Download or read book The Perversity of Things written by Hugo Gernsback and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 735 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1905, a young Jewish immigrant from Luxembourg founded an electrical supply shop in New York. This inventor, writer, and publisher Hugo Gernsback would later become famous for launching the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in 1926. But while science fiction’s annual Hugo Awards were named in his honor, there has been surprisingly little understanding of how the genre began among a community of tinkerers all drawn to Gernsback’s vision of comprehending the future of media through making. In The Perversity of Things, Grant Wythoff makes available texts by Hugo Gernsback that were foundational both for science fiction and the emergence of media studies. Wythoff argues that Gernsback developed a means of describing and assessing the cultural impact of emerging media long before media studies became an academic discipline. From editorials and blueprints to media histories, critical essays, and short fiction, Wythoff has collected a wide range of Gernsback’s writings that have been out of print since their magazine debut in the early 1900s. These articles cover such topics as television; the regulation of wireless/radio; war and technology; speculative futures; media-archaeological curiosities like the dynamophone and hypnobioscope; and more. All together, this collection shows how Gernsback’s publications evolved from an electrical parts catalog to a full-fledged literary genre. The Perversity of Things aims to reverse the widespread misunderstanding of Gernsback within the history of science fiction criticism. Through painstaking research and extensive annotations and commentary, Wythoff reintroduces us to Gernsback and the origins of science fiction.
Download or read book Perversity written by Francis Carco and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A mystery story involving a pimp, a prostitute and her sexually immature brother set in the Paris slums and underworld."--Google.
Download or read book Why the Law Is So Perverse written by Leo Katz and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-09 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Katz focuses on four fundamental features of our legal system, all of which seem to not make sense on some level and to demand explanation. First, legal decisions are essentially made in an either/or fashion... Second, the law is full of loopholes... Third, legal systems are loath to punish certain kinds of highly immoral conduct while prosecuting other far less pernicious behaviors... Finally, why does the law often prohibit what are sometimes called win-win transactions, such as organ sales or surrogacy contracts?" - from the University of Chicago Press press release
Download or read book The Culture of Desire written by Frank Browning and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-03-07 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is there such a thing as an American gay culture--a set of styles, values, and behaviors that arises not from ethnicity or religion but from sexual orientation? How is that culture transmitted? And how is it likely to survive the depradations of homophobia and AIDS? These questions are explored by Browning, a reporter for NPR.
Download or read book Radio for All written by Hugo Gernsback and published by . This book was released on 1922 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Political Perversion written by Joshua Gunn and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "When Trump became president, much of the country was repelled by what they saw as the vulgar spectacle of his ascent, the perversion of the highest office in the land. In his bold, groundbreaking book Political Perversion, rhetorician Joshua Gunn argues that this "mean-spirited turn" in American politics (of which Trump is the paragon) is best understood as a structural perversion enhanced primarily by the speed of communication technologies. Drawing on insights from critical theory, media ecology, and psychoanalysis, Gunn argues that perverse rhetorics dominate not only the political sphere but also our daily interactions with others, in person and online. From sexting to campaign rhetoric, Gunn shows how technology has changed our ways of relating (and not relating) to others and has engendered infantile and sadistic forms of provocation and enjoyment. In this book, Trump is only the tip of a sinister, rapidly growing iceberg, one to which we ourselves unwittingly contribute on a daily basis"--
Download or read book The Book of Strange New Things written by Michel Faber and published by Hogarth. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A monumental, genre-defying novel that David Mitchell calls "Michel Faber’s second masterpiece," The Book of Strange New Things is a masterwork from a writer in full command of his many talents. It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter. Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival. Their trials lay bare a profound meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance, and our responsibility to those closest to us. Marked by the same bravura storytelling and precise language that made The Crimson Petal and the White such an international success, The Book of Strange New Things is extraordinary, mesmerizing, and replete with emotional complexity and genuine pathos.
