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- A wonderful collection!
- Out of the Ordinary lives up to its title
- Out of the Ordinary - gives me hope
- The Children Speak
- Out of the Ordinary, Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian,
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Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Parents
Noelle Howey ,
Ellen Samuels , and
Margarethe Cammermeyer
Manufacturer: Stonewall Inn Editions
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Lesbian and Gay Families Speak Out: Understanding the Joys and Challenges of Diverse Family Life
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Growing Up in a Lesbian Family: Effects on Child Development
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ASIN: 0312244894 |
Amazon.com
While hearing "faggot" yelled at you in a high school corridor would upset almost anyone, here is evidence that hearing "Your father's a faggot" isn't nearly as bad, and that you might find yourself levelheadedly retorting, "No, my father's a transgendered lesbian." This unprecedented collection of short memoirs by adult children of gay, lesbian, and transgender parents demonstrates once again that love cannot be policed or regulated, and that the bond between parents and children transcends petty categories. Kelley Conway's "My Mother and the Nun" describes the confusion a 14-year-old girl feels when her mother falls in love with another woman at the same time that Conway herself is beginning to recognize her own attractions to other girls. In Peter Snow's "Acting Lessons," a college boy returns home to find that his parents, who have always been unhappily married, are still together, and in fact are cozied up on the couch watching television with his mother's lover, Jackie. What is missing from this volume are essays by children who were born or adopted into same-sex families. Without this perspective, the memoirs are somewhat skewed, since almost every writer had to deal not only with a parent's coming out but with a wrenching divorce, often caused by that parent's sexuality. Nevertheless, this collection should prove helpful to therapists, youth counselors, and families with gay members, and contribute positively to the debates on same-sex parenting and adoption. --Regina Marler
Book Description
Out of the Ordinary is a truly unique anthology, a groundbreaking collection of essays by the grown children of lesbian, gay, and transgender parents.Ranging from humorous to poignant, the essays touch on some of the most important and complicated issues facing them: dealing with a parent's sexuality while developing an identity of one's own; overcoming homophobia at school and at family or social gatherings; and defining the modern family.In a time when traditional family structure has undergone radical change, Out of the Ordinary is an important look at the meaning of love, family, and relationships, and will speak to anyone who has lived or is interested in non-traditional families.With a foreword by Margarethe Cammermeyer, Ph.D., author of Serving in Silence, and a preface by columnist and author Dan Savage, Out of the Ordinary also includes a resource guide of organizations that offer support for the hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian, and transgender parents and their children.As the demographic increases, this book becomes an invaluable tool for learning, understanding, and acceptance.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful collection!.......2001-12-28
Out Of The Ordinary is a fantastic collection of essays dealing with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and transexual parents. The level of reading can be hard at time and the book can be very descriptive but otherwise it's a fantasic book about growing up in a family were there is no mom and dad and if there is one of them is not entirly happy. A perfect book for anyone gay or kids with gay parents. A wonderful collection!
Out of the Ordinary lives up to its title.......2001-11-09
I bought this book for a class I am taking. I'm doing my project on same-sex parenting and wanted to get different points of view on it. This book was more than helpful and provided a good idea of the varying views of children of gay, lesbian, or transgendered parents. Not all of the essays think of their parents as the greatest in the world, which I was surprised at. As someone who was shocked to learn several years ago that someone very close to me was gay, the essays convay many of the emotions that I felt when hearing the "coming out" speech. I know that anyone who is close to somebody that's gay will be able to relate to much of this book.
