The Architecture of Happiness starts from the idea that where we are heavily influences who we can be, and it argues that it is architecture's task to stand as an eloquent reminder of our full potential.Whereas many architects are wary of openly discussing the word beauty, this book has at its center the large and naïve question: What is a beautiful building? It is a tour through the philosophy and psychology of architecture that aims to change the way we think about our homes, our streets and ourselves.

    Architecture and Disjunction, which brings together Tschumi's essays from 1975 to 1990, is a lucid and provocative analysis of many of the key issues that have engaged architectural discourse over the past two decades--from deconstructive theory to recent concerns with the notions of event and program. The essays develop different themes in contemporary theory as they relate to the actual making of architecture, attempting to realign the discipline with a new world culture characterized by both discontinuity and heterogeneity. Included are a number of seminal essays that incited broad attention when they first appeared in magazines and journals, as well as more recent and topical texts.Tschumi's discourse has always been considered radical and disturbing. He opposes modernist ideology and postmodern nostalgia since both impose restrictive criteria on what may be deemed legitimate cultural conditions. He argues for focusing on our immediate cultural situation, which is distinguished by a new postindustrial unhomeliness reflected in the ad hoc erection of buildings with multipurpose programs. The condition of New York and the chaos of Tokyo are thus perceived as legitimate urban forms.

    Designing with Plants is both inspirational and instructive-an informative and visually breathtaking study that shows readers how to create the same effects in their gardens. This paperback reprint includes four main parts. "Planting Palettes" shows the range of plant choice available in form, texture, and color. "Designing Schemes" shows how to combine these elements to create stunning and sculptural gardens. Through stunning photography, "Planting Moods" shows how to create a particular atmosphere. And "Year-Round Planting" emphasizes the importance of choosing plants that have value throughout the seasons.

    One night when Zoe's cousin invites her out to stop moping, live a little, and have some fun; fate steps in with both feet and offers up a remedy. West Jameson is a typical ladies man, who is out for a good time, has no clue what it means to be in a relationship or in love. But one memorable one night stand, for both good and bad reasons, sends Zoe and West down a spiraling path neither one of them has anticipated. Take this journey with these two as they discover that love isn't always easy but it's worth it. Chances are never given, they're taken...& sometimes love happens purely...By Chance

    It's nothing like the suburb you might live in . . . Unless, that is, an insane, Listerine-guzzling Realtor sold you your house? Or perhaps your postman happens to have a disturbing relationship with his claw hammer? A grieving Dan LaBarbara knows something is different in Helltown as soon as he comes back home. Yeah, sure, the town always been a little off. You can feel that about the place, like if you stepped into a house whose only occupants were freshly murdered corpses in an upstairs bedroom. But this is something else entirely. Standing in his little brother Barbie's basement workshop, holding one of those dioramas Barbie's been building since the accident, the ones that seem to move when you hold them, Dan can feel Barbie's terror. Barbie must know something is coming, something big, something evil. He's trying to warn Dan in the only way he knows. Why else would Barbie build a diorama depicting a man-sized version of a cartoon rabbit with bloody teeth about to devour a trembling teenager? Why else would he spend so much time crafting an intricate model of Death standing over a pimply teenager in the school library? And let's not even talk about that little model of the mob of undead surrounding the massive tower of vicious black spines behind the high school. Hilltown has a story to tell, and the lonely brain-damaged man who builds magical dioramas in his basement workshop has been telling it all along. As the evil closes in around them, Dan and his new love interest Jessica must do the impossible: save everyone one in Hilltown before it's too late.

