Another thing that makes Japan unique in the gaming world is the prevalence of game arcades. While the game arcade scene has died in the U.S., there are 9,500 "game centers" in Japan with more than 445,000 game machines. Arcade Mania introduces overseas readers to the fascinating world of the Japanese gemu senta. Organized as a guided tour of a typical game center, the book is divided into nine chapters, each of which deals with a different kind of game, starting with the UFO catchers and print club machines at the entrance and continuing through rhythm games, fighting games, shooting games, retro games, gambling games, card-based games, and only-in-Japan games. Covering classic games from Space Invaders to Street Fighter, games that are familiar to Americans in their home console versions (Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Dance, Dance Revolution), as well as the unique, quirky games found only in Japan, Arcade Mania is crammed full of interviews with game makers and star players, and packed with facts about the history, background and characteristics of each game, all lavishly illustrated with photographs and game graphics. This book is a must-have for gamers everywhere.

    This is the thrilling untold story of the young helicopter pilots -- most barely out of their teens -- who risked their lives during this brief but ferocious war. In April 1982 Harry Benson was a 21 year-old Royal Navy commando helicopter pilot, fresh out of training and one of the youngest helicopter pilots to serve in the Falklands War. These pilots, nicknamed 'junglies', flew most of the land-based missions in the Falklands in their Sea King and Wessex helicopters. Much of what happened in the war -- the politics, task force ships, Sea Harriers, landings, Paras and Marines -- is well-known and documented. But almost nothing is known of the young commando helicopter pilots and aircrewmen who made it all happen on land and sea. This is their 'Boys Own' story, told for the very first time. Harry Benson has interviewed forty of his former colleagues for the book creating a tale of skill, initiative, resourcefulness, humour, luck, and adventure. This is a fast-paced, meticulously researched and compelling account written by someone who was there, in the cockpit of a Wessex helicopter.  None of these pilots has spoken before about: - The two helicopter crashes and eventual rescue following a failed SAS mission high up on an in hospitable glacier in South Georgia - The harrowing story of the Exocet strike that sunk the transport ship Atlantic Conveyor - The daring missile raid on the Argentine high command in Port Stanley - The constant mortar fire faced while supporting troops and evacuating casualties - The hair-raising head-on attacks by Argentine jets on British helicopters - The extraordinary courage shown during the evacuation of the bombed landing ship 'Sir Galahad'  If you liked Apache, Vulcan 607 and Chickenhawk, you'll love Scram!  The word "Scram" was coined by Falklands helicopter pilots to warn other 'junglies' to go to ground or risk being shot down as Argentinean jets blasted through 'bomb alley'. The term has never been used before or since.

    . . unless you're Japanese or unless you've got The Anime Companion. Find out why characters wear belly bands and what nosebleeds really mean. Learn about the Edo Jidai and those games they play at New Year's. Gilles Poitras has taken his popular anime website and created a new print version that's filled with curious details and fresh insights drawn from dozens of the most popular anime. And for students of Japanese, The Anime Companion is a great way to learn about Japan while indulging in your favorite pastime."Combining personal passion with an intelligent sense of perspective, this enjoyable book is just right for dipping into, full of amusing and informative snippets which fans will love and even non-fans can enjoy."—Helen McCarthy, author of The Complete Anime Guide"I've worked on over 20,000 pages of manga over the last ten years, and I still learned quite a bit from this fascinating book. For anyone with more than the most casual interest in anime and manga, The Anime Companion should be on their coffee table right next to the remote control."—Toren Smith, Studio Proteus"Entire generations of English speakers now receive their first exposure to Japanese culture through anime. But many cultural references can be puzzling. Gilles Poitras's book is like a Rosetta Stone for confused anime fans. Before slipping that next anime video into your VCR, make sure this book's handy!"—Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! and Dreamland JapanCategories covered:Building/Structure/LandmarkClothingCultureEntertainment/GameFood And DrinkGeneralGeographical Feature/LocationHistory/SocietyHomeNaturePeopleReligion/Mythology/BeliefSports/ActivityWeaponry/WarSample Entry: AIDORU (IDOL SINGER)Pop singers. Idol singers are not unique to Japan; every modern country has its clean-cut prefabricated stars known for their short careers. In Japan highly competitive management companies maneuver to get their latest singers in the spotlight for as long as they can before the nex

    

    However, the night before his hopeless bout, a mysterious hermit grants Allen a button that will give him one hundred million years to train in an alternate reality when pressed. Allen not only gladly accepts the offer but also goes back for seconds, thirds, tenths even! With over a billion years of straight practice under his belt, the world is about to see what the “Reject Swordsman” can really do!

