A prescient advocate of sustainable consumption and the matchless utility of good design, Muji’s founding principle was to develop new and simple products at reasonable prices by making the best use of materials while minimizing their impact on the environment. From a humble inaugural line of eight products nearly three decades ago, the brand now sells nearly seven thousand different products in hundreds of its own stores in Asia, Europe, and North America.

    And sell it, too. The top three reasons people never finish a novel or a film are all bullshit, and here's the reasons why.

    

    Everywhere you look, from group photos, to school graduation or sports portraits, to magazines, movie posters, and DVD covers, chances are, you ve seen compositing. In "Photoshop Compositing Secrets," Matt Kloskowski takes you through the entire process behind creating convincing, well-executed, and captivating composites. You ll see how to create images that run the gamut from real-world portraits for corporate, graduation, or group photos to sports portraits, templates, and collages, and even the surreal, dramatic composites that clients clamor for. You'll learn: One of the most important secrets to compositing: how to master selections in Photoshop (yes, even wispy hair), What background color, and camera and lighting setups work best for compositing, How to move a subject from one background to another, and the Photoshop lighting and shadowing techniques to make it look real, And all the Photoshop tips, tricks, and special effects you need to pull off a convincing, professional composite. No matter if you're a professional, an aspiring professional, or a hobbyist, "Photoshop Compositing Secrets "will sharpen your skills and open up a whole new avenue of photographic expression in an easy-to-understand way that will have you creating your own composites in no time.

    "It can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It is never viewed with indifference: beauty demands to be noticed; it speaks to us directly like the voice of an intimate friend." In a book that is itself beautifully written, renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores this timeless concept, asking what makes an object--either in art, in nature, or the human form--beautiful. This compact volume is filled with insight and Scruton has something interesting and original to say on almost every page. Can there be dangerous beauties, corrupting beauties, and immoral beauties? Perhaps so. The prose of Flaubert, the imagery of Baudelaire, the harmonies of Wagner, Scruton points out, have all been accused of immorality, by those who believe that they paint wickedness in alluring colors. Is it right to say there is more beauty in a classical temple than a concrete office block, more beauty in a Rembrandt than in an Andy Warhol Campbell Soup Can? Can we even say, of certain works of art, that they are too beautiful: that they ravish when they should disturb. But while we may argue about what is or is not beautiful, Scruton insists that beauty is a real and universal value, one anchored in our rational nature, and that the sense of beauty has an indispensable part to play in shaping the human world. Forthright and thought-provoking, and as accessible as it is stimulating, this fascinating meditation on beauty draws conclusions that some may find controversial, but, as Scruton shows, help us to find greater meaning in the beautiful objects that fill our lives.

    750 color illustrations.

    He doesn't laugh when I mention vampires."They're in the cellar," he says.It must be the heat. The old man is delusional. At least that's what I tell myself. Things are different in the middle of the night. When monsters come tapping, it's impossible to dismiss the idea that the Maine woods hold secrets--deadly secrets. Until the Sun Goes Down - a terrifying and inventive novel by Ike Hamill A new look at the vampire genre, this book draws you into the slow madness that overtakes our protagonist. There's not much time Until the Sun Goes Down.

    At a time when reinforced concrete and steel were considered industrial building materials, Wright boldly made use of them to build private homes. His prairie house concept--that of a low, sprawling home based upon a simple L or T figure--was the driving force behind some of his most famous houses and became a model for rural architecture across America. Wrights designs for office and public buildings were equally groundbreaking and unique. From Fallingwater to New Yorks Guggenheim Museum, his works are among the most famous in the history of architecture. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Architecture Series features:an introduction to the life and work of the architect the major works in chronological order information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts and plans)

    Banister Fletcher has been the standard one volume architectural history for over 100 years and continues to give a concise and factual account of world architecture from the earliest times.In this twentieth and centenary edition, edited by Dan Cruickshank with three consultant editors and fourteen new contributors, chapters have been recast and expanded and a third of the text is new. * There are new chapters on the twentieth-century architecture of the Middle East (including Israel), South-east Asia, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, the Indian subcontinent, Russia and the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Latin America. * The chapter on traditional architecture of India has been rewritten and the section on traditional Chinese architecture has been expanded, both with new specially commissioned drawings* The architecture of the Americas before 1900 has been enlarged to include, for the first time, detailed coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean* The book's scope has been widened to include more architecture from outside Europe* The bibliography has been expanded into a separate section and is a key source of information on every period of world architecture* The coverage of the 20th century architecture of North America has been divided into two chapters to allow fuller coverage of contemporary works* 20th century architecture of Western Europe has been radically recast* For the first time the architecture of the twentieth century is considered as a whole and assessed in an historical perspective* Coverage has been extended to include buildings completed during the last ten years* The coverage of Islamic architecture has been increased and re-organised to form a self contained sectionThis unique reference book places buildings in their social, cultural and historical settings to describe the main patterns of architectural development, from Prehistoric to the International Style. Again in the words of Sir Banister Fletcher, this book shows that 'Architecture ... provides a key to the habits, thoughts and aspirations of the people, and without a knowledge of this art the history of any period lacks that human interest with which it should be invested.'

    This book uniquely concentrates on creative techniques for the digital SLR photographer. Photography with Digital SLR and "SLR-like" cameras isn't exactly like conventional film SLR photography; nor is it exactly like digital photography with non-SLR cameras. DSLRs have special advantages, special features, and special problems that need to be addressed and embraced. In addition, users of these cameras tend to expect more from their photography and crave the kind of information that will let them wring every ounce of creativity out of their equipment. Anyone who has a Windows PC or Macintosh and a digital SLR camera will find advanced techniques in this book. Readers will cover various aspects of DSLRs including: why DSLRs work best for creative posing for group and individual portraits, using DSLRs to capture close-up scenes on the desktop using the digital camera's special capabilities, how to get great travel photos with a DSLR, and how to archive them when far from a computer.

