Vintage News Articles & Finds

[billycw]

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- Dylan Thomas

Police knock down door looking for suspect in drug bust in San Francisco. August 7, 1981

 

[billycw]

'A Cafe for Hashish', Postcard. Egypt, 1880's

 

[billycw]

Central Hash Store, Kathmandu, Nepal 1972

"Maureen, soon to be wife of Tony Wheeler emerging from the Central Hashish Store, Kathmandu. Tony Wheeler writes, 'Hashish was legal in Kathmandu in those days and the various hash shops had lurid calendars, business cards and slogans like ‘your oldest and favorite joint’. Maureen always says that she was emerging from changing some money in the Central Hashish Shop, since sometimes they were a front for moneychangers, which was illegal.'

At the end of this trip Tony Wheeler founded Lonely Planet travel guides."

 

[billycw]

'At sunset, Customs agents, armed with shotguns, scour the darkening waters of Falcon Lake, looking for marijuana smugglers during 'Operation Intercept'.' Texas 1969

 

[Bud Green]

Scumbags....if they woulda tried it, they would liked it....Morons...

 

[billycw]

'I only smoke once a day', Vintage postcard from the 1940's

 

[billycw]

Alla Nazimova "off stage" during the making of a silent film called "Madame Peacock", 1920

 

[billycw]

Kon-Tiki expedition 1947



Hemp's Theoretical Journey

In 1937 on a zoological research expedition to the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific, ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl was struck at the similarities between the cultures of the Polynesians to those of South American tribes.

His thoughts between the coincidences of the cultures may have stopped there if not for uncovering evidence of a curious item on the ancient Polynesian cuisine menu. South American Sweet Potatoes...

The Sweet Potato, indigenous to the South American Andes, was found to be growing on the Polynesian Islands long before the arrival of Europeans. While it is possible for the seed to make the ocean journey on its own, human intervention would be the most likely cause...

One night on the Expedition Thor listened to an Elders stories. He told of a ancient Polynesian Demigod called Tiki. In the story, Tiki was responsible for bringing the first Polynesians to the islands 'from land beyond the horizon to the east'.

Advertisement for the movie and book written about the Kon Tiki Voyage in 1947


In the coming years Thor would theorize that a ancient sea voyage was made by South American natives to the west on the currents to the South Pacific Islands.

Thor's theory was meet with steep criticism from the academic world. It was always believed skilled seamen from Southeast Asia souly colonized the South Pacific and later Hawaii.

With his theory partially deflated, Thor decided to prove it!

Lashing together the Balsa wood logs with hemp rope in the El Callao naval yard, Peru 1947



In 1947 funded by private loans, he assembled a 6 man team and headed for Peru.

In the Naval Yard of El Callao, the team lashed nine balsa tree trunks together with Hemp rope. Balsa cross pieces were then lashed to the base again with hemp rope to further stabilize the basic raft design that would have been utilized by the ancient South Americans.

The experts of the time all agreed, the ship would sink within 2 weeks because of the constant movement of the balsa wood would break the hemp ropes...

 

[billycw]

Hemp's Theoretical Journey Continued...

Kon Tiki Expedition 1947

With a basic cabin of lashed bamboo and a large square sail with the image of Kon Tiki, a ancient Peruvian sun god, the team complete with a pet parrot as a mascot set sail from the coast of Peru.

As the team floated the currents of the South Pacific , they survived off the fish they could catch and a stockpile of supplies including of course, the sweet potato.

Thor with a shark caught off the Kon Tiki Raft


101 days after setting off on the voyage, the team made landfall on Raroia Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago near Tahiti.

The hemp ropes that had been predicted to snap during the voyage had held strong. The hemp had not only survived the journey unharmed but had worn deep grooves in the balsa wood from the constant motion.

View of the grooves created by the hemp ropes on the Kon Tiki raft


Thor Heyerdahl's theory would largely go as an speculation until a recent study of the Polynesian DNA. A study of Rapa Nui islanders shows genetic markers in their DNA linking them to the ancient South Americans natives.

The genetic markers date from between 1300 and 1500 showing that some sort of precolumbian voyage did indeed happen between the two civilizations finally proving Thor correct, in theory.

Relaxing on the Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947

 

[geneva_sativa]

Hopi history unequivocally states that their tribe came across the ocean, to the Americas.

Recent studies of albinism and gene flow, seem to indicate that Mr. Heyerdahl was on to something.

 

[Green Squall]

Nice pictures! Were those ones in the book? It's been a while since I've read it. No doubt that the Kon Tiki Voyage was an amazing feat, but I've never been sold by Heyerdahl's theory. Here's an expert from "Paddling Oceania".

"Thor Heyerdahl, the author of "Kon-Tiki" and "Easter Island: The Mystery Solved," in clinging to his discredited east-to-west migration theory, is no more scientific than the Mormons, who believe that one of the Lost Tribes of Israel sailed from South America to populate Polynesia."

lol Paul Theroux can be harsh, but it made me think...

