Daily Archives: June 23, 2017

‘Changing Our Minds’ explores psychedelic drugs and spiritual healing – The Oakland Press

Posted: June 23, 2017 at 6:28 am

BERKELEY, Calif. In his new book, Changing Our Minds: Psychedelic Sacraments and the New Psychotherapy, award-winning author and former religion reporter Don Lattin looks at how therapy sessions with psychedelic drugs are helping heal the psychological and spiritual woes of cancer patients, alcoholics, war veterans and the seriously depressed.

As Lattin details in the book, there are sometimes positive spiritual and religious changes for those who take these drugs under clinical supervision a key component of the treatment. During sessions to treat addictive behavior, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, some patients report a greater oneness with the universe.

Lattin, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, is about to embark on a summer book tour from the Telluride Mushroom Festival in the Rocky Mountains to a psychedelic consciousness convention in London. He sat down with RNS to discuss changing attitudes toward these drugs psilocybin (magic mushrooms), ayahuasca (a psychoactive tea brewed from two Amazonian plants), MDMA (ecstasy) and more and how they can bring religious and spiritual insight to some people.

This interview has been edited for space and clarity.

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Q: How is taking psychedelics therapeutically different from taking them recreationally?

A: Well, the first difference between recreational use and the clinical trials underway into psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is a difference of legality. Taking these drugs for fun is illegal, not to mention dangerous, because when you buy psychedelics on the street you are never sure what you are getting. The clinical trials are legal approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. The purity and the dose are clearly established. Many people in my book are trying to overcome some serious psychological problem, or they are people in ayahuasca churches who are seriously trying to commune with God. Both are in it for the long term and will tell you this was not always a fun or easy experience. But it was cathartic. It was healing. This is not the way most people take psychedelics many thousands of people take MDMA every weekend and most have a good time. The difference here is the intention healing or insight and that those who take these medicines or sacraments are being guided through the experience and get help to integrate whatever insights they have into their real lives.

Q: Speaking just about those seeking a connection to God is taking a pill to do that just too easy?

A: There is some truth to that critique. Someone in my book calls the psychedelic experience gratuitous grace. In a recreational drug context, it is too easy, and it becomes too easy to just dismiss it as some weird experience. But people in some of the clinical trials I write about say what they experienced in a couple of sessions with a therapist and psychedelics was like 10 years of normal therapy. It can take less time. But psychedelics are not a magic bullet. They can show you another way to be. The goal of a lot of this work, whether it is therapeutic or spiritual, is to help people make some lasting changes in their lives. (Researchers and spiritual guides) are trying to take psychedelics more seriously than one does at a party or a concert or a festival. Even though it can take one to a mystical place, the goal is to bring all this back down to Earth.

Q: Drugs are chemicals. Can God or any experience of the divine be reduced to brain chemistry? Are such experiences real?

A: You can have a mystical experience through lots of different means. You can have it by fasting a very accepted practice in almost every religious tradition. What happens when you fast? Things happen in your brain, a biochemical reaction. If you go on a hardcore meditation retreat with sensory deprivation, you are having a biochemical reaction in your brain. So whether it is through fasting or meditation or drugs or plant medicines, I believe what is happening in your brain is the same an alteration of consciousness through brain chemistry. It can happen through prayer and through meditation, and it can happen with psychedelic drugs. That is why the experiences are so similar. But the rubber hits the road with what you do with the experience. Does it make you a better person, kinder, more aware? (Religion scholar and mystic) Huston Smith used to say of psychedelics, It is not about altered states, it is about altered traits.

Q: Is there a role for organized religion to play in destigmatizing these drugs?

A: There are actual churches in the U.S. that can legally have psychedelic communion with ayahuasca under a 2006 Supreme Court ruling, but they must be affiliated with one of two Brazilian sects. Outside of those brands of organized religion, I dont see much destigmatization. Religious leaders, like a lot of other people, have a very black-and-white attitude toward drugs. Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins is doing a study of religious professionals with clergy burnout to see if these substances could revive their interest in their calling through a mystical experience that might hit the reset button for them. But he has found it very hard to find clergy who want to volunteer. That said, I think psychedelics are slowly are being destigmatized by the universities and medical centers across the country that are sponsoring research. Peoples minds are changing about these substances when used in the proper context. The media coverage of the clinical trials has been very positive. At the same time, I think it is important to say these drugs are not for everyone. They are probably not for most people. But there are a large number of people these medicines can help.

