Chinese Painting Techniques for Exquisite Watercolors Review

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(More customer reviews)Born and raised in China, the author, Lian Quan Zhen was trained as a physician who later emigrated to the U.S. Now living in California he holds workshops demonstrating his breathtaking approach to Chinese painting. The author's mastery ranges from strict traditional Chinese painting to combining these methods and style with some Western watercolor techniques.
In the process of "oohing" and "ahhing" over this book I learned many fascinating facts about Chinese paintings. For example, the inks/watercolors are made of plants and minerals and use glues as the binder. I also learned that the papers used for Chinese painting require a different stretching and preparation method than I'm used to for Western-style watercolors. The author also covers the differences between Western brushes and Chinese/Japanese brushes.
Mr. Zhen lists and explains the 6 Laws of Painting that were first formulated by Hsieh Ho of the Eastern Tin dynasty (317 - 420 A. D.) Along the way I learned some interesting historical facts on the evolution of painting in China during the different dynasties. The 3 styles of painting are introduced and later discussed. These are: Detail, which is what a beginner first learns. Spontaneous, also known as the Scholar Style, which is learned much later. And finally a mix of the preceding two which the author simply labels Half-Detail/Half-Spontaneous. Composition explained some of the traditional designs used. S-curve, C-curve, balance and weight, etc. Calligraphy and chops (a type of sigil-mark) are as important as the artwork to the final design.
The rest of the book explores in detail both mini-demonstrations and full step-by-step demonstrations of full paintings in Mr. Zhen's style. He effortlessly moves between traditional Chinese painting to combining it with western watercolor techniques. The result is breathtaking. The subject matter for the paintings are landscapes, birds, goldfish and Koi. There are chapters showing how to sketch and paint each of the animals listed above as well as backgrounds. And this only scratches the surface of the information and how-to's detailed. Anyone getting this book not only gets a great foundation in Chinese painting but also some interesting historical facts which makes it even more fun to read.

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Known for its simplicity and fluidity of line, traditional Chinese watercolors capture the essence of natural objects with a profound, unmatched beauty. Renowned artist Lian Quan Zhen shows newcomers how to paint in this loose, liberating style through a series of basic demonstrations.Chinese Painting Techniques for Exquisite Watercolors:* Combines classic Chinese painting principles with Western watercolor methods for breathtaking results* Features 12 step-by-step mini-demonstrations covering everything from brushstrokes to composition* Combines the use of ink and watercolorFollowing Zhen's unique watercolor methods, artists will learn to paint entire compositions based on classic Chinese watercolor subjects, including flowers, birds and fish. Mini-demos ensure that artists will successfully render every detail, including eyes, scales, feathers, beaks, petals and more.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Handbook of Instrumental Techniques for Analytical Chemistry Review

