What Should I Do if Reverend Billy Is in My Store?

Book Description

The spiritual leader of the renowned Church of Stop Shopping takes his anticonsumerist sermon from the stage to the page.

The Reverend Billy is a revivalist preacher who leads the Church of Stop Shopping, an anticonsumerist communion devoted to putting the odd into God. Created by the actor Bill Talen, the Reverend first appeared alongside the sidewalk preachers in New York's Times Square during the Giuliani years, bringing his new post-religious theology to eager crowds. Now Reverend Billy has a cult following across the country and was recently featured in a profile in the New York TImes Magazine. In these pages we go inside the Disney Store on 42nd Street ("the high church of retail") to witness staged dramas against consumerism that employ eight hundred Disney characters with their "reeling eyeballs and sky-cracking grins" as the mise-en-scène. We encounter the icon-twisting logic of credit card exorcism performed in front of astonished tourists and listen to a gospel choir made up of "recovered preachers' kids" singing anti-Starbucks anthems at the cash register of the $5 latte. We watch as the defense of a community garden is turned into an Off-Broadway hit and join with the Reverend as he preaches love and peace to the crowds that gathered spontaneously in Union Square after the attacks of September 11.

Customer Reviews:

What is a Vente Mochacino anyway?.......2006-05-16

You know that local store in your town that has been there for years? Maybe you even know the name of the nice woman behind the counter, or maybe she knows yours. Yeah, that one. Soon it will be gone. A large corporation from another town in another state will move into that store and that nice lady won't work there anymore because they pay somebody from another town less money. Over time you will notice this happening alot. Look around YOUR neighborhood, do you see a Home Depot where the hardware store used to be? Is there an Applebees where your favorite restaurant as a child used to stand? If not, there will be. Unless we listen to the message of Bill Talen, an out of work actor from Hells Kitchen. When in character as "Reverend Billy" he preaches to anyone willing to listen about the serious problems that consumerism and relentless advertisment and big business in general cause in our neighborhoods. He also preaches about the solution to the problem, simple things that we, you and i, can do in our own lives to combat this problem. We can practice consumer disobediance, we can avoid shopping at places like Walmart and go to the local grocery. Or you can actually walk past the fifteen Starbucks' on your block and buy coffee from your local deli. Maybe the guy who owns the deli coaches your kids soccer team. Who owns Starbucks? Does he care about your family or your neighborhood? Rev. Billy cares about your neighborhood and so should you.

Buy this book??.......2003-12-28

Stop shopping. Good advice.

Mighty Mouse.......2003-11-25

Mickey on the cross, credit card exorcisms and the anti-consumerist gospel are just a few of the wonderful things you can expect out of Reverend Billy's shows. All of this has been captured on the page in this captivating and passionate book. Funny and wise, who needs a Starbucks coffee when you have Bill Talen to wake you up.

Average customer rating:
The Renewal Factor: How the Best Get and Keep the Competitive Edge
Robert Waterman
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Decision-Making & Problem Solving | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Organizational Change | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0553052268
Release Date: 1987-09-01

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The Renewal Factor How the Best Get and Keep the Competitive Edge
Robert H. Jr. Waterman
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0N6IO

Book Description

In the last forty years, at least fifty books have been written on the subject of soil mechanics, most of them textbooks. Only a few touch on practical applications. Soil Engineering: Testing, Design, and Remediation supplies the information needed to fill the gap between textbook learning and practical know-how. When engineers deal with major projects, such as the Teton Dam or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, they need high-tech solutions. More often than not, however, they deal with the foundations for warehouses, schools, medium-rise buildings, and residential structures, projects that need low-tech solutions. Ninety percent of the time consulting engineers don't require mathematical treatment or computer analysis, they require experience. Soil engineering problems cannot be resolved with textbook information alone. This book provides the practical meaning of the different aspects of soil mechanics, the use of unconfined compression test data, the meaning of consolidated tests, the practical value of lateral pressure, and more. In addition to the technical aspects of foundation investigation, in the real world the shadow of litigation looms over every consultant's head. The author covers legal issues in detail. After several years in foundation investigation most consultants realize that soil engineering is a combination of art and science. Soil Engineering: Testing, Design and Remediation demystifies this connection and supplies real-world examples of practical applications. This hands-on, ready reference will be essential tool for any consultant working in the field.

