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Winston Churchill (an old friend of our blog) once famously said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Now, although we are big fans of that classic movie “Groundhog Day”, in an effort to not just become another ‘repeater’ of history, this week we thought we’d share a few strange but true historical snippets that we all might learn - though not exactly sure what - some kind of lesson from. So, hold onto your belief systems because here we go….. Turkeys were once worshipped as gods. Though the argument could be made that, in the USA on Thanksgiving day every November, that still holds true, in 300 B.C. these big birds were heralded by the Mayan people as vessels of the gods and were honored as such. So much so that they were domesticated to have roles in religious rites. They were symbols of power and prestige and can be found everywhere in Maya iconography and archaeology. Napoleon was once attacked by a horde of bunnies. The emperor had requested that a rabbit hunt be arranged for himself and his men. His chief of staff, Alexandre Berthier, set it up and had men round up reportedly 3,000 rabbits for the occasion. When the rabbits were released from their cages the bunnies charged toward Bonaparte and his men in a viscous and unstoppable onslaught. Captain Morgan was a real guy. While some of us may have thought we've met him after too many glasses of his famous rum, he actually was a Welsh privateer (aka a pirate) who fought alongside the English against the Spanish in the Caribbean in the 1660s and 1670s. His first name was Henry and he was knighted by King Charles II of England. His exact birth date is unknown, but it was sometime around 1635. He died in Jamaica in 1688, apparently very rich. Using forks used to be considered sacrilegious. Yes indeed, forks were once seen as blasphemous. First introduced in Italy in the 11th Century, these spiked spaghetti-twirling instruments were seen as an offense to God. Why, you may ask? Because they were seen as "artificial hands" and, as such, were considered to be sacrilegious. Pope Gregory IV declared a war on cats. In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IV said that black cats were instruments of Satan and ordered the extermination of these felines across Europe. But, as the saying goes - be careful what you wish for - his plan backfired as it resulted in an increase in the population of plague-carrying rats. Ketchup was sold in the 1830’s as medicine. In 1834, ketchup was sold as a cure for indigestion by an Ohio physician named John Cook. Tomato ketchup was popularized as a condiment commercially in the late 1800’s and today, in the USA alone, more than 10 billion ounces of ketchup are sold annually. Of course, in the 1980’s, during the administration of US President Ronald Reagan, ketchup was classified as a vegetable….. At this point it seems appropriate to refer back up to Churchill’s quote at the beginning of this blog post. #winstonchurchill #groundhogday #billmurray #history #captainmorgan #rum #pirates #turkey #napoleon #bunnies #ketchup #medicine #ronaldreagan #vegetables #cats #forks #religion

