"Spot Illustrations from Women's Magazines of the Teens and Twenties: 828 Cuts of Women, Family, Home, Garden, etc." is a valuable historical sourcebook. The collection has been compiled and arranged by Judy M. Johnson, who also provides an introduction.

The illustrations in this book depict the hair styles, clothing, and hat styles of this era. The illustrations also depict ideal women engaging in various activities: dancing, going on a horse drawn carriage ride, cooking and doing other household chores, etc. There are pictures of wedding dresses, home exteriors and interiors, etc.

Yes, these pictures undoubtedly present a sanitized portrait of the era. But this book is an interesting visual resource which opens a window onto the social values of the years from 1910-1929.

This Dover publication is a collection of graphic art from magazines and children's literature published in the
1910's and 1920's. The cuts are in black and white and
are mainly line drawings and silhouettes. Many I can remember from my mother's childhood books that she
used to read to us as children. The illustrations were
collected by the author and her family over the years and limited permission is given for their use in graphic
and crafts applications. They would be wonderful for
use in newsletters, invitations, scrapbooks, decorative
painting, etc. Most of the illustrations are of women and
children, but there are some of men, scenery, and special occasions such as Christmas, Easter, winter, and spring. A companion book by the same author is
'Vintage Spot Illustrations of Children, 795 Cuts from the
Teens and Twenties'.

Every once in a while a classroom textbook will capture the attention and cause a student to read beyond the chapter assigned. Understanding the Film is one of those books. Its many quotes and anecdotal passages, along with its profiles of well known people in the film industry, would have me engrossed before I'd realize that what I was "supposed" to be reading was on the other end of the book.

WARNING TO STUDENTS: If you browse this book, you'll never make it to your assigned reading.

The authors, Bone and Johnson, cover every aspect of film, from the people who make movies to the people who review them to the people who go to see them. The chapters are digestible segments outlining each element of the film experience, yet overlap enough to give the whole thing unity.

As a budding filmmaker, I particularly enjoyed the profiles, which were the first person accounts of actors, directors, special effects artists, and other industry professionals. Cutting through the Hollywood mystique, which has long made the movie business seem inaccessible to us mere mortals, the profiles allow us to see that there are real people behind the hype - people with dreams and aspirations that we can identify with.

What didn't I like? Not much. The book did get off to a tedious start. In showing that film was "big business", the first chapter seemed like an endless string of statistics and figures. And, as with most textbooks, I thought it was a little pricey. I paid $35 at the university book store (I should have shopped Amazon), which is a little high for a paperback.

All said, I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in movies and the film industry.

When I prepared to introduce film appreciation to my 9th graders, I found this book a good teacher resource. It not only gives a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the film industry (history, production and editing techniques, profiles of actors, directors, producers, film reviews and studies, list of good films, etc), but also provides compellings reasons for why film should be studied in the classroom. Movies are indeed the novel of 21st century, and this book is helpful for understanding why.

I had been trying every book to increase my vocablulary until I found Word Smart. Then I purchased all the books and some of the cassetts. It is really helpful to my studyings. I rememberd 100 words in ten days and saw about 40 of them appearing in Romeo and Juliet with annotations. It is indeed a good book and I have introduced it to my good friend already.

Along with the first book, this book has the best new-word learning assistance per time spent. The only other way is to read copiously and you how much time that would take. The stories are almost fairy-tale like but I loved them. This is a must have. I bought a dozen for all my junior relatives.

Johnson really is a great writer, and he does have a wonderful imagination, but there is one thing that - in the books of his that I've read - he consistently fails to do: he can never seem to create three-dimensional characters. He either settles for grotesques, or coasts on the beauty of his images and the poetry of his writing.

