Apple Pro Training Series: Logic Pro 9 Advanced Music Production Decide Now

Great step by step tutorial of Logic Pro 9. If your new to logic, get the Logic Pro 9 and Logic Express 9 first. That will get you up to speed with the more advanced book.
Midi Man.Get more detail about Apple Pro Training Series: Logic Pro 9 Advanced Music Production.

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age Right now

This review is for the digital edition of this book only.

I normally frown on reviews that focus on something besides the actual contents of the book, but here's the thing: This is a book about the GREED of the music industry and how it led to its downfall. So I would think the publishers of this book (Simon and Schuster Digital Sales), would have taken a lesson from it. Instead, they priced the digital edition of this book at nealry 60% MORE than the NEW PAPERBACK PRICE.

What? Why? There are no physical printing costs. There are no storage costs. Yet for some reason the publisher prices this ebook edition at $17.99 (as of this writing), while Amazon is selling the new, in-print paperback edition at $11.53. (Even the list price of the paperback is a dollar less than the digital price!)

Honestly, I would have bought this book if it were priced at or below the new paperback price. But it's not happening now, Simon and Schuster. Sorry.

Someday, someone will write a similarly-themed book about the book publishing business. What it will be called, I don't know, but mark my words, in ten years people will look back and examine what it was that killed book publishing, and the verdict will the same as it was for the music industry: GREED.Get more detail about Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age.

Lowest Price Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends

As a self proclaimed rock historian and musician who thought he knew it all, I was pleasantly surprised to find this book at a used book store. When I saw the chapter title, "you'll never eat pussy in this town again", I knew it was for me! After reading all the criticisms of this book, I have to say, yes, he jumps around in time periods, yes, he distorts some facts, and yes, he covers a lot of territory, but the overall purpose of the book is to capture the Laurel Canyon scene. Being 46, I know all the artists discussed and their music, but I didn't see the big picture of the scene, like for instance, where the artists came from, how they all hooked up with their groups and of course, didn't know all the tales of debauchery and sexual conquest. I would have liked more info on the making of the music--interviews with recording engineers, producers, hired studio pro's, etc. Having many friends in the business who think they can handle the crazy lifestyle and drugs (yes, they are still around and more prevalent than our society likes to admit), they may find a copy of this book in their mailbox! If you are young (40 or below), you probably will give this book a thumbs down because lets face it, you may not respect, like, or even know these artists. If you grew up with these artists, this book will be highly enjoyable and an easy read. I am a big fan of all the artists discussed so, I was in RnR heaven. Many have bagged on BH's writing style, but I found it easy to read, insightful and charming. I plan on reading Waiting For the Sun and maybe the book on The Band. Go Barney!!Get more detail about Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends.

Low Price Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Field Guide

This Digital Field Guide is certainly better than Canon's instruction manual. It contains a lot of illustrations and plenty of tips, some very interesting, others too basic. On the negative side: the structure of this book is a little bit confusing. The first chapters replace and complement the instruction manual, the three other chapters give information about Light and color, Movies and Everyday Picture-taking situations. There are also appendices (but why is that on Rules of Composition an appendix and not a normal chapter?). If you want to know your G10 or G11 better, it is very useful. This book tells how you use the settings. However, I found the book from Jeff Carlson (From Snapshots to Great Shots) much more interesting, because it tells you why you should use some settings.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Field Guide.

Save Songbook

This book is based on a great concept: Hornby takes a favorite song of his and tells you why it's his favorite. It's a mix of music criticism and memoir because sometimes he concedes that a song may not be the best one of its genre--but it's his favorite because it's associated with something special that happened to him--and he tells you about that special thing. Hornby is a good writer and makes it all work. Now, in the hardback version you also got a cd that included every one of the songs he talks about. But I have the paperback. You may be able to buy the cd separately. Not sure. The book is recommended. Oh, another comment: it's not as funny as The Polysyllabic Spree or Dirt vs. Housekeeping, or Shakespeare Wrote for Money -- his book reviews. He cut his teeth on Songbook. In those last books mentioned, he let his humor blossom gloriously.

Recommended.Get more detail about Songbook.

Discount Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music

This is a FANTASTIC book. I require all my students to read it. It should be on the curriculum at every conservatory.Get more detail about Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music.

Cheapest Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, 4th Ed.

I have the old "Revised Edition" of this book from 1999, which has come in handy for preparing different contracts over the years. I ordered this new edition thinking that there would be more emphasis on the digital age, as this was barely touched upon in the 1999 edition. I was disappointed to see that there were few changes to the forms (granted, I did not compare the books page-for-page, but on the forms I have used, there were hardly any changes). For example, the Wedding contract is verbatim with the 1999 version, save for 1 additional paragraph in the T&C section mentioning proof images on disc (as opposed to the old proof book or negatives). It does include 8 new forms: Trademark Application, Employment Application, Employment Agreement, Restrictive Covenant for Employment, Project Employee Contract, Commercial Lease, Sublease, and Lease Agreement. I assume some of these forms were added in the editions between 1999 and now. In short, this is a very handy reference tool for photographers of all sorts, but if you've got an older version you're best bet is to stick with that. Unless of course one of the new forms is particularly relevant to you, but I'd probably check to see if my local library had it first. Me, I'm sending this shiny new edition back & I'll stick to my old dog-eared copy until they decide to really address the digital aspects.Get more detail about Business and Legal Forms for Photographers, 4th Ed..

Cheap David Busch's Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography, 1st Edition

The book does a good review of how to use the different toola available in the camera.
It is better explained than the user manual.
Defenitely good for a beginner like me.Get more detail about David Busch's Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography, 1st Edition.

Buying Set Your Voice Free: How To Get The Singing Or Speaking Voice You Want

I purchase this title used. That was a big mistake. The book was supposed to come with an instructional CD instead it came with a CD from ABBA the famous vocal group.Get more detail about Set Your Voice Free: How To Get The Singing Or Speaking Voice You Want.

Buy Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories

[...]

This is a fantastic book that gives you the inside word from the best, most influential and most legendary screenwriters in the business. If you're working on your first screenplay, have written 50, or you're just a movie buff, this is an invaluable glimpse into a segment of the industry that is absolutely CRUCIAL but rarely explored. I especially like the cross-section of writers and movies here; there's a nice balance of classics and modern popcorn movies and a broad palette of filmmaking styles from the gritty populist films of the 70s up to the cgi action-fests of the 2000s.

