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Issue 700 - 3/30/2015
"EXPRESS YOURSELF!" SNIPPETZ UNCOVERS UNIQUE FORMS OF SELF-EXPRESSION by Lindsey Harrison 
“Self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment.”
– Pearl S. Buck, American novelist For some of us, self-expression is one of the hardest things to successfully do. Our emotions can be overwhelming enough as it is without us struggling to explain them to someone else. But truly, expressing yourself is a major element when it comes to dealing with life. We have to take the good with the bad, the ugly, and the downright unbearable. But the question is HOW do we do that? There is no one perfect way; it’s different for everyone. That’s not very helpful for the person out there reading this, hoping we’ve got all the answers. But fear not! We’ve done some research and discovered some interesting and unique forms of self-expression. Who knows . . . maybe one will be right for you! SAY IT WITH FOOD Not everyone is skilled with a paintbrush or can write beautiful poetry. Luckily, there are plenty of other ways to show how you feel inside. You’ve probably heard the expression “The way to a man’s heart is through is stomach.” Well, this is sort of like that. We’re talking about cooking! Here are some interesting ideas for how to express yourself through food. Online websites like TasteBook.com allow you to upload your favorite recipes and photos into a design-your-own-cookbook. Forget finding a publisher; just build your cookbook online and save it or even have it printed so you can show off your culinary prowess in person. Maybe you aren’t the type who already knows how to cook. That’s not a problem, as long as you’re willing to learn! Programs like Traflagar’s “Be My Guest” program provides you with a rotating list of cooking lessons to help you get some hands-on experience in the kitchen. But the program isn’t for the travel-wary. The classes are taught by locals, as in local Argentinians who teach you how to make empanadas in Argentina. Or how about visiting a family in New Zealand who will teach you Maori traditions as you learn how to cook an authentic hangi meal? You don’t have to travel across the world, though. There are plenty of classes offered through sites like Groupon or LivingSocial that take place a little closer to home. SAY IT WITH A LETTER OK, it probably doesn’t sound unique to write a letter to someone to express your feelings. In fact, you might have even tried this when you were younger, by spritzing your perfume or cologne on the page to help elicit a stronger emotional response to your words. But there’s always the risk that the recipient will have a strong negative reaction to the smell (and thus to you), regardless of your masterful prose. Maybe you need a more modern way to add that little something extra. Consider taking an ordinary envelope, carefully unfolding it and adding an interesting design/picture/collage to the inside of it. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words . . . just make sure they know to open the letter CAREFULLY. SAY IT WITH JEWELRY This isn’t what it sounds. We’re not suggesting you run to the nearest jewelry store and max out your credit cards. However, jewelry has long been a way for individuals to show their own sense of style, to express their feelings through a special ring, or necklace. But maybe you don’t want what everyone else has. Maybe you want something that’s just for you . . . and maybe you don’t have a lump of silver or some gorgeous gemstones lying around, waiting to be transformed into a beautiful pair of earrings. That’s when you need a design-it-yourself website like gemvara.com, egjewelry.com or delusha.com. You can create your own statement piece without having any jewelry-making skills whatsoever. Hooray! SAY IT WITH A NEWSPAPER . . . ? No, you don’t have to get a job as a writer at your local newspaper for this one. You just need to be able to read, use a black permanent marker and have a sense of how words fit together to describe a central idea. Here’s how it’s done: find an article or story that has a word or phrase that fits what you are trying to portray. That’s your anchor. Now, look through the rest of the piece to find other words that connect, idea-wise. Black out everything else and you’ll have a wonderfully expressive representation of how you feel. SAY IT WITH PAINT AND WINE These two may not seem like a good pair, but lately tons of franchises have popped up that provide you with both in order to create a memorable piece of work and a memorable evening. Painting with a Twist and Canvas Uncorked are two such local franchises. The idea is that you and a friend (or two or three) can get together to enjoy an evening of alcohol (or not) and painting. A teacher walks you through the basics to create a specific painting and then sets you free to put your own touch on it. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, as long as you’re having fun. Of course, the alcohol can help but there’s never a requirement to drink and there are family sessions offered as well so your under-21 family members can join in the fun. SAY IT WITH WORDS (DUH) AND PICTURES Yes, this is an obvious one. