5 comments about SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK!: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE.

1. I rate this book 5 stars. The title of my review is School House Rock: The Official Guide by Tom Yohe and George Newall. I like this book because it is a great book and I like School House Rock and it's still my favorite show. This book is great. I like this book because it reminds me of School House Rock.



2. If you grew up in the 70's and 80's and were anywhere near Saturday morning cartoons, then you know Schoolhouse Rock. Many of us learned our times tables because of them. I can remember at least twice when the catchy songs about American History were caught in my head and helped me answer test questions. The lyrics may have been replaced by other facts, but I'm sure that the songs are stuck in your head somewhere. This book is a great companion to bring so much of it back with lyrics, pictures and trivia about all the episodes. It will bridge things until the DVD is released. All in all a ton of fun. Pull out the book, sing along and relive those cereal laden mornings in front of the TV. Oh yea!



3. There is no Tom Yoke, only the great Tom Yohe, associated with Schoolhouse Rock!



4. If you are like my self, when you were a kid in the 70's, you could not wait to get out of bed on Saturday mornings to watch tv. Mixed in with all those great tv shows were the School House Rock segments. As a kid I loved them, and now as an adult, I still love them, and always will. Buy the Official Guide To School House Rock. Read it, and take a trip back in time when everything was right with the world. You were a kid, enjoying classic tv, and learning your multiplication tables, and how bills became laws, and what adjectives and verbs were. School House Rock is classic tv at its best....



5. Schoolhouse Rock: The Offical Guide is fab! Filled with trivia, synopsis, lyrics, facts, color illustrations and behind-the-scene anecdotes from one of the most innovative and successful cartoons in American television history. A must-have for educators, parents and fans of this long-running and revived series of educational short subject cartoons. And don't forget:...."So when you're happy (Hurray!) or sad (Aw!) or frightened (Eeek!) or mad (Rats!) or excited (Wow!) or glad (Hey!) an intejection starts a sentence right!

5 comments about Zap the Gaps! Target Higher Performance and Achieve It!.

1. Blanchard and Co. are truly masters at developing a `business fable', and in this one they remind us to get to the root cause of a problem before moving to the solution stage. In this story, GAPS is an acronym for:
   (G)o for the "shoulds", or what should be happening
   (A)nalyze the "is", or what is the current status
   (P)in down the causes, or get to the root of the issue
   (S)elect the right solution, that is of course a solution that addresses the problem
   
   In getting to the "shoulds", we are reminded to start with the big picture (what is your business reason for existing), indentify the performance metrics that define success, and then benchmark how excellent performance is delivered by the best. Now, find out what is actually happening; segregating the internal work environment issues from individual or personal capabilities when doing so. Once you know the problem(s); match it/them with appropriate solution(s).
   Dennis DeWilde, author of "The Performance Connection"



2. The befuddled manager, the wise old man, some simplistic advice (what is the difference between where you are and where you want to be?). Nothing new, but some good basic reminders.



3. This very short read (thats a good thing) provides an excellent tool for biz problem solving. You can actually use the GAPS approach to solve ANY problem. I am adding the book to my permanent library. I loved it.



4. This is a very quick read. 1-2 hours and you're done. It's a cute little story about 2 people trying to improve quality and performance for their company. The story is about the advice they receive from a friend which is simple and presented well. It's really nothing you can't find in just about every other management book out there. Analyze the problem, look for options and choose the best method to fix it. If you're reading this, chances are you've read other management books. There isn't anything groundbreaking here. But there certainly isn't anything bad about it either. I personally would recommend "The Power of Six Sigma" by Subdir Chowdry over this. But you won't go wrong if you do decide to pick this one up.



5. Dr. Blanchard should stop putting his name on books others have written! This is deceptive to those readers who respect and trust his "brand." Has he no shame?!

1 comments about Cirque Du Soleil: 20 Years Under the Sun - An Authorized History.

1. Have seen 8 or 9 different Cirque shows. Even met their talent scout at the Fringe one year. Part of this book tells the history of Cirque du Soleil, which was very interesting. The part on the individual shows was more like a yearbook. Didn't tell you enough about each individual show but supplied a lot of prompts to help you remember the show. Good coffee table book.
   
   First saw the book at a Cirque show and thought: 'Hmmm, I could probably save some $$ getting this on Amazon.' Saved $20 U.S. and bought a couple of CDs.

5 comments about How to Shoot a Feature Film for Under $10,000 (And Not Go to Jail).

1. This book is a little dated but is compelling enough for multiple reads. The sarcastic hyperbole is definitely it's selling point; the information it contains is found in other sources. The "recipes" section made me laugh so hard I cried (maybe it was just late at night and I needed a pick-me-up).
   Entertaining way to learn about filmmaking; not serious enough to be a standalone source of information. Funny enough I purchased it to read again after initially checking book out from the library.



