Bob Hope Stories

Once when he was a little boy in England, Leslie Hope (He later renamed himself Bob after a race car driver he idolized) wanted to pick an apple off a tree. Symbolic of his career, he didn't want just any apple but the highest one possible. He lost his balance, fell and permanently changed the shape of his nose.

His big break in Hollywood was getting the part Jack Benny turned down in the Paramount film "The Big Broadcast Of 1938". The director Mitchell Leisen could not stand the star of the film, the ornery WC Fields, who would run off the movie set and come back too soused to do the required scenes, flub his lines and scream for his lawyer. Liesen found Hope much more cooperative, although he was a nervous ham in front of the camera. Desperate to be a more traditional leading man like Fred Macmurray, Hope begged Paramount to pay for a nose job but they refused. It was in this film he got to sing "Thanks For The Memories" which along with his ski nose became Hope's trademarks.

house designs

The Warner Brothers Make Noise

Hollywood was an attractive place for the early filmmakers to settle, full of good weather, orange and lemon trees. For producers who owed money on borrowed camera equipment if a creditor came after them, they could hide among the trees. It was a hard business full of casualties and took a pirate's mentality to survive. Most of the studio heads were from poor backgrounds, with limited English skills and never forgot their childhood or a personal slight. Included were Jack, Harry, Albert and Sam, the four Warner Brothers from Youngstown, Ohio. They had begun with showing movies off the side of a tent in Youngstown, borrowing all the chairs from the local undertaker. Every time there was a funeral in Youngstown, they had to give all the chairs back and the film patrons were forced to stand.

As a boy Jack Warner wished to be a singer and a comedian. His brothers, recognizing his lack of talent instructed him to sing in the tent when they wanted the audience to leave. He was later advised that the money was not in performing, it was in paying performers. Among the stars that would be under contract to him would be Betty Davis, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn.

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Masters Of Disguise

Gene Hackman once lamented that the worst thing about becoming a famous actor is that you lose the ability to observe people without being noticed yourself. But some performers are so good at disguises that notoriety is no obstacle. A case in point was John Barrymore trying to buy his first house in Beverly Hills in 1926. Frustrated by rising real estate prices due to stars like Tom Mix and Charlie Chaplin moving into the neighborhood, Barrymore went to look at a lot dressed as his most famous movie role, Mr. Hyde. The realtor was taken aback by the long haired, wild eyed, fiendish looking man who got out of the limo. Every time the broker would suggest a price he was met by an intimidating growl. Finally he made the sale by lopping twenty thousand dollars off the initial number.

Barrymore's penchant for disguises did not end with his home purchase. The actor was often arrested and locked up for vagrancy, specifically being drunk and going through his rich neighbor's trash cans to find scraps for his pet buzzard. His experiences were put to good use when he showed up to a costume party put on by Marion Davies dressed as a bum. Unfortunately, his outfit was so authentic he was turned away.

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Tales Of Hollywood And Politics

Arnold Schwarzenegger's surprise announcement that he was seeking the California Governorship brought to mind the many times Hollywood figures have been involved in politics. Here are some related anecdotes:

When actors first came to Hollywood there were signs put up in front of hotels and apartments that said no dogs or actors allowed, with the performers ruefully complaining about not getting top billing. The insecurity of the profession has come through in political campaigns. When Ronald Reagan successfully ran for Governor of California in 1966 one of the fruitless tactics used by his opposition was a television commercial featuring Gene Kelley stating," In films I played a gambler, a baseball player and I could play a Governor but you wouldn't really want an actor to really be a Governor would you?"

Ronald Reagan at one time was such a Liberal Democrat he drove friends to distraction with his views. One day in the thirties he was driving a friend home from work, yammering on about President Roosevelt's New Deal policies. Reagan who was near sighted and an erratic driver at best, seemed oblivious to road conditions. "Ronnie, watch out for that truck!" the friend yelled. Missing an accident by a hair, Reagan continued," Truck drivers, that's who the New Deal will help!"

