Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization

• ISBN13: 9781583227305
• Condition: New
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Greece isn't the only country drowning in debt. The Debt Supercycleâ€"when the easily managed, decades-long growth of debt results in a massive sovereign debt and credit crisisâ€"is affecting developed countries around the world, including the United States. For these countries, there are only two options, and neither is goodâ€"restructure the debt or reduce it through austerity measures. Endgame details the Debt Supercycle and the sovereign debt crisis, and shows that, while there are no good choices, the worst choice would be to ignore the deleveraging resulting from the credit crisis. The book:

• Reveals why the world economy is in for an extended period of sluggis! h growth, high unemployment, and volatile markets punctuated by persistent recessions
• Reviews global markets, trends in population, government policies, and currencies

Around the world, countries are faced with difficult choices. Endgame provides a framework for making those choices.

Q&A with Authors John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper

Author John Mauldin

What is the debt supercycle?
Over a period of about sixty years, debt levels grew faster than incomes. This increase in debt became particularly pronounced in the 1980s, 90s a! nd finally went parabolic after the Federal Reserve lowere! d intere st rates to 1% after the Nasdaq crash. The increase in debt was not just a US phenomenon. As interest rates fell structurally with the fall in inflation from 1982 onwards, people took on more debt because it became more manageable. However, by 2008 the burden of debt became too much to bear and the debt supercycle came to an end. People started deleveraging and banks started collapsing due to low levels of capital and large losses from loans people couldn't pay back.

How does the sovereign debt crisis play into this?
The rapid contraction in debt levels due to default and deleveraging lead to a fall in economic activity as people started saving and cutting spending. Governments immediately stepped in and backed bank debt with explicit guarantees. Governments also started borrowing and spending to transfer money to the private sector, for example via unemployment insurance. So in a very real sense, private borrowing was replaced wit! h public borrowing. Debt was added onto more debt. Rather than free itself of debt, the system now has more debt. The sovereign debt crisis is the recognition that most of this debt will not be paid back, and governments are making promises to pay debt and other obligations, for example general spending and pensions, that they simply lack the ability to fulfill.

What is the impact of the end of the debt supercycle?

Author Jonathan Tepper

The end of the debt supercycle and the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis present problems and challenges for investors and governments. Governments will need to either 1) inflate, 2) default or 3) d! evalue, which is similar to inflate. That is the way governme! nts have historically dealt with too much debt. Some countries will experience deflation and others inflation, depending on what choices governments make. Currently governments have only bad and worse choices. Let's hope they can choose wisely.

What do you predict for the next ten years?
Central banks globally have shown a predisposition to print money to solve problems. We forsee rising inflation in many parts of the world, reductions in real income as people lose purchasing power due to higher food and fuel prices and more macroeconomic volatility. Some countries that do not control their own money supply or are running pegs may experience deflation as they are forced to delever and cannot increase the money supply to counteract the weight of deleveraging.

You cite the events in Greece as an example of a country continuing to run massive deficits. Is there an example of a country making a better choice?
The UK is making some of the right steps to control spending, but even the UK could be more draconian. In nominal and real terms, government spending in aggregate will not be cut in the UK. Also, Iceland has made positive steps by defaulting on its debt effectively. Default is a good way to cure too much debt.
Endgame is acclaimed biographer Frank Brady’s decades-in-the-making tracing of the meteoric ascentâ€"and confounding descentâ€"of enigmatic genius Bobby Fischer.  Only Brady, who met Fischer when the prodigy was only 10 and shared with him some of his most dramatic triumphs, could have written this book, which has much to say about the nature of American celebrity and the distorting effects of fame.  Drawing from Fischer family archives, recently released FBI files, and Bobby’s own emails, this account is unique in that it limns Fischer’s entire lifeâ€"an odyssey that took the Brooklyn-raised chess champion from a! n impoverished childhood to the covers of Time, Life an! d New sweek to recognition as “the most famous man in the world” to notorious recluse.
 
At first all one noticed was how gifted Fischer was.  Possessing a 181 I.Q. and remarkable powers of concentration, Bobby memorized hundreds of chess books in several languages, and he was only 13 when he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history.   But his strange behavior started early.  In 1972, at the historic Cold War showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he faced Soviet champion Boris Spassky, Fischer made headlines with hundreds of petty demands that nearly ended the competition.
 
It was merely a prelude to what was to come.
 
Arriving back in the United States to a hero’s welcome, Bobby was mobbed wherever he wentâ€"a figure as exotic and improbable as any American pop culture had yet produced.  No player of a mere “board game” had ever ascended to such heights.  Commercial sponsorship offers poured in, ultimately topping $10 mil! lionâ€"but Bobby demurred.  Instead, he began tithing his limited money to an apocalyptic religion and devouring anti-Semitic literature. 
 