    Now revised, enlarged and expanded, Kenneth Frampton brings the story up to date and adds an entirely new concluding chapter that focuses on four countries where individual talent and enlightened patronage have combined to produce a comprehensive and convincing architectural culture: Finland, France, Spain and Japan. The bibliography has also been reviewed and extended, making this volume more indispensable than ever.

    Just to be sure (or else to portray himself as a properly mourning husband), he hires P.I.s Joey Mancuso and Father Dom to solve the murder. Only they can’t help noticing he’s pushing them to come to the gang conclusion as well. Hey, is something fishy here?Joey Mancuso, his priest half-brother--Father Dom--and their crack team have got their work cut out for them. A year ago, a Brooklyn politician’s wife was brutally murdered, seemingly in a terrible burglary gone wrong. But no one really knows: the case remains unsolved. The mourning politician hires Mancuso to solve the cold case--right before announcing his plan to run for mayor of New York City. Oh, and in that same speech, the politician blames his wife’s death on gang violence. And the politician tries to convince Mancuso to come to the same conclusion.Well….none of the gangs in Brooklyn seem to have it out for the politician’s family. Plus, the politician may have a straying eye--there are rumors of the affair. It's a labyrinthine puzzle, the kind Joey (forever inspired by his hero, Holmes) delights in. Mancuso and Co. take to their office--which doubles as a bustling, Lower Manhattan cigar bar--and delve into Joey’s strangest mystery yet.Joey Mancuso’s latest adventure is a gritty tour of a side of Brooklyn that’s rarely seen anymore; any fan of The Wire will find a lot to love in the gripping gang politics. Plus, author Parr weaves in the ritzy drama of upper class New Yorkers, all of whom have sordid secrets...Anyone who loves Matt Scudder or Father Brown will adore Joey and Father Dom. Fans of both New York PI novels and police procedurals like Nelson DeMille’s John Corey, and those by Raymond Chandler, Joseph Wambaugh, Lawrence Block, and Rex Stout will love this motley detective team. As will devotees of clerical mysteries and the greatest detective of all time, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

    Exploring the myriad ways in which the built environment is shaped and created, readers will gain a new and informed appreciation for architecture, from the classical orders of Vitruvius - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian - to the to the most recent contemporary trends. Philip Wilkinson offers expert introductions to the most important architectural movements and styles throughout history, as well as describing some of the greatest architects' most important and representative works. So, if you've ever wondered when a building is just a building or art, or want to know more about Gothic vaults, trusses and arches, this is the perfect introduction. Contents: The Orders, Prefabrication, Machine aesthetics, Roman engineering, Beaux Arts, Dymaxion, Romanesque, Arts and Crafts, Alternative architecture, Gothic, Conservation, Functionalism, Renaissance, Skyscraper, Plug-in city, Baroque, City Beautiful, Minimalism, Rococo, Art Nouveau, Brutalism, Palladianism, Secession, Townscape, Neo-Classicism, Art Deco, Postmodernism, Character, Garden city, Contextual design, Taste, Futurism, Hi Tech, The Picturesque, Constructivism, Deconstructivism, The Sublime, Bauhaus, Historicism, Landscape garden, De Stijl, Community architecture, Revivalism, International Style, Green architecture, Restoration, Expressionism, Urbanism, Industrial, Organic architecture, Eclecticism.

    From the cabaret to the Broadway stage, from television and film stardom to her acclaimed work as a director, from the recording studio to the concert hall, she has demonstrated that the extraordinary voice that launched her career was only one of her remarkable gifts. Now, in her first book, Barbra Streisand reveals another aspect of her talent: the taste and style that have inspired her beautiful homes and collections. My Passion for Design focuses on the architecture and construction of her newest homes, the dream refuge that she has longed for since the days when she shared a small Brooklyn apartment with her mother, brother, and grandparents. A culmination and reflection of Streisand's love of American architecture and design between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, the book contains many of her own photographs of the rooms she has decorated, the furniture and art she has collected, and the ravishing gardens she has planted on her land on the California coast. In addition to glimpses of her homes, Barbra shares memories of her childhood, the development of her sense of style, and what collecting has come to mean to her. My Passion for Design is a rare and intimate private tour into the world of one of our most beloved stars. It will be welcomed by her many fans and all lovers of the great achievements of American design.

    In Encaustic Workshop, it becomes much more: a dynamic medium where anything goes and the possibilities are endless.Packed with step-by-step techniques, helpful tips and diverse examples of completed works, Encaustic Workshop brings all the accessibility and excitement of a mixed-media workshop to your own workspace. If you're a beginner, you'll find everything you need to know to get started. If you're a more advanced crafter or fine artist, you'll discover things you never knew you could do with encaustic.Instructions and photos will guide you as you learn to:Apply, layer, color and carve wax to create artwork rich with texture and depth.Create collages that combine encaustic with papers, fabric, found objects, image transfers and more.Experiment with charcoal, inks, watercolors, pastels and other mediums to create unexpected effects in the wax.Then, complete step-by-step projects and an extensive inspirational gallery will show you how you can combine the techniques you've learned to create more complex works.Sign your creativity up for this Encaustic Workshop--then just melt, paint and play!