Friday, December 2, 2011

Hunter - After The Fall (Book One)

  • Twenty-First Century Civilization Will Soon Collapse
  • Just One In Ten Thousand Will Survive The Apocalypse
  • You Have Been Chosen To Escape The Great Purging
  • Welcome To The Future...

Publishers Weekly Top 10 Best of the Year

In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.

Praise for Maureen F. McHugh:

"Gorgeously crafted stories."â€"Nancy Pearl, NPR

"Hauntingly beautiful."â€"Booklist

"Unpredictable and poetic ! work."â€"The Plain Dealer

Maureen F. McHugh has lived in New York; Shijiazhuang, China; Ohio; Austin, Texas; and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of a Story Prize finalist collection, Mothers & Other Monsters, and four novels, including Tiptree Award-winner China Mountain Zhang and New York Times editor's choice Nekropolis. McHugh has also worked on alternate reality games for Halo 2, The Watchmen, and Nine Inch Nails, among others.


This science fiction collection contains three stories: After Things Went Bad, Mr. Tinker, and At Home on Wintebury Circle.

From SIFT BOOK REVIEWS: "Even more than the distinctive voices, impeccable writing, and well-wrought characters, the dark captivating atmosphere will wrap around you and linger long after you have finished reading. These two are clearly talented writers with wicked imaginations. I believe each story has something important! to say about humanity and packs a punch the reader will feel ! for a wh ile." -- Sarah NicolasThis science fiction collection contains three stories: After Things Went Bad, Mr. Tinker, and At Home on Wintebury Circle.

From SIFT BOOK REVIEWS: "Even more than the distinctive voices, impeccable writing, and well-wrought characters, the dark captivating atmosphere will wrap around you and linger long after you have finished reading. These two are clearly talented writers with wicked imaginations. I believe each story has something important to say about humanity and packs a punch the reader will feel for a while." -- Sarah NicolasThe apocalypse was yesterday. These stories are today.

In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced ove! rseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.

Table of Contents

The Naturalist

Special Economics

Useless Things

The Lost Boy: A Reporter at Large

The Kingdom of the Blind

Going to France

Honeymoon

The Effect of Centrifugal Forces

After the Apocalypse

Praise for Maureen F. McHugh:

"Gorgeously crafted stories."â€"Nancy Pearl, NPR

"Hauntingly beautiful."â€"Booklist

"Unpredictable and poetic work."â€"The Plain Dealer

“Poignant and sometimes heartwrenching.”â€"Publishers Weekly

Maureen F. McHugh has lived in New York; Shijiazhuang, China; Ohio; Austin, Texas; and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of a Story Prize finalist collection, Mothers & Other Monsters, and four novels, including Tiptree Award-winner China! Mountain Zhang and New York Times editor's choice ! Nekro polis. McHugh has also worked on alternate reality games for Halo 2, The Watchmen, and Nine Inch Nails, among others.The apocalypse was yesterday. These stories are today.

In her new collection, Story Prize finalist Maureen F. McHugh delves into the dark heart of contemporary life and life five minutes from now and how easy it is to mix up one with the other. Her stories are post-bird flu, in the middle of medical trials, wondering if our computers are smarter than us, wondering when our jobs are going to be outsourced overseas, wondering if we are who we say we are, and not sure what we'd do to survive the coming zombie plague.

Table of Contents

The Naturalist

Special Economics

Useless Things

The Lost Boy: A Reporter at Large

The Kingdom of the Blind

Going to France

Honeymoon

The Effect of Centrifugal Forces

After the Apocalypse

Praise for Maureen F. McHugh:

"Gorgeously crafted! stories."â€"Nancy Pearl, NPR

"Hauntingly beautiful."â€"Booklist

"Unpredictable and poetic work."â€"The Plain Dealer

“Poignant and sometimes heartwrenching.”â€"Publishers Weekly

Maureen F. McHugh has lived in New York; Shijiazhuang, China; Ohio; Austin, Texas; and now lives in Los Angeles, California. She is the author of a Story Prize finalist collection, Mothers & Other Monsters, and four novels, including Tiptree Award-winner China Mountain Zhang and New York Times editor's choice Nekropolis. McHugh has also worked on alternate reality games for Halo 2, The Watchmen, and Nine Inch Nails, among others.Harriette Madyson is the last woman alive. Twenty years ago her world came to an end when a zombie plague engulfed the population of Earth. At the tender age of seven she found herself in a nightmarish situation where the dead literally returned to life. Left with little to use and nowhere to hide H! arri now finds herself stalked across the frozen desolate land! scape of North America pursued by the former love of her life. All that she has to keep her going is the hope that she can make it home to die in peace.From California to the east coast, it rained across most of the continental United States. From Los Angeles to New York City, residents reported an odd, whitish-grey residue that coated everything.

