Idiots, Follies and Misadventures


Book Description

The history books are full of heroes and villains … but what about all the idiots? Comedian and armchair historian Mikey Robins tells the astonishing story of human stupidity, one idiot at a time. Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein History is full of heroes and villains. But then there are the idiots. Idiots, Follies & Misadventures shows that human stupidity has always been our constant companion. History tends to omit tales of human fallibility. We overlook the dubious and ridiculous contributions made by history’s tawdry parade of knuckleheads. But this book is a call to arms … knuckleheads assemble! And once assembled, prepare to be mocked. Just because history has mostly swept these idiots under the carpet does not make them by any means unsung heroes. These are rather ridiculous cautionary tales, to amuse and add some perspective to our current rash of stupidity. Tales such as: Why you shouldn’t soak your underpants in mercury. The booze cruise that plunged England into civil war. The Russian nuclear briefcase and pizzas. Flatulence jars and The Great Plague of London. The deadly green wallpaper that proved a problem for Britain's trendy middle-class.




Reprehensible


Book Description

It is often said that we live in an era of constant outrage, but we are definitely not the inventors of outrageousness. Let's be honest, human beings have always been appalling. Not everyone and not all the time, but our history is littered with those whose work and deeds have rendered them . . . reprehensible. Sometimes it's our most esteemed luminaries who behave the worst. What are we to make of Catherine the Great's extensive collection of pornographic furniture, Hans Christian Andersen's too-much-information diary and Karl Marx's epic pub crawls? Or hall-of-fame huckster William McCloundy, who in 1901 actually 'sold' the Brooklyn Bridge to an unsuspecting tourist, and the pharaoh who covered his slaves in honey to keep flies off his meal? Did you know about the royal ticklers of the House of Romanov, and the bizarre coronation rituals of early Irish kings? (Let's just say that eating a white horse wasn't the weirdest part of the ceremony.) So sit back and rest your conscience: there will be a host of scoundrels, bounders and reprobates, tales of lust and power aplenty, as we indulge in that sweet spot where history meets outrage, with just a bit of old-school TMZ thrown in for good measure.




Seven Deadly Sins and One Very Naughty Fruit


Book Description

A fascinating, funny and downright bizarre survey of culinary oddities by one of Australia's most beloved comedians. In this irreverent romp through the history of food via the Seven Deadly Sins, Mikey Robins uncovers the most bizarre food-related stories of all time. From the Ancient Egyptians to the Romans, from the medieval monarchs to our current obsession with celebrity chefs, our forebears have left their mark on our habits and social mores, our plates and our palates, telling us one truth above all: where there is food, there is folly. On the topic of GLUTTONY, Mikey exposes our obsession with outlandish overconsumption and the thrill of competitive eating. PRIDE reveals some of the most arrogant dinner hosts in history, and how the once humble chef has now achieved rock-god status. LUST sheds light on our aphrodisiac fixations and the most desired foods through time. SLOTH charts the curious evolution of the fork and the etiquette of flatulence. WRATH tells of sausage duels and poisonous spite, while GREED will make you blush at the indulgences of the rich and famous. And who hasn't experienced ENVY when your dining companion's plate sings while yours sputters? Mikey Robins is your personal guide down history's gullet and into the underbelly of our wildest desires, darkest fears and guiltiest pleasures. 'Not a book for those with delicate stomachs, but a hoot for everyone else' Sydney Morning Herald 'Chock full of quirky facts, surprising histories and slightly rude morsels... much like the author himself' Amanda Keller




