Ralph William Larsen's Books

Doctor of Pipes

Strange and Loving Communiques from Inside the Briar Brotherhood

By: Ralph William Larsen

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Doctor of Pipes

Strange and Loving Communiques from Inside the Briar Brotherhood

By: Ralph William Larsen

Ralph William Larsen would have you think of his latest effort, DOCTOR OF PIPES, as you would a cracking good piece of hard candy, a Tootsie Pop of a book, its chewy center being the dog doody dull subject of briar pipe smoking. But as he asserts in his introduction to the very same book, yes, there are pipes here, lots of pipes. But for those who could care less about the stinky old habit of briar pipe smoking, yes again, there is lots more as well. As the author himself boldly asserts, when he's "writing well" - and we all must hope he is writing well here - the discussion of pipes is for him "but a safe harbor from which to sail forth toward some greater understandings." Within the teeming pages of DOCTOR OF PIPES you will encounter Dud, the stoner brother-in-law who good-naturedly drills holes in other peoples' pipes, Edgar Gower, the compassionate undertaker who goes the extra mile and places smoking pipes in the cold dead hands of corpses, Karl, the Buddha-like German POW who sits out WWII sporting soccer shorts and munching breakfast crumpets in four-star English hotels. For exotic flavoring there are even some up-to-no-good Russian Indian chiefs and the violent death-by-briar of the obnoxious Safari Man. And as the cherry on the sundae, you'll be treated to a whole host of worthless tidbits about how to smoke a pipe from a man who professes to know nothing about the subject. And hold onto your hats, because as if all that were not enough, there's even a series of priceless illustrations by Mr. Lizard (Michael Jodry), who has finally consented to play Ralph Steadman to the Ironist's Hunter S. Thompson. It almost sounds too good to be true. It's another verbal pinata, a grand mishmosh of high holy Ironist mirth.

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Page Count

165

Publisher

iUniverse

Published Date

ISBN 10

1491701773

ISBN 13

9781491701775

Something That You Know

By: Ralph William Larsen

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Something That You Know

By: Ralph William Larsen

Perhaps the finest memoir ever was never written at all. It was performed. I’m referring to an improvised scene in a now obscure Harrison Ford movie entitled Blade Runner. In it, the gifted German actor and poet, Rutger Hauer, plays, Roy Batty, a replicant. A replicant is basically a machine, but one capable of human emotion. And in this final scene, Roy, is dying exactly as you’d expect a machine to die. Just like a common flashlight, Roy’s batteries are getting low. But Roy is dying a machine death but at the same time feeling and expressing human emotions, a thing no flashlight I’m aware of can do, not even the long black ones the police carry and sometimes use as a weapon. It’s one hell of a scene and it’s played out for the movie cameras on a rainy rooftop full of nightmarish steam pipes and white doves. If you haven’t seen it, you really should. The movie itself, even though it stars a young Harrison Ford and Daryl Hannah, is kind of a stinker. But if you go to You-Tube and prompt in “Tear In the Rain,” you’ll get just the dying-breath monologue that Rutger Hauer, the German actor and poet, improvises for Roy Batty, the replicant who’s fast running out of battery life. It goes like this. “I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die.”

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Page Count

219

Publisher

iUniverse

Published Date

ISBN 10

1663241724

ISBN 13

9781663241726

Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools

Kindergarten Through Grade 12

By: Ralph Grabowski

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Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools

Kindergarten Through Grade 12

By: Ralph Grabowski

Examines the value & essential ideas in arts education & presents the elements of a comprehensive arts program for students in K-12 -- from planning, delivery, assessment, & community resources to technology in the service of the arts. Programs for dance, music, theater, & visual arts are detailed with discussion on the components of education in each of the disciplines as well as curriculum; assessment; technology; special needs students; teacher preparation & professional development; resources, materials & equipment; & goals. Glossary of terms. Examples of careers in the visual & performing arts. Photos, references & resources.

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Page Count

182

Published Date

ISBN 10

0788189360

ISBN 13

9780788189364

Book's by Ralph William Larsen

Doctor of Pipes

Doctor of Pipes

Something That You Know

Something That You Know

Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools

Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools

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