A British comedian, drunk on a gallon of wine, takes a one-pound bet to jump, completely naked, into an aquarium filled with sharks and stingrays, causing one of them to die of stress. An American man goes on such an astonishing bender he believes his girlfriend's claim that they got married while under the influence and only becomes suspicious when she is unable to produce a marriage certificate during the following seven years. Russian troops get so wasted that it seems like a good idea to make a little extra cash by selling off their tank … to Chechen rebels. The true stories in The Man Who Scared a Shark to Death, taken from news reports around the world, serve as both cautionary tales (don't agree to "help out" with a stranger's robbery, even if he seems like a really nice guy) and comforting perspective (at least you've never woken up in a trash compactor). However cringe-making your own most embarrassing drunken moment might be, at least you're not the man who caught his privates in a mousetrap—twice.
Use the combos, keep the feet light. This is it." That's boxing champ Julius, psyching himself up for a showdown with, of all people, unstoppable killer Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Perhaps not familiar with the fact that a goalie mask is meant to stop rock hard vulcanized rubber flying at 100 mph, his fists prove laughably ineffective. Jason's though, are anything but. He punches Julius's head clean off with one right cross. A fist might seem like unconventional weaponry compared with the knives and axes usually deployed by unspeaking, unfeeling, unstoppable killers in horror films. And it is. But it doesn't even scratch the surface when it comes to weird ways people have been killed in horror. Horror movie victims have had ears of corn buried in their backs, they've been decapitated by basketballs, lacerated by avant-garde sculptures, skewered by mounted deer antlers, bludgeoned by pogo sticks, and punctured with unfurled umbrellas. Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons showcases these oddball deaths and some even stranger ways killers have gone about their grisly business - MOs that would leave even the most seasoned coroner shaking their head provided, of course, that it's still attached, for in the world of horror, no one is safe. Authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner are Toronto horror journalists and hosts of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a weekly celebration of low budget genre film. They also review horror films new and old at ReallyAwfulMovies.com.
This is the HARDBACK version. "Use the combos, keep the feet light. This is it." That's boxing champ Julius, psyching himself up for a showdown with, of all people, unstoppable killer Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Perhaps not familiar with the fact that a goalie mask is meant to stop rock hard vulcanized rubber flying at 100 mph, his fists prove laughably ineffective. Jason's though, are anything but. He punches Julius's head clean off with one right cross. A fist might seem like unconventional weaponry compared with the knives and axes usually deployed by unspeaking, unfeeling, unstoppable killers in horror films. And it is. But it doesn't even scratch the surface when it comes to weird ways people have been killed in horror. Horror movie victims have had ears of corn buried in their backs, they've been decapitated by basketballs, lacerated by avant-garde sculptures, skewered by mounted deer antlers, bludgeoned by pogo sticks, and punctured with unfurled umbrellas. Death by Umbrella! The 100 Weirdest Horror Movie Weapons showcases these oddball deaths and some even stranger ways killers have gone about their grisly business - MOs that would leave even the most seasoned coroner shaking their head provided, of course, that it's still attached, for in the world of horror, no one is safe. Authors Christopher Lombardo and Jeff Kirschner are Toronto horror journalists and hosts of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a weekly celebration of low budget genre film. They also review horror films new and old at ReallyAwfulMovies.com.
Association of Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence Best Research in Recorded Jazz Music–Certificate of Merit (2013) The coal fields of West Virginia would seem an unlikely market for big band jazz during the Great Depression. That a prosperous African American audience dominated by those involved with the coal industry was there for jazz tours would seem equally improbable. Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia, 1930-1942 shows that, contrary to expectations, black Mountaineers flocked to dances by the hundreds, in many instances traveling considerable distances to hear bands led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, and Chick Webb, among numerous others. Indeed, as one musician who toured the state would recall, "All the bands were goin' to West Virginia." The comparative prosperity of the coal miners, thanks to New Deal industrial policies, was what attracted the bands to the state. This study discusses that prosperity as well as the larger political environment that provided black Mountaineers with a degree of autonomy not experienced further south. Author Christopher Wilkinson demonstrates the importance of radio and the black press both in introducing this music and in keeping black West Virginians up to date with its latest developments. The book explores connections between local entrepreneurs who staged the dances and the national management of the bands that played those engagements. In analyzing black audiences' aesthetic preferences, the author reveals that many black West Virginians preferred dancing to a variety of music, not just jazz. Finally, the book shows bands now associated almost exclusively with jazz were more than willing to satisfy those audience preferences with arrangements in other styles of dance music.
