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Pepsi & Shirlie - It's All in Black and White: Wham! Life and Friendship
Par Pepsi Demacque-Crockett, Shirlie Kemp. 2021
London. Wham! Pop, glitz and glamour. And two girls with stars in their eyes.Our friendship began one windy day in…
1982, outside Finsbury Park tube. It was an instant like at first sight. We were on our way to a Wham! rehearsal. Pepsi was the new girl in the band and over a car stereo, a cassette tape and that journey to Bushey we bonded. We had no idea that we were on the first of many journeys together and that soon we'd be travelling all over Europe, Australia, America, China and Japan. Or that no matter where we went, together, we'd find a way to make every exotic destination feel like home.We'd both been teenagers during the seventies – a dreary and difficult decade, especially if you were young in London and you didn't have much money.So, in 1982, anything was possible for us – a pair of twentysomethings who hadn't been to university, who didn't have any money, who dreamt of singing and dancing, but ultimately lived for fun. Everything felt new and life was a question mark. We had no idea what was lying ahead, but we wanted to say yes.What we didn't know was that we were saying yes to a lifetime of connection that has endured whatever we've done, wherever we've been. From the side of the stage to its centre – we have many stories to tell.And it's all here, it's all in black and white.Handbook of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods
Par Robert E.C. Wildman and Richard S. Bruno. 2020
The field of functional foods along with their bioactive food components has grown tremendously over the past decades. Often guided…
by hypothesis-generating epidemiological observations, discoveries from basic science studies and controlled trials in humans have provided critical evidence to help establish an optimal diet that alleviates chronic disease risk. These advances have also driven efforts by the food and nutraceutical industries to establish and market health claims, formulate extra-value foods, and even generate new health foods for human benefit.Handbook of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Third Edition, compiles the data from experts in the field that potentiates the already established credibility of the earlier editions. In its three-section format, it provides an authoritative summary of the prophylactic and/or medicinal benefits of natural foods and their constituents that are linked to favorable health outcomes. Beginning with an overview of the field and associated regulations, each chapter describes the chemical properties, bioactivities, dietary sources, and evidence of these health-promoting dietary constituents.Features:• Summarizes plant- and animal-based functional foods and their bioactive components• New chapters on cannabidiol and scientific, legal, and regulatory considerations; green tea and nutraceutical applications; and herbal nutraceuticals and insulin resistance• Includes information on functional food beverages including coffee, green tea, and dairy milk• Discusses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of vitamin E, anthocyanins and other (poly)phenolic compounds, and carotenoids• Provides an update on the health benefits and requirements of protein and performance and therapeutic application and safety of creatine.Nonlinear Pedagogy and the Athletic Skills Model: The Importance of Play in Supporting Physical Literacy
Par James Rudd, Ian Renshaw, Geert Savelsbergh, Jia Yi Chow, Will Roberts, Daniel Newcombe, Keith Davids. 2021
This book offers an ecological conceptualisation of physical literacy. Re-embracing our ancestry as hunter gatherers we gain a new appreciation…
and understanding of the importance of play, not only in terms of how children learn, but also in showing us as educators how we can lay the foundations for lifelong physical activity. The concept of physical literacy has been recognised and understood throughout history by different communities across the globe. Today, as governments grapple with the multiple challenges of urban life in the 21st century, we can learn from our forebears how to put play at the centre of children’s learning in order to build a more enduring physically active society. This book examines contemporary pedagogical approaches, such as constraints-led teaching, nonlinear pedagogy and the athletic skills model, which are underpinned by the theoretical framework of Ecological Dynamics. It is suggested that through careful design, these models, aimed at children, as well as young athletes, can (i) encourage play and facilitate physical activity and motor learning in children of different ages, providing them with the foundational skills needed for leading active lives; and (ii), develop young athletes in elite sports programmes in an ethical, enriching and supportive manner. Through this text, scientists, academics and practitioners in the sub-disciplines of motor learning and motor development, physical education, sports pedagogy and physical activity and exercise domains will better understand how to design programmes that encourage play and thereby develop the movement skills, self-regulating capacities, motivation and proficiency of people, so that they can move skilfully, effectively and efficiently while negotiating changes throughout the human lifespan.Team Sports Training: The Complexity Model (Routledge Research in Sports Coaching #10)
Par Javier Mallo. 2020
Team Sports Training: The Complexity Model presents a novel approach to team sports training, examining football (soccer), rugby, field hockey,…
