News and Media Books

I'm surprised that this movie did not do well in the box office, it is the most excellent romantic comedy.

We have over 600 DVD's in our collection - and we have watched this movie so often its beginning to break up.

It been there while my wife was unwell with mental illness - as a feel good movie - somewhere she should could relax, and feel comfortable and safe while watching it.

Over time I too have grown to love the lines, the characters and the kids/animals.

It starts well and ends well and a lot of amusement in the middle.

I agree that it ended ideally for a sequel, its a pity one was not made.

If I could give this movie 10 stars - I would give it - its an all time favourite.

John Shannon.

The movie tie-in for ONE FINE DAY is a pleasant read for anyone who enjoyed the movie. This is a wonderful book/movie for someone looking for proof that you can have both in today's crazy world. These are 2 parents with great careers and great kids. It's no wonder they found each other & fall in love. It is a surprising love story in that the romance is prominent, but not at all what you expect. It's more true to form for today's single parents. The kids come first, then career, then love. The end sets up nicely for a sequel, although the disappointing box office receipts will probably not allow for it. The release against Jerry Maguire doomed this movie, but if you're looking for the love story you thought you were getting in Jerry Maguire, minus the sex and four-letter words, One Fine Day is the place to go. This is a much sweeter love story than JM, with a much better looking actor on the cover for distraction!

I read this book to my little sister when we got it from the library. The story is well-written and conveys a great message. It's pace and wording flows easy when reading aloud, and I highly recommend it for younger kids.

This is a very gentle story, enthrallingly soothingly told, with illustrations that make you feel cozy despite the preponderance of snow depicted on every page. The parallel between Martha the cow's birth story and the sparely told Nativity is just right--not overdone, never preachy. The willingness of the human couple to exercise concern for Martha is a nice touch and lends a magical feature to the story. My 15-month-old son is just beginning to develop an interest in story time, and this is one he insists on almost every night!

This was one of the first books I ordered to re learn the Tarot. This book is small ,fits nicely in your hand and packs a big punch! Don't be fooled by it's size!! It has it all!! So basic but yet so very very complete! If you are just learning I recommend getting the Rider deck and this book and head out to your favorite reading spot with a cup of your favorite drink and enjoy!!

When I ordered this book I never dreamed what a Gem
I'd be receiving - This book totally fits the cards
I've drawn thus far - I love the layout of the book
and what the Author did with it
I'd recommend this to anyone who works with Tarot
I would definitely buy more from this Author
A++++++++++++++

I really enjoyed this book. The story was very entertaining. A perfect summer afternoon novel. I really liked Darcy Lou's relationship with her mother. I also liked Lizzie's comments all throughout the book and the introduction and the info about the 'author' were very funny too. I liked this book very much. I would definitly recomend it!!

This book is awesome. It shows that mother's and daughters not only fight but get along too. Although Darcy Lou may seam to have a "perfect" relationship with her mother, the rest of the book is quite solid. It shows that kids aren't the only ones who make mistakes and somethimes the thing you need most is right under your nose. It also shows that you don't have to have lots of money to be absolutly rich. A group of people who care about is worth much more. Unlike money, they'll always be there and they are unreplacable. You must read this sweet little book!

This is a great resource for anyone taking a French class. From a beginner to an expert, anyone could benefit from this little guy. The verb charts at the end really help.

When I started my French class, I had the textbook and the workbook. I decided that it would be good to get a French dictionary. This dictionary has been great. I have learned several new words that I won't have learned in class. Using the concepts for verb conjugation in class, I was able to apply what I had learned to the words I was looking up in the dictionary.

The back of the dictionary has a section on French verbs. Since that has been my major weakness, I thought that it was a great resource for studying.

Deibert has written a book that gives an awesome portrayal of the way in which information technologies interact with society and political forces. I would say that after having read this book I now have a much better grasp of a truly sophisticated understanding of the causal relationship between society and communications. This is a great contribution to medium theory.

This book is a stellar contribution to the understanding of how communication technologies affect world politics. Its rich in historical detail, wonderfully well written, and provocative in its conclusion. A must read.

This book has got everything and anything a nascent patent seeker needs to go it alone, and even the tools if one needs more than one's own help. It is full of example after example of those who've gone before and succeeded where naysayers so often have said "it can't be done." Art and entertainment are supposed to be too elusive to define and patent; yet, this book brings to light the fact that it's possible to pin those definitions down after all - then patent them.

You can't go wrong with all the possibilities shown in this book. Gregory Aharonian and Richard Stim have you covered on so many fronts within the art and entertainment venues, you can only succeed. Even better, you've got nothing to lose. Even if you're denied a patent by the USPTO - and they're blunt about that possibility here - you won't always regret not having tried, or even wonder, "What if I had tried"?

Patenting is part art unto itself. Add to that the eclectic theories and arguments pro and con of this still-growing discipline, and you have a very unique niche of law of which to be part.