Girt Nation


Book Description

David Hunt tramples the tall poppies of the past in charting Australia's transformation from aspiration to nation - an epic tale of charlatans and costermongers, of bush bards and bushier beards, of workers and women who weren't going to take it anymore. Girt Nation introduces Alfred Deakin, the Liberal necromancer whose dead advisors made Australia a better place to live, and Banjo Paterson, the jihadist who called on God and the Prophet to drive the Australian infidels from the Sudan 'like sand before the gale'. And meet Catherine Helen Spence, the feminist polymath who envisaged a utopian future of free contraceptives, easy divorce and immigration restrictions to prevent the 'Chinese coming to destroy all we have struggled for!' Thrill as Jandamarra leads the Bunuba against Western Australia, and Valentine Keating leads the Crutchy Push, an all-amputee street gang, against the conventionally limbed. Gasp as Essendon Football Club trainer Carl von Ledebur injects his charges with crushed dog and goat testicles. Weep as Scott Morrison's communist great-great-aunt Mary Gilmore holds a hose in New Australia. And marvel at how Labor, a political party that spent a quarter of a century infighting over how to spell its own name, ever rose to power. 'Makes you wish David Hunt had been your history teacher. Laugh-out-loud funny and you'll actually learn something.' —Mark Humphries 'An entertaining and instructive historical romp through the formative period of Australian nation-making with a colourful cast of rhymesters, revolutionaries, rebels, racists, reprobates and rabbits.' —Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, The Australian National University 'Once again, David Hunt uses his sharpened wit to chisel away at misconceptions from Australian history leaving us with the cold, hard truth of how our nation came to be.' —Osher Günsberg 'Australian history told intelligently, but with more humour than ever before ... Girt Nation is fabulous storytelling, putting meat on the bones of the national story.' —The Weekend Australian




The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus


Book Description

All the Freak Brothers stories, book covers, posters and merchandise collected together in one big volume. The definitive Freak Brothers book for years to come.




A Fine Balance


Book Description

A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry’s stunning internationally acclaimed bestseller, is set in mid-1970s India. It tells the story of four unlikely people whose lives come together during a time of political turmoil soon after the government declares a “State of Internal Emergency.” Through days of bleakness and hope, their circumstances – and their fates – become inextricably linked in ways no one could have foreseen. Mistry’s prose is alive with enduring images and a cast of unforgettable characters. Written with compassion, humour, and insight, A Fine Balance is a vivid, richly textured, and powerful novel written by one of the most gifted writers of our time.




Competing with Idiots


Book Description

"A dual biography of brothers Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz, each a Hollywood legend"--




Big Man's World


Book Description

BIG MAN'S WORLD OVER 30, OVERWEIGHT AND OVERDONE BIG MAN'S WORLD is the perfect book for all those who are sick of 'keeping up appearances', the ideal manual for letting down gracefully (or disgracefully). It's a book for men who want to stop pretending to like theatre and stay at home and watch the footy, to let their guts hang out the way nature intended, to shun all forms of vegetarianism and woo woo, to find and set free the caveman lurking within. BIG MAN'S WORLD takes us back to a simpler time when SNAGS were for smothering in tomato sauce and when the men's movement were a bunch of blokes in a backyard, when eating six pies was a cuase for celebration not alarm, and when quantity was vastly preferable to quality. Triple J's Mikey Robbins, co-author of the bestselling THREE BEERS AND A CHINESE MEAL, co-host of the top-rating Breakfast Show, and star of 'Good News Week' on the ABC, Steve Abbott aka The Sandman, author of the bestselling SANDMAN'S ADVICE TO THE UNPOPULAR and THIS IS MY SURFBOARD and star of radio and stage, and Tony Squires, one of the stars of Triple M's Andrew Denton Show as well as the perennially popular Saturday TV column in the Sydney Morning Herald, have been friends for over twenty years and are the perfect candidates to write such a book (despite being somewhat reluctant to commit to anything htat resembles work - but what can ou expect of the exponents of a philosophy that extolls the vitues of sloth and procrastination?) BIG MAN'S WORLD is an hilarious tribute to that last bastion of Untamed Australia: The Bloke. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, puzzles and illustrations by Michael Bell - example attached - BIG MAN'S WORLD will revolutionise the way men think about themselves and the way the world thinks about them; in this age of milennial change and shifting perceptions, it's good to know (and accept, ladies) that some things will never change. AUTHOR INFORMATION Steve, Mikey and Tony were all born in Newcastle and became friends during their no doubt troubled adolescences. They all gravitated towards the entertainment industry as the occupation least likely to demand hard work. All ended up in that strangely hip Eighties outfit, The Castanet Club before heaving themselves towards Sydney, where they are now mini-icons of the airwaves, radio being a unanimous choice for them because of the total lack of dress code involved. Mikey occasionally dons a suit for his appearances in 'McFeast' and 'Good News Week', but Steve and Tony are committed tracksuitpantsmen. SELLING POINTS *** The perfect Father's Day present for anyone with a sense of humour, particularly if they've got a bit of a gut. *** We will support the Father's Day aspect of the book by sending out BMW window display kits, including stubbie holder. thongs etc. *** All three authors have great media profiles: Mikey with Triple J and his breakfast program with Paul McDermott and Sandman (rating very well), as well as his regular spot on 'Good News Week' and co-presenter on 'McFeast'. Steve Abbott as the Sandman appears on Paul and Mikey's show three days a week, and Sandy's books and T-shirts are bestsellers. Tony Squires' television column in the Sydney Morning Herald has an enormous following, and he is currently writing for Andrew Denton and appearing on his Triple M Breakfast Show. *** We will have great fun with the media on BIG MAN'S WORLD, and the book will be alluded to on Triple J and promoted heavily on Triple M. The boys will also be appearing on eachother's shows and will get their mates in the media to give them a hand. Tony is sure he can get an extract into the Sydney Morning Herald. *** The book will be fabulously illustrated by Michael Bell and will also include silly photos of the boys and lots of pages of puzzles. *** There will be a fabulous celebrity-packed launch for BG MAN'S WORLD that will involve us taking over Clovelly Bowling Club and hosting a Celebrity Darts Competition. The me