Book Description

The Plant-Book is widely accepted as an essential reference text for anyone growing or writing about plants. In over 20,000 entries this comprehensive dictionary provides information on every family and genus of seed-bearing plant (including gymnosperms) plus ferns and other pteridophytes, combining taxonomic details with invaluable information on English names and uses. In this new edition each entry has been updated to take into consideration the most recent literature and over 2,500 new entries have been added, ensuring that The Plant-Book continues to rank among the most practical and authoritative botanical texts available.

Customer Reviews:

Just the Best!.......2003-07-31

I purchased this reference a few years ago. Once I received it and began using it, I wondered how I'd ever gotten along without it. The author's British and so the dictionary's common names are more often "British" than "American", but it is still the handiest plant dictionary I have. It is a little larger than pocket size, but it is still small enough to be held comfortably in one hand.

A review is superfluous.......2000-07-10

This book does not need a review. Anybody who is involved in plants, other than the garden kind, knows full well that this is an essential reference. Quite up to date too, which is pretty amazing in view of the pace that science sets. There is an enormous mass of data in here, printed on very thin paper, making for a very handy book that will fit a spot near where you need it, which is likely to be often.

My most used reference book.......1999-11-07

As a graduate student in ecology I often encounter unfamiliar genera in the literature, and a quick peek in Mabberley gives me enough taxonomic grounding to keep plowing ahead. By constantly referring to this book, I have greatly improved my knowledge of plant relationships.

Book Description

Precise details and patterns for making more than 20 items of horse clothing, from blankets to browbands.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Book for Horse Owners On a Budget.......2002-09-15

I've had this book for sometime now and have refered to it often. I had purchased a pattern for blankets but found the one made from the book instructions fit better than trying to alter the blanket pattern. Cool ideas for saddle pads and custom brow bands--would be useful if putting together team gear or as a Pony Club project.

Horse gear on a budget.......2000-05-03

I own three horses and when you start buying stuff for three horses you find out rather quickly how expensive it can be. With this book you will learn how easy it is to make your own horse blankets, polo wraps, and other usefull equipment. This book has helpful charts, included patterns as well as easy to follow step by step instructions. Even the beginner can save money and have fun making their own horse clothing.

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Make Your Own Riding Clothes
Perry
Manufacturer: J. A. Allen & Company, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Textile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0851317189

Book Description

This book shows how to make 21 items of riding clothing, from jodhpurs to hat covers, featuring step-by-step instructions and patterns.

Amazon.com

The best sports stories are about overcoming overwhelming odds, confronting adversity, and--with a magical combination of skill, will, impossibly hard work, and determination--beating back the obstacles and triumphing with grace. It's no surprise, then, that Jackie Joyner-Kersee, multi-Olympic champion, All-American basketball star, and all-around inspiration and role model would include "Grace" in the title of her stirring autobiography; through her long careers, she has been both its beneficiary and its embodiment. Her journey from the poverty of East St. Louis to international fame and accomplishment is a marvelous tale of courage and conviction, which she movingly relates with passion, humor, honesty, and, of course, grace.

Book Description

Jackie is known throughout the world as the best female athlete ever - the winner of six Olympic medals, three of them gold; the current world-record holder in the heptathlon (the women's version of the male decathlon); the one-time world-record holder in the long jump; and an All-America basketball player. She grew up in East St. Louis in a house "little more than wallpaper and sticks". Her parents were poor teenagers when they married. She made her first long-jump pit in her backyard from borrowed playground sand. One of her first performances went unrecorded because of the color of her skin. Yet Jackie not only had an innate ability to conquer speed and distance, but possessed an irrepressible personality and a deep, unshakable love of sport. As she harnessed her talents, Jackie began an amazing string of multisport successes. In the midst of it all, she would try to hold her family together after her mother's tragic early death (Mary was only 37), and face her own devastating grief. As she climbed the dizzying heights of international and Olympic competition, she would face relentless media attention that escalated when she married Bob Kersee, her enormously successful - and controversial - coach. As she reached her profession's peak, she would battle life-threatening asthma, unfounded accusations of drug-induced performance enhancement, and recurring injuries. Ultimately, she would unite her experience and determination to achieve the most meaningful victories of all - those that shape and build lives beyond the field.

