Ceramic Technology for Potters and Sculptors

Book Description

Ceramic Technology for Potters and Sculptors is an accessible, comprehensive instructional manual that demonstrates the technology involved in making and firing ceramics. Divided into three parts--Background Sciences, Workshop Practice, and Raw Materials; Clay Bodies, Slips, and Casting Slips; and Glaze and Color--this book covers the whole process from start to finish. Yvonne Hutchinson Cuff carefully guides both experience and amateur potters through 46 exercises, offering a full and detailed explanation of the expected results together with supporting discussion.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for learning all nuts'n'bolts aspects of clay!.......1997-01-20

The most comprehensive book I've seen for describing and explaining the whys, wherefores, and hows of the geology, chemistry and practical studio concerns of clay. As it is set up as a textbook, it would be great for college or university students who want to be sure they really know their ceramic science inside and out. It is readable and had many illustrations. One of the most interesting aspects for me is the repeated reference to the artist's reverse re-creation of the natural geologic process which form the clay. The chemistry all works in reverse as we form and fire our work. I think that's sort of romantic!

Book Description

Based strictly in the bounds of reality, Real Life is based on the experiences of the cartoonist and his friends. Whether they're gallivanting around 14th century France, building sentient computers, or taking a road trip to Michigan, be assured that everything in these pages actually happened. Well, except for the Michigan thing. See how it all began, with added commentary by the cartoonist, as well as extra material not seen online.

Customer Reviews:

HILARIOUS STRIP THAT HITS CLOSE TO HOME.......2005-09-10

I love comic strips...good comic strips and so I was delighted when I had a chance to read Greg Dean's "Real Life" collected edition of his online strip. This book collects the entire first year of the strip starting in November of 1999. Dean's strip revolves around the exploits of his main characters Greg (himself) and his two close friends Dave & Crystal. Call it kind of like a Drabble for today's twenty-somethings. Greg & Dave are a couple computer nerds whose life revolves around playing games like Final Fantasy, Ultima Online, Quake, Diablo and also playing computer-aided Dungeons & Dragons in true, Uber-nerd style. It fits all the clichés of geeky behavior and it's also damn funny. And I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit that some of the strips about Dungeons & Dragons didn't hit dangerously close to home.

Throughout the daily black & white strips and color strip on Sundays, the trio, when their not engaged in the above activities, have an assortment of adventures such as going camping...where Dave goes through withdraw symptoms due to being away from his laptop. There's also a hilarious romp back in time to France with a time machine built from old hard drive parts. Greg suffers through "transmission errors" due to his time pod being built out of Maxtor drives. Now that's a pretty deep in-joke but if you're familiar with Maxtor it's just about right on the button. There's a number of other hilarious diversion in the book such as Greg's ridiculous lemon of a Volvo, dealing with tech support, and his quest to find an original NES game system.

Since these cartoons are five years old now, a lot of the subject matter, especially as related to technology is outdated. But that's where the real fun of the strip comes in. You not only get a year full of strips, but much like a DVD, you get the creator's commentary. Greg Dean provides commentary on each and every strip of the Real Life, sharing his thoughts on the creative process, anecdotes about the real life incidents the strips were based upon, as well as taking some humorous jabs at himself for his writing or drawing style, particularly in the very early strips. This commentary helps you look at the book in a whole new light. Bear's self-deprecating comments are a scream...especially when you know darn well he could be talking about you! Dean used Adobe Illustrator to make his strip and the result is a simplistic, yet very clean cartooning style that makes good use of his character's expressions.

Real Life is a quality comic strip and very funny. It's subject matter may have a somewhat limited appeal, at least in these early days but it's extremely well done.

Reviewed By Tim Janson

HILARIOUS STRIP THAT HITS CLOSE TO HOME.......2005-09-10

Real Life: The Complete Year One Collection POSTPONED

Average customer rating:

A lot more then just the web comics....
Hopefully...
A dragon eats you.

Real Life: The Complete Year One Collection POSTPONED
Greg Dean
Manufacturer: Studio Ironcat
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1929090994

Book Description

Based strictly in the bounds of reality, Real Life is based on the experiences of the cartoonist and his friends. Whether they're gallavanting around 14th century France, building sentient computers, or taking a road trip to Michigan, be assured that everything in these pages actually happened. Well, except for the Michigan thing.

