The Day Laid on the Altar

Average customer rating:

To be savored like the finest wine

Excruciatingly Slow

For the Very Patient Reader

Brilliant Depiction of 16th Century Italy

Like the stones that comprise a mosaic.

The Day Laid on the Altar
Adria Bernardi
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0452282578
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Book Description

Set against the backdrop of sixteenth-century Italy, The Day Laid on the Altar re-creates a rich, vibrant world of art and beauty, in a tale that sweeps from a remote mountain village in the Tuscan hillside to Venice, where the master painter Titian grapples with the demands of fame and family while the plague is devastating Italy.

Interweaving the lives of humble peasants and unsung artisans with celebrated painters and patrons, The Day Laid on the Altar is a powerful meditation on the meaning of art, the mystery of creation, the fervor of religion, and of lives-great and small-touched by genius. It is a luminous, seamlessly written first novel by an author of prodigious literary gifts.

Customer Reviews:

To be savored like the finest wine.......2007-01-28

Adria Bernardi takes her reader deeply and immediately to another place and time--a time of richness and beauty, of struggle and death, and of the triumphs of the great and the small. I could read this book only a chapter per day. The richness of each story had to be reflected upon, digested, and savored. This is one of those books I will treasure always, holding it to my heart long after I have finished reading it. What a precious and beautiful jewel!

Excruciatingly Slow.......2006-10-27

In contrast with the reviewer who wrote, "If you are at all interested in art, or have any intrigue with Italy, you'll find this book completely captivating," I had the complete opposite reaction to "The Day Laid on the Altar." I love fiction set in the world of art and artists, especially those set in Italy. Venice is my absolutely favorite city in the world. Nevertheless, I could barely make myself finish this book. The prose is beautiful and poetic, but that is not enough to propel a novel, even a very short novel such as this one (barely 200 pages). There is little to no plot. The section on Titian made me want to put down the book and find a non-fiction work about Titian and his family. However, as this was Bernardi's first work, I plan to try another book by her. Just not right away.

For the Very Patient Reader.......2001-10-17

Like repetitive brush strokes, the author's sparse prose circles round and round, to build up a vivid portrait of the life of an artist in Renaissance Italy. Alternating chapters describe the lives of three artists, two unknown and one the revered painter, Titian. It took me a while to get into the book. The writing style is vivid, but repetitive and distancing. I'd recommend this book for those with a more serious interest in the creative life of 16th century Italy.

Brilliant Depiction of 16th Century Italy.......2001-10-04

If you are at all interested in art, or have any intrigue with Italy, you'll find this book completely captivating. This book weaves together the lives of Titian Vecellio, his family and servant; Bartolomeo de Bartolai, a shepherd, collector of broken glass and artist-by-night; and Martin de Martinelli, a frescoe craftsman who leaves his friend Bartolai behind in a remote village to pursue work and drink in Florence and Venice. The dangerous world in which the characters live instills in most a passionate commitment to religion as the plague and influenza are frequent visitors upon the characters and those they love. I found the most glorious part of the book at the end when Bartolai is inspired to express his own passionate artistic talent, talent tossed away by a few other characters in spite of their more worldly choices or oppportunities.

I found a parallel between the desperate expressions of religion by struggling 16th century Italians who dealt with famine, plague and poverty, and today's USA in which terrorist attacks have created an upsurge in attendance at churches. I find it fascinating that as humans we seek a higher power when the future feels outside of our control.

Like the stones that comprise a mosaic........2000-08-19

In The Day Laid on the Altar, a character discovers an exotic flower shaped like a turban. That flower could serve as a metaphor for the book, which, through chapters that focus on different but related characters, provides poignant and compelling portraits not only of the individual characters, but of the cultures they inhabit. The writing is spare and beautiful, comparable to Michael Ondaatje's or James Salter's, and many paragraphs contain embedded rhymes and rhythms that give the text the feel of poetry.

Book Description

The island of Genosha was once a thriving nation of mutants, built from the ground up by Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Then, an apocalyptic attack killed every man, woman and child - reducing an entire society to rubble within hours. Now, Professor X has come to Genosha with one intention: to rebuild a nation from its ashes! Collects EXCALIBUR #1-4.

Customer Reviews:

Undoing brilliance.......2006-01-13

Grant Morrison had a very controversial run on X-Men, Cyclops started cheating on Jean Grey with the evil White Queen, Xavier outed himself as a mutant, Genosha was destroyed, and the character Xorn turned out to be Magneto in disguise using the mutant enhancing drug Kick. The run ended with Jean Grey dead (again) and Wolverine slicing Magneto's head off decisively ending the X-men's long-standing war with Magneto once and for all, or so it seemed. It was great. It was full of twists and turns that no one saw coming. Then something terrible happened. Chris Claremont's Excalibur revival series. Now We have learned that because of poor writing and a sorry excuse for a plot the brilliant end to Grant Morison's run on X-men has been explained away with Magneto alive and well because the guy that was killed was an someone impersonating Magneto impersonating Xorn... Guess what folks, the story does not improve from there, and it is shallow, and hollow, and completely pointless. In the end Marvel should have left well enough alone.
Claremont's quality has slipped dramatically over the years, he spends too much time having characters needlessly explaining their powers or how they're using their powers, a job that is supposed to be handled by the artist who would do fine on his own, but with Claremont's poor writing it seems kinda redundant.
The characters that form this new Excalibur are not interesting either. Especially since the House of M will pretty much nuke most of the mutant life out of existence Claremont should have used existing popular characters like Night Crawler, Shadow Cat, or others that people actually care about. I can't even remember the names of half these people, and why is Magneto alive? Grant Morison's Planet X arch ended perfectly! There was no need to un do it.
I'd really like to see Claremont turn over the reigns to someone else. Everything he writes hurts the X-men now, rather than keeping them cool. The X-books need to evolve, and they are not. I recommend avoiding the new Excalibur, although the original series was great this one is a complete waste of paper and the penciler's talent.