Out of the Ordinary - gives me hope.......2000-10-25
As the bi-lesbian poly pagan mother of a small child, I know my daughter will soon encounter prejudice from her classmates at school. My daughter was 3 when I came-out. But she was old enough to remember the awful fights between her father & me before that time, and since my coming-out, she's seen how much happier I am and how much better her father & I get along. So she thinks that its perfectly wonderful that I'm out & proud, she hasn't any pre-conceived prejudices about my being gay, and she's thrilled that I have a good (non-sexual) friendship with her father still, as well as a happy long-term lesbian relationship with my wife, who's a MtF transwoman. (she & I were handfasted in a poly pagan ceremony last year) And even though my daughter knows that our family is far from "traditional" she's very happy that we haven't had to go thru the pain of divorce, nor has she had to be without either one of her parents. I hope that someday she'll read this book and see that there are other kids out there who do have GLBT parents but who suffered a lot more than she's had to because of it. (like my wife's kids did. They were all teens when she came-out and went thru her transition. It took them 10 yrs to mature enough to want to re-establish a new relationship with her) But I also hope my daughter can find some strength in knowing she's not alone. She already knows that she's well-loved by all of us and that we'll support her, no matter if she's str8, bi, gay or TG. (tho' it seems right now that she may be str8, I was much like her at that age too, and I wasn't str8)
The Children Speak.......2000-09-19
Finally,, this book was just what I have been looking for. I've been diligently searching for information on how my lesbianism would effect my daughter and the sterile studies I found just didn't seem to satisfy my quest. I found comfort from this book and in knowing who she becomes depends on all the factors of parenting and not just the fact that I'm a lesbian. This collection outweighs the studies because the honesty of the writers provided rare and precious information. I hope volume two is in the works and perhaps we will hear from some more artificial insemination babies. Thanks to the writers and editors for letting these voices be heard loud and proud.
Out of the Ordinary, Essays on Growing Up with Gay, Lesbian,.......2000-08-15
The stories provided by these children of gays, lesbians and transgendered parents demonstrate the same joy, confusion, sadness and questioning that children in all families experience. But these stories explain the difficulties that challenge these children in a society that is not always understanding of differences. At a time when a child is trying to form their own sexual identity, facing the world with a "different" parent stretches them to learn more about themselves and life in the process. Many of these stories indicate the strength that is gained and the love that remains between parent and child as these families experience emotional highs and lows. This book provides these writers with an opportunity to tell their story; their reality of a tough situation. I recommend it to all parents, parents-to-be and children who are trying to gain a better understanding of their own family or of other families. It stretches our perceptions and opens our hearts.
Customer Reviews:
Lacks "power" of the dog.......2002-05-09
If you are interested in this book because you loved "The Power of the Dog," you might be disappointed. Although the two books were written 20+ years apart, there is an abundance of similarities. The characters, setting, relationships and insecurities will sound very familiar. Yet this book isn't as dark, intense, or satisfying as "Power of the Dog." It is worth reading if you are intrigued with Thomas Savage. I definately am.
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Friar among savages: Father Luis Cáncer, (Banner books)
Kurt
Manufacturer: Benziger bros
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ASIN: B0007E2ZTI |
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- Preliminary to subsequent research in machine music
- Pioneering investigations of musical behavior
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Understanding Music with AI: Perspectives on Music Cognition
Manufacturer: AAAI Press
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ASIN: 0262521709 |
Book Description
This anthology provides an informative and timely introduction to ongoing research on music as a cognitive process, bringing a new coherence to the emerging science of musical activity.
Following the foreword, which is based on a conversation with Marvin Minsky, 26 contributions explore musical composition, analysis, performance, perception, and learning and tutoring. Their goal is to discover how these activities can be interpreted, understood, modeled, and supported through the use of computer programs. Each chapter is put into perspective by the editors, and empirical investigations are framed by a discussion of the nature of cognitive musicology and of epistemological problems of modeling musical action.
The contributions, drawn from two international workshops on AI and Music held in 1988 and 1989, are grouped in seven sections. Topics in these sections take up two views of the nature of cognitive musicology (Kugel, Laske), principles of modeling musical activity (Balaban, Bel, Blevis, Glasgow and Jenkins, Courtot, Smoliar), approaches to music composition (Ames and Domino, Laske, Marsella, Riecken), music analysis by synthesis (Cope, Ebcioglu, Maxwell), realtime performance of music (Bel and Kippen, Ohteru and Hashimoto), music perception (Desain and Honing, Jones, Miller and Scarborough, Linster), and learning/tutoring (Baker, Widmer).
