Release date: February 8, 2013 "There is really no better indicator you're a mother than acquiring the ability to catch throw-up in a plastic bag, disinfect your hands, and immediately ask your friend to pass the beef jerky as you put on another Taylor Swift song and act as if nothing has happened."
This is the type of insight Melanie Shankle offers in this quirky memoir of motherhood.
Written in the familiar, stream-of-consciousness style of her blog, Big Mama, Sparkly Green Earrings is a heartwarming and hilarious look at motherhood from someone who is still trying to figure it all out. Filled with personal stories—from the decision to become a mother to the heartbreak of miscarriage and ultimately, to the joy of raising a baby and living to tell about it—Sparkly Green Earrings will make you feel like you're sitting across the table from your best friend. A must-read for anyone who's ever had a child or even thought about it.
A colorful and eloquent look at Churchill, with fascinating new insights into the food he ate, the Champagne he loved, and the important guests he charmed. This delectable volume is a sumptuous and intellectual treat. A friend once said of Churchill: "He is a man of simple tastes; he is quite easily satisfied with the best of everything."?But dinners for Churchill were about more than good food, excellent champagnes and Havana cigars."Everything" included the opportunity to use the dinner table both as a stage on which to display his brilliant conversational talents, and an intimate setting in which to glean gossip and diplomatic insights and to argue for the many policies he espoused over a long life.?In this riveting, informative and entertaining book, Stelzer draws on previously untapped material, diaries of guests, and a wide variety of other sources to tell of some of the key dinners at which Churchill presided before, during and after World War II.
During the Gilded Age, which saw the dawn of America's enduring culture wars,?Robert Green Ingersoll was known as "the Great Agnostic." The nation's most famous orator,?he raised his voice on behalf of? Enlightenment reason, secularism, and the separation of church and state with a vigor unmatched since America's revolutionary generation. When he died in 1899,?even his religious enemies acknowledged that he might have aspired to the U.S. presidency had he been willing to mask his opposition to religion. To the question that retains its controversial power today—was the United States founded as a Christian nation?—Ingersoll answered an emphatic no.
In this provocative biography, Susan Jacoby, the author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, restores Ingersoll to his rightful place in an American intellectual tradition extending from Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine to the current generation of? "new atheists." Jacoby illuminates the ways in which America's often-denigrated and forgotten secular history encompasses issues, ranging from women's rights to evolution, as potent and divisive today as they were in Ingersoll's time. Ingersoll emerges in this portrait?as one of the indispensable public figures who keep an alternative version of history alive. He devoted his life to that greatest secular idea of all—liberty of conscience belonging? to the religious and nonreligious alike.
Product Details
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press (January 8, 2013)
Release date: December 19, 2012 Four days before Christmas 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a 21-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly, a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber's tail—a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber in the squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy imagination and later be called the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II.?This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that day—the American—2nd Lieutenant Charlie Brown, a former farm boy from West Virginia who came to captain a B-17—and the German—2nd Lieutenant Franz Stigler, a former airline pilot from Bavaria who sought to avoid fighting in World War II.?A Higher Call follows both Charlie and Franz's harrowing missions. Charlie would face takeoffs in English fog over the flaming wreckage of his buddies' planes, flak bursts so close they would light his cockpit, and packs of enemy fighters that would circle his plane like sharks. Franz would face sandstorms in the desert, a crash alone at sea, and the spectacle of 1,000 bombers each with eleven guns, waiting for his attack.?Ultimately, Charlie and Franz would stare across the frozen skies at one another. What happened between them, the American 8th Air Force would later classify as "top secret." It was an act that Franz could never mention or else face a firing squad. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search for one another, a last mission that could change their lives forever.?
Publication Date: January 8, 2013 The iPad has changed the platform and scope of digital art worldwide. With this versatile tablet, anyone can create fine art or enhance their photos in the field. And now this indispensable book, die-cut to resemble an iPad, teaches you how. Through practical illustrated tutorials, artist Dani Jones guides users of all levels through the leading art apps, giving you everything you need to make the most of the iPad to develop your unique artistic vision, creativity, and style.
