Kaleidoscope: Ideas And Projects to Spark Your Creativity

Kaleidoscope: Ideas And Projects to Spark Your Creativity
Average customer rating:

Nice, but.....

I Like It

Explore a different side of mixed-media

Great Book

Not a how-to...but a why-not?

Kaleidoscope: Ideas And Projects to Spark Your Creativity
Suzanne Simanaitis
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1581808798

Book Description

Indulge your creative cravings! Explore dozens of stories, exercises and instructive projects, all designed to feed, encourage and sometimes flex your creative muscle. You'll tap into the joy of drawing, be encouraged to create art in bed, create your own folded-paper shrine, discover the liberation of stream-writing, practice idea brainstorming, make your own duct-tape purse, learn to quiet the negative voice in your head, dream up your own creative studio space and much, much more. Inspiring art and eye-candy on every page--a Kaleidoscope of creative energy awaits you today!

Customer Reviews:

Nice, but............2007-08-14

This is a very beautifully illustrated book in the way that it is put together. Although, many of these images are available online for your viewing, it is nice to have them compiled into one book. My only complaint is that some of the pages are not easy on the eyes as far as being easy to read. I think that the print could have been larger. On some pages more of a contrast between the background page color and print color would have made it easier and more enjoyable to read. If you are looking for inspiration and ideas, there are a number of very nice ones here.

I Like It.......2007-08-13

While I am not an ephemera artist, I found this to be a very enjoyable book, if only on a philosophical level. There are a few practical ideas that I can use, but mostly I think that this is a book that feeds the creative spirit through the expressions of other artists. The 'zine format makes for easy little tidbit reading experiences and I always enjoy looking at other people's projects.

Explore a different side of mixed-media.......2007-08-01

I ordered this book before I could browse through based on a review that said Julianna Coles is a contributor. I love her style and teaching. I am a scrapbooker at heart but I love the challenges to do something different and it adds to my scrapbooking.

Many of the other contributors offer editorial essay about why the are artists but little else. Overall, it's a good book and I'd recommend it.

Great Book.......2007-07-22

I love this book. I keep looking at it over and over. I am not really that talented of an artist but I love The great ideas to spark my creativity.

Not a how-to...but a why-not?.......2007-07-22

After reading all the other reviews I knew that I had to get this book. It doesn't matter what sort of art or craft you practice...get this book! It is filled with superb writing from people who are passionate about their creativity. This book affirmed to me that I am an artist and that I shouldn't hesitate to let the world know that. There are some projects in this book, but that is not the reason to get it. It is not a how-to. It is a why-not book. The pages literally drip with the most eye-popping collage art and the writing is inspired. Even if collage art, or mixed media art, or altered art is not your thing, there is at least one article in this book that will speak to your particular brand of creativity, but I think it is the articles that I might not have been drawn to at first are the most challenging to me and force me to see the world through different colored lenses. Don't buy this book if you want a how-to, but if you are looking for validation that creativity lies within and all around you, this is the book for you.

Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas

Average customer rating:

Good for the NEWBIES
Great Summer Read
Make it past the opening chapter and you're in for a long, strange trip
Klosterman wins on most all counts...
Hilarious

Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas
Chuck Klosterman
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays

ASIN: 0743284887

Book Description

Chuck Klosterman IV Consists of Three Parts:

THINGS THAT ARE TRUE

Profiles And Trend Stories: Britney Spears, Radiohead, Billy Joel, Metallica, Val Kilmer, Bono, Wilco, The White Stripes, Steve Nash, Morrissey, Robert Plant -- All With New Introductions And

Footnotes.

THINGS THAT MIGHT BE TRUE

Opinions And Theories On Everything From Monogamy To Pirates To Robots To Super People To Guilt And (Of Course) Advancement -- All With New Hypothetical Questions And Footnotes.

SOMETHING THAT ISN'T TRUE AT ALL

This Is New Fiction. There's An Introduction, But No Footnotes. Well, There's A Footnote In The Introduction, But None In The Story.

