Significant Zero: Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games


Walt Williams - 2017
     Williams pulls back the curtain on an astonishingly profitable industry that has put its stamp on pop culture and yet is little known to those outside its walls. In his reflective yet comically-observant voice, Williams walks you through his unlikely and at times inglorious rise within one of the world’s top gaming companies, exposing an industry abundant in brain power and out-sized egos, but struggling to stay innovative. Significant Zero also provides clear-eyed criticism of the industry’s addiction to violence and explains how the role of the narrative designer—the poor soul responsible for harmonizing gameplay with storylines—is crucial for expanding the scope of video games into more immersive and emotional experiences. Significant Zero offers a rare look inside this fascinating, billion-dollar industry and a path forward for its talented men and women—gamers and nongamers alike—that imagines how video games might inspire the best in all of us.

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts


Debra J. Dewitte - 2011
    Short chapters can be read in any order, with new vocabulary defined on the page as it occurs. Eight “Gateways to Art” images (from around the world and all eras) support the common course goal of learning to interpret art in multiple ways and help students build on what they already know. The text is balanced and global, with over 1,000 illustrations—from around the world, and from everyday life.

Creative Quest


Ahmir Questlove Thompson - 2018
    He addresses many topics—what it means to be creative, how to find a mentor and serve as an apprentice, the wisdom of maintaining a creative network, coping with critics and the foibles of success, and the specific pitfalls of contemporary culture—all in the service of guiding admirers who have followed his career and newcomers not yet acquainted with his story. Whether discussing his own life or channeling the lessons he’s learned from forefathers such as George Clinton, collaborators like D’Angelo, or like-minded artists including Ava DuVernay, David Byrne, Björk, and others, Questlove speaks with the candor and enthusiasm that fans have come to expect. Creative Quest is many things—above all, a wise and wide-ranging conversation around the eternal mystery of creativity.

Tiki Pop


Sven A. Kirsten - 2014
    Americans embraced these visions and incorporated fantasy into reality: mid-century fashion, popular music, eating and drinking, and even architecture were influenced by the Tiki trend. With unfettered enthusiasm—ignoring scholarly authenticity and political correctness—American artisans molded the Tiki into their own image, creating a mid-century pop culture genre that was forgotten until the 2000s, when urban archeologist Sven Kirsten wrested the figure of the Tiki from obscurity with his pioneering TASCHEN books The Book of Tiki and Tiki Modern. This book traces the development of Tiki as romantic vision and kitschy cultural appropriation, from its earliest beginnings when James Cook “discovered” the Pacific Islands in the second half of the 18th century to Herman Melville’s South Sea adventure stories like Moby Dick and Gauguin’s exuberant, exotic paintings to the jungle fantasies of the Hollywood dream factory. Published in connection with an exhibition at the prestigious Musée du quai Branly in Paris, Tiki Pop the culmination of Sven Kirsten’s research efforts. With his widely lauded visual style, the author places venerable ancient godheads next to their Polynesian pop counterparts. With hundreds of previously unpublished images, the story of Tiki the 20th-century pop icon unfolds from its earliest beginnings to its spectacular downfall in the dawning awareness of the Western world’s colonial misdeeds.

Drawing Dragons: Learn How to Create Fantastic Fire-Breathing Dragons


Sandra Staple - 2008
    You’ll discover how to draw all types of dragons using nothing but a pencil. Drawing Dragons shows how to bring to life fierce warriors and bearded ancients as well as baby hatchlings and protective mothers. It also features a special section on adding claws, scales, horns, jewels and other unique details to your dragons.Learn to draw:• Ferocious, attacking dragons•Graceful sea dragons•Fire-breathing flying dragons•Wise, thoughtful dragons

Haley's Hints


Graham Haley - 1999
    Now in paperback--the extraordinary New York Times bestselling guide packed with 2,000 time and money saving tips on everything from laundry to gardening, pet care to pest control, painting to plumbing--topped off with the unique Easy-Find index for finding answers fast.

Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas


Randy Miller - 2010
    To millions of football fans across America, he was the “Voice of the NFL.” And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now. Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people—including all of Harry’s surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry’s longtime personal psychologist—to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports. With incredible details from all phases of his life—from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler— Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called “Harry the K.”

Hand Lettering: Simple, Creative Styles for Cards, Scrapbooks More


Marci Donley - 2009
    They provide examples of a dozen alphabet styles, as well as many decorative details. Color photography reveals more than merely the necessary brush and pen techniques—it also shows a vast range of ideas for using calligraphy in new and surprising ways.

Optimal Cupid: Mastering the Hidden Logic of OkCupid


Christopher McKinlay - 2014
     Christopher McKinlay has been featured in Wired Magazine for his groundbreaking analysis of OkCupid. For the first time he’s showing non-experts how to turn Internet dating on its head. This concise guide will show anyone (straight, gay, male or female) the procedure McKinlay used to meet his fiancee and how the same ideas can transform their lives and bring them from browsing to contact. One summer evening while logged into a supercomputer in Colorado waiting for a large computation, McKinlay was killing time on OkC when he was troubled by a problem: what if large groups of people responded to OkCupid’s personality questionnaire in statistically similar ways? He created custom software to scrape data from the site, collecting over 6,000,000 answers to OkC’s “match questions” from more than 20,000 real users. This data made clear he’d been using the site the wrong way. Based on his findings, McKinlay (a mathematics PhD), optimized his own profile. The transformation was profound. He went from showing a “match percentage” of 90% with a few hundred women in the L.A. area to showing 90% or higher with over 30,000 local women. Unsolicited messages from attractive strangers began flooding his inbox. With a foreword by Jon Finkel, McKinlay’s insightful how-to will teach you how to benefit from the buried statistical patterns of online romance.

Unnatural Talent: Creating, Printing and Selling Your Comic in the Digital Age


Jason Brubaker - 2013
    While the publishing industry struggles to adapt to the rapidly changing digital world, independent artists now have the ability to build a successful and lucrative brand completely on their own with a little hard work and some Internet savvy. Now there's nothing stopping you from getting your book in front of thousands or even millions of people. Suddenly you can't blame anyone for not giving you a chance. You can only blame yourself for not trying. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils and fire up your Internet because we are about to make and sell comics! Jason Brubaker's graphic novel reMIND raised over $125,000 in pre-order sales on Kickstarter, won the Xeric Award and made ALA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens List. This book is a collection of his thoughts, strategies and practical lessons developed during his experience writing, drawing and self-publishing reMIND.

Diane Arbus: Magazine Work


Diane Arbus - 1985
    This work reveals the growth of an artist who saw no artificial boundary between art and the paying job and who succeeded in putting her indelible stamp on the visual imagination.

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)


Peachpit Press - 2013
    Scott doesn’t just show you which sliders do what (every Lightroom book will do that). Instead, by using the following three simple, yet brilliant, techniques that make it just an incredible learning tool, this book shows you how to create your own photography workflow using Lightroom: Throughout the book, Scott shares his own personal settings and studiotested techniques. Each year he trains thousands of Lightroom users at his live seminars and through that he’s learned what really works, what doesn’t, and he tells you flat out which techniques work best, which to avoid, and why. The entire book is laid out in a real workflow order with everything step by step, so you can begin using Lightroom like a pro from the start. What really sets this book apart is the last chapter. This is where Scott dramatically answers his #1 most-asked Lightroom question, which is: “Exactly what order am I supposed to do things in, and where does Photoshop fit in?” You’ll see Scott’s entire start-to-finish Lightroom 5 workflow and learn how to incorporate it into your own workflow. Plus, this book includes a downloadable collection of some of the hottest Lightroom Develop module presets to give you a bunch of amazing effects with just one click! Scott knows first-hand the challenges today’s digital photographers are facing, and what they want to learn next to make their workflow faster, easier, and more fun. He has incorporated all of that into this major update for Lightroom 5. It’s the first and only book to bring the whole process together in such a clear, concise, and visual way. Plus, the book includes a special chapter on integrating Adobe Photoshop seamlessly right into your workflow, and you’ll also learn some of Scott’s latest Photoshop portrait retouching techniques and special effects, which take this book to a whole new level. There is no faster, more straight-to-the-point, or more fun way to learn Lightroom than with this groundbreaking book.