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. We know that writing is standard way to express yourself. But sometimes the words elude us. A great way to open up your mind is through art journaling. This practice combines the precision of the written word with the creativity of drawing or painting. Here’s the idea: using a prompt such as “draw your favorite bird,” you create a picture based on that topic and then you write something about it. There are a few websites that can facilitate your art journaling journey, such as artcampforwomen.com, and FYI, you don’t HAVE to be a woman to log on and participate. The website has a daily art journaling project for anyone interested in following along. It gives you an art prompt and writing prompt so you have a direction to go every day. As with every other form of self-expression, you don’t have to make it perfect. No one is grading your performance. The idea is to open up your mind and help you explore different parts of yourself that perhaps you never knew existed. SAY IT THROUGH DANCE Not everyone is comfortable with dancing in front of people. But for those of you who aren’t too self-conscious to get out on the floor and cut a rug, dancing just might be the ideal form of self-expression. There are many ways to find the right dance class for you. Groupon and LivingSocial often have deals for classes at a discounted rate. But perhaps you need something more adventurous than ballroom dancing lessons. Consider a tribal or belly dancing camp. You can learn about a different culture, explore other customs and rituals, as well as learn how to dance! The American Psychological Association recognizes dance as another “language” to express your emotions so maybe whiling away the hours on the dance floor is just the ticket for expressing how you feel. Issue 701 - 4/6/2015
UP WHERE THE AIR IS RARE: SNIPPETZ TELLS YOU HOW TO DEAL WITH HIGH ALTITUDE by Lindsey Harrison “When you’re sick, nobody takes care of you like your mom.” – Trisha Yearwood, American musician OK, we know that altitude sickness isn’t quite the same thing as being sick with the flu. But when you travel to the higher altitudes, it might be nice to have your mom there to hug you and make you feel better. Obviously, that isn’t always feasible and the usual remedies your mom might pull out of her bag of tricks probably won’t work when you’re at the top of Pikes Peak. But if your beloved mother can’t make you feel better, who on earth can? Snippetz can! We dug through tons of research to find out the best ways to deal with high altitude, whether you’re looking to avoid getting sick or whether you’re wondering what to look for in case you do get sick. Of course, none of what we’ve researched will ever replace the advice of your doctor, but we feel this is a pretty good start! WHAT IS CONSIDERED HIGH ALTITUDE? Traditionally, high altitude is defined as anything 8,000 feet above sea level and higher. But if you’ve ever baked a box of brownies in Colorado Springs or Monument, you may have noticed that the directions include recommendations for high altitude baking. Neither Monument, which sits at 6,961 feet, nor Colorado Springs, which sits at 6,035 feet is high enough to qualify as high altitude, right? Not necessarily. The effects of altitude can be felt in human beings beginning at 4,900 feet above sea level, which has led to a revised definition of high altitude. Here’s the new, perhaps more accurate way to describe it: high altitude is 4,900 – 11,500 feet; very high altitude is 11,500 – 18,000 feet; and extreme altitude is anything above 18,000 feet. WHAT IS THE DEATH ZONE? No, this isn’t a reference to the song “Danger Zone” from the movie “Top Gun.” The death zone really exists. The concept was first created by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, a Swiss doctor, in an article he wrote about acclimatization. Originally, Wyss-Dunant called it the lethal zone and he defined it as anything 26,000 feet above sea level and higher. It’s called the death zone because the amount of oxygen at that altitude is insufficient to sustain human life. The summit of Mount Everest, for example, is in the death zone. But who would stick around long enough at the summit of Mount Everest to actually die from a lack of oxygen? It’s true that the death zone can lead to a loss of vital functions and result in death. But the other, perhaps more likely scenario is that a person’s cognitive functions aren’t working properly so they make poor decisions resulting in injury and/or death, or their muscles are weakened by the lack of oxygen (and usually from the ridiculously hard climb to the top of whatever mountain they’ve chosen to summit) which results in accidents, causing injury and/or death. HOW TO DEAL WITH HIGH ALTITUDE You’re probably thinking, “We’re not at the summit of Mount Everest. We’re not anywhere near the death zone.” If so, you are absolutely correct. That’s why we’re switching gears now to what a person who isn’t used to high altitude can do to make the transition more tolerable. Here’s what you can do:
Even if you follow all the rules and recommendations for how to behave at a higher altitude, there’s still the chance that you could experience altitude sickness. By knowing the symptoms, you can act more quickly to alleviate your ailments and avoid potentially life-threatening issues. Altitude sickness can be associated with any combination of the following symptoms:
REMEMBER: nothing we’ve covered in this article is meant to be a replacement for the advice and care of a trained medical professional. When in doubt, get help! The world has many beautiful places to explore and discover. Some are at higher altitudes and with that, there’s always the risk that you could feel the effects of that. But don’t let us scare you off from your dream vacation. Explore the world if you want and have fun. Being prepared for the eventualities and knowing what to look for to avoid a serious complication can sometimes be your only defense against this type of sickness. That’s why we wrote this article for you. So get out there, run the Pikes Peak marathon or climb to the summit of Mount Evans. Do what makes you happy; just be prepared! Issue 702 - 4/13/2015
HEEERE'S STANLEY! SNIPPETZ TAKES A SNEAK PEEK AT DIRECTOR STANLEY KUBRICK by Lindsey Harrison 
“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.”