This week's post is a quick look at how everything old is new again. And by that we're talking the "speakeasy". Most people know that a speakeasy was a place where alcoholic beverages were illegally sold in the USA during prohibition. From 1920 to 1933 there was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages. Speakeasies received their name as patrons were often told to “speak easy” about these secret bars in public and from the fact that police often had trouble locating the bars due to the fact that people tended to speak quietly while inside. Speakeasies claimed to sell soft drinks and coffee, but served alcohol behind the scenes - some famously served in coffee cups. The speakeasy created an environment where gangsters, the wealthy and the lower classes could all drink and socialize together. Modern day speakeasies no longer have to evade closure, arrest and prosecution. One of the biggest trends in nightlife and bars over the last decade is the rise of the "speakeasy" bar - cocktail bars that mimic the illicit, hidden bars that arose during the Prohibition era of the 1920's. Indeed, the allure of private drinking lounges, often hidden in back alleys or behind fake doors in nondescript storefronts or restaurants, remains a strong draw today. Now, while we're very happy that laws outlawing alcohol sales in the USA were repealed long ago, we do owe a bit of a debt of thanks for a couple consequences of it having occurred. For example, prohibition made cocktails famous. Most drinkers before the 1920s would drink their alcohol straight, either with an ice cube, a twist of lime, or a splash of water. But that was high quality alcohol, not the lower-quality stuff that became more common during the prohibition era. Rum-runners and bootleggers often brought in poor quality liquors from Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean, so speakeasy owners began to mix in other ingredients to the alcoholic drinks to hide the poor flavors. As a result, dozens of cocktails were invented, and cocktails became the more popular choice of alcoholic beverage at bars and clubs. A couple of the more famous cocktails that we're pretty certain Gatsby would have sipped on back in the day are: Bee's Knees: gin, honey syrup & fresh lemon juice. People used the fresh lemon & honey to cover up the harsh taste of the bathtub gin. For that little extra "razzle dazzle" you can top it off with a float of dry champagne. Boulevardier: rye whiskey, campari & dry vermouth. This variation on our beloved Negroni first appeared in 1927 at The New York Bar in Paris. Hanky Panky: gin, sweet vermouth & Fernet Branca. Created in 1925 at the Savoy Hotel in London, this surprisingly well-balanced cocktail may ease you into liking the divisive Fernet. Scofflaw: rye whiskey, dry vermouth & grenadine. Invented in 1924 at Harry's Bar in Paris as a nod to all the American drinkers who were surviving Prohibition, the Scofflaw is an unlikely cross between a Daiquiri and a Manhattan. Brandy Alexander: cognac, dark creme de cacao & heavy cream. Brandy was introduced to the original gin-based cocktail in 1922 when it was served at the London wedding of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles. Mimosa: champagne & orange juice. So delightfully simple and so wonderfully refreshing, the simple mixture was invented at the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1925. Well, technically the mix of the two was already called a Buck's Fizz, but bartender Frank Meier tweaked the ratios to equal parts, forever revolutionizing our Sunday afternoons. Finally, we raise a toast to a man of integrity who's name has become synonymous with quality. - Bill McCoy. Captain Bill McCoy was a rum-runner (a transporter of illegal rum, usually from Cuba or the Caribbean) known for his integrity. Unlike other runners, he didn’t water down his liquors, but instead sold them at full strength. When people said the alcohol was “the real McCoy“, it meant that it hadn’t been watered down and thus was high quality alcohol. The phrase quickly caught on, and has persisted to this day. We know that anything called “the real McCoy” means “a product of high quality”. If you're feeling knowledgable on the subject, here's a link to a fun Prohibition quiz from the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada that you can try your hand at: https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/wp_quiz/speakeasies/ We look forward to hearing about your favorite Prohibition-era cocktails and your favorite modern-day speakeasy's in our Fourm's. Here's a taste of one of our latest favorite speakeasy finds - No. 11 Jakarta (Eleven Jakarta), a Japanese style speakeasy bar in the heart of Jakarta. #speakeasy #prohibition #alcapone #booze #alcohol #cocktails #bootlegger #rumrunner #realmccoy #jakarta #coffee #mobmuseum #lasvegas

The Cambridge Dictionary defines humor as: the ability to be amused by something seen, heard or thought about, sometimes causing you to smile or laugh, or the quality in something that causes such amusement. One of the greatest American humorists, Mark Twain, remarked that “humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” It has been argued that the human capacity for humor is what distinguishes our species from others. Humor can build and destroy, strengthen and weaken, honor and besmirch, and perhaps all of these at the same time. Take, for example, when an uppity authority figure slips and falls on a banana peel. Or the ridiculous hilarity of the silent movie day Keystone Kops. Merriam-Webster defines humor as: that quality which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous and an often temporary state of mind imposed especially by circumstances. Being able to laugh in the face of adversity is, as Mark Twain said, a great gift. So, in today's blog post we salute the people of Sri Lanka. A people who are going through unimaginable economic and political difficulties, yet who never cease to amaze, inspire and humble us with their unwavering ability to find humor in any situation, regardless how dire the circumstances may be. During last weeks people power uprising, many government buildings and residences were peaceably taken over by an understandably angry public at the ruin of their economy. To illustrate the Sri Lankan's incredible gift for humor, we share with you a "review of their stay" posted by one of the protestors who overran the Presidential residence in Colombo: Humor can be the great equalizer and inspire great highs. It's an honor for us to be able to count many Sri Lankan's among our dearest friends and we wish them well in their search for a better future. We also wish they could be an example for people everywhere, even when things look bleakest, to take a minute and find something that makes you laugh. #srilanka #marktwain #keystonekops #humor #colombo