Magneto's back.......2005-05-22

It seems the two negative reviews are due to Chris Claremont retconning Grant Morrison's New X-Men story "Planet X", in which Magneto became a drug-addict who herded people into crematoriums before being decapitated by Wolverine. Not only was this out of character, but a Jewish Holocaust survivor becoming a Nazi? Honestly, people.

It should also be noted that Chris Claremont is the one who made Magneto into the fascinating, complex character he is today. Before Claremont had fleshed him out, he was flat cardboard cut-out of a character. It was Claremont who gave him a background and personality, and made him interesting.

Nonetheless, after Claremont left the titles Marvel regressed Magneto back into a raving lunatic. Claremont returned to Marvel a couple of years ago but this is the first time he really got a chance to work with Magneto again, finally turning Magneto back into a good character.

Magneto and Xavier's relationship is the highlight of the book, as Claremont writes the characters better than most.

Highly recommended.

Claremont Used to Be Good..........2005-03-03

It is hard to really appreciate how much of a detriment 'Excalibur' is to the health of the rest of the series until you take into account the strides Grant Morrison was able to take with the X-Men.

Old fans such as myself actually started to drift away from the X-Men. We needed a writer who could appreciate the history of the X-Men, while not allowing this complicated backstory to overpower the need for the team to mature and in a very important sense, move into the new millenium.

Morrison did this in a thought provoking way in New X-Men, to the extent that I actually re-read his run on that comic, and reference it for examples of solid, superhero writing. Morrison has a gift of throwing five ideas at you at once, and he can make them tie into the larger story (noone ever thought of a bacteria intelligence; but the idea works when you're dealing with superhuman mutants). His stories had real impact; which was something the franchise had been missing in wake of various ressurrections, lackluster plots and lookalike villains.

The problem is that Claremont is backsliding. It's really hard to get into what should be a fascinating book when there are so many 'What Ifs...?' plaguing a title. This book is essentially about rebuilding a society. Unfortunately, rather than moving on with his life, the first person that Charles Xavier runs across is Magneto.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Magneto beheaded at the end of New X-Men? Also forgive me if I'm wrong, but weren't their three incredibly skilled and powerful telepaths (seven-eight counting the Stepford cuckoos) in the mansion or present during the final battle against Magneto in New York? And wasn't one of these telepaths the Phoenix? The explanation for Magneto's return (someone impersonated him...riiight.) is enough to kill the dramatic conclusion of the New X-Men series. What should have been an impetus for Charles to develop into a more interesting character has ended with him returning to his pre-90s roots, complete with a partially brainwashed Magneto.

It's hard to really feel excitement when you feel your patience and fascination with such a beloved series coming to an end. I have to admit, Excalibur is just a bland read. So bland you think of how boring it is, and where Calisto got tentacles and then you realize there are better books out there.

Unbelievably bad form, Mr Claremont........2004-12-28

Back when comics were geared towards children, Chris Claremont brought style, craft, and maturity when he took over the X-men back in the seventies. For two decades, his run on X-men was undisputably one of the most mature, forward-thinking, adaptive, and entertaining runs on any book ever. He also worked with some of the finest artistic talent, including John Byrne, John Romita Jr., Mark Silvestri, and Jim Lee.

Since his first departure, the X-books became quite the convoluted mess, and weren't as entertaining for a while. While Fabian Niceiza and Joe Kelly had some highlights, no writer really had the guts, talent, foresight, or freedom to move the mutants forward. The art was either consistent at best or indecipherable at worst.

Until Grant Morrison. His run on New X-Men actually evolved story, plot, and character forward for the first time since Claremont left the book in the 90's. More importantly, Morrison made an incredible impact on the whole mutant mythos. The destruction of Genosha, the death of Magneto, the romance of Scott and Emma, the new sacrifice by Jean Grey, the maturing of Wolverine, were as vital and important as anything done in the last 10 years. And the art was alive! Dynamic stuff from Quitely, Bachalo, Jimenez, and Silvestri, the best the title had seen in a decade.

All of which (finally) brings me to Excalibur.
Chris Claremont's latest work, not just here but in other books (JLA 10th Circle, X-treme X-men, et al.) is not just uninspired. It's immature.

Is Claremont really so threatened by the talent of other writers, is he so afraid that someone might make more of a mark on these characters besides himself, that he has to undo other people's valued and popular work? Magneto was dead at the end of Planet X (New X-Men vol. 6), and he died an appropriate death for his character; it was the culmination of 40 years of warfare. Claremont cheapened it by bringing him back. He didn't even give a decent explanation for it. He might as well have said, "Screw Morrison, his work doesn't count." To make it worse, from an author who penned such classics as "Days of Future Past" and the "Dark Phoenix Saga", defining Comics as Graphic Literature, Excalibur:Forging the Sword is unbelievably amateurish, with peurile dialogue, inconsistent characterization, and very little forethought. He writes himself into so many corners, the only way to get out is to dig another plot hole.