– Stanley Kubrick, American director One of the most recognizable and iconic movie quotes was actually improvised. Thanks to the directing brilliance of Stanley Kubrick, Jack Nicholson had the flexibility to ad lib some of his lines in the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s book, “The Shining.” Most notably, the “Heeeere’s Johnny!” line he spouted out as he poked his head through the hole in the door. But Kubrick had that kind of instinct that told him when to stand back and let the actors do their thing. He was incredibly successful, thanks to courageous moves like that. The interesting thing is that most people probably wouldn’t know that Kubrick possessed that type of characteristic. Why would they, unless they were die-hard Kubrick fans? The truth is, he was so innovative, daring and talented, we at Snippetz felt it would be doing our loyal readers an injustice if we didn’t feature him at least once. So, here we go! EARLY LIFE Stanley Kubrick was born in The Bronx on July 26, 1928. His parents, Jack and Gertrude, were fairly well-off, since Jack was a rather prominent doctor. But the Kubricks were never described as pretentious or stuffy. Jack ultimately introduced his son to two of his lifelong passions: chess and photography/cinematography. At 12 years old, Stanley took to the game of chess and loved it so much that it appeared in many of his films later on. At 13, Kubrick received a Graflex camera from his father, which sparked a fascination with photography. He began learning the ropes of developing his own photos in a darkroom and taking candid shots of people on the streets of New York. Kubrick may not have been the best student (he was actually a far cry from it) but he neither was he unintelligent. He began teaching himself the different filming techniques he witnessed at the movies and, much to his father’s dismay, tended to focus on that more than his studies in school. Kubrick often skipped school to see double-features at the cinema, which definitely reflected in his grades. By the time he graduated, his grades essentially disqualified him from being able to attend college. His time in high school wasn’t a complete waste, however. Kubrick was chosen as an official school photographer for a year and he later took that experience and translated it into several freelance photography opportunities. While he attended night classes at the City College of New York, Kubrick honed his photographic skills and by the time he graduated from college, he had sold a series of photographs to “Look” magazine; he was paid $25 and the series was printed on June 26, 1945. He managed to rustle up some extra money playing chess in Washington Square Park and several Manhattan chess clubs. By 1946, Kubrick was hired on as a full-time staff photographer at “Look” magazine where he made a name for himself by telling stories through his photos. He photographer everything from an anti-Nazi German artist named George Grosz sitting on a chair in the middle of the street to boxing matches, of which Kubrick was a major fan. It was about this time that Kubrick took a more serious approach to his studies of filmmaking, and in 1951(with the prompting of a high school friend) he made his first set of short documentaries. His first ever was called “Day of the Fight” and Kubrick employed a reverse tracking shot – a technique in which the subject of the shot appears to stay the same size while the background shrinks or grows behind them – which would become one of his signature camera movements. LET’S ALL GO TO THE MOVIES After filming several short documentaries, Kubrick finally came to the attention of Hollywood with “Killer’s Kiss” in 1955, and “The Killing” in 1966. He directed Kirk Douglas in “Paths of Glory,” released in 1957 and the pair reunited for “Spartacus” in 1960. In 1961, Kubrick was hired by Marlon Brando to direct “One-Eyed Jacks,” but the pair didn’t quite get along and Brando ended up directing the film himself. Kubrick was none too thrilled with how Hollywood was treating him so he moved to England, where he would shoot the rest of his films from then on. In 1962, he filmed “Lolita,” which worked within fairly strict constraints due to the scandalous nature of the plot; in the movie, a middle-aged man becomes obsessed with a young girl. In 1964, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” was released and represented yet another risky move on Kubrick’s part, given that nuclear warfare and the potential threat of a nuclear bombing incident weren’t considered comedic fodder. However, Kubrick’s innovative spin on the topic led to a successful film and he lived to direct, write, produce, and film another day. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is considered by many critics as one of the best movies ever made, featuring a series of encounters between humans and advanced machines called “monoliths” that were built by extraterrestrials and appear to have affected human evolution. The film was considered a science-fiction film way ahead of its time, containing ground-breaking special effects. “A Clockwork Orange” followed in 1971 and was highly controversial due to its portrayal of sex and violence. In 1975, Kubrick released “Barry Lyndon” which marked a turning point for him, both privately and professionally. Word had gotten out about his demand for perfection, and the cast and crew were leery of his unrelenting quest to make everything just right. Additionally, because the movie was being shot in Ireland and involved the military in the plot, Kubrick reportedly received threats from the IRA that he was a target. He moved production out of the country and an overwhelming desire for privacy and security led to Kubrick withdrawing and becoming somewhat of a recluse. “The Shining” followed in 1980, with “Full Metal Jacket” released in 1987 and his last film, “Eyes Wide Shut” in 1999. STANLEY KUBRICK SNIPPETZ
Issue 703 - 4/20/2015
SNIPPETZ BAGS UP INFORMATION ABOUT JELLY BEANS by Lindsey Harrison “You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jelly beans.” – Ronald Reagan, former United States president If our former president, Mr. Ronald Reagan is correct that you can tell a lot about someone’s character by how they eat jelly beans, it would be interesting to find out what he thinks about a writer eating an entire bag of jelly beans while writing an article about them. Not that anyone would do that, but if they did, considering Reagan’s penchant for the candy, it’s likely he would think favorably of that person. But wait. