Service Alert
Delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Showing 1 - 20 of 25372 items
By William Tsutsui. 1971
This year, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his first appearance on the screen, the original, uncut version of Godzilla…
was released in American theaters to the delight of Sci-Fi and B-Movie fans everywhere. Ever since Godzilla (or, Gojira, as he is known in Japan) crawled out of his radioactive birthplace to cut a swath of destruction through Tokyo, he has claimed a place alongside King Kong and others in the movie monster pantheon. He is the third most recognizable Japanese celebrity in the United States, and his fan base continues to grow as children today prove his enduring appeal. Now, Bill Tsutsui, a life-long fan and historian, takes a light-hearted look at the big, green, radioactive lizard, revealing how he was born and how he became a megastar. With humorous anecdotes, Godzilla on My Mind explores his lasting cultural impact on the world. This book is sure to be welcomed by pop culture enthusiasts, fans, and historians alike.Master the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the new Level 2 Diploma for Hair Professionals.Endorsed by City…
& Guilds as a quality resource supporting their new qualifications, this textbook is focused on the practical skills needed for your course. Written specifically for apprentices taking the new Hair Professional Standards, this book will be your guide as you work through your Apprenticeship and prepare for your end-point assessment.Packed with numerous step-by-step photos to demonstrate all Hair Professional techniques, for hairdressers and barbersInspires you with photographs and illustrations of the latest styles and techniquesHelps prepare you for the synoptic assessments with Test Your Knowledge questions and Practical Assignments at the end of each chapter, designed to test knowledge and understanding and help you to refine your practical skillsIdentifies opportunities for you to improve Maths and English skills throughout the courseProvides industry know-how as the author shares her knowledge and experience with Handy Hints and suggests helpful activities throughoutInspires you to be the best you can be with Industry Insight profiles of successful hair professionals for every chapterCovers all mandatory units, plus the 'Perming hair' optional unit, with the two further optional units available online:oHair relaxing treatments and techniquesoHair extension servicesBy Volker Ziemann. 2024
This book describes and explains the world of particle accelerators and the physics they study. The presentation is non-technical (E=mc2 is the…
only equation!) and the prose accessible. By following the co-evolution of particle accelerators and particle physics, readers will learn why the accelerators are built, how they work, and what "results" they produce. The book highlights the great ideas (e.g. synchrotron) and technological advances (superconducting magnets) that boosted the potential of accelerators and led to new discoveries, eventually resulting in the standard model of particle physics. Many concepts are illustrated with figures derived from three-dimensional models; these include theaccelerators, detectors, and particles. Background information about the main protagonists, along with pointers to further reading, e.g. from "Scientific American," are provided in endnotes.By Ram Narayan Yadava, Muhamad Uznir Ujang. 2024
There are many GIS products for smart cities to implement smart city projects or activities. Most of the Geoinformatics Technologies…
and its application books are theoretical and lack of examples with real world data and step by step explanations to understand the facilities and utilities optimization and management for smart city applications and socio-economic aspects.This book focuses and discusses topics related to how technological advances in Geoinformatics can help in the management operations of smart city applications to help our environment to be smart. Specifically, the volume focuses on how these advancements can help optimize and manage facilities and utilities. This book focuses on geoinformation modelling, geo-smart city applications, geoinformation technology, information system and computer science, and geolocation and positioning as its five primary areas of discussion. Each of these primary subjects delves into the application that uses geoinformatics technology in greater depth. This covers the use of Geoinformatics technology in the prevention of crime, coastal erosion, carbon emission modelling, landslide modelling, urban farming, and various other applications linked to the field. This book's objective is to provide a comprehensive review of the accomplishments that geoinformatics has made in a number of different application areas for smart cities. It covers Geoinformation Technologies, Geoinformation Modelling, Information System and Computer Science, Geolocation & Positioning, and Geo-Smart City Applications.The book will be useful to graduate students, university faculty, and researchers in Geoinformatics sciences/engineering and architecture and town planning. It will also be useful to entrepreneurs, professionals, and planners in policy and decision making at the local, state and national levels.This book explains different phenomena that occur in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs (NFRs) of carbonate rocks neighboring a salt structure and…