If you're a serious screenwriter and fan of screenwriting, there will invariably be a few screenwriters that YOU would have loved to have seen interviewed but are absent, but that's subjective. They couldn't get everyone. Plus, even though I'm tired of hearing ol' windbag William Goldman chatter on about the same movies he's detailed in several books, I have to admit that he is the original "rock star" screenwriter. And talking about rock star screenwriters (an oxymoron in 99.9% of the screenwriting population, let me assure you!) it's pretty much REQUIRED that you interview Shane Black. It's amazing to me that it's been over 23 years since "Lethal Weapon" but he's still SHANE, the legend (and this is primarily for his huge paychecks, the $$$, but you don't get that kind of money in Hollywood without having a powerful, unique voice). And having met him in person at the Austin Screenwriters' Conference, I must say that he's great at offering his wit and wisdom to up and coming writers. Like Black, the other writers are articulate, honest and entertaining in their stories from the trenches. The editors have gathered a fantastic group.

The only HUGE name screenwriter that's notably absent is Joe Eszterhas, but if you want his irreverent take on things, check out his book "The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God!" (yes, that's actually the title)

From Mike Binder to Nora Ephron to Steven E. de Souza to John August to Paul Schrader to Mick Garris to Frank Darabont to Larry Cohen to Josh Friedman...there's bound to be a writer in here that changed YOUR life with their words that were translated into film. So don't just worship the actors and directors; work a little harder and learn about the scribes that the pretty people need but will never give their due credit.

Note: my full review coming soon at my site...
[...]Get more detail about Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories.

Purchase Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. Thalberg is beyond legend, was truly "the candle that burned brightest", and is responsible for making the film industry what it became. Today, it is a sad tale of formulaic garbage.
I long for the good old days when someone like Thalberg understood how to craft stories and knew when to take magnificent risks.
Read it now!Get more detail about Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince.

Order Getting Married

Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

Getting Married satirizes the status of marriage in Shaw's days. Very good ebook.

Get more detail about Getting Married.

Where To Buy The Creative Call: An Artist's Response to the Way of the Spirit

I selected this book because I felt my spirit was dry and my call was lost. The text not only help me clarify the creative call(sewing and quilting) I thought I had, but realize how my creative call is played out in other aspects of my life and careers. This is an excellent reflective text and I recommend it to anyone seeking to renew their spiritual and creative call.Get more detail about The Creative Call: An Artist's Response to the Way of the Spirit.

Shop For The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music

I've owned this book for some time now, and I'll begin by saying that it is indeed a very well-written, entertaining and helpful book worthy of a lot of praise. My one problem with it is minor but it keeps on growing so here it is: imagine a similar book on films that is great but goes on glorifying Citizen Kane and films by Fellini, Kurosawa, Bergman and the like, while simply thinking most films made after Godfather Part II don't deserve a nod. Or a book on Yankees history that falls over itself praising the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio but stops once color TV became common in America. Jeter and Rivera get a mere one-liner as a part of Yankee history. To be mean and slightly unfair, this is that book for classical music. Dead men from the Black and White era often get unqualified praise, while people that are still active get treated quite harshly sometimes. Men like Bruno Walter and Artur Rubinstein can simply do no wrong, while today's main figures are all bashed in some way. I'm only a novice so it may be true that nobody active today can stand up to the greats of yesteryears. But for the sake of variety to the modern listener, I think it would've been better if the author more often recommended recordings that somewhat deviated from his favorite legendary benchmark recordings from the 1960s. If you were to give a list of movies to someone that hasn't seen a single one, you wouldn't want to just go off the common "greatest ever" list. The comparison is of course unfair in some ways, but I make it to advance my one problem with the book. I will reiterate though that it is a very good one.Get more detail about The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music.

Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling

I bought this book somewhat on a whim. The bookstore didn't have the title I was looking for (a Pat Pattison title) but this one looked mildly interesting, so I took a chance.

As it turns out, this author was a student of the author I was seeking, so that was a nice surprise that it was related to the book I was seeking in the first place. As I read further I found this book to be much more helpful and interesting than I'd suspected initially.

She has a very interesting take on the songwriting process. I don't know if her method is original, but it was new to me. It's somewhat backwards or technical in how it breaks down the process. Beginning from prose drafts, the methods of extracting rhymes & patterns from that initial prose was something I'd never thought of. Her notes on internal & external detail were also new to me.

These songwriting books often seem to encourage cheesy top 10 style songs, but the techniques can be applied (and ignored if necessary) in all genres. It is like playing a weird scale--you might not use it but it exercises the muscles & increases fliexibility, at least. And even weird songs often follow conventional patterns, so that does not discourage me at all.

I paid $15 for this book, and it seemed a bit slight for that, but it definitely gave me a different perspective, a much more technical and yet somehow freeing way to look at lyric writing than any other book on the subject I've yet read.Get more detail about Popular Lyric Writing: 10 Steps to Effective Storytelling.

The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection : The 350 Essential Works Review

I should have read the product description more carefully. Had I seen that this book was published in 1999 -- 10 years ago -- I would have not bought the book. It gives a nice listing of works worth considering, but if you want more up-to-date listings of recordings, you'll need to buy the Penguin Guide, The Grammophone Guide, or both.Get more detail about The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection : The 350 Essential Works.

As You Like It (mobi) Top Quality

Unless it is hidden somewhere that I am unable to read, this edition is missing the following items listed in the Editorial Reviews - Product Description page:

* Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

* Scene-by-scene plot summaries

* A key to famous lines and phrases

* An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

* An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

* Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Get more detail about As You Like It (mobi).

As You Like It This instant

Unless it is hidden somewhere that I am unable to read, this edition is missing the following items listed in the Editorial Reviews - Product Description page:

* Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

* Scene-by-scene plot summaries

* A key to famous lines and phrases

* An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

* An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

* Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Get more detail about As You Like It.

Teaching Little Fingers to Play More Immediately

These books have stood the test of time. For young students, this book's predessor, Teaching Little Fingers to Play, is the ideal starting book for young students. There is no other book that I have found that could be any better than Teaching Little Fingers to Play More. It is an easy transition for the young student - and possibly adults who also want to learn to play piano. The tunes are enjoyable and fun. I recommend this book for any beginning student.

Shirley LawrenceGet more detail about Teaching Little Fingers to Play More.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative Use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC Best Quality

For every books that I purchased from Amazon, dented marks can be visible on at least one corner (if not two or more) of the book. Books that are shipped from Amazon do not provide sufficient padding to secure the book, leaving free space for it to move around during the delivery.

As for this book, the dented corners are more significant because of it's weight. Unfortunately, I cannot provide you any photos of the dent since it is already being wrapped. I take care of my books seriously and all of them are wrapped on received or purchased. To be honest, the reason for me to purchase from Amazon is merely because it is cheaper than those selling in major bookstores in Malaysia.