After years of poverty and a stint living on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, Bobby remerged in 1992 to play Spassky in a multi-million dollar rematchâ€"but the experience only deepened a paranoia that had formed years earlier when he came to believe that the Soviets wanted him dead for taking away “their” title.  When the dust settled, Bobby was a wanted manâ€"transformed into an international fugitive because of his decision to play in Montenegro despite U.S. sanctions.  Fearing for his life, traveling with bodyguards, and wearing a long leather coat to ward off knife attacks, Bobby lived the life of a celebrity fugitive â€" one drawn increasingly to the bizarre.  Mafiosi, Nazis, odd attempts to breed an heir who could perpetuate his chess-genius DNAâ€"all are woven into his late-life tapestry.
 
And yet, as B! rady shows, the most notable irony of Bobby Fischer’s strang! e descen t â€" which had reached full plummet by 2005 when he turned down yet another multi-million dollar paydayâ€"is that despite his incomprehensible behavior, there were many who remained fiercely loyal to him.  Why that was so is at least partly the subject of this bookâ€"one that at last answers the question: “Who was Bobby Fischer?”Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2011: There may be no one more qualified than Frank Brady to write the definitive biography of Bobby Fischer. Brady's Profile of a Prodigy (originally published in 1969) chronicled the chess icon's early years, a selection of 90 games, and (in later editions) his 1972 World Championship match with Boris Spassky. With Endgame, published two years after Fischer's death, Brady's on-and-off proximity to Fischer lends new depth to the latter's full and twisted life story. Though Fischer's pinnacle artistry on the chessboard may often be discussed in the same br! eath with his eventual paranoia and outspoken anti-Semitism, the particular turns and travels of his post-World Championship years (half his life) lend his story most of its vexing oddity: the niggling insistence on seemingly arbitrary conditions for his matches, the years on the lam after flagrantly disregarding U.S. economic sanctions, his incarceration in Japan, his eventual citizenship and quiet demise in Iceland. All told, Fischer's life was like none other, and told through the lens of Brady's personal familiarity and access to new source material, results in an utterly engaging read. --Jason Kirk

Guest Reviewer: Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett is the host of ! “The Dick Cavett Show”---which aired on ABC from 1968 to 1! 975 and on public television from 1977 to 1982---Dick Cavett is the author, most recently, of Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets. The co-author of Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), he has also appeared on Broadway in Otherwise Engaged and Into the Woods, and as narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, and has made guest appearances in movies and on TV shows including Forrest Gump and The Simpsons. His column appears in the Opinionator blog on The New York Times website. Mr. Cavett lives in New York City and Montauk, N.Y.

Even if you don’t give a damn about chess, or Bobby Fischer, you’ll find yourself engrossed by Frank Brady‘s book about Fischer, which reads like a novel.

The facts of Bobby’s life (I knew him from several memorable appearances on “The Dick Cavett Show” on both sides of the Big Tournament) are presented in page-turne! r fashion. Poor Bobby was blessed and cursed by his genius, and his story has the arc of a Greek tragedy---with a grim touch of mad King Lear at the end.

The brain power and concentrated days and nights Bobby spent studying the game left much of him undeveloped, unable to join conversations on other subjects. Later in his life, unhappy with his limited knowledge of things beyond the chess board, he compensated with massive study---applying that same hard-butt dedication to other fields: politics, classics, religion, philosophy and more. He found a hide-away nook in a Reykjavic bookstore---barred from his homeland, Iceland had welcomed him back---where he read in marathon sessions. (After he was recognized, he never went back to his cozy cul de sac.)

In Brady’s telling the high drama of the Spassky match quickens the pulse; the contest that made America a chess-crazed land was seen by more people than the Superbowl. People skipped school and played sick ! in vast numbers, glued to watching Shelby Lyman explain what w! as happe ning. The fanaticism was worldwide. The match was seen as a Cold War event, with the time out of mind chess-ruling Russian bear vanquished.

Arguably the best known man on the planet at his triumphant peak, Bobby is later seen in this account riding buses in Los Angeles, able to pay his rent in a dump of an apartment only because his mother sent him her social-security checks. The details of all this are stranger than fiction, as is nearly everything in the life of this much-rewarded, much-tortured genius.

I liked him immensely, knowing only the tall, broad-shouldered, athletically strong and handsome six-foot-something articulate and yes, witty, youth that Bobby was before the evil times set in, with deranged anti-Semitic outbursts and other mental strangeness preceding his too early end at age 64.