While this makes for a book that is well worth reading, it also makes Angels something of an unsatisfying read. The ending seems tacked on, the scenes of death and redemption (I won't go into it any more) don't really have any emotional weight, because I never really got to know the characters; they just seemed like random drifters - the traits that they did have were more suited for a movie screenplay, where every person only needs to have one characteristic - e.g. the cowardly brother. Several scenes, in fact, seemed to come straight from the movies - the crime that goes horribly wrong, for example. Sometimes, his prose redeems these rather predictable plot developments, but sometimes it seems like I'm watching a bunch of cardboard cutouts moving across a screen. Just because Johnson writes about drifters and outcasts doesn't mean that he is exempt from having to create real human beings, and a plot that doesn't seem drearily derivative.

That being said, the man does have a way with words - there are phrases that I can still remember, several months after I read the book: the drunks who 'stared out of their faces,' for example. But I would start elsewhere if you want to read Johnson. I think his gift is better suited for fantasy (Fiskadoro) or the short story (Jesus' Son); in both these books, his inability to create original and convincing characters is less of an aesthetic flaw than in Angels, where he has to get the reader to believe his depiction of the real world for several hundred pages.

Beaten down and living for the moment, Denis Johnson's characters scrape out a wretched life of drugs and alcohol, pipe-dreams, and daydreams.

_Angels_ is a world of bus depots and scurrilous strangers, of people who can scarcely see past the haze of their cigarettes. It is a lonely world of randomness and drift. Some might say Johnson's characters aren't "3D", but that's because they're so richly flat. And when Johnson takes us into Jamie's descent into madness, it is a mind-bending trip.

Yet somehow, Johnson's writing left me exhilerated and happy. I enjoyed this book immensely and had trouble putting it down--I would rank it among the best I've read over the last five years.

The tragedy and doom that follows the characters of Johnson's first novel, as well as Johnson's gorgeous prose, make for one of the most compelling of all contemporary novels. This and Resusitation of a Hanged Man prove Johnson as a major writer with a unique literary vision. I've read this book four times, and each time found new elements to appreciate. My favorite contemporary work.

I would like to contact Michael H. Zajdel who wrote a review on this book.

Please contact me at LELawson@aol.com

I am a court reporter who is using continuous speech recognition software to produce transcripts and to do realtime reporting. I am considered to be an advanced user and have assisted and consulted many other people on speech recognition products. This book immediately became invaluable to me. "Dragon Naturally Speaking Complete" gives the reader a well-rounded understanding of the basic mechanics of state-of-the-art speech recognition products on the market, and then serves as a compass to guide them through how to best apply this technology.

I receive numerous calls and e-mails every week covering a fairly wide range of speech recognition issues. I answer those questions as best I can, but usually I feel like the person needs more information than I can give them at the time to understand the software and hardware well enough to achieve their goals. This book covers almost every aspect of speech recognition that I have had to deal with. Paid consultants might want to keep this gem under their hat, because this book will empower its readers to a very high degree. This book not only gives its reader insight to methods and techniques to rapidly build their speech recognition skills, but it also gives a very good explanation of hardware issues concerning speech recognition. The authors also have given numerous references to sites, products and newsgroups that are invaluable resources.

Before buying the book, I thought the book might turn out to be too technical in nature for many people. Those concerns were quelled after reading just the first few pages. This book is written clearly enough so that a novice to speech recognition can understand it, and then be incrementally elevated to a high level of proficiency. If some thought and common sense is applied, the reader will be elevated to an advanced level. I consider this compendium to be a speech recognition treatise, only written so we mere mortals can understand!

I have gone thru almost all the book so far and I find that is full of tips to make my speech recognition use a better experience. Yes, it is true that in some instances I would like to see more macros, but that would require a devoted book on the subject. I am a software trainer and I always find that different audiences have different expectatives and sometimes they find I have not met them. Good work and I congratulate the authors for the effort on putting so much information at hand.

So frankly, most acting books, or books that try to tell you how to "do" art make me want to hit myself over the head, repeatedly. The first half of this book is no different.

It spends a lot of time initially setting ideas up, and talking about what a great guy Del Close was (which he was, but still, it gets to be a bit much). But it all starts to pay off in the second half, when we get into the specifics of the Harold.