Cats groomed the residue from their bodies, because that’s what cats do, and then they turned to their feed bowls with increasing hunger.

The most deadly biological weapon ever created had been unleashed. It was one that would effectively pit most forms of animal life against mankind.

Humanity was immune to the growth hormone. However, exposed to massive doses, mankind was not immune to the chemical component of the compound that triggered the hyper aggression, nor was humanity immune to the appetite enhancer.

By mid-February, violent mobs of enraged hungry people were rioting in the streets o! f every major city in the world. In American cities, some of these riots were sparked by angry pet owners who were outraged that the government was supposedly plotting to exterminate all dogs and cats as a preemptive measure to protect the population. Pet owners viewed the mandatory registration of all dogs and cats with government officials by the end of February as a prelude to that extermination effort. Other people, generally those who didn’t own pets, were supportive of the measures. This led to protests and counter protests, which quickly turned violent as the hyper aggressive groups clashed.

In the months that followed, one by one, the governments of the world collapsed under the strain of trying to maintain order. Food production ground to a halt in most of the world as the men and women who’d been feeding the human race succumbed to the effects of massive exposure to the formula.

As the governments collapsed, so did the infrastructures sup! porting the civilization of mankind. Mass transit, power gener! ation, a nd water purification were among the first to fail, but they were quickly followed by oil and gasoline production.

In six months, humanity plunged from the top of the food chain to a position near the center and the world would never be the same.

This is a 112,500 word book that has numerous accompanying photographs to depict the scenes.From California to the east coast, it rained across most of the continental United States. From Los Angeles to New York City, residents reported an odd, whitish-grey residue that coated everything.

Cats groomed the residue from their bodies, because that’s what cats do, and then they turned to their feed bowls with increasing hunger.

The most deadly biological weapon ever created had been unleashed. It was one that would effectively pit most forms of animal life against mankind.

Humanity was immune to the growth hormone. However, exposed to massive doses, mankind was not immune to the chemical comp! onent of the compound that triggered the hyper aggression, nor was humanity immune to the appetite enhancer.

By mid-February, violent mobs of enraged hungry people were rioting in the streets of every major city in the world. In American cities, some of these riots were sparked by angry pet owners who were outraged that the government was supposedly plotting to exterminate all dogs and cats as a preemptive measure to protect the population. Pet owners viewed the mandatory registration of all dogs and cats with government officials by the end of February as a prelude to that extermination effort. Other people, generally those who didn’t own pets, were supportive of the measures. This led to protests and counter protests, which quickly turned violent as the hyper aggressive groups clashed.

In the months that followed, one by one, the governments of the world collapsed under the strain of trying to maintain order. Food production ground to a halt in most of th! e world as the men and women who’d been feeding the human ra! ce succu mbed to the effects of massive exposure to the formula.

As the governments collapsed, so did the infrastructures supporting the civilization of mankind. Mass transit, power generation, and water purification were among the first to fail, but they were quickly followed by oil and gasoline production.

In six months, humanity plunged from the top of the food chain to a position near the center and the world would never be the same.

This is a 112,500 word book that has numerous accompanying photographs to depict the scenes."3 Years After" is a story about a Special Forces team put together to help our nation in a most fragile time. The post 9/11 world has forced the United States government to develop new ways to fight and counter terrorism. During the initial testing of the latest technological breakthrough, Time Travel, a catastrophic failure occurs. This strands the test team three years into the future. They are greeted by a new world which has been deci! mated by war and infested by zombies.

Will the team and humanity survive?

Do they figure out what happened in time?

This is the new version that has been edited."3 Years After" is a story about a Special Forces team put together to help our nation in a most fragile time. The post 9/11 world has forced the United States government to develop new ways to fight and counter terrorism. During the initial testing of the latest technological breakthrough, Time Travel, a catastrophic failure occurs. This strands the test team three years into the future. They are greeted by a new world which has been decimated by war and infested by zombies.

Will the team and humanity survive?

Do they figure out what happened in time?