    In 1979, Thatcher's Britain was a country crippled by strikes, joblessness, and economic gloom, divided by race and class—and skanking to a new beat: 2 Tone. The unruly offspring of white boy punk and rude boy ska, the Specials burst on to the scene. On stage they were electric, and at the heart of this energy was the vocal chemistry of the ethereal Terry Hall and Jamaican rude boy Neville Staple. In 1961, five-year-old Neville was sent to England to live with his father, a man for whom discipline bordered on child abuse. As he recounts here, growing up black in the Midlands of the 1960s and 1970s wasn't easy, and his youth was marked by scuffles with skins, compulsive womanizing, and a life of crime that led from shoplifting to burglary and eventually prison. But throughout there was music, and Nev reveals how he became part of the most important band of the 1980s. He remembers sound system battles; the legendary 2 Tone tour with the Selecter, Madness, and Dexy's, and their clashes with white nationalist thugs. He recalls the band's increasing tensions and eventual split; his subsequent foray into bubblegum pop with Fun Boy Three; and a newfound fame in America as godfather to Third Wave ska bands. Finally he reflects on the Specials' reunion and how even now, 30 years later, they can't help tearing themselves apart.

    " Fox has inspired millions of people over the past forty years through his simple, practical guidelines. In Diagrams for Living he presents valuable keys to living a more fulfilled life drawn from the eloquent spiritual wisdom of the Bible.If we read the Bible literally, cautions Fox, we miss the eternal power and personal relevance found in its symbols, allegories, and parables. "Whether you realize it or not," he writes, "you are on every page from Genesis to Revelation." Fox shows how to read dramatic biblical stories as symbolic diagrams for living that can "show you how to overcome difficulties and problems, and how to give expression to the deep aspirations that lie hidden in your soul." This power to reveal, inspire, and guide makes the Bible's teachings adaptable to everyone at every stage of spiritual development.Sensible, contemporary, and full of reassurance, Diagrams for Living offers sage counsel from a gifted teacher.

    Dillon.

    If you want to learn more, this excellent 2nd-edition is detailed with hundreds of secrets that will help make your comps seamless. For beginners or experts, Ron walks you through the processes of analysis and workflows - linear thinking which will help you become deft and successfully tackle any shot. - Dennis Muren ASC, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Industrial Light & MagicRon Brinkman's book is the definitive work on digital compositing and we have depended on this book as a critical part of our in-house training program at Imageworks since the 1999 Edition. We use this book as a daily textbook and reference for our lighters, compositors and anyone working with digital imagery. It is wonderful to see a new edition being released and it will certainly be required reading for all our digital artists here at Imageworks.- Sande Scoredos, Executive Director of Training & Artist Development, Sony Pictures ImageworksThe Art and Science of Digital Compositing is the only complete overview of the technical and artistic nature of digital compositing. It covers a wide range of topics from basic image creation, representation and manipulation, to a look at the visual cues that are necessary to create a believable composite. Designed as an introduction to the field, as well as an authoritative technical reference, this book provides essential information for novices and professionals alike. *17 new case-studies provide in-depth looks at the compositing work done on films such as Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Golden Compass, The Incredibles, King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sin City, Spider-Man 2, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Star Wars: Episode 3-Revenge of the Sith. *The accompanying DVD-ROM features bonus resources, including example footage from hit films and projects that give readers hands-on experience with real industry materials.*Includes new sections on 3D compositing, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, Rotoscoping, and much more!

    The McGann's passionate and insightful writing evokes the raucous cast of riders, promoters, and journalists thrusting through highs and lows worthy of opera. This volume stands out as a must-read book for anyone seeking to appreciate cycling's race of races." -Peter Joffre Nye, author of The Six-Day Bicycle Races: America's Jazz Age Sport and Hearts of Lions "There are LOTS of books on the Tour de France. An increasing number of them are actually written in English. However, of those, none educates Americans about this grand spectacle�s rich past. The Tour de France has a history as fascinating and sordid as Rome�s and it is high time someone undertook to explain this to our American sensibility. Our guide for the trip is a man with a ravenous appetite for both world history and bicycle racing, just the sort of person to paint a Tour champion with the dramatic grandiosity befitting Hannibal himself." -Pat Brady, Editor, Asphalt Magazine At the dawn of the 20th Century, French newspapers used bicycle races as promotions to build readership. Until 1903 these were one-day events. Looking to deliver a coup de grace in a vicious circulation war, Henri Desgrange�editor of the Parisian sports magazine L�Auto�took the suggestion of one of his writers to organize a race that would last several days longer than anything else, like the 6-day races on the track, but on the road. That�s exactly what happened. For almost 3 weeks the riders in the first Tour de France rode over dirt roads and cobblestones in a grand circumnavigation of France. The race was an electrifying success. Held annually (suspended only during the 2 World Wars), the Tour grew longer and more complex with an ever-changing set of rules, as Desgrange kept tinkering with the Tour, looking for the perfect formula for his race. Each year a new cast of riders would assemble to contest what has now become the greatest sporting event in the world.