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(More customer reviews)Have you ever tried to explain what analytical chemistry is, to a friend, relative, or stranger feigning interest in what you do? The attempt quickly reveals the depth and complexity of a field so easily named with two simple words. Where do you begin? What do you leave out? Trying to write a textbook on the many facets of analytical chemistry is even more difficult; some attempts run to many volumes. Some texts focus on the physical principles of a technique, others on the applications.Prentice-Hall's new Handbook of Instrumental Techniques for Analytical Chemistry (Frank Every lab occasionally faces a problem outside the usual routine - questions their normal instruments can't answer. The Handbook helps them figure out what instruments might do the job. The goal of the book is to introduce nonspecialist scientists to the major techniques, outlining how each works, what it does, its limitations, the information produced, plus practical matters such as costs to buy and operate, and the expertise required of an operator. Each chapter has a list of manufacturers and a bibliography for further self-education. A person who goes through a chapter will be ready to ask intelligent questions of experts in the field and understand the buzzwords peculiar to each discipline. The book contains a CD-ROM with software for selecting appropriate methods for a sample and analysis; since it runs on Windows (3.1, 95, or NT), I couldn't test it on my Macintosh. The authors of the chapters are a mix of university researchers, innovators from industry, and a few carefully-selected experts from instrument companies, who avoid the temptation to promote their own products. For example, the STM/AFM chapter was written by Huub Salemink of the IBM labs in Zurich, where the technique was pioneered. Although I don't want to slight any of the excellent authors who contributed chapters, some areas are truly outstanding texts in their own right. Ron Majors' discussion of organic sample preparation is as thorough as readers of his LC*GC columns would expect. Robert Megargle covers LIMS with the knowledge of many years as user and observer. Defining categories for the overlapping techniques of analytical chemistry is always a challenge. Settle wisely avoided the traditional choice of categorization by underlying physical principles and grouped them according to logical applications. The result includes some based on the instrument types (separation methods, for example) and others on broad application areas (polymer analysis). While purists might fret over this organization, in fact, it makes for easy access, without having to shuffle through the whole book to gather information on a specific analysis. In a single volume covering fields that are often evolving rapidly, there are bound to be a few omissions. The ones I noted were: near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, which has become so important recently; microscopy other than SPM, especially the analytical use of electron microscopes (SEM and TEM); better discussions of time-of-flight and ion trap mass spec; ion sources other than ESI for LC-MS; microwave ovens used for digestion and extraction of inorganic samples (Majors covers its use in organic extraction); flow injection (and segmented-flow) analysis; arc-spark emission spectrometers (mentioned in passing). To really pick nits, there was no mention of solid phase microextraction (SPME) or of specialized analyzers such as CHN, TOC, BOD, or systems for Hg, CN, or S analysis. At the same time, it includes a chapter on the truly exotic and rare technique of atomic fluorescence. Any manageable text will overlook some methods and cover some obscure favorites; this criticism is hardly fatal. Any book on an evolving technology is a snapshot in time and will fairly quickly become dated. The newest techniques have already gone beyond the descriptions in their chapters. This text, nevertheless, will be an excellent introduction to analytical instrument techniques for some years, even if the published prices and suppliers' names may age. I hope some of the more enlightened professors of instrumental analysis will use it as a text; their students will emerge as better analytical chemists. It will certainly help me better understand the techniques I survey each month. Excerpted with permission from Analytical Consumer, Jo Rita Jordan, Editor and Publisher

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This book/disk Handbook provides introductory information about the most widely used instrumental techniques and methods used in analytical chemistry and helps the reader determine which technique is most appropriate for their needs. This book/disk Handbook consists of an introduction and seven sections, each addressing a major area of chemical analysis (separation techniques, optical spectroscopic techniques-qualitative, optical spectroscopic techniques-quantitative, mass spectrometry, electrochemical techniques, microscopic and surface techniques, polymer and macromolecular techniques) and a floppy disk containing Technique Selection software. Each section consists of chapters describing the most commonly used instrumental techniques in the area of analysis. Each chapter presents basic information about a specific technique. The common format used for each chapter facilitates selection and comparison of techniques.Each chapter contains the following topics: 1) a summary page, 2) how it works, 3) what it does including current applications, 4) types of samples analyzed, practical economic information, 5) summary of the routine operational characteristics, and 6) references to more detailed information on the technique.

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Heroic Visions: Superhero Role Playing Adventure Game (Volume 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)This won't replace Hero System, Mutants & Masterminds, GURPS Supers, or DC Adventures ... But I thought it was on par with numerous other supers systems. There are enough intriguing things in here to recommend it to collectors of game systems.
If you're new to Supers systems, use the latest versions of one of the games mentioned above, they have much more polish, mainly because they've been hacked at for decades.