This is the new version that has been edited."3 Years After" is a story about a Special Forces team put together to help our nation in a most fragile time. The post 9/11 world has forced the United States governmen! t to develop new ways to fight and counter terrorism. During t! he initi al testing of the latest technological breakthrough, Time Travel, a catastrophic failure occurs. This strands the test team three years into the future. They are greeted by a new world which has been decimated by war and infested by zombies. Will the team and humanity survive? Do they figure out what happened in time? This is the new version that has been edited.In volume one of his epic post-apocalyptic adventure saga, master storyteller John Phillip Backus brings this not-so-distant vision of the future to life with intriguing characters, gifted narrative, believable settings and mythic heroes and villains. Driven by a riveting storyline brilliantly illustrated by Asheville, NC artist, Chad Schoenauer, the author weaves his linguistic magic until the reader is utterly immersed in this brave new world and dare not fail to turn the next page for fear of missing out. On his own in the Wyoming wilderness, fourteen years after the End War and its aftermath nearly wiped out the human race, self-exiled survivor, Hunter Macintosh, is suddenly faced with more than he bargained for-three sisters and a child crossing the uncharted wilds alone. Suspicious at first, Hunter soon discovers they've traveled more than three hundred miles to find him, at the request of their father, Adam Planchet-Hunter's former commander and comrade-in-arms-whose besieged Colorado community is at risk of being overrun by lawless hordes! Honor-bound by a pledge made many years earlier, Hunter agrees to return with Elise Planchet to help turn the tide before all is lost. Set against the majestic backdrop of the North American Rockies, Hunter - After The Fall is an engrossing tale of adventure, betrayal and hope, where the true character of an individual is thoroughly tested and the outcome uncertain at best. Join Hunter and Elise as they battle bands of outlaws, enraged grizzlies, numbing blizzards, armed militias and their own stubborn hearts in an epic tale of good-versus-evil in a potential future all too easy to conceive!

Oggi Pro Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cocktail Shaker and Bar Tool Set

  • 10-piece stainless-steel bar set, great for home bars and parties
  • Includes a double jigger and a 2-piece glass and stainless shaker set for mixing drinks
  • Also comes with lemon/lime slicing knife, bottle opener, cocktail strainer, stirrer, and tongs
  • All tools made of durable stainless steel with contemporary black accents
  • Includes cutting board and black stand for storage
The Professional Bartender s Handbook is written for the professional bartender, but anyone can learn the simple tips and tricks this book provides. A copy belongs behind every bar, big or small. Whether running a stand-alone business or one incorporated into a restaurant, hotel, or food service operation, the successful bartender needs product and equipment knowledge and a strong grasp of mixology. The Professional Bartender s Handbook is more than a recipe guide. If you have ever wondered wha! t ingredients were in your favorite drink, this book will teach you. With nearly 1,500 different cocktails, shooters, and even a non-alcoholic section, there is a drink (or two) for everyone. This new book is fun and easy to read. The recipes are in alphabetical order, along with suggested glassware, ingredients, and garnishes. You will learn tips and tricks, bar terminology, measurements, how to set up a bar, glassware, responsible serving issues, garnishes, bar games and tricks, famous toasts, and much more. You will learn the most popular brands of alcohol, as well as what wines complement your dinner selection.With innovative designs and contemporary finishes, Oggi’s kitchen, bar and bath wares are truly tomorrow’s house wares today. Oggi’s 10-Piece Stainless Steel Bar Set with Rectangular Stand is no exception. Black stand and cutting board. Stainless steel tools with black accents. Set includes a two-piece glass and stainless shaker set, double jigger, lemon / l! ime slicing knife, bottle cap lifter, cocktail strainer, stirr! er, tong s, chopping board and a rectangular stand. Set is great for home bars and parties.

