Eventually the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as “the Club.”     In this captivating book, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters. With the friendship of the “odd couple” Samuel Johnson and James Boswell at the heart of his narrative, Damrosch conjures up the precarious, exciting, and often brutal world of late eighteenth‑century Britain. This is the story of an extraordinary group of people whose ideas helped to shape their age, and our own.

    Conclusions are perpetually delayed. Resolutions are continually postponed. The text is written for takeoff, not arrival. It is a first step for readers' explorations of current modes of art making and for their own future artistic achievements. The much-anticipated follow-up to Art on the Edge... and Over, Linda Weintraub's highly accessible introduction to contemporary art since the 1970s, In the Making: Creative Options for Contemporary Art explores essential but sometimes elusive facets of art making today. In her trademark writing style--straightforward and jargon-free--Weintraub sets out to itemize the conceptual and practical concerns that go into making contemporary art in all its endless permutations. In six clearly defined thematic sections---Scoping an Audience, - -Sourcing Inspiration, - -Crafting an Artistic 'Self', - -Expressing an Artistic Attitude, - -Choosing a Mission, - and -Measuring Success---Weintraub moves artist by artist, in 40 individual chapters, using each to explain a different aspect of art making. Isaac Julien makes work for a highly specific audience; Michal Rovner communicates through metaphor and symbol; Charles Ray disrupts the viewer's assumptions; Pipilotti Rist is inspired by female emotions; William Kentridge is moved by apartheid and redemption; Vanessa Beecroft epitomizes the biography of a smart, attractive, Caucasian woman; and Matthew Barney achieves success through resistance. Through a compelling combination of renowned and up-and-coming artists, Weintraub creates a complex understanding of how to make and look at contemporary art--but in a simple, easily digestible format and language.In addition to being a fine read for anyone who simply wants to understand how to look at contemporary art, In the Making is also an exceptional pedagogical tool, one that addresses what is fast becoming a huge gap in art education. Teaching artistic techniques no longer provides young artists with a sufficient education--a full range of conceptual issues needs to be considered in any well-rounded studio practice. Yet these very same conceptual issues are often those that are dealt with textually in art history and criticism classes. Weintraub persuasively offers a series of texts that fit squarely into this gap, addressing issues that concern anyone who is learning how to make art or how to understand it.In addition, In the Making includes a series of interviews in which many of the artists discuss the practical issues of their life's work. Conducted by Weintraub's students at Oberlin College, the interviews pose questions about the artists' schooling, their studio space, and how they support themselves if their main income doesn't come from their art--the kind of questions every art student has always wanted to ask the artists whose work they see on gallery walls.

    While many people attribute procrastination to laziness or a lack of drive, our real motivations to push back and delay important activities and decisions are more complicated than personal weakness. The truth is that humans are well-adapted for basic survival, but they are not so great at managing the stresses and expectations of modern life without a little help.If our own minds so often work against us, how can we get things done without the stress and last-minute panic so common in our hectic 21st-century lives? You’ll learn how in Do It Now: Overcoming Procrastination, taught by Fuschia Sirois, PhD. In 10 lectures, Dr. Sirois will help you better understand the way your mind works and how to overcome the bad habits that are holding you back. Using the latest scientific research on procrastination, Dr. Sirois will give you the insight and guidance you need to set and meet goals, manage your time better, design an environment that will help you succeed, and much more.Best of all, Dr. Sirois makes it clear that procrastination is a natural impulse for most people - sometimes, it can even be beneficial. She encourages you not only to work toward better time management but also to get rid of the burden of guilt and internal pressure that so often accompanies this very common behavior. While the tendency to delay the things we need to do is a deep-rooted habit, you will be able to apply and re-apply the strategies and tools you will acquire in this course for the rest of your life.

