Sarah

Shaidrian Rios

Jimmy Beans

Julie Wynne - videos

Kapuster

angel smith

Nicky Tallon

Harini Sen

Vastralaya

Evan Shively (Perseus271)

Edgar Colt

Vitor Miguel

Machiavelli needs to be looked at as he really was. Hence: Can Machiavelli, who makes the following observations, be Machiavellian as we understand the disparaging term? 1. So it is that to know the nature of a people, one need be a Prince; to know the nature of a Prince, one need to be of the people. 2. If a Prince is not given to vices that make him hated, it is unsusal for his subjects to show their affection for him. 3. Opportunity made Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus, and others; their virtue domi-nated the opportunity, making their homelands noble and happy. Armed prophets win; the disarmed lose. 4. Without faith and religion, man achieves power but not glory. 5. Prominent citizens want to command and oppress; the populace only wants to be free of oppression. 6. A Prince needs a friendly populace; otherwise in diversity there is no hope. 7. A Prince, who rules as a man of valor, avoids disasters, 8. Nations based on mercenary forces will never be solid or secure. 9. Mercenaries are dangerous because of their cowardice 10. There are two ways to fight: one with laws, the other with force. The first is rightly man’s way; the second, the way of beasts.

George Orwell's timeless and timely allegorical novel—a scathing satire on a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism.“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned—a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.  When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.

In the ten years since its publication in 1988, Stephen Hawking's classic work has become a landmark volume in scientific writing, with more than nine million copies in forty languages sold worldwide. That edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the intervening years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic worlds. These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected. Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, as well as his own recent research, Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel, and updated the chapters throughout.

J. E. Gordon's classic introduction to the properties of materials used in engineering answers some fascinating and fundamental questions about how the structural world around us works. Gordon focuses on so-called strong materials--such as metals, wood, ceramics, glass, and bone--explaining in engaging and accessible terms the unique physical and chemical basis for their inherent structural qualities. He also shows how an in-depth understanding of these materials' intrinsic strengths--and weaknesses--guides our engineering choices, allowing us to build the structures that support our society. This work is an enduring example of first-rate scientific communication. Philip Ball's introduction describes Gordon's career and the impact of his innovations in materials research, while also discussing how the field has evolved since Gordon wrote this enduring example of first-rate scientific communication.

Robert M. Pirsig's Zen &amp; the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father &amp; his young son.

