Larry Stith (a.k.a. Sparkle), the 41-year-old street hustler, is again teamed with his main partner Johhny Dobbs (a.k.a. Rainbow), a lifetime pimp, drug dealer and scam artist. They are joined by Beverly Johnson (a.k.a. Bevy), Sparkle's secret lover and a corrupt police chief, as well as Asian beauty Mercedes and Aunt Rose, who knows the ins and outs of rival Black Don's business. Lifelong friends and their associates roam through the underbelly of Atlanta's glitter and glitz in a maze of whodunit.
Philip lives for skateboarding. School is merely the break between trying to land a difficult jump and outrunning the security guards. When he and his best friend Wally meet a professional skateboarder who videotapes himself for his website, Philip thinks they can do it too—and make money at the same time. When they start getting hits on their website—and making money—they start to feel the pressure to do more and more dangerous stunts. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible. Also available in Spanish or French.
Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video games, and examines the elements they share with traditional games such as checkers. At the heart of his exploration, veteran game designer Raph Koster takes a close look at the concept of fun and why it’s the most vital element in any game. Why do some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years? How do games serve as fundamental and powerful learning tools? Whether you’re a game developer, dedicated gamer, or curious observer, this illustrated, fully updated edition helps you understand what drives this major cultural force, and inspires you to take it further. You’ll discover that: Games play into our innate ability to seek patterns and solve puzzles Most successful games are built upon the same elements Slightly more females than males now play games Many games still teach primitive survival skills Fictional dressing for modern games is more developed than the conceptual elements Truly creative designers seldom use other games for inspiration Games are beginning to evolve beyond their prehistoric origins
While living in a low-income community, mis-educated, with few opportunities available, Joel is going through a phase we all have fallen victim to. The phase of finding purpose in life. Through many obstacles and hurdles that come with being an African American in America, Joel is also fighting to end the struggles and difficulties that affect many African Americans today. He is desperate to change his current condition with the few cards he has been dealt. He realizes that nothing, but inferior, distorted, watered-down history, and imagery has been taught to African Americans for hundreds of years. Joel is young, ready to beat the statistics, and ready to elevate by any means necessary!
A practical guide to opening and running a successful Independent Coffee Shop, essential reading for all Entrepreneurs. Don't open your coffee shop until you have read this How to select your coffee shop location How to get a great team for your coffee shop How to provide WOW service How to choose what to sell in your coffee shop The importance of a good layout in your coffee shop How to choose the equipment for a new coffee shop How to run your coffee shop How to keep in financial control of your coffee shop How to sell your coffee shop The coffee shop success formula This is a highly practical book with very sound advice. Andrew & Claire are hugely experienced in the industry, and more importantly over several locations. So make sure you read it with a marker pen in your hand. Take all of their advice - it might just prevent you from making some very expensive mistakes.'John Richardson - The Coffee Boys'Straight forward, independent, no-nonsense advice is not easy to find.This is a must read book for every budding and existing coffee shop entrepreneur. Even if you do not own a coffee shop, read it for great business advice.'Martyn Herriott - Beverage Standards AssociationAndrew & Claire Bowen opened their first franchised coffee shop in 2007, after leaving senior roles in retail and healthcare. Within eighteen months they had opened three outlets and had over �1m turnover. In 2011 they developed their own independent format, which they continue to run. They support coffee shop owners worldwide as founders of Caf� Success Hub.
