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The book, richly illustrated by the author, is about a boy who cannot not go to sleep. He finds a bear with a toothache outside his window and lets him in. What follows is a hilarious sequence as the boy proceeds to help the bear remove the aching tooth. They raid the refrigerator and knock over a lamp that sends the father to the room to investigate. Still sleepy, Dad doesn't see the bear hiding under the bed. Finally, the bear jumps off the window ledge with a rope tied around the tooth. The scheme is a success and the bear leaves the tooth to the boy for him to keep under his pillow. What a riot.
After reading the book, we laughed aloud with Juancho who by that time was all set for his own adventure with the dentist.
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Anyone that is a Whitetail deer hunter would enjoy this book thoroughly. I could not put it down once I started reading it. I can't wait for volume two.
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(64) "The Moon in the East, the Sun in the West" has Retsudo ruminating on how he has sent all of his legitimate sons to be slaughtered by Ogami Itto. But the old man has an illegitimate son and daughter, and horrible plans for them both.
(65) "'Marohoshi' Mamesho" is another one of the fascinating characters created by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. This time around the title character is an old policeman from the capital on the verge of retirement who stumbles across Ogami Itto being commissioned for his next act of assassination. "Marohoshi" has spent his life protecting people and he is not going to let this ronin continue on the assassin's road.
(66) "Spoiling Daigoro" is an offbeat story where the family that hires Ogami Itto persuades him to let Daigoro stay with them while he goes off to do his job. They have a son who is a coward and a weakling with no friends, and the boy's father thinks that having Daigoro around might be good for Suzunosuke. Ogami Itto agrees and thinks go well for a while, but Suzunosuke soon grows tired of hearing his parents praise Daigoro day and night.
(67) "The Hojiro Yaguy" finds Retsudo's illegitimate son planning on using poison darts that can stop a charging horse to slay Lone Wolf. It looks like there is no way on earth Ogami Itto can escape, but, of course, he always has something up his sleeve. Warning: The ending of this one is unexpectedly brutual and shocking.
(68) "The Bird Catchers," is another episode where Lone Wolf and Cub are spectators for the most part as they come across a group of female falconers preserving a dying way of life. But what makes this tale of some significance, especially as the last one in this volume, is that in the eyes of his son, it seems Ogami Itto might have finally gone too far.
"The Moon in the East, the Sun in the West" is another superb collection of stories in the Lone Wolf & Cub saga. Koike and Kojima still manage to provide a new twist and turn in every volume while stringing us out as long as possible with both the short term mystery of the Yagyu letter and the long term quest of Ogami Itto to get his vengeance on the entire Yagyu clan. I read one episode a night right before bed and am almost always surprised to see what new direction each night's story might take. This has to be one of the ten greatest comic epics of all time.
(59) "Nameless, Penniless, Lifeless" is one of the most disturbing stories in the Lone Wolf and Cub saga. It begins with a woman putting on a sex show for peasants. But what is even more shocking is that the woman has lost her mind and that her husband, whose face is half scared by terrible burns, is the one who talks her into her displays. There is more here than meets the eye, as is often the case in these stories, and the way in which the truth is revealed might remind you of part of Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
(60) "Body Check" is another one of those tales in which Ogami Itto has to use his brains to put himself in a position to use his sword for his next assassination.
(61) "Shattered Stones" begins with one of the most different ways that Ogami Itto has met someone who wanted to hire him for an assassination. On top of that the rules of the assassination are quite different (again, I am reminded of a Western parallel in the novel "Sophie's Choice").
(62) "A Promise of Potatoes" is an amusing little change of pace story for this series. Daigoro is off by himself again, being beaten up by a group of kids, when he is rescued by a con artist who teaches the boy to sit by a bowl looking pitiful as a way of making money. But where there is Cub can Lone Wolf be far behind...
(63) "Wife Killer" is a wonderfully ironic title, which we learn is used to describe somebody who gives away the tricks of magicians, who are known as "hand wives." Noronji Hoya, the Princess of Magicians, who has been using a delighted Daigoro as her "assistant," is about the encounter the "wife killer," an old saki-sotted magician who travels with two thugs who extort money from magicians: pay up or have your secrets revealed. But Noronji Hoya has a better proposition: she will perform a trick and if the old man can reveal her secret she will kill herself; if not, then she will take the old man's eyes.
Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima are back to telling tales in which Ogami Itto is more often than not more of a spectator to the action in which other characters carry the stories. One of the testaments to the greatness of this manga epic is that the title character can be almost incidental to the story and it is still completely riveting. Here we are, not even halfway through this saga, and they are still coming up with new and intriguing variations on the basic themes they established early on. The fact that they can maintain this high level certainly justifies the exalted status Lone Wolf & Cub has in the international world of comics.
(55) "Talisman of Hades" finds Ogami Itto is now putting up pictures of a baby cart where once he had pasted the talismans of meifunado to invite clients of death and assassination. A group of young students on their way to an academy stumble upon the mystery of the signs and when they see the strange ronin slay a "priest" (another Yagyu assassin in disguise of course), they decide they must intervene, forcing Lone Wolf to teach them a valuable lesson.
(56) "Ailing Star" has Daigoro finding a place to stay with an old granny who lives under a rotted bridge in danger of collapse. The locals keep trying to convince the old lady to leave, but she refuses. "Ailing Star" forms an interesting counterpart to "Talisman of Hades" as Daigoro has his own little lesson to impart.
(57) "Thirteen Strings" is an 118-page story where Koike and Kojima come up with their own version of a Kurosawa film experience (the rain during the last acts of the story is a clue). When we come to end of this epic tale, surely "Thirteen Strings" will be one of the most memorable episodes. A runaway horse is about to trample a child in the road when Ogami Itto intervenes. The horsewoman turns out to be the Lady Kanae, Daughter of the Go-Jodai of Odawara Han, and a spoiled brat who fancies herself a samurai. Ogami also learns of a larger conflict between the Go-Jodai and the farmers. Drought has blighted the harvest for four years and the Go-Jodai has tightened the screws on the farmers, who "hire" Ogami to attend a meeting between the two sides (because if anything happens to Chosuke, the leader of the farmers, Lone Wolf will bring word back to the farmers). Go-Jodai has his own agenda for implementing fundamental agricultural reform. Meanwhile, his headstrong daughter seeks revenge on the ronin who has insulted her. But then the rains bring a sudden flood that changes absolutely everything. This is a memorable story of surprising depth, showing that Koike and Kojima are absolute masters of their craft.
(58) "A Poem for the Grave" has Ogami Itto seeking help in finding the secret of the Yagyu letter. This turns into another assassination job, which results in an encounter with another honorable soul who seeks to turn Lone Wolf from the Assassin's Road. The question is whether things might be different this time because of Ogami Itto's separation from Diagoro.
I am in awe of Koike and Kojima maintain this level of excellence through a story that is not even halfway over by this point in the telling of the tale. I continue to savor one story each night at bedtime so that I can think about how it fits into the big picture and the ebb and flow of the story. An absolute masterpiece, not just as a comic book, but as an epic narrative.
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I did find some of the really technical material in the middle to be a bit dull, but that may be my non-scientific mind as much as anything else. Even if it is dull, I seem to have learned it adequately!
If you are not scientifically inclined but you want to get into ham radio, this is the book you need! Persevere through the tough parts - you'll be glad you did!
I used an earlier version of this text to study for my amateur radio license (KD4TTC). Even though I studied for the Technician license I was able to pass the written portion of the test for the General license class. However, to get to know Morse code, needed for working the frequencies that will get around the whole globe, you will need to find a way to practice receiving Morse code. While this book won't teach you Morse, you will learn from the book how to go about learning it if you want to. (As an aside, I was not interested in international communications back then, so I skipped that aspect of the hobby. I will be learning Morse this year and will upgrade. There is plenty to do with amateur radio without Morse code, so don't let any disinterest or fear of Morse stop you from becomming a Ham. The book explains all this).
I have not yet come across any aspect of ham radio that was not described at least in overview in this book. I may not know details of lots of aspects of all that is ham radio, but I have not come across anything in Ham radio that I was not introduced to in this book.