I can’t ever forget the moment on the show when in amiable conversation I asked him what, in chess, corresponded to the thrill in another sort of event;! like, say, hitting a homer in baseball. He said it was the moment when you “break the other guy’s ego.” There was a shocked murmur from the audience and the quote went around the world.

Frank Brady’s Endgame is one of those books that makes you want your dinner guests to go the hell home so you can get back to it.

The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's immensely popular and highly acclaimed works A Language Older Than Words and The Culture of Make Believe. Accepting the increasingly widespread belief that industrialized culture inevitably erodes the natural world, Endgame sets out to explore how this relationship impels us towards a revolutionary and as-yet undiscovered shift in strategy. Building on a series of simple but increasingly provocative premises, Jensen leaves us hoping for what may be inevitable: a return to agrarian communal life via the disintegration of civilization itself.

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Terror Beneath the Sea

• Can legendary action hero Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill, Volume 1), save the planet from the ultimate destruction of the human race? The Navy s test of a new torpedo for a group of journalists ends abruptly when a strange creature swims into view. Reporters Ken (Chiba) and Jenny (Peggy Neal) sense something sinister and decide to investigate. Unbeknownst to them, an evil scientist is busily creating a

A dark road, a sleepy driver, a motel looming out of the night. Writer-director Chad Feehan takes those classic thriller elements and weaves a disturbing and compelling tale of love and the nightmare grip of ghosts from our past. Josh Stewart ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") and Jamie-Lynn Sigler ("The Sopranos") deliver intense performances as a young couple who take refuge in a roadside motel. Soon, the couple has crossed paths with a mysterious desk clerk and his sultry blond wife, as well as! a stranger who is somehow privy to their most closely guarded secrets. Like a love story by way of "The Twilight Zone," "Beneath the Dark" touches your heart even as it chills your blood.Director and co-writer Federico Zampaglione's terrifying film recalls Sam Peckinpah's ferocious "Straw Dogs" and Tobe Hooper's horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," yet it feels as immediate as today's headlines. Jake Muxworthy plays a young soldier who embarks on a mountain-biking trip, walks into a cafe and meets the love of his life (Karina Testa). Unfortunately, he also meets a pair of violent hunters who make him their prey after he defends the young woman from their sleazy advances. But what appears at first to be a vicious cat-and-mouse game set in treacherous terrain turns into a full-blown nightmare when these adversaries become the captives of a mountain dweller whose depraved plans for them soon become all too apparent. Both a relentless horror film and a searing account! of the brutal after-effects of war, "Shadow" is a scream-indu! cing des cent into an abyss of unspeakable terror.

BENEATH THE DARK ICE

When a plane crashes into the Antarctic ice, exposing an enormous cave system, a rescue and research team is dispatched. Twenty-four hours later, all contact is lost.

Captain Alex Hunter and his highly trained commandos, along with a team of scientists, are fast tracked to the hot zone to find out what went wrong. Meanwhile, the alluring petrobiologist Aimee Weir is sent to follow up on the detection of a vast underground reservoir. If the unidentified substance proves to be oil, every country in the world will want to know about it--even wage war over it. Or worse.

Once suspended into the caves, Alex, Aimee, and the others can't locate a single survivor--or even a trace of their remains. Nor is there a energy source, only specter! s of the dead haunting the tunnels. But soon they will discover that something very much alive is brewing beneath the surface. It is a force that dates back to the very dawn of time--an ancient terror that hunts and kills to survive...

BENEATH THE DARK ICE REVIEWS:

* BUCKLE UP... This is going to be a hell of a ride! Jonathan Maberry - Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Wolfman (now a major motion picture).
 
* Beneath the Dark Ice - Quickly paced, imaginatively detailed, and highly atmospheric, Beck's novel is an entertaining mix of thriller, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Neal Wyatt, RA Crossroads, LIBRARY JOURNAL 
 
* B! eneath the Dark Ice has all the ingredie! nts of a late night page-turner: a remote and dangerous setting, a rugged hero with an Achilles heel, a vicious and deadly villain, geopolitical intrigue and cutting-edge science. Throw in a feisty heroine and a band of elite soldiers, put them in the ruins of an ancient civilization and pit them against a mythological creature, and it's a recipe for compulsive reading. Lachlan Jobbins, Good Reading Magazine.
 
* Fast Paced, fun and fantastic debut from a great new talent. Perfect escapism. Paperchain Books.
 
* Beneath the Dark Ice - In a word: GRIPPING. Malcolm Tattersall, Townsville BULLETIN.
 