Apparently a classic of the sci-fi cannon, I'd never heard of this book until it came up on a book club here. It took me a long time to read only because of lack of time, and a rather annoying trait the author has that I'll go into later.This is one of those books that tells us more about the period it was written in than anything else, so it's important to note that it was first published in 1961 and later again in 1968 - when moon fever was running high and people seemed to have high expectations for human achievement. Events are set in an undisclosed future but the older characters seem to remember the first moon landing, so I wouldn't be surprised if Heinlein was thinking of it being set around about now. With a mix of very daggy technology like "stereo tanks" (TVs) and large, clumsy listening devices, alongside hover crafts and spaceships to Mars, the scope of the setting is hampered by a 50s' imagination. Stranger in a Strange Land is about Michael "Mike" Smith, the "Man from Mars", offspring of two of scientists on board the original mission to Mars, who was raised by Martians. He is more Martian than human, especially in his thinking and outlook and philosophy, when he is brought back to Earth. Heir to a shitload of money care of his parents' heritage, it's unsurprising that the bigshots on Earth are wanting to keep him locked up tight. A nurse at the hospital where he is first kept, Jill, offers him a glass of water and in that one action becomes a "water brother" - the highest accolade for Mike. She rescues him from the politicians with the help of her journalist friend Ben and takes him to the home of a grumpy, reclusive man, Dr Jubal Harshaw, who lives with three young women who serve as secretaries - Anne, Miriam and Dorcas - and two men who take care of the property - Duke and Larry. Mike's particular talents slowly reveal: he can vanish things, including people, if he recognises there is a "wrongness" in them; he can withdraw from his own body and shut down his body so there is no heartbeat; he can teleport and think telepathically; he can absorb books in minutes and regulate his own body, making it muscular and mature at will; and so on. All of this can be done with understanding of the Martian language, which Jill starts to learn. He's completely ignorant of human ways, of human concepts - things like jealousy, possessiveness etc. are all alien to him. He doesn't understand religions and he has never laughed.After months on the road with just Jill, learning and "grokking", he finally knows why humans laugh and how to do it himself, and gets the human condition. It leads him to start his own "church", though it's more of a way of life open to people of all religious denominations, with free love and open mindedness, and abilities gained through mastery of the Martian language. With Mike set up as a new Messiah, a prophet, there's only one logical conclusion for this story.As a story, Stranger in a Strange Land is enjoyable and original. Yet, as a story, it's also bogged down with sermons, with Heinlein's opinions, and a very out-of-date mentality. It reads very 60s and 70s, though it was written before then. Not as far-sighted as it would like to be! It's especially noticeable in the relations between men and women, which have that faintly liberated tinge that's all really lip service, and a great deal of sexist language. Which is ironic, really, considering Mike's free love cult. There's also an affectionate insult for a Muslim character who's nicknamed "Stinky" that I couldn't help but be offended by.It does make it hard to read, though, when you come across lines like this, as spoken by Jill very matter-of-factly: "Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's partly her fault." (p304) While today the statistics are more like "nine of ten times, a woman's rapist is someone she knows", the idea that it's "partly her fault" is still considered true by way too many people. To hear this come out of Jill's mouth makes it especially awful.Another example is Jubal saying: "Pipe down, Anne. Close your mouth, Dorcas. This is not a time when women have the vote." (p382) Granted, they ignored him and did what they wanted anyway, but there're a lot of these flippant, dismissive remarks all through the book. Product of its times, sure: just not at all futuristic.Then we come to the proselytizing, which the book is rife with. Today, reading this book, the opinions shared are very "yes, so?" - old hat, in other words. Though it is fun to read the rants, the set-up is cringe-worthy. Jubal is the main lecturer, and the characters around him serve as props. There are a great many "Huh?"s from educated and knowledgeable people so that Jubal can share his abundant wisdom. One "huh?" is okay, but when each long paragraph of Jubal is responded to with a "huh?" it gets a bit silly. Frankly, it's bad writing. It reminded me somewhat of The Da Vinci Code, which also uses characters to expound the author's theories on religion etc. at great length. While these things did at times make it harder to read the book, essentially the book is easy to read and often quite fun too. Jubal's sermons (and when Jubal isn't around, other characters fill the role, like Ben and Sam) can be a bit heavy-handed and obvious but a lot of it I agree with, so it wasn't rubbing me up the wrong way. Mike is a challenging character to write, because in order to write a naive, ignorant character to this extent, you need to be incredibly self-aware. Heinlein has fairly good success here, and Mike's growth, maturation, development and resolutions fit the character and work. He has charisma and is definitely intriguing; yet because he lacks the human flaws, he's also somewhat unapproachable and alien: a good balance to achieve.

Killing a sixty-ton sperm whale that could destroy a boat with a flick of its massive tail was no easy task. Whalemen of the early nineteenth century were not just hunters, they were also explorers—sailing on the uncharted sea in search of some of the largest creatures on earth. The most famous whale of all? Moby Dick. Here are Ishmael, Queequeq, Ahab, and of course, Moby Dick, rendered anew in a dynamic comic book adaptation of one of the greatest American novels ever written. The book also includes information about Herman Melville, facts about whales, and the history of the whaling industry. With all the flare and blaze of Melville’s original story, Moby Dick is sure to intrigue a new generation of readers with this fast-paced and electric portrayal of the famous battle between man and beast.

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate; this far from civilization the boys can do anything they want. Anything. They attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin and evil. And as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far from reality as the hope of being rescued. Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies is perhaps our most memorable novel about “the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”

Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereIn 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving and wise. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote to Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

Polite, pensive, mature, reserved ...Charlie Brooker is none of these things and less. Picking up where his hilarious Screen Burn left off, Dawn of the Dumb collects the best of Charlie Brooker's recent TV writing, together with uproarious spleen-venting diatribes on a range of non-televisual subjects - tackling everything from David Cameron to human hair. Rude, unhinged, outrageous, and above all funny, Dawn of the Dumb is essential reading for anyone with a brain and a spinal cord. And hands for turning the pages.