Download or read book Sexual Perversity in Chicago and the Duck Variations written by David Mamet and published by Grove/Atlantic, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-10-03 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Mamet is one of America’s most celebrated playwrights. The author of plays, screenplays, poetry, essays, and children’s books, he has won many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. The Obie award-winning Sexual Perversity in Chicago is about two office workers, Danny and Bernie, on the make in the swinging singles scene of the early 1970s. Danny meets Deborah in a library and soon they are not only lovers but roommates, and their story quickly evolves into a modern romance in all its sticky details. The Duck Variations is a dialogue between two old men sitting on a park bench. The conversation turns to the mating habits of ducks, but soon begins to reveal their feelings about natural law, friendship, and death. New York magazine has called The Duck Variations “a gorgeously written, wonderfully observant piece whose timing and atmosphere are close to flawless.”
Download or read book Mismatch written by Richard Sander and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2012-10-09 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The debate over affirmative action has raged for over four decades, with little give on either side. Most agree that it began as noble effort to jump-start racial integration; many believe it devolved into a patently unfair system of quotas and concealment. Now, with the Supreme Court set to rule on a case that could sharply curtail the use of racial preferences in American universities, law professor Richard Sander and legal journalist Stuart Taylor offer a definitive account of what affirmative action has become, showing that while the objective is laudable, the effects have been anything but. Sander and Taylor have long admired affirmative action's original goals, but after many years of studying racial preferences, they have reached a controversial but undeniable conclusion: that preferences hurt underrepresented minorities far more than they help them. At the heart of affirmative action's failure is a simple phenomenon called mismatch. Using dramatic new data and numerous interviews with affected former students and university officials of color, the authors show how racial preferences often put students in competition with far better-prepared classmates, dooming many to fall so far behind that they can never catch up. Mismatch largely explains why, even though black applicants are more likely to enter college than whites with similar backgrounds, they are far less likely to finish; why there are so few black and Hispanic professionals with science and engineering degrees and doctorates; why black law graduates fail bar exams at four times the rate of whites; and why universities accept relatively affluent minorities over working class and poor people of all races. Sander and Taylor believe it is possible to achieve the goal of racial equality in higher education, but they argue that alternative policies -- such as full public disclosure of all preferential admission policies, a focused commitment to improving socioeconomic diversity on campuses, outreach to minority communities, and a renewed focus on K-12 schooling -- will go farther in achieving that goal than preferences, while also allowing applicants to make informed decisions. Bold, controversial, and deeply researched, Mismatch calls for a renewed examination of this most divisive of social programs -- and for reforms that will help realize the ultimate goal of racial equality.
Download or read book Vivienne Westwood written by Fred Vermorel and published by Abrams. This book was released on 1997-10-01 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vivienne Westwood was the Queen of Punk Rock and her fashions have scandalized and fascinated the world since the Sixties. Parading models bare-breasted down the catwalks of Paris, posing pantiless outside Buckingham Palace-she has an insatiable appetite for anarchic outrageousness. She has never lost her power to shock, and her continued innovations make her one of the most talked about fashion designers in the world. But little is know about this essentially private woman. What is she like What is the secret of her success.Gleaned from more than thirty years of interviews with Westwood herself, Vivienne Westwood describes for the first time in detail Westwood's childhood and early years; it also exposes the inside story of her stormy and bizarre relationship with musician and fashionista Malcolm McLaren. The author looks at the origins of Westwood's witty and erotic sensibility, placing it in the context of the sixties, and throwing light on the dynamics of punk and on Westwood's later ability to tap into the inner logic of fashion - a Romantic perversity which is at the heart of mass consumption itself. As a dirty history of the Sixties shared by Westwood, McLaren and the author, and as a story of the triumph of a mad, bad, outrageous girl, Vivienne Westwood succeeds brilliantly.
