Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context

Book Description

In recent years, the popularity and availability of Japanese films in the West—including but not limited to those belonging to the animation and horror genres—have resulted in new, more diverse audiences for some of the most critically acclaimed and thoroughly entertaining films ever made. Reading a Japanese Film, written by a pioneer of Japanese film studies in the United States, provides many of these viewers with the necessary tools to construct a deeper understanding of Japanese cinema. In her introduction, Keiko McDonald presents a historical overview for those with little or no knowledge of Japanese cinema and outlines a unified approach to film analysis. Sixteen "readings" of films currently available on DVD with English subtitles put theory into practice as she considers a wide range of work, from familiar classics by Yasujiro Ozu (Floating Weeds), Kenji Mizoguchi (Sisters of Gion), and Akira Kurosawa (Drunken Angel), to the films of a younger generation of directors, including Hirokazu Koreeda's Maboroshi, Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return, and Naomi Kawase's Suzaku. Specific genres are also represented. Shiro Toyoda's melodramatic The Mistress adapts a work of Japanese literature. Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba is a horror film with socio-political overtones. My Neighbor Totoro is a beloved anime by Oscar-winner Hayao Miyazaki. The Japanese commitment to period film is examined via Hiroshi Inagaki's classic Musashi trilogy. Suitably analytic yet thoroughly accessible, this work will become a staple of Asian film studies courses and enrich any cinema lover's appreciation of Japanese film.

Book Description

This book provides an overview for identifying and dating vintage eyewear for the growing numbers of collectors. Explore ways in which eyeglass design has developed to reflect both popular fashion and scientific investigation.The designs of frames and lenses were changed as more comfortable and practical styles were invented. In the mid-twentieth century, eyeglass makers carefully sought high profile entertainers to wear their designs in order to promote their companies. Advertising worked its magic and the general public came to prefer the advertised designs. Examples of eyewear from the sevententh century to the present are shown in over 600 color photos and explained in an engaging text. Bifocals, monocles, pince-nez, fanciful and safety styles of eyeglasses and sunglasses are shown along with some price estimates.

Eyeglass Retrospective: Where fashion Meets Science

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Eyeglass Retrospective: Where fashion Meets Science
Nancy N. Schiffer
Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBKFT8

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Another Great book ..........2007-03-30

Another Great book to visit the Patterson's with. "For Better / For Worse" has to be one of the best comic strips of all time. It really makes you think, "They are just like my family", and if you do not have kids, read the books so you know what to prepare for.

Feels like family.......2006-07-15

I've been reading FBorFW for over twenty years. The Pattersons feel 'like family'. I bought this book for my Dad and before I could send it to him, my teen-aged sons read it. They too are now hooked. Lynn Johnston deals with real life issues. I've laughed, cried, and reflected over this strip as I have no other. It's the only one I've kept up with consistently since I began reading it. I also check it out on-line as my newspapers do not carry it.

WARNING: USE CARE WHEN HANDLING FROZEN TURKEYS!.......2001-08-04

"The Last Straw" is the fifth For Better or For Worse collection, and features strips from 1984 and 1985. In the FBOFW timeline, Michael is eight going on nine, Elizabeth is four going on five and bratty April (sorry, but she IS a brat!) won't be born for another six years.

In addition to a very funny and memorable storyline in which the father, John, drops a 25 lb. frozen turkey on his foot (OUCH!), this collection also features a funeral for a caterpillar, Michael and Elizabeth getting into mischief while Elly and John sleep off their New Years' Day hangovers (they're awakened by the smoke alarm!), Elizabeth's misadventure in an airport and Elly's brother Phil (remember him?) trying to quit smoking. A young Deanna even makes an appearance here.

As I write this, this book is currently out of print, but used copies turn up on occasion. I recommend this book highly!

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The Last Straw: A For Better or For Worse Collection
Lynn Johnston
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UPHM1U

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THE LAST STRAW A FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE COLLECTION BY LYNN JOHNSTON

Manufacturer: Andrews & Mcmeel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H2OADE

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The Last Straw: A for Better or for Worse Collection
Lynn Johnston
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSMAVA

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Humor For A Friend's Heart: Stories, Quips, And Quotes To Lift The Heart (Humor for the Heart)
Shari MacDonald; Kristen Myers
Manufacturer: Howard Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Humor for a Mom's Heart: Stories, Quips, and Quotes to Lift the Heart (Humor for the Heart)

Humor for a Woman's Heart: Stories, Quips, and Quotes to Lift the Heart (Humor for the Heart)

Humor for a Woman's Heart 2: Stories, Quips, and Quotes to Lift the Heart (Humor for the Heart)

Humor for the Heart : Stories, Quips, and Quotes to Lift the Heart (Humor for the Heart)

Welcome to the Funny Farm: The All-True Misadventures of a Woman on the Edge

ASIN: 1582294283

Book Description

Almost half a century ago, Jean-Luc Godard famously remarked, "I await the end of cinema with optimism." Lots of us have been waiting for-and wondering about-this prophecy ever since. The way films are made and exhibited has changed significantly. Films, some of which are not exactly "films" anymore, can now be projected in a wide variety of ways-on screens in revamped high tech theaters, on big, high-resolution TVs, on little screens in minivans and laptops. But with all this new gear, all these new ways of viewing films, are we necessarily getting different, better movies?