Bullet

  • BulletMickey Rourke and rap music star Tupac Shakur, in one of his final film roles, star in this gritty urban thriller about what it takes to survive on the street. Also starring Ted Levine, it's a stylish mix of brutality and revenge, it journeys into the dark and underground world of two men who share a bitter hatred and grudging respect. Like Pulp Fiction it is one of the new breed of action f
A classic example of a good idea ruined by Hollywood formulas. Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur (in his last performance) are two corrupt cops with an effective scheme: they rob and kill drug dealers. Unfortunately, one of their victims turns out to be an undercover agent for the DEA, and the two bad cops have to scramble to find a suspect to pin the murder on. Soon they're caught in a web of missing evidence, false witnesses, and frayed nerves--Gang Related could have been a lean film noir, slow! ly tightening until the men break under the pressure. Unfortunately, this isn't the 1940s, and suddenly the plot takes an absurd twist into the most melodramatic coincidence imaginable. It's too bad. Also featuring the lovely Lela Rochon, James Earl Jones, David Paymer, and a surprise performance by Dennis Quaid. --Bret Fetzer Two killers are hiding where no one will ever find them...behind their badges! Tupac Shakur (in hisfinal and most riveting performance) and James Belushi are two corrupt police detectives caught in a dangerous web of deceit in this "gritty, smart and tough" (CBS-TV) action thriller that will hold you in its grip from start to finish. Detectives Divinci (Belushi) and Rodriguez (Shakur) practice their own deadly brand of street justice: They set up drug deals, seize the money for themselves and then murder the dealers. It's a lucrative racket that has worked without a hitch for months. But when they discover that their latest victim was an under! cover officer with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the two corrup! t cops a re forced to initiate a dangerous scheme to save their own lives. And as their "foolproof" plan begins to spin madly out of control, Divinci and Rodriguez are trapped in a tornado of suspicion, betrayal and murder in which they can trust no one...not even each other.A classic example of a good idea ruined by Hollywood formulas. Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur (in his last performance) are two corrupt cops with an effective scheme: they rob and kill drug dealers. Unfortunately, one of their victims turns out to be an undercover agent for the DEA, and the two bad cops have to scramble to find a suspect to pin the murder on. Soon they're caught in a web of missing evidence, false witnesses, and frayed nerves--Gang Related could have been a lean film noir, slowly tightening until the men break under the pressure. Unfortunately, this isn't the 1940s, and suddenly the plot takes an absurd twist into the most melodramatic coincidence imaginable. It's too bad. Also featuring the! lovely Lela Rochon, James Earl Jones, David Paymer, and a surprise performance by Dennis Quaid. --Bret Fetzer When their friend Cookie o.d.'s, best buddies and musicians Spoon (Tupac Shakur) and Stretch (Tim Roth) decide it's time to kick their drug habit by putting themselves into detox. But they soon discover that the road to rehab is paved with reams of social service red tape. Spoon and Stretch are just trying to stay alive until they can get treatment. But, between the angry drug dealers, the cops who have mistaken them for murderers, and the people with forms and clipboards, this turns into a task of epic proportions. Thus enfolds their comic adventure to sobriety- a hilarious, action-packed journey from A to Z and back again. Starring: Tim Roth, Tupac Shakur, Thandie Newton Directed by: Vondie Curtis-HallBritish actor Tim Roth and the rapper Tupac Shakur are an unexpectedly charismatic and refreshing duo in this off-beat buddy movie. Closer than two brot! hers, these junkie musicians vow to kick their habits after a ! soul-sha ttering New Year's Eve. Gridlock'd is fueled by characterization, of which there is plenty, as the two play off one another with such finesse you would never know Shakur had been a relative novice to the acting profession. Off-beat humor lightens a bleak reality as these outcasts run smack against a brutal bureaucracy. Except for a tired subplot meant to jazz up the action, director Vondie Curtis-Hall employs an inventive approach in this sadly ignored theatrical release. --Rochelle O'Gorman Bullet Mickey Rourke and rap music star Tupac Shakur, in one of his final film roles, star in this gritty urban thriller about what it takes to survive on the street. Also starring Ted Levine, it's a stylish mix of brutality and revenge, it journeys into the dark and underground world of two men who share a bitter hatred and grudging respect. Like Pulp Fiction it is one of the new breed of action films-powerful, violent and real. Mickey Rourke is Butch "Bullet" Stein and th! e late Tupac Shakur is Tank in this stylish, Julien Temple-directed crime drama. Narrative is secondary to atmosphere in the violent, yet sensitive tale of an ex-con (Rourke) attempting to adjust to life on the outside. The minute Bullet emerges from the pen, however, the blood and profanity begin to flow just as freely as the references to Dali and Picasso (his younger brother is an artist). His drug problem is bad enough, but the biggest threat comes from the Kangol-sporting, eye-patched Tank, who intends to get his revenge for the eye Bullet took from him. Classical music and opera, meanwhile, bump up against hip-hop and Barry White. Despite the billing, this is Rourke's show all the way and Tupac's part is quite small in comparison. Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) and Adrien Brody (The Pianist) star as Bullet's eccentric brothers. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

A Beautiful Mind (The Awards Edition) [VHS]

  • Condition: Used - Good
 “HOW COULD YOU, A MATHEMATICIAN, BELIEVE THAT EXTRATERRESTRIALS WERE SENDING YOU MESSAGES?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”

Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius who was a legend by age thirty when he slipped into madness, and whoâ€"thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics communityâ€"emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution. The inspiration for an Academy Awardâ€"winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power o! f love.Stories of famously eccentric Princetonians abound--such as that of chemist Hubert Alyea, the model for The Absent-Minded Professor, or Ralph Nader, said to have had his own key to the library as an undergraduate. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall," a figure many students had seen shuffling around the corridors of the math and physics building wearing purple sneakers and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. The Phantom was John Nash, one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his generation, who had spiraled into schizophrenia in the 1950s. His most important work had been in game theory, which by the 1980s was underpinning a large part of economics. When the Nobel Prize committee began debating a prize for game theory, Nash's name inevitably came up--only to be dismissed, since the prize clearly could not go to a madman. But in 1994 Nash, in remission from schizophrenia, shared the Nobel Prize in economics for work done some 45 years pre! viously.