how it affects well drilling. Prediction of carbonate pore pressure is difficult; therefore, a new set of pore pressure equations for carbonates were developed, accounting for overpressure and depleted conditions. A detailed description of a fully coupled model is shown in order to discuss geomechanics and the coupling of fluid flow in porous media and to achieve a better representation of the mechanics involved in the exploitation of NFRs. Additionally, results of a new model of geomechanics in vuggy carbonate reservoirs are presented. This book also displays a wide discussion, analysis, and numerical implementation of six different salt rheology models. Furthermore, the most representative rheology salt models were studied aside with the fully coupled model of geomechanics and fluid flow in porous media. Finally, it presents an answer to areal case of a well drilled near a salt diapir where anomalous pore pressure was found.By Moira Weigel. 2016
“Does anyone date anymore?” Today, the authorities tell us that courtship is in crisis. But when Moira Weigel dives into…
the history of sex and romance in modern America, she discovers that authorities have always said this. Ever since young men and women started to go out together, older generations have scolded them: That’s not the way to find true love. The first women who made dates with strangers were often arrested for prostitution; long before “hookup culture,” there were “petting parties”; before parents worried about cell phone apps, they fretted about joyrides and “parking.” Dating is always dying. But this does not mean that love is dead. It simply changes with the economy. Dating is, and always has been, tied to work. Lines like “I’ll pick you up at six” made sense at a time when people had jobs that started and ended at fixed hours. But in an age of contract work and flextime, many of us have become sexual freelancers, more likely to text a partner “u still up?” Weaving together over one hundred years of history with scenes from the contemporary landscape, Labor of Love offers a fresh feminist perspective on how we came to date the ways we do. This isn't a guide to “getting the guy.” There are no ridiculous “rules” to follow. Instead, Weigel helps us understand how looking for love shapes who we are—and hopefully leads us closer to the happy ending that dating promises.By Guoxiang Hou, Caikan Chen, Shenglei Qin, Yuan Gao, Kai Wang. 2024
This book provides a concise and comprehensive introduction to several basic methods with more attention to their theoretical basis and…
applications in fluid dynamics. Furthermore, some new ideas are presented in this book, for example, a method to solve the transition matrix by difference operator transformation. For this method, the book gives the definition of Fourier integral transformation of translation operator, and proves the transition matrix equaling to the differential operator transformation, so that it is extended to general situations of explicit, implicit, multi-layer difference equations, etc. This flexible approach is also used in the differential part. In addition, the book also includes six types of equivalent stability definitions in two ways and deeply analyzes their errors, stabilities and convergences of the difference equations. What is more important, some new scientific contributions on lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) in recent years are presented in the book as well. The authors write the book combining their ten years teaching experience and research results and this book is intended for graduate students who are interested in the area of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Authors list some new research achievements, such as simplified lattice Boltzmann method, the simplified lattice Boltzmann flux solver and discrete unified gas kinetic scheme, and expect that this new information could give readers possible further investigating ideas in their future research on CFD area.One of The Barnes and Noble Review Editors' Picks: Best Nonfiction of 2012Selected by The Christian Science Monitor as one…