The shamans, healers, sages and wisdom keepers of all times, all continents and all peoples, in their ageless wisdom, say that human spirituality is composed of three aspects: relationships, values, and life purpose. Spirituality means different things to different people. For some, it’s primarily about a belief in God and active participation in organized religion. For others, it’s about non-religious experiences that help them get in touch with their spiritual selves through quiet reflection, time in nature, private prayer, yoga, hallucinogens or meditation. Spirituality is defined as the recognition of a feeling, sense, or belief that there is something bigger than ones self, that there is more to being human than sensory experience, and that the larger whole of which we are a part is cosmic or divine in nature. The spiritual refers to a person’s thoughts and beliefs rather than their physical body or surroundings. For mystics, the spiritual is not something merely to think about but also something to be encountered. Spiritual phenomena may be said to be experienced when they are thought about in such a way that a depth of feeling becomes attached to them. When experience of the spiritual is heartfelt, the spiritual is found to be mysterious, awesome, urgent, and fascinating. Mystics believe that their experiences disclose the existence of an extrasensory dimension of reality: phenomena whose existence cannot be detected through sense perception but become apparent during mystical experience. During mystical experiences, extrasensory phenomena are said to be directly perceived, whether by the soul, the mind, the imagination, or some other faculty. The phenomena that mystics encounter may be impersonal — a unifying principle, structure, process, law, or force — or personal — ghosts, spirits, angels, demons, gods or revelations derived from such personal beings. When mystics make claims about extrasensory dimensions of reality, they are making the same type of claim that physical scientists do when they cite the laws of physics, or psychologists when they posit emotional complexes that govern responses to events. They are not speaking of the magical, mythological, or otherworldly; they are attempting to speak of aspects of the world of sense perception that are not perceptible to the senses. The mystical experience can be defined as a sense of unity, or the experience of becoming one with all that exists. Mystical experiences may be encountered following the ingestion of classic hallucinogens. The following is a written description of an experience reported by a volunteer who received 20 mg/70 kg of psilocybin in a study conducted at Johns Hopkins: “In my mind’s eye, I felt myself instinctively taking on the posture of prayer in my head. I was on my knees, hands clasped in front of me and I bowed to this force. I wasn’t scared or threatened in any way. It was more about reverence. I was showing my respect. I was humbled and honored to be in this presence. This presence was a feeling, not something I saw or heard. I only felt it, but it felt more real than any reality I have experienced. And it was a familiar place too. One I had felt before. It was when I surrendered to this, that I felt like I let go. I was gone…or I should say this earthly part of me was. It was still on the couch in some sort of suspended animation awaiting my return. I was in the void. This void had a strange and indescribable quality to it in that there was nothing to it but this feeling of unconditional and undying Love. It felt like my soul was basking in the feeling of this space. I have no idea how long this lasted. Time and space did not exist there …it was all different manifestations of this Love feeling I found myself wrapped in.” There's so much more to talk about in this blog this time. But we think we'll save it all for a future posting. In the meantime, as always, we look forward to hearing about the spiritual & mystical experiences that you've had that took you to another level. #spiritual #mystical #hallucinogens #lsd #mystics #spirits #science