Economist and journalist Sylvia Nasar has written ! a biogra phy of Nash that looks at all sides of his life. She gives an intelligent, understandable exposition of his mathematical ideas and a picture of schizophrenia that is evocative but decidedly unromantic. Her story of the machinations behind Nash's Nobel is fascinating and one of very few such accounts available in print (the CIA could learn a thing or two from the Nobel committees). This highly recommended book is indeed "a story about the mystery of the human mind, in three acts: genius, madness, reawakening." --Mary Ellen Curtin “HOW COULD YOU, A MATHEMATICIAN, BELIEVE THAT EXTRATERRESTRIALS WERE SENDING YOU MESSAGES?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”

Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius who was a legend by a! ge thirty when he slipped into madness, and whoâ€"thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics communityâ€"emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution. The inspiration for an Academy Awardâ€"winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power of love.Stories of famously eccentric Princetonians abound--such as that of chemist Hubert Alyea, the model for The Absent-Minded Professor, or Ralph Nader, said to have had his own key to the library as an undergraduate. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall," a figure many students had seen shuffling around the corridors of the math and physics building wearing purple sneakers and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. The Phantom was John Nash, one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his generation, who had spiraled in! to schizophrenia in the 1950s. His most important work had be! en in ga me theory, which by the 1980s was underpinning a large part of economics. When the Nobel Prize committee began debating a prize for game theory, Nash's name inevitably came up--only to be dismissed, since the prize clearly could not go to a madman. But in 1994 Nash, in remission from schizophrenia, shared the Nobel Prize in economics for work done some 45 years previously.

Economist and journalist Sylvia Nasar has written a biography of Nash that looks at all sides of his life. She gives an intelligent, understandable exposition of his mathematical ideas and a picture of schizophrenia that is evocative but decidedly unromantic. Her story of the machinations behind Nash's Nobel is fascinating and one of very few such accounts available in print (the CIA could learn a thing or two from the Nobel committees). This highly recommended book is indeed "a story about the mystery of the human mind, in three acts: genius, madness, reawakening." --Mary Ellen Curtin “HOW COULD YOU, A MATHEMATICIAN, BELIEVE THAT EXTRATERRESTRIALS WERE SENDING YOU MESSAGES?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”

Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius who was a legend by age thirty when he slipped into madness, and whoâ€"thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics communityâ€"emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution. The inspiration for an Academy Awardâ€"winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power of love.This Ron Howard film parlays the troubled story of Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash Jr., a gifted ! Princeton mathematics professor tormented for decades by paran! oid schi zophrenia, into something considerably richer than typical Hollywood triumph-against-all-odds fare. Howard has teamed here again with frequent collaborator James Horner, and it's the composer who deftly shades the film's difficult emotional landscape and helps impart a compelling humanity. Horner's first task is not inconsiderable: musically portraying the arcane realm of mathematical theorems that are the story's backdrop. In doing so, the composer leans heavily on modern minimalist technique, bright flourishes that recur briefly throughout an orchestral score that increasingly reflects Nash's bleak inner landscape in its quietly somber and brooding tones. And while Horner has frequently been accused of excessively repeating himself in his scores, the neo-minimalist gambit employed on this reflectively pastoral, postmodernist soundscape neatly nips such criticism in the bud. Nash's triumph is ultimately an intensely personal one, well reflected in Welsh soprano Charlotte Ch! urch's lilting performance of the Horner/Will Jennings ballad "All Love Can Be." This enhanced CD also features notes by the director and composer, as well as exclusive photos and the film's trailer. --Jerry McCulley Winner of 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind is directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard and produced by long-time partner and collaborator, Academy Award winner Brian Grazer. A Beautiful Mind stars Russell Crowe in an astonishing performance as brilliant mathematician John Nash, on the brink of international acclaim when he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. Now only his devoted wife (Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly) can help him in this powerful story of courage, passion and triumph.A Beautiful Mind manages to twist enough pathos out of John Nash's incredible life story to redeem an at-times goofy portrayal of schizophrenia. Russell Crowe tackles the role with characteristic fervor, playing the Nob! el prize-winning mathematician from his days at Princeton, whe! re he de veloped a groundbreaking economic theory, to his meteoric rise to the cover of Forbes magazine and an MIT professorship, and on through to his eventual dismissal due to schizophrenic delusions. Of course, it is the delusions that fascinate director Ron Howard and, predictably, go astray. Nash's other world, populated as it is by a maniacal Department of Defense agent (Ed Harris), an imagined college roommate who seems straight out of Dead Poets Society, and an orphaned girl, is so fluid and scriptlike as to make the viewer wonder if schizophrenia is really as slick as depicted. Crowe's physical intensity drags us along as he works admirably to carry the film on his considerable shoulders. No doubt the story of Nash's amazing will to recover his life without the aid of medication is a worthy one, his eventual triumph heartening. Unfortunately, Howard's flashy style is unable to convey much of it. --Fionn Meade