of "21 smart nonfiction titles we think you'll enjoy this summer"Selected by The New Scientist as one of 10 books to look out for in 2012We've long understood black holes to be the points at which the universe as we know it comes to an end. Often billions of times more massive than the Sun, they lurk in the inner sanctum of almost every galaxy of stars in the universe. They're mysterious chasms so destructive and unforgiving that not even light can escape their deadly wrath.Recent research, however, has led to a cascade of new discoveries that have revealed an entirely different side to black holes. As the astrophysicist Caleb Scharf reveals in Gravity's Engines, these chasms in space-time don't just vacuum up everything that comes near them; they also spit out huge beams and clouds of matter. Black holes blow bubbles.With clarity and keen intellect, Scharf masterfully explains how these bubbles profoundly rearrange the cosmos around them. Engaging with our deepest questions about the universe, he takes us on an intimate journey through the endlessly colorful place we call our galaxy and reminds us that the Milky Way sits in a special place in the cosmic zoo—a "sweet spot" of properties. Is it coincidental that we find ourselves here at this place and time? Could there be a deeper connection between the nature of black holes and their role in the universe and the phenomenon of life? We are, after all, made of the stuff of stars.By Marisa Meltzer. 2010
In the early nineties, riot grrrl exploded onto the underground music scene, inspiring girls to pick up an instrument, create…
fanzines, and become politically active. Rejecting both traditional gender roles and their parents' brand of feminism, riot grrrls celebrated and deconstructed femininity. The media went into a titillated frenzy covering followers who wrote "slut" on their bodies, wore frilly dresses with combat boots, and talked openly about sexual politics. The movement's message of "revolution girl-style now" soon filtered into the mainstream as "girl power," popularized by the Spice Girls and transformed into merchandising gold as shrunken T-shirts, lip glosses, and posable dolls. Though many criticized girl power as at best frivolous and at worst soulless and hypersexualized, Marisa Meltzer argues that it paved the way for today's generation of confident girls who are playing instruments and joining bands in record numbers. Girl Power examines the role of women in rock since the riot grrrl revolution, weaving Meltzer's personal anecdotes with interviews with key players such as Tobi Vail from Bikini Kill and Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. Chronicling the legacy of artists such as Bratmobile, Sleater-Kinney, Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears, and, yes, the Spice Girls, Girl Power points the way for the future of women in rock.&“Engrossing and suspenseful." —The New York Times&“Expertly pulls readers in.&” —The Guardian &“Smith sharply chronicles the revolutionary moment.&” —…
Financial TimesThe origin story of the post-truth age: the candid inside tale of two online media rivals, Nick Denton of Gawker Media and Jonah Peretti of HuffPost and BuzzFeed, whose delirious pursuit of attention at scale helped release the dark forces that would overtake the internet and American societyIf attention is the new oil, Traffic is the story of the time between the first gusher and the perceptible impact of climate change. The curtain opens in Soho in the early 2000s, after the first dot-com crash but before Google, Apple, and Facebook exploded, when it seemed that New York City, rather than Silicon Valley, might become tech&’s center of gravity. There, Nick Denton&’s merry band of nihilists at his growing Gawker empire and Jonah Peretti&’s sunnier team at HuffPost and BuzzFeed were building the foundations of viral internet media. Ben Smith, who would go on to earn a controversial reputation as BuzzFeed News&’s editor in chief, was there to see it, and he chronicles it all with marvelous lucidity underscored by dark wit. Traffic explores one of the great ironies of our time: The internet, which was going to help the left remake the world in its image, has become the motive force of right populism. People like Steve Bannon and Andrew Breitbart initially seemed like minor characters in the narrative in which Nick and Jonah were the stars. But today, anyone might wonder if the opposite wasn&’t the case. To understand how we got here, Traffic is essential and enthralling reading.By Lakshmi D. Bulathsinghala. 2024
This book explores the development of Sinhala stylistic drama from its earliest manifestations to the post-independence era.Bulathsinghala examines the impact…
of indigenous and imported folk theatrical forms on the work of the most significant postcolonial stylistic dramatists and on key plays that they produced. In the process, the book explores a number of myths and misunderstandings regarding Sri Lanka’s folk heritage and seeks to establish more reliable information on the principal indigenous Sri Lankan folk dramatic forms and their characteristics. At the same time, by drawing connections between folk drama and the post-independence stylistic theatrical movement, the author demonstrates the essential role of the former in Sinhala culture prior to the advent of Western and other influences and shows how both continue to inflect Sri Lankan drama today.This book will help to open the field of South Asian drama studies to an audience consisting not only of scholars and students but also of general readers who are interested in the fields of drama and theatre and Asian studies.'The sweetest, most delicious book . . . Such a gorgeous love story' Marian Keyes'Funny and heartwarming with great characters'…
