Monday, February 17, 2014

Review: Jewelry Making


Beautiful jewelry does not have to be costly; homemade pieces can be crafted as finely anything store-bought and are often more unique and meaningful.

This how-to-do-it reference explains the basics of crafting rings, pendants, earrings, brooches and more from inexpensive materials like wire, acrylic, pewter and silver. Step-by-step instructions are provided for 35 beginner-level projects. More detailed techniques and instructions are provided for those who want to craft their own designs.

Jewelry Making: Tips and Tricks of the Trade
by Stephen O'Keeffe
Krause Publications, 2002

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Saturday, February 8, 2014

Review: The Brand Called You


Your Personal Brand is the powerful, clear, positive idea that comes to mind whenever other people think of you. It's what you stand for -- the values, abilities and actions that others associate with you. It's a professional alter ego designed for the purpose of influencing how others perceive you, and turning that perception into opportunity."

Peter Montoya takes the concept of "branding" -- a marketing buzz word for creating an identity for a product in the minds of consumers -- and applies it to ambitious individuals or entrepreneurs who want to be known for their specific traits and abilities.

The Ultimate Brand-Building and Business Development Handbook  
to Transform Anyone into an Indispensable Personal Brand 
by Peter Montoya with Tim Vandehey 
Personal Branding Press, 2003

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Friday, February 7, 2014

Now Reading "Ignoring Nature No More"


For far too long humans have been ignoring nature. As the most dominant, overproducing, overconsuming, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, and invasive species ever known, we are wrecking the planet at an unprecedented rate. And while science is important to our understanding of the impact we have on our environment, it alone does not hold the answers to the current crisis, nor does it get people to act.

In Ignoring Nature No More, Marc Bekoff and a host of renowned contributors argue that we need a new mind-set about nature, one that centers on empathy, compassion, and being proactive.

The Case for Compassionate Conservation
by Marc Bekoff
University Of Chicago Press, 2013

Nature Writing and Natural Histories
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Good Old Books: The Great Chain Of Life


How did it begin? What has gone before? Where will it lead?

These are questions which have fascinated man for thousands of years. Even after Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution men have continuedto question their origins.

Joseph Wood Krutch, America's renowned naturalist, looks at evolution with a fresh eye.

Applying the eloquence of a poet to the dispassionate eye of a scientist, he reveals many surprises and wonders in the natural world around us.

The Great Chain of Life is an important, delightful addition to man's
understanding of ecology -- the interrelation of living things -- and the biological world in which we live. It is a book that also restores joy to the contemplation of nature.


by Joseph Wood Crutch
Pyramid Books, 1966
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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Review: The Old Fashioned

With craft distilling surging in popularity, there has been a complementary growth in mixology books devoted to single spirits and even individual cocktails. This one is devoted to the Old Fashioned cocktail which, according to some, is more a style or category of mixed drink. The author, Albert W. A. Schmid, argues that the Old Fashioned is, in fact, the original cocktail.

Much of the book is devoted to exploring how the ‘Old Fashioned’ came to its name instead of lingering as just ‘cocktail’ or ‘bittered sling’ and how it came to include the muddled orange and cherry. Schmid debunks the legend that the cocktail was invented at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, as there is at least one published mention of the cocktail a year before the Pendennis Club was founded. He suggests that the cocktail as we know it today may well have originated in the venerable old club, but not the original Old Fashioned cocktail.

An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey Cocktail
by Albert W. A. Schmid
The University Press of Kentucky, 2013
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