Mastering Camera Exposure: How to Capture Better Photography for Beginners by Learning the Basics (Including Tips and Tricks)
One of the major problems photographers face is not knowing how to properly expose a photo.
Often, a photographer will go out into the field, snap a few photos and be disappointed with the results. Sometimes the photos turn out darker than intended, while others turn out too bright. It seems to be just pure luck that any photos ever come out with the correct exposure, but even if they do some can still use a little tweaking to be "perfect." The trick to fixing these problems is by understanding exposure.
What many new photographers don't know is that there are certain things that you must think about in regards to the exposure of a photograph before you ever take it. In fact, several concepts and camera settings must be mastered before you can even think about creating a properly exposed image. We'll teach you these things in this book.
Finally, A Book that Teaches How to Capture Better Photography for Beginners and Intermediates!
Exposure is the most fundamental aspect of photography that one must learn in order to capture great photographs. Our intention with this book is to take the mystery out of how to capture beautifully exposed images that are never too dark or too bright, but are always spot on! By the end, you'll know how to expose any image correctly each an every time, before you even touch the shutter button!
Digital photography basics, tips and tricks you'll learn include:
- What is exposure - How exposure is controlled - What affect exposure has on an image - How to capture a "correct" exposure each and every time - How to eliminate overexposed and underexposed images before ever taking a picture - How to purposefully overexpose or underexpose an image for creative effect - The definition of aperture, shutter speed and ISO and how each affects the outcome of a photograph - How the internal camera exposure meter works and the power it has over an image - An outline of the various light metering options your camera provides - Tips and tricks on how to properly meter any scene - How manual mode can be used to capture better photographs - What semi-automatic modes are, such as aperture priority (Av) and shutter priority (Tv), and how each can be used to help you take better exposures - Important things you must take into consideration when adjusting exposure - and much more!
If you're just beginning photography or have been shooting for a while and want to know how to take beautifully exposed images, then this book is perfect for you! Grab your copy today and start learning the fundamentals of camera exposure and it can be used to capture better photography.
Publication Date: January 8, 2013 | ISBN-10: 1285428331 | ISBN-13: 978-1285428338 | Edition: 1 Are you looking for a sure, complete guide to your new Nikon D600? If so, David Busch's Nikon D600 Guide to Digital SLR Photography is the perfect companion for you. The Nikon D600 is the long-anticipated follow-up to Nikon's D700 full-frame (FX) model and features a generous 24 megapixels of resolution and advanced HD video features. This book will help you explore the world of digital photography, flex your creativity, and get the most out of your D600. With clear how-to steps and full-color illustrations, David Busch's Nikon D600 Guide to Digital SLR Photography covers all the features of this powerful camera in depth, from taking your first photos through advanced details of setup, exposure, lenses, lighting, and more, and relates each feature to specific photographic techniques and situations. With David Busch as your mentor, you'll be in full creative control, whether you're shooting on the job, as an advanced hobbyist, or are just out for fun. Start building your knowledge, creativity, and confidence with the Nikon D600 today.
From her family farm in Kentucky, artist Jeanne Filler Scott spends her days joyfully surrounded by pets, barnyard animals and wildlife. In this book, she shares her love of animals and her easy techniques for capturing their beauty and charm in acrylics, oils and pencil.
50 paint-along projects--complete with reference photos, color lists and illustrated step-by-step directions.
Simple methods for realistic results.
A wide range of subjects ranging from pets and farm animals to wildlife and exotics.
Tips for achieving convincing fur textures, lifelike expressions and a variety of natural settings.
A tremendous value for artists of every age and skill level, this big collection features the best instruction on a menagerie of subjects for your creative enjoyment--from loveable dogs, proud felines and cute bunnies to magnificent stallions and regal peacocks.