    The relationship is perfect from the outside looking in, but what happens when secrets come to light and ends their future? Kenji decides seven years is a long time for things to just end; however, after hearing some of the vile actions his ex committed, he can no longer salvage anything. Sadly, like most ex’s, Robin is in denial and refuses to let any woman take him from her. Nyana Simpson has gone through a lot in her youth, but she made it. As an adult, she’s living her life carefree, and nothing can bring her down. She has a job, and her own place but the loneliness creeps in making her feel as if no one can love her. She comes in contact with a man who couldn’t possibly desire her, the same way she desires him. What happens when one family member brings them together, and another is desperately trying to keep them apart? Sade is living in a nightmare she can’t wake up from. With no help in sight, she decides to transfer her job and start over. Unfortunately, the nightmare follows her, and things go from bad to worse. Somehow, her knight and shining armor appears, but can he save her when he’s dealing with his own nightmare? Sade has to do something to save her life, but what happens when her life is no longer her own and the person responsible decides to show her there’s no way out?

    For Lysa, they're an invitation. The portals appeared without warning. Every thirteen minutes they take a thousand humans, leaving exact duplicates in their place. Now, chaos reigns and no one is sure anyone is still the person they knew. Whoever is sending the portals has destroyed human society without firing a shot. Not everyone thinks the portals are a prelude to invasion. Lysa, a student far too bright for her own good, believes the portals might even be something wonderful. There must be a logical reason for the portals, and that means something alive and thinking on the other side of those shimmering holes in our reality. Her burning curiosity leads her to do the unthinkable; she leaps through a portal meant for another. What she finds is a galaxy teeming with life, worlds beyond imagining, and two terrible truths: Earth is in danger, and the portals are a one-way trip. Stranded in an alien civilization, Lysa will have to use her ingenuity to find a way home and warn Earth before it’s too late. Portals is book one of the Into The Galaxy Duology, an exciting action-packed adventure suitable for all readers.

    It discusses how to plan your stargazing and what you can see with your eyes, as well as how to choose binoculars and telescopes and what you can see using them. The book also offers seasonal star charts and constellation charts and gives readers specific objects to look for in the sky. This guide from Royal Observatory Greenwich provides all you need to know to get started in stargazing and discover the universe.

    Enjoy!People always told Akantha what was expected of her.Hemmed in at every turn and surrounded by suitors who were far from suitable, her Uncle wanted her to take a man as her Protector, her people wanted her ready to lead, and her bodyguard wanted her to stay safe inside the citadel.So when the First Daughter of Argos was presented with the option of playing court politics, or intercepting an ancient, terrifying enemy bent on slaughtering her people, her choice should come as no surprise to those who really knew her.But the burden of duty carries a heavy price and Akantha will soon learn that the cost would be more than she ever expected.

    If these galaxies had always been travelling, he reasoned, then they must, at some point, have been on top of one another. This discovery transformed the debate about one of the most fundamental questions of human existence - how did the universe begin?Every society has stories about the origin of the cosmos and its inhabitants, but now, with the power to peer into the early universe and deploy the knowledge gleaned from archaeology, geology, evolutionary biology and cosmology, we are closer than ever to understanding where it all came from. In The Origin of (almost) Everything, New Scientist explores the modern origin stories of everything from the Big Bang, meteorites and dark energy, to dinosaurs, civilisation, timekeeping, belly-button fluff and beyond.From how complex life evolved on Earth, to the first written language, to how humans conquered space, The Origin of (almost) Everything offers a unique history of the past, present and future of our universe.span

    He doesn’t want to leave the only home he’s ever known. He doesn’t want to be apprenticed on a space freighter crewed by Texas cowboys of Mexican descent. He certainly doesn’t want to be gone for so long that his home and inheritance are stolen. While trying to fit in and still get home he learns what it is like to live in space, what a cheerleader is, how spicy a taco can be, and that Texicans like a good fight as much as he does.

