Technical Difficulties


Book Description

A distinguished African-American poet, activist, essayist, and teacher presents an extraordinary collection of essays on a variety of contemporary themes--from growing up in Brooklyn with immigrant parents searching for the American dream to the relationship between poetry and politics to the poverty of American education. Major and indispensable.--Alice Walker.




Technical Difficulties: Plays for Online Theatre


Book Description

This collection of socially distant shorts is designed to be performed on the internet as well as the stage. Playful and inventive, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES taps into the delights and frustrations of staying connected. HEY STRANGER by Steph Del Rosso. Years after a messy breakup, Eve and Gideon reunite. What could go wrong? Possibly everything. A comedy about mixed signals and bad internet, loneliness and autonomy. And one very precocious high schooler. (1M, 2W.) OYSTER by Elaine Romero. Marisela negotiates a potential opportunity in a border world where kids live in government cages and being bilingual comes at a price. (1W.) INTRO TO FICTION (VIRTUAL) by Ken Urban. During office hours, a professor discusses his student’s short story. When her characters feel too close for comfort for the professor, teacher and student must reckon with how to write a good ending. (1M, 1W.) A REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION by Leah Barker. Are you in the market for a new home, and with that home, a new you? Would you like that new home-slash-you to be a charming saltbox Cape? Audience votes guide this interactive tour and auction, complete with special guests, updated appliances, and a realtor’s long hidden secret. (1W, flexible casting.) BLACK IN BLUE by Aurin Squire. After one act of police brutality too many, one man decides to do something. But in trying to get “street justice,” he threatens his life, his brother, and his job. (2M.) LOOKING BACK by Arlene Hutton. Kath was the last visitor to leave a major theme park before the pandemic lockdown. While reminiscing about life pre-Covid, two roommates challenge each other’s ideas of what truly makes a person happy. (2 n/s.) ARTFUL by Christina Quintana (CQ). In the wake of her ex-husband’s departure, Taani logs on to a Metropolitan Museum of Art webinar. Suddenly in conversation with the art itself, she finds the event is more personal than she ever could have imagined. (1M, 3W.) BOREDOM, FEAR AND WINE by Craig Pospisil. When you’re stuck at home during a pandemic, everything happens online— even therapy. Harper is suffering, and can’t reconcile feelings about the terrifying disease with the monotony of lockdown. Jess tries to be sympathetic, but the session goes off the rails. (2 n/s.) FORCED by John Cameron Mitchell. When the author was invited to attend Russia’s first queer film festival, he was prepared for trouble: The hosting cinema had pulled out after a national film figure derided the event as a “festival for child molesters.” Inspired by the courage of the organizers, Mitchell agreed to attend, bringing his Russian friend Sasha along. This monologue is derived from his diary. (1M.) TELEPHONES WITH CORDS by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen. Bozz and Banjo, best friends and fellow puppets, are feeling the separation of a Zoom existence. Frustrated, Bozz wants to talk by phone, and Banjo can’t help but sense their friend’s growing existential despair. Usually the optimist, even Banjo begins to wonder about the hands at work in their lives. (2 n/s.)




Ocean Heart


Book Description

Being a mermaid brings a new depth to ‘it’s complicated.’ High school teen Mariah's life is anything but simple. Between a crush on her best friend and a rivalry brewing with the swim team star, her powers awaken early. When Mariah’s guardian meddles in her life with magic, she causes more harm than good. The soul reapers are coming and there’s a werewolf hungry for merblood. All secrets wash ashore sooner or later, and Mariah’s about to discover hers. Mixing a messy love life with deadly powers will whip up a storm of trouble. Can Mariah contain it or will she be swept up in its wake? A gripping story about a mermaid, self acceptance, and romance that literally sparks.




Mobile WiMAX


Book Description

The Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WirelessMAN) is a promising Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technology that provides high-speed, high-bandwidth efficiency and high-capacity multimedia services for both residential and enterprise applications. Mobile WiMAX: Toward Broadband Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks examines the basic concepts, rec




Difficult Acute Cholecystitis


Book Description

This extensive and yet easy-to-read book covers technical aspects of the management of difficult acute cholecystitis. It discusses diagnostic evaluation, treatment, and strategies for avoiding and managing complications based on both evidence-based data and the experiences of the editor and the international contributors. Further, it analyses the latest guidelines to find the best clinical applications. Each chapter describes the current diagnostic and management strategies, focusing on a possible risk stratification by scores proposed in literature. Lastly, the book describes the relevant technical considerations and tips and tricks, explaining them in full. Illustrated throughout and including line graphs depicting fundamental anatomic and technical principles, making it easy-to understand, it is a useful toolkit for all residents, fellows and general surgeons needing a guide to the treatment of difficult acute cholecystits.