Reader review 5 stars'Absolutely gorgeous, swoon worthy romance' Reader review 5 stars Second chances never go out of style... Sophy Stevens always thought she would have everything sorted by the time she was thirty. Instead, she is freshly fired, recently dumped and sleeping on her mum's sofa. So when her absent dad offers her a job at his vintage clothes shop in Primrose Hill, it's one she can't refuse. It will only be for a few months until she is back on her feet, after all.But the Vintage Dress Shop is more magical than she could have even imagined, full of preloved fashion from a 1950s wedding dress to the glittering gems sourced by jeweller Charles. In spite of herself, Sophy starts to fall in love with the store and the process of matching the perfect item with every customer.With each new treasure Sophy uncovers, she begins to wonder if, like these vintage clothes, the store is the key to her second chance... and then there's Charles, who might just end up mending her broken heart...Let Annie Darling sweep you off your feet with this heartwarming and romantic novel, perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Phillipa Ashley. Everyone is falling in love with Annie Darling:'Heartwarming and compelling. A wonderful read which was difficult to put down... Great characters and a lovely romantic story which touches the heart' Reader review 5 stars'The most uplifting, sumptuously indulgent, romantic joy of a book... It tugged all my heartstrings and held me captive until the last, perfect page' Cressida McLaughlin'An absolute delight! I also loved the debonair love interest... It was so nice to see someone pick themselves up and rise from the ashes in such beautiful surroundings surrounded by all these amazing clothes, I loved it!' Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This is the feel good book you must read... With an array of fabulous characters and the perfect ending that made me squeal with delight this warm and charming story will have you enchanted' Nina PottellBy Matthew McKay. 2024
• Offers a step-by-step process to unleash the unconscious and intuitive wisdom held in the awareness of your soul: Deep…
Knowledge Meditation • Includes guided journal prompts to help you listen to your heart and shine a light on your own deepest wisdom and soul knowledge • Shares channeled lessons from the author&’s late son Jordan on the mysteries of human existence, including what the divine or god is, the nature of a soul, the nature of matter and energy, the role of love in our lives, and the origin of the universe Human life is surrounded by mystery. At the center of this mystery is the question: Why are we here? is there a purpose to our existence, a reason why we&’re experiencing the beauty and pain of physical life? There is also the mystery of the universe itself. What is it and where did it come from? Religious and spiritual traditions have created complex cosmologies to answer these questions, but each tradition has a different answer and we are left with profound uncertainty about deeper reality. As psychologist Matthew McKay reveals, we can each discover our own answers to these questions, our own inner truth, by connecting with the wisdom of our souls. In this guided workbook, McKay offers a step-by-step process to unleash the unconscious and intuitive wisdom held in the awareness of your soul. He explains how to use &“deep knowledge meditation&” to access all of your soul&’s accumulated knowledge, everything you have learned across all of your incarnations. Channeling his late son, Jordan, a discarnate soul who has lived hundreds of lives, McKay shares Jordan&’s lessons on the mysteries of human existence, including what the divine or god is, the nature of a soul, the nature of matter and energy, the role of love in our lives, and the origin of the universe. Accompanying these channeled teachings are journal prompts from Jordan, to be used with deep knowledge meditation, to help you listen to your heart and shine a light on your own deepest wisdom and soul knowledge. Guiding you on a journey of self-discovery, this book offers the opportunity to find your soul&’s truth about your life&’s purpose and the nature of physical reality.Discover everything you&’ve ever wondered about the legendary spirits, creatures, and figures of Japanese folklore including how they have found…