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. You’ve probably guessed by now that we’ve chosen the history of the jelly bean for this week’s Snippetz. If not, please pay attention. Anyway, it seemed fitting to dive into the topic of jelly beans this week since April 22 is National Jelly Bean Day. In order to celebrate such a wonderful day, you need some background information on jelly beans. Look no further! We’ve got everything you need right here. WHO CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF THE JELLY BEAN? Of all the popular candies in the world, the jelly bean is one whose origins remain a mystery. You’d think someone would want credit for inventing such a marvelous treat, but nope. The one thing people seem to agree on is that an American candy maker developed them in the 1800s. However, since there isn’t someone to set the story straight about how they were developed, it’s hypothesized that jelly beans are a mish-mash of two other popular candies: Turkish delights and Jordan almonds. Turkish delights are a sweet, chewy candy covered in powdered sugar. Jordan almonds are almonds coated in a crunchy sugar shell. Take away the almond and the powdered sugar, smash them together and BLAM! You get a jelly bean. Not literally of course, but you see where we’re going with this. WHAT’S IN IT AND HOW’S IT MADE? Contrary to the name, there isn’t actual jelly inside of a jelly bean. The contents is mainly sugar, corn syrup and starch, with added flavors and colors. Some flavoring is achieved through artificial methods and others are natural flavorings like fruit juice. In order to get the bean shape, confectioners (the people who make the jelly beans) mix everything together and bring it to a boil so it can be poured into a bean-shaped mold. The inside of the mold is covered in starch to keep the mixture from sticking. After a few hours of cooling, the bean-shaped gummy is brushed with sugar and are then set aside for up to 48 hours before they move on to the next phase: the thin candy shell! The process for applying the candy shell of a jelly bean is actually the same process used to make M&Ms, called panning. Basically, a giant metal rotating pan jostles the jelly bean gummies around for about two hours, during which time the gummy collects several layers of the sugary coating. Additionally, an edible type of beeswax may be applied to the outside of the jelly bean to keep them from sticking to each other or dissolving in humid conditions. Next, the newly-coated beans are sent off to be glazed so they have that unmistakable shine. Sometimes a company will stamp a name or logo on the jelly bean using a special kind of food coloring. In all, it can take anywhere from 7 to 21 days to make a jelly bean. Lastly, the jelly beans are boxed, sealed and shipped to their temporary home . . . until you buy them and eat them! JELLY BEANS COME TO THE WHITE HOUSE When Ronald Reagan ran for the position as Governor of California, he inadvertently changed the face of the candy world forever by announcing his fondness for jelly beans. He started eating “Goelitz Mini Jelly Beans” to help wean himself off his pipe-smoking habit. The Oakland-based company, Herman Goelitz Candy Company, sent monthly jelly bean shipments to the Reagan’s office during his two terms in Sacramento. Additionally, the company designed a special custom jelly bean jar just for their most famous fan. In 1976, the candy company had introduced a new brand of jelly beans called Jelly Belly. From then on, Jelly Belly jelly beans were included in every one of Reagan’s shipments and eventually comprised the entire order. At his presidential inauguration in 1981, Jelly Belly provided three and one half tons of red (Very Cherry), white (Coconut) and blue (Blueberry) Jelly Belly jelly beans to be distributed. The Blueberry flavor was developed in 1980, specifically for Reagan and has since become one of the company’s most popular flavors. The Herman Goelitz Candy Company provided Reagan with Jelly Belly jelly beans for all eight years of his presidency. The candy was served in the Oval Office and on Air Force One. In fact, a special holder was designed for the plan so that the jelly bean jar wouldn’t tip over and spill during turbulence. As if his obsession with Jelly Belly jelly beans wasn’t prolific enough, there is a portrait of Reagan made from 10,000 Jelly Belly jelly beans hanging in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Even more interesting than that is the fact that Reagan actually had jelly beans sent into space with the crew of the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. He must have thought they were really out of this world . . . get it? JELLY BEANS MEET THE BEATLES American fans apparently made a mistake when they heard that The Beatles like jelly babies. Since that wasn’t a candy they were familiar with, they thought the band meant jelly beans and thus, they began throwing the candy at the group during their performances. George Harrison actually had to say, “We don’t like jelly babies, or fruit gums for that matter, so think how we feel standing on stage trying to dodge the stuff before you throw some more at us.” JELLY BEAN SNIPPETZ
Issue 704 - 4/27/2015
SNIPPETZ SAYS, "I SPY A SPY!" by Lindsey Harrison 
“A spy, like a writer, lives outside the mainstream population. He steals his experience through bribes and reconstructs it.”
– John le Carre, English writer The art of spying has long been a subject of great interest for people all over the world. The wildly successful James Bond and Jason Bourne movies series can attest to that. But the inspiration for those spy flicks wasn’t pulled out of thin air. Spies, real live spies, have been around for ages and have played important roles in shaping history. Now, we’re not saying that the outrageous scenarios that the movies portray are true to life. But it’s safe to say that the life of a real spy was anything but ordinary. Doesn’t that sound intriguing? We thought so to, which is why Snippetz has focused our attentions on uncovering the history of real life spies. Of course, we can’t highlight all the known spies throughout history so here’s a sampling of some of the more interesting ones. INTREPID Let’s just jump right in with the man that inspired one of the greatest spy characters ever to grace the silver screen: James Bond. That man was Sir William Samuel Stephenson. His code, given to him by Winston Churchill, was “Intrepid.” He was a decorated fighter pilot, boxing champion, businessman, inventor and senior representative of British Intelligence for the western hemisphere in its entirety during World War II. Stephenson founded a secret spy training camp in Canada, called “Camp X,” which produced some notable graduates from the program, including Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond. Stephenson also headed up Britain’s “Baker Street Irregulars,” a group that spied on the United States, hoping to push them into the war before the attack on Pearl Harbor did it for them. One of his attempts included creating a fake map of South America that detailed a fictitious plan by Nazi Germany to take over the Panama Canal. President Roosevelt never suspected the map was a fake. Why would he? No one else suspected anything and Stephenson infiltrated White House so completely that he was even a consultant when it came to forming the Office of Strategic Services, later known as the Central Intelligence Agency. JUDO-CHOP! In some of the cheesier spy flicks, you’ve probably seen the main character do some sort of martial arts move on the enemy that left said enemy dead. Well, in the case of Nancy Wake, that’s actually true. Wake was a self-trained journalist who worked for Hearst newspapers as a European correspondent during World War II. She was also a spy. In her travels, she witnessed incredible horrors that the Nazis enacted on random people and felt the need to do something to fight back. She joined the French Resistance