For him, comedy was not a routine; it was a way of life. He could not enter a room unnoticed or let a conversation go without making someone laugh. Fans knew Chris as Saturday Night Live’s sweaty, swaggering, motivational speaker; as the irresistible Chippendales stripper; and as Tommy Callahan, the underdog hero of Tommy Boy. His family knew him as sensitive and passionate, deeply religious, and devoted to bringing laughter into others’ lives. But Chris did not know moderation, either in his boundless generosity toward friends or in the reckless abandon of his drug and alcohol abuse. For ten years, Chris cycled in and out of rehabilitation centers, constantly fighting his insecurities and his fears. Despite three hard-fought years of sobriety, addiction would ultimately take his life at the tragically young age of thirty-three. Fame on SNL and three straight number-one box office hits gave way to a string of embarrassing public appearances, followed by a fatal overdose in December 1997. Here is Chris Farley as remembered by his family, friends, and colleagues—the true story of a man who lived to make us laugh and died as a result. The Chris Farley Show is an evocative and harrowing portrait of a family trapped by addiction, a father forced to bury a son, and a gifted and kindhearted man ultimately torn apart by the demons inside him.

    The twists and turns of the series, as well as the psychological depth and complexity of J. K. Rowling’s characters, have kept fans enthralled with and puzzling over the many mysteries that permeate Hogwarts and beyond: Do the Harry Potter books encourage disobedience? Why is everyone so fascinated by Professor Lupin? What exactly will Harry and his friends do when they finally pass those N.E.W.T.s? Do even wizards live by the ticking of the clock? Is Harry destined to end up alone? And why did it take Ron and Hermione so long to get together? Now, in The Psychology of Harry Potter, leading psychologists delve into the ultimate Chamber of Secrets, analyzing human mind and motivation by examining the themes and characters that make the Harry Potter books the bestselling fantasy series of all time. Grab a spot on the nearest couch, and settle in for some fresh revelations about our favorite young wizard!

    That the Beatles were an unprecedented phenomenon is a given. In Can’t Buy Me Love, Jonathan Gould seeks to explain why, placing the Fab Four in the broad and tumultuous panorama of their time and place, rooting their story in the social context that girded both their rise and their demise.Beginning with their adolescence in Liverpool, Gould describes the seminal influences––from Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry to The Goon Show and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland––that shaped the Beatles both as individuals and as a group. In addition to chronicling their growth as singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists, he highlights the advances in recording technology that made their sound both possible and unique, as well as the developments in television and radio that lent an explosive force to their popular success. With a musician’s ear, Gould sensitively evokes the timeless appeal of the Lennon-McCartney collaboration and their emergence as one of the most creative and significant songwriting teams in history. And he sheds new light on the significance of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as rock’s first concept album, down to its memorable cover art.Behind the scenes Gould explores the pivotal roles played by manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin, credits the influence on the Beatles’ music of contemporaries like Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Ravi Shankar, and traces the gradual escalation of the fractious internal rivalries that led to the group’s breakup after their final masterpiece, Abbey Road. Most significantly, by chronicling their revolutionary impact on popular culture during the 1960s, Can’t Buy Me Love illuminates the Beatles as a charismatic phenomenon of international proportions, whose anarchic energy and unexpected import was derived from the historic shifts in fortune that transformed the relationship between Britain and America in the decades after World War II.From the Beats in America and the Angry Young Men in England to the shadow of the Profumo Affair and JFK’s assassination, Gould captures the pulse of a time that made the Beatles possible—and even necessary. As seen through the prism of the Beatles and their music, an entire generation’s experience comes astonishingly to life. Beautifully written, consistently insightful, and utterly original, Can’t Buy Me Love is a landmark work about the Beatles, Britain, and America.

    Thompson. Born a rebel in Louisville, Kentucky, Thompson spent a lifetime channeling his energy and insight into such landmark works as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - and his singular and provocative style challenged and revolutionized writing.Now, for the first time ever, Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour have interviewed the Good Doctor's friends, family, acquaintances and colleagues and woven their memories into a brilliant oral biography. From Hell's Angels leader Sonny Barger to Ralph Steadman to Jack Nicholson to Jimmy Buffett to Pat Buchanan to Marilyn Manson and Thompson's two wives, son, and longtime personal assistant, more than 100 members of Thompson's inner circle bring into vivid focus the life of a man who was even more complicated, tormented, and talented than any previous portrait has shown. It's all here in its uncensored glory: the creative frenzies, the love affairs, the drugs and booze and guns and explosives and, ultimately, the tragic suicide. As Thompson was fond of saying, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

    Definitive A-Z packs never seen before photos, concept drawings and special effects artwork covers Doctor Who Nine Christopher Eccelston and Ten David Tennant, about the Doctor, the Tardis, his friends, enemies and the worlds he travels.

    Alongside former bandmates Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, and Felder's childhood friend Bernie Leadon, he sold tens of millions of records (Eagles: Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975 is the bestselling album of all time), performed before countless adoring fans, and co-wrote the renowned hit 'Hotel California'. His guitar-playing ability lifted the band from mere popularity to iconic status. And now Don Felder finally breaks the Eagles' decades of public silence to take fans behind the scenes - where drugs, greed and endless acrimony threatened to tear the band apart almost daily. Maybe there was too much talent. Maybe the personalities clashed with the egos. Whatever the reason, there were always these explosive arguments going on while I sat silently in a corner. I never expected it to survive. Never once did I feel, 'Hey, I got it made. This thing's gonna last for years.' Felder was wrong about that, but he was also right: the band split up in 1980, only to reunite for 1994's mega-selling 'Hell Freezes Over' album and tour.But tempers continued to flare, and in 2001, after 27 contentious years as an Eagle, Felder was summarily fired by the 'board of directors': Frey and Henley. Lawsuits and counter-suits followed. In 'Heaven and Hell', Felder takes us inside the pressurised recording studios, the trashed hotel rooms and the tension-filled courtrooms, where he, Frey, and Henley had their ultimate confrontation.

    We learned River’s secret; Mal took on the Alliance. Our favorite crew became Big Damn Heroes. And the Browncoats proved that hard work, passion and a little fan coordination can do the impossible. Serenity Found takes the contents of Finding Serenity even further, exploring not just the show but the events of the film as well, to create an anthology that’s even more thought-provoking, fascinating and far-thinking than its predecessor.* Acclaimed science fiction author Orson Scott Card lauds “Serenity” as film sci-fi finally done right* Writer and comedian Natalie Haynes reveals the real feminist savvy of the “Firefly” universe: the girls get the guns and the gags* Pop culture critic Michael Marano connects damaged, ass-kicking River to the other weaponized women of the Whedonverse* Multiverse executive producer Corey Bridges explains why the world of “Firefly” is the perfect setting for an MMORPG* Mutant Enemy’s visual effects wizard Loni Peristere relates what he’s learned from Joss about telling stories, and tells a story of his own about Serenity’s design* Television Without Pity recapper Jacob Clifton frames “Serenity” as a parable about media: how it controls us, how we can control it and how to separate the signal from the noise* And Nathan Fillion, “Firefly” and “Serenity’s” Captain Malcolm Reynolds, shares his affinity for Mal and his love of Mal’s ship and crew.

    a national treasure!”Now, finally, Vern is ready to unleash his magnum opus: an in-depth study of the world's only aikido instructor turned movie star/director/writer/blues guitarist/energy drink inventor — the ass-kicking auteur Steven Seagal. From Above the Law to his Mountain Dew commercials, his entire career is covered in Vern’s inimitable style.As Vern himself puts it, Seagalogy is “a book that will shake the very foundations of film criticism, break their wrists and then throw them through a window."

