Mel Bay Left-Hand Guitar Chord Chart

Book Description

A handy chord reference guide showing basic major and minor chords in all keys. Relative and secondary minor chord relationships shown on principal chords. All forms are fingered for the left-handed guitarist. Also shown is a guitar fingerboard with all the corresponding notes on a guitar strung for a left-handed performer.

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Left Hand Guitar Chord Chart

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0898981344

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Shakespeare and Superman? Shakespeare and The Twilight Zone? Shakespeare and romance novels? What is Shakespeare doing in modern popular culture? In the first book-length study to consider the modern 'Shakespop' phenomenon broadly, Douglas Lanier examines how our conceptions of Shakespeare's works and his cultural status have been profoundly shapes by Shakespeare's diffuse presence in such popular forms as films, comic books, TV shows, mass-market fiction, children's books, kitsch, and advertising. Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture offers an overview of issues raised in Shakespeare's appropriation in twentieth-century popular culture, amd argues that Shakespeare's appearances in these media can be seen as a form of cultural theorizing, a means by which popular culture thinks through its relationship to high culture. Through a series of case studies, the book examines how popular culture actively constructs, contests, uses, and perpetuates Shakespeare's cultural authority.

Customer Reviews:

Think You Know Shakespeare? Nobody Does........2003-07-16

Douglas Lanier provides a fascinating account of how the man Shakespeare has been lionized, sanitized, and satirized over the three hundred years since he was first promoted as England's national poet in the 1730's. Since then, Shakespeare and the plays he wrote for the popular Elizabethan theatre have been appropriated by different cultural factions, both high and low, to advance particular ideas of what constitutes (or does not constitute) "proper" cultural ideals. Lanier examines how this has happened in the past and continues to happen in the present.
Each chapter of Lanier's book focuses on a different aspect of what he calls "Shakespop." Lanier skillfully portrays the long historical process of elevating Shakespeare's plays to the peak of English high culture. This process began with the publication of the First Folio in 1623, thereby preserving plays written to be performed in the Elizabethan playhouse as timeless literature. Before long, Shakespeare's works were promoted as emblematic of a natural English realism against the classical standards of dramatic economy in time and action as represented by the Englishman's perpetual enemies, the French. Lanier offers extensive demonstration that since that time Shakespeare's plays-and increasingly the image of Shakespeare himself as a "natural genius"-has continued to play a leading role in cultural warfare. Alluding to Shakespeare's works or citing them is a means of indicating a connection to high culture or making a protest against that culture. The plays have been used and abused in adaptations and parodies, while the constant reinvention of Shakespeare the man has served to suit different cultural needs, either for the cultural elite or those who feel dispossessed by them. Lanier concludes with a fascinating overview of the phenomenon of Shakespeare tourism and Shakespeare theatre festivals that serve to give tourists both a quick dose of high culture and a sense of getting to know the "real" Shakespeare, either by visiting his hometown of Stratford or seeing one of his plays performed in an recreated Elizabethan theatre with historical costume. Lanier illustrates his points admirably with a host of pertinent examples from British and American culture, high, low and middling, and insightfully dissects those examples to expose their hidden assumptions and agendas.
Because this is a short study, many readers will wish Lanier had addressed their own particular interests in popular culture. Although he cites examples from television, books, comics, and animated cartoons, I would have liked to read more of his reflections on the ways Shakespeare works are mediated to children in American popular culture. As a non-specialist, I'm also interested in the connection between Shakespeare and the ham actor, as for example in Ernst Lubitsch's film "To Be or Not to Be." But the reader's desire for more is an indication of how provocative and interesting Lanier's study is for both the professional and the amateur Shakespearean. (And Lanier makes his readers aware of how fraught with meaning those two designations are!) Ultimately, we find, most of us don't know the man Shakespeare at all-only his image and the place he's been assigned in our cultural hierarchy by admirers and detractors alike.