Theatre: Brief Version


Robert Cohen - 1983
    The author's enthusiasm for and knowledge of the current theatre, highlighted by contemporary production shots from around the world, put the students in the front row.

Advanced Manifesting: Mastering the Law of Attraction With Frequency Attunement: Use Vibrations to Manifest Money, the Lottery, Love & More


Linda West - 2019
    Manifest a specific person, wealth and joy now! A New Age Dream Journal That Will Change Your Life! GET IT NOW! In Advanced Manifesting, author Linda West draws on 30 years of experience as a gifted clairaudient and Angelic channel to offer proven and powerful techniques that anybody can use for manifesting love, money manifestation, or to manifest happiness using the science of frequencies, attunement and understanding the Law of Attraction. In this manifestation guide, you will learn 20 surprisingly easy and straightforward Master Keys that will allow you to remove the roadblocks in your life that prevent you from achieving success, finding love and discovering the true meaning of life: • How to master frequency attunement, in order to attract other like-minded people to you, including soul mates, close friends and potential business partners • Overcoming self-doubt and low self-esteem by elevating your natural frequency levels • How to attract what you want within 24 hours, including manifesting money, employment, or love attraction. • How to stop just wishing for things and start achieving your life’s ambitions • How to use the law of affinity to draw happy, positive people to you and prevent yourself from being brought down by negative people and dark thoughts. • How to use vibrations to become the most powerful and happy person that you can be. "Thank you for this book! I've been a fan of The Frequency for years and this advanced version with keys for masters is just what I needed! Loved it I'm blown away with enthusiasm and I'm starting the 21 Day Plan today!" O. Dayton Manifest money, abundance, a great career, good fortune, and happy relationships. Direct your amazing mind power. Set your manifestation goals effectively. Attract the right people. And become more successful.You are already good at manifesting because your thoughts automatically attract what happens to you. So, the big issue with manifestation is the QUALITY of what you attract, and how you can achieve it.ANYONE CAN MANIFEST AND ATTRACT LOVE, SUCCESS and MORE OVER 20 POWERFUL TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES INCLUDING: > How to manifest in 5 easy step that won't fail! How to attract what you want within 24 hours or less How to manifest the career you love, simply by loving it How to draw you soulmate to you and keep them loving you How to become the most powerful and happy person you can be < Includes advanced manifesting keys to power up your “success mindset “ and begin using the law of attraction to attract everything you deserve! LEARN POWERFUL AND EASY TECHNIQUES FOR MANIFESTATION MASTERY WITH A COMPLETE 21 DAY EASY GUIDE TO MANIFEST LOVE, MONEY and MORE! This book is filled with advanced keys to make you an expert on the law of attraction and frequencies. This is the final information you asked for. It will show you the real actions to take daily to finally master manifesting with vibrations. Includes a 21 Day Guide to certain manifestation. You don't need more info, you just need the last MASTER KEYS found in this class for advanced students! You can do it! Are you still struggling to manifest what you want? Maybe you've read everything on the law of attraction but you still don't know how to make it work all th

Goth-Icky: A Macabre Menagerie of Morbid Monstrosities


Michael J. Nelson - 2005
    What is it about vampires, zombies, skeletons, and other mutants brought to life in the darkest recesses of the imagination? Goth-Icky celebrates modern-day goths, their culture, and the morbid monstrosities that inspire them. Containing over 200 images from the print and advertising archives of the Charles S. Anderson Design Company in combination with a hilarious text by the legendary Michael J. Nelson, this book is an amazingly rich and weird testament to the pervasiveness of goth aesthetics, the appeal of kitsch, and our love of horror.