M. Balaban is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Ben-Gurion University. K. Ebcioglu is Research Scientist in the Computer Sciences Department, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. 0. Laske is a composer and President of NEWCOMP, Inc., The New England Computer Arts Association, Inc.
Customer Reviews:
Preliminary to subsequent research in machine music.......2004-06-28
Art and music used to be thought of as two fields of human endeavor that could never be realized by artificial intelligence. That belief is still held by many, but in the past few decades painstaking and dedicated research in artificial intelligence has shown beyond doubt that not only can non-human machines compose music that is beautiful to listen to, but one can use these machines essentially as tutors, giving keen insight into musical composition and music theory. The musical expertise non-human machines allows a deeper and richer appreciation of music, and the music they produce will continue to stir the senses and interrupt, or perhaps dominate, the normal course of cognition.
Via a collection of research articles, this book gives a splendid representation of what was done in using the field of artificial intelligence to understand music theory and composition up until the year 1992. The last twelve years of course, thanks mostly to faster and more powerful hardware, has seen considerable advances in musical artificial intelligence. The quality of music composed by the machines is astounding, and considering that hardware is continuing to get more powerful (and cheaper), it will be interesting to see what the musical abilities of the machines will be a decade from now.
The book essentially defines itself as an overview of `cognitive musicology', which as Otto E. Laske asserts, is a field that began in the 1970s, and has as its goal the understanding of both musical thought and `musicological' thought, and their links to `musical action.' It has its origins in many different fields, such as cognitive psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and semiotics, and attempts to model musical knowledge, but does so in a way that does not separate knowledge from action. Laske wants to move away from the Cartesian paradigm, believing that it is inadequate for music research. He also believes, interestingly, that there is a `musical intelligence' that is distinct from various other types of "intelligences" that can exist in humans. Thus cognitive musicology should be viewed as a field that studies this musical cognitive system, and this study can be done independently of the research into other forms of intelligences, such as linguistic or mathematical.
Laske breaks up the field of cognitive musicology into: `local knowledge', which is knowledge about the tools and materials needed; `competence', which is knowledge about the domain; and `performance,' which is knowledge of how to perform under real-time constraints. The integration of work in cognitive musicology with computing machines is essential according to Laske, for this will allow the view of music and musicology as essentially knowledge engineering. Artificial intelligence is and essential part of cognitive musicology he argues, since it introduces a task-oriented perspective on music, which had not been done in music theory at that time.
The article by Peter Kugel follows the one by Laske, wherein Kugel argues that the strict computational framework of Laske may be inadequate for some forms of musical thought. To make his case on the limitations of computation, he introduces what he calls an `announcement condition.' This is a method by which one can tell with certainty whether a procedure has finished doing its job. This motivates the idea of a `limiting computation', which is one that allows a solution to a problem that a "regular" computation can't. Musical thinking, Kugel asserts, requires limiting computations, and he discusses various methods for finding examples of musical thinking that require more than regular computations. Interestingly, Kugel uses Cantor diagonal arguments to find, or at least indicate how to find, examples of new styles of composition. There are problems he says that can be found by "technique", but others require "insight", and the difference between these does involve the level of knowledge of the problem solver. One can turn some problems requiring insight into ones that do not, but there are some problems, such as those involving musical creation, that cannot be. No explicit examples are given however.
Many other very interesting articles follow, all discussing various aspects of how to model musical activity, connections with artificial intelligence, automated musical composition, etc. One particularly interesting article is the one by Kemal Ebcioglu on designing an expert system for harmonizing chorales in the style of Bach using first-order predicate logic. Written first in PROLOG on a VAX 11 architecture (which shows the age of the article), Ebcioglu describes how a language called BSL (for Backtracking Specification Language) was designed for the purposes at hand. The language was constructed so as to permit the coding of universal and existential quantifiers, be efficient for producing high-quality music, and yet be tractable and easy to use. An illustration of the syntax of the language is given using the 8-queens problem and an informal description is given of the semantics of the language. The search technique of backtracking plays, as the name of the language implies, a central role, but it is implemented in a manner that makes it less inefficient than the usual backtracking techniques that are implemented in LISP and PROLOG. The author then describes the CHORAL system, which allows the representation of Bach chorales and their harmonization.