2. This book is more funny than informative. Good for some leisure reading but not for anyone that is trying to find some serious insight on the subject.



3. Great book if you've never made a film before...if you've made 1 or a few of them, this is a decent review, but you probably already do all these things. The digital info is a little outdated as it was published in 2000.



4. This book is really great! I learned a lot, and at the same time wanted to keep reading more. The book is really funny, and made me laugh lots of times. Bret Stern is very clever at telling you things, and he makes it fun along the way. And you can understand all that he says! it dosen't just go over your head! I'm young, and just learning, and I highly recomend this book! its one of the best of its kind! From teaching you how to write in script format, to trying to get your film to a distributor, Bret Stern shows you all that!



5. The book opens with a classic 'real life' scene from Stern's life, written as a screenplay, and gets better from there. I highly recommend this book. The writing alone is well worth the purchase -- even if it weren't chock full of great info.
   
   "How to Shoot a Feature Film for Under $10,000 (And Not Go to Jail)" by Bret Stern was a great jaunt. This book is loaded with tips about what to do or not do, and how to do things cheaply and without permits -- and not go to jail.
   
   While the book may be a bit out of date in terms of 'the DV revolution', the tips are not. The guerilla shooting style presented in this book CLEARLY is among the best approaches to knocking out a movie on DV, perhaps even better than a film.
   
   The upside to shooting on DV vs film is cost, the downside is quality of image ... so subtract the cost of buying film ends and renting some film gear, and you STILL have costs for making a movie. So bottom line, Brent's book can still help broke movie-makers out AND have a chuckle at the same time.
   
   (threewaysmedia.com)

5 comments about Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide.

1. Auditioning is unequivocally one of the best books on acting I've ever read. Merlin presents her information in an easy to read, clear and concise manner. You see, this book is more than an authors commentary about the auditioning process. She delves into the craft itself and tells you how you can approach each role and make it your own. I myself am just beginning my acting career and after having read this book I no longer view auditioning as a daunting, yet necessary evil as I am sure many of my fellow actors have. I am looking forward to the process. I now know that I can view the opportunity as a chance to grow and learn as an actor. Of course I will continue to have those proverbial butterflies in my stomach, but rather than let it hinder me, I will allow these nerves to fuel my performance. Don't know if I would ever have reached that plateau of enlightenment had it not been for Merlin's insightful book.



2. This book is a great tool for the auditioning Actor, it puts everything into perspective. An easy quick read with tons of great advice and information you always should have known.



3. Before I read this, I had a big problem with my confidence as well as with everything else. But this book really helped me believe in myself, believe it or not.



4. I really enjoyed this book . The audition tips are very useful. I also just read a new book. Twelve Step Plan To Becoming An Actor by Dawn Lerman. If you have really studied, buy these two books and head to LA
   and make your mark .

   Jean Harris
   NY




5. This is a great book to read for actors! It tells you how to deal with nervousness and, turn it into a positive feeling for you to work with. This book has helped me out a lot. And, now, I know what to expect and, how to get through my next audition, with flying colors!

No comments about The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation.

1 comments about Japanese No Masks: With 300 Illustrations of Authentic Historical Examples (Dover Books on Fine Art).

1. fairly high amount of illustrations not much on the substance of the masks which would be difficult because of the great number of masks illustrated

3 comments about Sophia Living and Loving: Her Own Story.

1. Not very many movie stars, I think, have ever sold tickets to male and female alike: but Sophia Loren did, and probably still could. Even fewer female movie stars who first came to public notice for the "abundanza" of their chests, have, I think, managed to turn into real actresses right in front of our eyes. And only one, I think, has managed to win an Academy Award for a film in a foreign language, following on a career of films in that foreign language, Italian, while never tasting a great English language success. That one, "certo," is Sophia Loren, still very much on the scene for one thing and another. Quite a few years ago, she collaborated with A.E. Hotchner on this book, and it's still one of the best.
   
   Her Oscar, of course, came for her powerhouse performance in "Two Women," a role that well-illustrated how she could move from sexpot to actress. How many glamorous leading ladies-- who happened to be married to their producers, no less-- would take the role of a mother older than themselves, in a film in which they had originally intended to play the daughter? And play it without makeup, in a wardrobe Gina Lollobrigida wouldn't use for rags?
   
   This is only the half of it, for, in order to be able to give that performance, Loren had to dig back to her hungry childhood during World War II. Few of us would want to.
   
