King Coffey

With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC.

The article might be behind a paywall now. If so, here is the (great) Texas Tribune’s version. Now with more Rick Perry: www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/t...

Yup. Most of the nation is relaxing laws against weed. Yet in Texas, come September 1st, a package of Delta-8 gummies will carry more penalty than a bag of weed that weighs the same. But hey, to help you deal with the stress, they do allow a little bit of ibogaine PTSD therapy, it seems.

Yeah, "less weed, more acid" was a surprising turn for our elected body.

Texas commits $50M to research psychedelic treatments for PTSD, opioid addiction Abbott signed Senate Bill 2308 on Wednesday, stating it will position Texas at the forefront of making ibogaine accessible to U.S. veterans and first …

"Texas commits $50M to research psychedelics" was not on my bingo card for 2025.

tinyurl.com/bdf5vz7a

6 and lastly) Still, the vibe of the first night was horrible. Since everyone but the Swans hated us, we didn't show up the second show in Bonn. We had enough punishment. I think we took the day off and enjoyed ourselves in the Reeperbahn (Hamburg's Red Light district). Culture is important.

5) The Swans were great and friendly (and like us wearing jeans and t-shirts). As was Brix from the Fall who was lovely, American, and not wearing a suit.

4) Then the Bad Seeds soundchecked, and I snuck back in. One of their junkie hangers on started dancing and knocked over all the of Fall's drums. It was a weird, heavy, and kind of gross scene with all the Europeans wearing suits.

3) This was the first time I was kicked out of a soundcheck, but I was kind of honored that Mark E Smith personally kicked me out. Later, when the NME asked Mark E what he thought about us, he called us "spoiled American brats standing around in their underwear" (which is pretty accurate).

2) Still, amazing line up. I watched the Fall do their soundcheck from the back of hall. They stopped after 2 songs. Mark E called a roadie over and said a few things. The roadie then walked the length of a football field to where I was to say the Fall didn't want me to watch their soundcheck.

1) This debacle German show was two years after the debacle Dutch show you are talking about. For the Hamburg show, we showed up early and claimed the (unbeknownst to us) only dressing room in the former train station. The European contigent (ie, everyone) was livid since we refused to leave.

Gratitude to @nedraggett.bsky.social

Reissue of the Week: Butthole Surfers Live At The Leather Fly | The Quietus Sure the idea of the Buttholes as the penis surgery band who might shoot you is exciting but this live LP reminds you how great they were

The Butthole Surfers have a new live record out today (double live, of course) and one nof my favorite music writers, on one my favorite music sites, breaks it all down.

thequietus.com/quietus-revi...

It was a lot of fun. Great turnout, received very well. I think the director did a great job, although it was strange to literally watch my life flash before my eyes. Getting the band back together, but not having to actually play was a bonus.

SXSW Doc Tells the Story of Local Psych-Punk Legends Butthole Surfers Never sacred, always profane

Here's a preview by @joegross.bsky.social of the Butthole Surfers documentary debuting Wednesday at SXSW. Come for the full frontal nudity, stay for the watching old guys debate how much acid they actually took. Also, puppets.
shorturl.at/hOAj5

Of Angel and Puppet: Klee, Rilke, and the Test of Innocence Built for his son from the scraps of daily life — matchboxes, beef bones, nutshells, and plaster — Paul Klee’s hand puppets harbour ghosts of human feelings, fragile communications from a world most a...

Paul Klee is one of my favorite artists. Witness these hand puppets he made to entertain his son. With names like "Ghost of a Scarecrow, Electrical Spook, and Mr. Death", I bet they told a scary story with more humor than reading Grimms Fairy Tales ever could.
publicdomainreview.org/essay/of-ang...

Breaking: Gail Butensky said it was taken the second time we played in Chicago, at the Metro. That was one of the biggest venues (that would have punk) in the nation, so maybe that's why Teresa and I look extra fired up.

No idea. Maybe in Chicago since that Gail's home base at the time (I think?). I seem to recall Chicago, as big of a city it was, didn't have a regular club for punk shows. But it may have been Cubby Bear's. I could be way off base.

Finding a Home Among the Punks Gail Butensky’s photographs of alternative and punk rockers find poignancy in the scene’s dissonance.

www.newyorker.com/culture/phot...

One of my favorite photos of Teresa and I, taken by the great Gail Butensky from a new profile in The New Yorker.

"Given that @Claudiashein got concessions by giving Trump what Mexico has already given the US, I gotta wonder whether Trump's tantrum was just about shorting the stock market."

'Ooof!' Trump mocked for falling for 'trick' in Mexico tariff deal President Donald Trump temporarily backed down on his tariff threats against Mexico after reaching an agreement with his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo — which prompted a range of reactions.The t...

"Surging 10,000 troops to the border is something Biden got them to do in the past w/o tanking the stock market."

"Oh you want 10,000 troops?' says world leader who already deployed 15K. 'Great 10k it is.'" www.rawstory.com/trump-tariff...

Meanwhile,

Analysis | Trump launched air controller diversity program that he now decries At a news conference, Trump read a list of conditions he called disqualifying, but his administration started such hiring in 2019.

Not that DEI had anything to do with this, during a national crisis, Trump found the courage to blame Obama.

"Trump decried the fact that FAA hired controllers with a range of disabilities that he listed at the news conference. But that program was launched during his first term."

wapo.st/3Cy3Pc6

17th Century Death Roulette ☠️ See what you might’ve died from in 1665 London, using real mortality records.

☠️ I died from “Spotted Feaver” in the week of May 23rd, 1665
vole.wtf/death-roulet...

Proud of my homie Tom. He has been making this documentary for 5 years. And then his house burned down this month, destroying all his personal belongings. Yet the film survived, debuting this March at SXSW.

YouTube video by Tommy Boy Jonzun Crew - We Are the Jonzun Crew (Official Music Video)

Happy Jonzun Crew January everyone!

youtu.be/4GqM6OuyU_U?...

The NY Times ran a nice remembrance about Lady Java, who died last November. She was a pioneer "female impersonator" in a time before there were words for "trans" or even "drag queen".

We all walk in the steps of people of those who trailblazed a path before us.

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/a...

“I recommend old age. There’s just nothing as wonderful as knowing you have done your job.” - Nikki Giovanni (2020)

Filmmaker Tom Stern recounts losing home in Eaton fire: "Just gone" Thousands of houses and other structures have turned to dust this week amid a series of devastating fires in California.

More about Tom:

www.newsweek.com/filmmaker-to...

Donate to Help Tom Rebuild After Eaton Fire, organized by Jonathan Wolff Our names are Peter Orth and Jonathan Wolff, and our old friend Tom Stern lost his ho… Jonathan Wolff needs your support for Help Tom Rebuild After Eaton Fire

My friend Tom Stern, close to finishing his years in the making Butthole Surfer doc, lost everything on Wednesday. His house and studio burned down in Altadena while Anderson Cooper was broadcasting live on CNN. He is okay but lost all of his possessions. Please give him a hand.

shorturl.at/sxdzl