Download or read book Wisenheimer written by Mark Oppenheimer and published by Free Press. This book was released on 2010-04-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever met a child who talked like an adult? Who knew big words and how to use them? Was he a charmer or an insufferable smart aleck—or maybe both? Mark Oppenheimer was just such a boy, his talent for language a curse as much as a blessing. But when he got to junior high, Oppenheimer discovered an outlet for his loquaciousness: the debate team. Frank and comical, Wisenheimer chronicles the travails of a hyperarticulate child who finds salvation in the heady world of competitive oratory. In stirring prose, Oppenheimer describes what it was like to have a gift with no useful application. Unlike math or music prodigies, he had no way to showcase his unique skill, except to speak like a miniature adult—a trick some found impressive but others found irritating. Frustrated and isolated, Oppenheimer used his powers for ill—he became a wisenheimer, pushing his peers and teachers away. Then, in junior high, he discovered the world he was meant for: the debate club. His skill with language was finally being channeled, refined, and honed into something beautiful. As Oppenheimer blossomed as a person, he also became a world-champion high school and college debater. His journey from loneliness to fulfillment affords a fascinating inside look at the extraordinary subculture of world-class high school debate and at the power of language to change one’s life. Oppenheimer writes movingly about the art of rhetoric, of his passion for it, and of the inspiration he derived from debating and watching others do it. This smart, funny memoir not only reveals a strange, compelling subculture, it also offers a broader discussion of the splendor and power of language and of the social and developmental hazards of being a gifted child. Finally, it looks with hope at our present age, in which oratory is once again an important force in American culture. Revealing, touching, and entertaining, Wisenheimer offers a brilliant portrait of the rarefied world of high school and college debate—and of what it’s like to grow up talkative in America.
Download or read book The Dude and the Zen Master written by Jeff Bridges and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The perfect gift for fans of The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges's "The Dude", and anyone who could use more Zen in their lives. Zen Master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who are “simple and unassuming,” and “so good that on account of them God lets the world go on.” Jeff puts it another way. “The wonderful thing about the Dude is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out.” For more than a decade, Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and his Buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue and remarkable humanism in a book that reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world.
Download or read book Wisenheimer Wednesday written by Doug TenNapel and published by Apple. This book was released on 1998-10-01 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How different are the kids in Mrs. Frightenright's class? There's the kid who is half boy, half-fish and a really, really hairy kid! How different do you think you are?
Download or read book Easy Moving written by Gregory T Spalding and published by gregory spalding. This book was released on 2009-07-25 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philip Mizzou thinks that life as a Fly By Night moving man is an ideal way to see sights and to meet people in beautiful San Francisco. But when Fly By Night goes belly up, he and fellow Easy Mover Big John Yelverton strike out on their own in a partnership that leads to strange hallucinations and world-renown counterfeiters. Meet exotic dancer Pandora Boxxe, her jaded beau Knuckles the bouncer, plus E. X. Queasy; the man with huge appetite and mysterious past. Laugh-a-minute adventures guide you up and down the rolling hills of northern California, then through majestic Yosemite Valley, while two Easy Movers traverse roads of international intrigue and undercover law enforcement--but watch out for steep inclines and close encounters with the legendary Bigfoot!
Download or read book New York Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 1987-08-24 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.
Download or read book Okay Fine Whatever written by Courtenay Hameister and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2018-07-31 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "hilarious and poignant" story of one chronically anxious woman's quest to become braver by seeking out the kinds of experiences she's spent her life avoiding (Cheryl Strayed). For most of her life (and even during her years as the host of a popular radio show), Courtenay Hameister lived in a state of near-constant dread and anxiety. She fretted about everything. Her age. Her size. Her romantic prospects. How likely it was that she would get hit by a bus on the way home. Until a couple years ago, when, in her mid-forties, she decided to fight back against her debilitating anxieties by spending a year doing little things that scared her -- things that the average person might consider doing for a half second before deciding: "nope." Things like: attending a fellatio class. She did that. She also spent an afternoon in a sensory deprivation tank, got (legally) high in the middle of a workday, had a session with a professional cuddler, braved twenty-eight first dates, and (perhaps scariest of all) actually met someone who might possibly appreciate her for who she is. Refreshing, relatable, and pee-your-pants funny, Okay Fine Whatever is Courtenay's hold-nothing-back account of her adventures on the front lines of Mere Human Woman vs. Fear, reminding us that even the tiniest amount of bravery is still bravery, and that no matter who you are, it's possible to fight complacency and become bold, or at least bold-ish, a little at a time.