    The theft and burning of his body marked the end of Gram Parsons’ life and the beginning of the Gram Parsons legend.As a singer and songwriter, Gram Parsons stood at the nexus of countless musical crossroads, and he sold his soul to the devil at every one. Parson hung out with glamorous women and the coolest friends. His intimates and collaborators on his journey included Keith Richards, William Burroughs, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Fonda, Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, and Emmylou Harris. Parsons had everything–looks, charisma, money, style, the best drugs, the most heartbreaking voice–and threw it all away with both hands. His ballad is one of gigantic talent colliding with epic self-destruction.Parsons led the Byrds to create the seminal country rock masterpiece Sweetheart of the Rodeo. He formed the Flying Burrito Brothers, helped to guide the Rolling Stones beyond the blues in their appreciation of American roots music, and found his musical soul mate in Emmylou Harris. Parsons’ solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel, are now recognized as visionary masterpieces of the transcendental jambalaya of rock, soul, country, gospel, and blues Parsons named “Cosmic American Music.” Four months before Grievous Angel was released, Parsons died of a drug and alcohol overdose at age twenty-six.In this beautifully written, raucous, meticulously researched biography, David N. Meyer gives Parsons’ mythic life its due. From Parsons’ privileged Southern Gothic upbringing to his early career in Greenwich Village’s folk music scene to his Sunset Strip glory days, Twenty Thousand Roads paints an unprecedented portrait of the man who linked country to rock. Parsons’ creative genius gave birth to a new sound that was rooted in the past but heralded the future.From interviews with hundreds of the famous and obscure who knew and worked closely with Parsons–many who have never spoken publicly about him before–Meyer conjures a dazzling panorama of the artist and his era. Shedding new light and dispelling old myths, Twenty Thousand Roads is a breakthrough in rock-and-roll biography and more–a chronicle of creativity, drugs, excess, culture, and music in the ferment of late-1960s America.Visit the official website: www.twentythousandroads.comFrom the Hardcover edition.

    But Jason Evert's Pure Manhood will help them to see things in a new light. Answering the toughest questions- What do girls want? How far is too far? Safe sex? and more.

    There's nothing cool about Céline Dion, and nothing clever. That's part of her appeal as an object of love or hatred — with most critics and committed music fans taking pleasure (or at least geeky solace) in their lofty contempt. This book documents Carl Wilson's brave and unprecedented year-long quest to find his inner Céline Dion fan, and explores how we define ourselves in the light of what we call good and bad, what we love and what we hate.

    The story of their band spans thirty years and thirty albums, and through all the changes in the band's line-up and musical direction, the spirit of Genesis has remained constant and undimmed."Genesis: Chapter & Verse" is the ultimate addition to any fan's collection, setting the record straight as the band's members tell their story their way. Remarkably, the band survived the high-profile departure of not one lead vocalist, but two (Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins), two influential guitarists (Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett), and its best-known drummer (Phil Collins). Genesis simply got stronger and bigger - matching the huge solo success of Gabriel, Collins, and Mike + The Mechanics.A collaboration between all the members of Genesis, past and present, "Genesis: Chapter and Verse" is the band's definitive autobiography: an intimate, no-holds-barred, no-stone-unturned history that allows character and personality to come to the forefront. Covering the band's story as well as the writing and performance of significant songs from each period, this treasure trove of text and photographs provides long-awaited insight into the way this exceptional group of songwriters worked together, allowing the band to dispatch more than a few sacred cows along the way. It is a book like none other, and an exclusive look into the life and times of one of rock's most influential and lasting groups.

    Drawing from street culture, high art, and traditional Japanese painting, Murakami takes the contemporary art trend of mixing high and low to an unprecedented level (critics call him the new Warhol), producing original paintings and sculptures as well as mass-produced consumer objects such as toys, books, and most famously, a line of handbags for Louis Vuitton. A committed supporter and spokesperson for Japanese artists and a powerful commentator on postwar culture and society, Murakami has organized influential exhibitions of Japanese art as well as a biannual art fair in Tokyo. Murakami has positioned himself as a new type of artist for the twenty-first century: a hybrid of creator, entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador.In conjunction with the first major retrospective of his work, Murakami traces Murakami’s global impact socially, culturally, and art historically. Essays focus on Murakami’s early works, which were based on a social critique of Japan’s rampant consumerism; the development of his characters; his work with anime, fantasy; otaku culture; and his engagement with global pop culture. Representing output from original works of art to mass-produced multiples, the catalogue also considers the implications of Murakami’s working methods within the tradition of the Western avant-garde.

    Jeanine Basinger gives us an immensely entertaining look into the “star machine,” examining how, at the height of the studio system, from the 1930s to the 1950s, the studios worked to manufacture star actors and actresses. With revelatory insights and delightful asides, she shows us how the machine worked when it worked, how it failed when it didn’t, and how irrelevant it could sometimes be. She gives us the “human factor,” case studies focusing on big stars groomed into the system: the “awesomely beautiful” (and disillusioned) Tyrone Power; the seductive, disobedient Lana Turner; and a dazzling cast of others—Loretta Young, Errol Flynn, Irene Dunne, Deanna Durbin. She anatomizes their careers, showing how their fame happened, and what happened to them as a result. (Both Lana Turner and Errol Flynn, for instance, were involved in notorious court cases.) In her trenchantly observed conclusion, she explains what has become of the star machine and why the studios’ practice of “making” stars is no longer relevant. Deeply engrossing, full of energy, wit, and wisdom, The Star Machine is destined to become an invaluable part of the film canon.

    Trekking boldly through haunts and horrors from The Frankenstein Monster, The Wolf Man, Count Dracula, and The Invisible Man, to The Mummy, Paula the Ape Woman, The Creeper, and The Inner Sanctum, the authors offer a definitive study of the 86 films produced during this era and present a general overview of the period. Coverage of the films includes complete cast lists, credits, storyline, behind-the-scenes information, production history, critical analysis, and commentary from the cast and crew (much of it drawn from interviews by Tom Weaver, whom USA Today calls ?the king of the monster hunters?). Unique to this edition are a new selection of photographs and poster reproductions and an appendix listing additional films of interest.

    There he stumbled into the elaborate world of Mingering Mikea soul superstar of the 1960s and '70s who released an astonishing 50 albums and at least as many singles in just 10 years. But Hadar had never heard of him, and he realized why on closer inspection: every album in the crates was made of cardboard. Each package was intricately crafted, complete with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the "vinyl." Some albums were even covered in shrinkwrap, as if purchased at actual record stores. The crates contained nearly 200 LPs and 45s by Mingering Mike, as well as other artists like Joseph War, the Big "D," and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Sex Records, Decision, and Ming/War. There were also soundtracks to imaginary films, a benefit album for sickle cell anemia, and a tribute to Bruce Lee. Hadar put his detective skills to work and soon found himself at the door of the elusive man responsible for this alternate universe of funk. Their friendship blossomed and Mike revealed the story of his life and his many albums, hit singles, and movie soundtracks. A solitary boy raised by his brothers, sisters, and cousins, Mike lost himself in a world of his own imaginary superstardom, basing songs and albums on his and his family's experiences. Early teenage songs obsessed with love and heartache soon gave way to social themes surrounding the turbulent era of civil rights protests and political upheavalbrought even closer to home when Mike himself went underground dodging the Vietnam War.In Mingering Mike, Hadar tells the story of a man and his myth: the kid who dreamed of being a star and the fantastical "careers" of the artists he created. All of Mingering Mike's best albums and 45s are presented in full color, finally bringing to the star the adoring audience he always imagined he had.