The art just makes a bad package worse. Aron Lopresti can be a decent artist when paired with a more progressive writer. But with writing this bad, his art is uninspired. It's even garish and ugly; some of the women seem gnomish.

Unfortunately, Mr. Claremont does not know when to let go. He's like a child who doesn't want to let other children play with his toys, so he puts a hammer to them. As a long-time fan of the X-Men, and a life-time Marvelite, I am disappointed in not only Claremont's shabby treatment of the characters, but his disregard for other creators and his disregard for fans. If anyone from Marvel reads these Amazon reviews, I beg them to remove Claremont before he commits irreperable harm to these comics icons.

I strongly recommend Grant Morrison's entire run on New X-Men (all 7 volumes available through Amazon), as well as Joss Whedon's work on Astonishing X-Men (vol. 1, Gifted, also available) instead of this travesty that Claremont has foisted upon us.

Excalibur reforged.......2004-11-17

With X-Treme X-Men ending, legendary scribe Chris Claremont returned with a new Excalibur series, focusing on Professor Xavier and his trip to the ruins of Genosha with the body of Magneto. He encounters a small cadre of surviving mutants, and we the readers discover that Magneto is not dead (of course) and that it was an imposter masquerading as Magneto in Grant Morrison's classic Planet X book. Those who were wowed with Morrison's turn of events may have a hard time overlooking that (you didn't really think Magneto was dead did you?), but if you can look past it, you'll find some great classic Claremont storytelling and the scenes between Xavier and Magneto are great comic moments. The art is solid (I can't remember the guy's name, Aaron something) and worth the price of admission. All in all, longtime X-fans will want to pick this up, and if you missed out on this give it a look.

Average customer rating:

Not perfect, but readable.

Slow start, better paced middle, fannish finish

Not bad, if not great.

I could have wrote this

Uneven and unsatisfying

Deep Domain (Star Trek, Book 33)
Howard Weinstein
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0671633295

Book Description

Deep Domain

For both A Federation Science outpost and Akkalla's valiant freedom fighters have begun uncovering the ancient secrets hidden beneath her tranquil oceans. Secrets whose exposure may even mean civil war for the people of Akkalla -- and death for the crew of the Starship Enterprise™.

Download Description

A routine diplomatic visit to the water-world of Akkalla becomes a nightmarish search for a missing Spock and Chekov, a search that plunges Admiral Kirk headlong into a corrupt government's desperate struggle to retain power. For both a Federation Science outpost and Akkalla's valiant freedom fighters have begun uncovering the ancient secrets hidden beneath her tranquil oceans. Secrets whose exposure may even mean civil war for the people of Akkalla, and death for the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Customer Reviews:

Not perfect, but readable........2006-05-25

I liked this one. The story was good, and the supporting characters were interesting. My problems were that the main characters were a little hollow, and this novel falls into the trap of using the overused idea that high ranking Starfleet officers could get kidnapped by backwater planets, and there would be no reperucssions. Just lame.

In the end, its a good enough read. And with this one being a one cent used special, its worth checking out.

Slow start, better paced middle, fannish finish.......2002-02-10

I believe this was Weinstein's first foray in Trek novel writing. He had previosuly written an episode of the Trek animated series. The problem with this book is that while it is a very good story, it takes a while to build up any interest in it with some very plodding prose that does pick up in pace as it goes along. The problem is that the pace gets too fast that one is left with a very quickly resolved ending. It almost seems like an episode of The Next Generation series. Give us some buildup and then finish it fast to hit the right page count. And the tacked on ending of Kirk and company parting ways seems so contrieved.

Not bad, if not great........2002-02-06

There are a few quibbles that I have with this book, most notably that it's difficult to place it on the Star Trek timeline. The intro by the author says that it is a story that arose out of the same brainstorming sessions that produced the movie "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", which would suggest a similar time-frame. But that concept clearly doesn't work, as the events in the second and particularly the third Star Trek movies have obviously not happened (notably, the death and return of Spock and the destruction of the Enterprise). Thus, given those facts and a few hints toward the end of the book, it seems likely that it takes place between movie #1 (Star Trek: The Motion Picture") and movie #2 (Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan"). It would have helped if that had been made a little clearer a little earlier, but truly, this is a minor quibble.

The problem is, the book itself isn't really good enough to cause one to be willing to overlook minor quibbles. It isn't terrible; the writing is fairly good, the characters recognizable as themselves, the dialogue plausible, the minor characters from the Enterprise and the missing science team interesting enough. But the characters that the Enterprise crew must interact with range from vanilla personalities with no real spark to stock villains with no real spark. And the plot itself, while not without promise, never fulfills that promise. There was never really any sense of drama, never any sense of compelling interest. It was, quite honestly, mediocre.

If you're a Trek fan with a real need for a fix, there's no reason not to read this one; it's a perfectly acceptable read. But if you aren't desperate for a Trek story, there's no particularly driving reason TO read it, either.