Vive la Revolution is an uproariously serious work of history. Brilliantly funny and insightful, it puts individual people back at the center of the story of the French Revolution, telling this remarkable story as it has never been told before.For the Haymarket edition, Steel has added a new preface for North American readers and revised the book to address parallel themes in US history.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists tells the story of a group of working men who are joined one day by Owen, a journeyman-prophet with a vision of a just society. Owen's spirited attacks on the greed and dishonesty of the capitalist system rouse his fellow men from their political quietism. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is both a masterpiece of wit and political passion and one of the most authentic novels of English working class life ever written

Coca-Cola and its logo are everywhere. In our homes, our workplaces, even our schools. It is a company that sponsors the Olympics, backs US presidents and even re-brands Santa Claus. A truly universal product, it has even been served in space.From Istanbul to Mexico City, Mark travels the globe investigating the stories and people Coca-Cola's iconic advertising campaigns don't mention. Child labourers in the sugar cane fields of El Salvador. Indian workers exposed to toxic chemicals. Colombian union leaders falsely accused of terrorism and jailed alongside the paramilitaries who want to kill them. And many more...Provocative, funny and stirring, Belching Out the Devil investigates the truth behind one of the planet's biggest brands.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Brave New World is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, inhabited by genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by only a single individual: the story's protagonist.

For the majority of my life, reading was never an interest. At all. I spent most of my childhood watching movies and playing video games and football. Reading was boring, time-consuming and pointless. But then, when I was around sixteen or so, something happened that changed my life drastically. I discovered Carl Sagan. I still remember buying Cosmos, unpacking it, excitedly starting it, and turning the volume up to the max. I watched all the episodes in a day: I couldn't stop. And then it happened. For the first time in my life, I ordered some books. The first three books I ever bought were all by Carl. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Billions &amp; Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, and finally, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space.Pale Blue Dot was the first I read, and it was mindblowing for me at the time. It was so illuminating. It's hard to describe the impact it had on me. Coupled with Cosmos and a number of videos on Youtube of Carl speaking, it completely changed my life - for the better. When I discovered Carl (and in extension, books, science, philosophy) I was horribly depressed and struggling a lot with a variety of things. Upon discovering him, I realised that there is more to life than bad movies, football, and wasteful video games.I still remember reading him, or watching Cosmos, or watching a lecture of his on Youtube, and listening attentively; I would then go to my parents and sit there for an hour or more, lecturing them about what I just heard or read. Probably I did not convey everything accurately but that wasn't the point either. I bought a telescope, and stayed up all night looking at the stars and the moon and listening to him on my MP3. Somehow, looking at those stars, and listening to him, and not only listening but finding what he said logical, reasonable -- an explanation as to why we are here that isn't religious or superstitious, but still much more beautiful than what any religion can come up with -- it gave some much-needed meaning to my life. It's strange how you can be punched in the gut by the vast meaninglessness of it all, and that's exactly where you find meaning.This is where it all started for me. Because of Carl (and yes, I will persist in calling him 'Carl', damn it), I discovered Richard P. Feynman. Because of Feynman I discovered Paul Dirac. All of this science-related. This led me to Arthur C. Clarke and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Eventually I discovered George Orwell, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Albert Camus, and all those other writers who have enriched my life ever since. So it was Carl, and this book in combination with Cosmos, that paved way for it all. My entire intellectual life is all because of him. It is almost certain that had I not come across Carl when I did, I would have remained depressed. Although my interest in science has waned (primarily because of my lack of proficiency in mathematics more than anything else), and my opinions and thoughts have changed (and continue to change all the time) I am still eternally grateful to Carl for opening the door for me to, well, thought. Most importantly, though, he showed me that life might be worth living after all. “A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called "leaves") imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic."