and, working as a courier, used her looks and charm to dupe the Gestapo, all the while helping Allied military personnel flee Marseille. Wake became known as the “White Mouse” because she was so elusive. She even had a five million-franc bounty placed on her head. After fleeing France, she trained fiercely and was responsible for organizing weapons and supply drops, engaging in combat, guerrilla attacks and sabotage missions when necessary. That’s when she encountered an SS sentry and, with a swift judo-chop to the throat, killed him on the spot. Wake became the most decorated servicewoman by the end of the war. BOWSER THE BROWSER OK, that wasn’t her official code name or anything, but the title fits Mary Bowser perfectly. Born into slavery, Bowser grew up working in the Van Lew household in Richmond, Virginia. She was sent north to get an education and even spent time on a missionary trip in Liberia. When she returned to Richmond, she married and was freed by the surviving family members of her master, John Van Lew, when he died in 1843. Van Lew’s daughter, Elizabeth Van Lew, was an abolitionist who made a name for herself by running a spy ring for the Union during the Civil War. One of her best and brightest spies was Bowser, who landed a position in the Confederate White House, led by Jefferson Davis. With a nearly genius mind and an eidetic (photographic) memory, Bowser presented herself as a dim-witted but competent servant. Assuming Bowser could neither read nor write, people within the household didn’t feel obligated to hide important papers from her. She read them, memorized them and reported back to Van Lew’s spy network. Eventually, Bowser aroused suspicion and fled the Davis house in 1865, but not before she attempted to burn it down. She didn’t succeed but she did manage to escape the war with her life and went on to tell about her experiences. WILLY WONKA WAS A SPY Maybe Willy Wonka wasn’t the spy, but his creator, Roald Dahl sure was. In fact, he was a part of Stephenson’s Baker Street Irregulars. His job? To act as a social butterfly of sorts and mingle with the rich and famous in order to learn whatever information he could and report back to the British Empire. Dahl was rumored to obtain said information through activities in the bedroom and Antoinette Marsh, the daughter of a Texas newspaper publisher even said, “I think he slept with everybody on the East and West Coasts who had more than $50,000 a year.” H21 Speaking of using one’s beguiling ways to obtain top secret information, we turn now to Mata Hari (see photo above), one of the most famous female spies of all time. Born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, Mata Hari made a name for herself as a courtesan and exotic dancer who catered to high-ranking military men and politicians. Because she was a citizen of neutral Holland during World War I, Mata Hari traveled Europe offering her services as she went. Mata Hari caught the eye of the German consul in Holland, who decided to enlist her help as a spy. He gave her the codename H21and used her to gather information from her clients. Strangely enough, while she was spying for Germany, French Intelligence also approached her with a request to be a spy. Because she was educated, could travel easily, spoke several languages, Mata Hari was a perfect candidate as a spy. Unfortunately, while she was able to do her job fairly well, playing both sides of the field ended up being her downfall. She was executed by the French for fraternizing with a German officer, even though that’s what she was being paid to do. ARTEMIS Virginia Hall, also known as “Artemis,” was a U.S. spy who worked with the Special Operations Executive, and later the CIA, during World War II. Her work with the French Resistance and the French Underground in Vichy led the Gestapo to dub her “the most dangerous of all Allied spies.” While that’s a huge distinction in and of itself, especially for a woman, Hall also had another unique characteristic – she only had one leg. The other was amputated from the knee down. Apparently, that didn’t slow her down one bit. ALDRICH AMES Aldrich Ames was a CIA Counter-Intelligence Officer whose first assignment led him to Ankara, Turkey to recruit Soviet intelligence officers. Ames ran into some financial issues and began abusing alcohol so remedy the situation, he began spying for the Soviet Union in 1985. The information he supplied to the Soviets compromised at least 100 CIA agents and led to the execution of at least 10 others. He was paid handsomely for the information but didn’t hide his newfound wealth very well. The CIA took notice and brought in the FBI to investigate Ames. He was ultimately arrested and given a life sentence for his crimes. He is currently incarcerated in the U.S. Penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Issue 705 - 5/4/2015
SNIPPETZ SAYS, "ANY PUBLICITY IS GOOD PUBLICITY!" OUTRAGEOUS HOLLYWOOD STUNTS by Lindsey Harrison 
“In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting fifty percent of the publicity.”
– Lauren Bacall, American actress In mainstream America, people usually worry about how they present themselves to others. If a rumor gets started about a wife cheating on her husband, typically that unwanted attention is just that: unwanted. But mainstream America has nothing to do with Hollywood, you can be sure. In Hollywood, being in the public eye means you’re still someone. The worst thing that could possibly happen is for you to fade into the background. You have to keep people talking about you, keep them interested in you. In the real world, that might be easier said than done. But we’re talking about Hollywood. And in Hollywood, as we’ve already said, any publicity is good publicity. We at Snippetz were intrigued by that statement and so we’ve decided to scrounge up some of the most outrageous Hollywood publicity stunts and compile them for you right here! HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD A massive (literally) iconic feature of Hollywood is the huge white “Hollywood” sign that graces the side of a hill in the city and using it in a film is basically the easiest way to signify that the story is set in California. Anyway, the sign we see today wasn’t actually the meant to be a landmark. It was meant to advertise a fancy new subdivision that Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler was building in 1923. The subdivision was called “Hollywoodland” and the original sign, which cost $21,000 to make and stood 50-feet tall, also said just that. Initially, it seemed like a great idea . . . until the Great Depression hit. The houses in Chandler’s subdivision were way too expensive for anyone to afford and the sign began to crumble from a lack of maintenance. After years of disrepair in which the “H” had blown away and the “LAND” was removed from the sign, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner held a fundraiser to save the sign. It worked and the sign was restored to its former glory, minus the “LAND” of course. Isn’t it great to know that one of our country’s most iconic and identifiable landmarks was really just a big billboard? “I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A GANGSTER” If you were in the witness protection program because