Creative Loafing interns Ted Scheinman and Brian Reed alerted me that today is Jerry Garcia's birthday. To celebrate, Scheinman spearheaded this list with help from Reed, Events Editor Leilani Polk, and myself. Here it is:
TOP 10: Ways to celebrate Jerry Garcia's birthday
1. Hold a be-in, including tie-dye, exotic tea, and Ginsbergian breathing exercises.
2. Listen to American Beauty from start to finish with someone who's never heard it before.
3. Go into a coma for five days and later describe the experience as "one of furious activity and tremendous struggle in a sort of futuristic, space-ship vehicle with insectoid presences."
4. Marvel at how much cooler Jerry is than Francis Scott Key, Herman Melville, and anyone else who shares his birthday.
5. Sing "Uncle John's Band" and "Brokedown Palace" by a riverside.
6. Look for a while at the China Cat Sunflower.
7. Pillage Nugs.net for classic Grateful Dead concerts, especially the Fillmore sets and anything from 1977.
8. Enjoy the Garcia Birthday Bash at Skipper's tomorrow night.
9. Learn to play guitar using only nine fingers.
10. Any or all of the above under the influence of grass, psychedelics, or Appalachian modal music.