* Exciting Read! A successful mix of spy thrille! r, psychological drama, and scientific primeval action novel - with just a touch of the Jules Verne. Anne Dickson, Rodney Libraries.

When a plane crashes into the Antarctic ice, exposing an enormous cave system, a rescue and research team is dispatched. Twenty-four hours later, all contact is lost.

Captain Alex Hunter and his highly trained commandos, along with a team of scientists, are fast tracked to the hot zone to find out what went wrong. Meanwhile, the alluring petrobiologist Aimee Weir is sent to follow up on the detection of a vast underground reservoir. If the unidentified substance proves to be oil, every country in the world will want to know about itâ€"even wage war over it. Or worse.

Once suspended into the caves, Alex, Aimee, and the others can’t locate a single survivorâ€"or even a trace of their remains. Nor is there a energy source, only specters of the dead haunting the tunnels. But soon th! ey will discover that something very much alive is brewing ben! eath the surface. It is a force that dates back to the very dawn of timeâ€"an ancient terror that hunts and kills to survive…

When a plane crashes into the Antarctic ice, exposing an enormous cave system, a rescue and research team is dispatched. Twenty-four hours later, all contact is lost.

Captain Alex Hunter and his highly trained commandos, along with a team of scientists, are fast tracked to the hot zone to find out what went wrong. Meanwhile, the alluring petrobiologist Aimee Weir is sent to follow up on the detection of a vast underground reservoir. If the unidentified substance proves to be oil, every country in the world will want to know about itâ€"even wage war over it. Or worse.

Once suspended into the caves, Alex, Aimee, and the others can’t locate a single survivorâ€"or even a trace of their remains. Nor is there a energy source, only specters of the dead haunting the tunnels. But soon they will discover that something v! ery much alive is brewing beneath the surface. It is a force that dates back to the very dawn of timeâ€"an ancient terror that hunts and kills to survive…

TERROR BENEATH THE SEA - DVD Movie

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Eight Below [Blu-ray]

• EIGHT BELOW (BLU-RAY DISC)

On what should be a routine rescue mission during World War II, the submarine USS Tiger Shark picks up three survivors of a U-boat attack. But for the crew -- trapped together in the sub's narrow corridors and constricted spaces -- the unexpected visitors seem to spark a series of chilling, otherworldly occurrences! Starring Hollywood favorites Olivia Williams (THE SIXTH SENSE, THE POSTMAN), Bruce Greenwood (THIRTEEN DAYS, DOUBLE JEAPOARD), and Matt Davis (LEGALLY BLONDE, BLUE CRUSH).Inspired by the vintage thrillers of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, Below is a superbly crafted spookfest primed for cult-favorite status. As he did with The Arrival and Pitch Black, director David Twohy revitalizes a B-movie staple--in this case, the World War II submarine thriller--by turning it into a nerve-wracking funhouse of smoke and mirrors, where chilli! ng visions tease the brain and stir paranoia among a close-knit group of terrified characters. When a U.S. sub takes on three survivors from a sinking British ship, its captain (Bruce Greenwood) uncovers secrets while concealing his own. As the sub's recent history unfolds, its crew is increasingly haunted by ghostly images, fleeting and subliminal, while the threat of German attack looms ominously overhead. More of a mood piece than a truly satisfying thriller, Below favors tense atmosphere over cohesive plotting, but it's so visually captivating, and so tautly acted by a fine ensemble cast, that its narrative flaws are easily forgiven. --Jeff ShannonOn what was supposed to be a routine rescue mission during World War II, the submarine USS Tiger Shark picks up three survivors of a U-boat attack. But the crew begins to noticeâ€"while trapped together in the sub's narrow corridors and constricted spacesâ€"that the visitors seem to spark a series of chilling, ot! herworldly occurrences. Starring Hollywood favorites Olivia! William s (TV's Dollhouse), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover Part II), Jason Flemyng (Clash of the Titans), Bruce Greenwood (Barney's Version) and Matthew Davis (TV's The Vampire Diaries).Inspired by the vintage thrillers of Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur, Below is a superbly crafted spookfest primed for cult-favorite status. As he did with The Arrival and Pitch Black, director David Twohy revitalizes a B-movie staple--in this case, the World War II submarine thriller--by turning it into a nerve-wracking funhouse of smoke and mirrors, where chilling visions tease the brain and stir paranoia among a close-knit group of terrified characters. When a U.S. sub takes on three survivors from a sinking British ship, its captain (Bruce Greenwood) uncovers secrets while concealing his own. As the sub's recent history unfolds, its crew is increasingly haunted by ghostly images, fleeting and subliminal, whil! e the threat of German attack looms ominously overhead. More of a mood piece than a truly satisfying thriller, Below favors tense atmosphere over cohesive plotting, but it's so visually captivating, and so tautly acted by a fine ensemble cast, that its narrative flaws are easily forgiven. --Jeff ShannonThree quarters of her crew are deep sea miners, geneoids, humans designed with aquatic traits that have created creatures of such beauty that Victoria can’t help but be drawn to them, particularly the merman, Raphael. When he claims her as his companion, he places her in an untenable position, but Victoria quickly discovers that the rules set down by the company that has betrayed them all are of no concern to her when it comes to Raphael, and that she is just as determined to have him as the company is to part them forever.