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Pretty Women Have Stayed At The Beverly Wilshire

Since it was built in 1929, The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel has attracted rich and famous guests from around the world. To the general public the hotel is most famous for being used in the 1990 movie Pretty Woman. They have disappointed thousands of people by turning down requests from around the world who would like to stay in the same suite that Julia Roberts and Richard Gere had in the movie because it does not exist, it was filmed at the Walt Disney studio.

Julia Robert's character in the film was not the only pretty woman who stayed there. In the 60's the hotel became a swinging hangout for Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, with parades of women going in and out of their rooms. A little old lady who stayed beneath Beatty constantly banged her ceiling with her broom, to try and get him and his lady friends to stop making so much noise.

Not everyone was having fun in the hotel. Michael Caine spent his honeymoon there with his beautiful wife Shakira. Caine was and is a favorite of the staff. In honor of Shakira they decided to give them the authentic Indian honeymoon suite. In India, the honeymoon beds hang from the ceiling with bells hanging from the bottom. The neighbors like to hear the bells go off for the happy couple, but in this case Shakira was already pregnant and Caine was jetlagged. All they wanted was to get some sleep but they couldn't do it because of the blankety blank bells! The English actor ended up ordering four hamburgers from room service and stuffed the buns into the bells so that they could get through the night!

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Hollywood's Fascination with the Comic Book Superhero

Movie production companies and TV have been creating feature length movies, movie
serials and TV shows for years exploiting the public fascination with Superheroes. But as
special effect technology and costume designs became better and better, Hollywood
kicked it up a notch with feature-length high budget productions. Superman, the Movie
and the 3 sequels started in the 1970s and the '90s and beyond brought us Batman, The
Hulk, the X-Men and the now infamous Spider-Man, to name a few.

Why all this interest in producing Superhero movies? Big bucks!! The two Spider-Man
movies alone have netted about 800 million dollars apiece in worldwide ticket sales.
That's not chicken feed. This kind of income could not be generated without an avid
public interest in Superheroes. So if you feel you are alone in your voracious passion for
your own comic book collection, think again.

And now a new twist has been added. Directors, screenplay writers, and even actors are
writing for, of all things, comic books now. Big name Hollywood writers are helping to
sell more comics. For example, Joss Whedon, perhaps best known for creating Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, has written stories for Marvel in the series Astonishing X-Men. Back in
the 90s, who would have known that all these fan boys had been hiding in the Hollywood
woodworks waiting for comics to gain some cultural credibility?

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How Did the Comic Book Get Its Start?

The origins of the comic book are somewhat controversial and perhaps the jury is still
out. So lets go back to the cartoonish broadsheets of the Middle Ages, which were
parchment products, created by anonymous woodcutters. As mass circulation of these
broadsheets became possible, they soon developed a market, particularly at public
executions, popular events for centuries (ugh), which drew thousands of happy
spectators. Many of these spectators would invest in an artist's rendering of a hanging or
burning, and thus making a very lucky day for the broadsheet seller.

The broadsheet evolved into higher-level content as humor was introduced. Eventually,
all types of broadsheets emerged, which were eventually bound in collections, the
prototype of the modern magazine. Magazines formatted like the popular Punch, an
elegant British creation, became the primary focus of documentary accounts of news and
events, fiction and humor. One can see in Punch, the sophisticated evolution of a comic
style, particularly in respect of the evolution of comics in Great Britain. Still and all, from
an historical standpoint, the comic strip stood in the alley, waiting to be born. And then
some say Great Britain's Ally Sloper's "Half Alley" was the first comic book. This was a
black and white tabloid that had panels of cartoons mixed with a sliver of news; circa
1884.

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A Word on Comic Book Pricing

The going worth of individual comic books can range all over the board. Some issues
have been know to bring in monetary value of six figures, while other issues aren't even
worth the price you paid for them. Action Comics #1 (the introduction of Superman) in
mint condition has been quoted at being worth $650,000. A pretty tidy piece of change.
Then Weird Science, issue #13, in near mint condition can command a respectable price
tag of $5,750. There are also multitudes of back issues purchased at a newsstand price of
around 5 bucks, that are now worth even less than that.