This book gives you every tool you could need as a novice (and even not-so-novice) self-patent seeker. It even gives detailed advice on how to get a professional, a.k.a., lawyer, to help you on more complicated matters best not left to one's self.

I picked this book up thinking that applying patent and related law to art and entertainment was a rather narrow focus but found the book to be both interesting and comprehensive. Changes in the area of intellectual property protection in recent years, particularly regarding the practices of the US Patent and Trademark Office, have blurred the lines of protection in some areas of the law. The art and entertainment areas are good examples where the changes have had the most effect and practitioners in those fields are well advised to become familiar with them. The book clearly describes some of the most ambiguous areas and does an excellent job of describing why and when some forms of intellectual property protection may be more suitable than others. It also deals concretely with the issue of costs and - egads - when someone might actually want to retain an attorney. My quibbles with the book are minor. Patent infringement cases do not necessarily cost $500,000 to prosecute and many cases involving inventions with modest commercial success are resolved at much less cost. Also, in terms of the efficacy of protection, nothing beats a timely registered copyright in terms of recovery for time and cost expended. But these are my opinions and others may (and probably do) disagree. In any case, the candid and practical guidance in this book will be of interest to anyone working in the creative fields irrespective of whether they have invented new ways to create art, designed bigger and better inflatable dolls, or developed new designs for clothing and accessories.

Check out [...] for additional art, poetry, and even preaching resources for this book's themes. Looks at Purpose-Driven topics from a mainline church perspective (familiar theology too). Our church used this for our Lenten series.

Our people really grew in biblical literacy and enjoyed the book. Written with solid scholarship but engaging for lay people. Filled with interesting details about these people who knew Jesus and ways it transformed their lives. Encouraged our members to be more active in their faith.

Author Robert Driver-Bishop pastors with purpose, leads with purpose, lives with purpose and writes with purpose! The Purpose-Driven Life has set us on a quest for purpose and People of Purpose provides just that!... Dan Southerland, author of Transitioning & Purpose Driven ministry executive consultant.

The Spiritual revolution of our time is a shift from thinking to doing. Faith is not an idea but a way of living! Driver-Bishop gets it. You will catch the spirit when you read and use this fine book. Michael Foss, pastor & author of Real Faith for Real Life.

Robert Driver-Bishop has created a tool that will draw ever-larger numbers of denominational churches into 40 Days of Purpose. His use of Biblical figures to illustrate each of the chapters roots this work solidly in the Bible. The added historical perspective enriches the context of each character and story. Gregg Burch, editor of www.TransformingChurch.com

The beauty of the book People of Purpose is that it provides concrete examples of what it means to practice the Christian faith. These examples serve as mentors from the past. We are invited to engage these characters through reflection and discussion. People of Purpose is designed to build upon the many helpful principles presented in The Purpose Driven Life. People of Purpose takes the principle and puts flesh on it through a Biblical character and their life experiences. By this method the principle comes alive and the Bible comes alive.

People of Purpose is an excellent devotional resource, especially during the season of Lent; a chapter can be read for each of the forty days. It is well suited to the development of a small group ministry in the congregation. Small groups have been shown to be an important tool for renewal. People of Purpose can serve as a handbook to discuss ministry in daily life. Rev Dr Gary Wollersheim, Bishop Northern Illinois Synod.

Tom O'Connor's "Poetic Acts & New Media" may be defined in two distinct ways. First, it is a work offering tight, original readings of poetry and film. In specific, O'Connor's readings are free of the totalizing weight of either traditional critical camps (Deconstruction, psychoanalysis), or their 21st century 'post-theoretical' reconfigurations. These are first and foremost close textual (film and poetry) readings, lucidly composed with a narrator-voice that replaces the strained conclusions and over-emphasized hyperbole that have come to be a hallmark of cultural critics with ever-thoughtful ellipses and question marks. There are no 'thick' conjectures about Agent Cooper's love of black coffee, nor any determinedly political reductions of Walt Whitman here. Instead, O'Connor seeks to show rather than tell us that the 'texts' that we have come to know as mere representations of experience actually exist in ways that go far beyond copies of images, thoughts, etc. and are, in fact, reality looked at not from the dialectical perspective of true/false, real, imaginary; rather, a new perspective emerges, one that is not 'a' perspective, but which is the very possibility of representations, the very idea of experience and emotion. This is in direct contrast to the view held by epistemological skeptics who consider the battle to be one of a re-articulation of modernity in different terms (that is, less 'high' and exclusive ones). O'Connor agrees with and elaborates on the Deleuzian non-dialectical project which seeks radical and perpetual transformation via the virtual, a process that leads to a combative re-assessment and re-conceptualization of the self and our world in heterogeneous terms (i.e. McLuhan's "global village").