    Twelve Caesars asks why these murderous autocrats have loomed so large in art from antiquity and the Renaissance to today, when hapless leaders are still caricatured as Neros fiddling while Rome burns.Beginning with the importance of imperial portraits in Roman politics, this richly illustrated book offers a tour through 2,000 years of art and cultural history, presenting a fresh look at works by artists from Memling and Mantegna to the nineteenth-century African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis, as well as by generations of now-forgotten weavers, cabinetmakers, silversmiths, printers, and ceramicists. Rather than a story of a simple repetition of stable, blandly conservative images of imperial men and women, Twelve Caesars is an unexpected tale of changing identities, clueless or deliberate misidentifications, fakes, and often ambivalent representations of authority.From Beard's reconstruction of Titian's extraordinary lost Room of the Emperors to her reinterpretation of Henry VIII's famous Caesarian tapestries, Twelve Caesars includes some fascinating detective work and offers a gripping story of some of the most challenging and disturbing portraits of power ever created.Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

    Is Earth Warming? 2. Butterflies, Glaciers, and Hurricanes 3. Ice Ages and Beyond 4. In the Greenhouse 5. A Tale of Three Planets 6. Global Recycling 7. The Human Factor 8. Computing the Future 9. Impacts of Climate Change 10. Energy and Climate 11. EnergyResources and Alternatives 12. Sustainable Futures?

     Whatever I want, I buy. I need a sexy escort for the evening - the best money can buy. When the annoying girl I –met on the plane is on the list, I can’t refrain from hiring her. She was stunningly beautiful, though she seemed a little stupid, and since I didn’t like her, the evening should be “clean”, just the way I wanted. No strings attached. No sex. No commitments. But I was wrong, and I hate being wrong. JACIE: I’m a “clean escort”, the summer job I took hoping to make some extra cash. A clean escort means no ties…or sex. Just dates with lonely men who take me to fancy places. All is going well until the jerk from the plane hires me for the evening. I’m furious and want to refuse, but I have bills to pay. A few hours won’t hurt. Plus, he’s incredibly sexy. I expect to have a horrible night, but I go home with him and give him my virginity. So much for being a “clean” escort. NO STRINGS ATTACHED is a full-length Sexy Romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger! This copy contains another full-length romance story.

    The first three Alpha SEALs Coronado books in one set!SEAL'S DESIREHe’s her fiercest protector. She’s his only weakness. A Navy SEAL doesn’t expect to find a beautiful hostage when running his op…Navy SEAL Blake “Raptor” Reynolds is a legend in his own right. His ability to sneak into enemy territory, sight unseen, and eliminate the target has earned him the reputation of being cool, hard, and calculating. When his team infiltrates an enemy camp in Colombia to disarm a terror cell, the last thing he expects is a beautiful, injured blonde to bring him to his knees.Biologist Clarissa Rothschild has been conducting research in the Colombian rainforests. When she leaves her camp one day, she is captured by insurgents. The leader of a Navy SEAL team with penetrating dark eyes and brute force strength is just what she needs to get out alive—and exactly the type of man she’d never fall for.When they’re separated from the others, the sparks between them begin to ignite. Heated nights in the jungle shouldn’t lead to wanting anything more, but Blake realizes he’ll risk everything for Clarissa’s safety and the chance to make her his.SEAL'S EMBRACEHe’s rescued people all over the world…but she’s the only one he can’t forget.Department of Defense admin Hailey Fletcher never expects a suicide bomber at Bagram Airfield to cut her year-long assignment short. Nor does she expect a muscular Navy SEAL to come to her rescue. Her skin heats at his gentle touch, but it’s the smoldering way he looks at her that sends shivers racing down her spine.Navy SEAL Grayson “Ghost” Douglass has rescued his fair share of civilians over the years, but the auburn-haired woman with piercing green eyes is the only one he can’t get out of his head. Weeks pass, and he reconnects with her in San Diego, knowing he must see if the sparks and chemistry between them can turn into something real.Neither of them expects danger to have followed them home from Afghanistan—but the traitor from base behind the bombing knows Hailey can identify him, and he’ll stop at nothing to silence her forever.Grayson won’t rest until he finds the man after her and until he convinces Hailey to be his once and for all.SEAL'S HONORHe’ll fight all her battles and stop at nothing to make her his…Navy SEAL Jackson “K-Bar” Clinefield is strong, silent, and lethal. He’s not interested in the flirtatious women always hanging around his teammates, but when he meets his buddy’s beautiful yet reserved neighbor, he can’t deny their instant attraction—even if he suspects she’s hiding something from him.Taryn Miller is on the run. Her abusive ex-husband has tracked her across the United States, and she’s finally settled into a new life—and new name—in San Diego. When trouble catches up to her, leaving her bruised and badly shaken, Jackson is the one who rushes to her side. The massive and muscular Navy SEAL should terrify her, but he’s gentler than any man she’s ever known, and she feels nothing but safe and protected in his arms.Discovering someone laid a hand on the innocent Taryn makes Jackson see red. He’ll stop at nothing to track down her abusive ex and won’t rest until the gorgeous brunette is safe in his arms and sleeping in his bed—forever.