So how does one go about determining the actual value of their individual collections?
This is not an easy task or one to be taken lightly. Comic book worth is a highly
perceived value and will vary quite greatly, depending on which opinion you choose to
follow. By all means, if there is a reputable comic book dealer in your local area that you
are comfortable dealing with, get his or her opinion. But in all my research so far, it
seems that "The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide" is the bible of most active comic
book collectors.

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The Great Career Switch

"Hello. Is the doctor in?"

"I'll be with you as soon as I finish filling in these forms."

"But I really need to see a doctor."

"There, now what can I do fo - EEEEEK! You...you....you're a grizzly bear."

"Yes, ma'am. Can I see the doctor, please?

"Wh...why would you want to see the doctor? He doesn't usually see grizzly bears, you know."

"Some movie actor thought he'd be a real smarty and kiss me."

"Oh, oh, I saw that on TV. That was Brad Pitt. You're the Brad Pitt Bear."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

"Ooooh, you lucky bear. How did it feel?"

"Look, miss. This actor comes up and slops one on me. Now I have icky human germs. It's given me a rash. How would you like it if Brad Pitt just walked up to you and kissed you?"

"Ooooh."

"And to add insult to injury, he recorded it on national television. How would you like that?"

"Ooooh."

"And instead of giving me antibiotics, Jennifer Aniston starts pawing me."

"Ooooh."

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Jungle Treachery in Satipo (Alevosia en la Selva de Satipo)( Now in Spanish and English- 2/2008))

Note: a true story about an old man and his ongoing struggle with the invaders of his land in the jungle of Satipo!...

Jungle Treachery in Satipo

The old man had fifty acres in the Satipo jungles of Peru that was in 1985, when he came across invaders, squatters on his property. It wasn't long before they started building structures on his land and assuming it to be their own-out of human greed-thus, they felt it was theirs for the taking (which is not uncommon in Peru).

The old man tried aimlessly with his brother, to talk the invaders out of their quest to take over his land, for the government was of little use, or for that matter, protection. If anything, they were for hire at a lesser amount than the value of the land, and thus, could be bought to look the other way for a few dollars. But old man Augusto with his machete met the invaders eyeball to eyeball, shoulder to shoulder, and started a war that cleaned his land of the invading cockroaches, as he called them.

-But it is not always as it seems, is it? for it was not long after, when more invaders appeared, but this time with more gusto, and more perseverance, and more solitude with their fellow invaders to steal the land from the old man. And this time the law of the jungle-the machete-would be of little use.

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Home Improvement: To Build Your Very Own Comfort Zone

Home is your sanctuary. The place you go back to every night and somehow it doesn't seem right. Your home is an expression of who you are and if you walk out each of a place that you does not seem to belong to you then probably your home needs improvement. You are probably guessing how you are going to make the payments for your home improvement. Your home remodeling plans are no longer to be restricted to the thought stages. Let them see the light of day. Home improvement loans will provide you with a dependable groundwork to build on the home you have a vision of.

Home improvement is predominantly triggered by the desire to own a comfortable home. Home improvement can be slightly difficult, if your financial position is tight. This is where home improvement loans have a function to perform. Being a homeowner you could not have been in a better position to apply for a home improvement loan. Home improvement loans are functional for any kind of improvement or home extension. Home improvement loan is available for double glazing, new conservatory, heating system, new kitchen, rewiring and plumbing or any home remodeling that you can think of. The cost of home improvements is generally paid by savings or revolving credits like credit or store cards. Credit cards imply no borrowing. In many ways it is idyllic for there are no repayments to be made. But credit cards can be an expensive option especially if the borrowing extends beyond the credit limit. Store card interest rates are as high as 30%. In every circumstance a personal loan for home improvement is a more disciplined and cheaper option.

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For The Mentally Disadvantaged

To qualify for this program a person has to have an IQ of 70 or below.
This program gives cuts to employers that hire the handicapped. This program also exempts employers from having to pay minimum wage.

People from this program and welfare forced work reform programs, along with waitresses are all exempt from employers being required to pay them minimum wage.

The minimum wage law is a law that states it is for all people regardless of age, race, nationality, or handicap.
The minimum wage law is broken.
The mentally handicapped and forced labor programs pay sixty cents a hour or sixty dollars a month.