Packed with up-to-date, reliable information on Venice and the Veneto every traveler needs, including extensive hotel and restaurant listings, this guide includes themed itineraries, lush photography, and numerous maps.
Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees. Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life.
This book illuminates how science fiction studies can support diversity, equity, and inclusion in science and engineering. Shortly before science fiction got its name, a new paradigm connected whiteness and masculinity to the advancement of civilization. In order to show how science fiction authors supported the social construction of these gender and racial norms – and also challenged them – this study analyzes the impact of three major editors and the authors in their orbits: Hugo Gernsback; John W. Campbell, Jr.; and Judith Merril. Supported by a fresh look at archival sources and the author’s experience teaching Science and Technology Studies at universities on three continents, this study demonstrates the interconnections among discourses of imperialism, masculinity, and innovation. Readers gain insights into fighting prejudice, the importance of the community of authors and readers, and ideas about how to challenge racism, sexism, and xenophobia in new creative work. This stimulating book demonstrates how education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can be enhanced by adding the liberal arts, such as historical and literary studies, to create STEAM.
White examines the complex political relationships among the three countries during the sixties and how Mexico and Cuba utilized the Cold War to define themselves as influential leaders in the developing world.
Early Modern Italy is a fascinating survey of society in Italy from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries - the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Covering the whole of the Peninsula from the Venetian Republic, to Florence, through to Naples it shows how the huge economic, cultural and social divides of the period still affect the stability of present day united Italy. This is an essential guide to one of the most vibrant yet tempestuous periods of Italian history.
Christopher Tadgell covers the major architectural traditions of the Middle Ages, from the Romanesque architecture of the ninth and tenth centuries, built on the legacy of ancient Rome and including elements from Carolingian, Ottonian, Byzantine and northern European traditions, through to the evolution of the Gothic which heralded new, structurally daring architecture. The book ends with the Italian rediscovery of classical ideas and ideals and the emergence of the great Renaissance theorists and architects, including Brunelleschi, Alberti, and Bramante. As well as the palazzos, villas and churches of Renaissance Italy, this period saw the building of great chateaux in France, palaces in Germany and the golden-domed cathedrals of Russia. With more than two thousand images, including many plans, The West is a beautiful, single-volume guide to the history of architecture in this period, covering the whole of Europe from Ireland to Russia and placing architectural developments within their political, technological, artistic and intellectual contexts.
The third volume in the epic military aviation series focuses on the Allied invasion of North Africa during World War II. This work of WWII history takes us to November 1942 to explain the background of the first major Anglo-American venture: Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. Describing the fratricidal combat that followed the initial landings in Morocco and Algeria, it then considers the unsuccessful efforts to reach northern Tunisia before the Germans and Italians could get there to forestall the possibility of an attack from the west on the rear of the Afrika Korps forces, then beginning their retreat from El Alamein. The six months of hard fighting that followed, as the Allies built up the strength of their joint air forces and gradually wrested control of the skies from the Axis, are recounted in detail. The continuing story of the Western Desert Air Force is told, as it advanced from the east to join hands with the units in the west. Also covered are the arrivals over the front of American pilots and crew, the P-38 Lightning, the Spitfire IX, and the B-17 Flying Fortress—and of the much-feared Focke-Wulf Fw 190. The aerial activities over Tunisia became one of the focal turning points of World War II, yet are frequently overlooked by historians. Here, the air-sea activities, the reconnaissance flights, and the growing day and night bomber offensives are examined in detail.
This Encyclopedia gathers together the most recent scholarship on Medieval Italy, while offering a sweeping view of all aspects of life in Italy during the Middle Ages. This two volume, illustrated, A-Z reference is a cross-disciplinary resource for information on literature, history, the arts, science, philosophy, and religion in Italy between A.D. 450 and 1375. For more information including the introduction, a full list of entries and contributors, a generous selection of sample pages, and more, visit the Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia website.