You can expect that after reading this book you will be able to pass the Technician license exam, you might even be able to pass the General license written portion, you will have learned how to learn Morse, you will be able to decide what equipment you will need and where to find it, you will be able to set up your station and safely operate it, you will know correct and responsible operating procedures, and you will learn about all the different types of communications you can do so you will pick the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby for yourself.
I have given this book to friends so they can become hams. It works well for that purpose. I came here to buy a copy for yet another potential ham and found myself writing this long review. I am not really that avid of an amateur operator, but I am really enthusiastic about this book because it was such a fun and painless way to learn what I needed to know to get into ham radio.
Buy the book.
Over several weeks I carefully studied chapters 1-10, stopping to answer the questions in chapter 12 when directed. I used the book as a source to make a few notecards on operating frequencies and general electrical engineering principles. The day of the exam, I reviewed the questions in chapter 12 as a whole, and ensured I could answer each correctly.
Without a doubt, this book will prepare you for the Technician exam. If you analyze the questions asked on the exam, they are all fully covered in the text of chapters 1-10. Furthermore, the authors are master educators who present clear explanations for every concept. I found myself with a better understanding of many aspects of radio theory after reading this book, which is more important than simply passing a test!
The only aspect of the book which confused me was the discussion of Technician privileges on page 1-11. The text states "As a Technician, you can use a wide range of frequency bands -- all amateur bands above 30 MHz, in fact." On the same page, Table 1-1 shows Technician licenses provide "All amateur privileges above 50.0 MHz." Table 1-2 on the next page states "Operators with Technician class licenses and above may operate on all bands above 50 MHz." Which is correct, 30 MHz or 50 MHz?
Regardless, I give the 4th edition of "Now You're Talking!" my highest recommendation. At $19 it's a bargain, and it was my sole reference. I earned a perfect score this morning after studying this book, and I look forward to joining the amateur radio community on the air.
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When I bought it on Amazon, I thought it would be a small book with compact fonts. Infact it is a huge book with pictures of the show for each script and well indexed.
Any aspiring film makers and writers really should read this book, you get a better idea of what is funny when it comes to writing. After all, this show was a huge hit!!
Trivia: Several people in a North American university analyzed this book to find out a mathematical sum or equation for a good comedy joke.
You get the first two season's scripts (17 episodes).
The one thing that does hold it back, is the absence of any foreword or note from Jerry Seinfeld or Larry David. It is just a book of scripts!! But that's cool if you are the Seinfeld fan who just can't get enough!!
Any Seinfed fan (or student or lover of comedy) MUST own this book. My only regret is that it only gives you scripts for the first and second seasons (which, actually, many consider among the best). It shows you the solid comedic, consistently witty, and highly ironic foundations behind the cast's classic performances.
The good news: this book READS funny. Unless you just don't like reading drama/comedy in script form, you'll howl almost as much (since you are missing actual facial expressions, timing and body language) as you read these. Quite a few of these episodes were written by Seinfeld and collaborator (who how has a critically acclaimed HBO comedy series) Larry David. The many episodes include "The Jacket," "The Pony Remark," "The Deal," "The Chinese Restaurant," (one of my favorites) and "The Revenge."
According to published accounts, Seinfeld and David were absolutely adamant that there would be "no hugging" on THEIR show and that they would do the show their way or not do the show at all. They stuck to their guns. This book contains highly original sitcom comedy which holds up exceedingly well in script form. Keep the importance of solid writing in mind as you see former cast members from his show (or even Jerry himself or former cast members of other big hits) try to clone their earlier success: without a solid comedic foundation -- which is funny on paper -- all the talent in the world won't create a hit sitcom.
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"Death is here now," Rosenberg writes (p. 80). Everyone must die (p. 87). Our remaining life span is decreasing continually (p. 88). Death will come regardless of whether or not we are prepared (p. 91). Human life expectancy is uncertain (p. 93). There are many causes of death (p. 95). The human body is very fragile (p. 97). Our wealth cannot save us (p. 99). Our loved ones cannot help us (p. 101). Nor can our body help (p. 102). When viewed correctly, Rosenberg observes, these facts can become "doorways to liberation" (p. 141) that "make life more precious. They show us that every moment is a gift" (p. 97).
This book reads easily, and is filled with both interesting anecdotes and profound insights. Reading it could change your life.
G. Merritt