Pioneering investigations of musical behavior.......1999-09-01
Understanding Music with AI is an introduction to Cognitive Musicology, the term understood as a science of mental representations of music. The book introduces formal models for otherwise taken-for-granted musical activities such as composing, analyzing music, listening, performing music, etc. In contrast to present-day work with neural nets, theories introduced in the book test their models at the level of cognition, rather than perception or brain processes. The distinction between listening and perception, e.g., is thought to be fundamental, in that listening is based on meaning-making, and comprises perception as a mere subprocess. There is also an attempt to do justice to creativity, especially in music composition. As a consequence, criteria of theoretical adequacy are different in AI- and network-based music research. For a critique of the premises of AI work, see Marc Leman, "Adequacy criteria for models of musical cognition," in J.N. Tabor (Editor), Otto Laske: Navigating new musical horizons, The Greenwood Press, 1999, pp. 93-120. Readers not interested in these academic matters will enjoy reading the book for the intricacy of the systems displayed therein, and the pioneering spirit of the contributors. Otto Laske, Co-Editor (1992).
Book Description
Valuable hints from a veteran botanist and weaver on dyeing fibers and fabrics, what soap plants to use for cleaning textiles, advice on fragrant plants to scent and protect fabrics, plant materials to use as tools, suggestions for planning and creating a garden featuring cotton, flax, indigo, and much more. Includes an abundance of illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!.......2000-09-24
I am a fanatic when it comes to dyeing and weaving my own yarn. I really enjoyed this book's dyeing techniques and the methods of extracting natural dyes from their sources. This book is great when it comes to teahing other people about hoow to make their own dyes. I even got my son into dyeing whit natural methods, my son is 14 and usually hates to take any of my advice. This showshow great this book really is!!
Book Description
Start building your fortune with the ultimate insider's guide to real estate investing
The Insider's Guide to Making Money in Real Estate explains why real estate is a consistently profitable moneymaker and how everyday people just like you can build their fortune regardless of their credit score or how much money they have in the bank. It's true—you don't have to be rich to invest in real estate. It's the easiest, most leveraged method for building sustainable wealth over time, and it's open to everyone.
In this practical, nuts-and-bolts guide, New York Times bestselling real estate authors Dolf de Roos and Diane Kennedy cover all the basics of investing and offer the kind of insider advice and little-known tips you won't find anywhere else. You'll get a wealth of bright ideas and smart investment moves, as well as examples, case studies, and true investing stories from successful investors just like you. Inside, you'll learn:
- The ins and outs of commercial versus residential property
- How to spot great bargains in neighborhoods with great potential
- How to finance your investments with less-than-perfect credit
- Quick tips for increasing the value of your property inexpensively
- How to find reliable tenants who'll pay top dollar
- Everything you need to know about property taxes and deductions
- How to use tax benefits to increase your profits
Download Description
Start building your fortune with the ultimate insider's guide to real estate investing The Insider's Guide to Making Money in Real Estate explains why real estate is a consistently profitable moneymaker and how everyday people just like you can build their fortune regardless of their credit score or how much money they have in the bank. It's true¿you don't have to be rich to invest in real estate. It's the easiest, most leveraged method for building sustainable wealth over time, and it's open to everyone. In this practical, nuts-and-bolts guide, New York Times bestselling real estate authors Dolf de Roos and Diane Kennedy cover all the basics of investing and offer the kind of insider advice and little-known tips you won't find anywhere else. You'll get a wealth of bright ideas and smart investment moves, as well as examples, case studies, and true investing stories from successful investors just like you. Inside, you'll learn: The ins and outs of commercial versus residential property How to spot great bargains in neighborhoods with great potential How to finance your investments with less-than-perfect credit Quick tips for increasing the value of your property inexpensively How to find reliable tenants who'll pay top dollar Everything you need to know about property taxes and deductions How to use tax benefits to increase your profits
Customer Reviews:
Making Money in Real Estate.......2007-05-07
This is one of the best real estate books that I have read. The reason is that it is a "follow the steps" book and works perfectly for beginners and would probably be equally as good for experienced investors.