Download or read book Wolf Hall written by Hilary Mantel and published by HarperCollins Canada. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe oppose him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his advisor, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum and a deadlock. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. The son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a bully and a charmer, Cromwell has broken all the rules of a rigid society in his rise to power. Narrowly escaping personal disaster—the loss of his young family and of Wolsey, his beloved patron—he picks his way deftly through a court where “man is wolf to man.” Pitting himself against parliament, the political establishment and the papacy, he is prepared to reshape England to his own and Henry’s desires. In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. Wolf Hall re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hair’s breadth, where success brings unlimited power, but a single failure means death.
Download or read book Capitalism and Disability written by Marta Russell and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2019-08-06 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spread out over many years and many different publications, the late author and activist Marta Russell wrote a number of groundbreaking and insightful essays on the nature of disability and oppression under capitalism. In this volume, Russell’s various essays are brought together in one place in order to provide a useful and expansive resource to those interested in better understanding the ways in which the modern phenomenon of disability is shaped by capitalist economic and social relations. The essays range in analysis from the theoretical to the topical, including but not limited to: the emergence of disability as a “human category” rooted in the rise of industrial capitalism and the transformation of the conditions of work, family, and society corresponding thereto; a critique of the shortcomings of a purely “civil rights approach” to addressing the persistence of disability oppression in the economic sphere, with a particular focus on the legacy of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; an examination of the changing position of disabled people within the overall system of capitalist production utilizing the Marxist economic concepts of the reserve army of the unemployed, the labor theory of value, and the exploitation of wage-labor; the effects of neoliberal capitalist policies on the living conditions and social position of disabled people as it pertains to welfare, income assistance, health care, and other social security programs; imperialism and war as a factor in the further oppression and immiseration of disabled people within the United States and globally; and the need to build unity against the divisive tendencies which hide the common economic interest shared between disabled people and the often highly-exploited direct care workers who provide services to the former.
Download or read book A Little Bit Wicked written by Kristin Chenoweth and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-04-14 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Life's too short. I'm not." You might know her as a Tony Award-winning Broadway star, who originated the role of Galinda the Good Witch in the smash musical Wicked and won a Tony for 1999's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Or you may recognize her from her starring roles on TV -- The West Wing, Pushing Daisies, Sesame Street...oh, and her Huge Hit Sitcom Kristin on NBC. (Huge hit. L.A. breast-implant huge. Ask either of the people who watched it.) Or maybe you saw her sexy spread in FHM magazine? Or her appearance on Pat Robertson's The 700 Club? Kristin is a wonderful collection of contradictions -- but everyone who's ever met her remembers her as the little girl with the big voice. At four foot eleven, Kristin Chenoweth is an immense talent in a petite but powerful package. In this lively, laugh-out-loud book, Kristin shares her journey from Oklahoma beauty queen to Broadway leading lady, reflecting on how faith and family have kept her grounded in the dysfunctional rodeo of show biz. The daughter of an engineer and a nurse, Kristin was singing in front of thousands at Baptist conventions by age twelve and winning beauty pageants by age twenty-two. (Well, actually she was second runner-up almost every freaking time. But, hey, she's not bitter.) On her way to a career as a professional opera singer, she stopped in New York to visit a friend and went on a whim to an audition. Through a combination of talent, hard work, and (she's quick to add) the grace of God, Kristin took Broadway by storm. But of course, into every storm, the occasional drizzle of disaster must fall. Filled with wit, wisdom, and backstage insight, A Little Bit Wicked is long on love and short on sleep; it's essential reading for Kristin's legions of fans and an uplifting story for anyone seeking motivation to follow his or her dreams -- over the rainbow and beyond.
Download or read book A Rotten Person Travels the Caribbean written by Gary Buslik and published by Travelers' Tales Guides. This book was released on 2008-05 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "If you look at a map, you will see that the island chain known as the Caribbean, or, to confuse you, the West Indies, lies between Florida and South America and resembles a string of gems or possibly drool." And so begins author Gary Buslik's tale of tropical adventure. Each chapter of this often hilarious and sometimes poignant travelogue recounts another island-hopping, culture-clashing crisis that pits the homesick author against falling coconuts, hospitals that remove wrong organs, insects as big and dangerous as stealth bombers, ticket agents that put him on hold for hours, mysteriously calculated currency exchanges, over-proofed rum, livestock, singing Rastafarians, garbage-bin sex, peanut-crazed children, Idi Amin, flesh-eating monkeys, dentists, cricket, steel drum bands, and the French. Fortunately, even when making fun of his West Indian hosts, the curmudgeonly author's essential good nature and devotion to his wife twinkle through, and in the end his stubborn geocentricity gives way to a heartfelt appreciation of his island hosts.
