Set the Setting: October 2025
Meme drop, Catch me IRL at Valley of the Seven Stars (October 10-12), More bass in my face please, A book for perennially disillusioned daters, Photo drop
Meme drop
According to the DEA, these are the common emojis that dealers are using to sell drugs on social media. I… have so many questions. Why is xanax a bus? Is the maple leaf really universal for all drugs?
Anyway, consider this your reminder to test your drugs! Check out DanceSafe’s reagent kits and other safe drug checking supplies. I recommend the complete set of 9 reagents that can test your MDMA, LSD, cocaine and ketamine. As we’re approaching the holiday season, a drug testing kit makes a great gift!
Catch me IRL at Valley of the Seven Stars (October 10-12)
Once again, the MAPS team has been invited to GRiZ’s Cosmic Campout to deliver psychedelic education workshops! We’ll be presenting our signature Psychedelic Coming Out Stories workshop and debuting a new offering around Psychedelic Intention and Integration (built by one of MAPS’ freshest employees, Laura!).
I am such a stan for GRiZ: he’s hot, gay, produces deliciously bass-y vibes, and a huge advocate for MAPS and the work that we do. He’s been on a two year hiatus focusing on his mental health (which I also admire him for) and he’s returning to the scene with a sold out 15,000 person festival.
By giving us the platform to share our knowledge about psychedelics with attendees, he’s really showing how a festival can embody all the magic of a festival; balancing play, community, inclusivity and education.
I’m so delighted to get to take a work trip with Devon, Rudy, Laura, Gina, and our newest volunteer, Jake. Keep an eye out for us! (Also, Ryan, Dallas, Steffi, and Molly - I’ll see you soon!)
More bass in my face, please
Taylor asked if I wanted to fly up to Seattle just to see Rezz at the Tacoma Dome — and fly back to SF — all within 24 hours… I said no. But damn, I’m glad he convinced me to do it! While tripping on acid and getting rocked to these demonic bass vibes, I was laughing because my first concert ever was at the Tacoma Dome, probably around 2001, when Tony and I went to see Britney Spears. My oh my, how my taste in music has changed! All I want is grimy, filthy, disgusting, abusive bass in my face!
So, what’s the deal with my bass infatuation?! Apparently, an EEG study found that bass tones make your brain lock onto rhythm more tightly than higher tones. Your limbic system (emotion + arousal) and motor cortex (movement) are co-activated when the bass drops.
I spent way too many years of my life trying to fit in — those early years of being the nerdy gay kid. But bass music helps me tap into my own power. I feel big when I’m rocking out to bass. I feel like I can take up space. And I can’t get enough.
I even took myself out to see YDG by myself on a Thursday night:
A book for perennially disillusioned daters
MUST READ ALERT! Emily had sent me an advanced copy of her book Dating Disability; each chapter is a story about her dating life. I’m a gay, able-bodied, Asian man and Emily is a straight, White woman with a disability, so I was thinking “am I really going to connect over these stories?” My recommendation made the back cover:
“Emily’s brave storytelling of her intimate dreams, crushes, and heartaches are devastatingly relatable. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry; because you’ve been there too. But it’s so much more than a story. The point of Dating Disability is to help you examine how your own physical and emotional wounds, your visible and invisible traumas, are stored in your body.”
—STEVEN HUANG, perennially disillusioned dater
What was most relatable for me, and I imagine for many other “perennially disillusioned daters,” was reading about how hard Emily/I develop a crush. How often have you built up a story about someone - only to be let down when the fantasy doesn’t materialize into reality? That “story” has happened over and over for Emily and me. But in her book, Emily examines how that story developed for her and how she’s breaking that cycle. I’m so proud of her, so inspired by her. If you consider yourself a perennially disillusioned dater - Dating Disability is for you.
Photo drop
