things that are just really cool (warning: read this only if you are into cool experiences not if you're looking for anything remotely amusing)

I've been big into having Experiences lately. That is, having something "normal" cross the boundaries of expectation, past the one-dimensional aspect of my own senses and into this new realm of new associations. Basically, I think I'm looking for the same thing that people who wanna trip on shrooms look for, except I'm not attempting it through hallucinogens, yeah? Instead of tripping, this is Experiencing. So here's some of my favorite Experiences so far:

1. takethislollipop.com
      Go to this website and allow it to take your Facebook information (it won't show up on your profile or spam you, I promise). Then sit back, enjoy and be utterly creeped out.
*spoilers*
       takethislollipop.com is an Experience because it takes a very simple concept (scary man is coming after someone) and personalizes it. The personalization delivers a type of scary-movie high that is unlike any other sort of scary-movie high, because it is very clear that you are the target. While movies like The Ring may leave us pondering about the white noise on our own TV's, takethislollipop.com doesn't just leave you pondering. Instead, you are the victim in the scary movie. How's that for some meta-terror?

2. Holophonic Sounds (make sure you have headphones on for this and don't be afraid to close your eyes)


and



3. Flavor Tripping on Miracle Berry
      So some of y'all may have heard of miracle berry. Basically it's this tiny red berry from West Africa that you put in your mouth, chew, swish a round a little and then spit it out, and then everything sour you eat for the next 1 or 2 hours will be sweet. It's actually insane. I tried it last year in my bio class and we had lemons, kiwi and vinegar afterwards and it all just tasted like very sugary lemonade! Afterwards, I went to dinner and had banana peppers on my salad, and it literally tasted like I had put Jolly Ranchers on my salad. If you ever get the chance to try miracle berry, definitely do it (you can buy tablets online--not as good as the real thing, but still cool!). Some people even throw flavor tripping parties!


4. Sleep No More
     Okay so Sleep No More is a play in New York that has been on my mind practically every day since I went to it (in early October). The summary is simple: It's a 1920s speakeasy retelling of Macbeth. But the stage is actually a 6-story hotel with over 100 intricately decorated rooms, and there are 20 actor/dancers, whom the audience follows to get bits of storyline. Additionally, every one of the 200 audience members must wear a terrifying white mask (see pic below), and every actor is in character, always. That means that if you and a group of 10 people happen to following a witch, and that witch takes your hand and pulls you into a room and locks the door behind you, you are about to have a one on one experience with a witch. Which I did! It's absolutely delightful and unsettling to be in a room that smells real, looks real and feels real, with another human being who is acting like a witch from Macbeth. Because in that situation, they aren't acting anymore. You've intruded into another world--reality shifts. This woman isn't just acting like a Macbeth witch--in this reality, she is a Macbeth witch.
    It is three hours of unforgettable sensations. You smell the mustiness of every room (every room smells different). You taste the candy at the bar in the hotel. You hear 1920s music over the soundsystem. You hear Hecate cutting her steak. You hear Macbeth whisper things into your ear. You feel every incredible prop in every incredible room, from stuffed pheasants to headless baby dolls to the skeleton of some bird. You feel cool night air breeze over your skin as you stand in the cemetery. You pick up the phonebooth phone if it is ringing and someone will speak to you. And the things you'll see! Abandoned hospital rooms filled with bloody water, the murder of a pregnant Lady MacDuff, a slow motion scene at a banquet, the transformation of a lady into a witch, an orgy with strobe lights, beautiful fights and choreography.
       It. Is. Incredible. Every sense is stimulated. Every action can be a personal one-on-one experience with a character. See that blood on my mask? That's because Macbeth grabbed me, whispered in my ear and rested his bloody face on mine. Fortune favors the bold y'all. Go see Sleep No More.