I could have wrote this.......2001-12-09

This book was kind of boring. I've read a lot of star trek books, and even if they aren't great its nice to settle into a familiar characters. This book has the names but not the personalities. Toward the end you get the feeling of a deadline and it all kind of falls completely apart. I wouldn't recomend it.

Uneven and unsatisfying.......2001-09-24

There is no doubt that Weinstein is a capable author; several of his other Trek books have been truly enjoyable. Deep Domain, however, suffers from several flaws, which are only occasionally overcome.
First, there is the tendency toward preaching Weinstein's own eco-agenda. When an author adds a preface encouraging readers to send money to Greenpeace, red flags should always go up. In the event, the politicking is not as prevalent as feared, but it surfaces periodically and distracts greatly. (It is hard to focus on the page when one's eyes are rolling.)
Second, Weinstein falls into some common pitfalls of Trek writers. A: his Chekov's personality bears almost no resemblance to the original's (has there ever been a decent portrayal of Chekov??). B: he expects readers to care about his creations (e.g., Lt. Mabry) as much as we care about the "true" Trek characters. That's just not going to happen, folks. Third, the ending is completely unconvincing, as other reviewers have noted. Putting aside that Generations showed us that Kirk actually left Starfleet before going to the Academy (there's no way Weinstein could have known that), Kirk's decision to leave the Enterprise is completely forced, as is Spock's decision to also go to the academy. And news of Chekov's impending transfer to the Reliant - a chance for a true, emotional moment - also falls flat.
That being said, Deep Domain was, at times, diverting if never gripping. I suppose it is unfair to expect a Trek novel to be anything other than mindless entertainment, a distraction. Deep Domain was never painful to read, just never exciting.

10 Titles in Star Trek Series - 30 Thru 39 - Demons - Battlestations - Chain of Attack - Deep Domain - Dreams of the Raven - Romulan Way - How Much for Just the Planet - Bloodthirst - Idic Epidemic - Time for Yesterday

Average customer rating:

10 Titles in Star Trek Series - 30 Thru 39 - Demons - Battlestations - Chain of Attack - Deep Domain - Dreams of the Raven - Romulan Way - How Much for Just the Planet - Bloodthirst - Idic Epidemic - Time for Yesterday
multiple authors
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Product Description

10 massmarket paperback Titles in Star Trek Series - 30 Thru 39 - Demons - Battlestations - Chain of Attack - Deep Domain - Dreams of the Raven - Romulan Way - How Much for Just the Planet - Bloodthirst - Idic Epidemic -

Protecting the Force: Application of Statistical Process Control for Force Protection in Bosnia

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Protecting the Force: Application of Statistical Process Control for Force Protection in Bosnia

Manufacturer: Storming Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: 1423536657

Product Description

This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A931083. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Military commanders determine the appropriate Force Protection measures to protect their units from a wide variety of threats based on their assessment of the enemy threat in the specific situation They currently have no statistical tool from which to base their assessment of the threat, or to recognize changes in the current situation. In Operations Other Than War (OOTW), environments where the enemy is disorganized and incapable of mounting a deception plan, staffs could model hostile events as stochastic events and use statistical methods to detect changes to the process. This thesis developed a statistical tool, based on Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) and Shewhart Charts, that military leaders can use in OOTW environments to recognize statistically significant changes in the situation. The tool applies current univariate control chart methods, as well as an original nonparametric multivariate control scheme developed in this thesis, to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stabilization Force (SFOR) incident data. The tool enables commanders to identify isolated and persistent shifts in the means of the data categories or shifts in the correlation of three data categories. By recognizing changes in the current situation, military leaders have a basis from which to change their force protection measures and better protect their unit.

Star Trek-4 Volumes: Bloodthirst #37, Corana #15, Deep Domain #33, Dreams of the Raven #34 (Boxed)

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Star Trek-4 Volumes: Bloodthirst #37, Corana #15, Deep Domain #33, Dreams of the Raven #34 (Boxed)
Various
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Frequency domain analysis for the tension in a taut mooring line (Technical report)

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Frequency domain analysis for the tension in a taut mooring line (Technical report)
Sheu-tien Hong
Manufacturer: Dept. of Civil Engineering, Division of Structures and Mechanics, University of Washington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B000734BPK

WHOI cable v2.0: Time domain numerical simulation of moored and towed oceanographic systems (WHOI)

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WHOI cable v2.0: Time domain numerical simulation of moored and towed oceanographic systems (WHOI)
Jason I Gobat
Manufacturer: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006RJ0BW

WHOI cable: Time domain numerical simulation of moored and towed oceanographic systems (WHOI)

Average customer rating:

WHOI cable: Time domain numerical simulation of moored and towed oceanographic systems (WHOI)
Jason I Gobat
Manufacturer: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006QTEK0

Average customer rating:

All-new Companion to America's public Television Cooking Series

Cook's Illustrated Test Kitchen

Avid Cook

Excellent book but could use a better index

But use your own judgment

America's Test Kitchen Live!: The All-New Companion to America's Favorite Public Television Cooking Series (America's Test Kitchen)

Manufacturer: America's Test Kitchen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0936184825

Customer Reviews:

All-new Companion to America's public Television Cooking Series .......2007-01-18

This a really a great cook book and I have tried may recipes in it and they were all great, what is really great you can also watch how it is done when it is aired on TV.