Customer Reviews:

Good for the NEWBIES.......2007-08-21

If you are just getting into Chuck Klosterman's writing, this is the book for you. I was given his previous book, SEX, DRUGS and COCOA PUFFS by a friend and found it to be one of the most entertaining and interesting books I had read in a long time. His insight into pop culture and his take on what is all means is fun and sometimes thought-provoking. I hadn't read any of his previous work, so this anthology of his previous work was a great way for me to catch up. I have since read KILLING YOURSELF, and am about to start FARGO. Enjoy!!!

Great Summer Read.......2007-08-09

The latest Chuck Klosterman, Chuck Klosterman IV:A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas, has come out in paperback, so I picked it up. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been reading this mammoth book on the Algerian war and have been reading some lighter stuff in between for a break and this totally fits the bill. That being said I had read a lot of the essays before, since I use dot regularly buy Esquire magazine, but it was nice to re-visit many of the articles. Love or hate Klosterman, he has a unique perspective on life and pop culture. However, I have to admit that I am a little bit more skeptical about some of his opinions like his defense of McDonalds in "McDiculous"-in which he comes across as a libertarian apologist for capitalism. "The Amazing McNugget Diet" was a mere week and has nothing on the film Super Size Me-a week isn't long enough to do anything to the body. I also found his hypothetical questions, that preceded several of the pieces, tedious.

That being said there are some real gems in the collection. Some of my favorites include:
a profile of Birtney Spears ("Bending Spoons with Britney Spears"-possibly the least self-aware celebrity alive), a profile of Val Kilmer ("Crazy Things Seem Normal, Normal Things Seem Crazy" -possibly the most self-aware celebrity around), a Johnny Carson obituary ("Here's `Johnny'"-the collapse of the common pop culture), a mediation on your nemesis and archenemy ("Nemesis"), the pop culture concept of Advancement, which I still don't quite grasp ("Advancement"), the problems of rooting for your country in the Olympics ("I Do Not Hate the Olympics"), fashion ("Three Stories Involving Pants," pop opinion vs. your opinion ("Cultural Betrayal"), the problem of monogamy ("Monogamy"), the significance of reality TV ("4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42).

All in all, it is extremely entertaining, thought provoking, but not too taxing. I guess that's the definition of a perfect summer read.

Make it past the opening chapter and you're in for a long, strange trip.......2007-07-30

Chuck Klosterman's fourth essay collection, consisting of things that are true, things that might be true, and something that isn't true at all, is a snarky, intelligent collection with an absolutely terrible opening essay. I listened to the audiobook version, and during the opening piece, a dreadfully long, directionless anecdote about a junior high school basketball game, I nearly turned the audiobook off for good. There mere fact that Klosterman thought this was not just good enough to publish, but worth of opening his self-titled fourth book, cast doubt about the quality of the work as a whole.

Was he testing us? Would only his true fans make it past that opening chapter?

Fortunately, the next chapter, a 2003 article in which Klosterman deconstructs Britney Spears, was so riveting that I promptly forgot the painful moments of my life I lost to junior high basketball. Klosterman interviews Spears and observes her lack of self-awareness, eerily predicted her early 2007 meltdown under the media glare. He also takes us inside Val Kilmer's New Mexico buffalo ranch, to Dublin with Bono, and to certain celebrity interviews that were never published. Learning the story behind the unpublished pieces is almost as much fun as reading the essays themselves.

Klosterman also treats us to philosophical logic puzzles and his authoritative personal philosophies--the nemesis vs. arch-rival iconography, frustrated at people who are "betrayed" by the cultural mainstream, and his take on artists who are overrated, underrated, and perfectly accurately rated.

The concluding chapter is a long, ambling pseudo-autobiographical tale (with bonus angel dust use and a badass slacker narrator who happens to be a pop culture journalist at a Midwest paper) that succeeds in all the ways the first chapter fails. It's a long strange trip, indeed, with an ending open to interpretation.