Customer Reviews:

A lot more then just the web comics...........2004-08-13

Acording to Greg this book contains the first year of Real Life, all of The Forge comics, comentaries on all of the comics in the book, plus a lot of other extras that can not be found on the website. I have been reading Real Life since the Keenspot days, and have always loved it. Well worth it.

Hopefully..........2003-12-11

I haven't read the book yet and I hope it gets here in time for Christmas, but I have read all the comics on Reallifecomics.com which are essentially the same comics contained in the collection. I started reading real life back when it started (yes, when it was still with keenspot), and it's definitely one of my favorite webcomics...right up there with Penny-Arcade and PvP. I'm certain that the book is fantastic and the comics contained within are not only incredibly humorous, they are also very accessible for readers that aren't into video games and computers. I'd go as far as saying that it's at least as accessible as Dilbert or Foxtrot...your Grandmother could understand these comics and still laugh, they're that good.

A dragon eats you........2003-10-18

If you've never read the webcomic Real Life, you don't know what you're missing. It's hilarious! One of my favorite webcomics, definitely, and I am SO buying the book. I recommend you to check out the website: www.reallifecomics.com.

Oh, and apparently the first year of The Forge, another comic done by Greg Dean, is also in there. Yet another reason for you to buy the book.

So, as short and to-the-point as this review is, I want to share with you the sheer greatness of Real Life and encorage you to buy the book. So? Go buy it already!

Book Description

An affectionate homage to the British tradition of tea-drinking and to the greatest tea biscuits of all time, from the Custard Cream to the Pink Wafer.

Put a cup of tea in your hand, and what else can you do but sit down? This new book celebrates that most British of life's cornerstones: the tea break. There is, however, another element to this ritual that is a must: biscuits. As Nicey so rightly points out, a cup of tea without a biscuit is a missed opportunity. Finding the right biscuit for the right occasion is as much an art as it is a science, and it is a task that Nicey has selflessly worked on for most of his tea-drinking life. From dunking to the Digestive, the Iced Gem to the Garibaldi, everything you'll ever need to know about British biscuits is in this book, and quite a lot more besides. So go on. Put the kettle on, take a weight off, and enjoy.

Customer Reviews:

After a nice sit down..........2007-01-04

Loved this book. Nicey has a wonderful, witty tone and covers the essentials to British tea drinking and biscuit dunking. Wonderful review of the various biscuits with photos, good guide for those who are new to the art of biscuit buying. Wifey manages to keep everything on topic.

Perfect Read...again...and again...and again..........2006-09-10

It has quickly become one of my favorite books. I happen to be a tea fanatic, so obviously a book about tea and biscuits would suit me just fine. However, I am also quite particular about the books I adore, and this one fits the bill. Well written by an obviously intelligent human being, but also extremely witty and informative. I have purchased a copy for my adult brit-loving/tea-loving daughter. She wanted to borrow my copy, but there is no way I am letting it go! Buy it...devour it...come back for more. You won't be sorry.

brilliant.......2005-04-15

This book contains everything you need to know about tea and biscuits when visiting Britain. Never again have the Brits looking down at you in disgust when you don't know the proper protocol for afternoon tea.

Buy it. Read it on the plane on the way over. Never look out of place again at those important business meetings.

Book Description

Although numerous books about conventional filmmaking exist, none has solely addressed the challenges and production requirements of making stereoscopic motion pictures--until now. Stereographer and film historian Ray Zone presents the insights of twenty-one professionals who have worked in this specialized field. In this unique collection of interviews, Zone explores the art and craft of 3-D filmmaking with producers, screenwriters, directors, and cinematographers.

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the evolving developments of this exciting cinema niche.......2006-05-04

3-D Filmmakers: Conversations With Creators Of Stereoscopic Motion Pictures is an anthology of interviews by stereographer, film historian, and award-wining 3-D artist Ray Zone, of twenty-one professionals in this specialized cinema field. From the producer of "Bwana Devil", the 1952 feature that initiated a surge of 3-D films, to producers and cinematographers of 3-D films in the 1970's and 80's, to individuals involved with 3-D theme parks, current IMAX films, and the new format of digital 3-D cinema, 3-D Filmmakers offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the evolving developments of this exciting cinema niche. Especially recommended for fans of 3-D.