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It's 10:30 PM. A wintry wind whistles through the streets of Arcadia City. A young couple, hand in hand, meanders down the street lost in giggling conversation. They are unaware of the danger that lurks in the shadows. But that's where you come in. Perched on the roof top you see the muggers hastily mutter their plans. The glint of moonlight on metal indicates their intent more clearly than an orange neon sign. Exhaling slightly, you leap from your perch and enter the breach once again...The world needs heroes. With Heroic Visions, the Superhero Role Playing Adventure Game, you can create your own Champion of Truth, Justice and the Galactic Way.

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Performance Riding Techniques: The MotoGP manual of track riding skills Review

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(More customer reviews)I own Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist II, Lee Park's Total Control, and Nick Ienatsch's Sport Riding Techniques and all of those are great books.
Andy Ibbott's book is a worthy addition to them. It summarizes all techniques discussed in the aforesaid books in a very precise and accurate manner and it also contains a lot of new information as well. The book explains the physics behind each technique and is very easy to read. Many high quality pictures(almost on every page) make this book even more fun to read. So if I were to own only one motorcycle riding skills book it definitely be Andy Ibbott's one.


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An official book published in association with MotoGP rights holder Dorna SL, this practical guide to motorcycle racing technique is aimed at racing and track day enthusiasts at all levels. From starting and accelerating to braking, cornering, overtaking and even crashing, this book combines expert guidance from an experienced coach with advice and anecdotes from top riders. Presented in a large format and fully illustrated throughout in color, this is the authoritative guide to improving your racing technique and performance on the track.

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Tools & Techniques of Financial Planning 7th edition (Tools and Techniques of Financial Planning) Review

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(More customer reviews)Lesson One in Financial Planning: Don't waste money. If you know absolutely nothing about investing and planning, then this book is for you.
Alternative title: "Financial Planning For High School Freshman"
Case-in-point, the reader must slog through 290 pages to get to chapter 16 titled, "Risk & Reward". And then, (drum roll, please!) we get this gem, "Sound investment management principals dictate that the investor should almost never invest in just one asset class to the exclusion of all others". WOW, that's worth every penny of my ($). THANKS!
Bottom line, if you're in the financial services business and you need this book...it's time to rethink that career choice.

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In today's constantly changing marketplace, stay up-to-date on the latest products, tax laws and regulations, and best practices with the 9th Edition of Tools & Techniques of Financial Planning. Delivering the most current and essential strategies, this latest editon is ideal for all students and professionals who must master the fundamentals of financial planning. Steps and tools in the financial planning process as well as in-depth reviews of the various strategies in today s market with emphasis on cash-flow management within personal financial planning, and expanded discussions on special needs trusts, privacy and identity theft protections, reverse mortgages, and finding strategies for education planning. New 9th Edition offers coverage on: The impact of the market downturn and uncertain economic times on financial planning and how it has changed. Discussion of deductible losses from Traditional and Roth IRAs, Section 529 Plans, and ESAs. Tax-favored funding provisions, grants, loans, expected family contributions, and other college amounts updated. Quick overview of popular trusts, such as grantor trusts, charitable trusts, and marital/bypass trusts. Implications of transfers of property between spouses related to divorce, and discussion of what is regarded as marital for divorce purposes.Ideal for:Financial Planners, Advisors, Bankers, Stockbrokers, Accountants, Attorneys, Financial Planning Instructors andStudents, Law Offices, CPA firms, Insurance Agents, Para-professionals--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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The Rhythms of History: A Universal Theory of Civilizations Review