basketball, handball and futsal through the paradigm of complexity. Under a traditional prism, these sports have been analyzed using a deterministic perspective, where the constituent dimensions of the sportsmen were independently examined and treated in isolation. It was expected that the body worked as a perfect machine and, once all the components were maximized, the sportsmen improved their performance. If the same closed recipe was applied to all the players that formed part of the squad, the global team performance was expected to be enhanced.As much as these reductionistic models seem coherent, when contrasted in practice we see that the reality of team sports is far more different from the closed conditions in which they were idealized. Team sports contain variable, heterogeneous and non-linear constrains which require the development of a different logic to organize their training.During the last years, ecological psychology, the dynamical systems theory or the constraints-led approach have opened interesting fields of research from which many conceptual foundations can be applied to team sports. Based in this contemporary framework, the current book presents the study of the players and the teams as complex systems, using coordination dynamics to explain the emergence of the self-organisation episodes that characterize them. In addition, this thinking line provides the reader with the ability to apply all these innovative concepts to their practical training scenarios. Altogether, it is intended to challenge the reader to re-think their training strategy and to develop an original theory and practice of training specific to team sports.Just A Boy: The True Story Of A Stolen Childhood
Par Richard McCann. 2004
One October night in 1975 Richard, aged five, was alone in the house with his three sisters. It was 3am…
and their mother hadn't come home yet. Next morning, the police arrived to take the children away. Their mother had become the first victim of a serial killer soon to become known as the 'Yorkshire Ripper'. Passed from one violent home to another, the children were forgotten by all except the press. As the salacious headlines multiplied, Richard and his sisters were never able to recover from their mother's murder. Whilst Richard tried to handle the terror of his violent upbringing, his sister struggled to deal with memories of sexual abuse. Without love or support they spiralled away from help or happiness. Then one day Richard McCann, having reached suicidal rock bottom, decided no one was going to rescue their lives but him. It was the beginning of an inspirational transformation. Now he is able to tell the story of how the forgotten children of violence suffer, and how they can heal. A heartbreaking, uplifting story of survival and hope.A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the Nazis
Par Françoise Frenkel. 2019
A PEOPLE BOOK OF THE WEEKWINNER OF THE JQ–WINGATE LITERARY PRIZE&“A haunting tribute to survivors and those lost forever—and a…
reminder, in our own troubled era, never to forget.&” —PeopleAn &“exceptional&” (TheWall Street Journal) and &“poignant&” (TheNew York Times) book in the tradition of rediscovered works like SuiteFrançaise and The Nazi Officer&’s Wife, the powerful memoir of a fearless Jewish bookseller on a harrowing fight for survival across Nazi-occupied Europe.In 1921, Françoise Frenkel—a Jewish woman from Poland—fulfills a dream. She opens La Maison du Livre, Berlin&’s first French bookshop, attracting artists and diplomats, celebrities and poets. The shop becomes a haven for intellectual exchange as Nazi ideology begins to poison the culturally rich city. In 1935, the scene continues to darken. First come the new bureaucratic hurdles, followed by frequent police visits and book confiscations. Françoise&’s dream finally shatters on Kristallnacht in November 1938, as hundreds of Jewish shops and businesses are destroyed. La Maison du Livre is miraculously spared, but fear of persecution eventually forces Françoise on a desperate, lonely flight to Paris. When the city is bombed, she seeks refuge across southern France, witnessing countless horrors: children torn from their parents, mothers throwing themselves under buses. Secreted away from one safe house to the next, Françoise survives at the heroic hands of strangers risking their lives to protect her. Published quietly in 1945, then rediscovered nearly sixty years later in an attic, A Bookshop in Berlin is a remarkable story of survival and resilience, of human cruelty and human spirit. In the tradition of Suite Française and The Nazi Officer&’s Wife, this book is the tale of a fearless woman whose lust for life and literature refuses to leave her, even in her darkest hours.My Inappropriate Life: Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Small Children, Nuns, Or Mature Adults
Par Heather McDonald. 2013
In this hilarious account of her venture into motherhood, New York Times bestselling author and Chelsea Lately writer and star…
Heather McDonald explains her outrageous attempts to have it all—her way.Following her laugh-out-loud New York Times bestseller You’ll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again, Chelsea Lately writer and star Heather McDonald moves on from dating to motherhood with this new collection of outrageous essays chronicling her attempt to have it all—her way.This self-proclaimed “Real Housewife of Woodland Hills” is determined to achieve A-list status (thus expanding her entourage beyond her three school-age children and a househusband who is infuriatingly bad at collecting neighborhood gossip) and to defeat (or at least be accepted by) the mean neighborhood moms who judge her for taking her kids to a stripper pool party in Vegas. It’s a lot to juggle when she’s also battling Chelsea Handler and coworkers for the crudest practical jokes (just ask her about that “free” Vera Wang dress). . . .Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America