Download or read book Eminent Hipsters written by Donald Fagen and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-10-22 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A witty, candid, sharply written memoir by the cofounder of Steely Dan In his entertaining debut as an author, Donald Fagen—musician, songwriter, and cofounder of Steely Dan—reveals the cultural figures and currents that shaped his artistic sensibility, as well as offering a look at his college days and a hilarious account of life on the road. Fagen presents the “eminent hipsters” who spoke to him as he was growing up in a bland New Jersey suburb in the early 1960s; his colorful, mind-expanding years at Bard College, where he first met his musical partner Walter Becker; and the agonies and ecstasies of a recent cross-country tour with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. Acclaimed for his literate lyrics and complex arrangements as a musician, Fagen here proves himself a sophisticated writer with his own distinctive voice.
Download or read book Straight Man written by Richard Russo and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-11-09 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hilarious and true-to-life, witty, compassionate, and impossible to put down, Straight Man follows Hank Devereaux through one very bad week in this novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls. • Now the AMC Original Series Lucky Hank. William Henry Devereaux, Jr., is the reluctant chairman of the English department of a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt. Devereaux's reluctance is partly rooted in his character—he is a born anarchist—and partly in the fact that his department is more savagely divided than the Balkans. In the course of a single week, Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with his dean, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits, and threaten to execute a goose on local television. All this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the dereliction of his youthful promise, and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions. In short, Straight Man is classic Russo—side-splitting, poignant, compassionate, and unforgettable. Look for Richard Russo's new book, Somebody's Fool, coming soon.
Download or read book Blitt written by Barry Blitt and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2017-10-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of the great political cartoonists of our time." —David Remnick A gorgeous, hilarious, and provocative compendium of the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist’s illustrations for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and more. Barry Blitt’s cartoons have been lampooning American politics and culture for decades. His iconic New Yorker covers are defining images for our times, earning him adoration from critics and fans and piles of hate mail from everyone else. This lavish full-color collection showcases more than a quarter century of Blitt’s work: his wry and provocative New Yorker covers, from the Obama fist bump heard round the world, to George W. Bush’s drowning cabinet, to the myriad (and counting) misadventures of Donald Trump; Blitt’s long-running collaboration with Frank Rich on The New York Times op-ed page; and his work for Vanity Fair, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and others. Blitt also shares his private sketchbooks, drafts, and uproarious rejected illustrations, offering readers an illuminating view into his creative process. Featuring the author's hand-scrawled annotations and self-deprecating witticisms, more than one hundred never-before-seen sketches and drafts, and essays from Blitt’s collaborators and peers, including Frank Rich, Françoise Mouly, and Steve Brodner, Blitt is a visual delight and a rollicking trip into the mind of an utterly original artist.
Download or read book The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man written by W. Bruce Cameron and published by Forge Books. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From W. Bruce Cameron, the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel A Dog's Purpose, which is now a major motion picture! "The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man introduces my favorite kind of flawed cynical protagonist in Ruddy McCann, former football star, now Repo Man in a small town full of memorable weirdos. It's suspenseful, action-packed, romantic, and above all, truly funny. I loved it."—Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author Ruddy McCann, former college football star, has experienced a seismic drop in popularity; he is now Kalkaska, Michigan's full-time repo man and part-time bar bouncer. His best friend is his low-energy Basset hound Jake, with whom he shares a simple life of stealing cars. Simple, that is, until Ruddy starts hearing a voice in his head. The voice introduces himself as Alan Lottner, a dead realtor. Ruddy isn't sure if Alan is real, or if he's losing his mind. To complicate matters, it turns out Katie, the girl he's fallen for, is Alan's daughter. When Alan demands Ruddy find his murderers, Ruddy decides a voice in your head seeking vengeance is best ignored. When Alan also demands he clean up his act, and apartment, Ruddy tells him to back off, but where can a voice in your head go? With a sweet romance, a murder mystery, a lazy but loyal dog and a town full of cabin-fevered characters you can't help but love, New York Times bestselling novelist W. Bruce Cameron's The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man is yet another laugh-out-loud, keep-you-up-late, irresistible read. A