Download or read book The Perverse Organisation and its Deadly Sins written by Susan Long and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Perverse Organisation and its Deadly Sins begins by examining the nature of perversity and its presence in corporate and organisational life. Then, four chapters examine the "corporate sins" of perverse pride, greed, envy and sloth, each taking case studies from major organisations suffering their effects. Finally, the book enquires into the nature of the consumer/provider pair as a centrepiece of the perverse cultural dynamics of current organisational life. The emphasis in the book is on perversity displayed by the organisation as such, rather than simply by its leaders, or other members, even though they may embody and manifest perverse primary symptoms to the extent that they at times engage in corrupt or criminal behaviour. What is explored is a group and organisation dynamic, more deeply embedded than conscious corruption. Within the perverse structure some roles become required to take up corrupt positions. They become part and parcel of the way things work. The person may condemn certain practices, but the role requires them. Tensions between person and role may mean that the person in role acts as they would not while in other roles. Such tensions may lead to the dynamics of perversity. This book is important reading for managers, consultants, and all who are interested in the dynamics propelling what seem to be the out-of-control dynamics within contemporary organisational life. It helps us understand how many people in positions of trust may end up abusing those positions. It looks at how we may be collectively perverse despite our individual attempts to be otherwise.
Download or read book Nina Simone s Gum written by Warren Ellis and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERA GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH, THE TIMES, IRISH TIMES, ROUGH TRADE, MOJO, CLASH, ROLLING STONE, UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEARFrom award-winning musician and composer Warren Ellis comes the unexpected and inspiring story of a piece of chewing gum. FEATURING AN INTRODUCTION BY NICK CAVE'Warren has turned this memento, snatched from his idol's piano in a moment of rapture, into a genuine religious artefact.'NICK CAVE'Such a mad, happy book about art and music and obsession. I'm so glad I got to read it. It made the world feel lighter.'NEIL GAIMAN'In praise of meaning-rich relics and magical things. Totally heartwarming project.'MAX PORTER'A unique study of a fan's devotion, of transcendence and of the artistic vocation - it's got depth and great warmth. It's a beautiful piece of work.'KEVIN BARRYI hadn't opened the towel that contained her gum since 2013. The last person to touch it was Nina Simone, her saliva and fingerprints unsullied. The idea that it was still in her towel was something I had drawn strength from. I thought each time I opened it some of Nina Simone's spirit would vanish. In many ways that thought was more important than the gum itself.On Thursday 1 July, 1999, Dr Nina Simone gave a rare performance as part of Nick Cave's Meltdown Festival. After the show, in a state of awe, Warren Ellis crept onto the stage, took Dr Simone's piece of chewed gum from the piano, wrapped it in her stage towel and put it in a Tower Records bag. The gum remained with him for twenty years; a sacred totem, his creative muse, a conduit that would eventually take Ellis back to his childhood and his relationship with found objects, growing in significance with every passing year.Nina Simone's Gum is about how something so small can form beautiful connections between people. It is a story about the meaning we place on things, on experiences, and how they become imbued with spirituality. It is a celebration of artistic process, friendship, understanding and love. 'This is such a beautiful f*@king book. Thank you, Warren. I highly recommend this motherf*@ker.'FLEA'A beautifully written book about the power of music and objects. I powered through it in two days.'COURTNEY BARNETT'A moving, inspiration insight into a beautiful mind.'JIM JARMUSCH'The year's most eccentric and joyful musical memoir.'DAILY TELEGRAPH (Books of the year)'[Nina Simone's Gum] is a metaphor for [Ellis'] creativity - the blossoming of a small idea into something bigger and bolder - but also a journey inside the impulsive, improvisatory mind of Warren Ellis, his passions, obsessions and superstitions.' OBSERVER'[A] beautiful, strikingly idiosyncratic book - part memoir, part essay, part conceptual art project, all testament to humans at their strangest and best . . . [Ellis] sees signifiance where others might not.'MOJO'A glorious piece of object fetishism . . . Marvel as Ellis' collection of eccentric personal mementos morphs into a celebration of the intangible wonder of music.'UNCUT'Wonderful.' THE TIMES'The most peculiar book I've ever read.' CRAIG BROWN, MAIL ON SUNDAY'Delightful . . . A joy from start to finish.' BIG ISSUE'A joyous work full of love, connection, creativity and gratitude.' THE SPECTATOR'Completely charming and joyful . . . glorious.' LA REVIEW OF BOOKS'Beautiful . . . remarkable.' NEW EUROPEAN
Download or read book These Broken Stars written by Amie Kaufman and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2013-12-10 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of the most intense, thrilling, and achingly beautiful stories I've ever read."--Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy The first in the New York Times bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds. It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen are the only survivors. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other's arms. Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won't be the same people who landed on it.
