Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space

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The Critics' Contempt for Simulated Spaces

Very comprehensive

Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space

Manufacturer: Hill and Wang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
United States | International | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Urban | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0374523142

Book Description

America's cities are being rapidly transformed by a sinister and homogenous design. A new Kind of urbanism--manipulative, dispersed, and hostile to traditional public space--is emerging both at the heart and at the edge of town in megamalls, corporate enclaves, gentrified zones, and psuedo-historic marketplaces. If anything can be described as a paradigm for these places, it's the theme park, an apparently benign environment in which all is structured to achieve maximum control and in which the idea of authentic interaction among citizens has been thoroughly purged. In this bold collection, eight of our leading urbanists and architectural critics explore the emblematic sites of this new cityscape--from Silicon Valley to Epcot Center, South Street Seaport to downtown Los Angeles--and reveal their disturbing implications for American public life.

Customer Reviews:

The Critics' Contempt for Simulated Spaces.......2001-08-12

This is a very thoughtful and provocative collection of eight essays on various simulated spaces which have infiltrated the American landscape. The book's overall thesis is that public space and "authentic" urban life increasingly has been replaced by simulations of urban life, usually as spaces of commodification (e.g. malls, gentrified districts, theme parks). In this process of replacing public space, aspects of American public life--open space for assembly, the interaction of different people, concern for communities--also get erased. While simulated spaces may seem to improve public space and public life, they do so at a cost, one that the critics seem to suggest is the loss of real public space and perhaps even of democracy.

The purpose of this book is not only to describe these spaces, but to oppose them. Each of the authors point to the negative effects of simulated space. In many cases, the essays' implications jump right out of the page and into your neighborhood. Margaret Crawford's essay on the Edmonton shopping mall could be applied to any mall in Anytown, USA. Neil Smith's essay on gentrification points out the high price that comes with "revitalization"; one is reminded of many similiar projects outside his NYC example: Philadelphia, Detroit, Seattle,and so forth. Edward Soja and Trevor Boddy both contribute well-written essays which demonstrate growing chasm between the "haves" and the "have-nots." With these essays, extended and local comparisons with dying urban areas and suburbia, sprawl, gated communities, and so forth are appropriate. Michael Sorkin's own essay on Disneyland turns a well-wrought phrase, and gives the Disney Studies scholar much to think about. (NOTE: Those interested in Disney should read this article if nothing else in the collection, although many of the essays are applicable to the study of Disney.) Of the essays, it is perhaps the one least obviously applicable to "real" life. But then again, Sorkin notes the distance between the simulated environment of the theme park and the reality of the city is decreasing.

Of course, the scholars' analyses are dark and even depressing. And more than once, the authors manage to sound like angry young critics filled with more agenda than action. More than once, extended discussion of the issues raised in the essays would have helped--although many of these authors do have full-length treatments elsewhere--or perhaps alternative perspectives which would have varied the collection's tone and helped sustain readers' interest. And like any collection some of the essays are stronger than others. Overall, though, the collection makes a reader stop and think. Many readers will end up carefully reconsidering 1) the state of American life and its public space and 2) one's participation in these developments. Variations deserves recognition for addressing these issues.

Very comprehensive.......1999-04-22

This book enlists many different authors, who all have an amazing point of view on the built environment. From gated communities to Disneyland, every chapter expresses concerns of fast-changing developed environments. Our cities are quickly becoming cold, enclosed enclaves. This book helped me realize how our society has snubbed the utilizaton of public space. This is definitely a book for every person interested in city planning, urban studies,or sociology. Whether a student or leisure reader, this book will open your minds to what is really taking place in our cities, suburbs, resorts, and recreational facilities. Any place in which society is forced to interact with one another is referred to in "Variations on a Theme Park". Read it. It will open your mind!