Dog's Purpose Series #1 A Dog’s Purpose #2 A Dog’s Journey #3 A Dog's Promise (forthcoming) Books for Young Readers Ellie's Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale Bailey’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale Molly's Story: A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tale Max's Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale Toby's Story: A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tale (forthcoming) Shelby's Story: A Dog's Way Home Novel The Rudy McCann Series The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man Repo Madness Other Novels A Dog's Way Home The Dog Master The Dogs of Christmas Emory’s Gift At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Download or read book Thespian Theology written by John A. TenBrook and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stimulate audiences to see the scriptural message in a new light with these inspiring sketches based on Cycle C lectionary readings for the Lent and Easter seasons. Originally developed for presentation by a high school-age youth group, the simple, easy-to-perform scenes in this latest installment of John TenBrook's popular Thespian Theology series are an excellent tool for sharing the Gospel with unchurched people and getting them excited about Jesus Christ. Each skit is introduced by brief "Thespian Theological Thoughts" on the drama and the scripture texts. These versatile pieces can be staged as an alternative to the Sunday sermon or used for youth programs and other fellowship settings -- they're sure to enlighten audiences of all ages while leaving an indelible impression. Some of the intriguing titles include: - Dust Thou Art... Art Thou Dust? (Ash Wednesday) - Moses The Fig Tree (Lent 3) - The Spiritual Struggle Of Sidney Centurion (Passion/Palm Sunday) - "But I Wasn't There... Ya Gotta Show Me!" (Easter 2) - Let Everyone Who Is Thirsty Come (Easter 7) A graduate of Harvard University (B.A. and M.B.A.), John A. TenBrook has been addicted to the theatre ever since he appeared in Harvard's famous Hasty Pudding Show as an undergraduate. His career has included marketing and public relations positions with the Westvaco and Friendly Ice Cream corporations, and TenBrook also served as community relations director for two social service agencies in the Springfield, Massachusetts, area.
Download or read book None of My Business written by P. J. O'Rourke and published by Atlantic Monthly Press. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 New York Times–bestselling author takes on subjects from banking to bitcoin: “Another winner from an A-list humorist.” ―Booklist Sharp-witted satirist and author of Parliament of Whores P. J. O’Rourke takes on his scariest subjects yet—business, investment, finance, and the political chicanery behind them. Want to get rich overnight for free in three easy steps with no risk? Then don’t buy this book. (Actually, if you believe there’s a book that can do that, you shouldn’t buy any books because you probably can’t read.) P. J. O’Rourke’s approach to business, investment, and finance is different. He takes the risks for you in his chapter “How I Learned Economics by Watching People Try to Kill Each Other.” He proposes “A Way to Raise Taxes That We’ll All Love”—a 200% tax on celebrities. He offers a brief history of economic transitions before exploring the world of high tech innovation with a chapter on “Unnovations,” which asks, “The Internet—whose idea was it to put all the idiots on earth in touch with each other?” He misunderstands bitcoin, which seems “like a weird scam invented by strange geeks with weaponized slide rules in the high school Evil Math Club.” And finally, he offers a fanciful short story about the morning that P. J. wakes up and finds that all the world’s goods and services are free! “The funniest writer in America.” ―The Wall Street Journal
Download or read book Growing Up Laughing written by Marlo Thomas and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny is a book that only Marlo Thomas could write -- a smart and gracious, witty and confident autobiographical journey. For as long as Marlo Thomas can remember, she's lived with laughter. Born to comedy royalty--TV and nightclub star Danny Thomas--she grew up among legendary funny men, carved much of her career in comedy and, to this day, surrounds herself with people who love and live to make others laugh. In this long-awaited memoir, Thomas takes us on a funny and heartwarming adventure, from her Beverly Hills childhood, to her groundbreaking creation of That Girl and Free to Be . . . You and Me, to her rise as one of America's most beloved actress-comediennes, to her marriage to talk-show king Phil Donahue. Her youth was star-studded--Milton Berle performed magic tricks (badly) at her backyard birthday parties. George Burns, Bob Hope, Sid Caesar, Bob Newhart and other great comics passed countless hours gathered around her family's dinner table. And behind it all was the rich laughter nurtured by a close and loving family. Growing Up Laughing is not just the story of an iconic entertainer, but also the story of comedy. In a voice that is curious, generous and often gleeful, Thomas not only opens the doors on the funny in her own life, but also explores the comic roots of today's most celebrated comedians, in personal interviews with: Alan Alda, Joy Behar, Stephen Colbert, Billy Crystal, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Griffin, Jay Leno, George Lopez, Elaine May, Conan O'Brien, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Ben and Jerry Stiller, Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams and Steven Wright.
