One of the various projects of the Esalen Institute was the Physics Consciousness Research Group, founded to study time travel, ESP, consciousness after death, and other fringe subjects. Various people have made the claim that Physics Consciousness Research Group was the inspiration for the movie Ghostbusters. Jack Sarfatti, one of the founders of the Physics Consciousness Research Group, is a physicist and archetypal “mad scientist” – in fact, he claims to be the inspiration for both from Back to the Future and Egon Spangler from Ghostbusters.
January 29, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Damn! Never seen that particular photo so far. Hot damn they were weirdos!
Digging the Hatch 23. This whole series has been excellent, man.
January 30, 2009 at 3:30 am
I haven’t read this yet, but isn’t that Phil Proctor and the rest of the Firesign Theater? Are you goofing on me, dude?
January 31, 2009 at 12:08 am
Jack Sarfatti’s memoir is worth a look, if anyone here is bored re-reading Cosmic Trigger or such like (it’s in a similar vein, or at least seems so since he, Wilson et al were very much akin). Title isThe Destiny Matrix, available free at his homepage I think.
January 31, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I remember that photo… must’ve seen it in the Whole Earth Review or the Village Voice in the mid70s… googled the Firesign Theatre and, nope it’s not QUITE them… I must’ve assumed so at the time… Attention Must Be Paid!!