Klosterman wins on most all counts..........2007-07-27

If you are familiar with Klosterman's work in such fine publications as Esquire or Spin, you know that his one article alone can sometimes make the longest lasting impression of that month's read. His fourth book, which is partially compiled from those essays, shows why many believe Klosterman is perhaps America's greatest critical/cynical observer of the modern life since guys like HST and Lester Bangs roamed the earth. (without the drugs of the former.) CK's stand-back-and-see what's-really happening take on everything from a Britney Spears photo shoot (is she just not self-aware or really extra savvy?), to a Dublin spin in Bono's Maserati, to senseless Olympic 'faux-patriotism' fandom, reality TV and the myth of monogamy, seriously questions one's own thinking with it's detached analysis and an overwhelming sense of "Oh, really?". (Plus, He's the only guy I know who bothers to make a list of bands that are 'accurately rated.') Of course, whether trying to be or not, this self acclaimed Gen-Exer is often dropkick hysterical. The book is divided into three sections - "Things That Are True," "Things That Might Be True" and "Something That Isn't True at All" the latter of which is the author's attempt at short fiction. What is true is that Klosterman wins on most all counts. Whether you agree with him or not, he puts his views front-and-center (or not) and let's you know that he doesn't necessarily look at life through the same filters as everyone else. In short, Klosterman rocks. - BlogOnBooks

Hilarious.......2007-06-02

I'm a big fan of Chuck Klosterman's writing, and he did not disappoint with this book! It wasn't quite "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" but I like it better than "Fargo Rock City". The last section of the book was my favorite.

The Big Idea: Focus the Message-multiply the Impact (The Leadership Network Innovation Series)

Average customer rating:

High Impact
Overcome Information Glut & Decision Paralysis at Church
Great book, truly, I just want the moon
Two Thumbs Up for The Big Idea
Spectacular Book

The Big Idea: Focus the Message-multiply the Impact (The Leadership Network Innovation Series)
Dave Ferguson , Eric Bramlett , and Jon Ferguson
Manufacturer: Zondervan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0310272416

Book Description

Churches that bombard people with too many "little ideas" can miss the Big Idea. Community Christian Church embraced the Big Idea and everything changed. They decided to avoid the common mistake of bombarding people with so many "little ideas" that they suffered overload. They also recognized that leaders often don't insist that the truth be lived out to accomplish Jesus' mission. Why? Because people's heads are swimming with too many little ideas, far more than they can ever apply.

Customer Reviews:

High Impact.......2007-09-25

The Big Idea is helping our pastoral staff focus. The longer you're in ministry the more you need to focus. This book is really helping our dialog about what we are doing as a church. WE have the why nailed down it is the what and how that gets diluted. Ferguson makes an interesting case for little tuths and big biblical truths that must translate into action - helpful. Dan Boyd

Overcome Information Glut & Decision Paralysis at Church.......2007-08-17

I am an information junkie. I read newspapers, magazines, books, and blogs. I watch TV and listen to talk radio. I consider myself a well-informed guy. But being well-informed is not the same thing as being wise or effective. Indeed, too much information can paralyze our ability to make decisions.

Our churches often contribute to this glut of information. The pastor preaches on one topic, Sunday school teachers teach on another, the worship leader sings new songs with multiple verses, and the announcement guy rambles on with the church's upcoming events. No wonder parishioners get stuck in their spiritual lives. They have too much information to act on. They know more than they can do.

In their new book, The Big Idea, Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson, and Eric Bramlett tackle the topic of information-glutted, decision-paralyzed churches. They argue that churches should teach one big idea per week, and that this big idea should be reinforced in all the church's venues (worship services, Sunday school classes, and small groups). They demonstrate the multiple benefits of the big-idea approach. And they offer practical guidelines for how to implement this model of ministry in your church based on their own experience.

Do you want to make more and better followers of Jesus Christ? Do you want to see a greater connection between people's faith and works? Then, as The Big Idea's subtitle puts it, "focus the message" so that you can "multiply the impact." Teach your parishioners one thing a week. They can do more with less.

Great book, truly, I just want the moon.......2007-05-08

This highly practical book on not just preaching, but church-wide discipleship, is written by one of the leading, Biblically conservative churches today in the areas of creative communication, team-based ministry, evangelism and leadership development. Community Christian Church in Chicago is also recognized as one of the top five leading multi-site churches.