Cook's Illustrated Test Kitchen.......2006-02-25

Even though I subscribe and have many Cook's Illustrated books this was worth the purchase. Yes, some of the info is repeated from other pubs but often tweaked a little and some new stuff also. A very good read, too!

Avid Cook.......2005-10-27

I ordered the first volume of the series and was very pleased with my purchase. This is a fine addition to my cookbook collection.

Excellent book but could use a better index.......2005-09-06

This book is OUTSTANDING. America's Test Kitchen is like the Consumer Report's of recipes and cooking products. I enjoy learning WHY certain products and techniques work. They try and try until they get a particular recipe to be the best it can be. Then they share what they learned. The one disappointing aspect of this book is the Table of Contents and indexes. For example each "chapter" contains several recipes, but you have to go to the chapter in order to see what all the recipes are within that chapter. But the book is so very excellent that I can forgive this flaw.

But use your own judgment.......2005-06-07

I absolutely love ATK and buy all of their books. The techniques they present are top notch and as close to bulletproof as you can get. I find the spicing a little mild for my tastes so I usually amp that up a bit. Tasting results are the aggregated opinion of several people so some of the more unusual flavors you might get a kick out of may be rounded out in the math.

Book Description

Make a significant difference to your health...while treating your tastebuds to fine Chinese cuisine! These Heartsmart recipes, endorsed by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, come from the kitchen of a Hong Kong-born chef, restaurant consultant, and writer--and they are scrumptious. You'll discover a whole new world of flavors, textures, and ingredients, one with a rainbow's variety of vegetables, whole grains, and limited amounts of well-seasoned meats. Several rich-tasting (but butter- and oil-free) stocks will help you get the most out of every recipe; they enhance the flavor of any ingredient, take little time, and freeze beautifully for future use. 100 easy-to-follow, lower-fat, lower-sodium dishes include such delicacies as Prawns with Cashews, Singapore Stir-Fried Noodles, Spicy Tangerine Beef, and Stir-Fried Chicken with Mango. Each one has a complete nutritional analysis, and there's a photo guide, fat-cutting secrets, simple new techniques and practical tips for everyday cooking, and information on substitutes for Chinese ingredients.

Customer Reviews:

Worth the effort.......2001-07-31

This book has two faults, firstly it is not long enough, I would love to see an illustration of each dish (but then it would have to be rather large and expensive. The second fault, it doesn't acknowledge people on a VERY low sodium diet, but this fault is minor (they still work if you omit the salt and use salt reduced soy sauce) as these recipes are the first that I have encountered that are authentic Chinese (Asian), in that, there is attention to detail in the building of flavour, rather than a few dominant flavours thrown into a "Western" style dish. I highly recommend the stock recipes, they, especially the chicken stock, are worth the effort. do not be afraid to substitute vegetables according to availability. I expect these dishes to be become mainstays for my AngloAsian family who have a genetic disposition to high blood pressure. Thankyou Stephen Wong.

Average customer rating:

Heart Smart Chinese and Western Cooking
S Wong , and J Kennedy
Manufacturer: Milestone Pubns Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1550545949

Book Description

The observance of Hanukkah as a time of freedom and miracles resonates strongly with Jews today as in centuries past, and the Hanukkah lamp is central to the celebratory ritual. The importance of the Hanukkah lamp is reflected in the collection of The Jewish Museum in New York: its 1,022 lamps represent the largest assemblage of Hanukkah lamps in the world. This publication presents the Museum’s unparalleled collection in its entirety. Remarkably expressive and varied, these lamps are a revelation for anyone interested in Jewish culture, history, and the beauty and diversity of these beloved traditional objects.

Five Centuries of Hanukkah Lamps from the Jewish Museum - A Catalogue Raisonne

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Five Centuries of Hanukkah Lamps from the Jewish Museum - A Catalogue Raisonne
SL Braunstein
Manufacturer: Jewish Museum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This comprehensive and colorful guide covers every popular drape and how to make it.

Curtains and Draperies Selection and Making (Cornell Bulletin for Homemakers, Bulletin 484)

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Curtains and Draperies Selection and Making (Cornell Bulletin for Homemakers, Bulletin 484)
Ruth B. Comstock
Manufacturer: College Home Economics Cornell Un.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J3Z79W

Product Description

1942 edition, reprinted 1944.

Making Curtains & Blinds - Stylish Window Treatments For Every Room In The Home

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Making Curtains & Blinds - Stylish Window Treatments For Every Room In The Home
Dorothy Wood
Manufacturer: Southwater
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MX9LWS

The Practical Encyclopedia of Soft Furnishings: The Complete Guide to Making Cushions, Slipcovers, Curtains, Blinds, Table Linens and Bed Linens

Average customer rating:

Great for everyone

The Practical Encyclopedia of Soft Furnishings: The Complete Guide to Making Cushions, Slipcovers, Curtains, Blinds, Table Linens and Bed Linens
Dorothy Wood
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Upholstery & Fabrics | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0754806340

Book Description

A beautiful reference guide to making soft furnishings for every room of your home.

Customer Reviews:

Great for everyone.......2001-08-01

I recently bought this book and love it!

