SIZZLING! MYSTERIOUS!
Wow!! A great novel, and one that I'll read over and over again! Dee Lloyd knows how to blend romance with mystery for the perfect balance in the perfect book! Sara and Mike are a sexy, smart couple...And the secondary characters are great too! I can't wait to read all of Dee Lloyd's books!

This morning in front of a warm fire on the first day of 2003 while rain pelted down outside, I read this book from cover to cover. Professor Geering has given us a page-turner as he step-by-step builds his case for why Christianity must take leave of God in order to be suitable for the global age we are entering. With just enough explanation for the average lay person he describes the progression from the belief in a personal, all-powerful God to the need for humans to take leave of that God so they can take full responsibility for their lives. In showing how Christianity has been changing through the ages to arrive at this point, Geering references many theologians. One I would especially like to read more about is Ludwig Feuerbach who is quoted as saying, "The real essence of Christianity.. is not that Jesus became God but that God became human."

This is the last of a three volume series on great doctrines, which deals with doctrines of the church and eschatology, there are 23 chapters each of which covers a lecture.

On doctrines of the church he deals with the following topics: the Church, the marks and government of the church, the sacraments, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.

On eschatology he deals with a wide range of subjects:

Death and immortality
Conditional immortality or a second chance?
The Second Coming - a general introduction.
The time of his coming - the signs.
God's plan for the Jews
The antichrist
The interpretation of Dan 9:24-27
Daniel 9 concluded and the secret rapture
The book of Revelation - introduction
The preterist and futurist views
The spiritual historicist view
The suffering and safety of the redeemed
The trumpets
The final judgement
The premillennial view
Post-millennialism and the spiritual view
The resurrection of the body
The final destiny.

This book would suite someone who is already familiar with the doctors writing or someone who has a special interest in eschatology, especially in Revelation, which has eight of the twenty-three chapters devoted to it. In many of the chapters on eschatology he is dealing with sensitive and controversial issues and I found it interesting and intriguing to read the doctor's views on these matters when he wrote in the 1950's. I would suggest that his careful interpretation of these difficult scriptures is well worth reading in our more sensationalist times today.

The first thing a book about color in the garden ought to have is big pictures and lots of 'em. This book is positively unstinting: full page and even double page wonders (muzzle yourself; although the paper quality seems good, it would be a pity to sully the pages with drooling).

The seldom-under-opinionated Christopher Lloyd provides text as colorful as the photos, so brace for throwaway remarks about mundane dahlia leaves and not being snobby about dandelion flowers. There is a reassuring coziness, too, as Lloyd reviews his delights and prejudices about gardening in general and on his own expansive plot.

Here's a Christopher Lloyd lecture and slide show to peruse at your leisure. Just like such events, the book is thoroughly informative and completely entertaining.

When I think of watercolor, my mind wanders to the past where we were in art class trying to paint a still life. What a pity my teacher didn't have this book around. For some reason, I was always allowed to leave art class and go to the library where they felt I could be more useful. I guess I've been recently trying to "renew" my interest in drawing and painting.

There are just so many expenses when it comes to "art" projects. So, watercolor is a nice way to get your feet wet again.

Some great hints:

1. Stretching Watercolor Paper
2. Toning Paper - Gives your art a nice color background
3. How to use a sponge to soften details.
4. Letting each layer dry before building up the colors.
5. Expert Color Mixing Techniques.
6. How to Frame your art.

You will also learn interesting things about paintings of the past. How they mixed in egg yolk to make the pigment a stronger medium. Giovanna Garzoni's Still Life with a Bowl of Cherries looks tempting or you could just start by making a sketch of apples and cherries and coloring them in.

The "Gallery" sections feature works by artist like Philip O'Reilly, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, June Berry, Sue Sareen, Winslow Homer, Philip Fraser and Paul Cezanne.

Contents:

Materials: Pain brushes, Brushmarks, Other Marks, Gallery of Brushstrokes, Paper, Stretching and Toning, Gallery of Paper.

Techniques: Ways of working, capturing an Image, Composition, Drawing, Laying a Wash, Washes, Gallery of Washes, Tone and Color, Building up Layers, Sponging Out, Scratching Out, Resist Techniques, Using Gouache, Gallery of Techniques.

Color: The Language of Color, Color Mixing, Gallery of Limited Color, Warm and Cool Color, Complementary Color, Gallery of Complementaries, Color Influence, Exploring Composition, Harmonious Color, Gallery of composition, High-key Color, High-key Still Life, Low-key Color, Low-key Interior, Gallery of Light, Warm Summer Light, Cool Autumn Light, Gallery of Atmosphere, Expressive Color, Portrait Study, Color and Pattern, Pattern in Landscape, Gallery of Pattern and Shape, Abstract Color, Gallery of Abstracts.

