drugs and control
What I find interesting about Scanner in comparison to other PKD novels is that the agent for the breaking up of identity and alternate realities is a drug. We are presented with a character who is unsure of his identity, unsure of what is objective reality. If you look at PKD's enduring theme it…

ND and empathy
If you laugh AT the characters in ND you lack empathy.

Evan Dando
This is so lame I can't believe it…
In Brisbane in about 1992 (Shame About Ray era) I was in a secondhand record store digging for vinyl. I hear this loud American dude asking if anyone has a guitar to sell. Anyway, I go over to see what's happening…. It's Dando looking for a guitar to smash at the gig later…

There is something about mummies that comforts a man.