The Insider's Guide to Making Money in Real Estate: Smart Steps to Building Your Wealth Through Property.......2006-09-24
This Dolf de Roos book is no different from his other books, owning one is the same as owning all. Writes about same topics and ideas. Good author, trying to sell more books by using different titles.
If you don't own any of his books, worth the $20 or so for the book. However, if you do...don't waste your money/positive cash flow
Happy investing
It's All About the Numbers!.......2006-06-11
Making Money in Real Estate, by Dolf De Roos & Diane Kennedy
Between 2000 and 2004 my partner and I purchased over 30 buildings. I remember clearly it was around the end of 2000 and I went to see Dolf in NYC, and it just so happened that I was meeting a prospective silent partner who would be putting up all the money for our 5th building. As luck would have it I had a P&L to show our prospective partner and during the seminar, Dolf asked if anyone could share some numbers on a prospective deal they are looking at. I did one better, I pulled the P&L out and Dolf went over the numbers in front of the several hundred attendees. His response was, "You guys would have to nuts not to do this deal". I am also the author of a real estate book, "A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate" (and this particular deal is explained in detail in it).
(Dolf was very informative and motivational by the way)
In the first chapter of Dolf's book are three concepts that jumped out at me; and if you can always remember them I'd say you have a great shot at making some real money in real estate. They are:
-Life is about priorities.
-Investing in real estate is all about the numbers.
-"Just Do It"
This one is so true, I just never heard it put like this:
"Every property has cash flow. The question really is, "Which way is the flowing?"
While discussing the concept delegating or hiring other people to do some of the tasks that would free you up to do deals he says, "...the three most expensive words in the English language are (Do it yourself)."
By Kevin Kingston, author of: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate
Read this book if you are serious about becoming a real estate investor........2006-05-29
I first learned of Dolf De Roos a few years ago from reading one of his first books that was released through the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series. I have read every one of his books and find his comments about real estate to be "right on the money". He shows you why real estate is the best place to invest and also how you can increase your profits by looking for unique situations. Very valid advice and a very good read. I highly recommend this book.
By Lex Levinrad, author of "What I Learned On Wall Street:Why Real Estate Is the Best Investment".
Talks down to readers and uses unrealistic assumptions.......2006-04-04
I purchased both this title and "The Insider's Guide to Real Estate Investing Loopholes" (same authors).
I have two primary complaints. The authors talk down to the reader, constantly making snarky comments that imply that if one doesn't act NOW, the reader is lazy, or paralyzed, or is somehow inept when it comes to business. That's not just annoying -- it's weird, and it made me suspicious of the authors' motives.
That brings me to my second complaint. The book lacks balance. I'm not saying that all of the strategies can't work -- just that it requires an ideal set of market conditions for them to work. We need to see low or declining interest rates, quickly rising tenant incomes, improving neighborhoods, distressed or at least disinterested sellers, few other investors, low insurance costs, and a plethora of service providers (such as roofers) who do great work at a low price very quickly. I can tell you that we don't have any of those factors at work now.
What we do have, at least in areas like mine, where appreciation has outpaced incomes, is a market turned on its head. Sellers will not sell because they are sitting on huge profits for the most part, and don't have to sell. Or, they believe that prices will appreciate at the same ridiculous rate that they did from 2001-2005. Numerous Dolf-inspired investors have flooded the market and bid prices up beyond all reason. Workers are in debt and don't have much money for rent. Neighborhoods where deals are affordable aren't improving, so the idea of refinancing because you painted and put up a new mailbox won't help you. Easy mortgage money has gotten anyone with a pulse into homes. Interest rates are rising, not falling. Insurance is costly and the coverage stinks. And most importantly, rents do not provide positive cash flow for most small real estate investors. I know several who actually consider themselves to be successful and the news is not good. They are carrying their properties, their properties are not carrying them! I know, it's hard to believe that this is success. But in the past few years, appreciation has bailed them out. Put that kind of leverage into effect and you are leveraging a negative, which only means you go broke faster.