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'Changing Our Minds' explores psychedelic drugs and spiritual healing - The Oakland Press

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Discover Trance Radio – The Uplifting trance radio …

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Tero A - Northern Skies

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Mehdi Bey Massive Sound Of Algeria 174

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Uplifting Sound Dancing Rain ( uplifting and vocal trance mix )

DJ N!ki Extended Trance Mix 2017

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1. DJ N!ki - Extended Trance Mix 2017

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7. Ash K and Junior - Trancegeneration Radio 014

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8. Dan Reitar - presents Trance Spirit 297 @ Discover Trance Radio

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Aston Manor Going Full Trance With Gabriel & Dresden and Bryan Kearney – Dance Music Northwest

Posted: at 6:27 am

Aston Manor, located in Seattles SoDo district, isnt known as a trance music destination. But that might soon change. After Andrew Rayel took his on-going Moments tour to Roy Astons social club earlier this month, team Aston and Stardust Events one-upped themselves with a double booking that has the Seattle Trance Family jumping with joy. Mark your calendars because on Thursday October 5th, Gabriel & Dresden and Bryan Kearney are taking over the Manor.

Kearney makes his Seattle return following an energizing performance at Bliss: Transcendence last month. The Irish trance powerhouse has been tearing up stages across the world with psy-heavy sets. However, his latest single, All Over Again, sees Kearney going back to his uplifting roots, teaming up with singer-songwriter Plumb to deliver an emotional ballad that will give you all the feels. One of the best in the scene today, Kearney alone is enough to get us excited. Throw in Gabriel & Dresden? What?!

Gabriel & Dresden are considered legends in the trance game, teaming up together back in 2001 for seven years before re-uniting in 2011. While Kearney is more up-tempo, these two are the opposite- opting for chillout, uplifting vibes. In addition to songs of their own, G & D have remixed the likes of trance Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Above & Beyond and more. At one point, the two joined JES, a renowned trance vocalist, to form the group Motorcycle best known for its hit As The Rush Comes. Together, the two are a force. Separate? Just as amazing. Gabriels Andain side project scored an all-time trance classic with Beautiful Things; Dresden matching that with remixes that ranked high on the Billboard Hot Dance and Club Play charts. Prepare to go back in time when the two take the stage.

Tickets go on sale next Thursday at noon. Will you be joining us for a night of beautiful trance under the Aston Manor chandeliers?

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Relive The Best Sets of Luminosity Beach Festival 2016 – EDM Identity (blog)

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Relive Luminosity Beach Festival 2016 by watching some of the best sets from 5 legendary trance artists.

Luminosity Beach Festival is the dream destination of the worldwide trance family every year. The best of the best in trance descend upon Bloemendaal Beach in The Netherlands spoiling us with their sounds for four amazing days of music. The journeys, classics, producer sets, IDs and more are out in full force!

Until I can travel to Europe myself for this event, I will live vicariously through the stories, videos, and memories of my friends who attend every year. I spend a ton of time listening to and watching all of the sets that are released by Luminosity Events. It makes my heart smile to experience the mutual love of each other and the music at a trance event such as this. Enjoy these sets from last year while attendees of Luminosity Beach Festival 2017 make new memories this weekend.

While its nearly impossible to narrow down the sets that I love from Luminosity Beach Festival 2016, these five were definitely standouts for a variety of reasons.

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Steve is incredible at weaving a tapestry out of your emotions and truly taking you on a journey from start to finish. Riddled with classics, memories, and amazing tracks, this set is a staple for the trance family. He is a genius producer and DJ. I have no concept of time when he is on the decks. It is one thing to play a set, but it is something completely different to captivate an entire crowd and take them on a journey of your genres history.

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Orkidea is consistently in my top two of all time. The way he tells a story with tunes, beats, and magical sounds is unparalleled. He is the master in progressive trance. The intensity of his work is always felt behind every set. It builds and builds with perfection, with never a dull moment. I am constantly in search of his sets, listening to his releases, and praying that he comes to Los Angeles soon.

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A true legend and incredible producer, Andy Moor never fails to disappoint, especially on the beach in The Netherlands. From the early 00s, his sound has been unique and captivating; its been an honor to be a part of the trance scene during his career. He is an instrumental master and a musical genius. This year at Lumi 2017 he is playing a producer set and it is one I highly recommend to not miss.

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As a fan of Talla 2XLCs sound from the late 90s through today, naturally he is on my list of stand outs. The emotion, heart, and soul that bleed out through his tracks are second to none. He is a mainstay and living legend in the world of trance and has always been true to himself and a respectful, stand up gentleman. I have nothing but praise for this man and cherish the events where he is spinning.

