Strawberry ice cream. Making faces at monkeys in the zoo. Dog dishes that say "Good Dog." Carolers singing around a Norwegian spruce. Sun burning off the morning fog. Cabanas. It's the little things that make life worth living, and they can be found by the dozens in this obsessive, quirky, and utterly captivating compendium with over 950,000 copies in print. A pure, unadulterated listing, it offers not a single explanation, aside, or footnote, but reading it is as irresistible as eating popcorn. Randomly selected and catalogued over the course of twenty years-and illustrated with joyous and jewel-like precision by the gifted artist Pierre Le-Tan-14,000 THINGS is Barbara Ann Kipfer's perfect antidote to the all-too-frequently-mentioned things we should be unhappy about.It's a celebration of almost everything that's ever made us smile. And that itself is reason number 14,001.

    So say the backcountry experts at Backpacking Light magazine in a new book that redefines modern day backpacking as safe, comfortable, and fun?but with a much lighter pack. This is the most comprehensive and rigorous text ever published on lightweight backpacking. In addition to chapters about gear and basic skills, Lightweight Backpacking & Camping covers advanced topics, and has the latest information about the best lightweight gear and apparel, including the manufacturers that make it and the retailers that carry it.

    you have 15 minutes to evacuate. what will you do? Cataclysmic events strike sleepy towns and major cities every year. Residents face escaping quickly or perishing in rising waters, raging fires or other life-threatening conditions. By the time the evacuation starts, it's already too late. Being prepared makes the difference between survival and disaster. Guiding you step by step, Bug Out shows you how to be ready at a second's notice. • Create an escape plan for where to go and how to get there. • Pack the perfect bug-out bag for the first 72 hours. • Find food, water and other necessities outside of civilization. Floods. Hurricanes. Pandemics. Earthquakes. Blizzards. Tsunamis. Wildfires. Riots. Bug Out includes detailed information on the best escape locations everywhere in the U.S.: • The Pacific Coast • The Rocky Mountains • The Desert Southwest • The Heartland • The Lakes and Big Woods of the North • The Gulf Coast • The Appalachians • The Atlantic Coast

    A lifetime’s worth of training knowledge, drawn from the world’s most extreme arenas. Lessons learned and best practices from military operators, tactical law enforcement, martial artists, and others that rely on their physical abilities to survive and thrive in very harsh and unforgiving environments. Where there’s more at stake than winning a medal, or getting a bruised ego. Bottom line, with these people, the training has to work. By implementing the strategies in this book, you will cut your learning curve by decades. You’re going to be able to take your conditioning to the next level and beyond, while avoiding costly amateurish mistakes that lead to injury and burn out. The path has been laid out and handed to you on a silver platter. If you’re an older athlete, you’re going to reclaim that confidence you once had in your physical abilities. You may have forgotten what that feels like. Prepare to be reminded. It’s great having a 600lb squat and 400lb bench press. However, as an operational athlete, if you can’t run, work, or thrive for long periods of time in a multitude of energy demanding environments, you are ineffective. Your big bench press is useless, your big squat is useless. Tactical Barbell proposes you work towards being a different kind of athlete. The kind that is not only extremely strong, but also highly conditioned. If you look carefully, you’ll see these people all around you. That guy on your Emergency Response Team with the 350lb bench press and a sub 9 minute 1.5 mile run. The old Marine Sergeant that can run 6 miles in under 40 minutes, deadlifts over 600lbs and does 30 dead-hang pull-ups. So how do you get there? It's not what you think. Popular 'bootcamp' style approaches that throw a lot of push-ups and running at you in a haphazard fashion don't work. Sure, you'll break a sweat and release some endorphins. You might even lose a pound or two. But take a good hard look at your progress. For all your effort, are you really that far ahead? To make real progress, you have to look to the approaches used by the pros. Train each attribute you're trying to improve in a progressive manner, using the most effective tools for that particular fitness domain.In TB2, you'll find the structured, three pronged approach to conditioning we take with all of our clients. It consists of Base Building, followed by a transition to a more specific continuation protocol. Periodic maintenance of lower-priority fitness domains complete our model.TBII is our manual for training tactical law enforcement candidates, soldiers and recreational athletes. You will be hard pressed to find a more thorough, and effective conditioning program. If you are a results-oriented individual looking for concrete, actionable programming based on cutting edge research, TB2 is for you.

    Around its mystical powers has grown a centuries-old ritual and a fascinating, intricate discipline. This unique guide unlocks the mysteries of this ancient ritual practice, explaining the history and significance of swords in the samurai culture, and documenting the techniques of swordsmanship, as no other book in English does.IAI: The Art of Drawing the Sword is a thorough examination of the traditional Japanese martial art of iaijutsu. Included in this volume are introductions to sword care and selection; general etiquette and the training uniform and gear; proper basic sword procedure; sword techniques and drills for practice and demonstrations; kata; and sword testing; as well as the story of the Chushingura (the 47 Ronin). Generously illustrated with black and white photographs and line drawings, IAI: The Art of Drawing the Sword is a storehouse of information for both the aspiring student and the experienced swordsman.

