"The Lunatic is on the Grass..."

This was a most informative and enjoyable part of Hughes' book. We have all heard about artists and creatives being "mad" or "sick" I'm sure - this chapter definitely formed a foundation for future judgements. I was pretty familiar with most of the topics in the text minus the couple parts that dealt with actual physical diseases or sicknesses. Looking at the one painting by Frida Kahlo, my mind has been opened to a new form of creativity. Most of the time when I'm sick I feel incapacitated rather than inspired - perhaps next time I come down with something I'll pick up my guitar and see what happens. It was nice to see Huxley show up in the one section about sensory deprivation - most are unaware that he progressed to an ultimate blindness before his death. Perhaps this condition DID fuel his desire to look inwards instead of outwards - "Doors of Perception" certainly shows this and if you're on Youtube someday, search for some Huxley interviews and you will see his eyes are not looking at anything. The sections on mental illnesses and psychotic illnesses were almost a review for me. Being an avid Pink Floyd fan I have done a lot of research on its TRUE creator and founder: Roger "Syd" Barrett. The Floyd came about during a time when LSD was on the rise and Syd was certainly an acid casualty; he is not all to blame - it was known that members of the band and some of the band "groupies" would spike his foods and drinks with LSD when Syd would actually vocalize that he wanted to stop tripping. This constant abuse led him to become schizophrenic and he later became a recluse in his mum's house. I would argue that his best work was done during his demise with songs such as "Octopus" (apparently about and LSD trip), the highly schizophrenic "Jugband Blues" in which Syd asks the questions, "What exactly is a dream? And what exactly is a joke?" I certainly believe that these seemingly constant altered states of consciousness could influence an artist or a creative or even a regular shmuk. All of our brains operate uniquely but it seems that those who experience these "diseases" are given another kind of window into themselves and another kind of window into the world. Jimi Hendrix wrote in his song "Manic Depression", "Music sweet music, I wish I could caress and kiss." Certainly there are other lines in the song which come out clearly saying that he has manic depression, but this sort of imagery and romanticism is the stuff we should be focusing on. What is it to really be mad? If thinking differently is being mad then count me in. I would rather be insane than sane any day.