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See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Chic restaurants, modernist lobbies, exotic beaches, retro ski wear, stylish underwear, haute couture luxury accessories--Jordi Labanda illustrates it all in his familiar, faux-naïf, super-cool, sophisticated style. Combining the look of comic books... See more

Chic restaurants, modernist lobbies, exotic beaches, retro ski wear, stylish underwear, haute couture luxury accessories--Jordi Labanda illustrates it all in his familiar, faux-naïf, super-cool, sophisticated style. Combining the look of comic books (Archie not Superman) and little girls' picture books with a dashing retro flair, an elegant line, and a unique interpretation of commercial advertising concepts, Labanda creates seamless, mildly sexy worlds in which everything looks good enough to want and human relations sit front and center. Drawing in gouache on paper with marten-hair brushes, Labanda makes no use of computers. Hey Day is the first compilation of his work, providing a wide, gorgeous variety of the imagery he has created over the last few years. Introduction by Tyler Brule. Hardcover, 9.25 x 12.75 in. 152 pages, 150 color illustrations See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

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See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Part concert, part documentary, part travelogue, this video hit duplicates the sleeper success of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's album compilations and underscores his unique crossover appeal. In the U.S., Bocelli's critical response has been... See more

Part concert, part documentary, part travelogue, this video hit duplicates the sleeper success of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's album compilations and underscores his unique crossover appeal. In the U.S., Bocelli's critical response has been confined to fusillades of scorn from classical and opera writers, but the bulletproof superstar is better understood in the context of Europe's more established tradition of pop-classical fusions. Ironically, fans abroad are less prickly than stateside arbiters about the need for a discreet wall between high (classical) art and low (pop) kitsch, which Bocelli cheerfully ignores with his mix of operatic chestnuts, soft pop, and traditional Italian songs. Indeed, despite interview segments in which he proclaims his love of opera or proudly recalls an apprenticeship to operatic veteran Franco Corelli, Bocelli comes across as more fan than virtuoso. But if his voice can prompt technical cavils from hard-core opera buffs, the blind singer's... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

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See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

At three brief hours, La Dolce Vita, a piece of cynical, engrossing social commentary, stands as Federico Fellini's timeless masterpiece. A rich, detailed panorama of Rome's modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, the film is episodic in... See more

At three brief hours, La Dolce Vita, a piece of cynical, engrossing social commentary, stands as Federico Fellini's timeless masterpiece. A rich, detailed panorama of Rome's modern decadence and sophisticated immorality, the film is episodic in structure but held tightly in focus by the wandering protagonist through whom we witness the sordid action. Marcello Rubini (extraordinarily played by Marcello Mastroianni) is a tabloid reporter trapped in a shallow high-society existence. A man of paradoxical emotional juxtapositions (cool but tortured, sexy but impotent), he dreams about writing something important but remains seduced by the money and prestige that accompany his shallow position. He romanticizes finding true love but acts unfazed upon finding that his girlfriend has taken an overdose of sleeping pills. Instead, he engages in an ménage à trois, then frolics in a fountain with a giggling American starlet (bombshell Anita Ekberg), and in the film's unforgettably inspired finale,... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

If you're an angry Democrat, beleaguered liberal, or just a concerned citizen, this hilarious collection of political fill-in-the-blanks is the perfect opportunity for you and your friends to vent your outrage and frustration. Based on dozens of... See more

If you're an angry Democrat, beleaguered liberal, or just a concerned citizen, this hilarious collection of political fill-in-the-blanks is the perfect opportunity for you and your friends to vent your outrage and frustration. Based on dozens of actual quotations from Bush, his cronies, and political commentators, as well as news articles, speeches, and government documents, these MadLiberals allow you to have the final word on such topics as: The New Airline Safety Card, FEMA, Intelligent Design, The Terrorist Threat, How to Pick a Supreme Court Justice, and White House Announcements. See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Rat, Pig, Zebra, and Goat, the central characters of Pearls Before Swine, are back in their new book, Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic, the first Pearls Before Swine treasury-supersized for your enjoyment. But this is no ordinary cartoon... See more