    She was called the Wild Rose.Emma Frost is on a relaxing and romantic vacation in the small town of Enniskerry in Ireland with her boyfriend, Morten, when they find a dead woman in the river.The small town of Enniskerry is shocked by this murder, but also by the secrets it threatens to expose.When another woman is found dead in the river with a rose between her teeth - Emma is plunged into a frantic chase for this serial killer, while she and Morten attempt to solve the mysterious riddles of this town’s painful past.The Wild Rose is an old Irish tale of a man courting a woman and killing her while they are out together.No one ever found her body, and as the years passed, her real name could not be remembered, so she was called The Wild Rose. It is what inspired the song by Nick Cave and now also a serial killer in Enniskerry, Ireland.WALTZING MATHILDA:When a young boy's body is found drained of all its blood, Emma Frost will stop at nothing to keep her children from suffering the same fate. At the same time, a mysterious young girl seems to bring out powerful abilities in Emma's special needs son. As she combs her small Danish island for clues about both mysteries, she realizes the killer and the strange girl are somehow connected…Before the killer strikes again, Emma must risk it all to uncover the frightening truth about what lies beneath her isolated island home…DRIP DROP DEAD:Emma Frost is chasing a killer that seems to bend the laws of physics.Things are going well for Emma Frost for once. She has a sweet boyfriend and has just finished a new book. Her daughter, Maya, is doing well in high school and even her special needs son, Victor is thriving and playing with his new best friend, the strange girl who fell from the sky.But soon, a murder shocks the island of Fanoe, when a woman is found dead in her bed with no apparent signs of having been killed. But as they find out she died by drowning, and more deaths like it begin to occur around the peaceful island, Emma once again finds herself following signs that lead to her own front door while chasing a killer quite out of the ordinary. A killer who can gain access to all houses without leaving a trace.Emma has to ask herself the question: What exactly is going on in her island home and especially underneath it?As the investigation moves on, and terrifying answers begin to emerge, Willow Rose's compelling story evolves rapidly, resulting in a novel with almost agonizing suspense. If you like small-town mysteries, eerie tales, and a touch of humor, then you'll love Willow Rose's whodunnit. No one is more addictive than Willow Rose.If you like a story with nerve-wracking suspense, and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love the Queen of Plot Twists, Willow Rose’s, breathtaking novel.Buy this box set today to indulge in a mystery packed with suspense!

    Central to many spiritual and philosophical traditions and known in English as "meditation," these practices are considered a major means for enhanced awareness and self-mastery. In recent decades, modern science has dramatically confirmed what advanced meditators have long claimed—that meditation, correctly practiced, offers deep and lasting benefits for mental functioning and emotional health, as well as for physical health and well-being.