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A Must-Have for Quilting Enthusiasts

Wonderful Reading

Quilting and Color Made Easy
Susan McKelvey , and Janet Wickell
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Applique | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Color Magic for Quilters: Absolutely the Easiest, Most Successful Method for Choosing Colors and Fabrics to Create Quilts You'll Love

Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts

The Modern Quilt Workshop: Patterns, Techniques, and Designs from the Funquilts Studio

Color and Composition for the Creative Quilter: Improve Any Quilt with Easy-to-Follow Lessons

Color Harmony for Quilts: A Quiltmaker's Guide to Exploring Color

ASIN: 1579545548

Book Description

Theres always a challenge in quilting, and this book guarantees that quilters can rise to that challenge. Quilting and Color Made Easy provides all the basic techniques needed for cutting, piecing, and appliqu; includes shortcuts for sets, borders, and bindings; gives a straightforward explanation of the color wheel and how to use it specifically for quilting; and provides detailed charts for quilters to analyze and organize their fabric stash. Filled with beautiful photographs and written by two well-known professional quilters, this book appeals not only to the beginner but also to intermediate quilters who want to expand their basic knowledge.

Customer Reviews:

A Must-Have for Quilting Enthusiasts.......2007-08-10

This book was a wonderful surprise. I thought I was getting just a book on color, but this contains everything you need to know about piecing, applique, setting blocks, borders, binding, quilting, and more. And it has an entire section on color selection. It is easy to follow and very well diagrammed. I use this book 3-4 times a week.

Wonderful Reading.......2007-04-19

I bought this book as a beginning quilter trying to read as much as I could about all aspects of quilting including color. To my surprise this book turned out to be one that, as people who read good novels say, " I couldn't put it down!" type of book. It's full of information and tips that you want to highlight constantly....and not just about color. A very good sampling of the important aspects of quilting and color written in an understandable AND enjoyable way....very encouraging.

Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way: 17 Skill-Building Projects - Today's Guide to Quilting Basics - Color Choices Made Easy (Piece O'cake)

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Piecing the Piece O'Cake Way: 17 Skill-Building Projects - Today's Guide to Quilting Basics - Color Choices Made Easy (Piece O'cake)
Becky Goldsmith , and Linda Jenkins
Manufacturer: C&T Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Ruth B. McDowell's Design Workshop: Turn Your Inspiration into an Artfully Pieced Quilt

ASIN: 1571204164
Release Date: 2007-12-10

Book Description

Fun-to-make quilts in popping-bright colors, with complete instructions. That’s Piece O’ Cake Piecing, the book that shows exactly how to make 30 colorful quilts from 17 design. Start with simple favorites like Chinese coins or log cabin, then move on to more complex patterns as confidence grows. A complete guide to quilting basics includes how to sew scant quarter-inch seams, how to sign and label quilts, and much more. These cheerful quilts make wonderful gifts for weddings, babies, birthdays, or anniversaries. It’s all so easy...in fact, it’s a Piece O’ Cake!

* Seventeen fun pieced quilt designs, different looks with color and contrast

* Reference guide with quilting basics and step-by-step photos

Amazon.com

The depth of Adobe's After Effects is hidden by its seductive and unintimidating interface, which is why many new users quickly find themselves lost and full of questions. Adobe Press's Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book levels the learning curve and presents this complex program in manageable chapters.

Eleven lessons span the production of a single piece, from importing elements from other programs, to assembling these and other pieces into a final composition, through rendering for broadcast. Step-by-step guides walk you through each phase and plenty of screen shots help keep you on track.

This book is ideal for someone who has installed After Effects and toyed with it, but doesn't really know where to go from there. It expects some familiarity with the computer platform you're using, as well as some familiarity with external applications that use After Effects, such as Premiere, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

While an excellent book for beginners, it offers little information on using Expressions, and virtually nothing on audio filters. While After Effects is rarely used for tweaking audio, an appendix on the power of Expressions would have been welcome.