Par Julia Lee. 2023
Julia Lee is angry. And she has questions.What does it mean to be Asian in America? What does it look…
like to be an ally or an accomplice? How can we shatter the structures of white supremacy that fuel racial stratification?When Julia was fifteen, her hometown went up in smoke during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The daughter of Korean immigrant store owners in a predominantly Black neighborhood, Julia was taught to be grateful for the privilege afforded to her. However, the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of Rodney King, following the murder of Latasha Harlins by a Korean shopkeeper, forced Julia to question her racial identity and complicity. She was neither Black nor white. So who was she?This question would follow Julia for years to come, resurfacing as she traded in her tumultuous childhood for the white upper echelon of elite academia. It was only when she began a PhD in English that she found answers—not through studying Victorian literature, as Julia had planned, but rather in the brilliant prose of writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. Their works gave Julia the vocabulary and, more important, the permission to critically examine her own tortured position as an Asian American, setting off a powerful journey of racial reckoning, atonement, and self-discovery.With prose by turns scathing and heart-wrenching, Julia lays bare the complex disorientation and shame that stem from this country’s imposed racial hierarchy. And she argues that Asian Americans must work toward lasting social change alongside Black and brown communities in order to combat the scarcity culture of white supremacy through abundance and joy. In this passionate, no-holds-barred memoir, Julia interrogates her own experiences of marginality and resistance, and ultimately asks what may be the biggest question of all—what can we do?The Female Body Bible: Make Your Body Work For You
Par Dr Emma Ross, Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith. 2023
UNDERSTAND YOUR BODY TO EMPOWER YOURSELF FOR LIFE.This book will help you create healthy habits that consider all aspects of…
female health at every life stage, including how to:* harness your hormones to improve your cycle symptoms, work productivity and exercise habits* fuel your body to have the energy you need to smash your goals* exceed your personal best for fun, fitness or competition* exercise safely and build strength to benefit your long-term health* equip you with the knowledge to manage injuries that women are more prone to than men* change the language used to talk to adolescent girls about their bodies and give them the confidence to advocate for themselves* confidently communicate with your health and fitness practitioners, friends, partners or colleagues about health issues you may be facingMerging the latest science with the combined experience of its three expert authors: NHS doctor Bella Smith, sports research scientist Dr Emma Ross and athletic coach Baz Moffat, The Female Body Bible busts the myths and taboos that persist around women's bodies.This isn't just a book, it's a movement - a call to action. Every woman deserves to know more about her body and everyone, regardless of their sex, needs to know more about women's bodies to remove the vestiges of secrecy and shame once and for all. This is the playbook of all the elements that go into getting the most out of your body, and a selection of strategies that you can try to find out what works for you and your incredible body.Instead of prioritising how a body looks, we need to focus on how it feels and functions. When we listen to our body, understand how it works and embrace and nurture it, health, fitness and happiness will follow.Black and White: The Way I See It
Par Richard Williams, Bart Davis. 2019
The fascinating, &“upfront and unapologetic&” (Kirkus Reviews) memoir of Richard Williams, a businessman, tennis coach, subject of the major motion…
picture King Richard, and father to two of the greatest athletes and professional tennis champions of all time—Venus and Serena Williams.Born into poverty in Shreveport, Louisiana in the 1940s, Richard Williams was blessed by a strong, caring mother who remained his lifelong hero, just as he became a hero to Venus and Serena. From the beginning of his life, Richard&’s mother taught him to live by the principles of courage, confidence, commitment, faith, and love. He passed the same qualities on to his daughters, who grew up loving their father and valuing the lessons he taught them. &“I still feel really close to my father,&” says Serena. &“We have a great relationship. There is an appreciation. There is a closeness because of what we&’ve been through together, and a respect.&”A self-made man, Williams has walked a long, hard, exciting, and ultimately rewarding road during his life, surmounting many challenges to raise a loving family and two of the greatest tennis players who ever lived. Black and White is the extraordinary story of that journey and the indomitable spirit that made it all possible.A Century and Some Change: My Life Before the President Called My Name
Par Ann Nixon Cooper, Karen Grigsby Bates. 2010