Average customer rating:
Ascap Biographical Dictionary
Authors and Publishers American Society of Composers
Manufacturer: Rr Bowker Llc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Music | Bibliographies & Indexes | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0835212831

Average customer rating:
THE ASCAP BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF COMPOSERS AUTHORS & PUBLISHERS 2ND ED.
Daniel L.-Editor McNamara
Manufacturer: Thomas Y. Crowell Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JF3RQU

Average customer rating:
The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Inc. Edited By the Lynn Farnol Group
Manufacturer: American Society of Composers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MMA9F2

Average customer rating:
The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Inc. Edited By the Lynn Farnol Group
Manufacturer: American Society of Composers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L4DSZ4

Average customer rating:
Ascap Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Amer Soc of Composers , and Daniel I. McNamra
Manufacturer: Reprint Services Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0685353214

Average customer rating:
The Ascap Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors and Publishers. 1966 Edition
Authors And Publishers, And Farnol (Lynn) Group, Inc., American Society Of Composers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GG5KSU

Average customer rating:
The Ascap Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors, Publishers
Publishers Staff American Society of Composers Authors
Manufacturer: Reprint Services Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9991887520

Average customer rating:
ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers Authors & Publishers
Daniel I. (ed) McNamara
Manufacturer: Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FNCNQQ

Average customer rating:
The Ascap Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors & Publishers
McNamara
Manufacturer: Crowell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OOAXF4

Average customer rating:
The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary of Composers, Authors, & Publishers
Daniel J McNamara
Manufacturer: Thomas Y Crowell Co, NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V3UW4U

Book Description

How do you get your participants involved and then hold on to their attention? Lorraine Ukens--a highly regarded author of activity resources -- offers sixty innovative, enjoyable, and effective activities designed to make learning unforgettable. Use these training tools to teach valuable lessons in:

Change
Communication
Conflict management
Decision-making
Diversity
Goal setting
Leadership
Negotiation
Planning
Problem solving
Team dynamics
. . . and more!

All the necessary forms and handouts are here, and they are reproducible to facilitate ease of use. Make training experiences interactive--and make learning memorable -- with the help of this must-have treasury of games!

Customer Reviews:

Very creative !.......2000-12-05

Some activities were completely new to me, and some were games I have know forever -- but with a tickling twist! Although some results are difficult to analyze accurately without a Master in Psychology, the exercises allow players to learn something about themselves. Good buy.

Powerful Ideas.......2000-11-29

I've just purchased this book and am really impressed. Good to see so many quick yet powerful exercises in one book. Most of them I haven't seen before and that is refreshing. I am always on the look out for creative experiential resources and this book certainly fits the need.

Book Description

Lead your organization into the 21st century with the help of this groundbreaking book that is already creating a stir in corporate boardrooms across America! In a book that does for managers what his mega-bestseller, The Team Handbook, did for teams, Peter Scholtes, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential Quality leaders of the decade, shows the real root of management problems. Learn how to stop blaming your workers and start changing the systems with the help of activities and exercises that enable you to immediately begin implementing breakthrough improvements in all your work processes!

Download Description

In a book that does for managers what his mega-bestseller, The Team Handbook, did for teams, Peter Scholtes, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential Quality leaders of the decade, shows the real root of management problems.

Customer Reviews:

The only leadership book you'll ever need.......2007-01-03

I submit this is the single best book on leadership ever written, and I've read hundreds. It is comprehensive AND practical. It's a complete system of leadership and management with useful tools on every page. You can read it from cover to cover, or dip in when you need it by using the excellent index. Powerful. Sensible. Useful. Peter Scholtes is incredibly insightful and funny. I get no money for saying that!

Great Book on Process & Quality Improvement.......2006-07-09

This is a very good book that I would recommend to any manager. I also think many employees would learn a lot from reading this book as well. So why just three stars?

The main reason is because the book talks very little in the way of leadership or inspiring your people. This is a book primarily focused on process and quality improvement, but learning about leadership and inspiring my employees is the reason I bought this book. To me, the difference between a manager and a leader is that the successful manager gets his people to do what needs to be done. A successful leader gets his people to *want* to do what needs to be done. There was a lot more information on that topics in The Team Handbook, which Scholtes co-wrote.