Ultra-Talk: Johnny Cash, The Mafia, Shakespeare, Drum Music, St. Teresa of Avila, and 17 Other Colossal Topics of Conversation

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The pleasure principle
grandiosity strikes back

Ultra-Talk: Johnny Cash, The Mafia, Shakespeare, Drum Music, St. Teresa of Avila, and 17 Other Colossal Topics of Conversation
David Kirby
Manufacturer: University of Georgia Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0820329096

Product Description

In Ultra-Talk, David Kirby poses a simple question: What makes a cultural phenomenon truly great? Exploring a wide variety of "king-sized cultural monuments," Kirby argues that one qualification for greatness is that a phenomenon be embraced by both the elite and the general public. Further, he argues, it must be embraced repeatedly over time.

Kirby turns his critical eye to subjects that have been studied and written about, sought after avidly, discussed passionately, and even resisted vigorously around the world. Auto racing, Dante, folk music, food, Leonardo da Vinci, films, poetry, religion, striptease, television, and the internet are just some of the topics he examines. In Rome, heads of state kneel before Bernini's statue of Saint Teresa in ecstasy, says Kirby, and so do people who can't read. And everyone watches TV.

Ultra-Talk pays homage to the work of two towering writers and critics. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Giacomo Leopardi both stated that a book was valid only if it had been accepted by both an intellectual elite and a vast public. Kirby would have added a second requirement: that the book's--or cultural monument's--popularity must have traction over time. By standing on the shoulders of Goethe and Leopardi, Kirby offers a way to read, see, and savor a post-theoretical worldview that everybody can share.

Customer Reviews:

The pleasure principle.......2007-09-24

Most academic criticism is about as much fun as hemorrhoid surgery, and a lot of journalism about serious intellectual topics is pure froth. David Kirby's book succeeds in being both thoughtful and entertaining, and that's a rare accomplishment. Ultimately the real pleasure here is in tagging along on the wanderings (mental, emotional, geographical) of a very interesting, funny, whip-smart teacher. Among my favorite essays is the one on Whitman, in which Kirby manages to range over some well-covered ground in a very fresh and insightful way. I know Whitman's work well, yet I learned from his treatment. Kirby's been reading Montaigne, and it shows: his essays bob and weave delightfully, offering surprise after substantial surprise.

grandiosity strikes back.......2007-07-08

In the introduction to Ultra-Talk, David Kirby writes, "What I offer in these pages is a way to read, see, and savor, a post-theoretical world view that everybody can share." That is a strong assertion, and though this collection of essays covers diverse and interesting ground, Kirby doesn't quite live up to his goal.

Elsewhere in the introduction, the author defines a set of criteria for what is "good": that which "must not only appeal to both the elite and the public...it must also have a track record." This criteria, presumably, sets the stage for the subject matter he will present in this "book of king-sized cultural monuments." It is true that the variety of subjects does not disappoint; from Walt Whitman to Saint Teresa of Avila to Nascar to the reality show Big Brother, Kirby delights with his surprising turns and associative logic. Despite his efforts to speak across racial and class boundaries, however, Kirby succeeds in speaking directly, and only, to white, middle-class, academically-inclined readers.

Most of these compositions are a compelling blend of personal essay and literary or cultural criticism; they manage to both entertain and inform, which is a difficult task. Each essay reaches farther than the typical personal essay--start with a hook-y personal anecdote, then move outward toward some larger truth about life or human nature--and attempts not only to contemplate big questions, but also to educate readers in the process. I found Kirby's explorations of Dante, Whitman, Shakespeare and Dickinson fascinating. But then again, I read those authors extensively during my academic career. Aside from the sporadic, required high school poetry lessons that many teenagers sleep through, most Americans, arguably, have not. By assuming that his reader is well-versed in classic literature, Kirby excludes much of his potential audience.

My point is that Kirby perhaps shoots himself in the foot with the grandiose definition his book presents in the introduction. It's not that this collection of essays is bad. I, as a white, middle-class, academically-inclined person, very much enjoyed Kirby's whimsical yet didactic tone and unique perspective on popular culture. The essay "Why Does It Always Have to Be a Boy Baby" was particularly well-crafted in its refusal both to endorse and to criticize religion, opting instead to examine the intrinsic role religion plays in every person's life, whether or not s/he is a willing participant.