Of the two hundred stories that Anton Chekhov wrote, the twenty stories that appear in this extraordinary collection were personally chosen by Richard Ford--an accomplished storyteller in his own right. Included are the familiar masterpieces--"The Kiss," "The Darling," and "The Lady with the Dog"--as well as several brilliant lesser-known tales such as "A Blunder," "Hush!," and "Champagne." These stories, ordered from 1886 to 1899, are drawn from Chekhov's most fruitful years as a short-story writer. A truly balanced selection, they exhibit the qualities that make Chekhov one of the greatest fiction writers of all time: his gift for detail, dialogue, and humor; his emotional perception and compassion; and his understanding that life's most important moments are often the most overlooked."The reason we like Chekhov so much, now at our century's end," writes Ford in his perceptive introduction, "is because his stories from the last century's end feel so modern to us, are so much of our own time and mind." Exquisitely translated by the renowned Constance Garnett, these stories present a wonderful opportunity to introduce yourself--or become reaquainted with--an artist whose genius and influence only increase with every passing generation.

ContentsMap of CubaA Hundred Hours with Fidel1 The Childhood of a Leader  Childhood in Birán - Don Angel - The batey - Fidel's mother - Living in the teacher's house - Colegio de la Salle - Echoes of the war in Spain - The Jesuits of the Colegio de Dolores2  The Forging of a RebelThe first rebellions - The 'house of hunger' - The political atmosphere - The dictatorships of Machado and Batista - In trouble - Havana - The Colegio de Belén3  Entering PoliticsThe University - Eduardo Chibás - Cayo Confites - 'El Bogotazo' - Thinking about Moncada4  The Assault on the Moncada BarracksPreparation - The men - The weapons - The stratergy - The farm in Siboney - The attack - The retreat5 The Backdrop of the RevolutionBolívar - Slavery and independence - Autonomists and pro-Americans - The two wars of Independence - Carlos Manuel de Céspedes - Maximo Gómez - Antonio Maceo - José Martí6  'History Will Absolve Me'The Capture - Lieutenant Sarría - 'Ideas can't be killed' - The trial - The allocution - Prison7  Che GuevaraMexico - Meeting Che - Seeing eye to eye politically - Personality and determination - Preparations for a guerrilla war - Training8  In the Sierra MaestraThe Granma - Alegría de Pio - First victories - Che in combat - Raúl and Camilo - War strategies - The defeat of Batista - The triumph of the Revolution9  Lessons from a Guerrilla WarViolence and revolution - Ethics with the campesinos - Treatment of prisoners - Wartime justice in the Sierra10  Revolution: First Steps, First ProblemsTransition - Sectarianism - Public trials of torturers - The Revolution and homosexuals - The Revolution and blacks - The Revolution and women - The Revolution and machismo - The Revolution and the Catholic Church11  The Conspiracies BeginThe Revolution's first laws - Che and the administration - The agrarian reform - Che Guevara and revolutionary labour - First acts of sabotage - Ruptures with the US - Terrorism - Attempts on Fidel Castro's life12  The Bay of Pigs / Playa GirónThe attack - Mercenaries - US intervention - The military victory - Treatment of the defeated combatants - The prisoner exchange - The dirty war - The role of President Kennedy 13  The 'Cuban Missile Crisis' of October 1962The world on the brink of nuclear war - The Soviets' 'betrayal' - Failed negotiations - Letters between Castro and Khrushchev - Khrushchev, Gorbachev, Putin - The Kennedy assassination 14  The Death of Che GuevaraChe and the anti-imperialist movement - The farewell letter - In the guerrilla conflicts in Africa - Return to Cuba - Preparing the mission to the Andes - Régis Debray - The last battle - Che's legacy15  Cuba and AfricaAlgeria - Ahmed Ben Bella - Che in the Congo - Guinea-Bissau - South Africa invades Angola - 'Operation Carlota' - A decisive victory - New aggression - The battle of Cuito Cuanavale - A 'forgotten' deed of valour - Lessons of war16  The Emigration CrisesAgreements with Reagan - Camarioca - Mariel - The 'balseros' - The sinking of the tugboat on 13 July 1994 - Riots in Havana on 5 August 1994 - The Cuban Adjustment Act - Emigrants and 'refugees'  17  The Collapse of the Soviet Union The ecological disaster - The infrastructure - Computer mediocrity - The reign of the mafias - Living without the USSR18  The Ochoa Case and the Death PenaltyA revelation by Navarro Wolf - The MC businesses - Drugs and dollars - The Columbian connection - The execution of Ochoa - The Cuban Revolution and the death penalty - A de facto moratorium19  Cuba and Neoliberal Globalization The new capitalism - What is Socialism today? - Ideological confusion - The tragedy of the environment - Preserving the environment - 'The battle of ideas' - Towards a general education 20  President Jimmy Carter's VisitTorrijos and the Panama Canal Issue - Carter and the Mariel crisis - First encounters - Presidents of the United States - The Varela Project - Change the constitution? - The response21  The Arrest of the Dissidents in March 2003James Cason in Havana - Meetings in the Cuban Interests Office in Washington - War against Cuba? - The Raúl Rivero case - The Valladares affair - The death penalty22  The Hijackings in April 2003Air piracy - Heading for a new migration explosion? - The hijacking of the boat in Regla - The negotiations - The attitude of the American authorities - Revolution, Socialism and crime - Execution of three hijackers - A statement by José Saramago23  Cuba and SpainFelipe González - José María Aznar - The Spanish Socialists and the Cuban Revolution - The Spanish Left - The break with Felipe González - Franco and Aznar - King Juan Carlos I - Prince Felipe of Spain - Manuel Fraga24  Fidel and FranceA French education - The French Revolution - Victor Hugo an Les Misérables - Balzac and La Comédie Humane - Jean-Paul Sartre - General Charles de Gaulle - Régis Debray - François and Danielle Mitterand - Georges Marchais - Gérard Depardieu25  Latin AmericaSubcomandante Marcos - The indigenous peoples's struggle - Evo Morales - Hugo Chávez and Venezuela - The coup against Chávez - Progressive military leaders - Kirchner and the symbol of Argentina - Lula and Brazil26  Cuba TodayHuman rights - The economic embargo -  The press and information - The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 - President Bush's agressiveness - The Iraq War - A 'preventive war' against Cuba? - On terrorism 27  Summing Up a Life and a Revolution Eloquence and speeches - Love and hate - On treason - A dictator? - Attachment to the uniform - Regrets - The end of the sugar monoculture - The Revolution's successes - The judgement of history - Memorable personalities28  After Fidel, What?'Critic Number One' - Corruption - The single party - Fidel's salary - Socialism: no turning back? - The succession - Raúl Castro - Can the Revolution be brought down? - The future of the Revolution A Note on the Text and the Translation Some Key Dates in the Life of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution (1926 - 2007)NotesIndex