The truth is that I think this is a very good book, and I'd gladly give it four stars if the title was more descriptive of the book's content. What I like most about this book is the way Scholter walks the reader through the thought process of analyzing an existing process and finding ways to improve it. He bases many of his principles from Deming's work on quality improvement and, not surprisingly, many of his examples are from Japanese companies. Many of his ideas transfer easily to the American workforce, but I'm not convinced that all of them would be so effective outside of Japan, due to the cultural differences between the two workforces.

Amazon has enabled Search Inside This Book, so I would encourage anybody thinking about purchasing this book to take a peek and see the topics that Scholter covers. Flip through the Surprise Me feature and you'll likely see some of the many charts and diagrams that Scholter uses to great effect to show the reader a process, or give them a tool to analyze their own processes.

The only area that didn't sit well with me is Chapter 9, Performance without Appraisal. In this chapter it appears as though Scholtes' premise is that workers belong to McGregor's Theory X camp. While some are, the overly simplistic approach that assumes all are makes this chapter very frustrating to read. He spends a lot of time highlighting the fault of performance management, but he provides very little insight how to do it another way.

The net is that this is a very informative book presented in a very clear manner that can provide benefit for almost every manager. The title is a little misleading, so make sure you flip through the book before buying it.

Great Book.......2005-11-27

This book is among those books I feel all managers should read. The book is very well written, an easy to read book and full of useful information. It is also a great reference that once you read it you will find yourself referring to over and over.

I am biased as I have long been a friend and manage Peter's web site (www.pscholtes.com) so you can take that into account in deciding how to evaluate my advice (I have recommended the book to many people and those that share there opinions with me have all told me they agree that it is great). Other books I strongly recommend: Fourth Generation Management, The Improvement Handbook, Creating the Corporate Future and Lean Solutions.

Practical, incisive and visionary handbook.......2001-09-13

Scholtes expects to shock people right from the first page of his Preface. Let me quote extensively:
"More than 95 percent of your organization's problems derive from your systems, processes, and methods, not from your individual workers....

We look to the heroic efforts of outstanding individuals for our successful work. Instead we must create systems that routinely allow excellent work to result from the ordinary efforts of ordinary people.

Changing the system will change what people do. Changing what people do will not change the system.

Certain common management approaches--management by objectives, performance appraisal, merit pay, pay for performance, and ISO 9000--represent not leadership but the abdication of leadership.

Current buzzwords like empowerment, accountability, and high performance are meaningless, empty babble..." (ix-x)

The old organizations's leaders need: forcefulness, ability to motivate and inspire, decisiveness, willfulness, assertiveness, result- and bottom-line orientation, being task-oriented and having integrity and diplomacy.

Scholtes' new leadership competencies (much influenced by Edward Deming's ideas...) are based on a new mentality and understanding of: systems thinking, variability of work, how we learn, psychology and human behavior, interactions of these components, and vision, meaning, direction and focus.

The bulk of the book gives clear elaborations of these new competencies, with charts, illustrations, pertinent questions and many tools. Ch. 4 on "Getting the Daily Work Done" is a tough one, partly because it takes much effort to grasp the author's use of a Japanese term, "Gemba" (even when I can read the original Chinese characters). Issues of waste, standardization, change versus improvement, performance without appraisal, use of measurement data... are all seen in the new light of systems thinking.

Carefully study the differences between "Crazymakers" and "Healing and Learning" in the workplace (pp378-387). There is a summary of the book under "The 47 Habits of Pretty Good Leaders" (pp391-6). Peter Senge's books give excellent background material. This one is a real handbook that should be methodically studied, discussed, adapted and applied to one's own institutions. One must not forget the advice given in Chapter 1: "leaders must be patient with themselves and others, persistent, and humble, and allow themselves and others to be inelegant." (p12,p391)

A reader.......2000-08-08

Being a disciple of W. Edwards Demming, Peter Scholtes has a quality department's process bias; emphasizing systems, processes and statistics. Was I reading another new age quality assurance textbook? Because of this, I felt he overemphasized the present moment. True leaders are going places and have many loyal followers. The book rarely talks about this visionary thinking or how effective organizations are moving into new areas. This is a good book for beginners as long as you're aware he presents a different viewpoint, and because of this, he did bring some useful ideas that other books didn't have. Ironically, he openly admits that you may not agree with some of his viewpoints.

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