    Almost completely wiped from the consciousness of Americans until recently, Sven Kirsten's tome put Tiki on the map as a unique pop culture phenomenon. Never before had Tiki culture's visual power and pervasiveness been revealed with such detail and insight. Not only did the book inspire the erecting of many new Tiki bars from New York to London to Berlin to Prague to Waikiki, but also motivated a myriad of Tiki artisans to pick up the chisel and carry on the forgotten tradition, while spurring many others to create their own home hideaways, making "Tiki" a household name again. This new follow-up book, which brings together the two recent retro trends of mid-century modernism and Tiki style, is bound to lift the Tiki craze to a new level. With his usual mixture of ironic detachment and genuine enthusiasm for the subject, Kirsten shows us how primitivism and modernism were two sides of the same coin in the 1950s and 60s. Decor deities and ersatz ancestors outrageously merged in the modern brutalist furniture from the house of Witco, a company that outfitted Elvis Presley's Jungle Room and Hugh Hefner's Chicago Playboy pool. This was design porn at its best. The author: Sven Kirsten was conceived on a freighter of his grandfather's Hamburg-Chicago Line. Following the call of the big world, he moved to California at the age of 25. Kirsten studied at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and began shooting music videos in the late 1980s for The Cramps, Tom Waits, Sergio Mendes and others. After years of hunting down pieces of the puzzle ofPolynesian Pop, Kirsten has developed a singular insight into the Cult of Tiki and has become the country's most eminent Tiki archaeologist.

    The Early Years collects the lyrics—formative and classic—from the first ten albums of this true bard of hard living. A celebration of both his words and of the artist himself, this lyrical biography charts the course from Wait's emotional debut album, Closing Time (1977), to the experimental stirrings in Heartattack and Vine (1991) and One from the Heart (1992). Here the words achieve a new potency, adding further dimension to this singularly gifted artist.

    He is “one of the handful of living masters of the American language, as well as a singular historian and philosopher of American experience,” says the New Yorker’s Peter Schjeldahl. Kill All Your Darlings is the first collection of Sante’s articles—many of which first appeared in the New York Review of Books and the Village Voice—and offers ample justification for such high praise. Sante is best known for his groundbreaking work in urban history (Low Life), and for a particularly penetrating form of autobiography (The Factory of Facts). These subjects are also reflected in several essays here, but it is the author’s intense and scrupulous writing about music, painting, photography, and poetry that takes center stage. Alongside meditations on cigarettes, factory work, and hipness, and his critical tour de force, “The Invention of the Blues,” Sante offers his incomparable take on icons from Arthur Rimbaud to Bob Dylan, René Magritte to Tintin, Buddy Bolden to Walker Evans, Allen Ginsberg to Robert Mapplethorpe.

    But over the past nine years the movie has developed a massive and passionate cult following, led by the creation of Lebowski Fest, a traveling festival of all things Lebowski. Held in a bowling alley, it features bowling, costume and trivia contests, live music, a screening of the movie, White Russians, and what-haveyou. Attendance has grown exponentially and the Fest has been featured in virtually every national media outlet, from NPR to the New York Times. The Associated Press called it "kind of a 'Star Trek' convention, but without all the geeks." The Wall Street Journal simply intoned: "One hell of a party!" Now, at last, comes the book that the legion of Lebowski fans (aka Achievers) has been waiting for. I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski is a treasure trove of trivia and commentary, hilarious throughout and copiously illustrated, including stills from the film, as well as dozens of photos taken on the set by Jeff Bridges. It includes interviews with virtually every major and minor cast member, as well as the real-life individuals who served as inspiration for the characters in the movie. The book features a handy guide to speaking Achiever (example: in English you would say that a woman is "feminine, or ladylike"; an Achiever would call her "strongly vaginal"), tips on how to Dude-ify your car, office, and living space, Lebowski Fest highlights, and so much more.

    Includes more than 50 original interviews with the cast, crew, and show producers.

    Thompson, Joe Klein, Cameron Crowe, P.J. O'Rourke and visionary photographers including Annie Leibovitz, Mark Seliger and Baron Wolman.Rolling Stone Cover to Cover is a backstage pass to four decades of popular culture--a DVD ROM-based, searchable digital archive of every issue of Rolling Stone magazine from 1967 to 2007. Browse issues 1 through 1026 – over 98,000 searchable pages, exactly as they first appeared in print--every story, review, interview and even every ad. This exclusive box set also comes with a photo-filled, 208–page page companion coffee table book providing a vivid behind-the-scenes look at the magazines history, from birth to today. Includes a bonus one-year Subscription to Rolling Stone (a $12.95 value). See certificate inside package for offer and rebate details.The product includes the Bondi Reader, powerful MAC or PC browsing software that allows you to explore, search and view every page, and to arrange and save multiple reading lists. The ultimate pop culture reference tool, this essential collection is a must-have for all music fans, political junkies, nostalgia buffs and collectors.

    will forever be remembered as one of America's finest entertainers. An all–around performer who could sing, dance, and act, Davis broke racial barriers in the entertainment world and became the only non–white member of the Rat Pack. Only now, however, is Davis's talent as a photographer finally being recognized. In this previously unpublished collection of black and white photography, readers will be fascinated by Davis's portrayals of A–list performers, iconic world leaders, and scenes from everyday life. Davis's subjects include dozens of classic celebrities–such as Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, and James Dean–who are often photographed at their most casual and revealing moments.Accompanying the pictures is an assortment of remembrances by Burt Boyar, a longtime friend and traveling companion of Davis who collaborated with the entertainer on both of his autobiographies. Through a series of memorable anecdotes, Boyar reflects on Davis's many achievements as well as the private moments they shared as friends. Along with Davis's candid shots of ordinary life–from a group of children laughing to a baseball game at the Washington Monument–these stories reveal a side of the performer far removed from his Rat Pack persona.The release of this book will also coincide with the release of Burt Boyar's upcoming documentary, Sammy Speaks, created from his extensive archive of taped conversations with the star.

    In season 3, they are focused on a bigger problem: the Others. With the mysteries of the island deepening and the puzzle becoming more convoluted, this book will help you put those pieces together to figure out where the series is going. The only Lost guide available that analyzes the show episode by episode, Finding Lost includes:• An in-depth look at every episode, with highlights, music, and nitpicks outlined at the end of each one• Chapters on the influential television series The Prisoner, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time (a favorite book of the Others), Eko's Jesus stick, the real David Hume, and the online game The Lost Experience• Sidebars chronicling fun trivia such as why Canadian references imply the presence of evil; what Kate's aliases really mean; comparisons of the Others' wicked deeds to those of the Losties; and many more• Bios of the new actors on the show• Analyses of the show's literary references, including A Tale of Two Cities, Of Mice and Men, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Through the Looking Glass• Photos of the filming locations in HawaiiFull ofexclusive photos and enough background to put you leagues ahead of other viewers, this book will finally help you "find" Lost.

    Jonathan Rigby examines a great many of the seminal films, including Cat People, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, The Fly, Frankenstein, Freaks, House of Wax, The Invisible Man, and She. He also looks at the actors and directors--Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Vincent Price, to name but a few. For fans and students of the horror classics, American Gothic is an essential work. This is the genre as it flourished from Univeral's early-thirties cycle and which culminated in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho, a film which forever changed and expanded the possibilities of horror cinema.

    Dancing unites them. Accompanied by the hit songs of the time, they dance to the beat of their hearts. This book retells the sensual story with over 150 original pictures.