This in-depth resource teaches you to craft mechanics that generate challenging, enjoyable, and well-balanced gameplay. You’ll discover at what stages to prototype, test, and implement mechanics in games and learn how to visualize and simulate game mechanics in order to design better games. Along the way, you’ll practice what you’ve learned with hands-on lessons. A free downloadable simulation tool developed by Joris Dormans is also available in order to follow along with exercises in the book in an easy-to-use graphical environment. In Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, you’ll learn how to: * Design and balance game mechanics to create emergent gameplay before you write a single line of code. * Visualize the internal economy so that you can immediately see what goes on in a complex game. * Use novel prototyping techniques that let you simulate games and collect vast quantities of gameplay data on the first day of development. * Apply design patterns for game mechanics—from a library in this book—to improve your game designs. * Explore the delicate balance between game mechanics and level design to create compelling, long-lasting game experiences. * Replace fixed, scripted events in your game with dynamic progression systems to give your players a new experience every time they play. "I've been waiting for a book like this for ten years: packed with game design goodness that tackles the science without undermining the art." --Richard Bartle, University of Essex, co-author of the first MMORPG “Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design by Joris Dormans & Ernest Adams formalizes game grammar quite well. Not sure I need to write a next book now!” -- Raph Koster, author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design.
If you’re serious about becoming an elite hockey player, this guide will help you reach your full potential. Hockey is a tough sport. Not everyone will develop the passion and perseverance it requires. But for those who are dedicated to becoming the best, honing one’s skills, experience, and mental toughness is essential. In Hockey Grit, Grind & Mind, sports specialist Kevin L. Willis helps players, coaches, and parents understand what it takes to play hockey at the highest levels. Here, you will learn how to increase the consistency of their game, step up in pressure situations, play with more confidence, create a reserve of energy to tap into when needed, and persevere when other players are giving up. Willis also offers practical tips on how to develop your personal vision of success and stand out on the ice in both games and practices. Hockey Grit, Grind & Mind provides the tools, insights, and strategies to help players train and compete like the pros and take their game—and their grit—to a new level.
We’ve been conditioned to think about creative genius as a dichotomy: dreamers versus doers, creativity versus discipline, the spark versus the grind. But what if we’re wrong? What if it’s the spark and the grind? We love people whose creative genius arrives in sudden sparks of inspiration. Think of Archimedes in his bathtub or Newton under his apple tree. But we also admire people who work incredibly hard and long for their creative breakthroughs. Think of Edison in his lab, grinding through hundreds of failed variations on the lightbulb. We remember his words in tough times: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration.” Now Erik Wahl, a visual artist, speaker, and entrepreneur, helps us unite the yin and yang of creativity— the dynamic new ideas with the dogged effort. He shows why we won’t get far if we rely on the spark without the grind, or the grind without the spark. What the world really needs are the creators who can hold the two in balance. Fortunately, it’s possible to get good at both, as Wahl knows from experience. After his corporate career suddenly ended, he pursued a spark—to paint photorealistic portraits—and ground it out until he got good enough to make very good art very quickly. That’s the basis of his riveting live shows, which have captivated skeptical audiences who never expected to be inspired by art—and taught them to embrace creativity in a whole new way. This book offers surprising insights and practical advice about how to fan the sparks and make the grind more productive. Wahl deftly synthesizes the wisdom of other artists, philosophers, scientists, and business visionaries throughout history, along with his own views. Here’s how he sums up his approach: The world needs people who enjoy swimming in ideas until they discover a great one. The world also needs doers who have a gift for activation, a.k.a. “getting s*** done.” But the most potent individual creators in any industry or environment have learned how to be both. They’ve learned how to spark their grind and they’ve learned how to grind their sparks. As a result, they not only make things happen, they make great things. If you want to ensure constant creativity in your life and produce your most innovative work—this is your guide.
Jaydee Graham had a golden, idyllic childhood-the youngest child, adored by her parents, her future unlimited. Then a business deal gone wrong plunged the family into difficulties, pushing her father into an addiction that shattered her childhood. When her wild and free spirit clashed with the iron control of family and church, Jaydee went through a series of therapists and hospitals, eventually ending up in long-term residential treatment-all of which alienated her further from her family and drove her into the arms of an abusive boyfriend. Then, when all hope seemed lost, she found a surprising and miraculous source of love that became the ladder out of the hole her life had become. Endlessly surprising, startling and yet oddly hopeful, The Soul Grind tells the tale of a fierce and passionate soul grasping to make sense of a senseless world. A must-read for anyone who's survived trauma, addiction or perhaps just adolescence, this book heralds the addition of a thrilling new voice to the recovery canon.