The thirty-four brief essays in The End of Cinema as We Know It attend a variety of topics, from film censorship and preservation to the changing structure and status of independent cinema-from the continued importance of celebrity and stardom to the sudden importance of alternative video. While many of the contributors explore in detail the pictures that captured the attention of the nineties film audience, such as Jurassic Park, Eyes Wide Shut, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, The Wedding Banquet, The Matrix, Independence Day, Gods and Monsters, The Nutty Professor, and Kids, several essays consider works that fall outside the category of film as it is conventionally defined-the home "movie" of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's honeymoon and the amateur video of the LAPD beating of Rodney King.

Examining key films and filmmakers, the corporate players and industry trends, film styles and audio-visual technologies, the contributors to this volume spell out the end of cinema in terms of irony, cynicism and exhaustion, religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, and the decline of what we once used to call film culture.

Contributors include: Paul Arthur, Wheeler Winston Dixon, Thomas Doherty, Thomas Elsaesser, Krin Gabbard, Henry Giroux, Heather Hendershot, Jan-Christopher Hook, Alexandra Juhasz, Charles Keil, Chuck Klienhans, Jon Lewis, Eric S. Mallin, Laura U. Marks, Kathleen McHugh, Pat Mellencamp, Jerry Mosher, Hamid Naficy, Chon Noriega, Dana Polan, Murray Pomerance, Hillary Radner, Ralph E. Rodriguez, R.L. Rutsky, James Schamus, Christopher Sharrett, David Shumway, Robert Sklar, Murray Smith, Marita Sturken, Imre Szeman, Frank P. Tomasulo, Maureen Turim, Justin Wyatt, and Elizabeth Young.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Movie Book!.......2002-12-30

This is probably the best film book I've read in the last five years. The organization of the book is extremely intelligent, the range of authors is incredible, and their comments are always useful, thought provoking, and fun to read. Most books that cover a range of films offer only descriptions of individual movies. Lewis' book, of course, tells us about the important films of the nineties. But it also explains the practices of the film industry during the period, the important stylistic developments, the conflict and cooperation between independent companies and established studios, shifts in the thinking about censorship, the relationships between video and film, and a whole lot more. The tone of the writers is fantastic--they're all movie fans, they take movies very seriously, and they connect movies to important cultural and political trends. This book is a constant pleasure. If you have any interest in the films of the last decade of the twentieth century, this is the book for you.

New millennium, new cinema?(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media

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New millennium, new cinema?(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
Barbara Selznick
Manufacturer: Broadcast Education Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, published by Broadcast Education Association on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1562 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: New millennium, new cinema?(Book Review)
Author: Barbara Selznick
Publication: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: Broadcast Education Association
Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Page: 525(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Covers the life and works of classical music composer, Peter Schickele, who is probably best known for his humorous alter ego, P.D.Q. Bach. Schickele has walked the line between a professional composer and musical satirist for over 35 years, and his compositions have reached into virtually every genre of music from jazz to rock to folk to movie music and to classical. The major influences in his career include his love of the theater, Spike Jones, and a philosophy that no genre of music is inherently inferior. Schickele was consulted during the compilation of this volume, therefore, much of the date and premier information comes from his own resources. This volume contains a brief biography of Peter Schickele and a detailed list of his Works and Performances, a discography, a bibliography, an alphabetical index, a chronology, and a name index. Scholars who study humor in music and 21st century American composers will now have a comprehensive sourcebook on Peter Schickele and his works.

Peter Schickele: A Bio-Bibliography (Bio-Bibliographies in Music)

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Peter Schickele: A Bio-Bibliography (Bio-Bibliographies in Music)
Tammy Ravas
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTW61I

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The Agenda

A hard dry read but good content!