Kirby, a poet and literature professor, is skilled at making intellectual subject matter interesting and accessible. I simply wonder: is his "post-theoretical world view" really one "that everybody can share?"

The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-Factor

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how did the plays and ballads sound?

The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-Factor
Bruce R. Smith
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226763773

Book Description

We know how a Shakespeare play sounds when performed today, but what would listeners have heard within the wooden "O" of the Globe Theater in 1599? What sounds would have filled the air in early modern England, and what would these sounds have meant to people in that largely oral culture?

In this ear-opening journey into the sound-worlds of Shakespeare's contemporaries, Bruce R. Smith explores both the physical aspects of human speech (ears, lungs, tongue) and the surrounding environment (buildings, landscape, climate), as well as social and political structures. Drawing on a staggeringly wide range of evidence, he crafts a historical phenomenology of sound, from reconstructions of the "soundscapes" of city, country, and court to detailed accounts of the acoustic properties of the Globe and Blackfriars theaters and how scripts designed for the two spaces exploited sound very differently.

Critical for anyone who wants to understand the world of early modern England, Smith's pathbreaking "ecology" of voice and listening also has much to offer musicologists and acoustic ecologists.

Customer Reviews:

how did the plays and ballads sound?.......2007-02-10

Smith has resurrected for the reader many of the ballads of Middle English [ie. around Shakespeare's time]. Many of these are easily comprehended by the modern reader. Even if you haven't read Shakespeare or Milton lately, the meanings of the ballads comes through very clearly.

But, as the title indicates, he also pays close attention to the acoustics. These refer to the physical environments in which the ballads and plays might and probably were read. Including naturally the immortal Globe Theatre in London. So we see the floor plan of the Globe, and speculation as to how this would have affected the listening experience of the audience. The reader should remember that back then, there were no modern special effects. So the pure performance visuals and acoustics were probably more important and stressed, for what else did they have?

Shakespeare and Carnival: After Bakhtin (Early Modern Literature in History)

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Shakespeare and Carnival: After Bakhtin (Early Modern Literature in History)

Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Shakespeare in Theory: The Postmodern Academy and the Early Modern Theater

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Amusing and insightful.
A journal entry for other specialists; terms undefined

Shakespeare in Theory: The Postmodern Academy and the Early Modern Theater
Stephen Bretzius
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0472108530

Book Description

Shakespeare in Theory: The Postmodern Academy and the Early Modern Theater offers a provocative, highly original premise: that present-day literary criticism and theory have been shaped by the same institutional forces that shaped the theater of Shakespeare's day. Stephen Bretzius argues that Shakespeare's poetry and drama have been central to the development of postwar literary and cultural criticism, not just because his works validate these various critical approaches, but because the approaches variously replay his works, from the theater of the Renaissance to the contemporary American university. Where early modern theater once usurped the university, the postmodern university now refashions the theater, recasting in a theoretical register the same disappearing subjects, ideological contradictions, and imperialist illusions that it uncovers in Shakespeare.

Individual chapters provide provocative interpretations of various postwar critical schools and Shakespearean dramas, including the New Historicism and Hamlet, feminism and The Taming of the Shrew, pragmatism and Henry V. Other approaches, including psychoanalysis, multiculturalism, feminism, deconstruction, and nuclear criticism are brought to bear on Love's Labor Lost, Julius Caesar, and Othello. A final chapter on Shakespeare and the Beatles provides a lively conclusion to an imaginative and thought-provoking volume.

"A wonderful book, both witty and incisive in its analysis of cold war literary theory. Bretzius proves the astounding thesis that Shakespearean plot provides the archetypes of theoretical desire for the postwar academy. Paul de Man, Jacques Derrida, Stephen Greenblatt, René Girard, Joel Fineman, pragmatists and feminists alike, appear among the cast of characters in the postmodern play-within-a-play called the 'University.' Bretzius's strong readings of Shakespeare and literary theory will instruct Renaissance and theory scholars alike and amuse a wide audience of readers." --Tobin Siebers, University of Michigan

Stephen Bretzius is Lecturer, Chaffey College.