    Hip-hop has transformed theater, dance, performance, poetry, literature, fashion, design, photography, painting, and film, to become one of the most far-reaching and transformative arts movements of the past two decades.American Book Award-winning journalist Jeff Chang, author of the acclaimed Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, assembles some of the most innovative and provocative voices in hip-hop to assess the most important cultural movement of our time. It's an incisive look at hip-hop arts in the voices of the pioneers, innovators, and mavericks.With an introductory survey essay by Chang, the anthology includes: Greg Tate, Mark Anthony Neal, Brian “B+” Cross, and Vijay Prashad examining hip-hop aesthetics in the wake of multiculturalism. Joan Morgan and Mark Anthony Neal discussing gender relations in hip-hop. Hip-hop novelists Danyel Smith and Adam Mansbach on "street lit" and "lit hop". Actor, playwright, and performance artist Danny Hoch on how hip-hop defined the aesthetics of a generation. Rock Steady Crew b-boy-turned-celebrated visual artist DOZE on the uses and limits of a "hip-hop" identity. Award-winning writer Raquel Cepeda on West African cosmology and "the flash of the spirit" in hip-hop arts. Pioneer dancer POPMASTER FABEL's history of hip-hop dance, and acclaimed choreographer Rennie Harris on hip-hop's transformation of global dance theatre. Bill Adler's history of hip-hop photography, including photos by Glen E. Friedman, Janette Beckman, and Joe Conzo. Poetry and prose from Watts Prophet Father Amde Hamilton and Def Poetry Jam veterans Staceyann Chin, Suheir Hammad, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Kevin Coval. Roundtable discussions and essays presenting hip-hop in theatre, graphic design, documentary film and video, photography, and the visual arts. “Total Chaos is Jeff Chang at his best: fierce and unwavering in his commitment to document the hip-hop explosion. In beginning to define a hip-hop aesthetic, this gathering of artists, pioneers, and thinkers illuminates the special truth that hip-hop speaks to youth around the globe.” (Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip-Hop Generation)

    Plus we’ve placed a special, mind-bending, solve-the-code puzzle on random pages throughout the book that will lead you to a really cool solution! Now, that’s fun!

    Following on the heels of the well-received HEROES & MONSTERS and A BLAZING WORLD, this new companion is the invaluable book length analysis of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: BLACK DOSSIER, containing panel-by-panel annotations, as well as exclusive interview and commentary with award-winning creators Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.

    Ty Burr has come up with a winning prescription for children brought up on Hollywood junk food. FOR THE LITTLE ONES (Ages 3—6): Fast-paced movies that are simple without being unsophisticated, plainspoken without being dumbed down. Singin’ in the Rain and Bringing Up Baby are perfect.FOR THE ONES IN BETWEEN (Ages 7—12): “Killer stories,” placing easily grasped characters in situations that start simply and then throw curveballs. The African Queen and Some Like It Hot do the job well.FOR THE OLDER ONES (Ages 13+): Burr recommends relating old movies to teens’ contemporary favorites: without Hitchcock, there could be no The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, without Brando, no Johnny Depp.

    So much remarkable music, art, and social revolution came from one place at one time, it's difficult now to grasp how it all happened. In that moment, rock 'n' roll displaced movies as the centre of action in Hollywood. This book tells the story of that astonishing time. The nightlife was a heady mix of modernist design, pop art, and beat aesthetics. From the moment The Byrds debuted at Ciro's on March 26th 1965 - with Bob Dylan joining them on stage - right up to the demonstrations of November 1966, Sunset Strip nightclubs nurtured and broke The Doors, Love, Buffalo Springfield, Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, The Turtles, The Mamas & The Papas, and many others. The Strip was a hotbed for garage punk bands such as The Standells, The Seeds, The Music Machine and The Electric Prunes. Folk-rock and psychedelia were born there, and it was a favourite hangout and inspiration for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Them, The Velvet Underground, and The Yardbirds. Pop art and rock 'n' roll combined, and the new fusion quickly permeated television, animation, and New Hollywood's indie cinema.

    When the Marines he accompanied reached the village, they ordered the civilians there to evacuate their homes—grass huts whose thatched roofs they set ablaze with Zippo lighters. Safer’s report on the event soon aired on CBS and was among the first to paint a harrowing portrait of the War in Vietnam. LBJ responded to the segment furiously, accusing Safer of having “shat on the American flag.” For the first time since World War II, American boys in uniform had been portrayed as murderers instead of liberators. Our perception of the war—and the Zippo lighter—would never be the same.But as this stunning book attests, the Zippo was far more than an instrument of death and destruction. For the American soldiers who wielded them, they were a vital form of social protest as well. Vietnam Zippos showcases the engravings made by U.S. soldiers on their lighters during the height of the conflict, from 1965 to 1973. In a real-life version of the psychedelic war portrayed in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Sherry Buchanan tells the fascinating story of how the humble Zippo became a talisman and companion for American GIs during their tours of duty. Through a dazzling array of images, we see how Zippo lighters were used during the war, and we discover how they served as a canvas for both personal and political expression during the Age of Aquarius, engraved with etchings of peace signs and marijuana leaves and slogans steeped in all the rock lyrics, sound bites, combat slang, and antiwar mottos of the time.Death from Above. Napalm Sticks to Kids. I Love You Mom, From a Lonely Paratrooper. The engravings gathered in this copiously illustrated volume are at once searing, caustic, and moving, running the full emotional spectrum with both sardonic reflections—I Love the Fucking Army and the Army Loves Fucking Me—and poignant maxims—When the Power of Love Overcomes the Love of Power, the World Will Know Peace. Part pop art and part military artifact, they collectively capture the large moods of the sixties and the darkest days of Vietnam—all through the world of the tiny Zippo.

    This study tells the extraordinary story of the film from initial reception to eventual cult status. Uncovering the film's non-conformist sexual politics and glam-rock attitude, this volume explores its emphasis on the theatrical body (tattooed, cross-gendered, flamboyant), and its defiant queering of cinema history.

    Addressing questions of trust and authority that plague our information-addled society, the series acquired a large fan base of individuals interested in debating and interpreting the philosophical themes that underlie the symbiotic partnership between Mulder and Scully. The Philosophy of The X-Files concentrates not only on the philosophical assumptions and presuppositions of the show but also on how the episodes portray the process of philosophical inquiry. Editor Dean A. Kowalski argues that both philosophy and The X-Files center around a determination to search for truth despite a frequent lack of information and proper tools. It is no surprise, then, to find the series riddled with common philosophical themes, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and existentialism, among others. The first section of the book addresses the credos put forth by the series and examines the philosophical significance of its three popular slogans: "The truth is out there," "Trust no one," and "I want to believe." In the second section, contributors analyze the philosophical underpinnings of the characters of Mulder, Scully, the Cigarette Smoking Man, and Assistant Director Walter Skinner. A final section is devoted to individual episodes and engages with the philosophical issues raised by "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space, '" in addition to the 1998 film The X-Files: Fight the Future. Two appendixes offer a summary of the main storyline and brief plot summaries of each television episode together with the philosophical issues it raises. The first collection of philosophical essays devoted exclusively to the show, The Philosophy of The X-Files shows a television series successfully engaged with the philosophical quandaries of the modern world and explores how Mulder and Scully's personalities and actions invite inquiry into patterns of human belief and behavior.

    150 full-color photos.

    Two years later he and his older brothers scored their first hit, 'I Want You Back' - and, despite set-backs that would have ended the career of a lesser man, Michael's legion of fans remain as loyal today as they have ever been. This is the story of the man and his music...