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls" - Pablo Picasso. The Arts are defined as painting, sculpture, music, theater, literature, etc., considered as a group of activities done by people with skill and imagination (“the arts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary). The term “art” is related to the Latin word “ars” meaning, art, skill, or craft. The first known use of the word comes from 13th-century manuscripts. However, the word art, and its many variations, have probably existed since the founding of Rome. The individual's definition of "Art" is really very subjective. What for one person might be considered a towering work of great importance, for another might be shrugged off as just so much blah, blah, blah. The Jean Basquiat painting that sold for $110.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction in 2017 would, no doubt, have had trouble finding an audience in Renaissance Italy, for example. Historically, works of art and symbolic thinking have been held up as proof of the cognitive superiority of modern humans – examples of the exceptional skills that define our species. Interestingly, scientists now claim that Neanderthals, not modern humans, were the first artists on earth. Neanderthals painted on cave walls in Spain 65,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years before modern humans arrived on the scene, researchers say. https://youtu.be/0H_wFNfrMmU The Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius said that "art is the signature of civilizations". Perhaps that term "civilization" could be construed to mean human or otherwise. Whatever the case, we count ourselves lucky enough to have friends and family who write - https://www.amazon.com/Gordon-McAlpine/e/B001HPRUW8%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share and paint -https://www.instagram.com/shohanalwis/ and, in doing so, have helped to wash the dust off of our daily lives. Was it a book or a piece of music or a movie or a painting or a sculpture or something else that raised your spirit to new heights? We look forward to hearing about it so we might be touched in the same way. #pablopicasso #picasso #jeanbasquiat #basquiat #art #painting #music #dance #movies #sculpture #books #neanderthal

Today we're going to talk a bit about beverages. A beverage is defined as "any potable liquid, especially one other than water". You may ask, what is the difference between a beverage and a drink? Basically it all comes down to semantics - unlike drink, beverage cannot be a verb. Beverage is a noun. While there are many different classifications of beverages, we found this basic chart an easy reference to determine under which category your favorite type of beverage might fall.... The ancients were fond of many beverages (most often fermented or distilled) that we are unfamiliar with today. Among the more interesting we found: * Falernian Wine - The ancient Romans had access to a lot of great wine. Hailing from Campania in Italy, Falernian was considered one of the finest. According to Pliny the Elder, Falernian was best after aging for fifteen years. Very high in alcohol content, "it is the only one, among all the wines, that take fire on the application of flame," said Pliny. * Pulque - Arguably the most storied alcoholic drink in Mexico's history, it's made by fermenting, not distilling, the sap of the maguey plant (AKA agave). In mythology, the milky white beverage was said to have been invented in a lost divine paradise, although humans probably first started drinking it about 4000 years ago. The Aztecs also used it as a religious stimulant. * Shedeh - A mysterious ancient Egyptian drink whose contents scholars still debate. The term "shedeh" has no translation in modern English, and the only Egyptian text that chronicled how it was made said it was filtered and heated - but the papyrus it was found on was incomplete. Whatever it was, shedeh was apparently a beverage fit for the pharaohs: King Tutankhamun's tomb contained an amphora of the liquor. * Soma - Soma appears in the Rigveda, a series of ancient religious texts from India. Soma was a plant that produced an intoxicating beverage with a hallucinogenic effect, as well as the god who personified both of these. Soma was seen to be a healer and a fertilizing force. In the Rigveda, soma (the drink) was made by squeezing liquid from the plant's stalk, which was combined with milk and water. The resulting beverage might have brought worshippers some pretty interesting visions. * Kykeon - Kykeon was a psychedelic drink hailing from ancient Greece. What exactly went into it is a mystery, but it appears to have contained an unusual mix of barley, cheese, and wine. "Kykeon" might have been a generic word used to describe a potion with magical effects, but it was also often associated with "mysteries," or covert rites for a particular god. The most famous "mysteries" were the secret rites of the goddess Demeter at Eleusis, where participants downed an unknown hallucinogenic beverage to see visions. Scholars now think it might have been kykeon containing moldy grain, which was specially treated to yield psychedelic effects. Our subject line said this was a special day so it seems appropriate - and more than a little serendipitous - that we conclude this brief discussion about beverages with a shout out to the fact that today is WORLD GIN DAY! Always the second Saturday in June, the date moves around a bit, but we can rest assured that there's always Sunday following it to recuperate. So, whether it's in a martini or a gin & tonic or however you most prefer that intoxicating juniper spirit, raise a toast - to the ancients and to your friends! #WorldGinDay #soma #rigveda #romans # wine #beer #booze #spirits #beverages #egypt #mexico #kingtut