These programs are slave labor programs that exploit our mentally handicapped and socially disadvantaged citizens. America should be above slave labor programs.

There should be programs for the mentally handicapped, and socially disadvantaged, but it should be in areas of art, and computers I have seen those with learning disabilities learn quickly to use a computer, more quickly and sometimes better than a well educated person that has no disability.

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Part 1 of 5 - How "Pipe Dreams" Can Become Realities!

Take a look at yourself - inside and out. Where do you live what job do you have, how do you relate to your friends and family? What interests do you pursue, what adventures do you have?

What do you truly want from life? Do you want wealth and success, happiness and peace of mind? Do you want a family and a yard, a yacht or a sports car? Where are you going? Do you have a particular goal or are you just wandering through life?

You can accomplish anything you want in life - that's true. Once you have a particular goal, you can fulfill that desire by straightforward commitment and total conviction.

But what if you don't know what you want? Maybe your goals are small ones - like losing some weight, or buying a new car. Maybe getting a promotion of finding a mate. Whether you want a bigger apartment or want to be a corporation president, any avenue of prosperity and achievement is open to you if it is truly what you want.

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Part 2 of 5 - How "Pipe Dreams" Can Become Realities!

CATCH UP WITH YOURSELF

Now's the time to evaluate your life and your desires. Go ahead and test yourself - nobody's looking. Try to find out what your inner desires really are. Once you know, you can formulate a plan of action, and then achieve your goals.

Right now, write down three things you want. Don't spend time thinking about them - just write them down. You may be surprised at what you want. Can you see any relation to the types of desires most sought for?

What accomplishment are you most proud of? What make you happy enough to be content, to feel totally relaxed, and to slide back with a smile on your face.

Without dwelling on failures, mistakes, or past ill feelings, quickly list the important accomplishments or your life. Think about the places you went to, the relationships you encountered, the education you received. Consider your job changes and positions, and the achievements related to work.

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Better Business Bureau; Is it worth another look

Better Business Bureau Fraudulent Sales Practices

Have any other small businesses had a problem with the BBB and there sales practices? We have for quite some time. Our franchisees, (our company is a mobile car wash franchise company) are required to join the local Chambers of Commerce as part of their franchise when one exists in their exclusive territory. But as soon as they do the BBB calls up and says;

"We have been getting a lot of calls about your service, but we did not know what to tell those customers who inquired about you with The BBB?" Then the pitch goes on...for about $300 plus dollars you will receive....

Our franchisees join the chamber prior to the commencement of their business while their mobile car wash service trucks are being built to get to know the communities they will be serving. Inver ably they will get the call from the BBB from the new member directory from the chamber of commerce before any advertising goes out, so in fact no one had ever called the BBB at all. This has happened to our franchisees in Carson City, NV; Palm Desert, CA; Agoura Hills, CA; Camarillo, CA; Sacramento, CA and Houston, TX. I realize that this is "telemarketing fraud" and I am concerned. I am told that many of the 128 BBBs across the country pay their salespeople either all or part commission. So perhaps this is an individual problem, yet their sales people have done this. I personally have had it happen five times to me as the franchisees signed up at the Chamber of Commerce in various cities and they did not have phones yet, so they called me at Corporate.

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A Haven for Creative Artists - The Greenbrier Valley in West Virginia Has a Creative Mind of Its Own

People often pride themselves in having "minds of their own"; but what about places? A good character study can enthrall, mesmerize -- a strong portrayal of personality can stun, captivate, intrigue. But who says the main character must be a person? Why not let a bustling city, yarn-spinning town or lazy locale take center stage -- play the protagonist, and even tell a success story?

The Greenbrier Valley in southeastern West Virginia, home to old-time mountaineers, middle-class business folks, lawyers, academicians, and people of rather high net worth in search of some peace and quiet in the pure mountain air -- is a place of simple, rare beauty with much to tell. For this reason, it is also a haven for creative artists. Writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, and makers of crafts from the U.S. as well as abroad come to experience the poignancy, joy, laughter and sorrow reflected in the local folklore, mountain music, and breathtaking colors of hazy sunrise and brilliant sunset mixed with the vibrant hues of the countryside terrain.