    Albert Snowden just wanted to be there for his niece, Emily, after the loss of her father. Being abducted by aliens, and then rescued by a mysterious being known as Evaran, has made that difficult. Despite their situation, they try to make the best of it while traveling through space, time, and beyond with Evaran and V, Evaran's trusty mobile artificial intelligence. With the use of Evaran’s time-traveling ship, the Torvatta, they will try to maintain timeline integrity while dealing with the challenges that brings.This box set contains the first three books in the Evaran Chronicles. If you like science fiction, time travel, technology, and adventure with a space opera bent, then this series is for you.---The Awakening - Book 1 of the Evaran ChroniclesA heavily damaged alien research vessel in the Andromeda galaxy is hurtling toward a planet. The aliens should not be there. They have been traveling through space and time, abducting apex predators and sticking them in virtual simulations for research. The problem is the virtual simulations are powering down, unleashing the specimens on the ship.Dr. Albert Snowden and his niece, Emily, were abducted by the aliens. They are visited by a mysterious being named Evaran in the last minutes of the virtual simulation. He has decided to interfere in this timeline-changing event and rescue them.Stopping the ship from crashing into the planet before getting to Evaran's ship is one issue. Navigating the apex predators on the loose is another. To make matters worse, Jerzan Graduul, infamous leader of the Bloodbore mercenary pack, has boarded the ship in search of salvage opportunities, and has noticed Evaran's ship. The hunt begins.---The Fredorian Destiny - Book 2 of the Evaran ChroniclesThe timeline is wrong. This is discovered when Dr. Albert Snowden and his niece, Emily, travel with Evaran to a galactic cultural exhibition event on Kreagus, the capital home world of the Kreagan Star Empire and galactic superpower near Earth. The Fredorians should be presenting an ancient artifact, known as the Arkaron, to the Kreagan emperor. The problem is they aren’t. Evaran has decided to step in and help the Fredorians achieve their destiny while stabilizing the timeline.They must find the three lost Arkaron crystals in order to assemble the Arkaron. To make matters worse, Seeros, a powerful industrialist, has a bounty on their heads, causing bounty hunters to harass them each step of the way.As if that weren’t enough, an unknown faction is hiring freelance mercenaries to hunt them down as well. Evaran is joined by others, and together, they will have to navigate these perils to assemble the Arkaron and achieve the Fredorian destiny.---The Purification - Book 3 of the Evaran ChroniclesThe past has changed, and the timeline has been updated.Dr. Albert Snowden, and his niece, Emily, experience this while traveling on Evaran’s temporally shielded space-and-time traveling ship. What they discover is that humanity has taken a different path, one that has made Evaran decide to interfere and change human history.Discovering what caused the change is one issue. Dealing with the nonhuman factions in Earth’s past is another.To make things worse, Dr. Snowden has to deal with a personal issue. It does not help that Emily is on a prison planet where she must survive, alone

    Chosen for a coveted slot in the glorious Nighthawks, Special Forces, she will certainly be able to prove herself as more than a half-alien outcast. But when her team deploys to the moon of Dyn, tragedy strikes and Helga is put to the ultimate test--survival. Facing insurmountable odds and escaping torture, Helga and her mentor, Cilas Mec, are forced to face a fate worse than death. Battling brain-eating aliens and human pirates, the odds are stacked against them in every way. The rescue should be coming. Unless the Alliance is involved in this botched mission... Can Helga survive the odds to get out alive, or will she be the last of the Nighthawks?

    On their travels, Edward works to overcome the challenge of reintegrating with his siblings and parents. They try to work together in search of a brighter future, all feel the strain of losing their home and livelihood. Edward is not the same boy as when he left home and must balance his hard-fought independence with his role as brother and son.Despite optimism for the future and escaping the destruction of Azalon, a dark threat looms over the family’s hope of rebuilding. Edward’s skills continue to progress, but will it be enough to protect the family’s fragile beginnings? Overcoming his own fears and personal demons is the biggest challenge Edward must face as he chooses a future with his family, or one of an adventurer.

    Constricted by the rigid rules of the East End orphanage she is brought up in, she escapes to dazzling streets of Soho where she is adopted by a group of prostitutes. Soon enough, she too is earning her living 'on the game'.When Billy 'Apples' Rafferty, a Cockney villain with a heart of gold, becomes her protector, Sue swears to give up her racy life. But when Billy is sent to prison, she soon breaks her promise and her earthy beauty makes her one of Soho's most popular hostesses.When a lucky encounter secures Susan a respectable job as a manageress of a small hotel in Devon, things finally seem to be going her way. But then her past catches up with her . . .