Rat, Pig, Zebra, and Goat, the central characters of Pearls Before Swine, are back in their new book, Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic, the first Pearls Before Swine treasury-supersized for your enjoyment. But this is no ordinary cartoon treasury. Like the influential Beatles album that inspired the book's title, Sgt. Piggy is full of surprises. In addition to collecting in one volume all of the Pearls cartoons that appeared in BLTs Taste So Darn Good and This Little Piggy Stayed Home, cartoonist Stephan Pastis takes readers on a VIP backstage tour of one of the most successful new comic strips in newspapers today. In Sgt. Piggy, Pastis explains the genesis of Pearls (hint: it didn't begin at an artist's easel), why he was initially reluctant to show it to newspaper syndicates (and the surprising reason he changed his mind), the unexpected responses from readers to his work (oh, the letters), which Pearls strips worked and which ones didn't (and how he would have corrected... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Work's still not completely finished on Bramasole, the Tuscan house that California-based poet and bestselling author Frances Mayes bought a decade ago and has been fixing up every summer since. Nevertheless, in Bella Tuscany, she goes out--in search... See more

Work's still not completely finished on Bramasole, the Tuscan house that California-based poet and bestselling author Frances Mayes bought a decade ago and has been fixing up every summer since. Nevertheless, in Bella Tuscany, she goes out--in search of Italy and Italian life. The sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun is awash with sensual discovery, from Sicilian markets with "rainbows of shining fish on ice" to the aqueous dream of Venice "shimmering in the diluted sunlight." Wherever she is, Mayes celebrates everyday rituals, such as picking wild asparagus, "dark spears poking out of the dirt ... stalks as thin as yarn" and driving through country rains, as "the green landscape smears across the windshield" for buffalo mozzarella and demijohns of sfuso--bulk wine kept fresh with a slick of olive oil on top. Mayes also ventures into the world of the locals, some "bent as a comma" and others throwing six-hour communion feasts where half a dozen cooks in a barn continually send out heaping... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

The world is a breathtakingly big place, and in this big book we have undertaken the big task of detailing as much of it as we can - every single country, many of the larger dependencies and other, smaller destinations. With the traveler's... See more

The world is a breathtakingly big place, and in this big book we have undertaken the big task of detailing as much of it as we can - every single country, many of the larger dependencies and other, smaller destinations. With the traveler's experience at its heart, this book shows a slice of life in every corner of the globe, and all points in between, engaging the reader's senses in an adventure which conjures up the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feel of our amazing world. See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Jazz à Saint Germain is a compilation of compelling jazz standards performed in tribute to the Parisian speakeasies that flourished during the German occupation in World War II. Espousing a free-spirited highlife as well as an existential and... See more

Jazz à Saint Germain is a compilation of compelling jazz standards performed in tribute to the Parisian speakeasies that flourished during the German occupation in World War II. Espousing a free-spirited highlife as well as an existential and intellectual aesthetic, the French underground heartily embraced American jazz. Showcasing traditional styles as well as ambitious adaptations that reveal reggae, African, and even hip-hop influences, this collection is tasteful and eclectic. Angélique Kidjo's version of "Summertime" is gently evocative, as is Dee Dee Bridgewater's moving rendition of "Watermelon Man." The Jazz Passengers and Debbie Harry interpret "There Is No More Tomorrow," and French chanteuse François Hardy is joined by Iggy Pop for a version of "I'll Be Seeing You." With artists old and new, Jazz à Saint Germain is a vibrant, engaging affair. --Mitch Myers See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Frances Mayes continues her love letter to Italy in this sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany. The restoration of her home, Bramasole, is complete, but Tuscany keeps unfolding. While the earlier books chronicled her and her husband's... See more

Frances Mayes continues her love letter to Italy in this sequel to Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany. The restoration of her home, Bramasole, is complete, but Tuscany keeps unfolding. While the earlier books chronicled her and her husband's first years in Italy, this one is less full of stories than meditations on the elements of Tuscan pleasures, accompanied by photographs that give color to the place Mayes has described so lovingly and well. "What makes the people so friendly, no, not just friendly, so genuinely kind and generous?" Mayes asks an Italian friend, then turns her intense attention to answer the question herself. Her answers range from baci (kisses), an intimate expression that "keeps alive the joy we all are born with," to la piazza, the navel of Italy's intense sense of community, to a deep love affair with food and seasonal delights. (Mayes shares the latter and once again gives recipes from the traditional to the idiosyncratic while her poet-husband Edward... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