The second way O'Connor's project might be characterized is as a critical assessment of postmodern thought and media theory of the last quarter-century. In fact, his engagement with Gilles Deleuze and Marshall McLuhan in particular, coupled with his 'new' look at filmmakers like David Lynch and poets like David Trinidad puts him in dialogue with Zizek, Matsumi, Hayward & Co. That is, O'Connor distinguishes himself as a media theorist in his own right - be it through re-assessing Deleuze's later work in a positive light contra Zizek and other Hegelians, or railing against politically aspiratorial psychoanalytic takes on Roy Orbison's "Crying" - and this in itself merits attention by those critically engaged in the postmodern/anti-postmodern debate. Highly recommended for students in continental philosophy (the readings of Nietzsche are extensive and highly pertinent).

With film, television, and now the internet dominating the media landscape, one might question the relevance of...poetry. After all, aside from a select few of the population, who writes poetry, much less reads the stuff? However, as O'Connor shows in his first book, poetry remains crucially relevant in our contemporary world, and not merely as words that can be read on the printed page. Rather, O'Connor conceives of "poetry" as something that can be found in those very areas--film, telelvision--where poetry, due to the often pre-established status of meaning, is vastly needed.
Utilizing the writings of Gilles Deleuze, O'Connor identifies "poetry" as a simulated form of expression that generates meaning within the contingent, contextual circumstances of its making. Thus, in "poetry," no meaning is predetermined, making its world-view fundamentally in opposition to the far more "popular" approach towards meaning a representational" view offers--where meaning has already been codified or pre-established.
After defining his approach to "poetry," O'Connor begins with a discussion of poetry as it occurs in its traditional, printed-text format. Specifically, O'Connor highlights how "media poetry" (the name for his specific conception of "poetry") can be distinguished from L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, which also wishes to distance itself from a representational mode of thinking. While L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry conceives of verbal language as consisting of a series of arbitrary signs that do not refer to reality, but at best, only themselves, O'Connor's distinguishes his "media poetry" by noting how it conceives of meaning not as arbitrary, but rather as contingent upon context, and thereby, the very real, lived moment of its creation.
O'Connor then shifts his attention to the presence of "media poetry" in film through a discussion of three films: Mulholland Drive, Vanilla Sky, and Being John Malkovich. As these films contain narratives which deal with the dangers of living a representational mode of existence against the need for a poetic sensibility, so all three central characters are shown to engage in a "poetic" journey whose ultimate "destination" is identified not as an ideal place or "happy ending" (typical of a representational point-of-view) but a contingent perspective more in line with the possibilities of what their lives can be.
Having touched upon each of these films, O'Connor then takes us into a discussion of television, first via the short-lived, prime-time series Twin Peaks. Here, O'Connor shifts and expands his theoretical approach to focus upon the presence of "bourgeois mythology" as a particular embodiment of a representational mode of thinking, while locating a particularly "poetic" sensibility in the teenagers of that show, most notably the female characters.
Then, O'Connor sets his sights upon a second television program, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while further extending his perspective by equating a "poetic" sensibility with Nietzsche's Noble Ethics and Will-to-Power. O'Connor locates these Nietzschean "poetic" sensibilities within Buffy herself as well as many of the show's supporting cast who are likewise engaged in an ongoing battle against those forces who are not merely supernatural in nature (vampires, etc.) but all-too-indicative of a timeless, and thereby, anti-life perspective which seeks to eliminate any contingent vantage point from which to generate one's own life and the possibilities inherent in it.
O'Connor then comes full circle in his Coda with a return to "poetry" in its traditional verbal form, though ironically, the poem he chooses to discuss, John Kinsella's "TV," suggests that "poetry" and the more popular mediums of expression are not necessarily antithetical. Indeed, as the powers-at-be which dominate these mediums tend to operate from a representational perspective, O'Connor steadfastly believes that the presence of poetry both in its verbal form and in our more popular media is vitally important because it can resist and thus transform any dominating bourgeois mythology or representational world-view.
All in all, O'Connor's first book is both enlightening and accessible, while its most notable attribute is its willingness to not merely assume a stereotypical view of popular media as somehow "bad" in and of itself. Rather, O'Connor turns many assumptions we have about such media on their heads, and in the process, highlights the actual achievements and possibilities inherent in a more "poetic" way of approaching them. In short, if you hold any interest in "new media" studies or even a basic interest in television and/or film as mediums of potential meaning/significance, O'Connor's book is a must.

You have to have this in your collection otherwise you'll be sorry.
It was so good I read it ten times!!!!!!!
Finnaly a book about a movie that is just as good as the movie.

I rate it 100000000000 out of 10.

I think this book is great to read because I wasn't able to watch the movie myself and I really wanted to. I borrowed this book from a friend who had it and it was fun to read. It filled me in on the whole movie. I like to read and I think this book is great.