The young Che Guevara’s lively and highly entertaining travel diary, now a popular movie and a New York Times bestseller. This new, expanded edition features exclusive, unpublished photos taken by the 23-year-old Ernesto on his journey across a continent, and a tender preface by Aleida Guevara, offering an insightful perspective on the man and the icon.Features of this edition include:A preface by Che Guevara’s daughter AleidaIntroduction by Cintio Vintier, well-known Latin American poetPhotos &amp; maps from the original journeyPostcript: Che’s personal reflections on his formative years: “A child of my environment.”  Published in association with the Che Guevara Studies Center, Havana 

Featuring an enhanced version of the original's physics engine with even faster driving track designs, FlatOut 2 also boasts numerous improvements, enhancements...

A small group of actors who are putting on an interpretive Passion Play in Montreal begin to experience a meshing of their characters and their private lives as the production takes form against the growing opposition of the Catholic Church.

Martin Blank is a freelance hitman who starts to develop a conscience, which causes him to muff a couple of routine assignments. On the advice of his secretary and his psychiatrist, he attends his 10th year High School reunion in Grosse Pointe, Michigan (a Detroit suburb where he's also contracted to kill someone). Hot on his tail are a couple of over-enthusiastic federal agents, another assassin who wants to kill him, and Grocer, an assassin who wants him to join an "Assassin's Union."

A once-great silent film director, unable to make the transition to the new talkies, lives as a near-hermit in his Hollywood home, making cheap, silent sex films, and suffering in the knowledge of his sexual impotence, and apathetic about the plans to demolish his home to make way for a highway. His producer and his producer's girlfriend come by to see how he is doing (and to supply heroin to the actress as her payment). The girlfriend stays to watch them filming, and is deeply impressed by his methods. When the actress goes to the bathroom, and dies there of an overdose, the girlfriend takes her place in the film. Then the producer returns.