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This Hard Trance Classics special is a wonderful exploration of the subgenre. Indecent Noise is extremely talented at playing a variety of styles, but I have yet to witness one of his hard trance sets in person! There are so many classics tracks in here, and its packed full of emotion. This will get you up moving with its driving beats. It definitely exudes those old warehouse vibes of the early morning hours.

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Shayna fell in love with electronic dance music in the early 2000s. Trance became the key to her soul, and the worldwide trancefamily gave her a sense of belonging she had not experienced before. She also enjoys deep house, breakbeat, and old school jungle/DnB. Having played piano and enjoyed singing from a young age, her main passion in life is music. When Shayna isnt dancing the night away, she works as a Tax Analyst for a global HCM corporation. Her other passions include Disney, animals, travelling, video gaming, and her rave family Strangers with Kandi. Events close to her heart are Dreamstate SoCal, Luminosity Beach Festival, and Nocturnal Wonderland. As she travels the world in search of the next event or festival, she loves to meet new people, spread the love through music, and make lifelong memories under the electric sky.

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Over and out: Henry Blofeld to retire from BBC radio cricket commentary – The Guardian

Posted: at 6:26 am

Henry Blofeld, right, said he leaves the Test Match Special programme in the safest of hands led by Jonathan Agnew. Photograph: Visionhaus/Corbis via Getty Images

Henry Blofeld will retire from his role as commentator on the BBCs Test Match Special programme in September. The 77-year-old, affectionately known as Blowers, has worked on TMS since 1972, and his final match will be the Test between England and the West Indies at Lords which starts on 7 September.

All good things come to an end, he said in a statement. After nearly 50 years in the Test Match Special commentary box, I have decided the time has come for the last of the old farts to hang up his microphone.

In all honesty, at the age of almost 78, although I am still rather keener than mustard, I find it harder work than I once did. And I wouldnt want to let TMS down.

You havent heard my final my dear old thing quite yet. Happily, I shall be commentating next month on the first two Tests against South Africa, and then for the last one of the summer against the West Indies at Lords.

I leave, supremely confident that TMS is in the safest of hands, led by the ageless Aggers [Jonathan Agnew]. In the end, I think he will come to be seen as the best of the lot. Listeners will now be relieved to know that their chances of being told the right name of the fielders at third man and fine leg have greatly increased.

I hope some will be sad that they will now hear less about the lifestyles of pigeons, seagulls, and helicopters, although I fear the general feeling will be one of huge relief.

I shall be able to come to the cricket without worrying about who is lurking down at third man. I shall also be able to have a drink without feeling I am being politically incorrect. And hallelujah to that!

Blofeld, who was awarded an OBE in 2003 for services to broadcasting, stated his favourite memory behind the microphone was the 1981 Ashes Test at Headingley when Ian Bothams unbeaten 149 and Bob Willis eight for 43 secured England a thrilling 18-run victory.

Many of Blofelds peers paid tribute to him on Twitter. Former England captain and TMS regular Michael Vaughan said: Many players have bought joy to thousands but I cant think of anyone who has bought more joy to the airwaves than @blowersh #MyDearOldThing.

TMS producer Adam Mountford added Blofeld has an incredible thirst for cricket and fellow commentator Alison Mitchell claimed he is unparalleled at painting pictures with words.

A tweet from the England cricket teams official account read: Thanks for the memories @blowersh and all the best in your retirement.

Jonathan Agnew has shared a commentary box with Blofeld for many years, and he told BBC Radio 5 live: Ill miss Henry. His enthusiasm, his company, his chaos. Henry is one of those characters that really set up Test Match Special.

Its the legacy of people like him who in the 70s and 80s really developed this style of programme that people have been trying to copy ever since, including me. They were enormous characters who were also outstanding broadcasters.

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Neurotechnology makes a number of updates to the MegaMatcher product line – Biometric Update

Posted: at 6:25 am

June 22, 2017-

Neurotechnology has announced the availability of MegaMatcher 10, the latest update to the MegaMatcher multi-biometric product line.

MegaMatcher 10 provides a number of significant updates across the MegaMatcher line, which includes: MegaMatcher SDK, a multi-biometric SDK for large scale systems; MegaMatcher Accelerator biometric matching engine, and; the MegaMatcher ABIS turnkey solution. Each biometric modality can be used alone or in any combination to provide to meet the needs of small and large-scale biometric identification projects.