    The Daily Mail was the first newspaper to tag Evans’s team as the Spice Boys.Yet despite their flaws, this was a rare group of individuals: mavericks, playboys, goal-scorers and luckless defenders. Wearing off-white Armani suits, their confident personalities were exemplified in their pre-match walk around Wembley before the 1996 FA Cup final (a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United).In stark contrast to the media-coached, on-message interviews given by today’s top stars, the blunt, ribald and sometimes cutting recollections of the footballers featured in Men in White Suits provide a rare insight into this fascinating era in Liverpool’s long and illustrious history.

    LakersThe L.A. Lakers have long been one of the NBA's most exciting teams. In The Show, critically acclaimed sportswriter Roland Lazenby brings the story of this charismatic team to life in an unprecedented oral history, featuring such legendary players as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, and Magic Johnson, along with current stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.Through in-depth interviews with players, coaches, and many other key figures, Lazenby follows the Lakers from their birthplace in 1946 Minneapolis to their eventual successes and failures in Los Angeles, using his flair for storytelling and eye for detail to show you exactly why the 14-time NBA champion Lakers are a celebrated favorite for sports fans all over America.

    

    Each volume of the Art of Cardcaptor Sakura contains over 100 full color pictures from the series, most of which have never before been seen in America.

    It is more concise and easier to read than some, yet it covers the breadth of emergency medicine practice more comprehensively than others. The bottom line is that I like this book. Just as previous editions did, the seventh presents all of the most pertinent and up-to-date information in a well-organized format that is comprehensive yet easy to read. That and many of the attractive new features in this current edition will ensure its place on my bookshelf for years to come."--JAMAWith 418 contributors representing over 120 medical centers around the world, Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine is the most practical and clinically rigorous reference of its kind. It covers everything from prehospital care, disaster preparedness, and basic resuscitative techniques, to all the major diseases requiring emergency treatment, such as pulmonary emergencies, renal and GU disorders, and hemophilia. This authoritative, in-depth coverage makes this classic text indispensible not only in emergency departments, but also for residents and practitioners when studying or preparing for any exam they may face.While continuing to provide the most current information for acute conditions, the Seventh Edition of Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine has been substantially revised and updated to cover all of the conditions for which patients seek emergency department care in a concise and easy-to-read-manner.NEW Features• Full-color design with more figures and tables than ever• Reader-friendly chapter presentation makes it easy to find important material.• Updated tables covering drugs and important clinical information• Patient safety considerations and injury prevention are integrated into chapters, as appropriate• Total revision of the dermatology section enables diagnosis by lesion description and body area affected, and provides current treatment• Organ systems sections reorganized to reflect considerations for actual clinical practice.• New chapters: New adult chapters include Natural Disasters, Aneurysms of the Aorta and Major Arteries; Hip and Knee Pain, Aortic Dissection; Acute Urinary Retention; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Intracranial Bleeding; Clotting Disorders; Community –acquired Pneumonia and Noninfectious Pulmonary Infiltrates; Type I Diabetes; Type II Diabetes; Anemia; Tests of Hemostasis; Clotting Disorders; Head Injury in Adults and Children; the Transplant Patient; Grief, Death and Dying; and Legal Issues in Emergency Medicine. Twelve new pediatric chapters including The Diabetic Child, Hematologic-Oncologic Emergencies, Ear and Mastoids, Eye Problems in Infants and Children, Neck Masses, GI Bleeding, Nose and Sinuses, Urologic and Gynecologic Procedures in children, Renal emergencies in children, Behavioral and Psychiatric Disorders in children, Pediatric Procedures, Pediatric ECG Interpretation• Greater coverage of procedures throughout for the most common conditions seen in the emergency department.• Companion DVD features an additional 17 chapters, such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Principles of Imaging, Prison Medicine, Military Medicine, The Violent Patient, Forensics, Wound Ballistics, and Drug Interactions.• Companion DVD also features videos and animations for teaching and learning performance of important procedures, especially Ultrasound-Guided Procedures