Customer Reviews:

Amusing and insightful........1999-09-22

Bretzius' book is entertaining and insightful on Shakespeare's work and on the dynamics of Shakespearean criticism. The section on the Beatles and Shakespeare rejuvenated my interest in both. The book's overall vision of the contemporary academy as state-driven theater seems timely and (not politically) correct. I give it a fab four stars and would throw in another for more on the Beatles and the Bard. Highly recommended. --M. Oliver, Orlando.

A journal entry for other specialists; terms undefined.......1999-02-03

This book nearly incomprehensible. The author fails to define terms. The insider chatty style makes it appear he is writing journal entries for other specialists.

The index includes only names of persons, fails to list subjects. Some of the index enties (see, e.g., Booth, Stephen) miscite pages.

I have purchased many university press texts. This is the first disappointment I've experienced.

Book Description

Transversal Enterprises in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries further develops the pioneering critical theory, methodology and aesthetics of "transversal poetics" as it progresses beyond both traditional parameters for analysis of early modern English literature and culture and recent trends in literary, theater, and performance studies to offer new readings of plays by Shakespeare, Peele, Jonson, Marlowe, Middleton, Dekker, Rowley, Webster, and Greene. To elucidate their theoretical and historical claims about hermeneutics, phenomenology, theology, consciousness, subjectivity, social identity, theatre and performance, Reynolds and his collaborators move "investigative-expansively" across a broad range of typically separated fields within and outside of the humanities while giving critical attention to topics that are often marginalized within the fields.

The Staging and Transformation of Gender Archetypes in a Midsummer Night's Dream, M.Butterfly, and Kiss of the Spider Woman (Studies in Theatre Arts, V. 18)

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The Staging and Transformation of Gender Archetypes in a Midsummer Night's Dream, M.Butterfly, and Kiss of the Spider Woman (Studies in Theatre Arts, V. 18)
Mira Wiegmann
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0773468919

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Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture
Douglas Lanier
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKWD7Y

Book Description

Stargate SG-1 has been a television hit for eight years (an almost unheard-of run in science-fiction television), with a ninth in production, and boasts a devoted and vocal online community. Based on the feature length movie, the series SG-1 is Sci Fi Channel’s highest rated show. It follows the flagship team, designated SG-1, of a secret military base. Transported instantly by a Stargate to distant planets, Colonel Jack O’Neill (MacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson) and his team race to save the galaxy from ruthless enslaving aliens, the Goa’uld. What is it about this show that has made it so popular? What makes it different from other science fiction series on television today? Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1 answers these questions and more. It serves as a comprehensive introduction for those who are just starting to watch SG-1 with an episode guide to the series, examining SG-1 season by season. For the long-time viewer, author Jo Storm explores multi-season storylines and character developments. Interesting facts for each episode and numerous sidebars uncover the mythology and science not only of the stories, but of the writing, directing, and special effects used to tell the stories. Exclusive interviews with cast members such as Teryl Rothery, Alex Zahara, and Christopher Judge, and writer Joseph Mallozzi and special effects supervisor James Tichenor, engage the Stargate universe from multiple angles. Including chapters devoted to the franchise as well as the ‘fanchise’ element of the MGM original series, the book showcases the passion this show inspires in its viewers—from real-life scientists to fan fiction writers. Approaching the Possible offers insight into the multiple reasons for the show’s popularity while tackling everything from the mythology of Ancient Egypt to the series’ evolution as a CGI wunderkind. With no other episode guide on the market that covers every season of the series, this book is a must-have addition to any fan’s library.

Customer Reviews:

The World Of Stargate SG1 Like Never Before! .......2007-05-16

This book has absolutely everything! From info on the SG1 characters, to info on the actors, to a complete guide to all the episodes from season 1 to 8. It also has 16 pages of amazing exclusive colour pictures, which is a definite must-see!

It is a must-have for new fans of SG1, because it gives an in-depth look at what the show is really about and also some vital info that will help you to get the maximum enjoyment out of Stargate SG1.

However, seasoned fans should not think that there is nothing for them. I have been a fan of SG1 from the very first season and, by reading the book, I was surprised at how much I didn't know about the show.

