Reviews Written By: AV0NFE7INBXQWprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series) | |
 | "Perfect for Downsizing! Must read!!" | 2009-06-29 |
| The ideas in this book will forever change how you look at city and building design. Urban planners, architects, builders and interior designers who want to keep their jobs-- read up! This book will help you create low-cost solutions to the real estate downturns in your area. You have unprecedented opportunities to rethink your cities, towns, strip malls, etc. to make them more user-friendly and inviting while trimming the ugly wasted space that fills so many of our urban centers and McMansion neighborhoods. More careful expansion of the cities along logical pathways, with rainwater harvesting, edible self-managed self-watered landscaping, and tree-shaded roads with neighborhood shops and small industry woven in would have created more jobs and more meaning plus kept people together in sustainable neighborhoods at a much lower cost, both initially and long-term. Now we face the prospect of bulldozing entire vacant blocks and turning them into the rural spaces that so many longed to be near to begin with. This is not good business sense-- it's pathology. 'A Pattern Language' is the perfect medicine for this sickness. Like a healthy diet, it gets down to basics: how the human body relates to space; how people 'feel' in certain environments; the criteria of places that draw people in as opposed to others that are left usused or avoided. These principles are classic patterns that have stood the test of time, and Mr. Alexander gives numerous examples from around the world, from entire regions down to the height of windowsills and the best designs for office space. Anyone planning their own house needs this book! I designed a big house in Arizona for my large family using these principles and it's amazingly light and functional while being cool in summer and warm in winter. The kitchen is smaller than most custom homes, yet eight people can prepare food together comfortably while 3 more surf the internet and Dad reads his paper. | ||
 | Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire | |
| "Begin your American History class right here!" | 2008-04-09 |
| Chalmers Johnson--perhaps the most knowledgeable man in America right now. All three books in his American Empire series underscore the dangerous line we have crossed as a nation. See The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (American Empire Project) and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (American Empire Project) No longer are we a land of democracy-loving bureaucrats bent on spreading peace and prosperity-- we've become a true threat to any sovereign nation who will not bow to our interests on our terms. We are covertly expanding our imperial reach as quickly as possible. We do not obey International Law, yet no nation or media outlet has the nerve to slap us down. We do not observe the Geneva Conventions, yet no one dares stand up against us because we dominate all the world financial markets and hold the U.N. hostage with our monetary and military support. We've created a monster-- and it's armed to the teeth, quietly stealing away our freedoms, our non-governmental jobs, and our money. Only a complete breakdown will shake us up enough to take action. I wonder.. if worse comes to worse, will the Second Amendment mean anything in the face of a militarized American government...gone bad? | ||
 | Bouncy Bee | |
 | "Not the same as the old Bouncy Bee..." | 2007-09-15 |
| Negatives: This toy is made in China. It is not wood like the old Bouncy Bee, but colored paper glued onto a plastic body. The antennae are hard plastic sticks that do not bounce like the old wire springs. Pullstring is only 6 in. long and cannot be removed. Positives: Nice non-annoying clacking sound. The plastic wings rotate fast even when pulled slowly. Stable and easy to pull (when additional cord is attached--not included). Sweet little bee-shape with an expressive face. I'm disappointed with these Fisher Price Re-issues. They should've found an American manufacturer and kept all the features that made these pulltoys so special. | ||
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