Download or read book The Perversity of Poetry written by Dino Franco Felluga and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once the dominant literary form, poetry was gradually eclipsed by the realist novel; indeed, by 1940 W. H. Auden was able to note, "Poetry makes nothing happen." In The Perversity of Poetry, Dino Franco Felluga explores the cultural background of poetry's marginalization by examining nineteenth-century reactions to Romantic poetry and ideology. Focusing on the work of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron, as well as periodical reviews, student manuals, and contemporary medical journals, the book details the period's two contending (and equally outrageous) claims regarding poetry. Scott's poetry, on the one hand, was continually represented as a panacea for a modern world overtaken by new principles of utilitarianism, capitalism, industrialism, and democracy. Byron's, by contrast, was represented either as a cancer in the heart of the social order or as a contagious pandemic leading to various pathological symptoms. The book concludes with a coda on Alfred Lord Tennyson, which illustrates how the Victorian reception of Scott and Byron affected the most popular poetic genius of midcentury. Ultimately, The Perversity of Poetry uncovers how the shift to a rhetoric of health allowed critics to oppose what they perceived as a potent and potentially dangerous influence on the age, the very thing that would over the course of the century be marginalized into such obscurity: poetry, thanks to its perverse insistence on making something happen.
Download or read book David Lynch written by Richard A. Barney and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2009 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interviews with the acclaimed director of the films Dune, Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire and the hit TV series Twin Peaks
Download or read book Necrophilia Variations written by Supervert 32C Inc and published by Supervert 32c Incorporated. This book was released on 2006 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fiction. NECROPHILIA VARIATIONS is a literary monograph on the erotic attraction to corpses and death. It consists of a series of texts that, like musical phrases, take up the theme and advance it by means of repetition, contrast, and variation.Written in a style that ranges from the lugubrious to the ludicrous--from purple prose to black humor--NECROPHILIA VARIATIONS uses literary means to probe the psychopathology of sexual perversion. Eros, the book asks, is naturally drawn to beauty, and yet nothing would seem to be less inherently beautiful than a cadaver. How is it that a necrophile ends up confusing the two, discovering beauty in what most people would find repugnant? How does he come to desire that which would seem to be intrinsically undesirable? If you have ever contemplated the curious points of contact between eros and thanatos, then Necrophilia Variations will be sure to delight you with its depictions of death, desire, and deviance.
Download or read book Policing Life and Death written by Marisol LeBrón and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2019-04-16 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her exciting new book, Marisol LeBrón traces the rise of punitive governance in Puerto Rico over the course of the twentieth century and up to the present. Punitive governance emerged as a way for the Puerto Rican state to manage the deep and ongoing crises stemming from the archipelago’s incorporation into the United States as a colonial territory. A structuring component of everyday life for many Puerto Ricans, police power has reinforced social inequality and worsened conditions of vulnerability in marginalized communities. This book provides powerful examples of how Puerto Ricans negotiate and resist their subjection to increased levels of segregation, criminalization, discrimination, and harm. Policing Life and Death shows how Puerto Ricans are actively rejecting punitive solutions and working toward alternative understandings of safety and a more just future.
