birthday present." He wouldn't

My Best Birthday Present - Timothy Leary My Best Birthday Present I haven't celebratedmy birthday in decades. Sure, when you're a kid it's exciting to add ayear to your age, have your parents gather your friends, blow out the candles,and get presents, but today I turn 49 and the last thing on earth I feellike doing is celebrating, much less blowing out a fire. Nothing very specialabout November 10th other than it is the day that Stanley found Livingston.Okay, I wouldn't mind a present or two, but that's more a matter of actuallyneeding stuff than thinking I deserve any sort of reward just for havingsurvived another year. I've always felt it was a wee bit egomaniacal tothrow yourself a big birthday party. Nothing wrong with celebrating others,but when it comes to celebrating yourself, it shouldn't be in public. Fifteen years ago todayit was also my birthday and, as normal, I was doing what I always do, whatI still do, what I'm doing right now, writing at my computer, with absolutelyno plans for the day. When you don't have a plan, there's nothing to deviatefrom. You can do whatever you want without fear of failure because howcan you fail when you don't have any goal in mind? Whatever happens, happens,and it's good or bad on its own terms. The higher you get your hopes up,the further you have to fall, so I never count on anything. If somethingbad happens, too bad. If something good happens, it's a gift. There was a knock atthe door. I opened it and there was Timothy Leary who said "Hi, I'm yourbirthday present." He wouldn't explain how or why this came to be, or whoin particular was bestowing him upon me. He was simply there, and he wouldhang out for at least an hour. All he would tell me was that he was toldI was someone he should meet. Whenever you meet someonefamous in a personal situation, it's hard to know how to behave, particularlyif they're enormous media stars. After all, you've spent hours gazing atthem, thinking about them, perhaps days or weeks staring at their image.Imagine the hundreds of hours you've spent with certain stars broadcastregularly into your living room. They feel like a friend, like you actuallyknow them. They're not and you don't, but it's a hard feeling to shakewhen they're standing right in front of you, coming into your house, sittingon your sofa, checking the place out while waiting for you to bring thema drink. No matter how many memories you have of them, they have none ofyou. To them, you are a total stranger. Treat them like a fan would andyou risk becoming part of their teeming crowd of lookie loos. Treat themlike you don't know who they are and they could get insulted. No way tomake a friend. Friendships deserve an even playing field, so it's hardto think of yourself as the friend of a celebrity until they know as muchabout you as you know about them. Which is why celebrities are SO interestedwhen you interrupt them somewhere in public and tell them about your uncleSid's gall bladder operation. I wanted to be friendswith Timothy Leary so he had a hell of a lot of catching up to do becausehe knew nothing about me and I knew a lot about him, or at least I thoughtI did. I shifted into show-and-tell mode, whipping out a book of Polaroidsfor him to peruse. He enjoyed my madness immensely and I proceeded to tellhim something I'm sure he heard a million times. My life was profoundlychanged by his research into psychedelia, combined with reading Tom Wolfe's"The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," the Beatles, and meeting a guy namedMario in 1970 who claimed to be the husband of the actual Alice that ArloGuthrie sang about but who supported his acting habit by selling acid atLee Strasberg's studio where I happened to be studying at the time. But I digress. Thefirst and foremost influence that Timothy Leary had upon me was my art,which simply didn't exist. Before my first acid trip, I wasn't an artist.I had never played guitar, had certainly never created any impressionism,and hadn't written a single word other than school assignments. Maybe Iwould have discovered these talents on my own, but if my Polaroids remindyou of acid flashbacks, welcome to the club. On acid, what I do to my Polaroids,you can do to reality. Move it around a little. Make big things look small,small things look big, marvel at the infinite depths you're capable ofperceiving, as though reality were a 3D comic book and for the first timeyou were looking at it with the red-and-blue glasses. Pre-acid, I was onlyinterested in being an actor, moving to New York to study with Lee Strasberg,and getting in a Broadway play. On acid, I actually attempted to give aperformance from Spoon River Anthology in front of the man himself, a performancehe declared "interesting," a performance that convinced me that actingwas a very strange profession. While personally communicating with theinfinite miracles of the universe, I had a very hard time convincing myselfthat the most important thing I could be doing was pretending to be a fictionalcharacter while reciting dialogue written by a writer I'd never met. Post-acidI walked home from the Village to my boarding house at 39th and Park, pickedup my roommate's guitar and started playing. It wasn't long before I wasa better guitar player than actor, and I ended up composing music for severaloff-Broadway shows. Way off Broadway. The Company Theater at La Cienegaand Pico in Los Angeles to be precise. Other acid trips wereless eventful and I stopped taking it, but not before playing with my firstSX-70 Polaroid camera and discovering I didn't need acid to change realityto my own specifications. We talked and talked.He wasn't a drug addled guru and I wasn't an acid burnout. He was extremelyintelligent. My vision of Leary had been fogged by his media image, andI had forgotten that he was a Harvard professor. Luckily, some others forgottoo and that's how he escaped from prison. The most amazing story he toldme was this one... When he was bustedby the Feds for possession of one single joint of pot and sentenced to20 years in a Federal penitentiary, the prison officials did what theyalways did with new prisoners, they gave him a psychological test to determinewhether he would go to a minimum or maximum security prison. He passedthe test with flying colors and was sent to minimum security where he promptlyescaped. What the officials didn't know was that Leary himself wrote thepsychological test for the Federal prison system when still at Harvard,so he knew exactly what answers to give. After a couple hours,my birthday present had to leave, but in his new life as Hollywood gadflyI kept running into him over the years at video shows and art galleries.I'm glad he lived long enough to experience the Internet, and if you haven'tseen his site, it's still up at http://leary.com/ and well worth a peek. Excuse me, there'sthe door. Emulsional Problems