their way into every corner of our pop culture from the creator of the podcast Uncanny Japan.Welcome to The Book of Japanese Folklore: a fascinating journey through Japan&’s folklore through profiles of the legendary creatures and beings who continue to live on in pop culture today. From the sly kitsune to the orgrish oni and mischievous shape-shifting tanuki, learn all about the origins of these fantastical and mythical creatures. This gorgeous package is complete with stained edges and stunning four-color illustrations. With information on their cultural significance, a retelling of a popular tale tied to that particular yokai, and how it&’s been spun into today&’s popular culture, this handsome tome teaches you about the stories and histories of the beings that inspired characters in your favorite movies, animes, manga, and games. Adventure, mystery, and amazing tales await in The Book of Japanese Folklore.Master the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the new Level 2 Diploma for Hair Professionals.Endorsed by City…
& Guilds as a quality resource supporting their new qualifications, this textbook is focused on the practical skills needed for your course. Written specifically for apprentices taking the new Hair Professional Standards, this book will be your guide as you work through your Apprenticeship and prepare for your end-point assessment.Packed with numerous step-by-step photos to demonstrate all Hair Professional techniques, for hairdressers and barbersInspires you with photographs and illustrations of the latest styles and techniquesHelps prepare you for the synoptic assessments with Test Your Knowledge questions and Practical Assignments at the end of each chapter, designed to test knowledge and understanding and help you to refine your practical skillsIdentifies opportunities for you to improve Maths and English skills throughout the courseProvides industry know-how as the author shares her knowledge and experience with Handy Hints and suggests helpful activities throughoutInspires you to be the best you can be with Industry Insight profiles of successful hair professionals for every chapterCovers all mandatory units, plus the 'Perming hair' optional unit, with the two further optional units available online:oHair relaxing treatments and techniquesoHair extension servicesBy Jonathan Cott. 2024
The conception, creation, recording, and significance of the Beatles&’ &“Penny Lane&” and &“Strawberry Fields Forever&” John Lennon wrote &“Strawberry Fields…
Forever&” in Almería, Spain, in fall 1966, and in November, in response to that song, Paul McCartney wrote &“Penny Lane&” at his home in London. A culmination of what was one of the most life-altering and chaotic years in the Beatles&’ career, these two songs composed the 1967 double A-side 45 rpm record that has often been called the greatest single in the history of popular music and was, according to Beatles producer George Martin, &“the best record we ever made.&” In Let Me Take You Down: Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, Jonathan Cott recounts the conception and creation of these songs; describes the tumultuous events and experiences that led the Beatles to call it quits as a touring band and redefine themselves solely as recording artists; and details the complex, seventy-hour recording process that produced seven minutes of indelible music. In writing about these songs, he also focuses on them as inspired artistic expressions of two unique ways of experiencing and being in the world, as Lennon takes us down to Strawberry Fields and McCartney takes us back to Penny Lane. In order to gain new vistas and multiple perspectives on these multifaceted songs, Cott also engages in conversation with five remarkable people: media artist Laurie Anderson; guitarist Bill Frisell; actor Richard Gere; Jungian analyst Margaret Klenck; and urban planner, writer, and musician Jonathan F. P. Rose. The result is a wide-ranging, illuminating exploration of the musical, literary, psychological, cultural, and spiritual aspects of two of the most acclaimed songs in rock and roll history.By Sandra Annett. 2024
How animation can reconnect us with bodily experiences Film and media studies scholarship has often argued that digital cinema…
and CGI provoke a sense of disembodiment in viewers; they are seen as merely fantastic or unreal. In her in-depth exploration of the phenomenology of animation, Sandra Annett offers a new perspective: that animated films and digital media in fact evoke vivid embodied sensations in viewers and connect them with the lifeworld of experience. Starting with the emergence of digital technologies in filmmaking in the 1980s, Annett argues that contemporary digital media is indebted to the longer history of animation. She looks at a wide range of animation—from Disney films to anime, electro swing music videos to Vocaloids—to explore how animation, through its material forms and visual styles, can evoke bodily sensations of touch, weight, and orientation in space. Each chapter discusses well-known forms of animation from the United States, France, Japan, South Korea, and China, examining how they provoke different sensations in viewers, such as floating and falling in Howl&’s Moving Castle and My Beautiful Girl Mari, and how the body is mediated in films that combine animation and live action, as seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Song of the South. These films set the stage for an exploration of how animation and embodiment manifest in contemporary global media, from CGI and motion capture in Disney&’s &“live action remakes&” to new media installations by artists like Lu Yang. Leveraging an array of case studies through a new approach to film phenomenology, The Flesh of Animation offers an enlightening discussion of why animation provides a sensational experience for viewers not replicable through other media forms.By Jeremiah P. Ostriker, Simon Mitton. 2013