The Romance Studio
Reviewed by Sara Sawyer
Overall Rating: 5 Hearts!

Ms. O'Connor weaves a marvelou! s futuristic and thrilling book. This novel captures your atte! ntion fr om the first page as each character imbeds themselves into your psyche. Raphael is a genetic experiment that understands that most of the "pure" humans rank him somewhere below themselves, yet above fish. While he does understand this, he does not accept it. Raphael is a strong, beautiful and supremely complex man and a perfect counterpart to Victoria's rule-abiding, open minded self. Together the main characters make the story come alive. The threats, the insecurities, the mystery that surrounds Kay and its blood-colored water is enthralling and well worth the journey.


Three quarters of her crew are deep sea miners, geneoids, humans designed with aquatic traits that have created creatures of such beauty that Victoria can’t help but be drawn to them, particularly the merman, Raphael. When he claims her as his companion, he places her in an untenable position, but Victoria quickly discovers that the rules set down by the company that has betrayed them all ! are of no concern to her when it comes to Raphael, and that she is just as determined to have him as the company is to part them forever.


The Romance Studio
Reviewed by Sara Sawyer
Overall Rating: 5 Hearts!

Ms. O'Connor weaves a marvelous futuristic and thrilling book. This novel captures your attention from the first page as each character imbeds themselves into your psyche. Raphael is a genetic experiment that understands that most of the "pure" humans rank him somewhere below themselves, yet above fish. While he does understand this, he does not accept it. Raphael is a strong, beautiful and supremely complex man and a perfect counterpart to Victoria's rule-abiding, open minded self. Together the main characters make the story come alive. The threats, the insecurities, the mystery that surrounds Kay and its blood-colored water is enthralling and well worth the journey.


It's Mitchum vs. Jurgens as the commanders of an American destroyer! and a German U-boat play a deadly game of cat and mouse.In The Ene my Below Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens are respectively captains of a U.S. destroyer and a German U-boat whose vessels come into conflict in the South Atlantic. Both are good men with a job to do, the script noting Jurgens' distaste for Hitler and the Nazis and engaging our sympathy with the German sailors almost as much as the Americans. Made at the height of the cold war of the 1950s, the film delivers a liberal message of co-operation wrapped inside some spectacular action scenes and a story which builds to a tense and exciting, moving finale. --Gary S. Dalkin

A boy and his action figure explore a secret world below the stairs

Jack and his action figure, Guy, have many adventures together, and the tall, narrow staircase in Jack's house provides the perfect setting. Jack and Guy climb mountains, visit cities, and explore forests. But one day Guy falls down a hole in the stairs and it's up to Jack to rescue him. What is going on below the sta! irs--only Guy knows.

Publishers Weekly has described Nina Crews as "highly skilled at seeing through her photographic lens with the eyes of a child." Here she captures the excitement of make-believe and celebrates a child's imagination and resourcefulness in her signature style.

The unforgiving terrain of Antarctica comes to life through the wonder of Blu-ray Disc technology in this amazing tale of courage and loyalty. Eight incredible dogs, left behind when their research team is forced to flee, band together to survive the subzero elements that blister the screen in eye-popping 1080p. The astonishing sound quality of the 5.1 48 kHz, 16-bit uncompressed audio will have you practically feeling the wind chill factor as guide Jerry (Paul Walker) races against time to save his four-legged friends. Experience this heart-pounding adventure like never before through the magic of Blu-ray high definition.Despite a likable cast of humans, it's the! canine stars who steal the show in Eight Below, a terr! ific liv e-action adventure in the time-honored Disney tradition. Based on a true story that was previously filmed (much differently) as the 1983 Japanese hit Antarctica, this above-average family film takes place in 1993 and focuses on a dog-sled guide at an Antarctic research station (Paul Walker) who is forced by a severe storm to abandon eight beloved sled dogs for the duration of a harsh Antarctic winter. Left to fend for themselves, the rugged and resourceful dogs encounter danger at every turn, surviving for nearly six months while Walker and his closest colleagues (engagingly played by Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, and American Pie's Jason Biggs) join forces to mount a daring rescue mission. Having endured similarly extreme conditions on his 1993 film Alive, director Frank Marshall brings an abundance of natural splendor (and minimum use of digital wizardry) to spectacularly arctic locations in Norway, Greenland and Canada, and Walker (star of The F! ast and the Furious) lends an amiable sincerity to his compassionate role. For most viewers, however, it's the remarkable dogs (six Siberian huskies and two malamutes) who make Eight Below so thoroughly entertaining. It's not quite an instant family classic, but it comes pretty doggone close. --Jeff Shannon