The authors make a clear case that most of our churches send anywhere from 30 to 100 messages a week as to what we want our people to respond to in their growth. Our Sunday services, alone, often send 20-50 messages. In The Big Idea, the authors make a case for focusing the message to one Big Idea throughout the entire worship experience for the week and asking for clear response to that one idea in all areas of our church. They convincingly make the case that, in the long term, better discipleship occurs if we can yield a greater application response to the messages being sent--so people are living what they know rather than knowing far more than they live.

Don't be intimidated by the author's success and size of church--they communicate very simply. Along the way they give suggestions for how smaller churches can begin to use some or all of what they share. This is not a book about a program, rather it is a book with lots of practical leadership process steps that can be gleaned from and subsequently contextualize to your own style, leadership and setting. You will quickly note this approach to communicating for discipleship is used by their multi-site mega church as well as church plants.

After reading the first two chapters, I thought this book would make it on my top 10 list of must read leadership skills books for pastors. By the end of the book it was still in my top 25 and probably top 20. While the book is well illustrated throughout, I was left longing for just a few more varied examples. I especially was hoping that the authors would deal more with expositional preaching from the perspective of using that style of preaching to demonstrate good personal spiritual disciplines as a way of modeling. They did a very short, excellent bullet point treatment of ways to approach topical preaching--though this was the primary area I wished for more detailed illustrations of each approach (even if the examples were simply web links to sermons that could be listened to so as to learn more about how to effectively construct each kind of approach). If the authors had more extensively illustrated some of these ideas I would be telling you this is the best book on discipleship and preaching I have ever read. As it stands, it is still a great book that is sure to provide you with helpful ideas you can begin to implement quickly.

Two Thumbs Up for The Big Idea.......2007-04-11

Dave Ferguson shares some great ideas and strategies in this book. I like it because it wasn't just a "here's how we did it" church growth text...there are some philosophical principles and transferable ideas. The way that they have outlined a planning process for ministry is really helpful.

Spectacular Book.......2007-04-11

If you are searching for a way to simplify what your families are learning in church and get everyone on the same page this book is for you.

Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas

Average customer rating:

just O.K.
A valuable reference book
Good Overview

Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas
Paul Wood
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0631227083

Book Description

Since it was first published in 1992, this book has become one of the leading anthologies of art theoretical texts in the English-speaking world. This expanded edition includes the fruits of recent research, involving a considerable amount of newly-translated material from the entire period, together with additional texts from the last decades of the twentieth century.The features that made the first edition so successful have been retained:- The volume provides comprehensive representation of the theories which underpinned developments in the visual arts during the twentieth century.- As well as writings by artists, the anthology includes texts by critics, philosophers, politicians, and literary figures.- The content is clearly structured into eight broadly chronological sections, starting with the legacy of symbolism and concluding with contemporary debates about the postmodern.- The editors provide individual introductions to each of the 371 anthologized texts.Material new to this expanded edition includes texts on African art, on the Bauhaus and on the re-emergent avant-gardes of the period after the Second World War. Post-modernist debates are amplified by texts on gender, on installation and performance art, and on the increasing globalization of culture.

Customer Reviews:

just O.K........2007-07-10

my college library had the "feminist art theory" volume from this same series, and i LOVED that book to death.
since i liked that book so much, i thought it would be a good investment to cash in a recent gift certificate on this hefty volume.
i wish that i had gone for the feminist art volume-- it's much more relevant for anyone who is interested in art as political expression... that topic is really not addressed in this anthology.
it's probably still good as a reference if you're going to be writing a lot of papers for standard survey courses covering this time period, though.