College Gift

Somerville College - Gift aid and deed of covenant for UK Tax Payers Somerville College Skip to Content The College | Prospective Students | Current Students | Former Students | Conferences | Notices | Contacts Home | Alumni and Friends Events | Degree Day | The Association of Senior Members | Missing Members | Development | Contact Us | Site Map Gift aid and deed of covenant for UK Tax Payers Deeds of Covenant have been superseded by the new Gift Aid scheme. However, if you have a covenanted gift to the College which was set up before 6 April 2000, you need take no action. Your donation will continue as before and will be tax effective under the Gift Aid scheme until the deed expires. If you set up a deed of covenant on or after the 6 April 2000, you will need to make a Gift Aid declaration to ensure that your gifts remain tax effective. Gift Aid is a scheme by which you can give a sum of money to charity and the charity can reclaim from the Inland Revenue the basic rate tax (currently 22%) on your gift, at no extra cost to you. That increases the value of the gift you make to the charity. Under current regulations for example, if you give £10 using Gift Aid, your gift would be worth £12.82 to Somerville. If you are a higher rate tax payer, you can claim relief on the difference between the basic rate and higher rate of tax on your annual tax return. Please note:You must pay at least as much tax as Somerville will reclaim on your gift(s) in the tax year in which you make them (tax credits on dividend income will count towards the tax paid). The tax year runs from 6 April in one year to 5 April in the next. If you have any queries about Gift Aid, please speak to the Development Office. You can make payments by cash, cheque, postal order, direct debit, standing order, debit or credit card or even in a foreign currency (including the euro). Subject to a few rules, you can give any amount, large or small, regular or one-off, and Somerville can reclaim the tax. In order for Somerville to claim Gift Aid on your gift, you need to make a declaration confirming that you want your gifts to be treated as Gift Aid donation. Please click here to access a Gift Aid declaration form or contact the Development Office. Accessibility Statement © Somerville College 2003. Last Modified: 2:27pm on the 28th of January 2005

Gift Ideas, Unique Baby

Baby Gift: Baby Gift Ideas, Baby Shower Gifts, Gifts For Baby, Baby Shower Favors, Baby Gift Baskets, Baby Gifts Personalized, Baby Shower Gift Ideas, Unique Baby Gifts, Baby Names, Baby Showers Area Rugs Baby Shower Goods Birth Announcements Blankets Clothing/Layette Dcor Diaper Cakes Family Gifts First Birthday Gift Baskets/Sets Gift Certificates Holiday Jewelry Multiples Noah's Ark Personalized Play Religious/Christening Silver/Pewter affiliate program store policies testimonials gift wrapping gift certificates specials & discounts wholesale/drop-shipping links & resources Gifts for Baby, Easy for You! BabyGiftIdea.com offers personalized and unique baby gifts and baby shower party goods to commemorate the special new baby in your life. Simply choose your unique baby gifts, and we will add a free baby gift card, package the gifts with care, and send them anywhere, without a receipt in the gift box! Little Princess Gift Basket Welcome the regal little one in style. "Your highness" will love the many unique and coordinating "Little Princess" themed gifts presented in this dazzling new basket. SAME DAY SHIPPING if ordered by 12pm eastern time. $84.50 each click for details Personalized Ornament These charming 6" ornaments come in 3 styles and are personalized and hand-finished with your child's name. The artwork is heat-sealed into each tile, ensuring a high quality finish. This adorable item takes 2-3 weeks to make, so order early! $31.95 each click for details space Personalized Baby Blankets Choose from 19 unique designs. Personalization included in the price. Satisfaction guaranteed. $44.50 each click for styles Site map space 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Baby Gift Idea Home page and border designs: Roger Hsiao Illustrations: Pam McNay