The rapid expansion of globalization and multinational corporations means more and more managers work across the borders of multiple countries. Some of them are expatriates; most are not. And although many of these managers are not wrestling with the issues of relocating and adjusting to living in a different culture, they all find themselves dealing with cultural issues - defined in the broadest context - every time they pick up the phone, log onto their e-mail, or disembark from an airplane. What do these managers do? Is it different from the work they did when they managed in their own countries, and if it is different, how so? What does it take for them to be effective when they manage across so many countries simultaneously? What do these managers need to know in order to be effective? What do organizations need to know and do in order to select and develop people who will manage and lead effectively in the global economy? This report addresses those questions as it documents the findings of a Center for Creative Leadership research study into what factors might predict managerial effectiveness in a global context.
The first modern study of the great reforming Bishop of Brescia (1513-1579). It contains besides a complete biography, important chapters i.a. about the Council of Trent in which Bollani participated, and the application of the Tridentine Decrees in Brescia. Eight appendices (the last one a bibliography of archival and printed sources).
This book discusses the functional ink systems of graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) layered materials in the context of their formulation and potential for various applications, including in electronics, optoelectronics, energy, sensing, and composites using conventional graphics and 3D printing technologies. The authors explore the economic landscape of 2D materials and introduce readers to fundamental properties and production technologies. They also discuss major graphics printing technologies and conventional commercial printing processes that can be used for printing 2D material inks, as well as their specific strengths and weaknesses as manufacturing platforms. Special attention is also paid to scalable production methods for ink formulation, making this an ideal book for students and researchers in academia or industry, who work with functional graphene and other 2D material ink systems and their applications. Explains the state-of-the-art 2D material production technologies that can be manufactured at the industrial scale for functional ink formulation; Provides starting formulation examples of 2D material, functional inks for specific printing methods and their characterization techniques; Reviews existing demonstrations of applications related to printed 2D materials and provides possible future development directions while highlighting current knowledge gaps; Gives a snapshot and forecast of the commercial market for printed GRMs based on the current state of technologies and existing patents.
The book offers a definitive study of the development of Kant's conception of the highest good, from his earliest work, to his dying days. Insole argues that Kant believes in God, but that Kant is not a Christian, and that this opens up an important and neglected dimension of Western Philosophy. Kant is not a Christian, because he cannot accept Christianity's traditional claims about the relationship between divine action, grace, human freedom and happiness. Christian theologians who continue to affirm these traditional claims (and many do), therefore have grounds to be suspicious of Kant as an interpreter of Christian doctrine. As well as setting out a theological critique of Kant, Insole offers a new defence of the power, beauty, and internal coherence of Kant's non-Christian philosophical religiosity, 'within the limits of reason alone', which reason itself has some divine features. This neglected strand of philosophical religiosity deserves to be engaged with by both philosophers, and theologians. The Kant revealed in this book reminds us of a perennial task of philosophy, going back to Plato, where philosophy is construed as a way of life, oriented towards happiness, achieved through a properly expansive conception of reason and happiness. When we understand this philosophical religiosity, many standard 'problems' in the interpretation of Kant can be seen in a new light, and resolved. Kant witnesses to a strand of philosophy that leans into the category of the divine, at the edges of what we can say about reason, freedom, autonomy, and happiness.
Politics in Europe, Seventh Edition introduces students to the power of the European Union as well as seven political systems—the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Poland—within a common analytical framework that enables students to conduct both single-case and cross-national analysis. Each case addresses the most relevant questions of comparative political analysis: who governs, on behalf of what values, with the collaboration of what groups, in the face of what kind of opposition, and with what socioeconomic and political consequences? Packed with captivating photos and robust country descriptions from regional specialists, the Seventh Edition enables students to think critically about these questions and make meaningful cross-national comparisons.
Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Greeks were certainly no exception. No campaign was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Ares, god of War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times. This volume addresses that omission by drawing together the work of experts from across the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Archaic and Classical Greek world. Aspects considered in depth will include: Greek writers on religion and war; declarations of war; fate and predestination, the sphagia and pre-battle sacrifices; omens, oracles and portents, trophies and dedications to cult centers; militarized deities; sacred truces and festivals; oaths and vows; religion & Greek military medicine.
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