    Yet the show has lived on through syndication, global distribution, DVD release, and merchandising, as well as in the memories of its devoted viewers. Buffy stands out from much entertainment television by offering sharp, provocative commentaries on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and youth. Yet it has also been central to changing trends in television production and reception. As a flagship show for two U.S. “netlets”—the WB and UPN—Buffy helped usher in the “post-network” era, and as the inspiration for an active fan base, it helped drive the proliferation of Web-based fan engagement.In Undead TV, media studies scholars tackle the Buffy phenomenon and its many afterlives in popular culture, the television industry, the Internet, and academic criticism. Contributors engage with critical issues such as stardom, gender identity, spectatorship, fandom, and intertextuality. Collectively, they reveal how a vampire television series set in a sunny California suburb managed to provide some of the most biting social commentaries on the air while exposing the darker side of American life. By offering detailed engagements with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s celebrity image, science-fiction fanzines, international and “youth” audiences, Buffy tie-in books, and Angel’s body, Undead TV shows how this prime-time drama became a prominent marker of industrial, social, and cultural change.Contributors. Ian Calcutt, Cynthia Fuchs, Amelie Hastie, Annette Hill, Mary Celeste Kearney, Elana Levine, Allison McCracken, Jason Middleton, Susan Murray, Lisa Parks

    For novices, it's Pot 101. Either way, Pot Culture encapsulates the history, lifestyle, and language of a subculture that, with every generation, is constantly redefining itself. From exhaustive lists of stoner-friendly movies, music, and television shows to detailed explanations of various stoner tools to celebrity-authored how-tos and an A-Z compendium of slang words and terms, it's the ultimate encyclopedia of pot.Written by former High Times editors Shirley Halperin (now a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and a TV talking head) and Steve Bloom (publisher of CelebStoner.com), and featuring contributions by a host of celebrity stoners, including Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Redman, Steve-O, and America's Next Top Model's Adrianne Curry, Pot Culture provides the answers the everything you ever wanted to know about pot but were too stoned to ask."Pass the Dutchie! Marijuana and rock 'n' roll have been joined at the hip, since, well, ever and that link will be explored in the book Pot Culture by journalist Shirley Halperin and longtime High Times editor Steve Bloom. . . . Essentially an encyclopedia of pot, filled with such top 10 lists as "best stoner movies" and "stoner capitals of the world," plus a "pot-parazzi" section with celebrities sneaking a toke . . ."--Billboard

    Gross paints a haunting mlange of fairytale, allegory, history, and pop culture, fusing eastern and western aesthetics in an ethereal world populated by kimono-clad Japanese women and lost Victorian dandies. In more than eighty exquisite color images, comprising all of Gross's gallery work, silk screens, etchings, and sketches, this volume illuminates his singular blend of realism and whimsy. Embraced and collected by art connoisseurs and lowbrow fans alike, Gross's work is both enigmatic and irresistible.

    'The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008' provides a complete overview of recent world events, describing diverse areas of public interest such as politics, entertainment, science and technology, and sport.

    But the true origins of one of the most powerful pop-cultural influences in the world are in the spontaneous, progressive musical culture that grew out of tough Bronx neighborhoods of the 1970s and led to a renaissance of poetry, music, and fashion.Through years of research, writer and curator Johan Kugelberg has pulled together the scattered remains of a movement that never had its eye on posterity. The book includes the improvisational artwork of previously unpublished street flyers of the era, Polaroids buried for decades in basements across the Bronx, and testimonials from influential figures such as Tony Tone, LA Sunshine, and Charlie Chase. Through the work of pioneering hip-hop photographer Jow Conzo–the man The New York Times calls “the chronicler who took hip hop’s baby pictures”–Born in the Bronx presents a unique introduction to an explosive and experimental period in music history.

    With his wandering eye, the imaginary one, Max sees his school, the night, and his family in a new way. When his eye turns into a mutant pearl and describes what it sees from the ocean bed, we see the underwater world from a dazzling new perspective. This ingenious narrative poem expresses an instinctive sense of the fabulous with extraordinary humor.

    It tells the fascinating stories behind the records released by companies that had the rights to only a limited number of Beatles recordings. These labels included Swan, United Artists, Decca, MGM, Atco and Polydor, each trying to exploit Beatlemania to the fullest, often milking a cash cow even when they had no legitimate cow to milk. The book also covers the singles and albums released by Capitol Records in the 70s and 80s, including theme albums such as Rock 'N' Roll Music and Love Songs, as well as The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl, Rarities and the unreleased Sessions LP. The book is printed on high quality glossy paper, with nearly 1,000 color images throughout.

    Never before seen in an English- or even Spanish-language collection are the often surreal and psychedelic images of extraterrestrials, robots, dinosaurs, dastardly killers, Zorro, Santo, and many other icons from stories involving suspense, mystery, romance, and the supernatural.Collected by Minneapolis’ Bobbette Axelrod (owner of the Sister Fun toy shop) and Baltimore’s Ted Frankel (proprietor of the American Visionary Art Museum’s store, Sideshow), Mexican Pulp Art presents the most striking examples of this sensational art form of the 1960s and 1970s.Researcher Maria Cristina Tavera’s introduction tells us about the original publishing companies, artists, and comic story lines of Micro Legends, Micro Suspense, Micro Mystery, and The Unexpected. Mexican Pulp Art joins Feral House’s award-winning collections of pop culture history —Sin-A-Rama: Sleaze Sex Paperbacks of the Sixties, It’s A Man’s World: Men’s Adventure Magazines, The Postwar Pulps, and Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin—in rediscovering extraordinary forgotten worlds of visual splendor.

    This book gives a thorough grounding in fantasy art techniques.

    Sheer optimism and opulence informed everything from automobile design to architecture, infusing design with larger-than-life planes and curves. Storefront design of the era is particularly indicative of this phenomenon, incarnated here in an extensive collection of hand-illustrated shop window designs from 1938 to 1950. These spectacular, often grandiose plans for grocery stores, shoe shops, beauty salons, bakeries, and more are reminders of a time when stores were sacred shrines for the congregation of American shoppers?impressive and even slightly intimidating, just like the future itself. Collected for this unique book, the designs viewed in retrospect reveal the mindset of a unique period in history. In addition to an extensive selection of drawings are historical black and white photographs of actual shops built in a similar style. Shop America offers a rare look at mid-century commercial America as it pictured itself. The editor: Jim Heimann is Executive Editor for TASCHEN America in Los Angeles and the author of numerous books on architecture, popular culture, and Hollywood history including TASCHEN's bestselling All-American Ads series. The author: Steven Heller, the art director of the New York Times Book Review and co-chair of the School of Visual Arts MFA Design program, is the author of over one hundred books on design, popular culture, and satiric art. In addition to writing for over a dozen TASCHEN titles, his recent books include Design Literacy Second Edition, Stylepedia, and The Education of a Graphic Designer.

    This, though, is a memoir of the west coast music world in the years 1976 to 1986, with special attention paid to Los Angeles, SST Records and the late music photographer Naomi Petersen. Other Carducci titles available from Redoubt are Life Against Dementia, Wyoming Stories, and Rock and the Pop Narcotic. Carducci lives and writes in Wyoming.