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Fallen - the first book in the Guardian Trilogy...

Maggie is unaware of the terrifying fate that awaits her. It isn’t until she lands in New Orleans for a full year at a private high school and her unknown enemies find her does she realize that her life is in danger.

As a mystifying stranger repeatedly intervenes and blocks the attempts on her life, she begins to learn that there is more to him than his need to protect her and that he may be the key to understanding why her enemies have just now arrived.


NOW AVAILABLE: Eternity (Book 2 of the Guardian Trilogy)

COMING SOON: Reckoning (Book 3 of the Guardian Trilogy) will be available in late December.


"This was a really great little read. I finished it within a night because I could not stop! reading it. The story moved well and the characters really grew on me." - Shawna, May 24, 2011

"I loved this book...WOW!! It was so different and I really like Maggie!! She is a great character that I have loved being introduced to and can't wait to read more about!!" - Kathryn, June 6, 2011


5% of the proceeds from this novel will be donated to the Animal Welfare Institute in an effort to help fight animal neglect and cruelty.

Fallen - the first book in the Guardian Trilogy...

Maggie is unaware of the terrifying fate that awaits her. It isn’t until she lands in New Orleans for a full year at a private high school and her unknown enemies find her does she realize that her life is in danger.

As a mystifying stranger repeatedly intervenes and blocks the attempts on her life, she begins to learn that there is more to him than his need to protect her and that he may be the key to understanding why her enemies have just now! arrived.


NOW AVAILABLE: Eternity (Book 2 of the G! uardian Trilogy)

COMING SOON: Reckoning (Book 3 of the Guardian Trilogy) will be available in late December.


"This was a really great little read. I finished it within a night because I could not stop reading it. The story moved well and the characters really grew on me." - Shawna, May 24, 2011

"I loved this book...WOW!! It was so different and I really like Maggie!! She is a great character that I have loved being introduced to and can't wait to read more about!!" - Kathryn, June 6, 2011


5% of the proceeds from this novel will be donated to the Animal Welfare Institute in an effort to help fight animal neglect and cruelty.

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students ! are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.


From the Hardcover edition.

Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that somethingâ€"or someoneâ€"in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally! unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and ! the legi ons of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Sweeping across centuries, Passion is the third novel in the unforgettably epic Fallen series.

Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries) stars as Aaron Corbett, a high school jock with a promising future. But on his 18th birthday, his life forever changes when his incredible powers emerge, revealing the terrifying truth of his identity. As The Redeemer, a half-angel, half-man who can return fallen angels to heaven, Aaron holds the entire world's destiny in his young hands. He must battle warrior seraphs and confront the fallen angel who has sparked his nightmares (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad). But can he save himself and the girl he loves? Based on the bestselling book series, Fallen s! oars to new levels in the battle between good and evil.

The complete movie event includes parts 1-3: The Beginning, The Journey, and The DestinyThe Vampire Diaries' Paul Wesley is top-billed in Fallen, a surprisingly entertaining action-fantasy miniseries about a teen who discovers that he possesses unearthly powers. That's a hackneyed premise on which to hang four hours of TV (Fallen aired on ABC Family in 2006), but thankfully, the film's writers and producers have found a novel wrinkle on which to hang their story. Wesley's Aaron Corbett is one of the Nephilim, a race of mysterious beings mentioned in the Book of Genesis and other religious works; for the purposes of Fallen, the Nephilim are the sons of the angels cast out of Paradise with Lucifer, and Aaron is the Redeemer, who can send these outcasts back to Heaven. This newfound status gives Aaron powers ranging from mastery of languages to the ability to speak with his dog,! but also makes him the target of the Powers, rogue angels ass! igned to eliminate his kind. To protect his family, Aaron hits the road with former Power Camael (Rick Worthy) and a Fallen named Ariel (Ivana Milicevic). What follows is surprisingly engaging drama well balanced with some impressive CGI-driven fights between Aaron and the Powers. Wesley is fine as the conflicted Aaron, and he's well supported by Tom Skerritt as Ezekiel, his Fallen advisor, as well as Hal Ozsan as the loose-cannon Fallen named Azazel and Bryan Cranston as Lucifer himself. Though clearly aimed at teen audiences, Fallen is the rare kid-friendly effort that holds appeal for nearly every member of the family. Unfortunately, the DVD is bare-bones save for a promotional trailer. --Paul GaitaThere's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a ! place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.