    It teaches writers to visualize their story's progress with a story map that helps them see all the different components of their story, where these components are going, and, perhaps most importantly, what's missing.The book simplifies Aristotle's elements of good writing (a.k.a. that each story should have a beginning, a middle and an end) into easily applicable concepts that will help writers improve their craft. The author helps readers strengthen their work by teaching them how to focus on one aspect of their story at a time, including forming stories and developing ideas, building strong structures, creating vibrant characters, and structuring scenes and transitions. Thought-provoking questions help writers more objectively assess their story's strengths and weaknesses so they may write the story they want to tell.

    Mark Bittman, the bestselling, award-winning author of How to Cook Everything , shows you how to make a good burger or delicious pasta for everyday meals as well as chicken soup on a cold day, lasagne because you love it, and prime rib for company. Not only will you make some of the best food you ve ever eaten, you ll save money and eat more healthfully, too.Anyone can cookSimple, satisfying recipes with easy-to-follow directionsTips to help you shop for, prepare, and cook the recipesRecipe variations and lists of ideas to adapt dishes to your tasteStep-by-step illustrations for tricky techniques like mincing garlicSimple. Straightforward.Just what you need to cook well."

    82, traveled across the country talking to dozens of America’s firefighters to put together this powerful collection of their own descriptions of their most dramatic and intense experiences on the job. Their stories, compiled here, are timeless testimonies to the human capacity for heroism and nobility.Focusing on the most courageous firefighters, from those who have been decorated for heroism to those who have been seriously injured, Firefighters presents the extraordinarily rich and rugged voices of men and women who fight urban building fires, who battle sweeping forest fires, who perform emergency rescues, and who face extreme danger and risk as part of their everyday lives. Sometimes brave, sometimes funny, sometimes bittersweet or filled with anger, these voices combine to make Firefighters both a riveting adventure drama and a moving chronicle of American heroism at its finest.

    It is packed with stories and anecdotes from behind the image. There are tips on using social media to get your images seen by millions. The book offers advice on hiking, travel and the great outdoors as well as useful information on technical subjects such as where to focus and shooting RAW. After reading this book, not only will your photography start to improve, but you will be inspired to get up and out at dawn and stay out until dark. This book is for the beginner as well as the seasoned professional. Travel, Learn, Explore, Shoot.

    This unique and handy resource is perfect for youth, adults, students, families, and all those interested in learning about much of what encompasses life in the church.Sections include: - How to Stay Alert in Church - How to be a Greeter (or Usher, or Acolyte, etc.) - How to tell the difference between a "Vocation" and a "Vacation" - How to Survive a Service in an Un-Air-Conditioned Church - A brief history of the Anglican Communion - How to Interpret "Controversial" Bible Passages and Remain Episcopalian -...and dozens more!

    He illustrates his book with many useful examples, covering the areas of writing techniques and procedures and drafting.

    It manages to emphasize a melding of the Eastern philosophy and the technique of the art, in a marvelously eloquent yet concise manner. Flashing Steel describes and pictures forty-two kata (formal training patterns) which govern this system, with ten partner exercises applying iadid principles in realistic attack and defense systems. These kata are also widely practiced by students of kendo, aikido, and other martial arts which use swordsmanship.

    Her profusely illustrated primer allows you to create your own fashionable patterns and personalized commercial patterns. You'll learn how to design and execute everything from skirts, dresses, and blouses to sportswear, jackets, and children's clothing. You'll also find tips for: shaping fabric to your figure; mastering the art of flares, flounces, pleats, and tucks; creating fashionable necklines, pretty pockets, stylish sleeves, and much more.Simple step-by-step directions and more than 1,000 illustrations show how to successfully complete apparel for work, home, and play that reflects your personal style and taste.

    Anyone can do that. Trying to figure out the why or what is a different story. Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, host of the popular Travel Channel series Ghost Adventures, pulls from his years of experience with paranormal activities and unexplained phenomena to provide an evenhanded look at a divisive subject. In Dark World, regardless of whether you believe in the afterlife or not, Zak does his best to find and share answers to the phenomena that people encounter. He wants you to experience a haunting through his eyes: to feel what it's like to be scared, freaked out, pushed, cold, sluggish, whispered-at and touched by an ethereal being or attacked by a demonic spirit. But beyond simply experiencing these events, Zak is looking for the reasons behind them, searching for answers to the unanswered questions. Addressing all the major issues and theories of the field in an impartial way, Dark World is a must read for paranormal enthusiasts, those who don't believe and anyone who's ever wondered about things that go bump in the night.

    Good climbers have to build and maintain each of these assets. This is the first-ever book to provide climbers of all ages and experience with the knowledge and tools to design and follow a comprehensive, personalized exercise program. Part One covers the basics of physical conditioning and goal-setting. Part Two takes readers through warm-up and flexibility routines, entry-level strength training, weight loss tips, and fifteen core-conditioning exercises. Part Three details climbing-specific conditioning, with twenty exercises to target specific muscles of the fingers, arms and upper torso to develop power and endurance. An entire chapter focuses on the antagonist muscle groups that help provide balance and stability, and prevent muscle injury. This section also has a chapter devoted to stamina conditioning, increasing the climber's endurance at high altitudes. Part Four shows how to put together a customized training program to suit the climber's needs. The book includes workout sheets for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced skill levels, tips for children and those over age fifty, secrets of good nutrition and an insider's take on avoiding injuries. Eric H�rst is a performance coach who has helped thousands of climbers. His published works include Learning to Climb Indoors, Training for Climbing, and How to Climb 5.12. He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.