Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music, and Psychology

Book Description

"The first thing to realize about the study of color in our time is its uncanny ability to evade all attempts to systematically codify it," writes Charles A. Riley in this series of interconnected essays on the uses and meanings of color.

Customer Reviews:

A Chromatic Feast.......2000-05-22

This excellently researched, enlightening book by Riley offers a useful overview of chromatic developments in a number of fields (the person who called this book "cream puffs" misses the point completely). The book offers numerous examples of innovations and commentary on various artists (pictorial and literary) and their colorific tendencies. Connections to theory--from Derrida to Barthes--accompany many of the book's observations. As there is little serious critical work on color, Riley's book offers a useful stepping stone to further research. I would strongly suggest this work to anyone interested in color theory and approach. Riley is a lucid, engaging writer who has made a major contribution to color theory.

Disappointing.......1998-10-17

Reading this book was like being served up a meal of cream puffs -- impressive at first glance, but ultimately unsatisfying due to lack of substance. Like many books that attempt to present the reader with a cafeteria-style synopsis of a subject (a bit of this, a bit of that...) this work is a disappointingly superficial survey of a most difficult and elusive subject. I think John Ruskin said it best: "A great many people do not know green from red; and such kind of persons are apt to feel it their duty to write scientific treatises on color, edifying to the art-world..."

An original, ambitious book about the idea of color.......1997-04-09

Color Codes by Charles A. Riley II is an extraordinary example of inter-disciplinary thought, examining the fascinating topic of color through short essays on Modern and contemporary artists, architects, poets, novelists, psychologists, philosophers, composers and musical performers. Much of the most lively material in the book comes from direct encounters with artists in their studios and interviews. A passionate, ambitious book on a wonderful subject. Claudine Napoli

Average customer rating:

What a Jackpot!

Judy Murrah's Jacket Jackpot
Judy Murrah
Manufacturer: Martingale and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Jacket Jazz Encore: Six More Great Looks...over 30 Patchwork Techniques

Jazz It Up: 101 Stitching & Embellishing Techniques

More Jazz from Judy Murrah: New Shapes & Great Ideas for Wonderful Wearable Art

Art to Wear With Asian Flair

In the Studio with Judy Murrah

ASIN: 1564774996

Book Description

Get whimsical with this pair of wearables from the bestselling Jacket Jazz series of books! Take a fresh look at two wildly popular patterns, updated in today's fun fabrics and colors.

• Create long or short versions of Judy Murrah's dazzling jacket and vest designs

• Discover easy techniques for piecing, couching, beading, gathering, and embellishing

• Construct each garment with step-by-step directions, color illustrations, and pullout patterns

Customer Reviews:

What a Jackpot!.......2005-07-24

The pattern inside is easy to make fit on the most difficult body type. I like the ease of the instructions and the pattern were not difficult to follow.

D Axtell

Book Description

Li Mu Bai achieves a new kung fu level and gains enormous power. He and Yu Shu Lien lead the royal army to strike back and defeat the foreign invaders. Li finds out that Jade Fox, who tried to kill him before, may be working for Governor Yu's family. This battle makes Li and Yu very famous and everybody knows the invaders will not come again!

Average customer rating:

Great Gag Gift
If only I could give a zero
Beautiful artwork and an interesting story
Top of the list of best movie-based graphic novels.
Beautiful.. Delicate worký

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Vol. 1
Wang Du Lu , and Andy Seto
Manufacturer: ComicsOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Adventure & Thrillers | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1588999998

Book Description

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a beautiful story filled to the brim with fast paced action, well-developed characters, trials of loyalty, deception, ambition and intrigue. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Ancient China, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon takes the reader on an exciting allegory of epic proportions. Rejoin warriors Shu Lien and the legendary Li Mu Bai as they fight the love they feel for each other as well as many highly skilled and elaborate kung fu masters.

Customer Reviews:

Great Gag Gift.......2004-08-16

If you have friend who's a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fanatic, manga/comic book lover, this would be a great gag gift. Page after page of hilariously bad dialogue. Spitting out horrible line after horrible line. The drawing isn't the greatest either. the characters have huge foreheads and bodies sometimes out of proportion. If nothing else, the only redeeming quality about this horrible exploitation of a movie franchise, is the main male character proclaims something along the lines of: 'She is sixteen, She is Perfect!'

If only I could give a zero.......2004-08-14

The translation was melodramatic at best. The cultural note stating that an ancient chinese coin was worth about $1.40 was painful. My question was: "Is that in Ancient American Dollars?"
The artwork was good, but could not compensate for the piss poor narration and atrocious dialogue. I did not find the action to be particularly imaginative.