Landscapes: Getting Started, Venturing Outside, Monochrome Study, Monochrome Gallery, Receding Color, Limited Color, Effective complementaries, Gallery of Trees, color Unity, Gallery of Light, Creating Atmosphere, Skies Gallery, Sketching Buildings, Painting the City, Gallery of Buildings, Sketching Water, Painting Water, Sketching Figures, Toward Abstraction, Abstract Landscape, Abstract Gallery.

Still Life: Introduction, Gallery of Colorists, Making Sketches, The Working Studio, Creating a Composition, Selection vs Inspiration, Seashore, gallery of composition, Light and Form, Tonal Painting, Creating Form and Tone, Negative Space, Gallery of Perception, Transparent Painting, Opaque Painting, Gallery of Paint Types, Day and Night, Special Effects, Gallery of Effects, Presenting Your work.

This is really a comprehensive introduction to Watercolor painting. All you need to get started is a small watercolor box, water, a couple of brushes and a pad of paper. If you follow the basic guidelines, you can achieve a surprising degree of expertise in a relatively short time.

Highly Recommended.

The book introduces the student to the sometimes difficult ideas of contemporary thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida, Habermas and so forth. Organised thematically and covering topics such as 'power', 'language', 'culture', 'the body' and 'the subject' the book is comprehensive yet always readable and informative. It is certainly essential reading for students looking to orient themselves in the study of contemporary social and political theory. I found it a very helpful introduction to the area and have used it a lot for essays I have had to write. Although I have only had the book for a few weeks it is already almost falling apart due to over-use. It made the things my professors have been teaching me much more clear than I ever thought they would be. I highly recommend it to students everywhere.

This book covers many topics related to the traditional English cottage garden without alienating the modern gardener. There are a great many color photographs which include overall garden shots and pictures of individual traditional cottage garden favorites, many of which are easily available in the U.S. There are also many color drawings with various cottage garden designs (aerial views) including the traditional cottage garden with primarily vegetables, a garden with fruits and vegetables and flowers, and flowers only and flowers and vines.

The book is well organized and is both charming and useful. If you are very visual you won't be disappointed with the combination of pictures and drawings.

The end of the book contains information on what garden tasks can and should be completed during the four seasons, and how to accomplish them, including a brief section on pruning. There is also a section included in this part of the book which gives traditional recipes and ideas about how to use the bounty from your garden, including dandelion wine, and mead. This book is a good read and there is plenty to return to again and again.

Whether Lloyd's poems are good depends upon the reader. Robert Rimmer loved them enough to write a forward. The International Library of Poetry thought enough of them to publish a sample poem in "The Best Poems and Poets of 2001" (ISBN 0-7951-5174-8) that will be out April of 2002. You can visit his website, ... and find examples for free, or purchase Gran'Pa (ISBN 0-595-19560-1)at a lower price than this book, and read some fine examples.
Daemonic Poetry contains poems this author has penned over the course of his lifetime, which deal with a variety of subjects such as rebellious feelings against religious dogma, the state of mankind in a technocratic society, witchcraft, reincarnation, love, sex, demons, family life, romance, work, and more. Most of the poems are lengthy, a few are only one or two lines. Most have something to say, whether or not any of us would find them agreeable. Many people will find his ideas unsettling.
The allure of Lloyd's poetry led me into marriage with him; his wit and expressiveness about the depths of both our feelings has, over time, shared insights into the nature of our love relationship that have taught us both how to communicate without placing blame. It would be well worth the price of this book just to learn that.

Serious satire, like any serious literature, causes us to re-examine our own way of looking things. Satire is a twisted vision, twisted in such a way that it forces us to see the deeper meaning in things and to make us ask questions about ourselves. The Dead are Dancing is a shinning example. Like Voltaire's Candide, The Dead are Dancing is wonderfully entertaining, utterly absorbing, and disturbingly violent. The image of America in The Dead are Dancing is shocking, all the more so because it will gradually dawn on you as you read it that what William Lloyd Roller, beneath the delightful strangness of his narrative, has uncovered is the sordid and ugly truth of our recent history. And with a visionary's clarity, he warns of an even more ugly and sordid future yet to come.

This presentation was the first to focus on Wright's decorative art, rather than his usual architectural achievements, and was originally published as a catalog to accompany a major exhibition. Over 200 drawings and photos provide a fine survey of Wright's decorative designs, while chapters discuss his work in various mediums. Recommended for collection which already have books on Wright's architectural works, but who seek a well-rounded portrait of the artist.