Customer Reviews:

A Heart-filled Story of Triumph.......2001-05-22

Jackie Joyner-Kersee elaborately describes the struggles and obstacles that she had to overcome to become a successful and outstanding athlete and person. Her book is filled with emotions that the reader can intially relate to. Her life was filled with adversity and proves that a strong and self-determined person can triumph regardless of depressing and self-destructing obstacles that may stand in your way. Jackie, who is portrayed through the media to be "Superwoman" is really more human and down to the earth than most of the world. Life for Jackie was not always "peaches and cream." She was born and raised in East St. Louis, which was not known as a very safe place at the time. A reporter once suggested to Jackie that she should not tell people where she was from cause it might destroy her image. This event, however, made Jackie appreciate her hometown even more. You cannot put into words why this woman is thought of as superb. She went from rock bottom to soaring to the unlimited top. With the help of this book, Jackie's title as "The World's Greatest Female Athlete" has been justified.

A Heart-filled Story of Triumph.......2001-05-22

~TOTALLY AN INSPIRATION, PERFECT ROLE MODEL~.......1999-07-17

A Kind of Grace is an excellent book. I think everyone should read it. It gave me a whole new look on life and how to appreciate everything I have. It also gave me inspiration to work hard at track. Now I have the heart and determination to train, lift weights, and practice, practice, practice. So everyone please buy and read this wonderful book, A Kind of Grace.

well-written, entertaining, and deeply moving.......1999-06-04

Jackie Joyner-Kersee's autobiography is everything a biography should be, well-written, entertaining, and deeply moving. Unlike many celebrity bios that center around events, primarily ones that reflect well on the author, Jackie's book is people-centered and equally honest about her struggles as well as her triumphs. She writes with love and admiration about many people who have touched her life both in big and small ways. It is not hard to see why Jackie became the woman and athlete that she is. This book could have just as easily been titled "The World's Greatest Role Model for Young People."

A Kind of Grace the autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete

Average customer rating:

A Kind of Grace the autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Manufacturer: Warner Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IXT3SE

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A Kind of Grace: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Jackie; Steptoe, Sonja Joyner-Kersee
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KOZE6G

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee on A Kind of Grace
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B000EQDE3K

Kind of Grace : The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete

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Kind of Grace : The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0446912670

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A Kind of Grace The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete
Kessler Leonard ( Recipes from Royal )
Manufacturer: Warner Bks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LCXX8I

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A Kind of Grace The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Female Athlete
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7EVEG

Customer Reviews:

AMAZING MAGIC=TRUTH.......2006-04-09

Another of my fatherZ favoriteZ to give for EVOLVING CONSCIOUSNESS. He is a SHAMAN in Costa Rica. i LOVE this book & often refer back to IT!!!
Misspiglet.com

Too Much.......2006-03-16

The issue with this book isn't that it demands an open mind, although that certainly will help. The issue is that it tries too hard to tie too many things together, and in doing so references some topics that stretch credulity, even for a book like this. For instance, the Billy Meier abduction has been pretty thoroughly debunked but it's in here. Sitchin's Nibiru? There is some pretty strong cosmological evidence that it couldn't exist or, at the very least, that it could not have been created in the way that Sitchin insists. I'm willing to give Frissell the benefit of the doubt on Toth, Melchizedek, and the greys but by bringing in these other concepts he calls everything into question. If he "knows" all this information as he claims, he should know what is crap too.

Having said that, it's a thought provoking read and the breathing exercises might be valuable, if only I could visualize tetrahedrons.

Unintentionally Humorous.......2005-10-14

The parts of this book intended to be serious are, in fact, hilarious. This guy is nuts.

wow..........2005-02-19

There are people that liked this book??? My gods man! This book is ssssooooo bad! The guy who wrote this is obviously intelligent enough to take bits of information soak them up, put them together in a very skitzo way and produce a book that can only be enjoyed by those who are equally messed up. If he would have left off the last 6 words of the title i would have enjoyed the book! Look people you want something along the alien/spiritual/magick lines go check out Robert anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger. At least in there you will have the detachment from a genius author who does not believe everything he thinks.

