It was a cruel twist of fate to claim the life of a visionary such as Huxley on the same day as JFK and C.S. Lewis. Much like Sergei Prokofiev, who had the misfortune of passing on the same day as Stalin, this event flew completely under the radar.

It's comforting to hear the back story to this, of the strength of the bond between Aldous and Laura. In a world that was steadily moving toward the dystopia he feared in Brave New World, at last he found the courage to face death and go peacefully.

What a pity his message is now so misunderstood (cf. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1919530)!

To be fair, I think those of us who might care about the death of Prokofiev wouldn't have paid more/less attention just because Stalin also died.

Many would (and did) -- consider the Russians.

I'd like to try DMT before I die, but even while living in the Netherlands I'm having a hard time obtaining it. I might try extracting it myself some day but I'm not much of a DIY in that respect and I'd probably light up my garden shed.

You could try Ayahuasca. It should be a bit easier to prepare than pure DMT, and more pleasant to consume too. The plants needed to make it are legal; the result is not, but since you're going to consume it soon after, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure that you consume no tyramine some time before and afterwards.

I'm interested in trying it myself, 'self-transforming machine elves' sound very interesting.

The Doors of Perception is his best work. I always felt that there was something lacking in his fiction. Enjoyable, but I could never quite call it literature.

If you want to know more about DMT-related stuff then check out podcast Gnostic Media on iTunes and download episodes #35 and #58. Both of these are actually about 5-MeO-DMT, which is very different but equally interesting. Also there are a lot of really good Terence McKenna interviews on the Psychedelic Salon podcast, e.g. this Under The Teaching Tree series:

http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=1509

Of course there is also Rick Strassman's book The Spirit Molecule, as well as James Orock's book Tryptamine Palace which is about 5-Meo-DMT. I'm way too scared to try either, but really interesting stuff.

Note that there is a transcript underneath the pictures, it's a lot easier to read.

Had me tearing up. Must re-read 'Island'. It's the perfect antidote to Brave New World.

'Island' should be required reading, right along with 'Brave New World'.

Wao thanks for posting this. Soon the day of his death.

RIP Aldous Huxley and thanks for having written Brave New World. It changed my life.