A valuable reference book.......2005-08-11

Had I read the reviews about this book, I wouldn't have bought it.
I had to though, for my "Art: Language and Theory" class, in my second year of Graphic Design major. I was shocked with it at first, it's almost 1300 pages, with not a single image in it! It looked extremely dull. But the thing is, I found it extremely useful, and enjoyable to read at times too. It covers art theories in the 20th century, and has texts written by artists, philosophers, polticians and much more.
I now refer to it with every paper I write, every presentation I make and so on. There are also letters and notes in the book by artists such as Cezanne and Matisse, which are delightful to read. I use a dictionary sometimes, but not always, though I agree, the language is hard to comprehend at first glance.
I don't think any art student or teacher could do without this book, I used it as a beginners guide while studying art, and I won't stop using it. Don't be put off when you first get this book, you'll learn to value and appreciate it with little time.

Good Overview.......2003-12-28

I used this book for a graduate theory class and ended up reading pretty much all of it. The book provides an excellent overview of the major movements during the past 100 years but also misses out on a lot of the most current trends. I believe there were less than 3 articles dated after 1999. The writings seem to be obscure at times, with the editors trying to draw distant similarites between varying fields. Most of the passages used overly pretentious language, so keep a dictionary nearby. This book is not a beginner guide and it helps to have some knowledge of art history as well as a little world history. A better or easier read would have to be "Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art"...

A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers

Average customer rating:

A World of Ideas
Basic College Writing
A collection of wonderful essays by key thinkers of the worl

A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers
Lee A. Jacobus
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 031239019X

Customer Reviews:

A World of Ideas.......2001-01-22

The book is required for my english class.I just got it and have not had a achance to read it. What I can tell you is that the book arrived very quickly, which is exactly what I needed. Thank You.

Basic College Writing.......2000-04-25

This is an excellent book for transitioning students from high school to college. The selections are intellegent and demanding and cover several areas of study. The introduction gives a method for reading and evaluating that will serve the student for the remainder of his/her college career and beyond.

A collection of wonderful essays by key thinkers of the worl.......1998-11-21

This is a great book, with excerpts of many great writer's greatest essays. Writers include Lao Tzu, Machiavelli, Rouseau, Nietze, V. Woolfe, H. Woordsworth, H. Arnedt, C. Jung, M.L. King, F. Douglass and many many more.

Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business (Adweek Books)

Average customer rating:

Creative Thinkerer
The Art of Presenting to People
A big favor...
Re-discovering the art of engaging storytelling
More than an anti-powerpoint rant

Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business (Adweek Books)
Jon Steel
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters

ASIN: 0471789763

Book Description

A professional “pitching coach” for one of the world’s largest marketing conglomerates, Jon Steel shares his secrets and explains how you can create presentations and pitches that win hearts, minds, and new business. He identifies the dos and don’ts and uses real-world examples to prove his points. If you make pitches for new business, this is the perfect book for you.

Customer Reviews:

Creative Thinkerer.......2007-09-07

It's a hard book to pigeonhole, as you can tell from the other reviews. It's quite applicable to people in agency life, but it's by no means an ad-person's book. If your life involves coming up with creative ideas and convincing other people to buy into them, it's very worth your time. Yeah, there are some tangents, most are diversions to make a point. Every 10-15 pages I tagged things I want to return to later to put to use. Lots of good thought-starters about what to do (and perhaps more importantly what to leave out) to get people excited about your ideas.

The Art of Presenting to People.......2007-06-23

Advertising is a people business, I guess, so is canabalism. This book centres you back to the concept that presenting is persuading, selling and entertaining. Do your homework, prepare and enlighten. I use to work in advertising, but now sell jobs for the army. I have taken what he has expressed on board and used to my advantage. I no longer present by 'Death by Light Pro', but engage my audience and use Jon Steels suggestions to help my candidates make informed decissions. Thank you Mr Steel. I reconmend this book for all in business.

A big favor..........2007-03-07

Jon Steel did us all a great favor. A great favor to business people. A great favor to presenters and those who must sit through those presentations.
This book makes you realize things you wouldn't think about when preparing for a presentation. It helps you understand that everything you say during a presentation must reflect what your big idea is. It would make us approach presentations differently. Presentations are conversations. Hey, we are presenting to real people! Let's treat them as such...
It is clear that the goal of this book is to make us all better idea-sellers, not only in the field of advertising. Jon Steel writes some great "to-do" lists, suggesting the best ways to approach certain situations. However, those "to-do" lists are backed up with personal experiences that make this book much more enjoyable and easy to read.
From the mentioning of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, OJ Simpson's trial and "The Perfect Pitch" - London 2012 Olympic bid presentation - this book shows that good presentations not only win new businesses...