Beautiful artwork and an interesting story.......2003-01-12

Contrary to what most people seem to think, this comic is not based on the movie of the same name. The movie was based on the fourth in a series of five novels by Wang Du Lu. The comic begins with by adapting book three and, if I've heard correctly, will adapt all the way through book five.
Anyway, the comic itself is definitely a sight to behold. There is so much detail and the art is so fluid and the colors are so vivid it just demands a second read to take everything in. The story is very interesting, beginning with two thieves attempting to steal the Green Destiny (a sword with great power) which of course results in some truly beautiful fight sequences. The pacing is perfect. It never seems rushed or too slow. Once you sit down and start reading, you won't stop until it's finished. And that leads me to my only complaint: it's too short, especially for the price. Though it is a very entertaining read and the production values seem to be pretty high (it is in full color) the story itself is only about 80 pages long, and those 80 pages go by really fast. I finished it in only about 20 minutes, maybe less.
Overall, an excellent and entertaining graphic novel. I'm highy anticipating the next volume.

Top of the list of best movie-based graphic novels........2003-01-02

This is a stunning example of Andy Soto's dedication to both his art and the material. The result is profound, inspiring and a delight to read.

Mr. Soto excels under the pressure from meeting the Author's wife to research the book. This dynamic approach to interpreting the material provides a fresh story. Soto's illustrations create an intricate level of character design and rendering.

This is only book one. I greatly anticipate book two, but worry that this isn't being marketed to the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon movie fans.

Beautiful.. Delicate worký.......2002-12-27

Beautiful.. Delicate work...

In what I hope is going to be a long run of books, Andy Seto takes Wang Du Lu's classic martial arts series "The Iron/Crane Pentalogy" and transfers them into some beautiful Chinese manga.

If you ever wondered what happened before and after the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" this will be the series to watch.

Up until now Wang Du Lu's books have never been translated into English. Seto does an excellent job with the translation and captures the look, romance and spirit of the film with his outstanding delicate art.

This is a MUST buy for anyone who loved Crouching Tiger and would like to know more about the characters and story.

Book Description

The adventures of Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien in ancient China may be cut short, as the battle continues and more is learned about the legendary sword known as the Green Destiny.

Customer Reviews:

Romantic.......2005-07-05

I just LOVED reading about Jen Yu and Dark Cloud! It's great when they had a duel and fell in love. Compared to the part about them, the stuff about Yu Shen, Mu Bai, and all the other characters were boring. I highly recommend this book, except when Jen Yu and Dark Cloud are in the cave...ew. But anyway, it's a cool book with beautiful illustrations.

crouching tiger hidden dragon #5.......2004-11-25

This book was totally cool. I loved it when the book got to show Jen Yu as a girl and show her as an adult. I loved the drawings which are SO detailed. But I didn't really like the ending where this bandit wanted a match with Jen Yu because I wanted to read more!

Book Description

Here's a pot-pourri of stimulating reading....for moments when nothing but the most absorbing material will do! No more frantic searches at the last minute for that perfect magazine article. No agonizing choices between light reading and the serious stuff. This little volume has it all: Entertainment, humor, education, trivia, science, history, pop culture....and more! And it's even divided by length-you can spend a minute with the Quickies, relax with Normal-Length articles, or really get comfortable with Long Items.With Uncle John's Bathroom Reader strategically placed in your home, you'll settle in happily and read about:The origin of common words and phrasesThe 7 wonders of the ancient worldThe origin of Ronald Elvis's letter to Richard NixonThe curse of King TutWorld-class winners amp; losersFamous piratesAnd a host of great bathroom topics

Customer Reviews:

Just Brilliant!.......2004-03-30

This is a sensational collection of interesting facts and is easily in the top of the pool of this kind of books. I had no idea that the Swastika was originally considered a good luck symbol before the Nazi Party adopted it, beginning in the Hindu world representing the sun's daily path across the sky. Learning about the origins and battles between Coca Cola and Pepsi was fascinating reading. Greyhound Bus's origins as a car dealership driving patrons between towns when it was quiet and the origins orf Ronald McDonald was also great literature.

Strange Lawsuits is another great chapter amongst many in this sensational read. I really loved the text across the bottom with funny and interesting facts as well. If you want an interesting research book of strange, bizarre, funny and interesting information then this is the book for you. There are a lot of publishers and authors writing this kind of thing but this book is easily among the best.