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See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Impossible to read at one sitting, but utterly unputdownable, Schott's Original Miscellany is a unique collection of fabulous trivia.What other book boasts an index that includes shoelace lengths, sign language, and the seven deadly sins; dueling... See more

Impossible to read at one sitting, but utterly unputdownable, Schott's Original Miscellany is a unique collection of fabulous trivia.What other book boasts an index that includes shoelace lengths, sign language, and the seven deadly sins; dueling and dwarves; the hair color of Miss America and the Hampton Court maze?Where else can you find, packed onto one page, the names of golf strokes, a history of the Hat Tax, cricketing dismissals, nouns of assemblage, an unofficial motto of the US Postal Service, and the flag of Guadeloupe?Where else but Schott's Original Miscellany will you stumble across John Lennon's cat, the supplier of bagpipes to the Queen, the labors of Hercules, and the brutal methods of murder encountered by Miss Marple?A book like no other, Schott's Original Miscellany is entertaining, informative, unpredictable, and utterly addictive. See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

For this companion volume to the award-winning Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid travel west from Southeast Asia to that vast landmass the colonial British called the Indian Subcontinent. It includes not just India, but extends... See more

For this companion volume to the award-winning Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid travel west from Southeast Asia to that vast landmass the colonial British called the Indian Subcontinent. It includes not just India, but extends north to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal and as far south as Sri Lanka, the island nation so devastated by the recent tsunami. For people who love food and cooking, this vast region is a source of infinite variety and eye-opening flavors. Home cooks discover the Tibetan-influenced food of Nepal, the Southeast Asian tastes of Sri Lanka, the central Asian grilled meats and clay-oven breads of the northwest frontier, the vegetarian cooking of the Hindus of southern India and of the Jain people of Gujarat. It was just twenty years ago that cooks began to understand the relationships between the multifaceted cuisines of the Mediterranean; now we can begin to do the same with the foods of the Subcontinent. See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

"A life without direction is a life without passion," says motivational specialist, therapist, and career counselor Barbara Sher. In I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was, a sort of broader, less dense, and less intimidating version of What... See more

"A life without direction is a life without passion," says motivational specialist, therapist, and career counselor Barbara Sher. In I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was, a sort of broader, less dense, and less intimidating version of What Color Is Your Parachute?, she reveals how to "recapture long lost goals, overcome the blocks that inhibit your success, decide what you want to be, and live your dreams." This is a perfect book for new college graduates or anyone sick and tired of languishing in a dead-end job or relationship--yet reluctant to make drastic life changes due to uncertainty about what would actually inspire them. I Could Do Anything combines the I'm-not-buying your-excuses inspiration of Dr. Laura Schlessinger with the soothing, analytic encouragement of Dr. Martin Seligman in his classic Learned Optimism. In other words, Sher will pick you up off your butt and get you moving. She's included enough self-analytical exercises in here to save you hundreds of... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

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See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon has done it again. Here, on his third solo recital CD, he continues to impress; in fact, he gets better and better. He is a rarity: a subtle, intelligent tenor. Even when approaching a chestnut like "Amor ti vieta,"... See more

Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon has done it again. Here, on his third solo recital CD, he continues to impress; in fact, he gets better and better. He is a rarity: a subtle, intelligent tenor. Even when approaching a chestnut like "Amor ti vieta," Villazon manages something special: he gives the aria's final note a slight crescendo and diminuendo within the space of a second or two, and it adds a surge of passion that all the yelping in the world can't compare with. Similarly, there is a remarkable, berserk smile in his voice at the start of Hoffmann's "Kleinzach" ballad which becomes all the more memorable when he enters the darker, central passage of the narrative. "Recondita armonia" begins almost as a reverie; Turiddu's Farewell has an honest aura of desperation. There is spontaneity in his singing; he brings vivid personality to each character he portrays. The "Ernani" aria is little known, and the cabaletta is particularly strenuous--an ideal showcase for a spinto tenor, rather... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Rolando Villazon's follow-up CD to his sensational debut recital of Italian arias is devoted to music by Gounod and Massenet: some as familiar as Faust's, Romeo's and Des Grieux's arias, some as rare as pieces from Gounod's Polyeucte and La Reine de... See more