A small mid-20th century social-service-style office is a waystation for the souls of the recently deceased, where they are processed before entering their personal heaven - a single happy memory re-experienced for eternity. Every Monday, a new group of recently deceased people check in, and the "social workers" in the lodge explain their situation. Once the newly-dead have identified their happiest memories, workers design and replicate each person's chosen memory, which is staged and filmed. At the end of the week, the recently deceased watch the films of their recreated happiest memories in a screening room. As soon as each person sees his or her own memory, he or she vanishes to whatever state of existence lies beyond and takes only that single memory with them. The story pays most attention to two of the "counselors," Takashi (Arata) and Shiori (Oda). Takashi has been assigned to help an old man, Ichiro (played by Naito Taketoshi), select his memory. Reviewing videotape of Ichiro's life, Takashi learns that Ichiro had married Takashi's former fiancée after Takashi had been killed during World War II. Takashi has Ichiro assigned to another counselor, but is still troubled by his memories, causing both him and his quasi-romantic interest Shiori to re-examine their (after-) lives.

Living in the shadow of his famous psychiatrist father, with multiple issues to deal with while getting ready to remarry, the New York City psychologist, Dr Ben Sobel, has one more problem to take care of, after a fender bender with the powerful mob boss, Paul Vitti. Secretly suffering from intense anxiety attacks that render him incapable of doing what he is best at, the notorious gangster decides to pay the good doctor a visit, hell-bent on resolving his deep-seated issues before the annual meeting of Big Apple's Mafia Dons. Now, Ben has a pressing two-week deadline to come up with an effective solution, as his conflicted but dangerous patient takes no for an answer. Can Ben analyse this?

Prize-fighter Davey Gordon intervenes when private dancer Gloria Price is being attacked by her employer and lover Vincent Raphello. This brings the two together and they get involved with each other, which displeases Raphello. He sends men out to kill Davey, but they instead kill his manager. Gloria is soon kidnapped by Raphello and his men, and it is up to Davey to save her.

In New York City, American Brontë Parrish and Frenchman Georges Fauré enter into a marriage of convenience, not even meeting until the day of the civil marriage ceremony, introduced by their mutual friend Anton who arranged the union. Brontë and Georges don't expect to see each other again until they have each gotten what they wanted out of the marriage and are filing for divorce. Aspiring composer Georges has been in the States for five months, has long overstayed his tourist visa, and wants to be a permanent resident to get his green card, and marrying an American will solve that issue. Brontë, a horticulturist, needs to be married to obtain her dream apartment, which contains a geenhouse with a collection of exotic but currently-neglected plans, plus an expansive patio where she can grow plants for her research. Their plans are thrown for a loop when representatives from immigration services make a surprise visit to Brontë's new apartment--supposedly her and Georges' new apartment--in a clampdown on such marriages of convenience which constitute fraud. Brontë's lawyer advises that Georges should move into the apartment until their final hearing with immigration services, during which time they must get to know each other to convince immigration services that their marriage is not just one of convenience. Spending time together might be difficult for both but especially for Brontë as they try to hide their marriage from her friends and family, including her parents with their own idiosyncrasies and her current boyfriend Phil with whom she works. This means keeping them away from the apartment, as the building managers know her only as Mrs. Fauré and not Miss Parrish. But the biggest issue might be overcoming their fundamental differences as humans. They might find that the ultimate end prize is not what would happen after a successful meeting with the immigration representatives.

Charley Varrick and his friends rob a small town bank. Expecting a small sum to divide amongst themselves, they are surprised to discover a very LARGE amount of money. Quickly figuring out that the money belongs to the MOB, they must now come up with a plan to throw the MOB off their trail.

Because of his eccentric habits and bafflingly strange films, director

A group of drug users in the 1970's help finance their habit by robbing drug stores. Matt Dillon's character is very superstitious and eventually his luck runs out.

The Maclean brothers, Paul and Norman, live a relatively idyllic life in rural Montana, spending much of their time fly fishing. The sons of a minister, the boys eventually part company when Norman moves east to attend college, leaving his rebellious brother to find trouble back home. When Norman finally returns, the siblings resume their fishing outings, and assess both where they've been and where they're going.