President-elect Barack Obama reflected on the life of Ann Nixon Cooper on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, singling her out of…
millions of voters, he said, because she was “born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky, when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons—because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.” Energized by this history-making presidential campaign, Mrs. Cooper now shares her story, her life before the president called her name, in her own voice, with the assistance of bestselling author Karen Grigsby Bates. Mrs. Cooper is the beloved matriarch of a large and accomplished family who live throughout the country, and a long-celebrated elder in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, where she raised her children and has lived most of her long and extraordinary life. She was born and raised in Bedford County, Tennessee, near Nashville, on January 9, 1902. Her father was a tenant farmer, and her mother worked at home, taking care of the children. She met her husband, Dr. Albert Berry Cooper II, while he attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville. They settled in his hometown of Atlanta, where he established a successful practice in dentistry. When president-elect Obama referred to her in his speech, she became a celebrity, sought after by media from all over the world. In Mrs. Cooper’swords, “All of a sudden, everyone wanted to talkto me. . . . It was nice they were interested, I guess,but I wasn’t so thrilled that media and ordinaryfolk were acting as if the only exciting thing I’d everdone was vote for a black man for president. . . .I’d had a life before CNN and the rest ‘discovered’me.” And she is going to tell you about it.Beautiful People: My Family and Other Glamorous Varmints
Par Simon Doonan. 2009
A wickedly funny memoir with echoes of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, Beautiful People (originally published in hardcover as Nasty)…
is now a BBC comedy hit series from the producer of Ab Fab and The Office. Proclaimed "the most brilliant, brash thing in type" by Liz Smith, Simon Doonan's saucy prose has established him as an emerging star among literary humorists. In this break-through memoir, reminiscent of both Sedaris and Burroughs, he revisits the landscape of his youth, and displays the irresistible charm that earned him his dedicated audience. Long before he became a celebrity in his own right--as the author of best-selling books, as the style arbiter of VH1 and America's Top Model, and the marketing genius behind Barney's New York--Simon Doonan was a "scabby knee'd troll" in Reading, England. In Beautiful People, Doonan returns to the working-class neighborhood of his youth, and chronicles the misadventures of the Doonan clan in all their wacky glory. Readers meet his mother Betty, whose gravity-defying, peroxide hairdo signified her natural glamour; his father Terry, an amateur vintner who turned parsnips into the legendary Chateau Doonan; his grandfather D.C., a hard-drinking betting man who plotted to win his fortune by turning Simon into a jockey; and his demented grandma Narg and schizophrenic Uncle Ken, both of whom lived upstairs. Fearing he would fall victim to the insanity that runs in his family, or, worse, the banality of suburban life, Doonan decamps with his flamboyant best-friend Biddie to London, where they hope to find the Beautiful People, that elusive clan who luxuriate on floor pillows and amuse each other with bon mots. Throughout the memoir--in essays about family holidays, the tart who lived next door, his first job--Doonan continues his bumbling pursuit of the fabulous life, only to learn, in the end, that perhaps the Beautiful People were the ones he left behind.The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards
Par William J. Broad. 2012
A lead science writer for The New York Times—and lifelong yoga practitioner—examines centuries of history and research to scrutinize the…
claims made about yoga for health, fitness, emotional wellbeing, sex, weight loss, healing, and creativity. He reveals what is real and what is illusory, in the process exposing moves that can harm or even kill. A New York Times bestseller.The Science of Yoga draws on more than a century of painstaking research to present the first impartial evaluation of a practice thousands of years old. It celebrates what’s real and shows what’s illusory, describes what’s uplifting and beneficial and what’s flaky and dangerous—and why. Broad unveils a burgeoning global industry that attracts not only curious scientists but true believers and charismatic hustlers. He shatters myths, lays out unexpected benefits, and offers a compelling vision of how the ancient practice can be improved.Harry Styles: Every Piece of Me
Par Louisa Jepson. 2013
An intimate biography of Harry Styles, breakout star and fan favorite of the hottest boy band on the planet—One Direction—featuring…
stunning, swoon-worthy photographs!Harry Styles is one-fifth of the worldwide boy band phenomenon that is One Direction. Made up of bandmates Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry himself, 1D came to prominence in the 2010 television series of X Factor UK. Since then they’ve played to sold-out arenas as they toured the world, topped the charts across the globe, and broken numerous records. Initially auditioning as separate contestants, the band was put together by Simon Cowell who thought they would stand a much better chance as a group. Simon was proved right as the five boys went on to finish third in the competition—and onward to global superstardom.Born February 1st, 1994 in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, Harry is often considered the favorite of 1D fans. Known for his trademark boyish looks and gorgeous curly hair, girls all over the world are falling head over heels in love with him and will do anything to get his attention. Lifting the lid on life as a member of the world’s biggest band, this is the inspirational and sensational story of a how a boy from Cheshire followed his dreams to become an international star and heartthrob to millions of devoted fans.Madonna: An Intimate Biography