Looking at the finished product might seem a bit intimidating, but the team of authors are accomplished motion graphics professionals and have put together a solid body of work. While the early chapters seem wordy and visually boring, the pieces begin to fall into place once we begin rendering movies and using these movies as elements in a greater whole. Overall, the Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book is a valuable course in learning to harness the power of this impressive application. --Mike Caputo

Book Description

Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book

You can sink the Titanic with it, but you don't have to. Filmmakers andTV-commercial directors have turned to Adobe After Effects for years tocreate sophisticated visual effects, but its fan club is rapidly expandingto include graphic designers who want to add motion graphics to their Websites. Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book takes theintimidation factor out of this moviemaking program without diminishing itspowerful potential. Developed by the experts at Adobe, this project-basedguide walks you through easy-to-follow lessons tested in the company's ownclassrooms.

Not assuming any prior After Effects knowledge, Adobe After Effects 5.0Classroom in a Book takes a building-block approach. The book isdesigned around one large and complex project that is broken down intomanageable lessons, each of which builds on topics covered in previoussections. The task-oriented format mimics a real-world work flow: Features,functions, and subjects are introduced as they come up during the course ofthe project. This edition of the book covers what's new and exciting inAfter Effects 5.0: 3D compositing, hierarchical layering, and powerfulanimation and masking enhancements. The accompanying cross-platform CDincludes all the files you need to complete the projects.

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Monster Encyclopaedia: The Dark Bestiary (D20)
G. Hanrahan
Manufacturer: Mongoose Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Role Playing & Fantasy | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1904854834
Release Date: 2005-04-28

Product Description

Theres always a rush of excitement when Mongoose starts a new line, and now we have turned our attention to monsters! The Monster Encyclopaedia II is the second in what will become the definitive guide to fantasy monsters. This 256-page hardback is crammed full of beautifully designed monsters, each accompanied by its own new and unique art piece. The Monster Encyclopaedia series s designed to take a fresh look at a central theme of fantasy gaming. Written by impressive Mongoose newcomer J.C. Alvarez, and illustrated by a plethora of artists.

Book Description

The Kelly clan had hoped for a better lot in Australia than in Ireland. In the new Australian colony, however, they found themselves once again destined to lives of poverty, rejection, and powerlessness. With their dream of dignity, freedom, and land denied them, some succumbed and others rebelled. Since his death in the old Melbourne Gaol, Ned Kelly has become part of the land and its memories. In this evocative, imaginative recreation of the Kelly story, the author unravels the tangled skein of a life over which legend has cast a spell.

Customer Reviews:

NOT THE BEST HISTORY.......2003-11-20

I picked this one up in Sydney and I was looking forward to ripping through it in a good interpretive read on Australia's most famous bad man. I found the style to be more than a little put-offish.... Moloney's quest he says, is to rescue Ned in the consciousness of Australia.

At least he is honest in his predjudice. Although there are many ways of re-evaluating Ned and his place in Australian history, Molony is really using myth to reinvent both Ned AND Australia. Ned becomes the repository of every Australian virtue and historical vissitude. At times the prose style waxes into a sort of critical literary interpretation of Ned. It is disconcerting and, for an avid reader of history, smacks of myth-making and grandiose visions. All that, I think, actually undermines Ned and his place in history; by asserting that he is a sort of time-independent Oz Zeitgeist we learn little of the real Ned and nothing real of Australian history.

Such historical writing is not just subserviant to historical distortion, it also makes for not such a wonderful read....

For real Ned Kelly buffs this book is de rigour. But for those looking to get a better look at the real man and the cultural, historical themes that surround his life, I do not recommend this book. Almost any other title on Ned would be better to read.

Book Description

Provides an efficient approach to planning, program development, and evaluation for all health and human service populations.

Customer Reviews:

course book.......2007-04-05

excellent condition - very detailed book- caseas are a little more expository than I expected. maybe because I have don't have any experience with legal/law issues.