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For Entertainment Sake

My father and paternal uncle were living together at our village when I was studying in my elementary class. There were few children in our family. Since it was a small village, there was no entertainment for us other than playing some indoor games. No television or video games were there at that time. The only entertainment for us was to go for a movie occasionally.

Unfortunately there was no theatre in our village. We had to go to a neighbouring village, which is three kilometers away from our village. Going for a movie for us was not as easy as everybody thinks. After much persuasion our parents used to give their consent so reluctantly, as they knew that it would involve a marathon effort by them. So even after agreeing to take us to the movie, they always would look for some flimsy grounds to cancel the programme by showing our minor injuries, which happened while we play, or possibility of rain on that particular day. Since there was no bus facility available to the neighbouring village, they had to depend on roofed bullock cart (in tamil it is called 'Koondu Vandi'), which was the cheap mode of transport available at that time.

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Monitoring Your Fitness Progress - Don't Guess - Measure!

Mass Gaining program is incomplete without the timely measurements to monitor Your Progress. The only way to know if your mass or fat loss program is successful is by monitoring your measurements, weight and body fat levels.

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'One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.' - Admiral Grace Hopper, U.S. Navy

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Depending on the program, I recommend that everyone take their body fat levels every 1-2 weeks.

There's a lot that these readings reveal to a trained eye! For example, I was recently on a fat loss diet, and I did not lose any weight for three weeks. At first I thought that I needed to drop my calories further because the current levels were not working for me. I did not want to do this because as a hard-gainer, dropping my calories too low can result in too much muscle loss. So, before I committed to a more drastic diet, I checked my body fat records.

Was I in for a shock! According to my body fat calculations I was actually getting leaner. Even though my weight did not change during that three-week period, my body fat levels went down 3%! Since I did not lose any weight during that time, the fat must have been replaced by muscle (an added benefit, but this does not happen most of the time). I would have never known this by simply looking in the mirror.

Another example is last year when I was on a mass cycle. I was eating a tremendous amount of calories and gaining weight like crazy. I stopped the diet once I began to notice that my fat gains were larger than my muscle gains. I would never have noticed this if I had not closely monitored my body fat levels.

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The Confines of Toilets in Modern Art

Toilets in Modern Art

Travelers tend to frequently take the cleanliness of toilets as indicative of how civilised a country might
be. Modern artists pretty much do the same thing. Defining a "threshold of civilization" by means of a
toilet pot is however by no means simple. Neither is it likely to lead to a conclusive, once and for all
outcome. On the contrary. When we are faced with a toilet pot as the focal point for debate, arguments
rich of historic content will likely emerge that we realise we've digested somehow only as and when we
enter into it.

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http://eleaseit.com/

For a lot of people the last time they wanted a magician at their party was when they were 8 years old but magicians don't just work for children. Adults have always been a great audience for magic because they have defined critical thinking. They "know" it isn't "real magic" but if the performer does his job right he can bring about the childlike state of wonder in an adult. A good magician can bring you right back to experience the fuzzy feeling you had as a kid when your grandfather pulled a coin out of your ear.

There are 3 styles of magic that are most often hired for events where adults are in the majority.

Close-up magic (the most popular choice for people hiring magicians)

Cabaret shows

Drawing room shows

Close-up magic is often seen at cocktail parties where the magician mingles amongst the guests performing miracles with borrowed objects and simple objects he has on him. He works without a table and uses people hands when he needs to. This is an excellent choice if all the guests will be standing with drinks and eating finger food.

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PC Migration

When you buy a new computer you would want your new pc to behave very much like the older one. It is then, you would attempt to backup all your files & data and would typically reset the new Pc by manually migrating settings and applications. At certain moments this process is painstaking especially for large corporate users and system administrators. Even an average home user would feel very tedious and be alarmed at the enormous technical process.

Above all, the basic necessity of pc migration is always felt and you have to ensure that all the data in the old PC is brought over to the new one. Because over period of time, you would have installed many applications; customized settings like Outlook Express and many such favorites added in your old pc. Bringing in all the stuff to the brand new Pc is time consuming.

