SEPTEMBER 28,2 0 1 5 • CLACKAMAS PRINT
5
A
night
at
the
museum
New way to unwind wafts by on Oct. 1, just
don’t bring it to campus
by M att R owning
You’re in college, a d m it It: you’re excit
ed th a t on O ct 1 you’re going to walk into
a dispensary In Portland and purchase
marijuana.
A nd a fter? There’s no need to stay
hom e staring a t th e television like th e
stoners o f yore. You’re a m e tro p o lita n
livin g in A m e rica ’s m o s t progressive
state! Seize th e d a y/n ig h t and make a
hazy memory.
Perhaps you’re thinking to make school
m ore hazy thanks to Measure 91. That
w o u ld be a mistake. Clackamas Com
m unity College has banned th e use o f
marijuana on campus.
Think elsewhere; think back. You recall
your dad telling you once th a t he used to
smoke pot and go to OMSI’s Pink Floyd la
ser light show. And so the journey begins.
I boarded the Orange line to OMSI from
Milwaukie and disem barked a t Tilikum
Crossing. As I approached OMSI I found a
beautiful irony in the massive red smoke
stack over th e Kendall planetarium .
As my p h o to g ra p h e r accom plice and
I claim ed o u r ticke ts and g o t in line, I
checked m y w a tc h and th e p aranoia
kicked in. P h o to g ra p h e r A n d re w said
“ R e m e m b e r th e s e th o u g h ts ; th e y ’ll
m ake fo r a g o o d s to ry.” As he w as
speaking, a m iddle-aged w om an's voice
popped into my head, m uttering “ It ju st
makes him skittish and dilates his pu
pils..." I stared dee p in to th e abyss fo r
a m o m e n t as her voice tu rned to faith. I
d id n ’t understand much, b u t I d id hear
a hellfire and dam nation sermon tell me
He invited us to
“hoot, holler and
dance in our chairs”
to repent o f sin. N othing unusual so far.
I e ntered th e planetarium . The room
was cool and fo g g y and blue. The ceil
ing, p e rfe ctly circular, rings in th e m a
terial. An iris, a pupil. Was this cool blue
room th e eye o f a god?
The MC b roke m y tra in o f th o u g h t
w ith his joyous barito n e . He in vite d us
to “hoot, holler and dance in our chairs”
to th e m usic because silence d u rin g
laser lig h ts “ is ju s t creepy.”
The show began and colors danced. I
d id n ’t know th e firs t th re e songs. They
w ere late Pink Floyd, a fte r tension had
e ro d e d th e ir creativity. Still, th e laser
show was inspired. As “ Keep Talking”
m o rp h e d in to “One Slip," a tim e r a p
p e a re d w ith a “ DISARM” m essage. It
co u n te d d o w n fro m th irty as invisible
h a n d s e n te re d p a s s w o rd s try in g to
a b o rt disaster. The hands fa ile d and
th e exp lo sio n o f lig h t in to “ One Slip”
was fantastic.
“Any C olour You Like” cam e in, th e
first o f th e “ Dark Side o f th e Moon" cuts.
I was ha p p y to see th e laser c h o re o g
ra p h y w as d iffe re n t fro m OMSI’s o ld
“ Dark Side” laser show. I saw Pink Floyd
laser lights tw ic e before th e y sw itched
to “The Vision Bell." The new p u n -fu lly
nam ed show inclu d e d cuts fro m “The
Division Bell," “ Dark S ide,” “A nim als,”
“W ish You W ere Here” and “The W all.”
The lasers c o m p le m e n te d th e m u
sic w ell. “ Have a Cigar” played to th e
cam piness o f seeing laser lig h ts w ith
its g o o fy pig characters. Its m in ia tu re
p lo t sa w a p ig a b d u c te d by an evil
scie n tist and e xp e rim e n te d upon. He
becom es a “S uperpig" (w ith cape and
a ll) a fte r th e e x p e rim e n ta tio n , w h o
th e n escapes fro m th e castle and flies
th ro u g h h o rd e s o f p ig -b a ts a n d p ig
a rtille ry to fre e d o m .
I stayed through th e massive h it from
“The W all,” Pink Floyd’s “A n o th e r Brick
in th e W all (Pt. 2)." Above us, a te rrify
ing teacher b eat a child w ith a paddle.
As I le ft m y seat to catch m y tra in , an
o ld m an scream ed a t m e: “ H ow can
you have any p u d d in g if you d o n ’t eat
your meat! Stand still laddie!" I h u rie d -
ley exited th e do m e escaping fro m his
beckoning and em erged outside.
A fte r Oct. 1, yo u ’re p ro b a b ly g o in g
to in d u lg e in a green way. It’s legal so
you m ig h t as w e ll enjoy it.
D o n ’t b rin g it to sch o o l, i t ’ll b e a
dow ner. Find som ething awesom e and
make a m em ory in a positive way. OMSI
laser lights are a g re a t a ctivity fo r th e
psychedelic m inded.
photo by Andrew Koczian
9 9 9 1
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