    He dominated the waves, ruled his peers' imaginations, and—to this day—inspires the fantasies of decades of Dora wannabes who began to swarm his pristine paradise after the movie Gidget helped surfing explode into the mainstream and changed it forever—many say for the worse.Disenchanted, Dora railed against the ruination; angry that the waves were no longer his own, he fought back—or found better things to do. Dora was also an avid sportsman, raconteur, philosopher, traveler—and scam artist of wide repute. When, in 1973, he finally ran afoul of the law, he soon abandoned America and led the FBI and Interpol on a seven-year chase around the globe. At the same time, he never gave up searching for (and occasionally finding) the empty waves and spirit of the Malibu he'd lost. From homes in New Zealand to South Africa to France, he continued to personify the rebel heart of surfing and has been widely acknowledged as "the most relentlessly committed surfer of all time."The New York Times named him "the most renegade spirit the sport has yet to produce." Vanity Fair called him "a dark prince of the beach." The Times (London) wrote, "A hero to a generation of beach bums. He was tanned . . . good-looking . . . trouble."To capture Dora's never-before-told story, David Rensin spent four years interviewing more than three hundred of Dora's friends, enemies, family members, lovers, and peers—none of whom would previously talk in depth about him—to uncover the truth about surfing's most outrageous practitioner, charismatic prince, chief antihero, committed loner, and enduring mystery. The result is a riveting and living portrait of an uncommon character whose unique influence on surfing has never waned, and who became what most can never be: a legend in his own time.

    This critical survey lists films, with credits, plot synopsis and critical commentary included for each.

    The result is Geary's Guide, featuring aphorists like Voltaire, Twain, Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Woody Allen, Muhammad Ali, Emily Dickinson, and Mae West, as well as international practitioners appearing in English for the first time. But it is more than just a conventional anthology. It is also an encyclopedia, containing brief biographies of each author in addition to a selection of his or her aphorisms. The book is a field guide, too, with aphorists organized into eight different "species," such as Comics, Critics & Satirists; Icons & Iconoclasts; and Painters & Poets. The book's two indexes-by author and by subject-make it easily searchable, while its unique organizational structure and Geary's lively biographical entries set it apart from all previous reference works. A perfect follow-up to Geary's New York Times bestseller The World in a Phrase, Geary's Guide is eminently suitable for browsing or for sustained reading. A comprehensive guide to our most intimate, idiosyncratic literary form, the book is an indispensable tool for writers and public speakers as well as essential reading for all language lovers.PRAISE:"...a wonderful breviary of wisdom, insight and cynicism, and one that will immediately find a place at many bedsides...there are pleasures and surprises galore."-Washington Post "An agreeable thing to have in your lap."-Dwight Garner "Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists is a rich, well-edited compendium, which is at once a feast, a frolic, a thought-kit and a treasure trove. A book to relish and to keep close."-John Lahr, New Yorker "A masterful compilation from a man adept at taking the pith."-Ben Schott

    ?Nicolas Winding Refn Cinema Now examines the work and key themes of 60 filmmakers working around the world today, from the cream of the crop of young Hollywood to the new wave of Asian mavericks to burgeoning auteurs from Europe and Latin America. Watch Pedro Almod?var at work. Immerse yourself in the stunning imagery of Wong Kar-Wai. Feel the emotional impact of the films of Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu and Carlos Reygadas. Live in the strange worlds of Guy Maddin, Matthew Barney, and Tsai Ming-Liang. Cinema Now is packed with stunning full-color photos and exclusive on-set photography supplied by the filmmakers, and even comes with a supplementary DVD containing exclusive short films, extracts, trailers, and much more. The following filmmakers are confirmed: Fatih Akin, Pedro Almod?var, Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Jacques Audiard, Siddiq Barmak, Matthew Barney, Bong Joon-Ho, Catherine Breillat, Craig Brewer, Laurent Cantet, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Stephen Chow, Sofia Coppola, Alfonso Cuar?n, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Guillermo del Toro, Marc Dornford-May, Bruno Dumont, Atom Egoyan, Paul Greengrass, Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Michael Haneke, Mary Harron, Todd Haynes, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Spike Jonze, Miranda July, Lodge Kerrigan, Kim Ki-Duk, Guy Maddin, Terrence Malick, Michael Mann, Neil Marshall, Lucrecia Martel, Fernando Meirelles, John Cameron Mitchell, Lukas Moodysson, Anders Morgenthaler, Christopher Nolan, Gy?rgy P?lfy, ParkChan-Wook, Alexander Payne, Cristi Puiu, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Carlos Reygadas, Jo?o Pedro Rodrigues, Robert Rodriguez, Pavel Ruminov, David O. Russell, Cate Shortland, Jonny To, Tsai Ming-Liang, Tom Tykwer, Gus Van Sant, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Nicolas Winding Refn, Wong Kar-Wai, Zhang Yimou

    A director known for planning the entire movie before the first day of filming began by using the storyboard approach, Hitchcock was renowned for his relaxed directing style, resulting in an excellent rapport with his actors. Decades later, Hitchcock's films stand as sterling examples of innovative technique, infused with meaning that only repeated viewing can reveal. This work examines themes, techniques, and the filmmaking process in 15 of Hitchcock's best known films: The 39 Steps, Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound, Notorious, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Frenzy and Family Plot. It explores the auteur's treatments of psychoanalysis, voyeurism, and collective fears during the Cold War. Also presented are key stories behind several Hitchcock classics, such as the director's stormy relationships with Raymond Chandler and David O. Selznick that resulted in synergetic success for some of his most successful films. The book includes numerous photographs and an extensive bibliography.

    But radio came roaring back with a whole new concept. The war was over, the baby boom was on, the country was in clover, and a bold new beat was giving the syrupy songs of yesteryear a run for their money. Add transistors, 45 rpm records, and a young man named Elvis to the mix, and the result was the perfect storm that rocked, rolled, and reinvented radio.Visionary entrepreneurs like Todd Storz pioneered the Top 40 concept, which united a generation. But it took trendsetting “disc jockeys” like Alan Freed, Murray the K, Wolfman Jack, Cousin Brucie, and their fast-talking, too-cool-for-school counterparts across the land to turn time, temperature, and the same irresistible hit tunes played again and again into the ubiquitous sound track of the fifties and sixties. The Top 40 sound broke through racial barriers, galvanized coming-of-age kids (and scandalized their perplexed parents), and provided the insistent, inescapable backbeat for times that were a-changin’.Along with rock-and-roll music came the attitude that would literally change the “voice” of radio forever, via the likes of raconteur Jean Shepherd, who captivated his loyal following of “Night People”; the inimitable Bob Fass, whose groundbreaking Radio Unnameable inaugurated the anything-goes free-form style that would come to define the alternative frontier of FM; and a small-time Top 40 deejay who would ultimately find national fame as a political talk-show host named Rush Limbaugh.From Hunter Hancock, who pushed beyond the limits of 1950s racial segregation with rhythm and blues and hepcat patter, to Howard Stern, who blew through all the limits with a blue streak of outrageous on-air antics; from the heyday of summer songs that united carefree listeners to the latter days of political talk that divides contentious callers; from the haze of classic rock to the latest craze in hip-hop, Something in the Air chronicles the extraordinary evolution of the unique and timeless medium that captured our hearts and minds, shook up our souls, tuned in–and turned on–our consciousness, and went from being written off to rewriting the rules of pop culture.

    It features the highlights of those daring escapades in which he set off on the merest whiff of a rumor that something exotic and unique was there to be found in Panang, or the Phunjab, or eastern Persia. With his drawings, cartoons, doodles, and memorabilia,  the book puts in an atmospheric context the strange and bizarre world that unfolded before Ripley’s gaze. . From lakes of soda & bridges of blood to the shrunken heads themselves, Ripley's discoveries are laid out for you to explore in fantastic three-dimensional detail in this extraordinary book.

    From Hit Stix to Hungry, Hungry Hippos, My Little Pony to My Buddy, this book has all the toys and games that made the '80s one of the gnarliest decades of the century. Packed with colorful photographs and illustrations and written in an entertaining, irreverent style, Just Can't Get Enough is filled with personal anecdotes, funny facts, and random trivia, along with special features like the Redonkulous Meter, which measures how beyond ridiculous each product truly was. Hilarious and original, this book is a must-have for anyone who ever snuggled with their Care Bear, staged epic battles between He-Man and Skeletor, played with their Lite-Brite for hours, or all of the above.