Par J. Randy Taraborrelli. 2002
Madonna! Megastar. Lover. Mother. Opportunist. Chameleon. Role model. She's all of these things...and more. Yet, who is she, really? In…
Madonna: An Intimate Biography, author J. Randy Taraborrelli's scrupulously researched and completely balanced unauthorized biography of one of the world's most celebrated entertainers, the reader is allowed to draw his or her own conclusions. Indeed, the portrait bestselling author Taraborrelli paints here is of a truly complex woman, one who is driven and determined to succeed at any cost, yet who displays remarkable vulnerability when it comes to matters of the heart. It is significant that Madonna: An Intimate Biography is the first such book written about the star in over a decade, because in the past ten years the ever-changing Madonna has gone through her biggest transformation yet -- from tempestuous sex goddess to happily married mother. Amazingly, as she launches her first worldwide tour in eight years, she is now -- at forty-something -- enjoying one of the most successful periods of her groundbreaking career. Whereas other books about Madonna have been based on previously published material, Madonna: An Intimate Biography is the result of ten years of exclusive interviews with people who are speaking publicly about her for the first time, including close friends, business associates and even family members. Since Taraborrelli interviewed the star herself early in her career, he is now able to draw from such firsthand experiences to place her success story in perspective and provide new, stunning insights. The true Madonna, as presented here, is not merely a sensation-seeking tabloid vixen, but a flesh-and-blood woman with human foibles and weaknesses -- as well as great strengths and ambitions. For the first time, the reader learns about the complex nature of her difficult relationship with her father, and how the two finally found one another after years of estrangement; how Warren Beatty broke her heart, and why the two never wed; how she and John Kennedy, Jr., became romantically involved, his mother's reaction to the prospect of Madonna as a daughter-in-law and why it could never have worked out; the truth of her relationships with the fathers of her two children and how, as a loving and attentive mother, she has evolved into a surprisingly different woman...and what the future holds for her. Madonna: An Intimate Biography is a truly explosive and definitive account of the life of an entertainer who is undoubtedly one of the most popular, trendsetting figures of our time. Full of amazing disclosures about her private life and public career, New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli's latest work reveals Madonna in a new -- and surprisingly inspiring -- way. Not only a feast for fans, this book is great entertainment for anyone who enjoys a remarkable story, stirringly told.Heal Yourself, Heal the World
Par Deborah King. 2017
Deborah King, spiritual leader and New York Times bestselling author of Be Your Own Shaman, inspires and teaches her proven…
method of LifeForce Energy Healing in this definitive and accessible book that will forever change the way you connect to your energy.What&’s standing between you and the life you were meant to lead? The answer lies in your energy field and how you manage it. When our energy pathways are blocked by suppressed feelings, pain, and trauma, we weaken both our personal and universal energy fields, hindering our ability to live our best lives.LifeForce Energy has its origins in the living force that Hindus call prana, the Chinese call chi, and the Japanese call qi. This primal force is connected to your spirit as well as to your physical, emotional, and mental self. It is, in fact, the substance of spirit, what Master energy healer Deborah King calls &“LifeForce energy.&”Now, using the simple techniques and powerful teachings in Heal Yourself—Heal the World, you can finally clear past trauma from your energy field, connect with authentic emotions, and clear, charge, and re-balance your chakras. Within Heal Yourself—Heal the World you will be able to explore the origins and benefits of energy healing as well as learn self-healing practices and techniques, moving you from basic concepts to hands-on learning to, ultimately, whole world healing.The Life You Want: Get Motivated, Lose Weight, and Be Happy
Par Bob Greene, Ann Kearney-Cooke, Janis Jibrin. 2011
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR WEIGHT AND CLAIM THE LIFE YOU DESERVE! Bob Greene has helped millions lose weight and get…