With the help of this book, you can turn inspiration from your favorite animals into rewarding artwork.
Publication Date: December 19, 2012 | Series: Brush With Watercolours
Focusing on the essential subject that all watercolor landscape painters need to master—trees—this guide provides everything from simple techniques for creating quick impressions of tress with minimal brush strokes to more specific trees such as cypresses and palms, and finishes with fully developed paintings of trees. The book features 11 step-by-step demonstrations for painting a variety of trees in all seasons, with plenty of expert advice on individual parts of the tree—including trunks, branches, foliage, and blossoms—for a stunningly realistic end result. Artist Terry Harrison demonstrates the techniques in detail using his own line of brushes, carefully explaining the specific function of each brush, and providing a detailed list of other necessary or helpful materials with special focus on a limited palette of paint colors. This easy-to-follow guide allows artists to build skills gradually, using simple instructions and photographs of each step that make painting realistic trees achievable for artists of all skill levels.
"Paint what you feel, not just what you see, and you'll begin to see the world in a different light."
What if ...instead of waiting for the "big idea," you begin painting by dropping beautiful color onto your paper and seeing where it takes you? ...you paint with a leaf (or a sponge, or a string) instead of a brush? ...you start painting not on a blank sheet, but over an abstract acrylic background?
Exploring Watercolor is a book full of fresh perspectives, open doors, and creativity-expanding "what-ifs" to help take your work to the next level. Discover new ways to get expressive with color...ideas for using nature's patterns to inspire enticing designs...how to expand your repertoire and unleash your creativity by experimenting with freeform collages, found imagery, and other innovative techniques.
Inside you'll find:
22 open-ended, step-by-step demonstrations designed so you can do them over and over again, using various combinations of colors, papers, and techniques for a different result every time.
9 exercises illustrating expressive ways to put paint to paper.
A fun and inspiring sampler of texture-making techniques--including print methods, resists, sprinkling, spattering, stencils, and "paper torture"--for paintings that sing with vitality.
Wherever you are as an artist, this hands-on guide will help you master the watercolor medium, develop your individual style, and move beyond a literal rendering of your subject matter to a more meaningful and memorable interpretation that expresses your unique vision. So let go of your self-imposed limits, play with different ways of painting, and--above all--paint with passion and joy!
Publication Date: April 2, 2013 Ernest E. Clark's classic botanical handbook receives a handsome twenty-first-century update by the former president of the Society of Botanical Artists. Now extensively revised, this stunning volume showcases more than 60 favorite flowers and plants, each illustrated with detailed botanical drawings and a painting, along with background on technique and composition. It's a fantastic reference for artists seeking both a guide to accurate botanical drawing and an inspiration for their own work.?Plants include: Anemone???? Ash Tree??? Buttercup???? Daisy???? Dandelion?? Dahlia???? Gladiolus???? Holly???? Ivy??? Lily??? Mistletoe???? Oak???? Rose??? and many more!?
Release date: March 12, 2013 Born in New York in 1929, William Klein is one of the leading photographers of the postwar era, as well as an influential filmmaker, painter, and graphic artist. This astonishing book, selected and designed by Klein himself, offers a visual survey of his long and varied career. It includes his poetic street photography of New York, Moscow, Rome, Tokyo, and Paris; his exciting fashion photography; stills and posters from his bitingly satirical films; and his graphically powerful painted contact sheets. Klein, whose achievement puts him on a level with Robert Frank, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn, lives in Paris and is revered in Europe. This is the first comprehensive book on his work published in the United States in 20 years.
Publication Date: January 31, 2013Engagement Party chronicles a four-year program at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, presenting new projects by Southern California-based artist collectives and collaborators working in the field of social practice. The Museum's aim was to challenge the convention of the museum as a collecting institution by providing a platform for the creation of socially based works, and Engagement Party is the first museum catalogue to explicitly address the issue of social practice. The catalogue includes documentation of 32 performances by CamLab, Finishing School, Liz Glynn, Ryan Heffington and the Eastsiders, Knifeandfork, The League of Imaginary Scientists, The Los Angeles Urban Rangers, Lucky Dragons, My Barbarian, Neighborhood Public Radio, OJO and Slanguage, among others.