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(More customer reviews)The Rhythms of History by Stephen Blaha is one of the latest contributions in the filed of macrohistory. Drawing uncritically on Toynbee's A Study of History, Blaha attempts to develop a quantitative theory of civilizations. Over the course of eighteen chapters and two appendices, he reviews Toynbee's theory of civilizations, develops a series of mathematical equations to model Toynbee's theory, and subsequently applies the equations to several civilizations. Not to be limited to this planet alone, Blaha even provides a chapter on extraterrestrial civilizations.
A few words are in order concerning Toynbee's theory of civilizations. Toynbee saw civilizations developing in a rally-rout cycle of three and a half beats, with each cycle consisting of a growth, breakdown and disintegration phase. Blaha tries to model this theory with equations based on harmonic oscillators. Another facet is that Toynbee downplayed material factors in the development and decline of civilizations, and instead stressed religious and philosophical factors.
While the book claims to be a quantitative theory of civilizations (see the jacket and Chapter 4), quantities such as the societal level (S) and the rate of change (C), are relative quantities and have no way of being measured. Granted, this is admitted at several points in the book (see for example in Chapters 4 and 8). Blaha, following Toynbee, sees the societal level corresponding to the overall feeling of the civilization's inhabitants, and not necessarily their material culture, wealth or population (pgs. 124-126).
Credulity is strained though when examining the equations for the societal level and rate of change. Instead of finding variables like population size, energy use, socio-cultural development, or technological developments, one finds that the societal level and rate of change are based on calendrical time, constants, and nebulously defined forces (F). The constants in some cases are derived from the number of years between events that are seen to be important by either Toynbee or Blaha, or they are defined in an ad-hoc fashion (see for example pages 82-88).
Examining the numerous plots of societal level versus calendrical time, leads one to wonder exactly what proof the author has to support any of his results. For example, dealing with my specialty, in the plot of Japanese civilization (pg. 89), Blaha sees it beginning in 58 BC during the Yayoi period. The plot shows that the highest societal level reached at any point in Japanese civilization occurred during the Yayoi period in AD 76. The Yayoi culture was a non-urban, ranked agricultural society that left no written records. The only contemporary written accounts of the Yayoi culture are brief passages in the Chinese histories Han Shu and Wei Chih. My curiosity is piqued as to how the societal level and rate of cultural change can be determined for a society that left no written record when the material culture is being ignored. Even if the material remains are taken into account, I am still baffled as to how the Yayoi culture achieved a societal level higher than Japanese civilization during the Kamakura period (AD 1185-1333) or Meiji era (AD 1868-1912). The high societal level reached during the reign of the legendary emperor Nintoku is also problematic; once again this is a time period from which there are practically no contemporary written accounts.
This is not the only problematic section. There are also numerous other mistakes and errors littering this book. Detailing them all will take far more space than this review has.
The paucity of the bibliography is also disturbing given the scope of this book. Only seventeen references are listed in the bibliography, and the majority of them were published before 1970. While not being dismissive of earlier works, the fields of archaeology, anthropology, and history have all gone through massive paradigm shifts in the intervening years. For the prehistoric and early historic civilizations covered in this book, new discoveries since 1970 have also altered our understanding of them. The bibliography also has a noticeable absence of books and articles on the use of mathematical models and simulation studies in the social sciences. With the advent of personal computers, this is an area of research that has grown immensely. In my opinion, the sparseness of the bibliography demonstrates a lack of primary research and understanding of the complexity of the topic under study.
At best, The Rhythms of History is an example of how not to use mathematical models in historical research. The equations and graphs look impressive at first, but close examination of them reveals historical, methodological and theoretical errors. If you are interested in macro-history, I would strongly suggest books by Diamond, Fernandez-Armesto, or even Toynbee.

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This book makes History into a quantitative Science. It begins with a hard hitting, "tell it like it is" chapter on the current international situation with statements such as: "The United States and Western civilization is now engaged in a small Vietnam-style war on a global scale at the time of this writing. This war is still in the early stages of development. The book then develops a theory of civilizations that supports these observations.

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Disguise Techniques: Fool All Of The People Some Of The Time Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was so vague I have to believe it is an FBI plant to see who would need a book on disguises. I was doing a presentation on Sherlock Holmes and this book was not at all helpfull.

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Learn from a true disguise master how to disguise the mind--and the body--to create a new personality, use your mental powers to blend chameleon-like into your surroundings or create any number of characters for a quick change or long-term disappearance.

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