Aliens versus Predator MUD

Back in high school I used to pass my evenings (and school days, when I could) playing on various online MUD games, since they were a free form of entertainment, required low-bandwidth and were a hell of a lot of fun. I stuck with the Aliens versus Predator MUD, since I'm a big fan of both franchises and the crossover comics.

You can choose to be one of four species: alien, predator, marine or synthetic. Once you join, you should do some training, get some weapons, join a clan and pretty soon you won't have a life in the real world...on most days I am logged into AvP in one of my terminals, it's a nice way to pass away your lunch break or entertain yourself whilst you are burning off a DVD and haven't got enough memory to play some uber-fast FPS game.
Link: telnet://avpmud.com:4000

Book Review: A Princess of Mars

I have been reading a lot of science fiction recently, mainly books from the seventies/eighties era of the genre such as Philip K. Dick's Valis and William Gibson's Neuromancer which are in the more brainy/cyberpunk spectrum of things. With the announcement that Disney/Pixar are now in production of the live-action John Carter of Mars movie, I decided to check out Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp classic myself, having heard so much about it over the years (and having heard it inspired my favourites Flash Gordon, Star Wars and Avatar).
This one is surely a classic! An American civil war veteran called John Carter wakes up on Mars, a planet no so barren as the Viking probes found it to be (hey, come on - this came out in 1912 when people thought there were canals on Mars!)
He meets the green Martians (known as Tharks), fights in epic battles, explores ancient cities and to top it all off wins the hand of a beautiful princess called Dejah Thoris. This is certainly more of a swashbuckling fantasy romance than hardcore science fiction, but hey it's supposed to be pulp fun - a nice and easy read, I had great fun with it and may yet check out the sequels. Let's just hope that the live action film does it justice on it's release in 2012!

Entheogenic Healing

Summary: A recipe for healing/clearing one's chakras. FOR THOSE IN A POSITIVE MIND-SET AND ENVIRONMENT!

Ingredients: Somewhere quiet and away from interference, lots of fresh fruit and veg, some relaxing music (LTJ Bukem does it for me), a natural & non-toxic entheogen (Psilocybin Mushrooms or Mescaline-containing Cactii for example) and some green tea for the come-down.

Preperation: Consume a raw vegan diet for a day or two before the trip, so as to detox your body from toxins. Sticking to raw fruit, vegetables, nuts & seeds. Abstain from sexual activity for a day or two before the trip helps too. Sex uses up a lot of energy! Abstain from drinking unpure tap water, as it contains Fluoride. Get a good night's sleep. Fasting continues all the way up until the trip.

The trip: I prefer tripping in the late afternoon/evening personally, though on occasion I like being outdoors in the sunshine. Ingest the plant/substance of choice on an empty stomach so as to help your body absorb the chemical ingredients. I recommend a high dose, 8-10 grams of Mexican Blues (mushrooms) or 30-50 grams of Peruvian Torch (cactii) do it for me. It's up to you though.
Put on some music, enough for a few hours' worth - I put a selection of mixes on my playlist.
You can sit back and relax...bean bags or beds are comfortable. Others prefer to sit up and meditate. Let go...think happy thoughts. Peak. Learn. Listen to/talk to entities if they are there.

Coming down: If all went to plan (a good trip) you can write down some notes so as to help recall your experience later. I like a nice cuppa of green tea around this time, and a light-bite to eat so as to settle my stomach. Your brain has been re-booted. Relax & chill...

Pop!

Well...someone had to take this cherry! :-)