From the Hardcover edition.There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--an! d goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let i! t go. Dr awn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.


From the Hardcover edition.Hell on earth.

That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcastsâ€"immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding somethingâ€"something dangerous.
What if Dan! iel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?
 
The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Exclusive: Questions for Lauren Kate

Amazon.com: Luce and Daniel's story is very romantic. What inspired you to write a love story between a human and an angel?
Lauren Kate: I’ve been writing love stories for as long as I’ve been writing. To me, the most complicated romances make the most interesting narratives, so I’m always looking for new obstacles to throw in my lovers’ paths. When I was getting my masters degree in fiction, I was studying biblical narratives and came across a line in Genesis (6:1-4), which describes a group of a! ngels who fell in love with mortal women. Putting this referen! ce toget her with a mention in Isaiah and another in Palsm 82, biblical scholars conclude that these angels were actually cast out of Heaven for their lust. Which means--you could say--that these angels chose love over Heaven. I found this to be an endlessly interesting set up for an incredibly complicated romance. I started thinking about what kind of mortal girl it would take to attract an angel’s attention. And what it would be like for her to find herself in this position. What kind of baggage would an angel have? What would her very over-protective parents think? From there, this whole world unfurled in my head with fallen angels, demons, reincarnation, and the war between good and evil all battling for a piece of the action.

Amazon.com: We've been wondering about the "mechanics" of Luce and Daniel's story (for lack of a better word). Does Daniel age? Or does he stay seventeen forever (while Luce grows older)? And with that said, what does he do while Luce i! s growing up in each of her lives? What was he doing before he met Luce in this life?
Kate: What’s important about angels is not their bodies but their souls. In their purest forms, they’re actually genderless, but for my story to work--for the angels to come down to earth and interact with mortals--they all assume human bodies and attach themselves to human genders. Daniel is eternal and will live on forever, but the body Luce sees him in (gorgeous as it is) is really just a shell for the soul that she loves. There’s not the feeling of a ticking clock in the background as there might be with, say, a vampire story. Right now I’m writing Passion, the prequel where we’ll see Luce and Daniel in a dozen other lifetimes, so I’m exploring a lot of these mechanics (a great word for it, by the way) between the angel’s bodies and souls.

The way Daniel occupies himself in between Luces varies from life to life. His soul is least at ! rest just after she’s died, before she’s incarnated into a! nother l ife--when she is “in between.” During her lives, even when he isn’t with her, he is always aware of her age, what she’s going through, how she’s doing. He has a sort of internal Lucinda clock. Sometimes he meets her as a child, sometimes he tries to stay away from her as long as possible, to give her as much of a life outside of him as he can. In the years leading up to the life where they meet at Sword and Cross, Daniel was living on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

Amazon.com: Fallen and Torment talk a lot about the history of Heaven and Hell, the different classes of Angels, and the rules of human-angel interaction. Obviously these themes are explored heavily in religious texts, but were there other sources that informed your story?
Kate:It’s interesting because there is actually very little in the Bible about angels--a few mentions in the Old Testament, a few more in the new. And the mentions that we do have are oft! en vague or contradictory. Most of what we think of when we think of angels today comes from secular or cultural contexts. Seventy-five percent of it might have come from Milton alone. I worked with a biblical scholar at UC Davis who pointed me toward some apocryphal texts (books written during the same as the bible, but which were not included in the book when the canon was closed). Books like Enoch 1-3 and the Dead Sea Scrolls are chock full of angel references. I also read a trilogy on Satan and a book called the A History of Heaven both by Jeffrey Burton Russell, as well as a great book by Harold Bloom called Omens of the Millennium.

I got so engrossed in all of the research I did for Fallen that I had a hard time knowing when to stop reading and when to start writing. I had to realize that it was okay for me to pick and choose things from various accounts, to look past contradictions, and to come up with my own angel mythology. ! That’s what Milton did, after all!