Rolando Villazon's follow-up CD to his sensational debut recital of Italian arias is devoted to music by Gounod and Massenet: some as familiar as Faust's, Romeo's and Des Grieux's arias, some as rare as pieces from Gounod's Polyeucte and La Reine de Saba and Massenet's Roma and Le Mage. But almost more important than the interesting repertoire, familiar or otherwise, is Villazon's handling of the music. In Werther's passionate Act II outburst to God about suicide, which is almost never excerpted, Villazon manages, in four minutes, to create a complete character, with all his neuroses, mania, and desperation--and he caps it with a ringing high B natural which is as beautiful as it is heartfelt. He sings both of Des Grieux's arias with feeling and tenderness (aided in "Le reve" by Natalie Dessay!). An aria from La Reine de Saba turns out to bequite a showpiece, with a drop-dead high C at its close. As singing and as interpreting, this CD is a must-have. Villazon's dark-hued, expressive... See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

In a refreshingly honest investigation of the true nature of love, don Miguel Ruiz brings to light the commonly held fallacies and misplaced expectations about love that permeate most relationships. In the tradition of Carlos Castaneda, he uses... See more

In a refreshingly honest investigation of the true nature of love, don Miguel Ruiz brings to light the commonly held fallacies and misplaced expectations about love that permeate most relationships. In the tradition of Carlos Castaneda, he uses inspirational stories to impart the wisdom of three fundamental Toltec masteries (Awareness, Transformation, and Love). The themes explored include the Toltec wisdom of the heart, the track of love, and the war of control. See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal... See more

Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors. Full of grace and simple truth, this handsomely designed book makes a lovely gift for anyone making an elementary change in life, and it reads in a voice that you would expect from an indigenous shaman. The four agreements are these: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. It's the how and why one should do these things that make The Four Agreements worth reading and remembering. --P. Randall Cohan See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

Fear is the source of all of the negative agreements we've made with life. It can alienate us from the joy that is our birthright. When we are able to look at our lives without fear or judgments, we realize that reality can be whatever we want it to... See more

Fear is the source of all of the negative agreements we've made with life. It can alienate us from the joy that is our birthright. When we are able to look at our lives without fear or judgments, we realize that reality can be whatever we want it to be. Beyond Fear leads seekers of the Toltec way of freedom and joy on their spiritual journey into a state of empowerment. More expansive and in-depth than The Four Agreements, Beyond Fear contains information on life after death, prophecies about the evolution of humanity, and exercises and ceremonies to walk readers through the process of shedding fear and becoming spiritually and emotionally alive. See less

See this at: amazon.com| Added on 11/15/06

"Know thyself," a precept as old as Socrates, is still good advice. But is introspection the best path to self-knowledge? What are we trying to discover, anyway? In an eye-opening tour of the unconscious, as contemporary psychological science... See more

"Know thyself," a precept as old as Socrates, is still good advice. But is introspection the best path to self-knowledge? What are we trying to discover, anyway? In an eye-opening tour of the unconscious, as contemporary psychological science has redefined it, Timothy D. Wilson introduces us to a hidden mental world of judgments, feelings, and motives that introspection may never show us. This is not your psychoanalyst's unconscious. The adaptive unconscious that empirical psychology has revealed, and that Wilson describes, is much more than a repository of primitive drives and conflict-ridden memories. It is a set of pervasive, sophisticated mental processes that size up our worlds, set goals, and initiate action, all while we are consciously thinking about something else. If we don't know ourselves--our potentials, feelings, or motives--it is most often, Wilson tells us, because we have developed a plausible story about ourselves that is out of touch with our... See less