Wikipedia defines food as “…any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism. Usually of plant, animal or fungal origin, food contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth. In ancient Rome grains, legumes, vegetables, eggs and cheeses were the basis of the diet, with fruit and honey for sweetness. Meat (mostly pork), and fish were used sparingly, and as the empire expanded beginning in the 3rd century BC, Romans welcomed new flavors – be it pepper from India or lemons from Persia. Roman food could be distinguished by its ingenious use of ingredients to create exciting dishes. A famous ingredient used by the ancient Romans was garum, still a mysterious liquid that can’t be fully replicated today. According to Pliny the Elder, garum was produced from fish intestines fermented with salt and possibly with some other ingredients to create a sort of liquor. The garum could be fermented in different grades. The more flavored and noble in aspect, the better. Garum was such a well-loved ingredient that even poets and writers praised it in their various works. We look forward to reading about what astonishing meals and desserts have caused you to sing their praises in verse in our Food Forum. #food #dessert #meals #rome #plinytheelder #ancient #india #persia #garum

The first known use of the word activity was in the 15th century and derives from the Middle English actyvete or "active life". Now, in the 15th century, people’s extracurricular activities were a bit different than today. The upper classes hunted, crowds would gather to watch knights participate in jousting tournaments with wooden lances, swords or maces and these tournaments would sometimes last for days. In the evenings people would play board games or cards. Webster defines activity as “the quality or state of being active”: “a process that an organism carries on or participates in by virtue of being alive”; specifically : an educational procedure designed to stimulate learning by firsthand experience. Here at AnyHigh.life, we define activity as anything that’s not consumable which sends the endorphins into overdrive and which you can do – legally - in public, either indoors or outdoors. We want to hear what activities really turn you on and while we don’t have a category specifically for jousting, we’re open for anything! #activity #games #indoor #outdoor #exercise #sex

noun plural noun: a) a particular kind of matter with uniform properties b) the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists a which has a tangible, solid presence. c) physical material from which something is made or which has discrete existence. Our favorite description is "c" due to its "discrete existence". What's your favorite substance? Tell us about it in our "Substance" forum and/or it's subcategories. #substance #matter #existence #tangible #tripping

Since the focus of AnyHigh is joy, today we're providing the link to one of the most entertaining and hilarious concepts we've come across in a long time. Some of you may have already seen this or be familiar with "Birds Aren't Real", but even if you have it's worth a second look. More than a million people have become followers of www.birdsarentreal.com - a movement that claims the birds you think you see flying in the sky are actually government surveillance drones. Wonderfully, it's all pure satire. And it's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. We raise a toast to "Birds Aren't Real" founder, Peter McIndoe for his creativity and enthusiasm! Watch the 60 Minutes report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsgnrYog6W0 #birds #birdsarentreal #petermcindoe #funny #humor #satire #60minutes

Even though we're already into spring, this particular date always brings to mind a special poem that's been with us for as long as we can remember. We share it here with you all to celebrate today: Hur-ray, Hur-ray It's the first of May. Outdoor fucking Starts today. Cheers! #birds #bees #may #laborday #sex #nature #poem #poetry #beauty

Better known as W.C. Fields and a character who in so many ways, speaks directly to the idea of decadence as a reward unto itself. Fields was a U.S. comedian, actor, juggler and writer whose comic persona was that of a hard-drinking egotist, who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs and children. In the early 1900s, while touring as a headliner in North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa, he was billed as “the world’s greatest juggler.” He began his film career in silent movies in 1915 and easily made the transition to talkies in 1932. So today we offer to you a couple of quotes from the man who, in the early 20th century, was such a spirited proponent of spirits (the bottled kind) and looked at the world with a witty, sardonic twinkle in his eye! “I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink. That’s the one thing I am indebted to her for.” (From the 1941 film "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break"). “Once, on a trek through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew…and were forced to live on food and water for several days!” (From the 1940 film "My Little Chickadee") "Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite. And furthermore, always carry a small snake." #WCFields #comedy #films #alcohol #gin #drinking #decadence