Still Seeking an Attitude


Book Description

From her activism to her passionate writings, June Jordan (1936 - 2002) is one of the most revered American poets of our time. Jordan's writing simultaneously provokes delight and energy while urging reflection on American society and its injustices. In Still Seeking an Attitude, the first reflection on her legacy, Jordan's life and works are explored in depth and detail, focusing on subjects ranging from her use of language and linguistics to her political activism and role in children's literature. These critical examinations elucidate the power and poetry of Jordan's words, serving as an exciting supplement for those already familiar with Jordan and an excellent guide for anyone discovering her works for the first time.




Civil Wars


Book Description

From renowned poet and activist June Jordan comes the reissue of her classic collection of essays about love, power, violence, and the condition of race relations in America. "A major and indispensable reading experience."--Alice Walker.




Practicing Perfection


Book Description

The memory feats of famous musicians seem almost superhuman. Can such extraordinary accomplishments be explained by the same principles that account for more ordinary, everyday memory abilities? To find out, a concert pianist videotaped her practice as she learned a new piece for performance, the third movement, Presto, of the Italian Concerto by J.S. Bach. The story of how the pianist went about learning, memorizing and polishing the piece is told from the viewpoints of the pianist (the second author) and of a cognitive psychologist (the first author) observing the practice. The counterpoint between these insider and outsider perspectives is framed by the observations of a social psychologist (the third author) about how the two viewpoints were reconciled. The CD that accompanies the book provides for yet another perspective, allowing the reader to hear the polished performance. Written for both psychologists and musicians, the book provides the first detailed description of how an experienced pianist organizes her practice, identifying stages of the learning process, characteristics of expert practice, and practice strategies. The main focus, however, is on memorization. An analysis of what prominent pianists of the past century have said about memorization reveals considerable disagreement and confusion. Using previous work on expert memory as a starting point, the authors show how principles of memory developed by cognitive psychologists apply to musical performance and uncover the intimate connection between memorization and interpretation.




The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values


Book Description

A jaw-dropping exploration of everything that goes wrong when we build AI systems and the movement to fix them. Today’s “machine-learning” systems, trained by data, are so effective that we’ve invited them to see and hear for us—and to make decisions on our behalf. But alarm bells are ringing. Recent years have seen an eruption of concern as the field of machine learning advances. When the systems we attempt to teach will not, in the end, do what we want or what we expect, ethical and potentially existential risks emerge. Researchers call this the alignment problem. Systems cull résumés until, years later, we discover that they have inherent gender biases. Algorithms decide bail and parole—and appear to assess Black and White defendants differently. We can no longer assume that our mortgage application, or even our medical tests, will be seen by human eyes. And as autonomous vehicles share our streets, we are increasingly putting our lives in their hands. The mathematical and computational models driving these changes range in complexity from something that can fit on a spreadsheet to a complex system that might credibly be called “artificial intelligence.” They are steadily replacing both human judgment and explicitly programmed software. In best-selling author Brian Christian’s riveting account, we meet the alignment problem’s “first-responders,” and learn their ambitious plan to solve it before our hands are completely off the wheel. In a masterful blend of history and on-the ground reporting, Christian traces the explosive growth in the field of machine learning and surveys its current, sprawling frontier. Readers encounter a discipline finding its legs amid exhilarating and sometimes terrifying progress. Whether they—and we—succeed or fail in solving the alignment problem will be a defining human story. The Alignment Problem offers an unflinching reckoning with humanity’s biases and blind spots, our own unstated assumptions and often contradictory goals. A dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, it takes a hard look not only at our technology but at our culture—and finds a story by turns harrowing and hopeful.




Technical Exercises (Complete)


Book Description

This edition is comprised of 86 different technical exercises composed by Liszt during 1868 to 1880. Liszt intended these highly challenging exercises to build greater performance skills in virtuoso pianists. The complete series consists of twelve volumes, each one dealing with a different pianistic problem. This edition has been compiled from the original set to present the exercises in a reasonable length without harming the essence and effectiveness of the original work.