in shape with his life-changing Best Life plan. Now Oprah’s most trusted expert on diet and fitness teams up with psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke and nutritionist Janis Jibrin to zero in on common barriers to weight loss success. Together, they will offer practical tips and explore the latest science on emotional eating and lack of motivation. REWIRE YOUR BRAIN TO OVERCOME OVEREATING CONQUER EXERCISE AVERSION TAME YOUR SUGAR, FAT, AND SALT CRAVINGS TRANSFORM YOUR BODY IMAGE INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESSWhile the basic principles of weight loss are simple enough, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a struggle. The Life You Want delivers the information and inspiration you need to overcome each obstacle—once and for all.From Bob Greene, bestselling author of Get With the Program!, comes a comprehensive, innovative twelve-week plan for transforming your body…
inside and out. With Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover, you'll achieve maximum results in a minimum amount of time!Knowing that great health and fitness begin with the right state of mind, Greene addresses the important emotional issues behind poor exercise and eating patterns and provides the motivational tools needed to achieve your fitness goals, as well as develop practical and beneficial habits for lasting results. You'll be inspired and moved by reading the compelling true-life success stories of real people who have taken the challenge and who have changed their bodies -- and lives -- in ways they never dreamed possible! Whether you're struggling to lose that last ten pounds or searching for a radical weight-loss solution, the twelve-week makeover challenge is the answer to your fitness goals.After committing to the program, you'll find illustrated step-by-step workout guides for all fitness levels, combining progressive cardiovascular and intensive strength training exercises designed to revitalize your metabolism and get noticeable results fast. Each of the accelerated workouts has been created to energize and invigorate your body and mind while you have fun and trim down in the process! In addition, Greene takes a fresh approach to the question of diets by providing key nutritional guidelines that work in conjunction with any healthy eating plan, and he explains many of the popular diets on the market today to help you choose the one that's right for you. Finally, there is helpful advice on making the transition back to your everyday life: how to avoid regaining the weight you've lost, and how to maintain healthy exercise and eating habits for life. While many books leave you wondering what to do next, Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover offers enthusiastic and informative hands-on advice and tips beyond eating and exercise, and teaches you how to make your own happiness and well-being the foundation of an active and healthy life.The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny
Par Peter McGraw, Joel Warner. 2014
Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist “shed fascinating light on what makes us…
laugh and why” (New York Post).Two guys. Nineteen experiments. Five continents. 91,000 miles. The Humor Code follows the madcap adventures and oddball experiments of Professor Peter McGraw and writer Joel Warner as they discover the secret behind what makes things funny. In their search, they interview countless comics, from Doug Stanhope to Louis CK and travel across the globe from Norway to New York, from Palestine to the Amazon. It’s an epic quest, both brainy and harebrained, that culminates at the world’s largest comedy festival where the pair put their hard-earned knowledge to the test.For the first time, they have established a comprehensive theory that answers the question “what makes things funny?” Based on original research from the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the pair’s experiences across the globe, The Humor Code explains the secret behind winning the New Yorker cartoon caption contest, why some dead baby jokes are funnier than others, and whether laughter really is the best medicine. Hilarious, surprising, and sometimes even touching, The Humor Code “lays out a convincing theory about how humor works, and why it’s an essential survival mechanism” (Mother Jones).Vows: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Their Son
Par Peter Manseau. 2005
The 1950s was a boom time for the Catholic Church in America, with large families of devout members providing at…
least one son or daughter for a life of religious service. Boston was at the epicenter of this explosion, and Bill Manseau and Mary Doherty -- two eager young parishioners from different towns -- became part of a new breed of clergy, eschewing the comforts of homey parishes and choosing instead to minister to the inner-city poor. Peter Manseau's riveting evocation of his parents' parallel childhoods, their similar callings, their experiences in the seminary and convent, and how they met while tending to the homeless of Roxbury during the riot-prone 1960s is a page-turning meditation on the effect that love can have on profound faith. Once married, the Manseaus continued to fight for Father Bill's right to serve the church as a priest, and it was into this situation that Peter and his siblings were born and raised to be good Catholics while they witnessed their father's personal conflict with the church's hierarchy. A multigenerational tale of spirituality, Vows also charts Peter's own calling, one which he tried to deny even as he felt compelled to consider the monastic life, toying with the idea of continuing a family tradition that stretches back over 300 years of Irish and French Catholic priests and nuns. It is also in Peter's deft hands that we learn about a culture and a religion that has shaped so much of American life, affected generations of true believers, and withstood great turmoil. Vows is a compelling tale of one family's unshakable faith that to be called is to serve, however high the cost may be.