The customer economy requires more than reenginering

Business management at its best (or, the Anti-Dilbert)

Prayers for Preserving the Past

The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade
Michael Hammer
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400047730
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

"Suddenly," writes Michael Hammer in the opening to his confidently but aptly named new book The Agenda, "business is not so easy anymore." He then sets out an ambitious plan for righting what many businesses are doing wrong, much as he did a decade ago in his bestselling Reengineering the Corporation. This time, however, he retreats from the overarching "big idea" promulgated in his earlier book to present a system that incorporates nine ideas geared for an environment where customers really do rule. Hammer unveils these aligned-but-individual ideas, which relate to process and customer orientation, along with measurement, management, connecting via the Net, and eventual positioning as "components of virtually extended enterprises" rather than "self-contained wholes." He goes on to explain why they represent improvements over past procedures and cites examples of them in practice. (While discussing measurement, for instance, he shows why most companies use their carefully compiled statistics for little more than affirming what has already happened; he then tells how one firm matched fixed goals in customer retention, employee retention, and product distribution with actual performance requirements that could be tracked and changed.) The final two chapters offer specific implementation suggestions, all filtered through the eyes of an engineer who never went to business school and peppers his writing with references to the Grateful Dead and the Jack Palance character in City Slickers. In all, another provocative and practical tract that will surely attract old fans as well as new believers. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

New rules for the new game:
the ideas that every business needs to win in the customer economy

In The Agenda, Michael Hammer shows companies how to prosper in today’s world of slow growth, fierce competition, and enormously powerful customers. The winners in this extraordinarily difficult environment—companies like IBM, Duke Power, Progressive Insurance, and GE—succeed through superior operations. Their costs are lower and their quality higher than their competitors’; they get new products to market faster and they provide better customer service. How do they do it? Through near-fanatical attention to the basics of business, and by managing these basics in new and creative ways.

The Agenda teaches the ideas and techniques that any company—large or small, service ﬁrm or manufacturer—can use to out-execute and out-innovate its competitors. Businesses that follow these principles will grow by taking market share away from those that do not. While others decline, your company can thrive. The Agenda will show you how.

Customer Reviews:

The Agenda.......2007-01-12

The same with this book. The shipping, packaging, and timely delivery could not have been better.

A hard dry read but good content!.......2006-06-10

This book has been of a great influence in at least one company in moving towards process management. I have tried to read it, and even though the ideas and content is excellent, and gives a very good perspective on process management, it is unfortunately a very dry read, and may be best read in sections or specific parts for emphasis. I am giving it 3 stars for content and usefulness towards ideas in process management.

The customer economy requires more than reenginering.......2004-10-21

Michael Hammer became a guru by coining the term reengineering and writing bestsellers on business processes. Reengineering was a revolutionary "big idea" that took businesses with storm in the early 1990s. A decade after his first publications, Hammer's book, "The Agenda", acknowledge that reengineering is no "silver bullet" ... it cannot stand alone. Modern management needs to use several business concepts simultaneously to thrive in the new customer economy, i.e. where supply exceeds demand (overcapacity), customers are sophisticated and informed buyers, and many products are becoming commoditised. With long-term trends like globalization and technology, there's no foreseeable end to the customer power that flows from it. So we better be prepared.

The nine building blocks of Hammer's "Agenda" address the ways in which firms are managed, organized, and operated:

1. MAKE YOURSELF EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH (ETDBW). Take a long hard look at yourself ... from your customers' point of view...!, and then redesign how to work to save them time, money, and frustration.

2. ADD MORE VALUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS (MVA). To avoid the trap of commoditization, in which you fight for a minuscule margin against a horde of look-alike, you need to do more for your customers.

3. OBSESS ABOUT YOUR PROCESSES. Customers care only about results, and results come only from end-to-end processes. Manage them, improve them, appoint owners for them, and make everyone aware of them.

4. TURN CREATIVE WORK INTO PROCESS WORK. Innovation doesn't have to be chaotic. Bring the power of discipline and structure to sales, product development, and other creative work. Make success in these areas the result of design and management, not luck...

5. USE MEASUREMENT FOR IMPROVING, NOT ACCOUNTING. Most of your measurements are worthless; they tell you what has happened (sort of) but give you no clue as to what to do for the future. Create a model of your business that ties overall goals to things you control; measure the items that really make a difference; and embed measurement in a serious program of managed improvement.

6. LOOSEN UP YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. The days of the proudly independent manager running a sharply defined unit are over. Collaboration and teamwork are now as necessary in the executive suite as on the front lines. Teach your managers how to work together for the good of the enterprise rather than the stab each other in the back for narrow gain.

7. SELL THROUGH, NOT TO, YOUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS. Don't let your distribution channels blind you to your final customer, the one who pays everyone's salaries. Change distribution from a series of resellers into a community that works together to serve that final customer. Be ready to redefine the roles of everyone involved in order to achieve that end.