Groomsmen Gift Ideas Needed

Groomsmen Gift Ideas Needed - Topic Powered by Groupee Community choose a quick link ----------------- accessories bouquets bridesmaid dresses budget cakes ceremony dresses favors flowers food guest lists hairstyles honeymoons invitations jewelry makeup message boards music photos real weddings receptions registry veils wedding dresses Message Boards Registry & Gifts Groomsmen Gift Ideas Needed Go Post Search Notify Tools Reply Admin New PM! My Space » Member Directory Message Boards » Profile Buddies Groups Permissions Private Messaging Notifications Karma Preferences Favorites More... Discussion Poll Private Message Photo Album Keyword Search Search current forum only Advanced Search New Since your Last Visit Today's Active Topics in this Category Add to My Favorites Printer Friendly Format Email a Friend Help Manage Topic Manage Content in This Topic Manage Members Online Now Control Panel Rate It! Login/Join Welcome, [ Logout ] ericthered Posted Aug 17, 2005 11:17 PM Okay, major dilema time. Getting married on 08/26 and I'm in need of some groomsmen gifts for six guys, ranging in age from 23 through 35. Two play golf, two don't drink, two don't live at their own place... So it rules out the golf stuff, flasks & mugs, or personalized art. Aside from that, it's getting late in the game and I'm still lost for ideas. I'm looking to spend $35-50 on each, and have already looked around for decent tickets to sporting events they'd all enjoy, as well as some of the more normal stuff out there. Trouble is, I want something decent and unique, without being useless for them. Any suggestions out there? Posts: 1 | Registered: Aug 17, 2005 conehead's bride Posted Aug 18, 2005 07:55 PM Ther e are some really nice things on this site. I hope it helps. Blue Nile Posts: 117 | Location: Finger Lakes, NY | Registered: Aug 15, 2005 rebeccak Posted Aug 18, 2005 09:16 PM they dont all have to get the same thing. there is plenty of golf stuff for the 2 that play, maybe the ones that are still at home would like the flasks, what about cufflinks? i am getting one of ours silver plated dominoes. have you tried looking at jean m Posts: 153 | Location: Baton Rouge | Registered: Mar 02, 2005 Megswinterwedding Posted Aug 19, 2005 12:22 AM We are getting the groomsmen really nice pocket knives. They have a pearl handle, and I think they are made by Buck. Posts: 30 | Location: Arkansas | Registered: Jul 23, 2005 Angela P Posted Aug 20, 2005 07:45 PM Key chains with their initials engraved on them would be useful for everyone. Maybe you could put the keychain in a men's trinket box or men's valet that could be engraved (you could check out Things Remembered). I found a nice men's keepsake box for $26 at weddingchannel.com. How about a sports picture, you know like a picture of their favorite football, baseball, or basketball player or team. Even the guys who don't have their own place might like it (I'm assuming they have their own room). Those are easy to find, you can even get them at the mall and they fit within your budget. All guys I know like sports memorabilia. Don't stress too much. I'm sure whatever you decide on will be wonderful. Guys usually aren't too picky anyway (but they sure are hard to shop for). Have a wonderful wedding! Posts: 6 | Registered: Aug 20, 2005 JalynnC Posted Aug 20, 2005 08:04 PM money clips and cuff links could be an idea too and they sometimes can be ingraved. [ Posts: 36 | Location: Peoria, Illinois | Registered: Jul 26, 2005 lady_megs Posted Aug 26, 2005 05:17 PM Like megswinterwedding said, you can't go wrong with pocketknives. At the store where I bought my dress, I saw silver plated computer mice that you could get engraved with their initials, which is cool if any of them are into computers or gaming. I mentioned it to FH and he said that they would be thrown on the scrap heap if they weren't optical (picky silly techies...) but it's worth the suggestion. Posts: 534 | Registered: Dec 11, 2004 Previous Topic | Next Topic powered by groupee community Please Wait. Your request is being processed... 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