My confidence level on the way Amazon ship their good is very low. Therefore, I don't expect to receive a perfect condition of the books on arrival. And true enough, the book that I recently received has dented marks on it. If I were to purchase a Canon lens for my DSLR from Amazon, I am worried that I would have received a cracked or non-functional lens.

For price wise, I find the books/items that Amazon sell is much cheaper than similar books/items found in Malaysia. But, the way Amazon handle the goods is so bad that I will not even think of buying a more fragile or expensive items from Amazon. I am sure those items will not survived the journey!

2 stars was given for this item review:
1) Cheap
2) Books arrived on expected condition (I am expecting it to be dented)

Get more detail about Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative Use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC.

How to Heal with Color Get it now!

This book is more than what I expected. The information is plentiful and offered in an easy to read, concise format. As a novice I was able to apply the information and help heal my husband's headache within 2 minutes of color therapy. This is a must have for anyone interested in hands on healing and energetic medicine. Add this one to your library, it's a keeper.Get more detail about How to Heal with Color.

Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies Buy Now

very good and intresting book. all the interviews are done with the rappers or the producers of the classics.Get more detail about Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies.

Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London, England Order Now

This is a great book with pictures of stunning graffiti/art done by Banksy in various places around London. He makes statements through pieces that integrate the surroundings and would make you look twice to make sure you could believe your eyes. Some are humourous, some are thought provoking, some are shocking, none are boring. Also includes directions to see them yourself.Get more detail about Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London, England.

Strategic Management for Hospitality and Tourism Decide Now

The first few pages are great information for the beginning photographer. I consider myself an advanced hobbyist, and so for me, it was review, albeit very accurate review. I noticed some Nikon-specific information about 60 pages into the book, but by page 90, I had to put it down. I don't have time to waste reading about the difference between DX and ED lenses when I shoot with Canon (and not to dig into Nikno users, but Canon L series work with their ENTIRE line of dSLR's). In my opinion, this book should either be brand-neutral or discuss all of the different systems available, be they Nikon, Canon, Pentax or what have you.

It is quite apparent that this book was paid for in whole or in part by Nikon. If I could locate the receipt for this expensive rag, it would go right back to where I purchased it.Get more detail about Strategic Management for Hospitality and Tourism.

Stoppees' Guide to Photography and Light: What Digital Photographers, Illustrators, and Creative Professionals Must Know Right now

The first few pages are great information for the beginning photographer. I consider myself an advanced hobbyist, and so for me, it was review, albeit very accurate review. I noticed some Nikon-specific information about 60 pages into the book, but by page 90, I had to put it down. I don't have time to waste reading about the difference between DX and ED lenses when I shoot with Canon (and not to dig into Nikno users, but Canon L series work with their ENTIRE line of dSLR's). In my opinion, this book should either be brand-neutral or discuss all of the different systems available, be they Nikon, Canon, Pentax or what have you.

It is quite apparent that this book was paid for in whole or in part by Nikon. If I could locate the receipt for this expensive rag, it would go right back to where I purchased it.Get more detail about Stoppees' Guide to Photography and Light: What Digital Photographers, Illustrators, and Creative Professionals Must Know.

Lowest Price Stoppees' Guide to Photography and Light: What Digital Photographers, Illustrators, and Creative Professionals Must Know

The first few pages are great information for the beginning photographer. I consider myself an advanced hobbyist, and so for me, it was review, albeit very accurate review. I noticed some Nikon-specific information about 60 pages into the book, but by page 90, I had to put it down. I don't have time to waste reading about the difference between DX and ED lenses when I shoot with Canon (and not to dig into Nikno users, but Canon L series work with their ENTIRE line of dSLR's). In my opinion, this book should either be brand-neutral or discuss all of the different systems available, be they Nikon, Canon, Pentax or what have you.

It is quite apparent that this book was paid for in whole or in part by Nikon. If I could locate the receipt for this expensive rag, it would go right back to where I purchased it.Get more detail about Stoppees' Guide to Photography and Light: What Digital Photographers, Illustrators, and Creative Professionals Must Know.

Low Price Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott

I give the guy one star for "effort"...but I'm sorry, this book does not hold a candle to "A Vulgar Display Of Power" by Chris A. If you want the best book about the tragic events that occurred in 2004...get A Vulgar Display Of Power instead.Get more detail about Black Tooth Grin: The High Life, Good Times, and Tragic End of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Save An Education

An Education, by Nick Hornby (200 pgs., 2009). This is the author's thirteenth published work. It contains both an introduction & the screenplay of the movie of the same title. Hornby based this screenplay upon an autobiographical essay published in GRANTA. It was about an affair a young teenage English schoolgirl had with a shady older man in the early 1960's.
In this screenplay, Jenny is a 16-year old schoolgirl attending a posh girl's school. Her parents are upward striving middle class overachievers. Their dream is for their daughter to attend Oxford University, make the proper connections, & secure an upwardly mobile life for herself.
Jenny plays the cello. She has been at a rehearsal. She is waiting for to catch the bus to go home. It is raining. A car stops. She is offered a lift. Friendly banter. She gets in to protect her cello from the rain. David is the driver. He is a charming older man. His banter is quick & witty. She is impressed. He drops her home. A few days later, he just happens to meet her after school. More banter. She agrees to have dinner with him. He even meets her parents. They are charmed by him. They are impressed by the car he drives; a Bentley. They are impressed with his credentials & his connections at Oxford. They see him as a Mentor for their daughter. With his gift of tongue, somehow he gets her parents to beg him to take her to dinner, to take her to recitals, to take her for a weekend trip, to take her to Paris with him for an educational trip. She quickly falls in love with David.
David introduces her to his partner & his partner's girlfriend, both much older than her. Jenny is accepted by all. She wants David to take her virginity when she turns 17. Before that time, she has other sexual activities with him. She is 16 & David is 30 something. She wants to marry him. She drops out of school. She loses her virginity to him. She learns his work is mainly scamming people. Sadly, she learns after all she has done that he is married & has no intention of leaving his wife & kids. She has to pick up the pieces & put her life back in order.
This could be a very salacious book, but there are no dirty parts. Nothing is described. Emotions are used. Words are used. I never thought I'd enjoy reading a screenplay. I did enjoy reading this one.Get more detail about An Education.

Discount Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 2

Took 18 days for company to send in-stock 47-page booklet. Company never responded to my email concern/request. Booklet was in excellent condition. . . just took too long to receive.Get more detail about Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 2.

Cheapest Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City

This short book details the protests inspired and led by Jane Jacobs against various projects spearheaded by Robert Moses in New York's Greenwich Village in the 1950's and 60's.