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Art School Confidential (2005) DVD Widescreen

• DVD
• Widescreen
• Subtitled English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese
• Dolby Digital

"Art School Confidential" follows talented young artist Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) as he escapes from high school to a tiny East Coast art school. Here the boyish freshman's ambition is to become the world's greatest artist, like his hero Picasso. Unfortunately, the beauty and craft of Jerome's portraiture are not appreciated in an anything-goes art class. Neither his harsh judgments of his classmates' efforts nor his later attempts to create pseudo-art of his own win him any admirers. But Jerome does attract the attentions of his dream girl, the stunning and sophisticated Audrey (Sophia Myles), an artist's model and daughter of a celebrated artist. Rejecting the affectations of the local art scene, Audrey is drawn to Jerome's sincerity. When Audrey shifts her attention to Jonah (M! att Keeslar), a hunky painter who becomes the school's latest art star, Jerome is heartbroken. Desperate, he concocts a risky plan to make a name for himself and win her back.Bitter, misanthropic, yet sometimes blisteringly funny, Art School Confidential is not a movie for everyone. Jerome (Max Minghella, Bee Season) goes to art school in the hopes of having his genuine ability recognized and cherished--but instead, finds his teachers to be self-obsessed has-beens, his peers jaded and floundering, and himself being investigated for a series of gruesome stranglings. He becomes obsessed with a lovely student named Audrey (Sophia Myles, Tristan and Isolde), but she's more interested in hunky Jonah (Matt Keeslar, Splendor), whose crude yet acclaimed paintings of cars and tanks make Jerome want to tear his own eyes out. The crime-thriller plot of Art School Confidential, however, is merely a contrivance to string together a series of caustic di! gs at the shallow, narcissistic, talentless hacks who go to ar! t school in the vain hope of achieving fame, wealth, and sexual abundance with little or no effort. For most viewers, who want to think that people are largely well-intentioned and decent, this will seem snide and cruel; but for some viewers, who believe people are foolish and blinkered, Art School Confidential will seem like an oasis in the arid desert of lies and propaganda about the good side of human nature. If this is your movie, you know who you are, and I encourage you to seek it out as soon as possible. Directed by Terry Zwigoff (Bad Santa) and based on the work of cartoonist Dan Clowes; their previous collaboration was the much warmer Ghost World. Also featuring sharp turns from John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), Anjelica Huston (Prizzi's Honor), and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!). --Bret Fetzer

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The Bucket List

• You only live once, so why not go out in style? That?s what two cancer- ward roommates, an irascible billionaire (Jack Nicholson) and a scholarly mechanic (Morgan Freeman), decide when they get the bad news. They compose a bucket list ? things to do before you kick the bucket ? and head off for the around-the-world adventure of their lives. Sky dive? Check. Power a Shelby Mustang around a racetrac

You only live once, so why not go out in style? That’s what two cancer- ward roommates, an irascible billionaire (Jack Nicholson) and a scholarly mechanic (Morgan Freeman), decide when they get the bad news. They compose a bucket list â€" things to do before you kick the bucket â€" and head off for the around-the-world adventure of their lives. Sky dive? Check. Power a Shelby Mustang around a racetrack? Check. Gaze at the Great Pyramid of Khufu? Check. Discover the joy in their lives before it’s! too late? Check! Under the nimble direction of Rob Reiner, the two great stars provide the heart and soul, wit and wiles of this inspired salute to life that proves that the best time of all is right now."You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you," says the quietly wise Carter Chambers, played with gravitas and grace by a Morgan Freeman. In Rob Reiner's moving, often hilarious film The Bucket List, all sorts of people measure themselves against the two heroes, Chambers and his hospital suitemate, Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). But as Cole finds, having spent his entire life building a Fortune 500 company, none of that much matters when cancer, the great equalizer, pays a visit. The film traces the adventures of the two unlikely friends, who meet in a hospital cancer ward, each given six months to live. The "bucket list" of the title refers to a lifelong list of goals that a teacher of Chambers once advised him to compile--and achieve--"before y! ou kick the bucket." Soon the two are off on what may be the l! ast gran d adventure of their life, vowing to tick off as many goals (skydiving, race-car driving, seeing the wonders of the world) as they can in the time they have left. What starts as a medical melodrama becomes a road trip, yet the men's mortality realities are never far from thought. The two leads give impressive performances, and remind the viewer of just how few American films focus on the lives and loves of senior citizens. Nicholson even manages to lose his persona in his character, much as he did in About Schmidt. There's a lovely John Mayer tune, "Say (What You Need to Say)," that's perfectly matched to the film's clear-eyed view of life: What does one person leave behind as his true legacy? --A.T. Hurley

