Ayahuasca
07-06-2011, 05:51 AM
Originally, I wrote this for the Introduce Yourself thread, but I realized how long it was in comparison to all the other posts and this made me feel like a chump. I don't wish to delete it, but I feel obliged to make a new thread for it in order to justify the time I spent writing this.
Good day everyone. I shall speak now about myself. My username was selected because I find fascinating the effects of DMT and art based on it (Alex Grey is the man), and also because I like the phonetics and exotic connotations of ayahuasca. DMT is something I've grown fascinated with lately, based on Joe Rogan's descriptions, though for the sake of public relations with the kind people on this board I do not condone any illegal activity.
Art is something I'm quite fond of in all its incarnations. If I had to rank my interests in medium, I'd say it is something along the lines of Film, Literature, Music, Animation, Visual Art, Comics, Television, and Theater. My tastes consistently favor either the pretentious (a word I use riskily based on its connotations) or the pensive.
Favorite directors of mine include Werner Herzog (arguably the best when it comes to establishing an atmosphere), Stanley Kubrick (I am in awe of his ability to release movies of such consistent quality over such a wide span of genres), Ingmar Bergman (who I believe has done most in elevating film to an artform on par with literature in the eyes of many), Billy Wilder (he handles dialogue amazingly), Akira Kurosawa, David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Wes Anderson Quentin Tarantino. Favorite films include Aguirre, the Wrath of God by the aforementioned Werner Herzog, a shining example of the effectiveness of minimalism, Breathless, which is just lovely, the original Star Wars, whose editing and sense of pace, never mind the infamous mis en scene, is downright amazing, Mulholland Drive, David Lynch at his finest, Pulp Fiction, and the cartoon Heavy Metal, whose unabashed over-the-topness appeals to me. Right now I'm on an epic quest to watch all 250 movies in the IMDb Top 250, a task that is almost complete.
Favorite authors include Marcel Proust (best prose writer in the universe in my opinion), David Foster Wallace and Kurt Vonnegut (whose novel Cat's Cradle is what turned me onto literature, demonstrating that not all of it is shameless pandering cliche-ridden young adult fantasy.) My tastes are rooted firmly in post-Joycean fiction, and most of my time reading is spent on modernist and postmodernist works. My knowledge of pre-Ulysses works, i.e. the likes of Dickens and Dostoyevsky, I am ashamed to admit, is lacking. This is something I'd really like to fix, but 20th century literature is just too good.
Music-wise, you can see my tastes by visiting my last.fm (http://www.last.fm/user/misterlim). I like to think that I'm one of those people with eclectic music tastes, but I'm painfully aware of the fact that my tastes are rooted in Post-Punk, Alternative Rock and Indie Rock, with the occasional Classic Rock band here and there. Favorite artists: The Beatles, Radiohead, Guided by Voices, Pavement, David Bowie, Joy Division. Favorite albums: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel), Bee Thousand (Guided by Voices), The Velvet Underground & Nico (The Velvet Underground), 69 Love Songs (The Magnetic Fields), most of The Beatles' stuff, and Funeral (The Arcade Fire).
Beyond this three, my knowledge is sorely lacking. Animation, or more specifically, Japanese anime, though I can appreciate as an artform, I know little of. I have seen and enjoyed Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Serial Experiments Lain, and Paranoia Agent, but besides that, most anime leaves a bad taste in my mouth as I imagine the sort of loathsome human being that makes up the majority of the target audience.
Visual art: I know little of this, but I know what I like. I like my art stylized in order to emphasize any underlying emotions. Hyperrealism I find quite powerful in evoking uncomfortable truths. Expressionism is pretty good at this as well. Modern art is often too pretentious for my liking, but it works sometimes. Impressionism is also great.
Comics: The best are Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman. My ignorance shows already based on the lack of variety in this list. The brand Vertigo, in particular The Sandman and The Invisibles, is amazing. Comics have an amazing potential because they combine most of the exclusive qualities in visual art and literature or film. Case in point: Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Chris Ware), Blankets (Craig Thompson), Bone (Jeff Smith), Berlin: City of Stones (Jason Lutes), Watchmen, From Hell (both by Alan Moore) and It's A Good Life if You Don't Weaken (Seth). It's so tragic that it's all wasted on mindless pulp.
Television, by which I mean live action television, I am extremely unfamiliar with. I've seen David Lynch's Twin Peaks and have quite enjoyed it. That's the extent of my familiarity with this genre, but I can see amazing potential for it, analogous to television like the novel is to the short story.
Theater, I don't understand.
In a month or so, I shall be majoring in Film at Emerson College. One thing I'd like to do is make it big as a director, but this is a difficult task, of which I am painfully aware. Originally, I was cynical and wanted to take up Business and Management, but then changed my mind because I wanted to try following my dreams, as the cliche goes, even if it means being poor and hungry. I have just graduated from the IB program and will be getting the results of my final tests in a few hours. That should be lovely. I spent my childhood in the Philippines. It is very hot and very dirty, but the laws are lax and indulgences are cheap.
Other forums I am a part of are Indie Talk (username Marcel Proust) and Music Banter (username Kamina). Activities include accumulating knowledge, writing and illustrating. I take great pleasure in choosing usernames and passwords that are different from the common interests of the forum to which I am a part of. I like to think this makes me unique and special. That is why my avatar is Hulk Hogan.