you were the target of a possible mob hit, would you come out of hiding just to stake your claim as the inspiration for the character of a super-successful movie? Well, the real Henry Hill did just that. Played by Ray Liotta in the movie “Goodfellas,” Hill was the main character and narrator of the story. In order to attempt to garner his share of the royalties from the film, Hill was literally kicked out of the Witness Protection Program because he wouldn’t stay hidden. Of course, since the movie chronicled his long list of criminal activities, no royalties were forthcoming. That didn’t stop Hill from trying to capitalize on his newfound fame. He began selling his own paintings on eBay, opened a slew of gangster-themed restaurants throughout the country and was a regular guest on The Howard Stern Show. GOOD TASTE HAS NO PLACE IN HOLLYWOOD We all remember the horrible day when 12 people were killed and dozens others wounded in the theater shooting in Aurora on July 20, 2012. On that night, a lone gunman decided to go on a shooting rampage during a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.” You’d think that with how tragic that whole scenario was, no one would want to stir up any more shooting drama inside a movie theater, especially not less than a year later. But Bob Wilkins, manager of the Goodrich Capital 8 Theater in Jefferson City, Missouri apparently didn’t feel the same way. He actually arranged for a fake gunman to crash a screening of “Iron Man Three,” supposedly to boost ticket sales. Naturally, movie-goers called the police, not knowing that the gunman was just an actor. In response to his obvious lack of judgement, Wilkins said that he didn’t feel any regrets about the incident. He claimed his job was to entertain people. And here we thought theater managers were in charge of running the theater; who knew he also doubled as an entertainer? THOU SHALT SEE “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS” If you’ve ever been to a courthouse or seen one in a movie, you’ve likely seen a granite representation of the Ten Commandments. You probably assumed those monuments were there as a reminder of the core values and principles on which our judicial system and laws were built. You probably even assumed they’d been there for ages. On both accounts, you would be dead wrong. When the film’s director, Cecil B. DeMille was working on “The Ten Commandments” film, he found out that a judge from Minnesota had been working with a Christian fraternal organization to send framed versions of the Ten Commandments to schools and publics buildings for display. DeMille saw an opportunity for some great publicity for his upcoming film and contacted the judge to suggest replacing the framed certificates with bronze tablets instead. The judge declined but alternately gave the go-ahead for construction of about 150 granites tablets. The film’s stars Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner traveled the country promoting the film and dedicating the tablets. The tablets remained and were given approval to stay in place, even after Thomas Van Orden sued the state of Texas in 2005, stating that the tablets represented an unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion. Essentially, the Supreme Court made a ruling based on a movie publicity stunt. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY NEEDS A TISSUE The movie “Million Dollar Mystery,” released in 1987, involved one of the most expensive and ineffective publicity stunts ever. The plot of the film follows a group of treasure hunters who are looking for stockpiles of cash. The production company made the natural connection to real-life and partnered with Glad Bags to sponsor an authentic treasure hunt that would go along with the film’s release. At the end of the film, moviegoers were invited to find the location of a hidden $1 million cache by using clues from the movie. The first one to find the hiding place would get a real million-dollar payday. The production company was hoping to prey on the greed of its audiences to launch ticket sales. However, that idea didn’t quite pay off. In fact, the movie didn’t even gross enough to cover the cost of the contest. So when a California woman found the certificate for the secret $1 million inside the Statue of Liberty’s nostril, the studio had to fork over the entire $989,033 it made in box office proceeds. PUBLICITY STUNT SNIPPETZ Here are a few other memorable Hollywood publicity stunts:
Issue 706 - 5/11/2015
SNIPPETZ ASKS: ONLINE SHOPPING, SCARY CONVENIENT OR JUST SCARY? by Lindsey Harrison “The Internet has transformed many parts of our daily lives, touching everything from how we find information to how we go shopping, get directions, and even stay in touch with friends and family.” – Dean Ornish, American educator Before the days of the Internet, people had two options when it came to shopping: get up off the couch, put on some decent clothes and head to the grocery or department store; or sit on your couch with the TV tuned to a shopping channel and call in your order via phone. Obviously, the first version is the more standard method of shopping, even though it takes significantly more work. The second method typically didn’t provide a way to purchase your everyday items like fruit, meat, paper towels, etc. Now that we’re well-entrenched in the digital age, the days of picking between getting what you need and being lazy are long gone. With the Internet, you can do both! OK, maybe you aren’t lazy; maybe you just don’t have the time to get a week’s worth of groceries at the store because you’ve got two small children who make that task impossible. Regardless of your motivation, online shopping is undoubtedly super convenient. With that in mind, Snippetz went searching for some tips on how to maximize your online shopping experience! HOW TO SHOP SAFELY ONLINE With the massive amount of internet hacking incidents lately, like Target and Sony for example, it’s more important than ever to understand how to safeguard your personal information when you’re shopping online. Here are a few important tips to consider:
HOW TO SAVE MONEY SHOPPING ONLINE There some obvious ways to save money by shopping online. For instance, if you can get an item for less than what it costs in the store, you’ve saved money and time by purchasing it online. But there are some less obvious ways to save money; here are a few of them:
HOW TO MAKE ONLINE SHOPPING YOU NEW BEST FRIEND It sounds silly, but if you know what you’re doing, online shopping can be a real lifesaver. For instance, let’s say you’re rushing to get ready for work but you forgot to make coffee. Knowing that you’ll probably be half asleep the minute you sit down at your desk, you consider stopping off at your favorite coffee shop to order an espresso. But there’s no time to wait in line! Well, more and more retailers are offering online ordering that allows you to cut down on the wait time for your favorite products. You can log onto their website, create your order, pay with a credit or debit card and indicate what time you’d like to have it ready by. Then you simply have to dash in and grab your order! Easy peasy. Other online ordering options provide you with a meal, consisting of fresh ingredients that you simply cook up following the instructions included. All of a sudden you’re a gourmet chef and you didn’t have to leave your house or take culinary arts classes. Hellofresh.com and Blueapron.com are two such websites. Perhaps you want to sample different beauty products before rushing out to buy the full-sized product. Websites like Birchbox.com and Ipsy.com allow you to sign up a for membership in which you receive a box each month containing different samples of various products to use at a discounted rate. What about grocery shopping online? Yep, you can do that, too. Or you might be able to soon. Instacart, a San Francisco startup, will buy all your groceries from your favorite store and deliver them within an hour or two. If all goes well, perhaps Colorado Springs and Monument will jump on the band wagon so we can all enjoy grocery shopping in our pajamas but without the nasty looks from other shoppers. Issue 707 - 5/18/2015
SNIPPETZ CROWNS PETER MARK ROGET, KING OF SYNONYMS by Lindsey Harrison “A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the word you first thought of.” – Burt Bacharach, American composer How often do you get stuck trying to think of a certain word? It’s on the tip of your tongue but you can’t remember what it is and every other word you try in its place just isn’t right. If only there was some sort of book that was like a reverse dictionary. It would list different meanings and then list a bunch of different words that go along with that meaning. Then you could just pull that sucker out and flip through it when you get stuck so you don’t stand there, mid-conversation, with your mouth hanging open. Oh, wait. There IS a book like that. And you’ll never believe who came up with it. Well, perhaps you will, since his name is part of the title of the very first edition. That’s right, it was Peter Mark Roget. As a magazine with interesting and thought-provoking articles, Snippetz felt it fitting to take a look at the man who literally wrote the book on words . . . synonyms, that is. So, journey back with us into the world of physician, natural theologian and lexicographer, Peter Mark Roget. EARLY LIFE Even though he had a profound effect on the English language in that he compiled the first ever thesaurus, not much is known about Roget’s early life. At least, not much was documented. What is known is that Roget was born on January 18, 1779 in London. His father, Reverand John Roget was a Swiss pastor at a French Protestant Church. Unfortunately, Roget’s father passed away while the boy was still young and his mother moved the family to Edinburgh, Scotland. The tragedy affected the young boy and he spent much of his life battling depression. However, the move to Edinburgh did Roget some good; at 14, he entered the University of Edinburgh, intent on studying medicine. FROM YOUNG MAN TO YOUNG DOCTOR The incredibly smart young Roget graduated from the university in 1798, with an MD at 19 years old. He later spent time studying at the London Medical Schools. In 1802, Roget traveled to Paris and his father’s home town of Geneva. At the time, Europe was experiencing the only time of peace that occurred during 1793 and 1815, known as the Peace of Amiens. The cease-fire only lasted a year and when hostilities resumed, Roget found himself in imprisoned for two months. He was allowed to return to England in 1803. Back at home, Roget found himself drawn to studying the disease, tuberculosis. In fact, he published several works on the illness, as well as other works focusing on the effects of nitrous oxide (or laughing gas) that was used as an anesthetic at the time. Later in life, he would go on to write an article on Thomas Beddoes of Bristol, who was a well-known investigator of gases for possible medical uses. In 1804, Roget was offered, and accepted, the position of chief surgeon at the Manchester Infirmary. He held the post until 1808, when he left to teach in the London Medical Street. There, he became a Licentiate of the College of Physicians and became physician to the Northern Dispensary in 1810. A year later, he became one of the secretaries of the Medical and Chirugical Society of London, eventually being elected to president in 1829. Roget was also a key player in founding the medical school at Manchester. He worked in both Manchester and Bristol as a private tutor, traveling around Europe with his students. Roget also spent time as a professor of physiology at the Royal Institution in London. While there, he continued his work on medical topics, holding lectures on various issues. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society and later served as its secretary, from 1827 to 1848. AN INVENTOR EMERGES Most people think that Roget’s main contribution to society was his thesaurus but the truth is, he invented several important items, such as a variation on the slide rule he devised in 1814. His device was an early type of calculator in that it helped a person determine the roots and powers of numbers long before the TI-83 graphing calculator was invented. While not technically an invention, Roget is thought to have been the first person to note the phenomenon called “persistence of vision.” Basically, he noticed that when still photographs are viewed in rapid succession, it gives the illusion of movement. Sound familiar? It should. The idea is what led to the development of cinematography. His discovery was published in 1820, in a paper Roget submitted to the Royal Society, a good 70 years before the first “movie” was invented. It was titled, “Explanation of an optical deception in the appearance of the spokes of a wheel when seen through vertical apertures.” Additionally, Roget invented a device that showed that there was an attractive force between parallel wires carrying electrical current in the same direction. He published his findings in 1835 and his apparatus is sometimes referred to as Roget’s spiral. WHAT’S THE WORD? As we mentioned before, Roget is most well-known for his work on the first-ever thesaurus. He actually began making a list of words that have either similar or the same meaning when he was quite young; some estimates indicate Roget was as young as eight years old. He added to the list for the majority of his life but didn’t actually sit down to try to compile everything until after he had retired from medicine in 1840. In 1852, Roget finally published the first version of his thesaurus, titled “Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition.” The title alone illustrates how gifted Roget was with his use of the English language. The book went through 28 editions and reprints during Roget’s lifetime. Even though Roget died on September 12, 1869, at the age of 90, his thesaurus has never been out of print, even to the present day. Of course, the title had to be shortened and eventually it became known as “Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases.” Roget’s son, John Lewis Roget and grandson, Samuel Romilly Roget, separately revised and expanded the original thesaurus following his death. ROGET SNIPPETZ
Issue 708 - 5/25/2015
SNIPPETZ ASKS, SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW INDIANA JONES? by Lindsey Harrison 
"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?”