Harold is a form of improv unlike any that I've ever seen and participated in, and not to be glib, but it takes improv to the level of art. This book clearly sets out exactly how to perform the Harold: what the idea behind it was; how to interact with your teammates on stage; and how to put together the final product. It's no substitute for actually getting up and doing it, but it's not meant to be.

The book is straightforward, easy to read, and pretty short. Its style is that of an elaborated outline, which makes it simple to follow, as well as to check back for relevant parts when you need them in rehearsal or class.

Truth in Comedy is of course a must have for anyone taking or thinking about taking improv classes. For everyone else, it's a quick read that might make you think differently about improv as an art form. Also, it's pretty funny. Yeah, that too.

...

This book is primarily dedicated to "The Harold," the standard of long-form improv. It's a difficult form to master, but one that can impress, entertain, and even touch both audience and actors profoundly on stage. There is a shortage of quick, easy games in this book. Even those that are detailed exist to help build on the Harold. This book is really meant for those who are ready to graduate to the next level of improv.

Many people don't like the Harold, but all long-form comedy improv, at some level, uses some variant of the Harold. If this isn't what you want, spend your time and money finding out more about Paul Sills' Story Theater (which is, of course, not covered in this book). Be warned, though, Story Theater often isn't funny, and appeals more to art afficianadoes than "WLiiA" fans, and isn't as renumerative.

Most of the book is given over to an explanation, not of performance standards or guidelines, but of the philosophy underlying improv in general, and the Harold in particular. If that's not what you want, go get another book. The standards in this book, moreover, are really intended for larger groups. The four-player format of "WLiiA" would be unable to keep up with a full Harold. Be sure you have enough actors ready to do the next big thing before you sink your money into this book.

This isn't a beginner's text for amateurs, it's for those who have a committment to creating improvisational art. If that's you, this is your book. If not, you're in a bad way spending money on this puppy. Know yourself and your team before you invest your earnings on this slim volume.

Truth in Comedy starts off with a rather immodest amount of name dropping and self congratulating, but after those first few chapters, things take off.
The book is intended to be a rough guide to teaching and performing "Harold," the signature improvisation form of the Improv Olympic theater in Chicago. While the text focuses heavily on the structure of the form, it also holds page after page of advice and tools for any improviser or actor. The lessons in agreement, trust (in yourself and others), and teamwork can be used in any improv form (shortform or longform). And it definitely can teach us actors a thing or two about performing a scripted show.
One of my few complaints about the book is it lacks concreteness. The author alludes to the phenomenon of group mind, the beauty of connections, and the wonder of "finding Harold." Despite giving examples, the reader is left with a "you had to be there" feeling, which, unfortunately, I don't think there's a way around. Harold is very much a "you had to be there" experience for both audience and performer. It's difficult to capture in words and in print the joy of seeing a spontaneous occurrence that takes both the performer and audience by complete surprise. I've found myself frequently recounting shows I've seen to uninterested or confused expressions, while the night before I was doubled over in laughter.
So, to sum it all up, if you're interested in learning Harold (especially if you're a student at the Improv Olympic) or picking up some very useful improv tools, give this book a gander. And if you have an old copy lying around, take another look. It's rare that I open this without finding something to inspire me or pull me out of an improv rut.