   But one of the interesting things about this book is Loren's honesty. She was, as many people know, born illegitimate and very poor in Naples; during the war, her entire village slept in a single rat-infested railway tunnel and scavenged for food. She gives us a good look here at the grit and stamina that got her out of Pozzuoli and into pictures.
   
   In fact, she seems to be a woman of awesome grit, capable of hanging on for years until she got that slippery producer, Carlo Ponti to the altar. Then, she was capable of spending her two pregnancies isolated in her bed: it's what she had to do to have her children.
   
   There's more in the book, of course, such as her affair with Cary Grant and the choice she had to make between him and Carlo Ponti. Many sources agree that she was one of the great loves of Grant's life, and he never quite got over her loss.
   
   For many years, Rome's cinema elite rebuffed her. The Catholic Church preached against her. And she actually faced criminal prosecutions for adultery and public sinning.
   
   But let's not forget that the same woman who gave us "Two Women," also gave us a series of sparkling sex comedies, and the scintillating "Houseboat" with Cary Grant. Her striptease in "Yesterday Today and Tomorrow," for which she prepped with the exotic dancers from Paris's famous Crazy Horse Saloon, absolutely sizzled, yet still had an undercurrent of humor in it,from Mastroianni's command to "do a striptease, with just the refrigerator light on." That unbuttoned Neopolitan humor continued through "Marriage Italian Style," and "A Special Day," and could continue still, should Loren ever decide to go back to film. An actress with as little vanity as Loren could work forever.
   
   How many stars, after all, would quote this remark of Cary Grant's on their first meeting? "How do you do, Miss Lolloloren, or is it Lorenigida? Ah, you Italian actress, I can never get your names straight?
   
   But I think the rest of the world has long since managed to.
   
   This book is a fine piece of work from Hotchner. The woman who said of herself," my mouth is too large, my nose is too long, and my chin and lips are too broad," couldn't have been an easy subject.



2. I'm not usually attracted to Italian women but Sophia Loren is in a class all by herself. Coming into fame in an era in which most movie stars were peroxide blondes (and to tell the truth it hasn't really changed all that much in Hollywood-worse even-women are not only still majority blonde but flat-backed stick figures!), this sensuous woman's dark and exotic beauty sent young American men's "you know whats" throbbing!
   It is ashame this book is out of print. I used to sneak it away from my mother's shelf and run off to look at the photos. The classic wet shot of Sophia from "Boy On A Dolphin" plus several topless shots from her early days as well as pictures of Sophia in gater belts and stockings (circa late-60's/early-70's) and much shots of her showing off those gorgeously full boobs of hers! I was 12 and I "discovered" my manhood from those photos. The woman is in her 70's now and in her latest film appearance, "Ready To Wear" ("Pret-a-Porter"), she was still beautiful, sexy and alluring. She had it all over her co-stars, Julia Roberts and Kim Basinger. Thank you Ms. Loren.



3. Numerous books have been published about Sophia Loren, since this one came out in late 70's. Many of them are very good, but this particular book is still the best for couple of reasons. First of all, it is a 100% autobiography, written by one of the most amazing, and not just most beautiful, women in the world. Loren's character is reflected on every page, as she narrates her life, starting with her family background all the way to talking about her own children. Secondly, she writes with candor that would surely shock a reader, who is used to reading polished and often pretentious autobiographies of Hollywood stars. Loren, the writer, does not shy away from admitting to being the uggliest girl in town, while growing up; to feeling such human emotions as rage, fear, jealousy, hate at various stages of her life...Yet, after you finish reading this book, you will be amazed at the fact that Loren's greatest emotions have invariably been that of a compassionate, forgiving, and loving woman.

5 comments about American Cinema/American Culture.

1. Halfway through my third year of college, this is the worst textbook I have ever had for any class. It's the first time that the choice of text actually makes me wish I hadn't taken the class. The material is very fascinating, but the book is written very, very poorly. I encourage anyone who has this is as a required text to consider registering for a different class.
   
   At least half of the text is simply summarizing movies, and that's the biggest flaw. If you haven't seen these movies it can, at times, be very difficult to follow. I honestly cannot fathom any possible reason for these summaries, other than to spoil the plot and outcome of many great films. The few decent pages in this book are due to the author lacking consistency -- on occasion he slips and goes a page or two without summarizing the plot of a film, and on those rare occasions the reader may actually learn something, but don't count on it happening too often.
   
   This is the first and only occasion in which I wish I wouldn't have taken a class based solely on the weakness of the text.



2. So, I expected this book to be a bit more fun. Unfortunately, the fun element is missing. However, in fairness, the book serves as a thorough textbook for the history of American Cinema and its techniques and various genres. I did enjoy reading about the early studio system and the vast amount of control this oligopoly held. There were some very good critiques and studies of specific films, and a bit about specific actors and actresses. Even a bit about directors. Though packed with information, the book just lacks an entertainment value that it could and should have pulled off based on the subject matter.
   