Humanity's ongoing quest to unlock the secrets of dark matter and dark energyHeart of Darkness describes the incredible saga of…
humankind's quest to unravel the deepest secrets of the universe. Over the past forty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood components—dark matter and dark energy—comprise most of the known cosmos, explain the growth of all cosmic structure, and hold the key to the universe's fate. The story of how evidence for the so-called "Lambda-Cold Dark Matter" model of cosmology has been gathered by generations of scientists throughout the world is told here by one of the pioneers of the field, Jeremiah Ostriker, and his coauthor Simon Mitton.From humankind's early attempts to comprehend Earth's place in the solar system, to astronomers' exploration of the Milky Way galaxy and the realm of the nebulae beyond, to the detection of the primordial fluctuations of energy from which all subsequent structure developed, this book explains the physics and the history of how the current model of our universe arose and has passed every test hurled at it by the skeptics. Throughout this rich story, an essential theme is emphasized: how three aspects of rational inquiry—the application of direct measurement and observation, the introduction of mathematical modeling, and the requirement that hypotheses should be testable and verifiable—guide scientific progress and underpin our modern cosmological paradigm.This monumental puzzle is far from complete, however, as scientists confront the mysteries of the ultimate causes of cosmic structure formation and the real nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy.By Frank Bruni. 2024
From bestselling author and longtime New York Times columnist Frank Bruni comes a lucid, powerful examination of the ways in…
which grievance has come to define our current culture and politics, on both the right and left.The twists and turns of American politics are unpredictable, but the tone is a troubling given. It&’s one of grievance. More and more Americans are convinced that they&’re losing because somebody else is winning. More and more tally their slights, measure their misfortune, and assign particular people responsibility for it. The blame game has become the country&’s most popular sport and victimhood its most fashionable garb. Grievance needn&’t be bad. It has done enormous good. The United States is a nation born of grievance, and across the nearly two hundred and fifty years of our existence as a country, grievance has been the engine of morally urgent change. But what happens when all sorts of grievances—the greater ones, the lesser ones, the authentic, the invented—are jumbled together? When people take their grievances to lengths that they didn&’t before? A violent mob storms the US Capitol, rejecting the results of a presidential election. Conspiracy theories flourish. Fox News knowingly peddles lies in the service of profit. College students chase away speakers, and college administrators dismiss instructors for dissenting from progressive orthodoxy. Benign words are branded hurtful; benign gestures are deemed hostile. And there&’s a potentially devastating erosion of the civility, common ground, and compromise necessary for our democracy to survive. How did we get here? What does it say about us, and where does it leave us? The Age of Grievance examines these critical questions and charts a path forward.By Tara Ward. 2024
What does an art history of Instagram look like? Appreciation Post reveals how Instagram shifts long-established ways of interacting with…
images. Tara Ward argues Instagram is a structure of the visual, which includes not just the process of looking, but what can be seen and by whom. She examines features of Instagram use, including the effect of scrolling through images on a phone, the skill involved in taking an "Instagram-worthy" picture, and the desires created by following influencers, to explain how the constraints imposed by Instagram limit the selves that can be displayed on it. The proliferation of technical knowledge, especially among younger women, revitalizes on Instagram the myth of the masculine genius and a corresponding reinvigoration of a masculine audience for art. Ward prompts scholars of art history, gender studies, and media studies to attend to Instagram as a site of visual expression and social consequence. Through its insightful comparative analysis and acute close reading, Appreciation Post argues for art history’s value in understanding the contemporary world and the visual nature of identity today.