As the greatest - not to mention most important, in every sense of the word - songwriter of the 20th century, Bob Dylan has, unsurprisingly, inspired a legion of devoted fans. Although every major artist has their share of obsessives and fanatics, the ones who follow Dylan have far surpassed mere "groupie" or "hard-core" status: they reside in a legendary status - even mythological. Some of these, branded "Dylanologists", have achieved a level of notoriety compared in a small way with the artist himself. Many fans know of the famous (or infamous) "Garbologist", A. J. Weberman, who even went so far as searching through the dumpsters outside Bob's house for his baby's soiled diapers - allegedly looking for clues to obscure lyrics, and even conjuring up a paranoid fantasy conspiracy that the government was out to get Dylan for raising sentiment against the Vietnam War, and that Dylan knew it, and alluded to it, through subtle messages in his songs. Bob Dylan's history is filled with many other such characters and ancedotes. Perhaps it comes as no surprise, then, that Dylan is a very mysterious character, and known for his ambivalence towards fans. Securing a personal meeting with Dylan is a difficult thing to do, and those fans who do manage it are held in a kind of revered awe by the faithful. This book is a record of such encounters. There are many books available on Dylan (certainly more serious and scholarly works than on any other rock musician), but this is just about the only one where the air of pretentious intellectual refinement is removed, and you hear it straight from the mouth of the ones who really matter: the fans. These are the fans personal reminisces of meeting Dylan, or otherwise coming close in some way. These are the normal, everyday fans - people like you and me (although there are certainly a few obsessives - such as the man who keeps a "Dylan shrine" in his house), although there are a handful of semi-famous names in here as well. The accounts range from revelatory (people being personally invited backstage by Dylan, a record store employee purporting not to know who he is, a man who retrieves Dylan's stolen cap); to hilarous (a fan who meets Dylan in a cafe and asks him a strange question, a meeting between Dylan and a fan in an alley before a concert), to just plain boring and inane. You are hearing these recollections as told straight from the fans - granted, then, the prose is often crude, and some stories are better than others. This, then, is a book you'll want if you're looking for personal, often funny, sometimes touching stories from the fans themselves - rather than pseudo-intellectual exposition from so-called "rock scholars." I would not rate this as an essential Dylan book: rather I reccommend it if you are a fan and want a slightly more personal and unique book about Dylan than you normally find.

Let's face it: Bob can be a jerk to his fans. But then again, it's got to be hell being accosted by obsessive fans everywhere you go. If you've read some of the Dylan biographies out there you have an idea of Dylan's life and work. This book gives you a glimpse into what it's like to be a Dylan fan. Some of the accounts are more engaging than others and some don't even involve meeting Dylan at all. I wish they'd left those out... Anyway, this is interesting but very brief. You can read the whole thing in a day and I think there are just as many stories out there (for free) on the internet at the many Dylan sites.

Ms. Johnson has done a wonderful job in illustrating the fanatic nature of Dylan's fans combined with the reclusive nature of their hero. As the lights have burned ever brightly on Dylan in the latter stages of his career, Bob has increasingly receded into the shadows, content to let his son Jabob bask in the spotlight for the family. This book, though, shows the connection that Dylan's fans still feel towards him, whether they have met him or just been touched by him in some small way. I especially enjoyed the story of the young man who had Dylan autograph his tattoo of Bob's likeness.

Whether you are a Dylan fanatic or just a reader who enjoys touching anecdotes, this book is for you. It is refreshing to see that not every entertainment star has forgotten that it is the fans that make or break your career. Buy the book. You'll love it.

Metaphor is usually seen as an aspect of words, a linguistic trick we use to increase the effect of our words. Lakoff sets out to show that metaphors are a fundamental part of our thought processes whenever we try to think abstractly. His book does not provide a rigorous scientific proof, but it does present a lot of evidence in favor of the thesis. However, a full treatment of the issue would take a much thicker and less readable book than this one.

Lakoff gives examples from life for various metaphors, for example, TIME IS MONEY (or TIME IS A VALUABLE COMMODITY), and shows how we use these metaphors in our everyday thoughts and actions ("Spending time", "wasting time", "saving time", etc). He shows how many different ideas can be expressed with simlar metaphors, ie HAPPINESS IS UP / SADNESS IS DOWN, HEALTH IS UP / SICKNESS IS DOWN, and so on.

Lakoff sets forth his case clearly and coherently, and with some of his examples, quite entertainingly. If you want some insight into how we think, buy this book.

If we talk about relationships we might say: "She was in the driver's seat" but we "reached a fork in the road" and now we're "on the rocks" and we may "go our separate ways." Lakoff and Johnson point out that each of these expression uses some version of a metaphor that "Love is a Journey" -- where the journey may be by boat, by car, or walking. Metaphors like these are not special poetic creations, but are part of the day to day way we talk and think about relationships. In the same way, prices "go up", people "get close", the future is "down the road" and cognitive scientists "defend" their "positions." Metaphors like these are not simply a playful use of words. They are part of the way that we think.

