Jim Hull has always been a gabster. He gave valedictory speeches for his elementary, junior high, and college graduations. He won a speech award in high school, worked on two college radio stations, edited the Opinion Section (what else?) of the City on a Hill Press at U.C. Santa Cruz, wrote and edited briefly for The Daily Californian at Berkeley, California, wrote and starred in numerous skits for the Brian May Show on KPFK, KMBU, and KXLU, and made appearances on television's Into the Night, Just the Ten of Us, and Solid Gold. Lately Jim indulges his penchant for graphomania by writing promotional copy for businesses and doing a bit of research. So if you have questions, Jim has answers. (They might even be right, too.)

If you want Jim's writing for your very own, grab a copy of his latest book, THE VAMPIRE IN FREE FALL

Continuing our saga... For ten years Jim performed with the Gypsy Dance Ensemble, giving lecture-demonstrations on international dance to school kids in the L.A. area. (Naturally, he did most of the talking.) He has also performed with Larry Wilson, an extremely funny (and weird) magician who appears regularly at The Magic Castle in Hollywood and at other venues on the West Coast, and whose show "Wonderland" was a recent hit in Reno. (In the photo, General Norman Schwarzkopf congratulates Jim on his wacky magical surgery as show star Larry Wilson intones, "Look into my eyes.")

Jim edited the book Women According to Men - which you never heard of, right? but it's been in use in colleges all over the country - and edited a novel by the same author. (It was his mom, okay? So sue him.) He has been a contributing editor to the Nihilism Calendar ("Don't Whine"), and has written or edited manuscripts and copy for various clients, including the Celtic tribal pipe band Wicked Tinkers. In fact, Jim tours all over the Western United States with the Tinkers - he's the carny barker at the Tinker Tent who'll sell you a band CD or t-shirt while you shout, "I LOVE this music!!"

He's been listed in Who's Who in America, but that's because of his mom, too. (Jim promises someday to acquire a life of his own.) Let's face it, his mom was semi-famous, and Jim isn't. It's called "regression toward the mean." Go ahead, look it up. Jim will wait.

For five years Jim was a counselor at a suicide hotline, and he lived through it. Currently, he volunteers at The Braille Institute in Los Angeles, California, where he narrates books onto tape and teaches classes in both music appreciation and current events. (That's Jim's dad in the photo, calmly putting up with Jim's philosophical speculations. His dad is no longer with us ... nor is Jim's dark hair.)

Jim likes films, books, the Los Angeles Times, music, Cajun/Zydeco and West Coast Swing dancing, chess, piano, exercise, humor, writing, eating, and sleeping. But this is not an exhaustive list; he's sure to think up more ways to waste time.