Senator Jay Bulworth is facing speculation-induced financial ruin, so he puts out a contract on his own life in order to collect a large, new insurance policy for his family. Living each moment on borrowed time, he suddenly begins spouting raw, unfiltered--and sometimes offensive in word but satirical in spirit -- thoughts to shocked audiences and handlers in the speech of hip-hop music and culture. His newfound uninhibitedness and new relationship with Nina carry him on a journey of political and spiritual renewal.

A few decades after the destruction of the Inca empire, a Spanish expedition leaves the mountains of Peru and goes down the Amazon river in search of gold and wealth. Soon, they come across great difficulties and don Lope de Aguirre, a ruthless man who cares only about riches, becomes their leader. But will his quest lead them to "the golden city", or to certain destruction?

An investigator on the Moscow police force relentlessly pursues the solution to a triple homicide which occurred in Moscow's Gorky Park. He finds that no one really wants him to solve the crime because it is just the tip of a complex conspiracy which involves the highest levels of the Moscow city government.

When, unbeknownst to Gloria, a microfilm cassette is left with her by a dying agent, she becomes entangled in a complicated series of events. She's pursued by a dwarf and an albino, and becomes convinced that they are out to kill her. Finally, with the help of San Francisco detective Tony Carlson, she begins to turn the tables on her pursuers. It becomes clear that the nerfarious crew after her are plotting a dastardly deed indeed - to assassinate the Pope as he visits the city to see _The Mikado_. Gloria and Tony must race against time to prevent this terrible crime.

1947 in a small town in England. The war has been over for two years, but there's still rationing of meat. When Princess Elizabeth is going to marry, a group of businessmen wants to impress (or probably bribe) the local government by giving a big party. They want to slaughter an illegally raised pig for this event. Unfortunately, someone steals the pig.

The setting is Vienna. A young American woman is brought to a hospital after overdosing on pills, apparently in a suicide attempt. A police detective suspects foul play on the part of her lover, an American psychology professor. As doctors try to save her life, the detective interrogates the professor, and through flashbacks we see the events leading up to the woman's overdose; her stormy and intensely sexual relationship with the professor, her heavy drinking and numerous affairs, and her estrangement from her Czech husband. A darkly erotic study of several rather unsympathetic characters.

Best friends Dave, Mike, Cyril and Moocher have just graduated from high school. Living in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana, they are considered "cutters": the working class of the town so named since most of the middle aged generation, such as their parents, worked at the local limestone quarry, which is now a swimming hole. There is great animosity between the cutters and the generally wealthy Indiana University students, each group who have their own turf in town. The dichotomy is that the limestone was used to build the university, which is now seen as being too good for the locals who built it. Although each of the four is a totally different personality from the other three, they also have in common the fact of being unfocused and unmotivated in life. The one slight exception is Dave. Although he has no job and doesn't know what to do with his life, he is a champion bicycle racer. He idolizes the Italian cycling team so much he pretends to be Italian, much to the chagrin of his parents, especially his used car salesman father, Ray Stoller, who just doesn't understand his son. Dave crosses the unofficial line when he meets and wants to date a IU co-ed named Katherine Bennett, who, intrigued by Dave, in turn is already dating Rod, one of the big men on campus. Dave passes himself off to her as an Italian exchange student named Enrico Gismondi. Beyond Katarina as he calls her, Dave's main immediate focus is that the Italian cycling team have announced that they will be in Indianapolis for an upcoming race, which he intends to enter to be able to race his idols. After an incident at the race, Dave, with a little help from his parents and unwittingly by actions of his friends, has to reexamine his life, what he really wants to get out of it and how best to start achieving it.

The story takes place in sixteenth century England. But men like Sir Thomas More, who love life yet have the moral fiber to lay down their lives for their principles, are found in every century. Concentrating on the last seven years of the English Chancellor's life, the struggle between More and King Henry VIII hinges on Henry's determination to break with Rome so he can divorce his current wife and wed again, and good Catholic More's inability to go along with such heresy. More resigns as Chancellor, hoping to be able to live out his life as a private citizen. But Henry will settle for nothing less than that the much respected More give public approval to his headstrong course.

Ryoko Itakura is a government tax agent who has just landed a big promotion. Her first assignment is to catch wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo. She has a tough job, since in Japan tax evasion is an art and Gondo is, in effect, Rembrandt. Her job is complicated by a growing sympathy for the rogue and by political pressure to lay off.