A keister-numbing read!.......2004-01-16

While I was on the pot at a friend's house, I picked this up off the toilet tank and gave it a read to while the time away whilst waiting for my, er, relief to culminate. Twenty minutes later I was still keepin' my bud's throne warm as I kept flipping through all the various pieces of fascinating information, little-known historical figures, famous quotes, the origins of certain English-language expressions, and a highly eclectic range of other subjects and themes contained within this tome. I loved how the book's array of subjects and themes were randomly arranged in short, easily digestible (so to speak) chapters that ran no further than four pages in length. If one of the chapters held little interest to me, I'd simply flip forward a page or two and go on to the next piece. Adding to the fun were the little quotes and factoids printed on the bottom margin of each page! Needless to say, thanks to the Bathroom Reader I kinda overstayed my welcome on my friend's can, prompting him to check up on me to see what the holdup (so to speak) was. After my egress from the water closet, I explained my procrastination and he let me borrow the book to keep handy during john breaks at my pad...

Although I found myself unable to put down this particular volume in the series, having been printed in 1991 it's a sure bet that more than a few of the factoids and figures contained within it aren't quite as factual or as up-to-date as they used to be. Also, there are more than a few incredible little-known historical bits that made me think to myself, "How do they know for sure that that was how it really happened?" `Course, being the skeptical type, I'm always questioning just about every historical account that pops up, no matter how well-documented it is. But, that's me...

`Late

Keeps you on the throne much longer than normal........1999-08-16

Keeps you on the throne much longer than normal. Padded seat required. Not recommended for single bathroom house holds. Laughter gives additional power to grunts.

Well worth it.......1999-03-10

Lots of facts and lots of fun. This book is impossible to put down

Average customer rating:

Uncle John's Fourth Bathroom Reader
Bathroom Reader's Institute Staff
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT1JE8

Book Description

In the first coprehensive introduction to the nature and development of ethnographic film, Peter Loizos reviews fifty of the most important films made between 1955 and 1985. Going beyond programmatic statements, he analyzes the films themselves, identifying and discussing their contributions to ethnographic documentation.

Loizos begins by reviewing works of John Marshall and Timothy Asch in the 1950s and moves through those of Jean Rouch, Robert Gardner, and many more recent filmmakers. He reveals a steady course of innovations along four dimensions: production technology, subject matter, strategies of argument, and ethnographic authentication. His analyses of individual films address questions of realism, authenticity, genre, authorial and subjective voice, and representation of the films' creators as well as their subjects.

Innovation in Ethnographic Film, as a systematic and iluminating review of developments in ethnographic film, will be an important resource for the growing number of anthropologists and other scholars who use such films as tools for research and teaching.

Innovation in Ethnographic Film: From Innocence to Self-Consciousness, 1955-1985

Average customer rating:

Innovation in Ethnographic Film: From Innocence to Self-Consciousness, 1955-1985
Peter Loizos
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPXI7I

Customer Reviews:

A must-have for students of 15th century Italian Dance.......2006-08-17

There are two volumes by Smith:
Vol. I Treatises and Music (ISBN 0-945163-25-4)
Vol. II Choreographic Descriptions with Concordances of Variants (ISBN 0-945193-57-2)

If you are looking for the step descriptions, you want Vol. II. Amazon can be confusing because they do not indicate in the title which volume your are buying. Use the ISBN numbers.

Volume II is filled with tables for each of the dances, comparing side-by-side, in single lines of text, versions of a dance from the different treatises. Smith also includes an English translation of each dance, but it is a mixture of the versions.

There are 301 dances listed in the Index. There are also several dances from a 16th century German source in the back.

Vol I has the transcribed texts, italian on one page, english on the facing page. The treatises have much more than dance steps, including the theory of dance and some descriptions of celebrations.

Average customer rating:

A swing and a miss...

Profound and entertaining

Enjoyable and unhelpful

Instructive despite writing style and format framework

THE book on chess psychology and self-improvement

The Seven Deadly Chess Sins
Jonathan Rowson
Manufacturer: Gambit Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chess | Board Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Chess for Zebras: Thinking Differently about Black and White

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Mastering the Chess Openings: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Modern Chess Openings, Volume 2

Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master

How to Calculate Chess Tactics

ASIN: 1901983366

Book Description

Everyone loses chess games occasionally, but all too often we lose a game due to moves that, deep down, we knew were flawed. Why do we commit these chess-board sins? Are they the result of general misconceptions about chess and how it should be played better? In this thought-provoking and entertaining book, Jonathan Rowson investigates, in his inimitable style, the main reasons why chess-players sometimes go horribly astray. He focuses on several underlying psychological pitfalls: Thinking (unneceessary or erroneous); Blinking (missing opportunities; lack of resolution); Wanting (too much concern with the result of the game); Materialism (lack of attention to non-material factors); Egoism (insufficient awareness of the opponent and his ideas); Perfectionism (running short of time; trying too hard); and Looseness ("losing the plot"; drifting; poor concentration). A great book for readers interested in understanding why they sometimes make the mistakes that frustrate their efforts at winning!