Quite amazing and interesting.......2003-02-02

Straight up, this book is one of the most interesting things ive ever read... Bob Frissel seems like a very interesting person and all of it was very very good. There were some parts that were too far fetched such as how the human race was created... but the previous reviewer was wrong about a "microscopic ship being lifted into the sky." It is far fetched but what he says is "this ship was only a few atoms thick" a few thick, he never said how wide, but thats not the point. He covers a lot about ascended masters, christ consciousness, sacred geometry(which is interesting beyond beleif), the greys, the fourth dimension, everything... but the important thing when reading this is to keep an EXTREMELY open minded, because anything is possible... right?

Nothing in This Book is True, But It's Exactly How Things are. The Esoteric Meaning of the Monuments on Mars.

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Nothing in This Book is True, But It's Exactly How Things are. The Esoteric Meaning of the Monuments on Mars.

Manufacturer: Frog Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I38TUM

Book Description

This is a landmark book for artists.

This edition catalogues the changes in watercoloor paint manfufacturing since the first edition in 1991 and 1995. Ten new companies have been featured, bringing the total to 29. The information in this book enables the caring artist to buy their expensive materials with confidence. The 'bible' to many and a must for the concerned artist.

Customer Reviews:

Aren't all Cadium Reds alike?.......2007-02-19

It is amazing how different the colors are look and behave. Confused by the labeling PB42 or Hue or ASTM I? Why does the same labelings (i.e. PR108) appear on multiple colors? What do those weird names really represent? It makes for interesting reading - the history, the best, and the worst products. I always wondered why some of my watercolors looked grainy. Not all colors by the best manufacturer rate highly. This book looks like a lifelong effort that will save your experimenting forever to find a good Cadium Red color, a member of one of the 10 major color groupings covered.

Invaluable reference--buy before you buy paint!.......2006-05-26

If you spend hours or days painting a watercolor picture, you are going to want to use the best possible paints. You won't want to see your painting fade, become blotchy, or otherwise deteriorate due to inferior paint. To prevent just that sort of thing, this reference book attempts to educate you on the pigments used in watercolor paints--their lightfastness especially, but also other qualities. Which pigments will fade or become blotchy over time? Which will stay strong and true? This book does its best to exhaustively answer those questions.

This book has been updated several times. It is due for another update, but since there is no telling when or even if such an update will be produced, it is still so valuable that I highly recommend getting it now before you buy any (more) watercolor paints.

Although I am reading it all the way through (because that's the kind of person I am), this is not a book to be read, but rather referred to. Let's say, for example, that you want to replace a red you've been using. You would turn to the description of the red pigments, glance through to find the pigments that have been rated highly lightfast by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Measurement) and that have the color quality you want, then you would turn to the paint reference section to see what brands offer a red using the chosen pigment(s). Even if you cannot find a brand that suits you (and you should be able to), armed with the information in this book, you can go shopping with confidence, checking the paint tubes to make sure they have the pigment you want and not some pigment that will fade and ruin your painting.

For that alone, this book is valuable.

Allow me to address some of the comments other reviewers have made. One reviewer commented that the Da Vinci paints are student grade. I disagree. I've tried a number of different brands, and Da Vinci's artist-grade paints are wonderful--buttery, smooth, and a pleasure to use. (I also like many of Windsor & Newton's paints.) Yes, Michael Wilcox contracted with Da Vinci to create his own custom line of paints, but, as he states in the latest edition of this book, he did that many years after the initial editions in which he had already praised and recommended many of Da Vincis's paints. And he doesn't hold back in criticizing many of the Da Vinci student-grade paints, nor does he hold back in praising or criticizing any brand of paint.

I believe that Mr. Wilcox has tried to be as objective as possible, and I also do *not* see any inappropriate pushing of his own line of paints. He has a single very low-key page--at the back of the book!--describing the Michael Wilcox School of Color, which lets you be the judge of whether you want to look into it more. I also haven't seen any advertisements of his line of paints in the book yet, and, as I said, I'm reading it cover to cover. (I'm in the reds at the moment, though, so I could be wrong, but if the remaining pages follow the pattern already established, I don't expect to see any such advertisement in the remaining pages.)