The book also gives you background info about the mythology and science involved in making one of the longest, most successful running shows on television and how the show has inspired from regular viewers to real-life scientists.

Exclusive interviews with various cast and crew also gives you a feeling of what goes on behind the scenes of SG1, and each gives their unique take on the show.

In short, everything you ever wanted to know about anything of Stargate SG1 is thrown into a wonderful mix and bound together in a book that is a must-have for anyone who considers themselves part of the Stargate SG1 'fanchise'.

Follow the episode.......2007-03-14

I am a huge Stargate SG1 fan. This book helps you follow the episode and gives you a better understanding of what is happening to the characters.

Long-winded, but a few good ideas.......2007-01-30

This book was written by an academic, and it shows. It's about as much fun reading as a college textbook. Even the title's pretentious. Most of the book is composed of short essays on each episode through season 8. I agreed with only half of the author's opinions. She was particularly harsh with "Birthright" and "Sacrifices" because they didn't sufficiently promote a feminist agenda. The denseness of some of the essays is just exhausting. After criticizing most aspects of a particular episode, the author concludes: "A Hundred Days is built on moments; like a string of pearls, each follows another, each with a different sheen but forming a whole. Ellipsis is a huge factor in the episode--not only in time, but in what remains unsaid. Each moment has significance, and it's on these increments that a story is constructed." Well, OK, then. The author also snarked on Keith Topping's fun "Beyond the Gate" (another unofficial SG-1 episode guide), which was unnecessary. There's an inadequate table of contents and no index, so it's difficult look up a specific episode. After slogging through descriptions rife with terms like "binary opposition," "tropes," "didactic," and "metonymy," I felt the same frustration Jack does when Sam starts to explain her science--just get to the point already.

Tops for space monkeys.......2007-01-23

While there's an attempt to include other material (brief bios of the lead actors, chapters on Stargate's fan following, etc), essentially this is an episode guide covering seasons 1 to 8 of Stargate SG1.

The unauthorised nature of the book is evidenced by the lack of any photos other than publicity stills of the main actors and candid shots taken at conventions. As a result, the illustrations are not a strong point. The text, however, is extensive and rather meatier than is the case in many "episode guide" publications. First and foremost, each episode receives a short critical essay, almost all of which are interesting, germane and erudite. As well as teasing out the themes, the author critiques whatever features of that particular episode have caught her eye; be it the acting, the scriptwriting, the direction, character development, the sociology, the contribution to the Stargate mythology, pop culture references, or even the actors' appearance (hairstyles get a consistent mention!). She's not afraid to slam weaknesses, or to give praise when it's warranted - and she's not above letting her tongue hang out over any notable eye-candy! I didn't always agree with her opinions, but she certainly prompted me to think again about some episodes, plot points and characters that I'd previously taken at face value.

In addition to the essay, each entry includes notes on any myths that inform the episode; interesting facts; the absolute pick of that episode's dialogue; and comment on what marks each episode out from `run of the mill' science fiction television. Although the original US airdate and writing and directing credits are given for each episode, this book doesn't try to give all the `vital statistics' that many other episode guides thrive on. For the most part this doesn't detract, though the extreme brevity of the plot summaries (one or two sentences at most) is not always helpful.

One major niggle; the lack of an index. Storm frequently references other episodes in her critical essays, but only by title. Readers without an absolutely encyclopaedic knowledge of every Stargate episode are going to want to flip back and check out "exactly what episode is that one she's referring to here", but the lack of an index (or even just the inclusion of an episode number with such references) makes this an exercise in extreme frustration.

All in all though, this is a satisfying and entertaining read (though perhaps for dipping into as you watch and rewatch episodes, rather than for reading cover to cover). The author has clearly put considerable thought into her analysis, and the breadth of her research is impressive, yet the style remains accessible.