    From liberty to democracy to community, the terms and concepts originated by political philosophers are ingrained in our global consciousness. Yet many of us have an incomplete picture of how these ideas developed and, quite possibly, a skewed perception of their intentions and implications.This highly relevant course sheds light on the labyrinth of Western political and social theory, as well as its influence on modern history. Guided by an award-winning professor of philosophy and author, these eye-opening lectures reveal how political philosophers, in responding to the societal problems and changing conditions of their day in revolutionary ways, created virtual blueprints of action for leaders. You'll gain not only the tools to comprehend the omnipresent language of politics, but a thorough understanding of the wellspring of thought that has emerged over centuries of political philosophy and the intellectual origins of major historical movements and events.Throughout, questions of democracy, freedom, and distributive justice are addressed, and revolutionary figures who have left an indelible mark on history - from Niccolo Machiavelli to Ayn Rand - are encountered.By the conclusion of lecture 36, you will have the context necessary to appreciate the evolution of a myriad of political ideas, including hot-button topics of today such as libertarianism, neoconservatism, feminism, and environmentalism.

    BOOKS

    During the following ten years they were lovers, worked closely together and she became mother to two of his children, Claude and Paloma. Life with Picasso, her account of those extraordinary years, is filled with intimate and astonishing revelations about the man, his work, his thoughts and his friends - Matisse, Braque, Gertrude Stein and Giacometti, among others. Francois Gilot paints a compelling portrait of her turbulent life with the temperamental (and even abusive) genius that was Picasso. As one of the few intimate witnesses to Picasso as a human being and as an artist, her account of him is invaluable for assessing him on both counts.

    Today, according to Professor Phillip Cary, Augustine is recognizable even to non-Christians as the most important Christian writer outside of the Bible. Yet Augustine was also a man-a rhetorician trained in the Roman way whose life and discovery of his calling make for one of the most fascinating stories in the history of religious philosophy. Explore Augustine's Life, Teachings, and Doctrine This course paints a rich and detailed portrait of the life, works, and ideas of this remarkable figure, whose own search for God has profoundly shaped all of Western Christianity. You learn what Augustine taught and why he taught it-and how those teachings and doctrines helped shape the Roman Catholic Church. These lectures are rewarding even if you have no background at all in classical philosophy or Christian theology. This is because Professor Cary, who has taught Villanova's nationally recognized seminars on ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and modern thought, has organized an entirely self-contained course. Professor Cary (Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religious Studies, Yale University) is a scholar-in-residence at the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, where he is director of the Philosophy program and teaches a year-long Great Books seminar. He is author of Augustine's Invention of the Modern Self (Oxford University Press). Professor Cary explains any special religious or philosophical concepts you need to know in order to appreciate Augustine's impact, with real-life examples and analogies that make even the most subtle concepts clear and easy to understand. You'll gain a sense of what Augustine was saying, how his own experiences led him to say it, and how his thoughts fit into the theological, philosophical, and political worlds that swirled around him. Who Was Augustine? A Brief Biography Augustine was born in 354. Early in his life he was inspired by the works of Cicero to devote his life to the pursuit of truth. He started this pursuit as a Rhetorician, then he became a Manichaean, and later a Skeptic. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, and Augustine's mother, Monica, were among those instrumental in his conversion to Catholic Christianity in 386. In North Africa he founded a small monastic community and in 391 was elected Bishop of Hippo at a time when people still had some say in who would lead their religious community. From 395 to 430, he served as bishop. He wrote many treatises among which we find the celebrated Confessions, published in 400 as an open letter to his congregation and a prayer to God. His works also include The City of God and On the Trinity. Many of his writings were directed against heresies, particularly Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. He is noted for founding the Western theological tradition and establishing doctrines of the Trinity and Christology. The Life, Works, and Significance of Augustine The course begins with two extremely helpful lectures that help place Augustine in context as both a Church Father (interpreter of the Bible and teacher of Christian doctrine) and philosopher (one who has given us new conceptions of the human heart and its depths). In Lecture 1 you meet Augustine the Roman Christian, one of the Church Fathers responsible for the transition from Bible stories to actual Christian doctrine, a man writing with the end of the Roman Empire at hand. In Lecture 2 you also meet Augustine the Christian Platonist and learn the Platonic concepts-including the idea of a non-bodily, eternal mode of being and the way that concept applies to God-which so deeply influenced him and other religious thinkers of the time. With Augustine's role in-and debt to-these two worlds established, Professor Cary then looks at Augustine's life and legacy in three parts. Part 1: Augustine's Life Lectures 3 through 6 are devoted to a study of Augustine's life. You look at the Confessions, his great spiritual autobiography, written when he was a 45-year-old bishop reflecting on the spiritual path of a questing young man of whom the grown Augustine might not always approve. You examine the Confessions from three angles: The intellectual angle spotlights his passionate search for truth. The emotional angle focuses on the love that drives this search, and the aching sense of loss, grief, and yearning which the Confessions evokes in order to show how love can go wrong.The religious angle explores Augustine's search for truth that leads him to Christ and the Christian life, conceived as a journey toward heaven.The section on Augustine's life ends with a focus on his career as a Christian writer following the period of his life covered by the Confessions, which culminated in his almost 15-year effort to write the 22 books of The City of God. Part II: Augustine's Thought The next series of three lectures explains key concepts of Augustine's thought, all related to his epochal doctrine of grace. You examine how Augustine relates the human qualities of faith and love to the divine gift of grace (Lecture 7); how his doctrine of grace addresses troublesome issues like the origin of evil, original sin, and predestination (Lecture 8); and how he relates the inward gift of grace to the external side of human life in his teachings about signs, words, sacraments, and the Church (Lecture 9). Part III: Augustine's Concept of Persons The final three lectures address Augustine's concept of persons, both human and divine. You look at Augustine's distinctive conception of the human soul as a private inner world (Lecture 10); then his distinctive way of relating his concept of the soul to the doctrine of the Trinity, which is the orthodox Christian conception of God (Lecture 11); and finally his understanding of God's relationship to specific human communities in history, specifically focusing on The City of God (Lecture 12).Great Courses, #611

    Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present accompanies an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art that documents approximately 50 of the artist's ephemeral time- and media-based works from throughout her career. The book also discusses a unique element of the Museum's retrospective, live performance: a new work created for the occasion, and performed by Abramovic herself; and re-creations of the artist's works by other performers-the first such to be undertaken in a museum setting. The book spans over four decades of Abramovic's early interventions and sound pieces, video works, installations, photographs, solo performances and collaborative performances made with the Dutch artist Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen). Essays by Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator of Media and performance art at MoMA, and four distinguished scholars examine Abramovic's ideas of time, duration and the reperformance of performance art as a way to extend it into posterity. The Artist Is Present also includes a CD with audio commentary by the artist that guides the reader through the publication. The artist is present not only in the exhibition but also in the experience of the book.Born in Belgrade just after the end of the Second World War, Marina Abramovic was raised in the Serbian Orthodox Church (her great uncle was a Patriarch and a canonized saint in the Church) and left Yugoslavia in 1976, having already established herself as a performance artist, living in Amsterdam and eventually New York, where she presently lives.

    Like its highly successful companion volumes, Art in Theory, 1815–1900 and Art in Theory, 1900–1990, its primary aim is to provide students and teachers with the documentary material for informed and up-to-date study. Its 240 texts, clear principles of organization and considerable editorial content offer a vivid and indispensable introduction to the art of the early modern period.Harrison, Wood, and Gaiger have collected writing by artists, critics, philosophers, literary figures, and administrators of the arts, some reprinted in their entirety, others excerpted from longer works. A wealth of material from French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Latin sources is also provided, including many new translations.Among the major themes treated are early arguments over the relative merits of ancient and modern art, debates between the advocates of form and color, the beginnings of modern art criticism in reviews of the Salon, art and politics during the French Revolution, the rise of landscape painting, and the artistic theories of Romanticism and Neo-classicism.Each section is prefaced by an essay that situates the ideas of the period in their historical context, while relating theoretical concerns and debates to developments in the practice of art. Each individual text is also accompanied by a short introduction. An extensive bibliography and full index are provided.