Customer Reviews:

A swing and a miss..........2006-03-26

True to the title, the author attempts to classify chess errors into 7 categories (see the above Book Description for a listing of the categories). Each category receives a separate chapter, in which he tries to define the deadly sin, give examples from high-level play, and suggest ways to avoid it. As far as that goes, some of this material is worthwhile. However there is much else in each chapter - and that unfortunately points to some of the books failings.

Rowson's writing style is, to put it mildly, undisciplined. What could be said in a one or two coherent sentences he usually prefers to inflate into several rambling paragraphs. On page 111, for example, he invites the reader to "suppose you enjoy lasagne and eat it every day. Let's say you're also a gangster film fanatic who spends all his time watching gangster movies. Then one night...." This goes on for an astounding 52 lines. After this train wreck of an analogy, we return, limping, to the intended subject - the relative values of the chess pieces (!). On page 39, he cannot resist telling about a certain game of his with GM Hodgson, which would perfectly illustrate the very point he is wrestling with - only he cannot remember the position. At times he seems to be aware of the reader's anguish. On page 19: "I must confess at the outset that clarity is not [this chapter's] defining feature." From the brief closing epilogue: "I ask the reader to take the occasional inconsistency or apparent incoherence lightly." We should expect the author to take consistency and coherence more seriously.

So much for style; what about content? When his attention is confined to a specific chess position and specific lines of analysis, along with the reported thoughts of the player(s), there is much that is interesting, perhaps illuminating. I enjoyed, for example, reading about Speelman first selecting a move based on emotion or intuition, and only afterwards trying to use hard calculation to rationalize it. Rowson gets into deep trouble, however, when he wanders away from his field of expertise. This happens unfortunately too often: we are dragged into his dubious speculations into psychology, mathematical logic, relativity theory, quantum mechanics, philosophy, Zen Buddhism, and their supposed connection with chess. I speak with authority when I tell you that Einstein's E=mc^2 has nothing to do with chess, and neither does Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Any "striking parallels" evaporate at any technically meaningful level. Likewise, a game theorist will tell you that it is mathematically invalid to attach some kind of "trend aspect" to the evaluation of a position (page 83). All these meanderings only seem profound - if you don't know what you're talking about. Again, Rowson seems to have anticipated the reader's discomfort and admits (on page 82): "But what good is this? I hear you ask...I'm not actually sure how useful these ruminations are for your chess." Indeed. The most serious trouble comes in Chapter 1 ("Thinking"), when Rowson makes the wholesale suggestion that players should put more trust in their intuition (in their move selection process), and goes on to say that intuition can enhanced by the exercise of "talking to your pieces." With advice such as that, Rowson hardly earned my confidence - and there were six more chapters to go. Look, intuitive powers (in chess, as in any other field of human endeavor) are developed from years of deliberate practice (in this case, thinking) - there are no shortcuts. For most of us, there should be more thinking rather than less.

In summary, then, there is useful material directly related to chess positions and their analysis. As for the rest of it, Rowson simply bit off more than he can chew.

Readers seeking a chess improvement book along similar lines (i.e., thought process and conduct of the game) would be better served by Davies, "The Chess Player's Battle Manual;" Nunn, "Secrets of Practical Chess;" and Buckley, "Practical Chess Analysis."

Profound and entertaining.......2005-12-26

Not surprisingly, there are some mixed reviews about this book. It is clearly written for more serious players - you can truly appreciate it after you've "been there" a few times. Reading through it is a revelation. It's not a "how to" manual - yet it makes you reconsider certain aspects of the game and , hopefully, identify new ways to improve. I can't wait to read Rowson's next book, Chess for Zebras, which also sounds like a must.

Enjoyable and unhelpful.......2005-05-31

I agree with the other reviewer who commented this book was a good read but wouldn't improve their chess. I feel the same. I am a relatively newer, but serious chess player. Books like The Amateur's Mind by Silman were many times over more helpful to my playing. Rowson's book is more like...chess entertainment. The majority of the book is annotated grandmaster games, intertwined with quotes from famous philosophers. I like this book, it just isn't helpful to my game. When it boils down and I am in the middle of a real game, I am thinking back to Silman's book for ideas, never Rowson's - his book is just too abstract for me.

