It's Funny Because It's True


Book Description

Life is funny when everyday situations take an unexpected turn. A trip to the doctor, a day at the office, or a simple healthy walk - any everyday situation can suddenly turn from an ordinary event to something quite comical. Ronnie Mundis has added lighthearted humor to her personal stories about ordinary happenings to elicit a chuckle or two. Sit back, relax, and travel through the decades with Ronnie as she shares some of her life experiences. She hopes her readers enjoy reading It's FUNNY Because It's TRUE as much as she enjoyed writing it.




It's Kind of a Funny Story


Book Description

Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life—which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job—Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away.




Dumb Show


Book Description

THE STORY: Courted at the end of his show by bankers John and Jane, TV star Barry believes he is to get the five-star treatment that he deserves. However, urged to provide a candid account of his offstage life and views, the Barry that emerges is t




Electrical Engineering 101


Book Description

Written by an expert electronics engineer who enjoys teaching the practical side of engineering, this book covers all the subjects that a beginning EE needs to know: intuitive circuit and signal analysis, physical equivalents of electrical components, proper use of an oscilloscope, troubleshooting both digital and analog circuits, and much more! Even engineers with years in the industry can benefit from the compendium of practical information provided within. CONTENTS: Chapter 0: What is Electricity Really? Chapter 1: Three Things They Should Have Taught in Engineering 101 Chapter 2: Basic Theory Chapter 3: Pieces Parts Chapter 4: The Real World Chapter 5: Tools Chapter 6: Troubleshooting Chapter 7: Touchy-Feely Stuff Appendix *Covers the engineering basics that have been either left out of a typical engineer's education or forgotten over time *No other book offers a wealth of "insider information" in one volume, specifically geared to help new engineers and provide a refresher for those with more experience *updated content throughout, including 2-color diagrams and a new 'Chapter 0 - What is Electricity Really?' *The accompanying CD-ROM contains a reference library of electronics information, with demo simulation software and engineering calculators




Humor, Seriously


Book Description

WALL STREET JOURNAL, LOS ANGELES TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Anyone—even you!—can learn how to harness the power of humor in business (and life), based on the popular class at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Don’t miss the authors’ TED Talk, “Why great leaders take humor seriously,” online now. “The ultimate guide to using the magical power of funny as a tool for leadership and a force for good.”—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high. That’s why Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach the popular course Humor: Serious Business at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where they help some of the world’s most hard-driving, blazer-wearing business minds infuse more humor and levity into their work and lives. In Humor, Seriously, they draw on findings by behavioral scientists, world-class comedians, and inspiring business leaders to reveal how humor works and—more important—how you can use more of it, better. Aaker and Bagdonas unpack the theory and application of humor: what makes something funny, how to mine your life for material, and simple ways to identify and leverage your unique humor style. They show how to use humor to rebuild vital connections; appear more confident, competent, and authentic at work; and foster cultures where levity and creativity can thrive. President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” If Dwight David Eisenhower, the second least naturally funny president (after Franklin Pierce), thought humor was necessary to win wars, build highways, and warn against the military-industrial complex, then you might consider learning it too.




The Sacred Art of Joking


Book Description

Every few weeks a politician, pundit or soap star causes a media storm by making a gaffe or tweeting a joke that some people do not find funny. Comedy is very hard to get right and yet we think it’s important to have a sense of humour and not take yourself too seriously. On the other hand, a sense of humour failure can lead to losing your friends, your twitter account, your job, your career and, in some cases, your life. James Cary knows about this. He is a sitcom writer who’s written jokes about bomb disposal in Afghanistan (Bluestone 42), defended comments about Islam by Ben Elton on Newsnight, been on a panel with radical Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary, sits on the General Synod of the Church of England and somehow managed to co-write episodes of Miranda. An odd mix, but one that makes him very readable. This entertaining, breezy book, explains how comedy works (with jokes and quotes) and gives much-needed insights into the controversy surrounding humour.




Dreams and Dreaming in the Roman Empire


Book Description

The history and literature of the Roman Empire is full of reports of dream prophecies, dream ghosts and dream gods. This volume offers a fresh approach to the study of ancient dreams by asking not what the ancients dreamed or how they experienced dreaming, but why the Romans considered dreams to be important and worthy of recording. Dream reports from historical and imaginative literature from the high point of the Roman Empire (the first two centuries AD) are analysed as objects of cultural memory, records of events of cultural significance that contribute to the formation of a group's cultural identity. The book also introduces the term 'cultural imagination', as a tool for thinking about ancient myth and religion, and avoiding the question of 'belief', which arises mainly from creed-based religions. The book's conclusion compares dream reports in the Classical world with modern attitudes towards dreams and dreaming, identifying distinctive features of both the world of the Romans and our own culture.




Unexpected Pleasures


Book Description

What are the sources—and the effects—of the pleasurable feeling of power that genre gives us? What happens to that power when conventionality tips into parody? In this book, Lauryl Tucker explores the connection between genre parody and queerness in twentieth-century British fiction. Teasing out the parodic sensibility of writers including Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, Sam Selvon, Dorothy Sayers, Stella Gibbons, and Zadie Smith, Unexpected Pleasures offers an innovative reading of works that seem to excessively obey the rules of genre. By oversupplying the pleasurable sense of knowledge and the illusion of predictive power that genre confers, these works play with readerly expectation in order to expose and queer a broader set of assumptions about desire, resolution, and futurity. Unexpected Pleasures expands on a burgeoning critical interest in genre as an interpretive tool, and further diversifies the archive and methodology of queer critique. Gathering a surprising group of writers together, it reveals new throughlines between middlebrow and highbrow, and among modernist, mid-century, and contemporary literature. This book will interest scholars of modernist and contemporary British literature, as well as readers interested in narrative and queer theory.




Like My Teacher Always Said . . .


Book Description

Quotes from teachers that stayed with their students—from the life-changing to the head-scratching. My high school chemistry teacher used to tell us, “Carol never wore her safety goggles. Now, she doesn’t need them.” It was a joke. I think. But it sure got the point across.—Alicia on Mr. P. The author of Like My Mother Always Said and Like My Father Always Said returns with a new crowdsourced collection of quips, quotes, and stories from people recalling childhood influences from grade school instructors to piano teachers, Catholic school sisters, guidance counselors, coaches, and mentors. In addition, teachers themselves have contributed some entertaining reminiscences and tales from the classroom. With chapters such as “Scare Tactics,” “Advice That Stuck,” and “Crazy Town,” the entries range from the wise to the weird—provoking nostalgia, inspiration, and more than a few good laughs.




#iBelieve


Book Description

While today’s culture tends to equate “believing” with simply concurring and agreeing, Jesus’ beloved disciple reminds us how to believe (or to πιστεύω) in the context of our faith means so much more. Leadership trainer and former Christian minister Keith Chow guides us through the Apostle John’s retelling of Jesus’ life and ministry in pursuit of a richer faith and a deeper sense that believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior radically transforms our perspective and way of life.




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