That is all I have to say about myself for now.
Good day everyone. I shall speak now about myself. My username was selected because I find fascinating the effects of DMT and art based on it (Alex Grey is the man), and also because I like the phonetics and exotic connotations of ayahuasca. DMT is something I've grown fascinated with lately, based on Joe Rogan's descriptions, though for the sake of public relations with the kind people on this board I do not condone any illegal activity.
Art is something I'm quite fond of in all its incarnations. If I had to rank my interests in medium, I'd say it is something along the lines of Film, Literature, Music, Animation, Visual Art, Comics, Television, and Theater. My tastes consistently favor either the pretentious (a word I use riskily based on its connotations) or the pensive.
Favorite directors of mine include Werner Herzog (arguably the best when it comes to establishing an atmosphere), Stanley Kubrick (I am in awe of his ability to release movies of such consistent quality over such a wide span of genres), Ingmar Bergman (who I believe has done most in elevating film to an artform on par with literature in the eyes of many), Billy Wilder (he handles dialogue amazingly), Akira Kurosawa, David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Wes Anderson Quentin Tarantino. Favorite films include Aguirre, the Wrath of God by the aforementioned Werner Herzog, a shining example of the effectiveness of minimalism, Breathless, which is just lovely, the original Star Wars, whose editing and sense of pace, never mind the infamous mis en scene, is downright amazing, Mulholland Drive, David Lynch at his finest, Pulp Fiction, and the cartoon Heavy Metal, whose unabashed over-the-topness appeals to me. Right now I'm on an epic quest to watch all 250 movies in the IMDb Top 250, a task that is almost complete.
Favorite authors include Marcel Proust (best prose writer in the universe in my opinion), David Foster Wallace and Kurt Vonnegut (whose novel Cat's Cradle is what turned me onto literature, demonstrating that not all of it is shameless pandering cliche-ridden young adult fantasy.) My tastes are rooted firmly in post-Joycean fiction, and most of my time reading is spent on modernist and postmodernist works. My knowledge of pre-Ulysses works, i.e. the likes of Dickens and Dostoyevsky, I am ashamed to admit, is lacking. This is something I'd really like to fix, but 20th century literature is just too good.
Music-wise, you can see my tastes by visiting my last.fm (http://www.last.fm/user/misterlim). I like to think that I'm one of those people with eclectic music tastes, but I'm painfully aware of the fact that my tastes are rooted in Post-Punk, Alternative Rock and Indie Rock, with the occasional Classic Rock band here and there. Favorite artists: The Beatles, Radiohead, Guided by Voices, Pavement, David Bowie, Joy Division. Favorite albums: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel), Bee Thousand (Guided by Voices), The Velvet Underground & Nico (The Velvet Underground), 69 Love Songs (The Magnetic Fields), most of The Beatles' stuff, and Funeral (The Arcade Fire).
Beyond this three, my knowledge is sorely lacking. Animation, or more specifically, Japanese anime, though I can appreciate as an artform, I know little of. I have seen and enjoyed Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Serial Experiments Lain, and Paranoia Agent, but besides that, most anime leaves a bad taste in my mouth as I imagine the sort of loathsome human being that makes up the majority of the target audience.
Visual art: I know little of this, but I know what I like. I like my art stylized in order to emphasize any underlying emotions. Hyperrealism I find quite powerful in evoking uncomfortable truths. Expressionism is pretty good at this as well. Modern art is often too pretentious for my liking, but it works sometimes. Impressionism is also great.
Comics: The best are Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Neil Gaiman. My ignorance shows already based on the lack of variety in this list. The brand Vertigo, in particular The Sandman and The Invisibles, is amazing. Comics have an amazing potential because they combine most of the exclusive qualities in visual art and literature or film. Case in point: Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Chris Ware), Blankets (Craig Thompson), Bone (Jeff Smith), Berlin: City of Stones (Jason Lutes), Watchmen, From Hell (both by Alan Moore) and It's A Good Life if You Don't Weaken (Seth). It's so tragic that it's all wasted on mindless pulp.
Television, by which I mean live action television, I am extremely unfamiliar with. I've seen David Lynch's Twin Peaks and have quite enjoyed it. That's the extent of my familiarity with this genre, but I can see amazing potential for it, analogous to television like the novel is to the short story.
Theater, I don't understand.
In a month or so, I shall be majoring in Film at Emerson College. One thing I'd like to do is make it big as a director, but this is a difficult task, of which I am painfully aware. Originally, I was cynical and wanted to take up Business and Management, but then changed my mind because I wanted to try following my dreams, as the cliche goes, even if it means being poor and hungry. I have just graduated from the IB program and will be getting the results of my final tests in a few hours. That should be lovely. I spent my childhood in the Philippines. It is very hot and very dirty, but the laws are lax and indulgences are cheap.
Other forums I am a part of are Indie Talk (username Marcel Proust) and Music Banter (username Kamina). Activities include accumulating knowledge, writing and illustrating. I take great pleasure in choosing usernames and passwords that are different from the common interests of the forum to which I am a part of. I like to think this makes me unique and special. That is why my avatar is Hulk Hogan.
That is all I have to say about myself for now.