lane and I salute the man.

If you want to learn more about Albert and his life, check out the most recent LA Times article (very descriptive) or his Wikipedia page.

[photo Walter Bieri / Associated Press]

Correction: Looks like I messed up, thanks to lsdboy and our other readers who caught the 250mg of LSD mistake. It has now been corrected to 250ug.

According to the Super High Me staff, the experimental “Roll Your Own Screenings” approach to their movie release has been extremely successful.

With an expected total of 40,000 release-day viewers (both public and private screenings), Super High Me has done an impressive job of coordinating a grassroots promotion campaign.

Having seen the movie myself, I was thoroughly entertained. And, coincidentally, thoroughly high.

The Doug Benson documentary covered more areas than I expected, especially the physical & mental tests that he had to undergo during the pre-smoke and post-smoke months. Although not the most scientifically convincing, they show that a functional adult with a higher than average appetite for marijuana is at no significant disadvantage.

His comedy was great throughout both the sober and non-sober tests, and I’m bummed no tFS staff could make it to his 4/20 show at the Laugh Factory in LA. My only complaint might be that the ending was abrupt. Instead of a quick synopsis or a “what I’ve learned” piece, Super High Me cuts out right after the 31st day of smoking is finished.

Then again, if that’s my singular complaint about a movie, the director & producer have done a damn good job.

If you’ve seen Super High Me, let us know what you thought. Until we get Doug to do 30 days of Smoking for tFS, this is the best it’s going to get for one of our favorite comedians.

In case you haven’t already seen this, Drew Carey is one cool guy.

If The Farmacy looks familiar to some of you, it was in an episode of Entourage where Johnny Drama obsessed over an MMJ hat to impress his castmates. Good times.

Call it you what you want - vicious and delicious, delectable distress, tasty torment - just don’t call it unoriginal; cookie torture.

That’s right, after getting bailed on by his friends during a drug deal, some unfortunate kid got burned by fresh-out-the-oven cookies. He must have been so torn during the process, “Do I scream or take a bite?”

A helpful commenter wrote a precise re-enactment of how the scene played out… in his mind…

Dealers: I say, it appears my good chums have run off with your procurements!

Victim: You don’t say! Those filthy blighters! And you dare to remain, you cantankerous curmudgeon!

Dealers: It appears I have been thoroughly crossed!

Victim: I take exception to that! I shall have at you with these baked confections!

In unrelated (but just as impressive) dumbassery, it turns out that reporting 150 pounds of stolen marijuana to the police is not such a bright idea. Especially, when you’re an illegal immigrant, think twice before doing this.

On a side note, is it just really bad luck that gets random people in really deep shit over large quantities of marijuana?

For every carefully organized and executed drug raid, I read about 5+ accidental busts that net tons more product. It’s better to be lucky than good I suppose.

On the political front, be aware of your candidates and where they stand on decriminalization.

Seriously, it just makes sense.

We have some important battles on the horizon and supporting a candidate who continues to propagate arcane views isn’t helping any of us on the path to success. Progress and change come with inherent risks, just ask Gary Ross, who’s taken the good fight all the way to the California Supreme Court.

On the science front, there are some very interesting studies taking place.

Sea urchins? Really?

Well, if pot has surpassed opium as a premier crop in Afghanistan, I guess anything is possible.

On a final note, who says that blown glass dildos don’t have a place in our world? Not Rick Plank, the founder of Phallix Glass.

For a more hands on review, let Trina Michaels show you the goods.

Yes, we’re a little late, but partying hard on Halloween will do that to anyone. Let’s start this rehash with an ill Halloween performance from Devin the Dude exactly 1 year ago.

One thing we try to stay away from here at tFS are the insanely cheesy graphics that certain smokers like to make.

Consider this one a free pass, but don’t expect any rotating pot leaf .GIFs on this site any time soon.

I tried to get my roommate to wear this costume to work.

A wise career move? No. Hilarious? Most definitely.

Talking about costumes, where was the originality this year? Why not dress up as a a post-catfight, America-free Amy Winehouse. Or, Charles Manson’s little known son Zezozose Zadfrack Glutz. And no, that name is not a joke.

Considering the Governator’s recent comments, I’m surprised there weren’t more people dressed as numero uno himself.

I wonder if any trick or treaters hit the candy jackpot?

Last but not least, we leave you with one of the tastiest pictures I’ve seen in a long time. It even puts Grandma’s pumpkin pie to shame.

Well, maybe just your Grandma’s, and definitely not this wonderful woman’s.

The first teasers for 420 The Movie have become available and, by all appearances, the project looks awesome.

Not to be confused with 420, which was written and directed by Jon Lyons in 2004. This movie brings in many of the heavy hitters from past and present day marijuana culture.

To name a few:

• Willie Nelson
• Ed Rosenthal
• Jack Herer
• Snoop Dogg
• Cheech Marin
• Tommy Chong
• Woody Harrelson
• Dennis Hopper

Not exactly a list of lightweights is it? Still, that’s just a sampling of the many people involved with this production.

So, go visit the 420 homepage to see a hi-res version of their brand new trailer, or view a YouTube version after the jump.

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