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As a native Mississippian myself, I firmly believe that Joe Lee's witty tale tells more about the inside working of political power and the personal stakes involved in playing the game. Beyond layers of deception surrounding his heroic female lead, Joe Lee uncovers an unfettered human response to career women, love-hate relationships, fright and flight.
Indeed, On the Record is a keeper, and Joe Lee is a writer the publishing industry should keep up with.
This book carries the mystery to its final pages and the success or failure of the main character's efforts remains in doubt right up to the end.
I highly recommend this book and am anxiously awaiting the next!
"I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color."
Malcolm X.
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On the other hand, the book never adequately distinguishes the various understandings of what "postmodernism" is. There are several discrete views of postmodernism, and they are not all compatible. At least four of these views are discussed by Powell: (1)postmodernism is viewed by some as a recent global-cultural condition in which different societies confront one another; (2)postmodernism is understood by some as a technological condition brought on by new electronic and mass media technologies; (3)postmodern architecture, as a response to modern architecture, attempts to recover the human element of architecture, and to make it meaningful rather than just functional; and (4)postmodern art, as a response to modern art, varies from aimless free-play to a rejection of the very idea of representation. One can see how some of the thinkers discussed by Powell overlap these categories. For example, Lyotard blends views (1) and (2), while Jencks blends views (1)and (3). And one can imagine other possibilities. For example, one could be a postmodern -- i.e. anti-modern -- architect, without being a postmodernist in senses (1), (2) or (4).
Lastly, and most problematic, is that Friedrich Nietzsche is discussed as a modernist rather than the postmodernist who started most of all this. Powell's reading of Nietzsche has some merit, but I disagree. When Nietzsche proclaimed the "Death of God", he rejected all modernist commitments to other-worldy realities. This left the "void" which Powell discusses. And Nietzsche did attempt to fill in the void. But he did not do so by positing a new "essence of humanity" or "eternal value", as some of the modern artists after Nietzsche tried to do (pg. 13). What Nietzsche put in place of modernism was the view that reality is lived experience, and that reality is largely the product of human invention. One's "essence" is what one makes of one's self. This is what Nietzsche meant by the idea of a Superman. It is the vision of a post-modern human being who decides his/her own fate.
Nietzsche's critique of modernism, then, is a fifth distinct position: (5) some view postmodernism as a philosophical rejection or skepticism of all metaphysical systems. This is what Lyotard means when discussing the loss of "metanarratives". It is what drives Derrida's program of "deconstruction". And it is the post-Nietzschean "void" which frames the work of many postmodern artists. Indeed, philosophical postmodernism informs most of the thinkers discussed by Powell. In the end, postmodernism can be understood in philosophical, global-cultural, or technological terms. (Postmodern art/architecture is art/architecture motivated by one or several of the above concerns.) And again, the various thinkers summarized in "Postmodernism for Beginners" are responding to one or more of these distinct understandings of postmodernism.
But Powell borrows Postmodernism from the ivory tower and makes it fun. Written in a lively "Q & A" dialogue style, Powell's book allows you to see, feel and think about our world the way the Postmodernist theorists have written about it. Talking about everything from T.S. Eliot to Beavis and Butt-Head, from college catalogues to MTV, Powell shows how almost everything in front of us evinces the postmodern condition.
Postmodernism is also easy to understand, the way Powell places it in historical context. He casts it as a way to understand the breakdown of the grandiose cultural schemes envisioned by the thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries. God and Reason were going to conquer the world and make it safe for ... God and Reason. This did not happen. Instead, the last fifty years have brought us closer to minicultures and multicultures. This cultural flux has been spread by modern freeways, air travel, bookstore chains, movies, and MTV. Powell takes you through the reactions by thinkers such as Jean-Francois Lyotard, Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, Charles Jencks, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and David Harvey. He discusses art, architecture, the printed word, spirituality, TV and the Internet. With kindly democratic spirit, Powell sees Postmodernism as against the marginalization of anyone, and as embracing of the diversity of the world we live in.
Joe Lee's funny and irreverent illustrations carry forth Powell's well written presentation. The artwork includes cartoon characters, crusty philosophers, classical artwork, and the odd schematic diagram. Reading this book is like a friendly fireside chat with a well-informed friend. I immediately went off to look for Powell's DERRIDA FOR BEGINNERS.
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Running, cardio, weights, isometrics, nutrition, circut training, etc, etc, etc. There are numerous interviews with friends and students of Bruce Lee, and descriptions of the methods he used to train them and himself. I found the circut training he did to prepare for Enter The Dragon very intersting. There is an interesting appendix in the book that tells how the author, with the help of Ted Wong recovered Bruce Lee's Marcy exercise machine and another appendix giving all of Bruce's measurements. The best thing I took away from the book was the extreme importance of all aspects of physical fitness when it comes to defending yourself.
As a downside there is definitely alot of repeated material in the book. For example a description of the bench press is probably in there 10 different times.
First and foremost I would like to point out that the book is a tremendously interesting read. If you are a fan of Bruce Lee, a martial artist, or any athlete, this book can be a great asset in allowing you to express your body to it's fullest.
However, if you are buying this book expecting to uncover some extraordinary training methods, you are in for a disappointment. The book was created in order to honor Bruce, as well as giving people an idea as to what he did in order to achieve his impressive physique.
The exercises presented in the book are the basic ones- bench presses, pull-ups, squats- basically the type of exercises you find in any book. However, this book throws in small tricks to maximize the effect of each workout, allowing you to increase the intensity dramatically. In addition to weight training, the book discusses Isometrics, PHA, and aerobic workouts which Bruce experimented with, as well as some basic stretching routines. The author also tosses in some training routines for martial artists/kick boxers. Some boxers might benefit from some punching combinations presented here. The book also gives an analysis of how the Dragon ate.
The is book gives a rich backround as to how, and why, Bruce got into weight training. If you are a fan of Bruce, this information alone is worth the book. Even if your knowledge of Bruce is limited, this book should be an interesting read.
Conclusion: very informative history of Bruce's training. Revolutionary ideas for weight lifting? No. This book was created as a testament to Bruce Lee's ingenuity, intuitive nature, and legacy. As such, the author does not go into the flaws of training in this fashion- the most obvious being the high risk of overtraining. Unless you are genetically gifted, you will most certainly overtrain from following this book to the letter. My suggestion: use it as a resource to weight lifting, not as a Bible. Using it in conjunction with more modern books (personal favorite: Power Factor Training) will enable you to reach your genetic potential in both strength and tone.
I think this book is definately a great addition to anyones home fitness library. But remember this book is geared toward making your muscles funtional not nessecarily look good if you want that you would definately be better off buying another book.
This volume contains the first eleven issues of Daredevil with art by Bill Everett and Wally Wood, too of the more stylistic artists working in the Marvel Bullpen way back when. They probably did the odd number of 11 issues in this volume because 10-11 is a two-parter (unfortunately they stopped short of #12 and the first appearance of Ka-Zar). There are appearance by Spider-Man and the Thing in the first two issues for those who are crossover conscious. In these first eleven issues DD takes on Electro (#2), the Owl (#3), the Purple Man (#4), the Fellowship of Fear (#6), the Sub-Mariner (#7), and Stilt Man (#8). In the first six issues DD wears his yellow outfit before putting on the red suit in issue #7. Marvel needs to get on the stick and start issuing the next volumes in this series.