This version provides increased accuracy in multiple biometric modalities, as confirmed by third-party independent tests, explained Dr. Justas Kranauskas, R&D manager for Neurotechnology. Together with the fastest biometric engine algorithms and great standards support, these updates enable our clients to create better products in every respect.

The MegaMatcher 10 update also includes a new version of the MegaMatcher Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

Earlier this month Neurotechnology added a new Extreme edition to its MegaMatcher Accelerator solution.

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Neurotechnology adds face recognition, tracking to video surveillance systems; researchers win competition – Biometric Update

Posted: at 6:25 am

June 19, 2017-

Neurotechnology has released SentiVeillance Server, a ready-to-use solution that integrates with surveillance video management systems (VMS).

SentiVeillance Server is based on the companys deep neural network technology for facial recognition from surveillance camera video, giving a VMS advanced capabilities, including the ability to quickly and accurately recognize faces in video streams and trigger analytical event notifications whenever the system detects an authorized, unauthorized or unknown individual.

The new capabilities significantly improves the workflow of VMS operators so that they can quickly respond to evolving situations and easily view video of past events as well as filter them by gender, age or person ID.

SentiVeillance Server enables advanced analytics in many video management systems where it was too complex or too expensive before, said Aurimas Juska, Neurotechnology software development team lead. Users can benefit from an enhanced surveillance system with only a small amount of configuration and no need for programming.

The solution supports a range of video management systems including Milestone XProtect VMS and Luxriot Evo, Evo S and Evo Global.

SentiVeillance Server can process in real time up to 10 video streams from multiple video management systems.

The solution is equipped with Neurotechnologys latest deep neural-network-based facial detection and recognition algorithm which greatly improves identification accuracy and speed.

The technology is included in other Neurotechnology products including the VeriLook and MegaMatcher software development kits (SDK), which have millions of deployments worldwide.

In addition, the SentiVeillance SDK allows developers to create solutions using facial identification and object recognition from surveillance video.

In a separate announcement, Neurotechnology revealed that the companys deep neural network researchers won first place in a Kaggle competition that sought AI solutions for fisheries monitoring.

For their winning solution in The Nature Conservancy Fisheries Monitoring competition, the team of researchers won a first place prize of $50,000.

The team beat out the competing 2,292 submitted algorithms for the identification of fish and other marine species from video streams. The algorithms were evaluated based on an unseen test set that mimicked a real-life scenario.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices are degrading marine ecosystems, global seafood supplies and local livelihoods, according to The Nature Conservancy.

The Neurotechnology employees, which entered the competition independently under the name Towards Robust-Optimal Learning of Learning, used advanced deep neural networks to solve this issue.

The Fisheries Monitoring competition was one of the biggest competitions for Kaggle, a learning, sharing and development site for data, code, research and process.

This was one of the first Kaggle competitions that was comprised of two stages, which means that models developed during the first stage were frozen and evaluated on unseen data that was made available during the second stage, said Gediminas Peksys from the Towards Robust Optimal Learning of Learning team. In such a setting, it is very easy for a teams models to overfit the data by using too many trainable parameters. We were able to utilize our teams experience using deep neural networks to come up with a robust model that performed a lot closer to the original estimate from stage one and generalized in a predictable manner on unseen data.

Previously reported, Neurotechnology added a new Extreme edition to its MegaMatcher Accelerator line of multi-biometric identification solutions for national-scale projects.

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Not everyone loved the CF-18 jet flyby over Molson Stadium during Als’ game – Montreal Gazette

Posted: at 6:24 am

Published on: June 22, 2017 | Last Updated: June 22, 2017 9:59 PM EDT

CF-18 painted in honour of Canada's 150th anniversary. Derek Heyes / RCAF via Twitter

People at the Montreal Alouettes Molson Stadium home game, hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders, were treated, at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday night, to a fly over by the CF-18 Demo Team, in honour of Canadas 150 anniversary.

We cant say if everyone in the stands was impressed, but social media was aflutter with complaints from residents who didnt know what to make of the roaring.

Shes a pretty one, one Reddit user wrote, linking to the red painted jet, but others were less impressed.

I thought a commercial plane was crashing on my house, another wrote.

Over on Twitter, our own Montreal Gazette editor Steve Faguy observed: Another fighter jet flyby another few hundred complaints

I live on University, corner Milton. I almost hid under my bed!@BuhNwa tweeted.