This is some of Lakoff and Johnson's fascinating description of the pervasive role of metaphor in human cognition. To this reader, it has all the hallmarks of a great scientific discovery: it is original, profound, simple, and obviously true. For this reason alone, the book deserves five stars.

However, the book fails to give it's marvelous subject the treatment it deserves. The writing, while clear and full of common sense, is often uneven. The organization is lopsided -- much of the book is devoted to attacking straw men and and hand waving attempts to expand their discovery into some kind of murky philosphical revolution. This is confusing, easy to criticize, and a waste of time. Worst of all, they blunt the greatest weapon of any truly great idea: its simplicity. If Lakoff and Johnson really want to start a revolution they should take a lesson from the master: Darwin. His Origin of Species presented only the things he could prove: his evidence and his discovery. Lakoff and Johnson would have included a critique of the Bible.

If we talk about relationships we might say: "She was in the driver's seat" but we "reached a fork in the road" and now we're "on the rocks" and we may "go our separate ways." Lakoff and Johnson point out that each of these expression uses some version of a metaphor that "Love is a Journey" -- where the journey may be by boat, by car, or walking. Metaphors like these are not special poetic creations, but are part of the day to day way we talk and think about relationships. In the same way, prices "go up", people "get close", the future is "down the road" and cognitive scientists "defend" their "positions." Metaphors like these are not simply a playful use of words. They are part of the way that we think.

This is some of Lakoff and Johnson's fascinating description of the pervasive role of metaphor in human cognition. To this reader, it has all the hallmarks of a great scientific discovery: it is original, profound, simple, and obviously true. For this reason alone, the book deserves five stars.

However, the book fails to give it's marvelous subject the treatment it deserves. The writing, while clear and full of common sense, is often uneven. The organization is lopsided -- much of the book is devoted to attacking straw men and and hand waving attempts to expand their discovery into some kind of murky philosphical revolution. This is confusing, easy to criticize, and a waste of time. Worst of all, they blunt the greatest weapon of any truly great idea: its simplicity.

If Lakoff and Johnson really want to start a revolution they should take a lesson from the master: Darwin. His Origin of Species presented only the things he could prove: his evidence and his discovery. Lakoff and Johnson would have included a critique of the Bible.

This book should be a follow up of Demura first book. This book still covers basics, which it does well. I would recommend this as a basic or intermediate book.

Photographs are illustrative and techniques are clearly described. Not a tutorial, rather a presentation of 20-30 useful techniques that can be blended into your own program as needed. I felt I got my moneys worth and would recommend this book to a friend.

The Advanced Nunchaku book by Fumio Demura and Dan Ivan has inspired me and respected myself.The information and pictures are excellent for advanced and people who are better then beginners.This book has a lot of solid information and is well written with perfectly easy to follow steps.Have fun!

Johnson has a very unusual, yet helpful way of explaining how we have come to our current level of human computer interaction. This book uses each of it's chapters to weave a perspective based in historical information as well as analogies and technical expertise. Johnson's skillful combination of the three elements paints a picture of understanding that turns on light bulbs for the reader.

Johnson's discussion of links as they relate to the internet and Dicken's favorite phrase "Links of association" allows the reader to understand why we are thrilled with the simplistic idea of linking. Then just as the reader is shaking their head yes, he expands the reader's mind to where the next phase of "linking" could/should go.

Another interesting discussion surrounds the need for more "pull" technology as Johnson feels this is what "...compelling interface design is about" (p.191)

While the book would be on the recommend list. It is important to note that as with many books about design, it sounds good in theory and it's ideas are ones to be sought after on a daily basis. Yet there is little "how to" in this book. In the end many may feel the need for some reality checks with regards to real feasability.