It is extremely well researched and much more substantial than the biography of Jane Jacobs by Alice Alexiou. Actually, it deals not only with Jane Jacobs' life but also with Robert Moses'. Anecdotally, it even includes poems written by Jacobs and Moses in their student days! The photographs add significantly to the contents and are very revealing of the times.

The essence of the book is narrative but the analytical epilogue is of the greatest interest with respect to the true impact of both protagonists on our cities and our ways of thinking. It could actually be read quite separately from the rest of the work.

Sadly, the layout in the hardcover version is blandly traditional with the strictly black and white photographs grouped together in unnumbered pages towards the middle of the book.

Worse, the writing style is hampered by an organization that is thematic and not strictly chronological. This leads of course to some repetition from one chapter to another. The lack of chronology sometimes also confusingly occurs within a single paragraph. The High Line Park of 2009 is for instance introduced in the discussion of freight transportation in the 60's.

Overall, however, this book is warmly recommended to those curious and concerned with the development of cities and its history.
Get more detail about Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City.

Cheap The TV Writer's Workbook: A Creative Approach To Television Scripts

Personally, I write screenplays rather than TV scripts--but found wisdom and information in this book to be completely adaptable and applicable to my goals. I would encourage anybody else who has interest in writing scripts of any type to consider reading and adding this book to their library. I have read a number of books on different aspects of writing over the years--many both helpful and inspiring in a variety of ways. Far and away, however, the most beneficial are (not surprisingly) written by serious writers themselves, who are speaking from firsthand knowledge and hard-won experience. What really shines through here is that the author is not only an excellent teacher of the craft, but an accomplished practitioner herself. The guidance one gets you will quickly find is in sync with the experience of actually sweating through the hard, but amply satisfying work of doing. The last third of the book, which deals with the practicalities of what to do with a script now that it's been written (and revised enough times to warrant sending it out into the world!) is guidance and information one isn't likely to get unless one actually knows people inside the industry. Love the book.Get more detail about The TV Writer's Workbook: A Creative Approach To Television Scripts.

Buying I Put A Spell On You: The Autobiography Of Nina Simone

I was initially drawn to this book because I've always been curious about a woman who could make the songs that Nina made -- particularly in the manner that she made them. Now, after reading and learning of the 'story behind the story' - I can only say that I'm mesmerized beyond recognition and more in love with Nina than ever! This is a powerful read of a woman that followed her spirit - good and bad. Her gift - her voice - her passion - will live forever - and it should!Get more detail about I Put A Spell On You: The Autobiography Of Nina Simone.

Buy The Forger's Spell

Some themes -- What is in "The forger's spell"?

* It's a fascinating story about interesting and entertaining
characters, ones that you can hate and despise, as well as admire
and root for. And, you will find yourself seduced into wanting to
learn what they do and what will happen to them. Han Van Meegeren
may have been a despicable cad, but he was also a entertaining
one and a brilliant as well as a skilled craftsman.

* It's an engaging meditation on value and valuation in art, on who
sets values (in particular, monetary values) and how. You may
become skeptical about the value of expensive works of art, or
you may learn to appreciate them more, but you will certainly be
encouraged to think through your own feelings about them.

* And since it's a story of events and deeds, it encourages you to
become an active participant in the formation of ideas and values
about character and art. In fact, it's difficult *not* to be
drawn into doing so.

* It encourages you to do your own analysis of several works of
art. You get guidance on how to evaluate these works of art, but
that guidance is given almost in the form of an argument that
encourages you to form your own values.

* It's an account of another aspect of Europe in a time of war (WW II):
history from the point of view of the looting of art, where
those artistic treasures went, how (some of them) were found
and recovered.

* And, it's a series of lessons on the craft and technology of the
forgery of painting. What must a forger do in order to succeed
at producing a fake that deceives experts and art viewers? And,
how does he produce that fake?

In summary, "engaging" is the word that suggests the most about
what I find in "The forger's spell". In engages me, and it pushes me
and pulls me and motivates me to think through my own feelings and
ideas and values about art.

Get more detail about The Forger's Spell.

Purchase Painting With Light

The book is great but a dvd a bought in the same week is of terrible quality.
The movie is called 'The Deal'. Is there anything I can do about this>
best regards
dale rodkinGet more detail about Painting With Light.

Order Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown

I could never imagine a book about Rush being boring. Well I was wrong. I forced myself to read the whole thing (after chapter one it became a struggle of will to read on) to see if it drew any major conclusions. It did not. This is the work of an academic trying to impress other academics, not an author who is chronicling important facts about a subject they are passionate about. It is definitely not for Rush fans, there is nothing in this book that would possibly resonate with any Rush fan I know of. You will be sick of the word "middle" well before you reach the middle of the book. I can't believe someone would waste 206 pages trying to prove the theory that Rush's primary appeal was to middle-class men.

No, duh! Why don't you spend 206 pages relating all the evidence that the sun is bright or that oranges are orange?
It would serve about the same obvious purpose.

The notion that songs like "Freewill" are written with a "detached quality" and that the "subject speaking through the lyrics takes on the position of a neutral, objective, invisible observer" is laughable and ludicrous! The lyrics of "Freewill" are clearly written from a subject who strongly advocates Freewill.

This author presents himself as a highbrow writer justifying his appreciation for middlebrow values. In reality, I think it is a middlebrow writer deperately trying to appear as highbrow, and failing miserably.Get more detail about Rush, Rock Music, and the Middle Class: Dreaming in Middletown.

Where To Buy Book of Rhymes

In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, the author Oscar Wilde defended his and all literary works by stating that "there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." Condemned for his writings' homoerotic overtones, Wilde was publicly vilified and even imprisoned for his sexual orientation. Outspoken individuals like Allen Ginsberg and George Carlin famously received similar albeit less severe treatment for their expletive antics. A century after Wilde, rap music faces comparably harsh criticism for its explicit, aggressive, violent, misogynistic and, ironically to this analogy (both to Wilde and Ginsberg), homophobic rhymes. But like the diamond in the rough, below the surface of many of these lyrics lies profundity and value. After all, the culture that points the finger at rap is the very culture through which rap emerges - to describe, confront and reshape how we think, feel and live in this world.

In 2004, comedian Chris Rock performed an HBO special called Never Scared which was subsequently released on DVD and as a Grammy-winning CD. One of the highlights of this standup set was a segment called "Rap Stand Up", in which Rock professed his love for hip hop. Rock went on to lament the fact that while old school artists like Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C. and Whodini could be "broken down intellectually", it was becoming increasingly difficult to "defend" new school emcees; he went on to mock rhymes like "I got hoes in different area codes" and "move, bitch, get out the way" by Ludacris. The questions then arise: What exactly constitutes the intellectuality that Rock was referring to? Can hip hop be valued as poetry and not just "beats and rhymes"?

