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Mashed, Baked or Fried? Stoned please. By Hugh Fornier "Baked Potatoes: A Pot Smokers to Film and Video" by
John Hulme and Michael Wexler. Doubleday, 1996. $11 @ I.C. Bookstore. happened to the good old days, people? Remember when you only had to be eighteen to drink, restaurants had smoking sections and the whole country was clouded by a haze left over from Woodstock? Well, most likely not...but the point I'm getting at here has been splattered all over The Ithacan for the last few months. One great habit is once again on the rise with the American youth and it seems like the stoner count is excessively high (pun intended) in this neck of the woods. Now I know I'm approaching the subject matter "no-fly zone" here but I don't see why the good old First Amendment shouldn't cover my ass...so let's take a walk, or a "trip," if you will, into Ithaca's unspoken subculture of stoners and baked potatoes, in which many of us play a role. You know who you are. Let's face it, there's a nice little handful of head shops down on the Commons where just about anyone with twenty bucks in their pocket can find a sweet looking glass piece to fire up the green goblins in. Of course, the current marketing scheme that saves these valuable stoner resource centers can be summed up in three little words: Tobacco Use Only. You ever see a sign like that? Chances are you have...most likely not in Ithaca though.This town was practically founded by pot-smokers and if you've ever seen anyone milling around on the Commons that looks like a local, you'll see what I mean. That glazed look over those overly bloodshot eyes isn't from the tap water. Even our very own Ithaca College bookstore carries a nice hidden resource for the marijuana inclined. It's name: Baked Potatoes - A Pot Smokers Guide to Film and Video. Baked Potatoes takes the movie buff smarts of Leonard Maltin, tosses in some fresh Greens, simmers and presents the ultimate extravaganza of stoner coffee table reading. It's purpose: to guide those of us who like to get high and watch movies...plain and simple. Effective? Hell yes...Baked Potatoes can make those hour long "I'm too stoned to pick a freakin' movie" nights down at Hollywood Video seem as easy as a nap on the couch. So, next time you're in the bookstore, peak down on the bottom shelf of that random stack near the CD's and pick yourself up a copy. You won't regret it, your friends will love you for it and it gives you that many more reasons to pack the bong and watch that copy of Beastmaster II you keep hidden under your bed. Now I know that there are those of you who think that drugs are bad and probably are trying to find a way to get me convicted for writing this article...but hey, this is college...so pave your own road and let the rest of us fire it up in peace. You're the reason "Reefer Madness" was made in the first place. You guys just stick to what you're good at: drinking until you piss yourself. Pot smokers aren't bad people, just a little more laid back, a little more zany, and more often bear witness to a plane of spiritual understanding and deep connection untouched by the rest. Best of all, whether you're a seasoned veteran or an aspiring novice, you're always welcome to come along for the ride. Hugh Fornier is a senior at Ithaca College. Just for Clarification's Sake: Buzzsaw Haircut does not encourage marijuana use. |