Release date: March 19, 2013 For anyone who has nurtured the dream of having a country house in the English style, celebrated designer Nicholas Haslam has created an inspiring series of exquisite yet relaxed interiors that blend traditional comfort with elegance and a passion for collecting art and antiques. Nicholas Haslam's delightful "Folly de Grandeur" is a unique country house that many in the interior design community consider to be one of the world's most inspiring and picturesque places. The interiors and grounds represent a tasteful yet relaxed vision for a country house in the English style. Haslam restored and nurtured the house and garden, and today it is the epitome of relaxed yet comfortable good taste and refinement. Haslam explains the intricacies and delights of carefully mismatched antique and vintage furniture, a color palette of subtle, warming, welcoming tones, and a collection of art and objects that is nothing short of inspirational. The wealth of muted colors and visual interest makes each room feel larger, and this handsome, inspiring volume will appeal to anyone interested in interior design and the art of living beautifully, comfortably—and well.
Release date: April 9, 2013Ronda Rice Carman, founder of the popular lifestyle blog All the Best, takes readers on a guided tour through the houses of renowned designers, who share their thoughts on gracious living and how they bring their professional philosophies home.?Designers at Home: Personal Reflections on Stylish Living presents the personal living spaces of fifty distinctive design leaders, including Charlotte Moss,?Celerie Kemble,?Ashley Hicks, Barry Dixon, India Hicks, Vicente Wolf, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Kevin Sharkey, Suzanne Rheinstein, Rose Tarlow, Jay Jeffers, Michelle Nussbaumer, Jan Showers, Alex Papachristidis, Madeline Stuart,?Matthew Patrick Smyth,?Colette van den Thillart, Malcolm James Kutner, Ken Fulk,?Scot Meacham Wood,?Bunny Williams and more. These select dwellings range from chic apartments and luxurious estates, to charming country homes.? From the homey historic English hunting lodge of Nicky Haslam and the glamorous Beverly Hills home of Hutton Wilkinson to the serene Sag Harbor retreat of Steven Gambrel, each page is filled with inspiring design, entertaining ideas, and imagery that invites readers to explore the idiosyncrasies of design while infusing their own homes with individuality and flair.?The book's conversational tone and practical tips from these experts provide a referential approach to creating a highly personal place. From favorite sheets and pillows, how to create impromptu dinner parties, to the decorative details that bring a room to life, each designer's meaningful advice will inspire one to thoughtfully consider their own distinctive home.
Includes more than 300 full color images
Features ideas and advice on?design, entertaining,?decorative?details, and more
Offers a glimpse into the personal living spaces of fifty distinctive designers
Publication Date: January 31, 2013 Childhood fantasy meets grown-up savoir faire The idea of climbing a tree for shelter, or just to see the earth from another perspective, is surely as old as humanity. Tree houses are chronicled in ancient civilizations and their lore crosses through the history of every part of the world where trees grow. This stunningly-illustrated study offers a tour of the best tree houses in the world, some designed by architects, others the work of unknown craftsmen. A teahouse, a restaurant, a hotel, a?playhouse for children, or a perch from which to contemplate life—the tree house can take as many forms as the imagination can offer. In times of concern for sustainability and ecological responsibility, the tree house may also be the ultimate symbol of life in symbiosis with nature. Whether rustic or contemporary in style, tree houses make the most of space. Climb into this trove of tree houses and enjoy a new perspective on the world.
50 tree houses from around the world
Covers all different styles, from romantic to modern
Every house is depicted in several photos as well as one illustration?by artist Patrick Hruby from Los Angeles (who?also created the book's cover artwork)