Johnson's book, Interface Culture, is about the growing culture of the interface, the way we interact with the world around us. It is based on the nearly invisible premise that we interface with much of the world, and have been for most of our time on this planet. I found this immediately intriguing because some f the hardest things to observe are the interfaces that we sue to connect and interact with the world. Johnson frames his discussion of interface with the elements of computer interface; the desktop, windows, links, text, and agents, all common to those people coming from a computer literate society.

Where Johnson really shines (and I admit a personal bias for the topic) is in his discussion about hypertext and the poor job that silicon valley has done in really pushing it to the limits of it possibility. He presents a picture of an industry that continues to try to bring television to the web (real video, real audio, flash) all attempts to bring movement and animation to a naturally solid state-dynamic environment. The real power of the web is in the link, in the ability of authors and users to "create their own story" - to navigate through the content as they wish, not necessarily how the author intended. Johnson uses Dicken's stories as examples of thinking that incorporates the sense of disparate ideas - all connected into one story - the kind of thinking that Johnson thinks needs to be used to harness the power of the link.

Johnson also takes time to explore the differences between "surfing the web" and "channel surfing", arguing that the two are fundamentally different. He argues that the passive, almost lazy activity of channel surfing actually works against our ability to conceive of the web differently. People who have this mentality will not be able to clearly see other possibilities for the web.

Johnson spends quite some time bitterly complaining about the lack of real innovation in hypertext environments, and in the end suggests that his own online magazine "FEED" is at the forefront of hypertext theory, pushing the limits of use. I was less impressed that I though I would be. Johnson is so very eloquent and keenly aware of the need to use hypertext as storytelling environment, to really push out lazy use of it, and to exploit the full potential of this tool. I feel that Johnson fails to acheive the goal that he so clearly lays out in his book. While FEED does use hypertext in new ways, it didn't strike me as particularly clean. By this I mean that the *interface* was clogged with too many links, the user while given many options was not given any clear or clean sense of direction. Burrowing into the site, the linking grew in scope and complexity, but instead of making my interaction more pleasant, I found I was more confused, and really had to try to find order. Perhaps this is just a natural reflexive response to the new use of a familiar thing, but I didn't to stay at FEED. I can see what FEED is trying to do, and I agree with the goal - to provide a dynamic interactive hypertext environment... but the interface was too hard to use. From a design perspective it is always easier to add a bunch of bells and whistles, the hard part is to take away everything that distracts from the message, that interferes with the usability. It seems like the producers of feed became excited about the possibilities of hyperlinking and no one ever stopped to ask when was a good time to stop. While all links are relevant to the content, the sheer volume of linking distracts the user - taking away from their ability to smoothly interact with the environment.

"The interface came into the world under the cloak of efficiency," Johnson writes, "and now it is emerging - chrysalis-style - as a genuine art form." Perhaps, although this approach slights the primary role of the interface as a means of making information more accessible. It also makes for some strained analogies, such as the likening of hypertext links between documents to the recognition of long-lost acquaintances in the novels of Charles Dickens. It does, however, provide an unusual take on the subject, and perhaps a better read than a more conventional route.

Johnson is not surprised or disappointed with the failure of highly spatial and literal interfaces -- Magic Cap's office and city, Apple e-World's town square, Microsoft Bob's living room. He says a computer interface should provide a perspective that isn't possible in the analog world. It's a good point for a cultural critic, but there's not much analysis of why these spatial metaphors don't work well as tools for managing information.

Johnson digs a little bit deeper into the value of spatial interfaces for mediating communication. Zeroing in on "shared experience" as the measure of success for an online community, he concludes that "there is more shared wisdom in a single thread on The Well than there is in a hundred Palace gatherings or 3-D chats."

Johnson acknowledges that he is "concerned more with imaginative breakthroughs than with box-office successes". Yet it's still a little surprising that Yahoo!, a text-based window on the World Wide Web, goes without mention. Perhaps the wildly successful brainchild of Stanford University students doesn't lend itself easily to haute culture analogies.