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Ghosts of Cité Soleil 20x26 Framed and Double Matted Movie Poster - A

• High quality framed art print
• Wood Frame with Double Matting
• Top Quality Crescent Matboard used for Double Matting
• Custom packed for safe delivery
• Satisfaction Guaranteed

An epic portrait of a family and a culture torn apart by poverty and violence, GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL is a powerful and unsettling documentary that takes us inside the lives of the notorious gang leaders who dominate the Haitian slum of Cite Soleil, one of the most desperate communities in the Western hemisphere. Set to a score by Wyclef Jean, who also executive produced the film and serves as an inspiration to the young men of Haiti, the film follows two of the gang leaders, who happen to be brothers, and are also aspiring rappers. The foot soldiers of these gang leaders are known as chimeres ("ghosts") and it was those ghosts whom former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is said to have employ! ed to silence his opponents. Filmed in the months leading up to Aristide's overthrow in 2004, the film captures the smoldering tensions between the two rival gang leaders, and their love for the same woman, set in a city the United Nations has declared the most dangerous place on Earth.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

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HO Accident Waiting to Happen

• Model Railroading Supplies

Oscar nominee* Geena Davis stars as Gloria Conway, the sharp-tongued mom in this darkly comic story of a family strangely cursed with a streak of bad luck. But as life takes unexpected detours, Gloria manages to tear apart her pain to find the humor in even the toughest things that happen to her. When her teenage son Billy uncharacteristically lets off some steam in a series of scandalous pranks, the tragic results are something no one could have predicted. But with the love of his family and some unexpected help, Billy sees the magic behind lifes oddest accidents. *Best Supporting Actress: The Accidental Tourist, 1988 Josh Michaels is worth more dead than alive. He just doesn't know it yet. He has no idea why someone would try to kill him, clearly that's exactly what happened. When an SUV forced Josh's car off the road and into a river, it might have been an accid! ent. But when Josh looked up at the road, expecting to see the SUV's driver rushing to help him, all he saw was the driver watching him calmly...then giving him a "thumbs down" sign. That was merely the first attempt on Josh's life, all of them designed to look like accidents, and all of them very nearly fatal. With his time--and maybe his luck--running out and no one willing to believe him, Josh had better figure out who wants him dead and why...before it's too late.Josh Michaels is worth more dead than alive. He just doesn't know it yet. He has no idea why someone would try to kill him, clearly that's exactly what happened. When an SUV forced Josh's car off the road and into a river, it might have been an accident. But when Josh looked up at the road, expecting to see the SUV's driver rushing to help him, all he saw was the driver watching him calmly...then giving him a "thumbs down" sign. That was merely the first attempt on Josh's life, all of them designed to look like! accidents, and all of them very nearly fatal. With his time--! and mayb e his luck--running out and no one willing to believe him, Josh had better figure out who wants him dead and why...before it's too late.

Praise for Accidents Waiting to Happen :

“One of the most riveting first chapters I have read in some time. The pacing is spectacular and gets progressively faster as the reader nears the finale. An unqualified recommendation.”
â€" Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

“An impressive debut.”
â€" Mystery Scene Magazine

“Simon Wood...delivers a suspenseful, brisk tale in his debut.”
â€" South Florida Sun Sentinel

“What a thrill ride!”
â€" Literary Editor for the East Bay Express

“A smashing, rip roaring success.”
â€" Over My Dead Body Magazine

“Events escalate in ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN at break- neck speed. The thought that the plot could be a reality in today's world is shocking, to say the least. The suspense bui! lds in each chapter, the plot thickens, and I could not put it down. Debut author Simon Wood is a welcome addition to the thriller/suspense genre.”
â€" Fresh Fiction

“ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN is a thriller at its best.”
â€" I Love A Mystery

“ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN is a briskly plotted thriller that uses point of view shifts better than any novel I’ve read in quite a while in his debut.”
â€" CrimeSpree Magazine