American stand-up comedian, actor, and author

The irreverent Monty Python comedy troupe present a series of skits which are often surreal, bawdy, uncompromising and/or tasteless, but nearly always hilarious.

The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and often nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge, and his underwater friends. Dwelling a few fathoms beneath the tropical isle of Bikini Atoll in the sub-surface city of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob lives in a two-story pineapple. Instead of taking the logical approach to everyday challenges, SpongeBob approaches life in a wayward and unconventional way. Whether searching for the ultimate spatula to perfect his burger flipping technique at the Krusty Krab or just hanging out with his best friend Patrick (an amiable starfish), SpongeBob's good intentions and overzealous approach to life usually create chaos in his underwater world.

An animated series on adult-swim about the infinite adventures of Rick, a genius alcoholic and careless scientist, with his grandson Morty, a 14 year-old anxious boy who is not so smart. Together, they explore the infinite universes; causing mayhem and running into trouble.

During the Regency period, the insane King George III's stark raving mad son, George, is the Prince Regent of Wales. Vulgar and staggeringly slow-and-dim-witted, George exhausts the country's money and would surely be dead by now were it not for his dry, angry, bitter, arrogant and cynical butler, Edmund Blackadder, Esq. Blackadder is an ex-aristocrat who has lost his family fortune and been reduced to servant-hood, and full of loathing knowing he should have a better position then serving a lunatic. Sod-Off Baldrick is his dirty, smelly peasant servant, and Mrs. Miggins is an annoying cheerful coffee-shoppe owner who is too stupid to understand most of Mr. Blackadder's insults.

third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder

Sixty years after the demise of Prince Edmund Plantagenet, Queen Elizabeth I, who's as insane as her ancestors, is England's current leader. Seductive, easy-to-impress, spoiled, and always seeking a husband, "Queenie" has a leading courtier: Lord Edmund Blackaddder, great-grandson of the original. Now, however, he is dryly cynical and intelligent, but still trying to become king; this time by marrying the queen. However, her right-hand-man, Lord Melchett, will always serve as fair competition for her hand. Blackadder is again assisted by the clueless but fashionable Lord Percy Percy and dung-eating, "cunning" peasant Baldrick.

second series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder

Steven Toast, an eccentric middle-aged actor with a chequered past, spends more time dealing with his problems off stage than performing on stage.

TasteDive Official

Barret Lydiard

Because of a dearth of primary source materials author Kagan must progress here by way of thematic chapters: "The Statesman," "The Visionary," "The Peacemaker," and so on. We see the people, the buildings, the wars, the navy, the art, the pantheism, the slaves, the empire, the rebellions, the legal system, etc., but there's very little about the man himself, which I suppose is not surprising 2,400 years later. This was fine with me as I tend to dislike the traditional cradle-to-grave biographical story arc. In terms of primary sources there's Pericles's Funeral Oration reported by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponessian War and I think two other speeches. There's Plutarch's biography, written 400 years after the fact, and various mentions here and there. That's it. So Kagan is stuck with providing an overarching view of Pericles's times and locale. Still I found a lot to like about the book because what I wanted was a refresher on the way the Athenian Empire was formed and how it was maintained. Kagan spent about twenty years writing his four volume opus on the Peloponnesian War before undertaking his slimmer, more condensed version (The Peloponnesian War, Viking, 2003). So almost every line in the later volume has the sonorous ring that you'd expect from a lifetime's immersion in one's subject matter. The creation of Pericles of Athens one suspects was not so felicitous. There are two turgid patches that I skipped: one at the end of "The Peacemaker," the other at the end of "The Educator." Otherwise smooth sailing. It's perhaps not surprising that Kagan's later chapters on the Peloponnesian War are his strongest. These constitute a condensed almost capsule overview of the conflict. Interesting, too, uncanny in fact, is how many of the diplomatic moves made by Pericles during that conflict resemble 20th-century geopolitical maneuvering. Kagan without too much effort establishes the workings of this brilliant political mind. Recommended with some reservations. PS: I have a smart friend here at GR who is highly knowledgable about the cutting edge scholarship of this period. Let's be clear, this book is not for such a person. It is for the general reader.

music

movies

shows

books

games

people

Active tastebuds