This debate has been going on since hip hop first emerged in the mainstream consciousness. Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley offers a unique academic perspective to this conversation. Bradley's knowledge on classical literature and hip hop go hand in hand as he interweaves the two in an instructive manner that's both entertaining and enlightening. Typically, in the rare case that hip hop is incorporated into studies in literature, it's tacked onto the discussion with little seriousness given to its substance. Emphasis is placed less on truly looking at hip hop as poetry, instead placed on the perceived open-mindedness of the writer for including rap lyrics to begin with. That's not the way to honestly size up hip hop as a form of poetry and art. Bradley's approach is refreshing for its brutal honesty, most importantly because he's an open and unapologetic hip hop head.

Book of Rhymes begins, much like any introductory course, with an historical look at the topic: Bradley digs deep into the rhyme books of emcees and poets alike, discussing hip hop history and the emergence of the emcee apart from the deejay. Concluding his preface, Bradley poignantly writes:

Walt Whitman once proclaimed that "great poets need great audiences." ... It is our turn to become a great audience, repaying their efforts with the kind of close attention to language that rap's poetry deserves.

The first time I heard the aforementioned Chris Rock bit, my knee-jerk reaction was one of total agreement. He's right, I thought, in the sense that these lyrics seem to lack the poetic integrity of, say, a Rakim or a Nas. But how or where does the old school/new school argument step in? Is it because new school raps are more explicit? It certainly can't be the simplicity of the rhymes. After all, hip hop's first hit, Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" - Bradley references this particular track in depth throughout the book - was as simplistic as can be: "See I'm Wonder Mike and I'd like to say hello/ To the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow/."

Bradley's open-ended reach of hip hop lyrics disrupts Chris Rock's black and white analogy. When we think about hip hop and its place alongside "respectable" literature, conscious lyricists like Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli often come to mind. But as Bradley points out, even artists like 50 Cent and Juelz Santana follow a tradition of classical poetry and metered verse. Providing both hip hop quotables and poetry terminology, Bradley pulls from all angles as he identifies repititio in Juelz Santana's raps, homophones in Chuck D and Jay-Z's lyrics, and kenning in Biggie and Jean Grae's rhymes, just to name a few.

On the flipside, Bradley identifies specific classical writers and their writing habits as precursors to rap lyricists. Using Edgar Allen Poe as a case in point, Bradley pulls from Annabel Lee to spot the easily-recognizable rhythm in the writing. Poe clearly had some sort of beat in mind as he was writing, but it wasn't the same kind of beat that an emcee/poet like Nas takes into account as he pens his raps. Poe wrote to the beat of the meter, whereas Nas writes to the beat of the instrumental he'll rap over. The nuance of these two "beats" is important in understanding literary verse and its relation to music and performance. Alternately, Bradley demonstrates that there's not that much separating hip hop lyricists and their process from acclaimed poets of other genres, such as Bob Dylan or Arlo Guthrie.

One particular highlight of the book, a concrete example of Bradley's expertise on hip hop and poetry, is a comparison between the lyrics of Langston Hughes and Ice-T. As he pairs up portions of their rhymes, you'll be amazed by the stark similarities which seem to pop right out of the pages as you read along. Though at times Bradley's extensiveness may seem over-analytical or over-generous, it'll really make you think twice about your conceptions of "poetry". And in the end, that's what The Poetics of Hip Hop is all about: He concludes the book by offering his own Ten Rap Commandments of Poetry to lay the groundwork for earnest discussions and debate about hip hop lyrics. "As active listeners," Bradley states, "we can affect rap's values by what we choose to hear."

The most serious look at hip hop as an art form that I've read, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop will prompt you to pay closer attention to rap lyrics in print form. As Bradley writes, "Reading rap as poetry heightens both enjoyment and understanding. Looking at rhymes on the page slows things down, allowing listeners - now readers - to discover familiar rhymes as if for the first time." In the end, hip hop heads will earn an added sense of esteem in their music of choice, while the uninitiated (and critics of rap) will see a side of hip hop that is rarely, if ever, presented or discussed.

- Originally posted on my blog, Hip Hop Is Read (Dec. 9th, 2009)Get more detail about Book of Rhymes.

Shop For Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop

In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, the author Oscar Wilde defended his and all literary works by stating that "there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all." Condemned for his writings' homoerotic overtones, Wilde was publicly vilified and even imprisoned for his sexual orientation. Outspoken individuals like Allen Ginsberg and George Carlin famously received similar albeit less severe treatment for their expletive antics. A century after Wilde, rap music faces comparably harsh criticism for its explicit, aggressive, violent, misogynistic and, ironically to this analogy (both to Wilde and Ginsberg), homophobic rhymes. But like the diamond in the rough, below the surface of many of these lyrics lies profundity and value. After all, the culture that points the finger at rap is the very culture through which rap emerges - to describe, confront and reshape how we think, feel and live in this world.

In 2004, comedian Chris Rock performed an HBO special called Never Scared which was subsequently released on DVD and as a Grammy-winning CD. One of the highlights of this standup set was a segment called "Rap Stand Up", in which Rock professed his love for hip hop. Rock went on to lament the fact that while old school artists like Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C. and Whodini could be "broken down intellectually", it was becoming increasingly difficult to "defend" new school emcees; he went on to mock rhymes like "I got hoes in different area codes" and "move, bitch, get out the way" by Ludacris. The questions then arise: What exactly constitutes the intellectuality that Rock was referring to? Can hip hop be valued as poetry and not just "beats and rhymes"?

This debate has been going on since hip hop first emerged in the mainstream consciousness. Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley offers a unique academic perspective to this conversation. Bradley's knowledge on classical literature and hip hop go hand in hand as he interweaves the two in an instructive manner that's both entertaining and enlightening. Typically, in the rare case that hip hop is incorporated into studies in literature, it's tacked onto the discussion with little seriousness given to its substance. Emphasis is placed less on truly looking at hip hop as poetry, instead placed on the perceived open-mindedness of the writer for including rap lyrics to begin with. That's not the way to honestly size up hip hop as a form of poetry and art. Bradley's approach is refreshing for its brutal honesty, most importantly because he's an open and unapologetic hip hop head.

Book of Rhymes begins, much like any introductory course, with an historical look at the topic: Bradley digs deep into the rhyme books of emcees and poets alike, discussing hip hop history and the emergence of the emcee apart from the deejay. Concluding his preface, Bradley poignantly writes:

Walt Whitman once proclaimed that "great poets need great audiences." ... It is our turn to become a great audience, repaying their efforts with the kind of close attention to language that rap's poetry deserves.