Everyone You Hate Is Going to Die


Book Description

One of this generation's hottest and boldest young comedians presents a transgressive and hilarious analysis of all of our dysfunctional relationships, and attempts to point us in the vague direction of sanity. Daniel Sloss's stand-up comedy engages, enrages, offends, unsettles, educates, comforts, and gets audiences roaring with laughter—all at the same time. In his groundbreaking specials, seen on Netflix and HBO, he has brilliantly tackled everything from male toxicity and friendship to love, romance, and marriage—and claims (with the data to back it up) that his on-stage laser-like dissection of relationships has single-handedly caused more than 300 divorces and 120,000 breakups. Now, in his first book, he picks up where his specials left off, and goes after every conceivable kind of relationship—with one's country (Sloss's is Scotland); with America; with lovers, ex-lovers, ex-lovers who you hate, ex-lovers who hate you; with parents; with best friends (male and female), not-best friends; with children; with siblings; and even with the global pandemic and our own mortality. In Everyone You Hate Is Going to Die, every human connection gets the brutally funny (and unfailingly incisive) Sloss treatment as he illuminates the ways in which all of our relationships are fragile and ridiculous and awful—but also valuable and meaningful and important.




Control Systems for Complete Idiots


Book Description

In this day and age everything around us is automatic and our desire to automate more stuff is only increasing. Control systems finds its applications in everything you can possibly think of. The concept of Control system plays an important role in the working of, everything from home appliances to guided missiles to self-driving cars. These are just the examples of Control systems we create. Control systems also exist in nature. Within our own body, there are numerous control systems, such as the pancreas, which regulate our blood sugar. In the most abstract sense it is possible to consider every physical object a control system. Hence from an engineering perspective, it is absolutely crucial to be familiar with the analysis and designing methods of such Control systems. Control systems is one of those subjects that go beyond a particular branch of engineering. Control systems find its application in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Civil Engineering and many other branches of engineering. Although this book is written in an Electrical engineering context, we are sure that others can also easily follow the topics and learn a thing or two about Control systems.In this book we provide a concise introduction into classical Control theory. A basic knowledge of Calculus and some Physics are the only prerequisites required to follow the topics discussed in the book. In this book, We've tried to explain the various fundamental concepts of Control Theory in an intuitive manner with minimum math. Also, We've tried to connect the various topics with real life situations wherever possible. This way even first timers can learn the basics of Control systems with minimum effort. Hopefully the students will enjoy this different approach to Control Systems. The various concepts of the subject are arranged logically and explained in a simple reader-friendly language with MATLAB examples.This book is not meant to be a replacement for those standard Control systems textbooks, rather this book should be viewed as an introductory text for beginners to come in grips with advanced level topics covered in those books. This book will hopefully serve as inspiration to learn Control systems in greater depths.