Average customer rating:
The Martial Arts and Ways of Japan: Volume II, Classical Budo
Donn F. DRAEGER
Manufacturer: Weatherhill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OPFGIW

Book Description

This comprehensive pictorial history tells the story of Black women in eight parts: Family Life, Work, Hair, Resistance, Class, Education, Religion and Community, and Inner Life. In addition to 302 carefully chosen images, the editors provide descriptive captions and quotations from letters, diaries, journals, and other sources.

Customer Reviews:

your mother's mother , mother.......2007-01-21

i was amazed at the photos. i could not help but to wonder if any of these women and men could be my ancestors. you see so many similarites in the faces on the pages to people you see everyday. i wish there were more in the captions to explain the photos. but when you consider the time that many of these photographs were taken, the captions are in the faces and the demeanor of the subjects. why? is probably the question that could never be answered. and if a reasonable explanation could somehow be given it wouldn't be enough. no matter how broken the mother, father, sister, brother in these photograghs looked. i wish they could all know that their unbearable weight, sorrow and pain helped to develop a strong, defiant, capable and proud race of people.

A Must Purchase.......2001-11-29

This book covers generations of history. The pictures are
breath-taking....it gives you a sincere sense of purpose.

A Must Purchase.......2001-11-29

This book covers generations of history. The pictures are
breath-taking....it gives you a sincere sense of purpose.

Beautiful pictures, beautifully captioned.......2001-01-02

This is a marvelous and moving selection of visual moments, carefully chosen and elegantly captioned. It is refreshingly free of the stuffily convoluted prose one would expect of a book from an academic press. Although the pictures could be said to speak for themselves (and sometimes they can), the information supplied by the gracefully literate writer(s) is helpful and interesting.

Groups of photographs can be wonderful to look at. This collection rises far above what it might have been by means of the exquisite care that was taken in its selection and the highly accessible captioning that accompanies the images.

Good intentions, amazing illustrations, poor captions........2000-12-09

The visual imagery in this collection is terrific, enabling readers' memory, longing, wisdom, regret, sorrow, enormous admiration (of the subjects and all that they represent)- and wonderment. The people and the settings resonate. These are important images. You might well be moved to tears. There is no shortage of emotional appeal to the viewer. One cannot be unaffected by this collection, and all that it represents.

In addition, historically important works of art (engravings and paintings) are reproduced - although unfortunately none in color. The captioning is - for a work of this scope and size, and for illustrations of such power - inconsistent and therefore disappointing, though.

Because it's published by an academic press, I expected a more careful and rigorous treatment. Books of this scope and ambition are few and far between, and one treasures the illustrations - the historic visual record - in and of itself. It's dicey to criticize a collection that has as its focus such a compelling (and neglected) subject: the history of African American women.

The subject matter is terrific - but the book is less so. One wishes that the editors had had an editor. (Why, for example, is the "b" of "black" capitalized? To my knowledge this is not conventional usage, and it detracts.)

So what happened? At times the work seems rushed. For example, three people are photographed, two are identified by name, the third called "unknown." In fact, the writer means "unidentified." Accompanying a photo of a shoeless farm worker is the caption telling one, redundantly, that she is barefoot. A number of captions identify the subject as "Unidentified woman, [location, date.]" That seems lifted directly from states' historical societies' archives. One expects more - or less - but not words that merely interfere with one's experience. One does not need to be told that a photograph is a "photograph."

Occasionally, the editors engage in assumptions regarding the illustrations that, in my view, interfere with the power of the imagery, and reduce the value of this compilation. Guessing as to the subjects' activities in a photograph by Jack Delano, they write that a woman and several children are "possibly waiting for the husband and father to get his hair cut." In fact, one cannot know, and do not need to know, what the people were doing that day. The photo is about much more than that. Another incredible photo of a woman and a girl is accompanied by more guesswork as to the relationship of the subjects (mother and daughter?). There is wordiness to many of the captions. Worst case, there is sometimes unintentional patronization: subjects are identified as "lovely young women," (p. 81) or "fashionable," "attractive" (p.4). The end result is a sense that this book was rushed, and that - despite the impressive pool of archival material from which it was assembled - some corners were cut. The editors use interesting and illuminating quotations in places - but meagerly. There is brief index of names of subjects, and names of quoted women, omitting place names and more.

