Brianland

. Here’s a live stream version . . .  . for Andy Clausenand all the poets of eternity wrapping a present of the past for the future .Sleeping three or four times a day,An hour or two a shot;Vivid dreams in shutdown streams  —Solo swimming in sunlight — Surreality surfing in twilightas Adventures soar when […]

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What I Didn’t Know Then by Brian Hassett . “Democracy isn’t something you have, It’s something you do,” 94-year-old Granny D shared for eternity. Love isn’t something you receive, It’s something you give. A smile isn’t something you see, It’s something you shine. Truth isn’t something you know, It’s something you share. A hand isn’t […]

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Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy I spent the afternoon getting all gussied up in my black velvet tails and Ben Franklin knickers with knee-high socks topped off with a top hat, accented with colorful Obama buttons, and everything underneath my waving homemade Obama pennant flag with a little red & white Canadian one on top.  All […]

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. Here’s the first live show for the book — a Facebook live stream for an online Prankster reunion — featuring The Franken Fracas, Obama’s election night, Abbie Hoffman, the climactic Bernie rally in New Hampshire & lots of other gems . . . https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Hassett.Canada/videos/10163863488060261/ . David Amram — Jack Kerouac’s principal musical collaborator “Thanks […]

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Introduction to Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy (April 2020) . Sometimes you meet a person who thinks like you do, who views the world through a similar lens.  For me, Brian Hassett is one of those people. We’re all products of our times, and Brian, being slightly younger than me, came of age in a different decade […]

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Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy excerpt . . Following the climactic election eve rally of the 2020 New Hampshire primary with Bernie Sanders at a hockey arena  . . .  The most extraordinary thing happened when it was over.  As the thousands of kids streamed out of the arena, right next to it was a big […]

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FRIDAY NIGHT DEBATE NIGHT Friday February 7th was the big nationally televised Democratic debate from Manchester.  I tried every angle to get tickets, but even longtime plugged-in politicos told me they were shut out.  Made me feel a smidge better. The obvious thing was to go to the DoubleTree Hotel in Manchester. Manchester’s the main […]

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40 YEARS IN PRINT . A CHRONOLOGY OF THE PUBLISHED REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE TALES . . 1980 – April — John Anderson in San Diego – Blissfully Ravaged in Democracy – 1980–1984 chapter –  pp: 2–3 1980 – June — First Grateful Dead show – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac – ch. 14;  pp: 156–159 […]

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How History Could Have Been Different Kerouac’s and Otherwise . It was a quiet day in Facelandia when my Beat / Deadhead friend Steve Silberman posted: “Social media is amazing sometimes. In response to my posting a Cape Cod Times article about Kerouac’s time there, a woman posted a previously unseen photo of Kerouac working […]

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Original Merry Prankster George Walker & author-performer Brian Hassett team up to make elections fun again. Soon to be joined by an unlimited cast of players and Pranksters crisscrossing the United States in a new version of Ken Kesey’s original psychedelic Furthur Bus — and this one is going to go even Farthur! After three […]

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