Average customer rating:

well done

This book is beautiful

The Painted Furniture Sourcebook: Motifs from Medieval Times to the Present Day
Annie Sloan
Manufacturer: New Line Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Painting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Furniture & Carpentry | Woodworking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Furniture | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Painting & Wallpapering | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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The Best of Painted Furniture

Painted Furniture Patterns: 34 Elegant Designs to Pull Out, Paint, and Trace

Period Finishes and Effects: A Step-By-Step Guide to Decorating Techniques

The Art of the Painted Finish for Furniture & Decoration: Antiquing, Lacquering, Gilding & The Great Impersonators

Simple Painted Furniture

ASIN: 157717335X
Release Date: 2005-01-01

Amazon.com

The tradition of decorative painting has a long and rich history, spanning many countries and many styles, from the straightforward, large-scale designs of Sweden and the bold motifs of Pennsylvania Dutch to the intricate classicism of England's Robert Adam and the free-flowing brushwork of the Bloomsbury group. This guided tour of outstanding embodiments of the art form collects extraordinary walls, ceilings, beds, chests, cabinets, and other examples, grouping them by motif (fruits and flowers, figures and animals, classical, and abstract and geometric) and offering a very brief glimpse of the techniques used. A 16-page section at book's end breaks out some of the major motifs for those wishing to try this at home. Unless you're quite experienced in the field already, you're better off with one of Sloan's other books to learn the nitty-gritty; if you've already got a good dose of confidence in your painting ability, this is a nice reference for general inspiration. --Amy Handy

Book Description

Painted furniture and interiors expert Annie Sloan leads the enthusiast through a fully illustrated, international spectrum of decorative styles--American colonial, Dutch folk art, Irish vernacular, Scandinavian neoclassical, Oriental lacquerwork, German baroque and more--all achievable by collectors, decorators and do-it-yourselfers.

For each enchanting room and object, the author reveals how the paint effect was achieved and how to recreate it in the contemporary home. A generous glossary of techniques describes the essential terms, from spattering and marbling to patinating and distressing. The book also offers a library of over 50 motifs, both classic and modern, for use as a fingertip reference or for on-the-spot tracing.

Customer Reviews:

well done.......2003-10-07

interesting even if the ideas and techniques are not for beginners

This book is beautiful.......2001-09-22

Sloan has put together beautiful photographs of a wide range of decorative styles and made her book that more interesting by approaching her subject from the point of view of a present-day practitioner of this (underappreciated!) art form. It will be interesting to the craftsperson but also to anyone who appreciates the beauty of decorative painting and its extraordinary variety thoughout different cultures and throughout the ages.

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Theatre Of Images: Pandering to the Masses : A misrepresentation/A Letter for Queen Victoria/The Red Horse Animation
Richard Foreman , Robert Wilson , and Lee Breuer
Manufacturer: PAJ Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Theater | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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Play For The End Of The Century

Grove New American Theater: An Anthology

Meredith Monk (PAJ Books: Art + Performance)

Unbalancing Acts: Foundations for a Theater

Women on the Verge: Seven Avant Garde Plays

ASIN: 1555540732

Book Description

The three plays collected in The Theatre of Images challenge the conventional understanding of performance. In Pandering to the Masses: A Misrepresentation, Richard Foreman creates a reality onstage that reflects his own reality--focusing on familiar, everyday events with the addition of recorded voice and projected image. A Letter for Queen Victoria, by Robert Wilson, is an opera without singers, with verbal declamations instead of arias. Represented in comic-book form, The Red Horse Animation by Lee Breuer demonstrates the play's reliance on cinematic techniques in its composition.

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Richard Foreman (Art + Performance)

Manufacturer: PAJ Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1555540716

Book Description

This wide-ranging anthology includes a collection of reviews tracing Foreman's reception from the 1960s to today, a series of informative interviews, a section of critical essays and a selection of Foreman's writings (including the complete text of My Head Was a Sledgehammer). The book also offers a detailed chronology of Foreman's career, a current bibliography and 19 photographs from his plays.

Unbalancing Acts: Foundations for a Theater

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Foundation for a new theatre

Unbalancing Acts: Foundations for a Theater
Richard Foreman
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1559360763

Customer Reviews:

Foundation for a new theatre.......2001-06-20

The opening essay, "Foundations For A Theatre," is the clearest and most linear statement to date of Richard Foreman's work, which re-considers the entire process of making theatre (from the formulation of a script to rehearsal to performance) and what kind of experience an evening of theatre may convey.

No one is creating theatre like Richard Foreman, whose associative (and sometimes dissociative) writing process contrives to capture a truthful portrait of his own perception at work. In rehearsal, Foreman creates an environment rebelling against any mimetic presentation of everyday reality, which is a kind of shared dream. He uses every theatrical element at his disposal to surprise and dazzle the spectator, and bring awareness to our radical impulses before our intellects "understand" them (and change them into something else).

Although his project sounds very cerebral, his theatre is very much about the senses, and his art grabs you on a gut level.

The book includes several plays, though it might have been helpful to include a script without the production stage directions to help understand the way he generates a script. (A later book, MY HEAD WAS A SLEDGEHAMMER, does include this and it helps a great deal.) Also, more photographs and illustrations would support his essay on visual design and use of space.

This artist is way ahead of his time, using theatre to address the process of perception itself rather than narrative thinking. The importance of this book, addressing this work to a general reader, may not be appreciated for quite some time.