– Indiana Jones If you’ve ever seen any of the Indiana Jones films, it’s probably hard to imagine anyone other than Harrison Ford portraying the lead character. And can you picture anyone else playing Indiana’s dad, Henry, other than Sean Connery? Probably not. The truth is that both of these actors very nearly weren’t a part of the film series. It’s not exactly a secret but it’s definitely one of the lesser-known facts about the Indiana Jones movies. That got us here at Snippetz thinking: are there more tidbits (snippets, if you will) of information about the films, the directors, the actors, etc that perhaps even the most hardcore Indy fan doesn’t know? Possibly. So with that challenge in our minds, we set to work to unearth some of the things that you just may not know about the Indiana Jones films! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES? Indiana Jones asks that iconic question in the first movie, “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.” In the film, he’s deathly afraid of snakes and ends up in a pit nearly brimming with them. But in real life, Harrison Ford, the actor behind the Indiana Jones character, isn’t afraid of the slithering creatures at all. That’s saying a lot when you consider the scene in which Indiana faces off with a cobra that rises up and hisses at him. While that would be plenty to scare off most people, Ford handled it like a pro, even when the cobra became so agitated and spit venom at him. Of course, there was a pane of glass separating the snake from the actor, but that’s beside the point. The pit into which Indiana Jones ends up surrounded by snakes is called the Well of Souls. In order to fill up said well, the filmmakers originally planned to have 1,000 snakes covering the floor. But when they noticed how sparse that still looked, they added 2,000 more snakes. Still not satisfied, an additional 7,000 snakes were added to finally achieve the look they wanted. Perhaps they added one too many snakes. Why? Well, one of the pythons in the massive pile of reptiles actually bit first assistant director David Tomblin while he was on set. It latched on and wouldn’t let go so Tomblin, in as calm a manner as possible, asked someone to grab the snakes tail and whip it so it would send a wave up the snake’s body and compel it to detach. Luckily, it worked and Tomblin returned to work after briefly receiving medical attention. While the Well of Souls scene might make you squirm in your seat, imagining all those snakes, there’s one small detail that the producers of the film tricked us all on. Many of the “snakes” aren’t actually snakes at all; they’re legless lizards, identifiable by the earholes on the sides of their heads. Hollywood pulled another fast one on us when they created the super-spooky slithering sound supposedly created by all those nasty snakes sliding against each other. That sound was actually sound designer Ben Burtt sticking his fingers into a cheese casserole. They added the sound of wet sponges to the grip tape on a skateboard to achieve just the right effect. MORE CREEPY CRAWLIES Kate Capshaw, the actress who played Willie Scott, was originally supposed to have a giant snake (what’s with all the stinking snakes?!) wind itself around her in the Temple of Doom. But she panicked and wouldn’t do it. She later settled on allowing Spielberg to cover her with over 2,000 insects. There were so many, in fact, that crew members would go home and find bugs in their hair, clothes and shoes. Obviously, Capshaw still wasn’t thrilled with the compromise because she had to take “a relaxant” before shooting that scene. So, bats may not be crawly, but they certainly are creepy. Seriously. Ask anyone. The bats that fly overhead in the Temple of Doom are no exception. But though they were presented as vampire bats, they weren’t. They were the less-harmless but no less sinister-looking fruit bats. And remember the scene in the same film where Mola Ram falls from the rope bridge into the water and gets eaten by alligators? Those were real alligators but to achieve the right look, the scene was shot on three different continents. MONKEY BUSINESS In the Raiders of the Lost Ark, a monkey appears in a large room with a group of Nazis and the producers managed to get him to raise his paw in a Nazi salute by putting a grape on a fishing pole and getting him to reach for it. The “Sieg Heil”-esque chirps the monkey emits were actually performed by voice artist Frank Welker, who then went on to provide the voice of Abu the monkey in Disney’s “Aladdin” in 1992. Speaking of monkeys, what about those monkey brains in the feast during “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?” Nasty, to say the least but you probably guessed those weren’t real monkey brains. They were actually made from custard and raspberry sauce. Since the simulated monkey brains were presented as “typical Indian cuisine,” outcry arose that the scene was inherently racist, so Spielberg had the following note added to an early version of the script: “Because of his extremely sensitive nature, the director has requested that the monkey heads be simulated.” Ever wonder what a movie mash-up of the Temple of Doom and “Planet of the Apes” would look like? Well, we very nearly found out. In one of the many rewrites of the Temple of Doom script, Indiana was faced with trying to escape the Monkey King and his gorilla army. Lucas deemed the change too unrealistic (thank God). And luckily, he also turned down a rewrite that had Indiana being attacked by a rhino and then dying, only to be brought back to life by the same (not evil) Monkey King with a magic peach. INDIANA JONES SNIPPETZ
Issue 709 - 6/1/2015
SNIPPETZ IS CURIOUS, "IS IT THE NEXT BIG THING, OR JUST A FAD?" by Lindsey Harrison “Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.” – Jack Kerouac, American poet and novelist Fads are a given in life, like death and taxes. Someone comes up with a seemingly brilliant idea and the world goes nuts for about five minutes. Then the excitement dies down once people realize that brilliant idea wasn’t as life-changing as it had appeared at first. The brilliant idea fades into the background. Occasionally, the idea has some staying power and will reappear in a decade or so. The bottom line in all of this is that people have come up with some pretty interesting things over the last century or so. Snippetz thought it might be fun to take a trip back over the years to see what some of those fad inventions were. WHAT EXACTLY IS A FAD? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a fad as something (such as an interest or fashion) that is very popular for a short time. Some synonyms include craze, rage, sensation or trend. OK, we’re clear on that. MEMORABLE FADS FROM THE 20TH CENTURY
THE NEXT FAD?
REAL FAILED FADS
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