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

Buy Gift Card: Click

Free $10 Best Buy Gift Card w/Motorola Talkabout 2-Way Radio Pair ');}else {document.write('');}//-- Entire Site Electronics Cameras & Camcorders Computers Home Appliances Phones & Communications Office Products Music -Album Title -Artist -Song Movies -Title -Person Games Software Resources when you buy the Motorola Talkabout Rechargeable 2-Way Radio Pair below. Follow these steps to get your free $10 Best Buy Gift Card: Click on the "Select" box next to the Motorola Talkabout 12-Mile, Voice-Activated, Rechargeable 2-Way Radio Pair below Click on "Select" box next to the $10 Best Buy Gift Card below Click on the "Add Items to Cart" button at the bottom of the page. Important Note: Both the 2-Way Radio Pair and the $10 Best Buy Gift Card must appear in your Cart together in order to receive the Free Gift Card. Gift Card good on future in-store or online purchases. Savings will be reflected in your Cart when all promotional requirements are met. See full details . About Us News Center Careers For Our Investors Business to Business Community Relations Store Pickup Returns & Exchanges Store Locator Weekly Ad Financing Offers Buy Gift Cards Check Gift Card Balance Best Buy Credit Card Affiliates Program Offer Sign-Up Rebates Warranties Service Plans PC Upgrades Repairs Replacement Parts Software End User License Agreement Car Home Entertainment Satellite Appliances Welcome . Please create an account or Sign in . Your Cart Contains 0 items Subtotal: $0.00 View Cart | Checkout Your Account Best Buy Credit Order Status Wish List Gift Cards Conditions of Use | Legal Policies | Privacy Policy Online prices and selection generally match our retail stores, but may vary. Prices and offers are subject to change. © 2003-2004 Best Buy. All rights reserved. For personal, noncommercial use only.

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Compare Prices and Read Reviews on Creative Gifts Jewelry Boxes at Epinions.com Join Epinions | Help | Sign In All Categories Beauty Books Business & Technology Cars & Motorsports Computer Hardware Education Electronics Games Gourmet Health Home & Garden Hotels & Travel Kids & Family Magazines & Newspapers Movies Music Musical Equipment Online Stores & Services Outdoor Gear Personal Finance Pets Restaurants & Gourmet Software Sporting Goods ---------------------------------- Related Deals Home > Gifts > Jewelry We found 6 results for Creative Gifts Jewelry Boxes Search Results Showing 1-6 of 6 items Hide photos Sort by Name or Rating Sort by Price Compare Creative Gifts Princess Victorian Jewelry Box Model 22021 22021 Jewelry Boxes · Creative Gifts Compare Creative Gifts Beaded Double Jewelry Box Model 22040 22040 Jewelry Boxes · Creative Gifts · Women's · Valentine's Day · Silver Compare Creative Gifts Small Pig Bank Model 23138 23138 Jewelry Boxes · Creative Gifts Compare Creative Gifts Oval Box w/Beaded Border Model 26025 26025 Jewelry Boxes · Creative Gifts Compare Creative Gifts Pig Bank SP Model 23237 23237 Jewelry Boxes · Creative Gifts Compare Creative Gifts Aluminum Eyeglass Case Model 02926 02926 Jewelry Boxes · Creative Gifts Showing 1-6 of 6 items Featured Resources Diamond Jewelry Forbes Favorite Online Jeweler Free FedEx & 30-Day Returns. www.bluenile.com Diamond Necklace Sale 40-80% off Necklaces & Pendants. Quality selection, $2.95 shipping! Overstock.com Diamond Jewelry Shop for fine earrings, pendants, rings & more. Save with us today. www.Diamond.com Netaya Fine Jewelry Fine Diamond, Gemstone, Gold & Silver Jewelry - Up to 80% Off www.netaya.com Designer Engagement Rings 3000 Designs. 60000 GIA Diamonds Wholesale Prices From $1500 www.UnitedDiamonds.com Help | Member Center | Message Boards | Privacy Statement | Site Index About Epinions | Careers | Contact Epinions | Merchant Center | New Merchants | Advertising Epinions | DealTime USA | DealTime UK | PriceTool | Shopping.com © 1999-2005 Epinions, Inc. Trademark Notice Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.