The Canadian Forces Facebook message about the event said: The Canada 150 jet will fly over the stadium at an altitude no lower than 500 feet above the highest point of their route, before resuming a higher flying altitude for the return trip to 3 Wing Bagotville, Que. Flybys on Canadian Armed Forces aircraft are conducted in support of special events and are carefully planned and closely controlled to ensure public safety at all times.

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Detroit Tigers trade target: Los Angeles Dodgers CF prospect Alex Verdugo – Detroit Jock CIty

Posted: at 6:24 am

Oct 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Glendale Desert Dogs outfielder Alex Verdugo of the Los Angeles Dodgers during an Arizona Fall League game against the Scottsdale Scorpions at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Tigers: Trade deadline selloff appears inevitable by Matt Snyder

Detroit Pistons trade rumors: Kings interested in Andre Drummond by Zac Snyder

The Detroit Tigers have yet to officially throw in the towel on the 2017 season, but it appears that a selloff is inevitable as the organization looks to build a brighter future.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com rounded up some MLB trade rumors and notes today as we approach the final month before the trade deadline. In his column, Morosi noted that the Tigers could targetLos Angeles Dodgers center field prospect Alex Verdugo in a possible J.D. Martinez trade if they do decide to sell.

If the Tigers decide to sell and they havent made that decision yet theyd like to come away from the Trade Deadline with their center fielder for 2018. Dodgers prospect Alex Verdugo is among the names on their wish list.

The 21-year-old Verdugo has spent all of 2017 in AAA where he has hit an impressive.340/.413/.464. He has probably been a bit lucky with a .367 average on balls in play but hes shown average power and doesnt strike out much. So far in 2017 hes drawn 29 walks against only 25 strikeouts.

Verdugo is no stranger to the state of Michigan either. He played 101 games in Midland as a member of the Great Lakes Loons in 2015 where he posted a .719 OPS with five home runs and 13 stolen bases before moving up a level to finish the year.

Verdugo came into the year as the number three prospect in the Dodgers system according to Baseball Americas rankingsfrom January (leaving out Jose De Leon who was traded). MLB Pipeline currently ranks him as the number two prospect in the organization.

Anthony Fenech of theDetroit Free Pressasked some scouts executives toput a trade value on J.D. Martinez. The responses indicated that the Tigers could receive an organizations number two type prospect in return (plus an additional piece or two). That type of valuation would put a player like Verdugo in play should the Tigers and Dodgers agree to a trade involving Martinez.

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Verdugo has spent most of his minor league career playing center field but has split time at the position with Trayce Thompson (hes shifted to right field when Thompson gets the start in center).

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Reg CF Portal Pivot: DreamFunded Abandons Startups for Real Estate Crowdfunding – Crowdfund Insider

Posted: at 6:24 am

DreamFunded, a FINRA approved Reg CF portal, has pivoted from its original model of providing access to capital for early stage companies. Today, instead of the next cool startup gracing the pages of DreamFunded there are single family homes up for investment.

Crowdfund Insider contacted DreamFunded founder and CEO Manny Fernandez for an update. Fernandez told us that DreamFunded has been allowing everyone to invest in startups, and entrepreneurs to raise from everyone using Title III of The Jobs Act known as regulation crowdfunding or Reg CF. But now things have changed;

We want to create a consumer brand which allows everyone to make money, and real estate is one of the lowest risk investments. We are allowing everyone to invest not just accredited investors. There is no leader dominating the market, so its still early to make an impact, said Fernandez. I want our members to make money in something which they already understand; real estate. After talking to our members, it is easy to see where the market is headed. It makes sense why real estate crowdfunding is the fast growing of all crowdfunding.

Fernandez explains that he started his entrepreneurial career as a real estate investor and affordable housing developer before becoming a Silicon Valley angel investor. He already has an established network of real estate entrepreneurs. So a change of strategy just makes sense.

Currently, they are in the legal process of getting our 1st Title III real estate debt deal approved, which expects to go live on July 5th, 2017. Fernandez says DreamFunded is the first real estate crowdfunding platform in Silicon Valley, which allows every investor to invest for as low as $500.

DreamFunded is not the first investment crowdfunding platform to alter its approach. Recently, FlashFunders was sold. There have been others like EarlyShares that started as a Title II, accredited crowdfunding platform that made the leap from early stage companies to real estate. So is this part of a natural evolution of the crowdfunding sector? Perhaps.

One crowdfunding insider told us;

The continuing question for these Title 3 [Reg CF] portals is how to attract and convert potential investors. Thats the billion dollar question.

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Reg CF Portal Pivot: DreamFunded Abandons Startups for Real Estate Crowdfunding - Crowdfund Insider

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