Re-discovering the art of engaging storytelling .......2006-12-18

Jon Steel is a rare breed of truly smart, creative thinkers. Though originally from an advertising background, The Perfect Pitch is by no means simply an "advertising book." It is a book about ideas and how to sell them, regardless of your business.

Jon believes that in business we all too often hide behind boring Powerpoint slides as it is easier to simply read from a slide than it is to step out and actually engage with your audience. He believes in finding an active insight from which to base the strategy and thinking and from there, developing an engaging and motivating story.

Essentially in a pitch situation you have a limited period of time to connect with your audience and involve them in the story you are telling. It's not about animated slides or embedded video links.

William Goldman, the scriptwriter, has a very similar premise in Adventures In the Screen Trade. He too talks about the critical importance of the pitch (in his case, pitches for movies) Goldman highlights the importance of finding the hook that captivates and motivates your audience.

Having had the pleasure of working with Jon, in fact on one of the pitches that he references in the book, it is fair to say that he practises what he preaches. The advice he gives is refreshingly free from jargon and rooted in simple common-sense that sometimes we can forget.

This book is an essential tool for anyone who is ever in pitch situations with their clients.

More than an anti-powerpoint rant.......2006-11-12

It would be easy to dismiss (or embrace) Jon Steel's book as a tirade against powerpoint. To say that at worst it's nothing more than a tirade against the poor use of a presentation tool (actual clip art died around the same time as the Queen Mother didn't it?) and that at best that it's an intelligent attack on a tool that has changed the way that we think. Both arguments miss the point. Yes turning Winston Churchill's best speech into PowerPoint is the highlight of this book but it's one point amongst many.

What this book seems to me to be about is creating the space, time and atmosphere needed to think. Whether that means taking a sledgehammer to your blackberry or your officemates to a baseball game the message remains the same - you win business when you have better ideas than other people; and you have better ideas than other people when you allow your subconscious to do some of the work.

Yes the book occasionally meandors, but then so do the best brains. Yes it draws on personal experience, yes it works its way through some seemingly unconnected thoughts, returning to connect only some of them - but then isn't that the central argument in the book. It's the curious mind that wins the day.

So whilst this isn't a bullet pointed, Donald Trump-esque WIN. AT. ALL. COSTS. BY. DOING. IT. THE. BILLIONAIRE. WAY. ! ! ! ! kind of book it is a kinder, gentler, more human, more nuanced and ultimately more insightful peek behind the curtain of big business and what it takes to get the people with the big bucks to buy your ideas.

Perfect Pitch may not be the book that thrusting young American execs may think that they need, it won't be on the shelves of any of the 'contenders' on The Apprentice - which is why so many of their ideas will be as predictable as their hairstyles.

recommended

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored
Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory
They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Creativity for Graphic Designers: A Real-World Guide to Idea Generation--From Defining Your Message to Selecting the Best Idea for Your Printed Piece

Average customer rating:

A great book about how to practise as a graphic designer
A real world book
definatly not a picture book
The book of all books
great starting point for formalizing/mainstreaming process

Creativity for Graphic Designers: A Real-World Guide to Idea Generation--From Defining Your Message to Selecting the Best Idea for Your Printed Piece
Mark Oldach
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Graphic Design School, Third Edition
Principles of Two-Dimensional Design
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ASIN: 158180055X

Customer Reviews:

A great book about how to practise as a graphic designer.......2006-03-09

I love my mac, but I also love not using it. This book tells a lot about a designers prosess outside the mac. I found this sentence in the book: "Designers have a responsebility to do what they are paid to - design .... To many designers use the (mac) for a substitute for thinking". So right!