Customer Reviews:

BLACK WOMEN'S VOICES.......2000-09-07

THIS TERRIFIC BOOK RECAPTURES BLACK WOMEN'S EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THE UNIQUE LIVES THEY LED. WE KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT FREE BLACK WOMEN IN THE SOUTH AND THESE LETTERS AND DIARIES BRING TO LIFE A NEGLECTED CHAPTER OF OUR HISTORY AND THEIR EXPERIENCE.....PLUS THE DIARY OF THIS YOUNG BLACK WOMAN DURING THE CIVIL WAR IS A COMPELLING HISTORICAL VOICE. THE EDITOR HAS DONE A TERRIFIC JOB SETTING THESE VOICES IN CONTEXT SO WE CAN ONCE AGAIN HEAR THEIR STORIES AND READ THE WORDS OF LOST BLACK WOMEN FROM THE PAST.

Generations Past: A Selected List of Sources for Afro-American Genealogical Research

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Generations Past: A Selected List of Sources for Afro-American Genealogical Research

Manufacturer: Library of Congress
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Online Research | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books

Historical sketches of African-American churches (past & present) of Augusta County, Staunton, Waynesboro, & vicinity: Including cemetery burial records and biographies

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Historical sketches of African-American churches (past & present) of Augusta County, Staunton, Waynesboro, & vicinity: Including cemetery burial records and biographies
Joe Nutt
Manufacturer: Community Involvement Awareness
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

William Dorsey's Philadelphia and Ours: On the Past and Future of the Black City in America

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William Dorsey's Philadelphia and Ours: On the Past and Future of the Black City in America
Roger Lane
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Slavery & Emancipation | World | History | Subjects | Books

Communications | Intellectual Property | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Lane here illuminates the African-American experience through a close look at a single city, once the metropolitan headquarters of black America, now typical of many. He recognizes that urban history offers more clues, both to modern accomplishments and to modern problems, than the dead past of rural slavery. The book's historical section is based on hundreds of newly discovered scrapbooks kept by William Henry Dorsey, Philadelphia's first black historian. These provide an intimate and comprehensive view of the critical period between the Civil War and about 1900, when African-Americans, formally free and increasingly urban, made the biggest educational and occupational gains in history. Dorsey's tens of thousands of newspaper clippings and other sources, detail records of high culture and low, success and scandal, personal and public life. In the final chapters Lane outlines the urban situation today, the strong parallels between past and present that suggest the power of continuity and the equally strong differences that point to the possibility of change.

The 100 Must Reads for African-Americans: From the African Past to Today

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The 100 Must Reads for African-Americans: From the African Past to Today
Columbus Salley
Manufacturer: Citadel Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

Sources of the African-American Past: Primary Sources in American History (2nd Edition)

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Sources of the African-American Past: Primary Sources in American History (2nd Edition)
Roy E. Finkenbine
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUBT56

Voices from the past: A collection of references to the African American community in the state of Indiana

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Voices from the past: A collection of references to the African American community in the state of Indiana
Hurley C Goodall
Manufacturer: H. Goodall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

Anthony Howlett and a distinguished panel of experimentalists describe in detail a series of cutting-edge methods for dissecting the role of integrins in biological processes. This wide-ranging collection includes protocols for the analysis of integrin expression-at both the RNA and protein levels-and for elucidating the functional properties of integrins, including those at the cellular level. Each method provides step-by-step instructions for easy reproducibility, along with extensive notes about potential pitfalls, and tips on how to avoid failure. Offering powerful tools for understanding how integrins regulate cell growth, differentiation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and apoptosis as well as how abnormalities of integrin expression and function may be implicated in various pathologic conditions, Integrin Protocols constitutes a gold-standard collection of techniques for both new and experienced investigators of the molecular and cellular basis of cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disorders, and cancer.

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