    Every major city is featured, including London, New York City, Paris, Tokyo, Milan, Baghdad, Tehran, Berlin, Munich, Marseilles, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and more.

    These moments are crystallised in images that leap from the page revealing joy, anger, despairsand triumph. An insightful text by photography historian Nick Yapp supports these images, which are accompanied by journals, excerpts and 'on-site' notes that offer the backstory of the image and how it was captured.Major events that have shaped our erascaptured in the book include, from the Getty historic archive, the 1848-9 revolution and riots in Europe; President Lincoln's assassination in 1865; the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889; the Potemkin Mutiny (1905) that launched the Russians Revolution; the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916; the Wall Street crash of 1929; Kristallnacht in Germany in 1938; the Bristish leaving India in 1947; through to the dawn of the new millennium in 2000.The National Geographic archives are used to illustratescultural geography, the changes in landscape, contemporary conflicts, Native America, and the civil rights movement among others, including the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Scott and Amundsen reaching the South Pole in 1911; the Lascaux cave paintings discovered in 1940; the first heart transplant in 1967; the Chernobyl disaster of 1986; the cloning of sheep in 1997; the Twin Towers attack of 2001; and the global warming debate of 2007. The wonder of this book is in illustrating how an entire event or age can be captured in a single image - whether it be of a peasant's tears, two heads of state sharing a secret, or the triumph of an Olympic champion. Politics, war, crime, exploration, fashion and fads all make up these one hundred days: From the California Gold Rush of 1849 to the finished structure of the Three Gorges Dam in 2006.

     As a new agent with the U.S. government's elite Counter Terrorist Unit, you are expected to carefully review the contents of this handbook. Many of the situations you are likely to encounter--from assassination attempts to bioweapon attacks--are detailed within these pages. We have divided the agency's manual into seven sections for quick reference and ease of use: - Working at CTU: An overview of the office, its policies, and its facilities - Gear: Essential supplies, firearms, and other tools of the trade - Surveillance: A primer on tracking suspects and their vehicles - Undercover Ops: Establishing cover and "going dark" - Combat: From securing the perimeter to securing hostiles - Interrogation: Getting the information you need when the clock is ticking - Disaster Management: Live bombs, chemical attacks, and beyond Complete with archival photographs, weaponry schematics, step-by-step instructions, and a foreword by Federal Special Agent Jack Bauer, this manual is a reference that no CTU agent can do without.

    She looks in detail at the motifs and metaphors that ornament the cowboy boot, from the artistic traditions of Texas boot makers to the symbolism in stitchings of flora and fauna, and examines the different styles, shapes, and materials of boots through the ages. Featuring insights and testimonials from custom cowboy boot makers and obsessive buyers alike, the book also features a section on how to design your own individual boot. Cowboy boots are the most emblematic of American fashion icons, repositories of western tradition and symbols of the strength and endurance of true American style. In recent times, cowboy boots have become permanent fixtures of the fashion world and of Hollywood westerns. Beautifully illustrated with photographs of boots, boot makers, and cowboy fashionistas, this book presents the definitive perspective on the changing roles and various styles of the most enduring American footwear.

    Often set among stone circles or enchanted moonlit trees Sudworth’s alluring paintings showcase her “passion for all things dark, romantic, and strange.” The five chapters encompass a range of compelling images: dragons and spirits; mythic and mysterious figures, like her red-caped Sorceress; haunted spaces and magical ruins; and deep shadows across sky and landscape. The artist herself provides illuminating commentary, and evocative poems from such writers as Shakespeare and Byron enhance the pictures’ meanings.

    With all the fun of a heavy metal parking lot without the beer stains and moshing, this activity book for kids and adults is an entirely new take on the coloring book genre.

    G. Ogbar celebrates hip-hop and confronts the cult of authenticity that defines its essential character--that dictates how performers walk, talk, and express themselves artistically and also influences the consumer market. Hip-Hop Revolution is a balanced cultural history that looks past negative stereotypes of hip-hop as a monolith of hedonistic, unthinking noise to reveal its evolving positive role within American society.A writer who's personally encountered many of hip-hop's icons, Ogbar traces hip-hop's rise as a cultural juggernaut, focusing on how it negotiates its own sense of identity. He especially explores the lyrical world of rap as artists struggle to define what realness means in an art where class, race, and gender are central to expressions of authenticity-and how this realness is articulated in a society dominated by gendered and racialized stereotypes.Ogbar also explores problematic black images, including minstrelsy, hip-hop's social milieu, and the artists' own historical and political awareness. Ranging across the rap spectrum from the conscious hip-hop of Mos Def to the gangsta rap of 50 Cent to the "underground" sounds of Jurassic 5 and the Roots, he tracks the ongoing quest for a unique and credible voice to show how complex, contested, and malleable these codes of authenticity are. Most important, Ogbar persuasively challenges widely held notions that hip-hop is socially dangerous--to black youths in particular--by addressing the ways in which rappers critically view the popularity of crime-focused lyrics, the antisocial messages of their peers, and the volatile politics of the word "nigga."Hip-Hop Revolution deftly balances an insider's love of the culture with a scholar's detached critique, exploring popular myths about black educational attainment, civic engagement, crime, and sexuality. By cutting to the bone of a lifestyle that many outsiders find threatening, Ogbar makes hip-hop realer than it's ever been before.

    Booth and Brennan solve horrific crimes while keeping viewers gripped by their ongoing love/hate relationship.This is the official companion packed full of exclusive new interviews with the cast and crew, stunning photos and a complete seasons one and two episode guide, as well as background detail on real-life forensics and a foreword by Kathy Reichs.Bones currently shows Wednesdays on Fox 8/7c.

    Beginning with Andy Warhol’s involvement with The Velvet Underground in 1967, artists have maintained a strong connection to rock. Artists such as Slater Bradley, Mike Kelley, and Raymond Pettibon have created album covers and music videos for rock bands, while rock musicians such as Bryan Ferry, John Lennon, and Peter Townsend have emerged from art schools, and punk and new wave bands such as Talking Heads and Sonic Youth have shared the same social and artistic milieu as artists including Robert Longo and Richard Prince.Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 looks at the intimate and inspired relationship between the visual arts and rock-and-roll culture, charting their intersection through works of art, album covers, music videos, and other materials. Organized regionally by cultural centers including London, New York, Los Angeles, and Cologne, the essays examine rock and roll’s style, celebrity, and identity politics in art; the experience, energy, and sense of devotion rock music inspires; and the dual role that many individuals play in both the sonic and visual realms. Presenting work that defies a more literal interpretation of the theme and instead suggests the style, energy, and attitude that has come to be associated with rock and roll, this fascinating volume is essential for admirers of contemporary art and culture.

    With his collection of over 120 portraits, Malcolm Venville intimately observes the complexity of the Luchadore by capturing both the human element and stage persona of each wrestler, through direct uncluttered photography.