Another reviewer said that this book has out-of-date paints (it does) and *doesn't* reflect reformulations (but it does). Had they read the book (though perhaps they had an older edition), they would have found Mr. Wilcox's reasons for including discontinued paints. He states that some people may have those older paints still in their supplies, and so he wanted to present that information for those people. If you are a watercolor artist, you know how long paints last. I have tubes I purchased ten years ago. I know artists who have tubes they purchased even longer ago. How valuable it is to be able to read what is in those paints, and possibly avoid using something that will, in the end, disappoint!

He also provides information on old formulas, with an arrow pointing to a new entry on the reformulated paint. Again, including information on both the old and new formulations is valuable. If you are an artist with the old formulation in your supplies, you will want to know that (A) it is perhaps unsuitable and (B) there is a better replacement available for it. Yes, it is possible that there have been even further reformulations since the last edition, but each edition has been keeping up with the times, and I fully expect that, should Mr. Wilcox produce another edition, it will be as up-to-date as possible.

The one valid criticism of this book is that it could be better organized and better edited. DEFINITELY. There are missing words, grammatical errors, punctuation errors, dead-end sentences, orphan sentences, sentence fragments, and so on pretty much on every page. The organization of the material could also be better, and more information on both his testing methods and on the ASTM standards would be greatly appreciated. Mr. Wilcox should perhaps be told that there are copy editors he can hire on a contract basis to copy-edit his works and improve them vastly. Better yet, a developmental editor, who will be more expensive but also more valuable, could help with the organization and content as well.

An alphabetical index of at least all the colors would be great too. A professional indexer could create such.

These are the reasons I gave this book four stars instead of five are (A) the age of the book, (B) the errors, and (C) the need to better organize and expand the content, especially the information on testing standards and methods.

However, flaws aside, this is an enormous work, enormously valuable, with clearly hundreds if not thousands of hours of work put into it, and the information shows that effort.

It should also be mentioned that, before Michael Wilcox published the first edition of this book, whether you would get good paints from even some of the major manufacturers was a hit-or-miss proposition. Many non-lightfast pigments were used, and poor quality paints were created, even by the giants. When this book hit the scene, it had a great deal of positive influence on the watercolor manufacturers. Many of them dropped or reformulated their more questionable paints. That in itself tells you the value of the information in this book. Of course, the ASTM had a lot to do with it too, but without this book pointing out the lack of clothes on the emperor, I am not sure how much weight the ASTM standards alone would have had.

If you are a watercolor artist, do yourself the favor of adding this book to your reference library.

The least favorite book of my collection.......2004-04-15

Inaccurate information abounds. Tiresome reading. Little good information. Overly expensive...sorry I bought it.

valuable resource.......2004-03-26

This exhaustive (not to be confused with exhausting) research-based volume should be mandatory reading for all those artists interested in giving their customers their utmost quality of paint on works of art sold. So many paints are not light-fast, or are 'fugitive' (absolutely unreliable), or are packaged by the manufacturer as 'new' colors when they are, in fact, only creative blends of basic colors that any artist can create with colors they likely already have. This book, covering many of the watercolor paint producers in the Western world, exposes these flawed paints, but also gives credit where due to the top-notch pigments and their manufacturers. Details of content, health ratings, color-fastness and quality of brush use are easily understood. Fantastic color swatches (before and after exposure to light) are beside each manufacturer's sample. My only complaint is that this is the only edition available (pub. 1991), as the author said it would be updated periodically, which does not yet appear to have happened. There were only a couple of Quinacridone colors 12 years ago at the time of publication, whereas there are many more now.

outdated poor quality book, dont waste your money.......2003-02-20

a poor quality book, badly written and full of mistakes. wilcox is clearly a charlaton, he rants on about other paints being poor quality whilst trying to sell you his own.
I do not recomend this book to anyone.
buy it at your peril

THE WILCOX TO THE BEST GUIDE TO WATERCOLOR PAINTS

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THE WILCOX TO THE BEST GUIDE TO WATERCOLOR PAINTS
Michael Wilcox
Manufacturer: Colour School Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JF2AV8

The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints

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The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints
Wilcox Michael
Manufacturer: Colour School Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UIFHKA

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The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints
Michael Wilcox
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PA8B06

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