The first time I heard the aforementioned Chris Rock bit, my knee-jerk reaction was one of total agreement. He's right, I thought, in the sense that these lyrics seem to lack the poetic integrity of, say, a Rakim or a Nas. But how or where does the old school/new school argument step in? Is it because new school raps are more explicit? It certainly can't be the simplicity of the rhymes. After all, hip hop's first hit, Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" - Bradley references this particular track in depth throughout the book - was as simplistic as can be: "See I'm Wonder Mike and I'd like to say hello/ To the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow/."

Bradley's open-ended reach of hip hop lyrics disrupts Chris Rock's black and white analogy. When we think about hip hop and its place alongside "respectable" literature, conscious lyricists like Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli often come to mind. But as Bradley points out, even artists like 50 Cent and Juelz Santana follow a tradition of classical poetry and metered verse. Providing both hip hop quotables and poetry terminology, Bradley pulls from all angles as he identifies repititio in Juelz Santana's raps, homophones in Chuck D and Jay-Z's lyrics, and kenning in Biggie and Jean Grae's rhymes, just to name a few.

On the flipside, Bradley identifies specific classical writers and their writing habits as precursors to rap lyricists. Using Edgar Allen Poe as a case in point, Bradley pulls from Annabel Lee to spot the easily-recognizable rhythm in the writing. Poe clearly had some sort of beat in mind as he was writing, but it wasn't the same kind of beat that an emcee/poet like Nas takes into account as he pens his raps. Poe wrote to the beat of the meter, whereas Nas writes to the beat of the instrumental he'll rap over. The nuance of these two "beats" is important in understanding literary verse and its relation to music and performance. Alternately, Bradley demonstrates that there's not that much separating hip hop lyricists and their process from acclaimed poets of other genres, such as Bob Dylan or Arlo Guthrie.

One particular highlight of the book, a concrete example of Bradley's expertise on hip hop and poetry, is a comparison between the lyrics of Langston Hughes and Ice-T. As he pairs up portions of their rhymes, you'll be amazed by the stark similarities which seem to pop right out of the pages as you read along. Though at times Bradley's extensiveness may seem over-analytical or over-generous, it'll really make you think twice about your conceptions of "poetry". And in the end, that's what The Poetics of Hip Hop is all about: He concludes the book by offering his own Ten Rap Commandments of Poetry to lay the groundwork for earnest discussions and debate about hip hop lyrics. "As active listeners," Bradley states, "we can affect rap's values by what we choose to hear."

The most serious look at hip hop as an art form that I've read, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop will prompt you to pay closer attention to rap lyrics in print form. As Bradley writes, "Reading rap as poetry heightens both enjoyment and understanding. Looking at rhymes on the page slows things down, allowing listeners - now readers - to discover familiar rhymes as if for the first time." In the end, hip hop heads will earn an added sense of esteem in their music of choice, while the uninitiated (and critics of rap) will see a side of hip hop that is rarely, if ever, presented or discussed.

- Originally posted on my blog, Hip Hop Is Read (Dec. 9th, 2009)Get more detail about Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop.

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434

This is as good a book as there is of the dozens on screenwriting. It won't write your script for you, but will certainly help look at complted work in a constructvive way.Get more detail about Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434.

Henry IV, Part I Review

The title is a misnomer: when one thinks about the play, Henry IV is not the first, second or third character that comes to mind. "The Prodigal Son", "Two Noblemen from Eastcheap" or "The Knight of Unabashed Countenance" may have been more fitting.

Falstaff looms large over the character set. Witty and silly by turns, he steals your attention by making you laugh with him or laugh at him. Even in the staged encounter between Hal and the king all the talk is about Falstaff. In his ability to be larger than life and to be uplifted by the sheer force of spirit, he is closely matched by Richard III. A lying thief and a remorseless murderer, when called a coward and a murderer to their face, they shrug it off, act as if they were a lion and a forlorn lover, and win over other characters and, somewhat disturbingly, the reader.

Straight arrow characters are always at a disadvantage in a Shakespearean play. Hotspur and Henry IV, in their straightforward delivery, are fading out to the sound of Hal's and Falstaff's verbal jousting.

Henry IV Part I may be Hal's story, but it is Falstaff's play.Get more detail about Henry IV, Part I.

Bass Grooves: Develop Your Groove and Play Like the Pros in Any Style Top Quality

Absolutely brilliant. Being a percussionist with piano skills, who has been playing bass lines his whole life... on the piano, and who has been meddling with some classic guitar playing recently, I adore the way this book is "constructed". The very firm link Mr. Friedman has established between drums and bass is very important too: the very first chapter is not about bass playing, but about programming a drum computer in order to provide the missing part of any groove. The bass player and the drummer are twins, no doubt, and in this book that aspect is really glueing together the whole thing. That being said, the comments, and of course the choice of styles are excellent as well, as is the double notes/tab notation. An absolute must for anybody wishing to extend his or her knowledge of harmony, bass lines and accompaniment to this instrument, and probably for the regular bass guitar student as well (clearly, I'm not that regular, coming from a different background). Together with this book, I also ordered Friedman's Blues Bass - A Guide to the Essential Styles and Techniques: Hal Leonard Bass Method Stylistic Supplement (Book & CD), which I'm playing through right now, and his Building Walking Bass Lines (Bass Instruction). Great stuff. Love it. AND the instrument, too.Get more detail about Bass Grooves: Develop Your Groove and Play Like the Pros in Any Style.

Rhythm Guitar: The Complete Guide This instant

Material looks good,but no no cd. A cd would have gotten 5 stars. Blues Rhythms You Can Use by John Ganapes is a better book. It has a cd.Get more detail about Rhythm Guitar: The Complete Guide.

At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater Immediately

I've been teaching theatre for over 10 years now. This book is the one book that I carry with me to all of my classes. It is a great reference, not only with teaching theatre games, but in creating an ensemble, dealing with teenager issues, and creating theatre that is meaningful and powerful. It is the best investment I've made in a while, and I've been recommending it to everyone.Get more detail about At Play: Teaching Teenagers Theater.

Twelfth Night Best Quality

i thought it was a good story. it was not more than i expected, and it was not less. it was the same sort of shakespearian writing, and folger does a pretty good job of defining terms. as usual, i loved how folger put famous quotes at the end of the book, because i find that quoting shakespeare is a lot of fun. the story wasn't actually that interesting, though. kind of boring, since the reader can sort of guess the ending to the play. i agree with critics that this wasn't one of shakespeare's best plays. my favorite quote is the love rhyme that cesario does for olivia.Get more detail about Twelfth Night.