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Art Gallery Openings - A Young Artist's Colorful First Time Experience

The first time visit to an Art Gallery Opening can be an eye widener for anyone, as this experience of a young artist and newcomer to New York reveals:

The event was a combination exhibition opening and birthday celebration for the Lambert Art Gallery, which, a few years earlier, in a moment of exuberance and elation at its own prosperity, had given birth to the smaller, fledgling downtown dealership, the Eye Span Space, where, incidentally, Celia had planned to apply for a job. Having taken the bus up Avenue of the Americas to Fifty-Seventh Street, she steadily clicked her way east in semi-high heels, gradually losing awareness of her resounding progress. As she approached the large, dark, marbled arcade entranceway, she stopped for a few moments to watch the steady stream of well-attired people en route to and from various events being hosted within the tall, shadowed and foreboding expanse of building which confronted her. Taking a step backward, she shivered slightly, bracing herself as though against a sudden, chill breeze. Then, gathering her courage about her as a shawl, she walked ahead to join the easy flow of people now entering this awesome mass of architecture.

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Mayans, Meteors, Magnetics and More

Let us discuss the issues of the Ancient Mayan Culture and Society and their obvious advancements over other Indian Civilizations of the period throughout the globe at that time. The city of Tenochtitlán in the Yucatan Peninsula was geographically near the location of a Meteor strike over 100 million years the prior. Now then here is a thought on this subject. When a meteor hits the Earth it spews out Earth out of the crater it forms it breaks into pieces. It has a special electromagnetic signature. This signature would be equal to the energy coming from its origin and the time which it departed along with variations and changes recorded into that signature during it's travel. In other words it would record information in the variations of solar systems and universes during its journey, which could have been millions or billions of years.

This electromagnetic signature combines with the metals, alloys or iron nearby the point of impact. This electromagnetic signature would of course interact with the human brain waves of nearby animals and or people. Thus change the evolutionary process in some way. It may have set the human brains in those Indians on a higher level of consciousness.

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Of Madmen and Geniuses, the Magic of Light

"Lighting affects everything light falls upon. How you see what you see, how you feel
about it, and how you hear what you are hearing. Replace the 'a' with an 'e' and you get lighting effects!"-Jean Rosenthal

While the world celebrated choreographer George Balanchine's 2004 Centennial, the diminutive woman who had illuminated his work for over 20 years remained an ethereal whisper in the wings. Jean Rosenthal lit the American stage with the genius of her craft and the magic of her art. A futurist and innovator, she was my eldest cousin and mentor.

After three years at Yale University School of Drama, Jeannie was about to make history. During the mid-1930s, her apprentice years with John Houseman, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater, the title 'Lighting Designer' did not exist until she invented it

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Drowning in a Pool of Shadows - Mescaline Take One

Mescaline is something I only did a few times. I imagine I only did it a few times because it was so hard to come by. For those of you that don't know, mescaline is also referred to as micro-dots. It's a wild drug for a wild mind.

I believe it was a thursday...the baseball team was on a road trip and I was stuck in the apartment with a bad foot injury. As I sit there sinking into the couch wasting yet again another beautiful day, I hear a knock at my door. It's my old roommate, Mike. He walks in with this big shit eating grin on his face. He said he had something new for us to try out. I, of course, was very interested. If I had only known what was going to happen later that day...I might have told Mike to go back home.

After sitting on the couch for probably only a second or two, Mike then began explaining to me all about mescaline. He explained how it works and tried comparing it to mellow acid as far as the visuals go. He then proceeded to tell me that he had already snorted one and swallowed one. So, I of course had to top that. I swallowed two and snorted two. I guess Mike felt the need to be on the same level as me so he swallowed two more.

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Drowning in a Pool of Shadows - Mescaline Take Two

My second mescaline trip also got a little out of hand. Me and three others decided to mix mescaline and acid. We each took two micro dots and one green gel tab. The only thing I noticed about mixing the two is that I had way more visuals then when I had done mescaline alone.

So, there we were, four of us sitting on the couch, taking hits from our hookah laughing uncontrollably. Things were very loud and the trip was very intense. Then, out of nowhere, I hear someone knocking at the front door.

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