8. PUSH PAST YOUR BOUNDARIES IN PURSUIT OF EFFICIENCY. The last vestiges of overhead lurk, not deep in your company, but at its edges. Exploit the real power of the Internet to streamline the processes that connect you with customers and suppliers. Collaborate with everyone you can to drive out cost and overhead.

9. LOSE YOUR IDENTITY IN AN EXTENDED ENTERPRISE. Get past the idea of being a self-contained company that delivers a complete product. Get used to the notion that you can achieve something only when you virtually integrate with others. Focus on what you do best, get rid of the rest, and encourage others to do the same.

The first two agenda elements are concerned with customer management (ETDBW and MVA)- i.e. how to distinguish firms from look-alike rivals and how to create loyal customers. The third and fourth are about business processes - Hammer's old theme of reengineering. The fifth is about measurement systems and the sixth about the teamplayer role of the manager. The last three are about using modern technology such as the Internet to create value by linking firms with one another - instead of trying to optimize only within own your company's legal boundaries.

Hammer is concentrating on HOW not what. If you're focused on executing, then I think you'll like Hammer's agenda.

Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business

Business management at its best (or, the Anti-Dilbert).......2004-07-18

For those of us who are new to management, missed out on the reenginering and total quality management revolutions of the 90s, and are wondering how new trends like business process management fit into the picture, there could hardly be a better book than this one. Centered on the premise that we have come to a point where the customer really is king, the author derives a set of principles, which start with simple ones that no one could argue with like "be easy to do business with" or "add more value", but then gradually lead to more provocative, less intuitive ones that end up putting over a century of management practice on its head, going so far as showing that the days of the enterprise as a self-contained, independent entity are numbered.

On a personal note, having spent the formative years of my professional career on small, software consulting companies during the boom decade of the 90s, I have been as skeptical as people come on new management trends and buzzwords. There was no one better than Dilbert to give voice to my (and many colleagues) cynicism, and this put many of us in a "management can do no right" attitude towards our superiors. But after living through a long economic slump, gaining experience in larger projects in bigger and more established companies participating in mature markets, being anti-management is no longer an appealing or even a responsible position. Most of us have experienced bad management first hand, but have also seen what good management can accomplish and realized that ultimately it's what makes companies great. Afer that experience, this book has made clear to me what those principles of good management are in today's economy, but more than that, it has restored my confidence in it and given sense to what previously seemed to be empty buzzwords.

While very well-written, I think this book could be much easier to read and understand if the chapters were broken down into sections instead of having 20 to 30 pages without break or pause, and illustrations and graphs would be very helpful, especially when talking about organizational structures and other abstract concepts. Other than that, this is as good as business books come.

Prayers for Preserving the Past.......2002-11-17

Unfortunately, I found nothing new in the book. His work with Champy was far better and gave enough treatment on process orientation to make this book superfluous. With this book, he merely provides notions based on his previous works then extended to religious levels. At times, the reading was encumbered by the excessive use of the word "process". I felt like I was reading prayers - prayers to the process gods. After a few chapters of lecturing that bordered on fire and brimstone speeches, I felt like the whole work was tainted with a shrillness.

There are a few gems in here. The ones that struck me most seemed to discount the (now aged) process view of organizational theory. This book would have been a five star classic if he would have been more balanced and talked about the great process failures and the limitations inherent to process oriented organizations.

I'll sum it up: every manager needs to know Hammer & Champy. To know Hammer and Champy, read Re-engineering the Corporation and Re-engineering Management - read them both. If you find that Process Orientation is the defining strategic management implement for your organization, don't read this book, because it will not challenge your belief. This book tends to justify, justify, justify. If you don't think your organization should become process oriented, read this book: it will give you some food for thought.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Automotive Design & Production, published by Gardner Publications, Inc. on November 1, 2001. The length of the article is 679 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Beyond the barricades. (MARGINAL).(Dr. Michael Hammer's book)(The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade)(Brief Article)
Author: Gary S. Vasilash
Publication: Automotive Design & Production (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2001
Publisher: Gardner Publications, Inc.
Volume: 113 Issue: 11 Page: 8(1)

Article Type: Brief Article

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Revolutionizing business basics. (Required Reading).("The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade") (book review) : An article from: Alaska Business Monthly

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Revolutionizing business basics. (Required Reading).("The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade") (book review) : An article from: Alaska Business Monthly
Henry Holtzman
Manufacturer: Alaska Business Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009FO48K
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Alaska Business Monthly, published by Alaska Business Publishing Company, Inc. on July 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1029 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Revolutionizing business basics. (Required Reading).("The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade") (book review)
Author: Henry Holtzman
Publication: Alaska Business Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2002
Publisher: Alaska Business Publishing Company, Inc.
Volume: 18 Issue: 7 Page: 92(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade

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The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade
Michael Hammer
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0712614567

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