A real world book.......2004-07-09

Unlike design books filled w/ eye-candy & no direction on processes, Mark Oldach steers the reader through well defined concepts & thoughts. An excellent book for all designers who wish to communicate through design.

definatly not a picture book.......2003-12-12

I found this book to be very helpful in getting you to think of the box. Instead of being like a picture book with not much information, it tells you how to come up with ideas and explains the process of making a good design. This is a great book to have if you already have those picture books with just designs and need something to help you with actually creating your own designs.

The book of all books.......2003-02-26

I had been looking for a book about creativity, I wanted to understand the process more, and hopefully increase my productivity. This book was one of 12 that I bought related to the design and creativity area, and was by far the best I've read yet. It gives so much information about the process of idea generation that even I understand it more now (and I've been doing it for 4 years). I have already used the advice on handling clients to great success, and I'm reading the book a second time round.

This book is a MUST for all designers at all levels!!

Enjoy

great starting point for formalizing/mainstreaming process.......2000-07-14

A lot of time is wasted in the creative business just doodling and waiting for one's muse to pop in and show us the light. This book takes the sloppy creative process and pretty much streamlines it into a more productive method of thinking things out and solving problems.

Customer Reviews:

Does not live up to its title.......2007-07-12

I have used A WORLD OF IDEAS several times in college composition courses that I have taught. It is a book with many strengths. The readings are rigorous, well-chosen, and provocative. Students often struggle to understand them and write about them, but I believe that struggling with great ideas is a good thing for a college student to do. I have observed, time after time, that real personal and intellectual growth comes with this struggle. My problem with this text, though, is that it gives very short shrift to ideas that are not part of the Western tradition. In the current edition, only three or four readings do not come from America or Western Europe. Only one of these (Selections from Lao Tzu) occur in any chapter other than the one on religion. Compare this with Norton's new text, READING THE WORLD: IDEAS THAT MATTER, which I just began teaching with this year--this is also substantial great-ideas reader, but it is one in which 35 out of 70 readings come from China, Japan, Africa, Latin America, and the Islamic world. It would be more honest of Jacobus to drop the token readings from Lao Tzu and the Buddha and simply re-title this collection A CONTINENT OF IDEAS.

Amazing book.......2007-06-29

This is one book that every college student MUST read.
It is a very resourceful book, introducing you to the many of the world's greatest thinkers...ancient,modern, and contemporary.
It is one of those books that makes you REALLY think about stuff (about the world, humanity, and existence).
What's really beautiful about this book is that it combines philosophy with literature. Reading this book, you will not only analyze about the ideas themselves, but also how the ideas are presented (rhetorical and literary technique).

Only for the Scholarly!!.......2007-02-10

If you are an English major this book is definately for you. If you are any other major, I strongly advise you not taking an English class that requires this text. It is extremely boring, but if you love philosphy and history than you would very much enjoy this book!

The foundations of modern thinking.......2001-03-02

In this collection, Jacobus includes some of the most inspirational and intriguing ideas from great thinkers of antiquity and today. Not only does the anthology include selections from the bedrock of Western philosophy, science, social theory and religion, it also includes selections connected to Buddhism, Islamic thought and other topics celebrating diversity.

I've used this reader in advanced freshman composition classes for three years, and I have found it to be the most thought-provoking text I have ever encountered. Too often, today's college freshmen are exposed to a shotgun blast of diverse, modern writers concentrating on social issues of our day. How easy is it to understand Brent Staples or bell hooks without first knowing about Martin Luther King or Frederick Douglass? Is it possible to intelligently discuss David Boaz with no knowledge of Thoreau, Jefferson, or Rousseau??

Unfortunately, many of today's incoming freshmen have none of the background knowledge in liberal arts that many instructors take for granted at the college level. Jacobus' collection can provide that background, while at the same time bringing out timeless issues for writing and spirited discussion.

Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments
Average customer rating:

Your graphic design career SAVED! By durable, genious little IdeaFactory

Great pocket guide.

Jog 'yer brain.

Wonderful resource!