Whatever the facts, the book is a must read IMO. The 2012 movie was also surprisingly excellent.

 

[Hermanthegerman]

Dear Billy, just want to say Danke to you. You are posting all the Pictures I always wanted to see, since my teenage days. Sadly, I know not much about the writing in this wonderfull thread. My english is not good enough. Thanks man! History rulez ;-)

 

[Hermanthegerman]

.

 

[billycw]

Nice pictures! Were those ones in the book? It's been a while since I've read it. No doubt that the Kon Tiki Voyage was an amazing feat, but I've never been sold by Heyerdahl's theory. Here's an expert from "Paddling Oceania".

"Thor Heyerdahl, the author of "Kon-Tiki" and "Easter Island: The Mystery Solved," in clinging to his discredited east-to-west migration theory, is no more scientific than the Mormons, who believe that one of the Lost Tribes of Israel sailed from South America to populate Polynesia."

lol Paul Theroux can be harsh, but it made me think...

Whatever the facts, the book is a must read IMO. The 2012 movie was also surprisingly excellent.

Enjoyed both the book and the movie, a couple were included in the book but most from archives. Enjoyed the quote, pretty familiar with Mormon doctrine and they do believe the lost tribe settled in South America and some ventured to Polynesia. I'd love to say they were completely off but the Polynesian dna does show genetic markers of South American origin. The original migration did come from the east but a voyage between the two at some point did seem to occur. Thanks for sharing

Recent studies of albinism and gene flow, seem to indicate that Mr. Heyerdahl was on to something.

Its amazing what time and science can teach us about the past

Dear Billy, just want to say Danke to you. You are posting all the Pictures I always wanted to see, since my teenage days. Sadly, I know not much about the writing in this wonderfull thread. My english is not good enough. Thanks man! History rulez ;-)

Always a pleasure Herman, its too bad we don't have a translate option on the forum, maybe someday I can get my stories available in other languages.

The conservative push of the last 100 or so years has really hidden humanities drug history or isolated it in a negative light. I'm just trying to shine a light on what was already there waiting to be found again

Immer ein Vergnügen Herman, es ist schade, dass wir keine Übersetzungsmöglichkeit im Forum haben, vielleicht kann ich eines Tages meine Geschichten in anderen Sprachen zur Verfügung stellen.

Der konservative Schub der letzten 100 Jahre hat die Drogengeschichte der Geisteswissenschaften wirklich versteckt oder in einem negativen Licht isoliert. Ich versuche nur ein Licht auf das zu werfen, was schon da war und darauf wartete, wieder gefunden zu werden.

 

[billycw]

The Saturday Night Kid, 1929 banned poster under the Hollywood Code for Clara Bow lifting her dress.



The Hollywood Code

Even before audio was introduced to cinema many were already trying to censor what was shown on the big screen. In 1915 the Supreme court ruled "that free speech did not extend to motion pictures" in the case of 'Mutual Film Corp. vs. Industrial Commission of Ohio'.

William Hays was tasked to the job of cleaning up Hollywood, creating his 'Hays Codes' taken largely if not verbatim from Christian groups.

In 1924 Hays released his codes that would soon be adopted as the Motion Picture Production Code in 1930. The codes would not be enforced in Hollywood until late 1934 when films were required to be approved by the newly constructed Production Code Administration.

The moral 'Codes' would all but do away with any references to drugs stating absolutely no showing of 'illegal traffic in drugs' including 'Methods of smuggling' and even 'The use of drugs' altogether.

The code further added there was to be no 'Sympathy for criminals' shown or implied.

This enforcement hide humanities drug culture from popular culture all but erasing its memory....

Ahhh the good ol' days of PreCode!

Sweet marijuana scene from the 1934 film 'Murder at the Vanities'



Sweet Marijuana

A precode Clip from the 1934 film 'Murder at the Vanities' based on the 1933 Broadway musical of the same name. In the film just before the opening night of a musical a murder is committed... In a classic tale of the show must go on, the murder is investigated during the performance. Why not a little sweet marijuana during a investigation lol


Sweet Marijuana scene/song from the 1934 film 'Murder at the Vanities'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjdETBXwDo8

[YOUTUBE]NjdETBXwDo8[/YOUTUBE]

one of the 'flowers' from the sweet marijuana scene

 

[weedtoker]

Mááárrééjuaanaaaa!!! made the morning around here, thanks

 

[billycw]

Mááárrééjuaanaaaa!!! made the morning around here, thanks

Even Broadway was stoned before the code, a pleasure

 

[billycw]

"Ganja plant almost ready to cut", Naogaon, India February 16, 1894 (Photo from the British 'Report of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894-1895') Plate 35

 

[billycw]

"Woman buying marijuana at an open market in Laos. It cost $1.50 per kilo. She filled up her bag and then smuggled it into Thailand, where it was illegal." Laos, 1970's

 

[Elmer Bud]

G `day BC Dub

I googled Naogaon, India .
Out in the East near the Bangladesh border .

Thanks for sharin

EB .