    Finally, the book looks at the myriad ways in which Disney's products became source materials for modern and contemporary artists, including Prokofiev and L'opold Stokowski as well as Christian Boltanski, Bertrand Lavier, Peter Saul, and Gary Baseman. A wonderful sourcebook for Disney enthusiasts, this colorful volume offers a unique perspective on the often-overlooked links between highbrow and popular culture

    As always, Jello whacks the moles wherever he finds them in Spoken Word extravaganza #8, presented in a beautiful triple cd digipack. Buried Iraq facts, vote fraud disease, the Arnold putsch, the blue state/red state "values" myth, Paris in Abu Ghraib, Satanic Santas, a visit to New Orleans, and the return of a strange geometry teacher are all part of the info-tainment stew. Other highlights of In the Grip of Official Treason include an expanded version of the Ministry song "Ass Clown" from their latest album Rio Grande Blood. Also, check out the all-new update of the Gulf War I primal scream classic "Die for Oil, Sucker." Includes all new art by Winston Smith, links to great information, photos by Jello Biafra, and another of his soon-to-be-classic black and white collages.

    He shares excerpts from conversations with filmmakers like Peter Jackson, Wim Wenders, Kevin Smith, Scott Derrickson, producer Ralph Winter, and stars like Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Keanu Reeves and the cast of Serenity, drawing “war-stories” from his encounters with movie stars, moviemakers, moviegoers and other critics in both mainstream and religious circles. He argues that what makes some films timeless rather than merely popular has everything to do with the way these artists—whether they know it or not—have captured reflections of God in their work.Through a Screen Darkly also includes a collection of reviews, humorous anecdotes and on-the-scene film festival reports, as well as recommendations for movie discussion groups and meditations on how different films echo the myriad ways in which Christ captured the attention and imagination of culture.

    Also included are explorations of Bat-lore such as the effects of the 1966 Batman TV show upon comics, a Batmobile timeline, and Batman's colorful rogues' gallery.

    The Best of Smash Hits is for all those readers: a glorious, full-color celebration of all the best bits, and even better—some of the worst. Packed with such fascinating pop cultural documentation as the legendary Morrissey and Pete Burns joint interview, a minute-by-minute account of Live Aid, fashion tips from Max Headroom, and memories from those who worked on the publication, this is a must for any 1980s music fans. This collection is the definitive salute to the magazine that once asked David Bowie, "You're not very good at acting, are you?"

    • Reviews of more than 900 manga series• Ratings from 0 to 4 stars • Guidelines for age-appropriateness• Number of series volumes• Background info on series and artistsTHE ONE-STOP RESOURCE FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN THE BEST AND THE REST! Whether you’re new to the world of manga-style graphic novels or a longtime reader on the lookout for the next hot series, here’s a comprehensive guide to the wide, wonderful world of Japanese comics! • Incisive, full-length reviews of stories and artwork• Titles rated from zero to four stars–skip the clunkers, but don’t miss the hidden gems• Guidelines for age-appropriateness–from strictly mature to kid-friendly• Profiles of the biggest names in manga, including CLAMP, Osamu Tezuka, Rumiko Takahashi, and many others • The facts on the many kinds of manga–know your shôjo from your shônen• An overview of the manga industry and its history• A detailed bibliography and a glossary of manga termsLOOK NO FURTHER, YOU’VE FOUND YOUR IDEAL MANGA COMPANION!

    Never before, and never since, have so many African-American performers been featured in films, not in bit parts, but in name-above-the title starring roles. Here's a new and appreciative look back at a distinctly American motion picture phenomenon, the first truly comprehensive examination of the genre, its films, its trends and its far-reaching impact, covering more than 240 Blaxploitation films in detail. This is the primary reference book on the genre, covering not just the films' heyday (1971-1976) but the entire decade (1970-1980). Includes: film posters and ads

    The essays in this important collection address these forces, recognising that music is an effect of a continuous process of negotiation, dispute and agreement between the individual actors who make up a music world. The emphasis is always on discourse, on the way in which people talk and write about music, and the part this plays in the social construction of musical meaning and value. The collection includes nineteen essays, some of which have had a major impact on the field, along with an autobiographical introduction.

    From her patient hands, practiced at embroidering linens and crocheting lace, came captivating portraits of Jesus, Elvis, Oprah, Lady Diana, Clinton, and Prince, intricately rendered in timothy, bromegrass, canola, poppy seeds, salsify, alsike, bird’s-foot trefoil, grits, and wild rice. Seed Queen brings to light the story of this crop artist extraordinaire—how she developed her matchless aesthetic by merging rural traditions from her childhood on a farm with a love of Hollywood movies, training as a hairstylist, and skills in drawing and painting—and the larger story of crop art as it has evolved over time. This lively illustrated volume features dozens of color images of Colton’s crop art and of the work of those she has continued to inspire since she took home the blue ribbon for her portrait of Nixon at the 1969 Minnesota State Fair. Countless artists have taken the genre in new directions in recent years, opening up the pantheon of the famous, taking on political issues, and satirizing those in power—all through the meticulous positioning of thousands of individual seeds.  Colleen Sheehy is the director of education at the Weisman Art Museum and teaches art history at the University of St. Thomas.

    This book brings together images, interviews, and historical notes, along with ride, attraction, and concessionaire profiles, making comprehensive tribute to Boardwalk.

    Legendary for miles around, it is the place to see dazzling holiday decorating of the eye-popping, traffic-stopping sort. This flickering showcase bedecked with tens of thousands of lights is hard to resist—and ignore—as often every square inch is caked in Christmas, from snowmen to elves, carousels to candy canes. But who lives in that house—and houses like it around the country? And what compels this Christmas-decorating fervor?Author Bruce Littlefield finds the answers on his quest to locate the most spectacular Christmas displays across America. His adventures take him to the front lawns and doors of people in cities and towns from coast to coast who have a flair and fanaticism for doing Christmas right—whose goal is giving the world an illuminated, inflated, decorated gift. Littlefield shares his firsthand encounters with people for whom Christmas is a year-round labor of love—the people who spend mind-boggling amounts of time and money transforming their houses and yards, and even those of the neighbors, into unique Christmas fantasylands that are spectacles of individual expression and must-see destinations for the rest of us.These portraits of Christmas range from tacky to refined, outlandish to poignant—and the reasons they are created vary, too—but all are dazzling in their own ways, and the passionate people who dream them up have entertaining stories and anecdotes to tell that will make this Christmas the brightest, merriest, happiest Christmas ever. Just follow the lights.

    Craig Schuftan's time-travelling history of modern art, music and ideas brilliantly reveals how Futurism, Constructivism, Surrealism, and all the other '-isms' of the twentieth century found there way into the movies, on to television and on to your stereos in ways that you may never have imagined!Craig Schuftan has been presenting 'The Culture Club', a history of modern art and ideas, on triple j's morning program since 2001. He graduated from Sydney's National Art School in 1997, and has performed John Cage's 4'33" on two occasions – once as part of a lecture at Charles Sturt University, and once as a busker on a busy Sydney street (he made exactly 0'00" in change).

    Take a journey through the lyrics and inspiration leading to such rap classics as 'Fight The Power', 'Don't Believe The Hype', 'Can't Truss It', and 'Welcome To The Terrerdome' to name a few. The absolute beginning of a series of great reads about the music, styles, and words of hip hop...told by the masters themselves on OFFDA Books.

    From such enduring classics as Singin'' In The Rain and West Side Story to recent successes like Evita and Chicago, this book reviews 50 essential musicals, including several forgotten gems. There are profiles of musical icons such as Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and George Gershwin and details of musicals from around the world. Complete with a list of the best soundtracks, websites and books for further reading, this Rough Guide takes a behind the scenes look at this magical movie genre.

    It offers brief overviews of hundreds of easily accessible examples of art, film, literature, music, and other media and outlines strategies for incorporating them effectively and concisely in the classroom. Although designed primarily for college and seminary courses on the Bible, the ideas can easily be adapted for classes such as Theology and Literature or Religion and Art as well as for nonacademic settings. This compilation is an invaluable resource for anyone who teaches the Bible.