One of the greatest books for logo design

Idea Index: Graphic Effects and Typographic Treatments
Jim Krause
Manufacturer: North Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Books | Graphic Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Type | Design | HOWdesign Studio | Specialty Stores | Books
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Official Adobe Print Publishing Guide, Second Edition: The Essential Resource for Design, Production, and Prepress (2nd Edition) (Publishing Guide (AP))

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ASIN: 1581800460

Customer Reviews:

Your graphic design career SAVED! By durable, genious little IdeaFactory.......2007-04-12

You may be a design superstar, but you need this. If not now, you will eventually and it will be at 2am in the morning and 4 Red Bulls shy of an 8am deadline when you realize you should have had it, while all the local bookstores are closed and the one person awake that you know owns it lives one hour away, but your car is out of gas due to the money you're not making from the ideas you're not creating from the Idea Index you don't own and anyone else you think may own it is sleeping or competing for the same work and laughing at your naivety because they know they are going to win the job and raise their arms in ecstatic passion, kissing the boss's butt and laughing with an evil smiling scowl in a moment of unfair glory you are not a part of. Invest in saving your tail from that moment.

The greatest designers and artists will tell you they don't always just "make it appear", but go to other sources for inspiration. Even if you don't think you need it, you need it just to give you a fresh perspective at times.

I can't tell you the number of times this little idea factory will save your tail during a mind block! It has saved me many times and probably has resulted in thousands of dollars worth of design work won due to the ideas generated from it during a blank out. Just that alone should be enough to convince you to get it.

This durable, vinyl covered gemlette is geared toward graphic design folks and is divided into two sections:

1. Graphic Effects:
2. Typographic Treatments

What I really like about the Idea Index is that amongst its 300+ ideas, you will find multiple versions of each individual idea per page, not just one little instance. Also, the ideas use varying techniques, not just what the author may be predisposed to. The ideas are indeed simple in many cases and that is enough to spark that one little idea that will build and build, compounding the ideas until you have just thrown your hands over your head in ecstatic excitement over the design award you just won, after making all that money from that job you wrested from the hands of the other guy 4 Red Bulls shy of an 8am meeting at 2am who doesn't own this book. Uhh . . .

Save yourself the drama. Just get it, my brain hurts . . . from all the ideas this book creates.

Great pocket guide........2007-03-14

This is a great little source of ideas to keep in your back pocket. It is good to flip through when you need to work past a creative blcok.

Jog 'yer brain........2007-01-21

I was happy to find this little book. It has two main sections, one for graphics and one for type treatments. In each section are several ideas explained in both words and visuals. There isn't anything ground breaking here. But it's awesome because there are so many ideas and approaches tightly packed in a small book. So when my brain is dead and and I need to pull out of my tunnel vision...it's there for me.

Wonderful resource!.......2006-12-20

Sometimes I find myself a little stuck on projects but flipping through this book always gets me back on track. Just as he says it is useful tool to "get ideas stirring or later on, expand a page or two of thumbnail sketches." The graphical examples used in the book aren't finished, polished pieces but they are great illustrations of how to expand your ideas and speed the creative process.

One of the greatest books for logo design.......2006-05-16

Another book that is definately a "must buy", especially if you're a logo designer.Funny thing is, the publisher has released another book that is especially focused on logos named "logo index" but i find this "idea index" to be a hundred times more useful when it comes to logos.

So what kind of book exactly is it ?

It's a book about design principles.In other words, the book consists of hundreds of instructions, guides and examples of ways to apply certain design principles.Every principle is illustrated with one or more examples, most of them being logos.While many of the principles do not reinvent the wheel, it's *the* book to have handy when having a "designer's block" staring at a white sheet of paper not knowing where to begin or just when you're looking for ideas to start.

What makes this book so much more valuable than any of these logo collection books is that its focus is on principles, not nice logo examples only.In other words, this book helps you to develop your *own* ideas instead of seduce you into copying a logo you found in one of the collection books.

It also does apply for not only logos but anything where good graphic design principles are asked for.It's a real workbook just as Cabarga's book "Logo Font & Lettering Bible" is (which i highly recommend as well) and i would not want to be without it.

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