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Lacanian Ink 9

Manufacturer: Wooster Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Lacanian Ink 17

Lacanian Ink 8

Lacanian Ink 2

Lacanian Ink 22

Lacanian Ink 7

ASIN: 1888301171

Book Description

Lacan and Visual Art. "What is a picture? me, you?" asks Jacques Lacan in the Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. Your desire is not your own but the desire of the Other. If it needs to be staged it is because you may want to recognize this desire as your own. Fantasy conveys the image.

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'Taint no-body's business if I don't!

No-body: A Novel in Parts
Richard Foreman
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0879516216

Amazon.com

In his first foray into long-form fiction, subtitled a novel in parts, theater director/playwright Richard Foreman takes the reader on a journey through the mind of a man attempting to be a poet in modern America, living as Ralph Waldo Emerson advised writers to: as a transcendental eyeball, observing the world and discovering its symbols as they reveal themselves. Foreman tells his story through a series of personas: Eddie, the Mind King, The Amateur Genius, The Suburbanite, The Hero Cadmus, Samuel, and Samuel II, each of whom has a different perspective on a surreal world, but each of which seems to be another facet of a single fragmented personality/point of view, accompanied by the same two long suffering women, Helen and Marie. The nonlinear writing style is a direct adaptation of Foreman's avant-garde stage style in plays like My Head Was a Sledgehammer. Adventurous readers are advised to just read through, and allow the effect to build cumulatively, like that of music. Then to read through again.

Customer Reviews:

'Taint no-body's business if I don't!.......1999-03-13

How many hands has a body whose eyes can't see to write anymore than is necessary to the act sans actor--which adds 2 letters and eliminates 3 from the scene whose audience is always 1 times the "Times'" average readership, foundering, of and off course, on the brink of titanic revelation(continued inside, see pp.1-206) of unfolding what would otherwise be uncreased, unstapled, unmutilated were it not for the laws of success which prohibit such behavior in private but--oddly enough and evenly more--not in public. I,too,know Paris in the rain, which, drop by drop (i.e., i.e.o, letter by letter)accrues to my credit for having written my way from bank to banque, left or right, it doesn't matter which so long as the checks I've written (nos. 1-206) check the impulse to unbalance my cheque book('s the word, my word!) and bounce highger than the sum of all the parts of the stories that bind you (you, me, Marie, Anna, Eddie, et.al and sundry others' characters impugned beyond decency's claim check to a hat outworn outside, inwarn in to stay out. BEWEAR!) pages together against the reader's assault on senselessness. Quench who said what about water flowing to circumstances beyond radio's control of the dial wrested from fiddling fingers (poking violins until they sob for more strings attached) belonging to another time's other place-mattes the picture begotten for cheaply-covered territory, by foot possessed. Ownership's land-free at last, and liquidation's a solid investment in futures sure to be remembered for what past Master's test of survival. It's all too plain: prose enplaned, air crafted to currents, home truths left behind to fend for themselves, consciousness be damned to hell/heaven of never knowing what comes next in line after line, stretching beyond the horizon's merely horizontal level (plane?) of comprehension. And the pilot lights the way to turn on a gas stove is to turn off an electric pot-holder of prizes sought for their own sake and not for grandeur's late arrival in a departure lounge filled with dead beats lacking the price of a ticket out of here, there, anywhere is the wild blue yonder's thither? Thence. Hence. Interviewless. The publicist's unchecked claim to accessiblity eqwaits my blocked state of affairs with a heart hardened to, hardened into, but certainly not up against (for where there is no will there is no wall) the text. Therefore, I (aka CRIXEN) rush to judge what I mean to say, that is, "that" is, "that" is that--that chair, that fragment of lobe (ear or frohtal), that slice of cheese, Swiss--beholden to life's various support systems. To pull the plug or to plug the pull--the former is my concern, the latter the publicist's, and what is yours (dear reader/writer) is mine to have and beholeden as cheese, as fragment of lobe (ear or frontal) as chair. And that's "that". Come, then, let us couch our couch in no uncertain terms of disagreement to cause sleep to occur where least expected to arise from its bed of wormy roses/rosy worms and flower/flower in praise of liars that lack (Lilacs! I see! I see! said said man sighted for his bravenessness) nothing, because the space between words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, books, plays, eyes, breaths, teeth, gum up the work and down the travail that shyly/slyly draws a face into hiding its features, best out of none can tell what's heard to be seen, yet to transpire's enough to come (and come again, s'il vous plait). Boredom's rife with inertia is well-documented. Its rift less so. But it's its rift that makes a breach of confidence secretly impossible. For between the whisper and the bellow falls shadow's fill of pumped-up trees shededing their leaves furrily, furrily, life is but a scheme wrapped in a reverie inside a yaw(e)n. NO-BODY (title) knows the trouble Eddie (Chapter 1) aka The Mind King (Chapter 2) aka The Amateur Genius (Chapter 3) aka The Suburbanite (Chapter 4) aka The Hero Cadmus (Chapter 5) aka Samuel I (Chapter 6) aka Samuel II (Chapter 7 Chapter 7)'s's's's's's's seen but I (aka I) know a hyphen when I see one keeping NO apart from BODY, not an enviable state in which to reside without a license to practice, practice, practise, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, the poetics of spacelessness (see above paragraphs below the the threshold of vision) in the crowded aisles of your nearest grocery store school,hospital, church, or a maze ing grace how sweet the sound of your voice that commands me to turn the page on which these words--these very words--have written themselves free of their writerly type PER-SON (enTITLEment), PER-SUN on a still (absolutely) more crowded field of the possibill(hyphen)at(hyphen)ease...-...