Twelfth Night, or What You Will (mobi) Get it now!

i thought it was a good story. it was not more than i expected, and it was not less. it was the same sort of shakespearian writing, and folger does a pretty good job of defining terms. as usual, i loved how folger put famous quotes at the end of the book, because i find that quoting shakespeare is a lot of fun. the story wasn't actually that interesting, though. kind of boring, since the reader can sort of guess the ending to the play. i agree with critics that this wasn't one of shakespeare's best plays. my favorite quote is the love rhyme that cesario does for olivia.Get more detail about Twelfth Night, or What You Will (mobi).

The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories Buy Now

I'm currently working my way through the exercises in this book. While it's geared toward playwrights and screenwriters rather than musical writers, I've found it very
valuable in helping me through places in my project where I've felt snagged- or where I feared I'd written myself into a brick wall. I've done 9 of the 66 exercises so far, and each one opened up new character insights and ideas for dramatic action for me. I feel like my story is alive again, and I've made some discoveries about it that are surprising to me. The exercises are simple, and most of them can be done in about 15 minutes. Amazing that 15 minutes following a few targeted questions can shift my perception about what I'm working on. I highlight a lot, and flag pages that I find helpful, and my copy of this book has a lot of color and fringe.Get more detail about The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories.

The Ballet Companion: A Dancer's Guide to the Technique, Traditions, and Joys of Ballet Order Now

I purchased this book as a new dancer, looking to have tips and pointers that many of the students had learned after years of practice and, mainly, just a glossary of the ballet terms and their meaning. I ended up purchasing three books, this being the best book by far. This book included much helpful information from a historical perspective, quick tips, and further information on ballet whether you are an aspiring dancer or just a viewer. This makes the perfect gift for the young and old girl/boy who is interested in the dance world.

For reference: It is about 8 by 9.5 inches, very beautiful thick silk pages, has a ballet pink ribbon for a bookmark. Perfect gift that could pass off as collector's edition.Get more detail about The Ballet Companion: A Dancer's Guide to the Technique, Traditions, and Joys of Ballet.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 Classroom in a Book Decide Now

Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 CIB

I have used Premiere infrequently over the years since version 5 and it was time for a refresher and to become acquainted with the new features. The last Premiere CIB book I purchased was 5.0 (1998).

The book touches on a wide range of key features in a concise manner. If greater depth is needed, the book refers the reader to additional resources. I felt that the range of topics covered and the depth of treatment was good. This book is targeted at beginning and intermediate Premiere users and is not intended to make anyone an expert.

I completed almost all of the exercises and felt that the book fulfilled its mission and was well worth the cost and the time/effort.

I recommend that when copying the DVD to your hard drive, you place it in the recommended location. I have a separate Books & Training folder on my D: drive and copied the DVD there. Every time I opened a project for the first time the "Where is file" dialog opened. Also, this non-standard location caused some Dynamic Link exercises to produce unsatisfactory results and display the red Media Offline image.

Re the complaints by some of the early reviewers regarding the files on the DVD, I recall only one switch setting (p. 262, noted below) which was incorrect. I received my copy March 9, 2010.

While some may quibble whether all of the items below are errata, my frustration was sufficient to knock off one star for the book. When the Adobe software is brought into the mix, my frustration would cause me to knock off two stars.

I have submitted my errata list to Adobe Press.
=================
Errata

The AdobePress & Peachpit errata list contains only one item (this was already corrected in my printing [ISBN-13: 978-0-321-57385-8, 9 8 7 6 5 4 3]):

Page 252: Step 2 should read "Open the Lesson 13-2 Working sequence."

My errata list:

p. 34, Retakes: "Add Shot Placeholder" -> "Add Take Placeholder"

p. 104, step 2 (at top of page): The image should show the gap after writers2.avi, which was created by p. 102, step 8. Either that or Ripple Delete needs to be applied to the gap.

p. 191, Order counts: "works from bottom to top" -> "are applied top to bottom"

....Explanation: Either the statement is incorrect as written or I am misinterpreting what "works from" is supposed to mean.

p. 242, step 12: (See errata for p.263)

p. 262, step 5: In the Practice sequence of Lesson 14-2.prproj the Toggle Track Output of the Audio 1 track has been set (unintentionally) to not output the track (i.e., the Toggle is blank rather than displaying a speaker icon). It is necessary to click Toggle Track Output to hear the track.

p. 262, step 6: To duplicate the image shown below Step 6: Note that to keep the audio panned to the right after the second keyframe you will have to change it to a Hold keyframe. The alternative is to create a third keyframe at the end of the clip. Otherwise, the pan will return to center by the end of the clip.

p. 263: Note (in margin): An alternative cause of not hearing all 6 channels is that Edit > Preferences > Audio Hardware > Default Device needs to be set to something other than Premiere Pro WDM Sound.

....Explanation: For my Creative Audigy 2 I had to set the Default Device to Creative ASIO. Win7 64-bit.

p. 265, step 2: "...by clicking Channel Volume." -> "...by clicking Volume:Level."
p. 265, step 3: "Select Left." -> "Select Left from the Channel Volume entry."

p. 338, steps 4-6: Player controls may be missing from Adobe Reader on Vista x64 or Win7 x64. Apparently there is a bug related to Adobe Reader/Quicktime/Windows_x64.

....Details as of March 25, 2010: I found references to this problem starting in November 2008, but I gave up researching/testing fixes because I do not intend to use Clip Notes anyway. My config: Win7 x64, Adobe Reader 9.3.1 (the latest), and Quicktime 7.6.5 (the latest).

p. 342, step 5: If you didn't copy the CIB DVD files in the recommended folder, you will encounter the red "Media offline" image. Click the Project panel, press ~ to make it full screen, and you will see that the media is offline (also indicated by the file icon). Right-click on the file icon for each of the three offline files and select "Link media.." as was discussed in a previous lesson. Press ~ again to return to normal view.

p. 357, step 5: "...select the lower third/ae_practice composition..." -> "...select the lower third composition..."

....Explanation: The "/ae_practice" suffix appears in the Project panel after import, but not in the Import Composition dialog box.

p. 360, step 4, second paragraph: "You may need to render the sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro to set it play back smoothly." -> "You will probably need to render..."

