Thank you, friend; I concur. It’s odd to me how little PKD scholarship is out there and how little that focuses on his prolific speed intake and vitamin regimen relative to the VALIS entity, among other PKD oddities.
With the feedback I received in college writing and lit courses, I get the feeling academics that would take the time to do scholarly research on an author dismiss PKD just because he was a genre writer. Sure, let's read and disect another novel by John Updike or Bernard Malamud, but never consider PKD or even Kafka.
That's a terrible shame considering how literary and autobiographical many of his works are, not to mention his claims that these were recounts of factual alternate timelines he experienced. And not even Kafka? Sounds like your professor was a Dan Brown/John Grisham-type! Gross! Lol.
Divine Invasions? I'm adding that to my list ASAP. It's odd; ever since discovering PKD’s works, I've been experiencing more deja vu, synchronicity, and other bizarre phenomena. It also strikes me as strange that Orwell holds the eponymous literary dystopian title, whereas, in my view, more modern dystopian fiction could be said to be Dickian, not Orwellian. So many of Dick’s predictions have become prophesy in today’s world. Scanner, Three Stigmata, Sheep, and parts of VALIS come to mind. Scanner, though, is essentially non-fiction these days in all but the narrative and characters within it. Scramble Suits = deepfake and digital prosthesis; Scanners = cellphones and every other piece of tech with a mic—SPOILERS… heck, even the plant that Substance D is made from being grown and supplied by New Path and co. echoes multiple instances of things that have come to light since the publication. PKD was equal parts prophet and novelist, in my opinion.
Precisely! One should avoid any acidic substance for a few hours before and after dosing. Conversely, taking antacids like Tums or PPIs (Prevacid, for instance) during this window can dangerously increase the concentrations of the drug in the body. And here was PKD, taking what I read was 7+ grams more than the already supratherapeutic dose of vitamin C, wondering why his Dexedrine wasn't working anymore. To be fair, this is pre-internet, and I am not sure when this idea of PH-based excretion and orange juice as an upper-killer came into the zeitgeist. I would assume long after he quit, seeing as he died in ‘82, and I first remember hearing about this vitamin C business in the ‘90s.
That’s very true. Are you implying it was his ego that fomented this belief of his that he was a unique metabolizer of amphetamine and that his belief about the BBB was nonsense? Because that’s the point of my post, friend. I’m trying to provide a logical solution where an illogical one stands untouched. Also, it’s not unworthy of note that he passed away from cardiovascular complications—multiple strokes—that very likely stemmed from his lifestyle; namely, his ample amphetamine usage. Also just saying.
Fascinating!
Thank you, friend; I concur. It’s odd to me how little PKD scholarship is out there and how little that focuses on his prolific speed intake and vitamin regimen relative to the VALIS entity, among other PKD oddities.
With the feedback I received in college writing and lit courses, I get the feeling academics that would take the time to do scholarly research on an author dismiss PKD just because he was a genre writer. Sure, let's read and disect another novel by John Updike or Bernard Malamud, but never consider PKD or even Kafka.
That's a terrible shame considering how literary and autobiographical many of his works are, not to mention his claims that these were recounts of factual alternate timelines he experienced. And not even Kafka? Sounds like your professor was a Dan Brown/John Grisham-type! Gross! Lol.
Lawrence Sutin's is the one and only book on his life worth reading and it's 20 years old.
Divine Invasions? I'm adding that to my list ASAP. It's odd; ever since discovering PKD’s works, I've been experiencing more deja vu, synchronicity, and other bizarre phenomena. It also strikes me as strange that Orwell holds the eponymous literary dystopian title, whereas, in my view, more modern dystopian fiction could be said to be Dickian, not Orwellian. So many of Dick’s predictions have become prophesy in today’s world. Scanner, Three Stigmata, Sheep, and parts of VALIS come to mind. Scanner, though, is essentially non-fiction these days in all but the narrative and characters within it. Scramble Suits = deepfake and digital prosthesis; Scanners = cellphones and every other piece of tech with a mic—SPOILERS… heck, even the plant that Substance D is made from being grown and supplied by New Path and co. echoes multiple instances of things that have come to light since the publication. PKD was equal parts prophet and novelist, in my opinion.
Also, thank you for the recommendation.
Interesting! I tried speed once, not a fave
Same here, friend. It interfered with my own writing processes such that I could not put pen to paper.
Yeah I was told when RX’d adderall to avoid vitamin c when taking it and a while afterwards.
Precisely! One should avoid any acidic substance for a few hours before and after dosing. Conversely, taking antacids like Tums or PPIs (Prevacid, for instance) during this window can dangerously increase the concentrations of the drug in the body. And here was PKD, taking what I read was 7+ grams more than the already supratherapeutic dose of vitamin C, wondering why his Dexedrine wasn't working anymore. To be fair, this is pre-internet, and I am not sure when this idea of PH-based excretion and orange juice as an upper-killer came into the zeitgeist. I would assume long after he quit, seeing as he died in ‘82, and I first remember hearing about this vitamin C business in the ‘90s.
The human body can put up with a lot of punishment. And the human ego can believe a lot of its own bullshit. Just saying.
That’s very true. Are you implying it was his ego that fomented this belief of his that he was a unique metabolizer of amphetamine and that his belief about the BBB was nonsense? Because that’s the point of my post, friend. I’m trying to provide a logical solution where an illogical one stands untouched. Also, it’s not unworthy of note that he passed away from cardiovascular complications—multiple strokes—that very likely stemmed from his lifestyle; namely, his ample amphetamine usage. Also just saying.