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Paradise Hotel
Richard Foreman
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1585670154

Book Description

A new collection by the Obie--award winning playwright-director hailed as "the top shaman in America's experimental theater." (Ben Brantley, The New York Times)

Richard Foreman's work continues to define American experimental theater, and this brand new collection reaffirms his status as "the reigning philosopher vaudevillian of the New York avant-garde." In addition to six new plays--"Paradise Hotel," "The Universe," "Permanent Brain Damage," "Risk It! Risk It!," "Pearls for Pigs," and "Benita Canova" (the last two of which won Obie awards for Best Play)--this collection also boasts two short essays on Foreman's singular approach to the art of playwrighting. "On My Plays" provides crucial insight into how the playwright assesses the motivation behind writing his own plays, and "Rules" offers a program for a kind of writing that liberates the mind and encourages faith in language that can abide in the struggles of any kind of writer.

Filled with Foreman's signature wit and vision, Paradise Hotel is a landmark collection from a true genius of American theater.

"I count Richard Foreman as one of my reasons for still living in New York City."-- Spalding Gray

"Like Brecht, Foreman is a genius not only of the written drama and of directing, but of theory as well. . . . He makes theater free us, turn us on, and prepare us for action."-- Eric Bogosian

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Richard Foreman: Plays and Manifestos

Richard Foreman: Plays and Manifestos

Manufacturer: New York University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0814725619

Customer Reviews:

Richard Foreman: Plays and Manifestos.......2007-06-12

Richard Foreman is one of the most important avant-garde artists working in the theatre today. He has written thirty-nine plays since 1967 and directed and designed twenty-one of them. Twelve of these were produced by the ONTOLOGICAL_HYSTERIC THEATRE, which he founded in 1968. Here, collected for the first time, are eight of the twelve plays, presented in the order of their production: ANGELFACE, 1968; TOTAL RECALL (SOPHIA=(WISDOM) PART 2), 1970; HcOhTiEnLa (or) HOTEL CHINA, 1971; SOPHIA = (WISDOM) Part 3: THE CLIFFS, 1972; CLASSICAL THERAPY or A WEEK UNDER THE INFLUENCE..., 1973; VERTICAL MOBILITY (SOPHIA =(WISDOM): Part 4), 1974; PAIN(T), 1974; RHODA IN POTATOLAND (HER FALL STARTS), 1976. Also included here are the three ONTOLOGICAL-HYSTERIC manifestos, in which Foreman posits his singular ideas on art and theatrical theory, The scripts are documented by numerous photographs from the original productions and the manifestos are illustrated with sketches from Foreman's production notebooks.

ONTOLOGICAL-HYSTERIC THEATRE is a form of "concrete" theatre that has successfully created sizable body of work sharing the structuralist and phenomenological esthetic that has dominated music, painting, avant-garde film and dance for over twenty years.

In her perceptive introduction Kate Davy elucidates the term "ontological-hysteric," examines the influence of Gertrude Stein's theories, discusses the method of generating the plays and skillfully guides the reader to an understanding of how to approach the texts. In addition, she has organized the first comprehensive chronology of Foremmn's work, listing all his plays, the dates written, and the place and date of every production.
--- from book's back cover

Love & Science: Selected Music-Theatre Texts

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Love & Science: Selected Music-Theatre Texts
Richard Foreman
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Paradise Hotel

ASIN: 1559360216

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Bad Boy Nietzsche! And Other Plays
Richard Foreman
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 155936257X

Book Description

Richard Foreman has been at the leading edge of the theatrical avant-garde in the United States and throughout the world since 1968. His legendary productions, written and directed by him at his Ontological-Hysteric Theatre have influenced two generations of theater artists. This new anthology collects plays written and performed over six years, including Now That Communism Is Dead My Life Feels Empty, Maria del Bosco, Panic (How to Be Happy!), Bad Boy Nietzsche!, Bad Behavior and King Cowboy Rufus Rules the Universe.

Richard Foreman founded the Ontological-Hysteric Theatre in 1968. The theater is currently in the historic St. Marks Church, where he rehearses and produces one of his new plays each year, each play performing for 16 weeks every winter.

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Essential Foreman collection, not the best intro to him

My Head Was a Sledgehammer: Six Plays
Richard Foreman
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0879515759

Customer Reviews:

Essential Foreman collection, not the best intro to him.......2001-06-30

For an introduction to Richard Foreman's theories, manifestos, and practice of theatre, one should look to UNBALANCING ACTS, which includes several essays by him in which he describes clearly the revolutionary direction he is taking with his plays, written and directed by him annually at his little theatre space in New York City, the Ontological-Hysteric Theatre.

This collection of his plays through the mid 1990's includes a valiant introduction and, to its credit, something that UNBALANCING ACTS lacks: a facsimile of one of Foreman's unusual play texts without production stage directions or line attributions. (Foreman, you see, doesn't start out with characters, per se, and distributes the lines during his rehearsal process.)

Your correspondent is among those who feel Richard Foreman's work is highly visionary and way ahead of our time. It is also wonderfully funny and has the power to make you feel creative yourself.

But really, it is time to publish more photographs of these productions, as Foreman's talents as a scenic designer are getting overlooked!

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