Not exactly a "must have".......2006-11-10

"Approaching the Possible" is a nice enough episode guide with some detailed, thoughtfully written extra features on the actors, the mythology and the fandom of Stargate. Yet I found myself in constant disagreement with the author's opinions. Episodes that seem to be generally well-received by the fans (such as season three's "Legacy"), she pans, yet episodes that even the most diehard fans scorned (such as season five's "The Tomb"), she praises. The author also makes some unusual selections when picking memorable quotes from each episode, often snubbing funnier, deeper or just plain more familiar lines for less interesting ones. While all the actors are praised at different times, Ms. Storm seems to have a particular fondness for Amanda Tapping; it seems that hardly a review goes by without Storm gushing over a line delivery or facial expression of Ms. Tapping's. The Sam worship gets a little nauseating in its excessiveness. Finally, while the candid color photos in the center of the book are lovely, the small black and white ones scattered throughout the book, almost exclusively taken at conventions, are a bit boring and repetitious.

Knowing now that this will be the last season of Stargate, I'm wishing I'd waited a year or more and purchased an episode guide featuring all ten seasons of Stargate.

Customer Reviews:

A must have for entry level professionals in the RF industry.......2007-05-07

This easy reading book will make the complicated RF industry easy to understand.

Excellent Guide for anybody who wants to understand RF & Wireless.......2007-03-15

This is truly an excellent guide for anyone who wants to understand the basics of RF & Wireless. The most wonderful part about this book are the wonderful analogies and simple explanations of a quite difficult topic. The only issue I have is that this book is due for a 3rd edition - the last chapter is somewhat dated (2001)

Good material, bad writing.......2007-03-03

I purchased this book after starting a job as an embedded programmer in an RF group. The material in the book provided a good introduction, a basic understanding of the concepts and some useful vocabulary. However, I found the writing style used by the author to be a hinderance to reading the book.

The author liberally includes little comments for the reader enclosed in parantheses. The first few are sort of funny, but the more frequently they occur and they do occur frequently, they start to become annoying. The point of these comments seem to be (a) to poke fun at engineers, (b) to dumb down the material and I suppose (c) entertain the reader.

A few examples: "... the output power at point A is expressed P1 dB (pronounced p wun' d b)..." p. 49 and "Some RF engineers pay big bucks
for a Low Noise Amplifier with a super low Noise Figure. (The rest of us just invest in mutual funds.)" p. 46 These just get in the way of the flow of the text and detract from the book as a whole.

The book is describing a technical subject, why pretend otherwise. Yes it is an introductory text but the people who will read it want to get information from it. They are intelligent enough to draw conclusions from the text, relate the material to their work and remember what they have read. Treating the reader otherwise, as I feel this book does, seriously detracts from its usefulness, by making the reader wade through a lot of unnecessary text.

This book can serve as a good introduction but be warned that you might have to wade through the writing a little bit.

Credibility of author is lessened by errors.......2006-06-28

The book is a decent high-level overview of RF and wireless. The author clearly states who the intended audience is (i.e. non-engineers) and the material is presented with that level of depth. The thing that troubled me was the numerous errors in the section on CDMA. The spreading and de-spreading examples both have logical errors in the diagrams and the author incorrectly refers (multiple times) to the logical operation as an "exlusive OR," when it is, in fact, an "exclusive NOR." It might sound like I'm being a bit picky, but that's a rather significant error to make and could lead to confusion by the "non-engineering" audience; especially when the author states it "is very easy to understand." Those errors notwithstanding, the one that really prompted me to write this review was in the section on CDMA de-spreading. Moreover, the author states "The top of Figure 7-12 is the same exact spread signal as the one at the bottom of Figure 7-10 (take my word for it)." However, not only are the signals NOT exactly the same, they both have errors. So, the author told the reader to take his word for something and it turns out his word is subject to scrutiny. It just makes me wonder what else is in error at that point. My main point in all of this is that the book is acceptable for someone looking for very basic information on the subject matter, but I'm concerned that if they don't know at least a little basic engineering that they will walk away with some (albeit limited) incorrect information.

The best so far.......2004-11-20

I recently started a new job where I need a working understanding of wireless systems, and where I need to be able to comprehend and use the vocabulary of the trade. So, I have read several "Introduction to . . ." books. Weisman's Essential Guide is the best so far. He covers basic concepts, does a good job of explaining the terminology, surveys the different types of systems and the components used to build them, and manages to keep everything readily understandable. If you need to pick up the concepts quickly, pick up this book.

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