jojo@astroatc.UUCP (Jon Wesener) (02/11/88)
I went to see Timothy Leary's talk at the U.W.--Madison last night. The leader of the 60's is still trying to be a leader of the 80's except the emphasis is on computers and individual expression rather than drugs. Leary remarked on how our generation is being forced to deal with more information than any previous, being raised on electronic signals like the tv, radio, movies, etc. The average american spends 7 hours in front of the tv (horrible thought and possible misquote on my part). All this information just to create a race of couch potatos. Leary figures the way out of this may be the computer which can be used by individuals to create their own shows, direct the actors, etc. He, too is figuring on technology in the hands of the people. Leary also has a new book coming out in this new medium due out on St. Patricks day. The book is a mix of animation and music entitled _What_Does_Woman_Want?_. Some of the simpler animation was done on an Amiga and the better stuff was done on a fairlight(?) Leary also had an Amiga on stage with John Foust of Syndesis showing demos after the show to those interested. Leary called the Amiga the people's computer but the computer wasn't really used during the actual talk. Unfortunately, the crowd that came to see him were more interested in his drug days, and just to keep the audiences attention switched over to the second half of his show early. Leary is basically pro-choice when it comes to drugs. He's no longer saying "tune in and turn on" but "think for yourself and question authority." His message is to get government's hands out of culture, use common-sense and compassion and most of all, think. He also talked about thunks, which are bad thoughts/ideas that stick around and which a good dose of acid will soften up and break free. He also tried to make a point that drugs were mainly for recreation and not an easy way to find the big answers in life as it was thought to be in the 60s. He also had some interesting attacks on organized religeon. He followed with a question and answer period, where students asked really stupid questions that god probably couldn't answer and sounded more like they were aimed at impressing their peers than finding out something they wanted to know. Leary side stepped a lot of them and throughout the show, talked down his role as guru/leader trying hard to emphasize that he wants people to think for themselves and not use his thoughts. Still, Leary is 68 and quite energetic and thoughtful for his age. He mentioned cyberpunk often, but since the crowd wasn't a cyberpunk crowd he was unable to go into detail about it. Cyberpunk could use some pr and I think he's a good choice for doing it. He came looking for cyberpunks, but was met by dead-heads. Sorry for any inaccuracies that snuck into this. --j