   The different genres studied include:
   
   Westerns
   War Movies
   Silent Films
   Film Noire
   Screwball Comedies
   
   As well as an overall dissertation on Classical Hollywood Style and its various techniques.



3. I got this book for a class on the history of cinema. Unfortunately, as the title implies, it only deals with American Cinema. If this is a book for school, check out the class to see if foreign films and film history will be discussed. This book is, again, as the title implies--one-sided. Most of the movies it discusses, gives away crucial plot-points and endings. Some movies that I've been dying to see were ruined in just one or two sentences. This book is also very puffed-up and biased (I don't know any other way of explaining it). Many times throughout the book, Belton seems like James Lipton of "Inside the Actor's Studio", and goes on and on about the greatness of Hollywood, actors, director's, and films with nothing negative to say. It's not at all critical of anything and the author frequently inserts his own interpretation of films into the general text, which I found a little pompous. The book does offer up some interesting facts about the early history and the birth of cinema, but there's something about the way this book was written that makes it hard to stay interested. I think the chapters about film genres exaggerate the importance of some of them, and neglects other genres completely, ie. Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Sci-fi, Animation, Epics, etc. Again, question the instructor and/or look at the class syllabus before siging up if this is the only book for this class. I don't believe this is a comprehensive and unbiased view of cinema and it's history.



4. Years ago I took an intro-level film class at a community college. This was the text for the class. It was accompanied (at least in my class) by a PBS video series that combined film clips with interviews and historical information. Going into the class I had little more than a passing interest in film and film history. But after taking that class, my passion for film has grown exponentially with each year. But back to the book, I really liked this book and highlighted my way from the front cover to the back cover. There are of course limitations to this book. Firstly, it deals only with American films. Secondly, this book barely breaks the 300-page mark - hardly a comprehensive volume. You aren't going to get any information on John Cassavetes here or anything. Now if you have a chance to use this book in conjunction with the PBS films, I think you'll do much better (in fact I think the vids even give a nod to Cassavetes), but even then please note that this material is for an INTRO-level film class, and won't be much good for someone who already knows a fair amount about American film. But with that in mind, the book still has a lot to offer someone looking to introduce themselves to film history.

   The first third of the book starts with the birth of film, moves quickly on to the Hollywood studio system, and walks us through the basics of film style (camerawork, lighting, editing, etc.). The second third covers the basics of film genre; there is a chapter about film noir, one on comedies, one on war films, and one on westerns. This second section was particularly useful to me. I could read each chapter, jot down a list of promising titles, hit my local video store, and I was good to go. The third section covers American film after World War II. In this section things seem a little compressed. 110 pages for 50 years of film? A lot is lost on the cutting room floor. But there's lots to dig into all the same. There's a chapter on Hollywood during the McCarthy years (yikes!), one on film's evolution during the emergence of television, a chapter on 1960s counterculture films, one on the film school directors of the 1970s and 1980s, and finally a pretty weak chapter on film in the 1990s. Oh yeah, and at the end of the book there's a handy glossary (in case you're ever stuck on what point-of-view editing is) and a pretty thorough index.

   Again, not a book for someone who already has a good feel for film history. But definitely a great resource for someone new to film studies, or for someone who has trouble finding a movie at Blockbuster on Fridays. It did a great job getting me excited about movies, and I imagine its done the same for others.... A good companion to this text (or possibly an all-out replacement of it) is Scorsese's VHS/DVD, "A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies."




5. This would be a great book to read if you have no intention of watching the films discussed within, or if you've already seen them. On quite a few films, it tells the whole plot, in detail, from opening to end credits.

   I also don't like the prose of the author, as he excessively uses sentences "in quotations". The writing structure is very formulaic and boring. The "5 paragraph essay" format is good for high school students learning to write, but imagine an entire book written that way. I can only read it for 15 minutes before losing interest.

   The book does, however, provide plenty of examples from a variety of films.

   This book is a companion piece to the PBS series by the same name. The series is much more interesting. Don't bother with the book. A much better film text is "Film: An Introduction", by William Phillips, ISBN: 0312258968.

2 comments about 50 Professional Scenes for Student Actors: A Collection of Short 2 Person Scenes.

1. As a Drama Teacher, I'm always on the lookout for new scene material. An Actor/Teacher friend recommended this book, so I sent for it. The scenes are short and have at least a few levels in each - enough to spend valuable class time on. Good stuff.



2. Great book for middle school students with excellent pieces for Declamation Contest and auditions.