Instructive despite writing style and format framework.......2002-11-24

This book needed an editor.

The author sat down and attempted to write a book based on 7 different psychological aspects of the game. He successfully did so. Previous attempts on the subject (I am thinking of Krogius' book) were awfully dry. This book is anything but. In fact, the overarching theme of his book (the 7 deadly sins) lends itself, in the author's hands, to exposition rambling to the point of discursiveness. In short, this author occasionally goes off of "chess topics", which seems like heresy to some people.

His self-annotations of his games are brutually honest and illustrate the points about the sins that he wishes to make. They alone are worth the price of this book

But I sense that the author was in a fog as he wrote this book ("I must write the chess equivalent of physics "Theory of Everything", I can almost imagine him saying to himself), at times semi-blindly reaching to make his points, and using a barrage of words as a shield to duck behind.

He makes many good points, and if the prose in the book had been tightened a bit at points, this would be an excellent book.

I loved this book, but focused on the negative aspects of it to better inform the potential buyer. If you are willing to occasionally wade through the author's verbiage, this is an excellent book that covers a vastly under-explored area of chess literature.

THE book on chess psychology and self-improvement.......2002-11-11

GM Jonathan Rowson is, in my opinion, the best chess author at present. The creative insight he has to chess psychology can hardly be matched by anyone who has written on the subject before him. And his literary talent is enormous.

This book is essential reading for a chess coach. If you are a relatively strong player and your own trainer, you will do well to read it too.

But there are few quick fixes to be found on the pages. You need to be able to take a deep look inside your own thinking processes during playing, if you want to improve your chess with this book.

As a physical object, this book is very pleasant to hold and to read. The pages are large and full of content.

Book Description

Learn the new rules of real estate marketing!

Old rule: Your website is all about you.
New rule: Your website is all about the customer.

Old rule: Online advertising will surpass offline advertising.
New rule: Integrated offline and online advertising wins every time.

Old rule: Delivering leads is the only job for a website.
New rule: The best websites deliver leads and customer service.

These are just some of the new rules of online marketing that you'll find in this helpful, hands-on guide. In the REAL ESTATE RAINMAKER® Guide to Online Marketing, Dan Gooder Richard offers new solutions and proven ways to use the Internet to drive your real estate business. Whether you're a novice or a veteran real estate pro, you'll find all the cutting-edge online strategies you need to design and implement your own effective, profitable marketing strategy-with practical guidance on building a unique online brand with web domains, websites, and e-mail marketing strategies. Full of real-world examples and straightforward guidelines, the REAL ESTATE RAINMAKER® Guide to Online Marketing will help you generate more leads and more business than you ever thought possible!

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Resource.......2007-08-01

This book is very simple for IT guys, But It will be interesting for those IT Experts who are new in Real Estate Online Business.

It covers from A-Z, with details and researches, full of examples and ideas.

There are too much examples and ideas that you will not be able to use all.

I recommend this book to IT Experts who are working in Real Estate Industry, New Real Estate Agents and Brokers, Real Estate Agents who are going to update thier websites (If they had one before ! ), and YOU.

A Complete "How To" for online real estate.......2007-06-27

This information will help the new and "not so new" agent understand the principles of working in an online world. From email to web presence, branding to building a business one can sell in the future, this book is replete with tips, tricks, links and insight from some leading real estate trainers and agents. Presented in a clear, easy to follow fashion you can use right now, this is a must read for anyone interested in the "new rules" of real estate.

The best e-marketing book yet!.......2007-04-20

As a VRA I am always loking for the best ways to market my clients to the Real Estate community. This book has it all when it comes to marketing Real Estate online. It has given me my e-marketing strategies, web site ideas and ways to market Realtors to the online community. It is an A+ in my book.

Great view of technology in real estate.......2007-04-20

As the world of real estate has become more automated, it's clear that online marketing is an integral part of that world. From personal experience, I have observed that the majority of real estate agents don't have a clue about websites or online strategies. This book covers from the basics all the way down to the nuts & bolts needed to effectively reach the internet generation of consumers. I highly recommend this book for any agent interested in learning what it takes to compete in the new reality of real estate.

basic info.......2007-03-08

If you are an agent and have been doing online marketing this probably won't be a big help. If you are just getting going it makes for a good read and has some helpful info.

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