Amazon.com: What is Cam's deal? We're not convinced that he's totally evil--in Fallen, he seemed to be trying to protect Luce by keeping her away from Daniel, and in Torment he and Daniel reach a mysterious truce, again to protect Luce. Will we be seeing more of him in book 3?
Kate:Speaking of Milton, isn’t it fascinating that Satan is the most interesting character in Paradise Lost? From the start of this series, I have wanted to test the boundaries between what is “good” and what is “evil.” How and when do those terms get applied? Are they black and white or is there some flexibility along the spectrum? Obviously it’s much more interesting if Heaven and Hell/good and evil work as binaries: opposites that orbit each other and are pulled toward each other with a mutual gravitation. We see that at the end of Fallen and in Torment with Daniel and Cam’s truce. The idea that good and evil rely on each other is as old as t! he oldest dualistic religion, Zoroastrianism (on whose shoulders both Judaism and Christianity stood).

So yes, there is more to Cam than pure evil! (Especially since his character--the charming side of his character anyway--was based loosely on my husband.) We’ll see a lot of him in Passion and will even begin to understand how he got where he is today.

Amazon.com: Can you tell us a little bit about book 3? Will we find out more about Luce and Daniel's past lives?
Kate:Passion is going to be the craziest, coolest book I’ve ever written! I’m halfway through the first draft right now and it is so rewarding to finally get to delve into Luce and Daniel’s past lives together. The history these two share is the stuff of epics, and I am learning so many new things about them as I write. For any reader out there feeling tortured by the teasing hints of so many thrilling past lives: Passion is your bo! ok! Everything--well, almost everything--will be illuminated. !


There’s no police training stronger than a cop’s instinct. Faith Mitchell’s mother isn’t answering her phone. Her front door is open. There’s a bloodstain above the knob. Her infant daughter is hidden in a shed behind the house. All that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations taught Faith Mitchell goes out the window when she charges into her mother’s house, gun drawn. She sees a man dead in the laundry room. She sees a hostage situation in the bedroom. What she doesn’t see is her mother. . . .
 
“You know what we’re here for. Hand it over, and we’ll let her go.”
 
When the hostage situation turns deadly, Faith is left with too many questions, not enough answers. To find her mother, she’ll need the help of her partner, Will Trent, and they’ll both need the help of trauma doctor Sara Linton. But Faith isn’t just a cop anymoreâ€"she’s a witness. She’s also a suspect.
Â!  
The thin blue line hides police corruption, bribery, even murder. Faith will have to go up against the people she respects the most in order to find her mother and bring the truth to lightâ€"or bury it forever. 

Karin Slaughter’s most exhilarating novel yet is a thrilling journey through the heart and soul, where the personal and the criminal collide, and conflicted loyalties threaten to destroy reputations and ruin lives. It is the work of a master of the thriller at the top of her game, and a whirlwind of unrelenting suspense.Fallen Forte Skate Suede Low Mens

Heavyweights

  • From the creator of THE MIGHTY DUCKS comes HEAVYWEIGHTS, a comedy of enormous proportions! It's the hilarious story of a group of underdog kids who discover their beloved summer camp has been sold to a crazy fitness fanatic who's determined to make their lives miserable! The new owner plans to keep the boys huffing and puffing, but these hungry kids have a plan of their own. They unite to
When a harried businessman and a hapless crook collide on the biggest day of both their careers, the only road seems to lead straight to comic disaster. A workaholic advertising executive (David Paymer) is stuck driving the neighborhood carpool on the day of a make-or-break presentation. A down-on-his luck carnival owner (Tom Arnold), fleeing a bungled robbery, takes the exec and his vanful of kids hostage and begins a comic day-long chase through the city streets where the two men learn some unexpected le! ssons and forge an unlikely friendship.After announcing their intention to get a divorce, a suburban couple suddenly finds themselves locked in the basement together under orders from their kids to reconcile their differences. Soon, others in the neighborhood follow suit, and the basement becomes the crowded prison home for all the local bickering couples.Meet the Stupids. Stanley (Tom Arnold) and Joan (Jessica Lundy) and their kids, Buster and Petunia. They're a nice, typical, suburban American family. Except for one thing. None of them has the sense God gave a lemon. Year: 1996 Director: John Landis Starring: Tom Arnold, Jessica Lundy, Bug HallFrom the creator of THE MIGHTY DUCKS comes HEAVYWEIGHTS, a comedy of enormous proportions! It's the hilarious story of a group of underdog kids who discover their beloved summer camp has been sold to a crazy fitness fanatic who's determined to make their lives miserable! The new owner plans to keep the boys huffing and puffing! , but these hungry kids have a plan of their own. They unite t! o turn t he tables, take back their woodsy hideaway, and challenge the rival camp to the most outrageous summer games of all! You'll laugh out loud with these HEAVYWEIGHTS -- they're big, loud, and proud, and ready to win their way into your heart!

Frankie & Johnny Are Married

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