A few observations: First, if making untold riches were this simple and this obvious, then so many people would attempt to do so that it would suck the potential profit from such deals down until the actual profit is more equivalent to the amount of work involved. (More about this in a moment -- because I believe that this is actually occuring in part due to all of the real estate evangelism going on.)
As they say on Wall Street: "When enough people find the key to the market, someone changes the lock!" I believe that most people reading this review are smart enough to know that markets are dynamic. Outrageous profits bring in a flood of new entrants, dramatically reducing the profit potential. If a whole bunch of new wannabe real estate tycoons start lining up to bid on properties, then the prices for those properties will rise, as will the price for the money (the financing charges in the form of interest rates). Even without a lot of new entrants, if enough people start using the same financial techniques of leverage, cost-benefit analysis, or tax strategies, then the advantages to be gained will be reduced commensurately. Common sense and basic real-world economics dictate that costs will rise and potential profits will fall. And so it is in the real estate world.
Economies of scale and technological advancements have changed many industries and wiped out others. The ability for a small business person to get a competitive bid on anything is severely limited, whether you are talking about insurance, waste collection, land, communication services, landscaping, or anything else. Big players have the advantage in negotiations and will consistently be able to lower their costs below that a single investor. They can offer their tenants more amenities and constantly remodel and update their units at a far lower cost than you or me. I can't start a profitable shipbuilding company or TV network, nor can I jump into owning large buidings over which I can spread my costs enough to justify what is increasingly becoming break-even or negative cash flow from tenants.
I am not saying that there will never again be opportunities for small real estate investors to use leverage and tax advantages to make decent money. Just that, with so many of your fellow investors looking to do the same thing, you are not going to find (DEEP BREATH HERE!): underpriced positive cash-flowing properties in undervalued neighborhoods with great potential on which you can quickly close at a dynamite interest rate that result in quickly-rented units with stable, high-earning tenants who are happy to stick around so you can quickly refinance at "massively increased property valuation" (Dolf's expression) so you can pay yourself and your investors back, raise rents even higher and go on to the next property with similar ideal parameters, plunk 10% down and do the same thing.
And no, I'm not an unmotivated individual who works harder than I have to, doesn't understand the value of money, or doesn't want financial freedom. We all want that. In Dolf's world, there are numerous individuals who can't wait to to sell you $100 for $50. My question is, if he knows how to get people to do that, why he is telling us about it? I think we all know the answer to this question.
Don't get me wrong: Eventually, the property marketplace will right itself and investment properties will come up that offer opportunity to even small investors, even with the odds stacked against you. However, it won't unlock some kind of magical door to riches. It will simply be one of many investments that helps you build LONG-TERM wealth. Real estate is just another business that goes through cycles and isn't necessarily any more of a path to fabulous riches than owning a chain of gas stations or making molded plastic products.
By the way, the most successful real estate investment firms in America have had a total return about 23% annually for the past five years through March 31, 2006. That includes dividends and share price appreciation. If that's the BEST they can do, (and I'm not saying it's bad...it's actually an amazing performance!), it's because that's the BEST anyone can hope to do, including you and me. Remember, these firms use all the leverage they can muster and have tremendous economies of scale, and the smartest tax accountants and attorneys working on their behalf. We are highly unlikely to see this performance repeated in real estate for the next five years or possibly, ever.
Footnote: I recently studied single family homes in Broward County and Palm Beach County, Florida. Over the past thirty-five years, not including taxes of any kind, residential properties have enjoyed an average annual return of 9.25% per year. Short-run performance tends to regress towards the mean. Therefore, we are virtually assured that real estate will come nowhere close to its recent performance over the next several years, particularly in a higher-interest rate environment with lots of new supply. Buyer beware!
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