“Simon Wood has fashioned an exciting and well-written novel of suspense, with a nail-biting conclusion during which this reader held her breath in anticipation of what new horrors might be in store!”
â€" Mystery Morgue

“Accidents Waiting To Happen is loaded with suspense and I didn't want to put it down.”
â€" Mysteries Galore

“Accidents Waiting To Happen is as streamlined as a bullet from a hit man's gun.”
â€" Horrorworld

“Simon Wood! opens with a breath-taking scene and never lets up...a must r! ead.”
â€" Mysterical-E

“Twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing till the last page.”
â€" All About Murder Reviews

“Enthusiastically recommended.”
â€" The Midwest Book Review

Josh Michaels is worth more dead than alive. He just doesn't know it yet. He has no idea why someone would try to kill him, clearly that's exactly what happened. When an SUV forced Josh's car off the road and into a river, it might have been an accident. But when Josh looked up at the road, expecting to see the SUV's driver rushing to help him, all he saw was the driver watching him calmly...then giving him a "thumbs down" sign. That was merely the first attempt on Josh's life, all of them designed to look like accidents, and all of them very nearly fatal. With his time--and maybe his luck--running out and no one willing to believe him, Josh had better figure out who wants him dead and why...before it's too late.

Praise for Accidents Wai! ting to Happen :

“One of the most riveting first chapters I have read in some time. The pacing is spectacular and gets progressively faster as the reader nears the finale. An unqualified recommendation.”
â€" Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

“An impressive debut.”
â€" Mystery Scene Magazine

“Simon Wood...delivers a suspenseful, brisk tale in his debut.”
â€" South Florida Sun Sentinel

“What a thrill ride!”
â€" Literary Editor for the East Bay Express

“A smashing, rip roaring success.”
â€" Over My Dead Body Magazine

“Events escalate in ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN at break- neck speed. The thought that the plot could be a reality in today's world is shocking, to say the least. The suspense builds in each chapter, the plot thickens, and I could not put it down. Debut author Simon Wood is a welcome addition to the thriller/suspense genre.”
â€" Fresh Fiction

“ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HA! PPEN is a thriller at its best.”
â€" I Love A Mystery
†œACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN is a briskly plotted thriller that uses point of view shifts better than any novel I’ve read in quite a while in his debut.”
â€" CrimeSpree Magazine

“Simon Wood has fashioned an exciting and well-written novel of suspense, with a nail-biting conclusion during which this reader held her breath in anticipation of what new horrors might be in store!”
â€" Mystery Morgue

“Accidents Waiting To Happen is loaded with suspense and I didn't want to put it down.”
â€" Mysteries Galore

“Accidents Waiting To Happen is as streamlined as a bullet from a hit man's gun.”
â€" Horrorworld

“Simon Wood opens with a breath-taking scene and never lets up...a must read.”
â€" Mysterical-E

“Twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing till the last page.”
â€" All About Murder Reviews

“Enthusiastically recommended.”
â€" The Midwest Book Review

Oscar nominee* Geena Davi! s stars as Gloria Conway, the sharp-tongued mom in this darkly comic story of a family strangely cursed with a streak of bad luck. But as life takes unexpected detours, Gloria manages to tear apart her pain to find the humor in even the toughest things that happen to her. When her teenage son Billy uncharacteristically lets off some steam in a series of scandalous pranks, the tragic results are something no one could have predicted. But with the love of his family and some unexpected help, Billy sees the magic behind lifes oddest accidents. *Best Supporting Actress: The Accidental Tourist, 1988 Automobile safety has progressed slowly and at the expense of millions of lives. Vivid footage shares the story of our dangerous love affair with the automobile, from early "motorized coffins" that disintegrated on impact to the "smart" protection found in today's vehicles. Discover the fascinating evolution of auto design, and learn how science and technology are vastly improving t! he survivability of auto accidents.That annoying beep or voice! remindi ng you to buckle up might be a bit more welcome after watching Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Car Crash by Nova. Automotive accidents kill more Americans each year than all other accidental causes combined, but scientists and engineers strive to create safer cars and highways to make crashes less likely and more survivable. See incredible footage of a 150-mph crash on the Autobahn from which the driver walked away! (He owes his life to a roll bar, and fortunately no one else was involved.) Designers talk about the history of auto safety improvement and footage of crash tests speaks for itself--those dummies are a lot better off now! If you spend much time in a car, or care about someone else who does, check out Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Car Crash and learn how to make the next ride safer. --Rob LightnerThis set of Ho Figures has been sculpted with detail and are hand painted with high detail. Just glue and set in place.

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