....Explanation: As originally written this seems a little disingenuous. Maybe if you perform the playback on a supercomputer you will not have to render it to see it play smoothly. It took 4 minutes 22 seconds to render the 29 seconds of the DV-quality sequence. My config: Asus P6X58D motherboard, stock i7-920 2.67GHz (4 actual processors; 8 virtual processors), 12GB 1600 memory, no RAID 0. I am considering the purchase a 1920x1080 camcorder but render times like this for DV make me question the wisdom of doing so.

p. 365, step 3: "Adobe Premiere Pro offers nine export options..." -> "Adobe Premiere Pro offers at least five export options..."

p. 369, step 6: "The export will be added to Adobe Media Encoder." -> "An Export Frame dialog box will open with the frame number appended to the file name. Click OK."
p. 369, step 7: Delete this step.

p. 372, step 1: "To begin, open the Format menu..." -> "Export the same sequence as in the previous exercise. To begin, open the Format menu..."

p. 374, step 5: "...is selected and click OK." -> "...is selected."
p. 374, step 6: "Name the file and click Save." -> "Name the file and click OK."

p. 374, steps 7-10: (bugs in Adobe Media Encoder or Device Central?) The video was frozen at the first frame while the audio played correctly. The player controls did not work. Note that selecting Fullscreen Mode in step 8 will rotate the video but not the phone so you need to click the CCW rotation icon near the bottom of the window.

p. 382, step 3: "Name this chapter marker Dixie." -> "Double-click on the marker icon or, if the Current Time Indicator is still over the marker icon, press * on the numeric keypad to open the Marker dialog box. Name this chapter marker Dixie and press OK."

....Explanation: While creating numbered markers was presented earlier in the book, I don't recall any training on opening and using the Marker dialog.

p. 389, step 5: If you didn't copy the CIB DVD files in the recommended folder, you will encounter the red "Media offline" image. Unlike Premiere, Encore does not have a feature to locate assets missing from a Premiere project.

p. 391, step 3. Encore hung while switching to Blu-Ray. Switched to Premiere to shut it down and it hung. Windows Task Manager would not start so I could not shut down Encore and Premiere down. Had to perform a hardware reset. My system has been very reliable so I suspect that Dynamic Link is fragile and that going back and forth between Premiere/AfterEffects/Encore in the preceding lessons had pushed it too far. Rather than re-doing the entire Encore chapter from scratch I gave up with one page of the book to go.

With the frequent errors toward the end of the book I got the impression that either a different writer worked on those chapters or the testers were getting weary or sections were extracted from a previous version of CIB.

==================
Premiere Pro CS4 bugs/inconveniences which you may encounter (version PP4.2.1 on Win7 x64):

o Checkbox "Display only exact filename matches" in the "Where is the file" dialog box has no effect. Works correctly on XP x32.

o The Effects Control panel does not honor the standard keyboard shortcut of entering time from the numeric keypad. If you want to go to a specific time in the Timeline, Program Monitor, Source Monitor, or Reference Monitor you can simply enter the time (no punctuation (e.g., ; or .) needed). But this does not work when the Effects Control panel has focus. (Note that if one or more clips are selected when using this technique, the clips are moved so that the in point of the first clip aligns with the entered time.)

o Activating the Effects panel does not place the cursor in the search field. This is probably a minor issue if you select the Effects panel with the mouse, but it is more of an inconvenience if you got there via Shift+7.

o The image on External Devices (Program Monitor > Playback Settings) is not updated real time while manipulating an effect in Effect Controls while the Program Monitor > Display Mode is set to one or more of the Vectorscope/waveform monitors. The work around is to leave the Program Monitor set to Composite Video and set the Reference Monitor (Window > Reference Monitor) to display the Vectorscope/waveform monitors.

o Applying the Reverb effect to a 5.1 submix only outputs to the Front Left and Front Right channels, that is, only the two leftmost VU columns in the mixer display for the Master bus display activity. (I tried a variation on Lesson 14-5: add a 5.1 submix, direct Audio 6 and Audio 7 to that new submix, and add the Reverb effect. With Reverb bypassed everything is fine; with Reverb enabled, there is no output. Maybe Premiere is using the stereo version of Reverb rather than the 5.1 version.).


Get more detail about Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 Classroom in a Book.

Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste (33 1/3) Right now

Conversational and contemplative, this book inspired so many wonderful conversations between my girlfriend that we fired our couples' therapist and became Carl Wilson's Facebook friends instead. With Let's Talk About Love, Wilson has brought me and my gal closer and helped me to better explain my soft spot for certain Celine Dion songs. Highly recommended!Get more detail about Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste (33 1/3).

Lowest Price Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's

The book is a great romp through 200 critical years of European history using the building of St. Peter's as the focus. It is entirely readable, entertaining, and revelatory.

Ms. Scotti gets the basics right as implied in her subtitle, "The Splendor and The Scandal." Her story leaves us with the question, "How can we divorce ethics from beauty?"

Whether or not the building of St. Peter's caused the Protestant Reformation, the author counterposes the absolute corruption responsible for the construction of the Basilica. While she correctly states that modern historians are kinder to the Renaissance popes than were critics of their own day (such as Erasmus), she leaves no doubt about the immense personal ambition and lust for power that motivated the construction of St. Peter's.

The book gives us a good insight into the unbelievable scale of corruption of the Renaissance Church, with its clergy brazenly using spiritual powers for material and personal gain. For example, Ms. Scotti gives us a brief but vivid picture of Pope Julius II leading his troops and an army of cardinals and clergy in his military campaign to re-take the Papal States, brandishing threats of excommunication and interdict.

I first visited St. Peter's in 1980 as a Catholic priest, suspended for publishing my book, The Human Church, which called for the democratization of the Church. In the book I argued that there was no theological reason why the Church had to be set up on monarchical lines like the Roman government. Democracy would be much more amenable to its purpose and mission. As history has repeatedly shown, the monarchical, top-down, structure is both corrupt and corrupting.

I found St. Peter's immense and awesome, but I did not find it beautiful. That, and all the fountains and monuments around Rome constructed by popes, I saw as tribute to their quest for personal power and empire. Their breathtaking arrogance is reflected in the inscription across the facade of St. Peter's: "IN HONOR OF THE PRINCE OF THE APOSTLES PAUL V BORGHESE BY NAME SUPREME ROMAN PONTIFF 1612 SEVENTH YEAR OF HIS PONTIFICATE."

The popes whose portraits Ms. Scotti paints are often larger-than-life people of often immense energy and brilliance who used the project of St. Peter's, not only as an answer to the Protestants, but also as the focus of building of a new Rome, which had been devastated by neglect and the sack of the city in 1527. While they may have been effective as CEOs, we have to ask, as Luther asked, "Is that really their job?"

The fact that St. Peter's still functions as the symbol of the Roman Church shows there is much more reform that remains to be done.
Get more detail about Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's.

Low Price Canon 50D: From Snapshots to Great Shots

Nice book really helps to improve your experience with 50D. Comes in addition to Canon official user's manual - needs a lot of reading. Healpful!Get more detail about Canon 50D: From Snapshots to Great Shots.