Sacred Origins of Profound Things

Sacred Origins of Profound Things

Author: Charles Panati

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 1996-12-01

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 1101656077

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In this enlightening and entertaining work, Charles Panati explores the origins of hundreds of religious rituals, customs, and practices in many faiths, the reasons for religious holidays and sacred symbols, and the meanings of vestments, sacraments, devotions, and prayers. Its many revelations include: * Why the Star of David became the Jewish counterpart of the Christian cross * What mortal remains of the Buddha are venerated today * How the diamond engagement ring became a standard * That the first pope was a happily married man * How Hindu thinkers arrived at their concept of reincarnation * Why Jews don't eat pork, why some Muslims don't eat certain vegetables, and how some Christians came to observe meatless Fridays Sacred Origins of Profound Things is an indispensable resource for all those interested in the history of religion and the history of ideas--and an inspiring guide to those seeking to understand their faith.


Sexy Origins and Intimate Things

Sexy Origins and Intimate Things

Author: Charles Panati

Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 9780140271447

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Where did the word love come from? Has there ever been a gay pope? How did Valentine's Day originate? From the lascivious to the romantic, from the hard-core to the scientific and the scholarly, this engaging and eye-opening compendium of little known facts about sex is both informative and endlessly entertaining.


Fad Mania!

Fad Mania!

Author: Cynthia Overbeck Bix

Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books

Published: 2014-08-01

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 1467747939

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College students crammed into phone booths. Couples dancing until they drop. Daredevils swallowing one live goldfish after another. Streakers dashing naked down the street. Planking and flash mobs and robotic pets. These are just some of the crazy fads that have caught hold in the United States over the last century. Where do these ideas come from and why do they catch people's imagination? Fads reflect the mood and spirit of a particular time, and they offer insight into a nation's culture. The 1950s, for example, was a time of economic prosperity and technological development. Americans expressed their delight in new inventions in many creative ways. One popular craze on college campuses was to stuff as many people as possible into a phone booth. On one campus, twenty-five people managed to squeeze into a single booth! In earlier decades, marked by the Depression and World War II, dance marathon frenzy caught on. Promoters lured couples with promises of fame and monetary prizes for those who could dance for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hours. And great ideas never die. Almost one hundred years later, dance marathons came back. One creative variation, the flash mob dance, attracts spontaneous performances that range from flash mob wedding dances to “Gangnam Style" K-Pop flash mobs in cities all over the world. Fad Mania! explores a century of American crazes, offering an entertaining and informative look at the major historical events of each decade and the fads that defined them. As you learn more about smiley buttons and Webkinz, you may just be able to predict this decade's next craze!


The 1950s

The 1950s

Author: William H. Young

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2004-04-30

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 0313052956

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Have the 1950s been overly romanticized? Beneath the calm, conformist exterior, new ideas and attitudes were percolating. This was the decade of McCarthyism, Levittowns, and men in gray flannel suits, but the 1950s also saw bold architectural styles, the rise of paperback novels and the Beat writers, Cinema Scope and film noir, television variety shows, the Golden Age of the automobile, subliminal advertising, fast food, Frisbees, and silly putty. Meanwhile, teens attained a more prominent role in American culture with hot rods, rock 'n' roll, preppies and greasers, and—gasp—juvenile delinquency. At the same time, a new technological threat, the atom bomb, lurked beneath the surface of the postwar decade. This volume presents a nuanced look at a surprisingly complex time in American popular culture.


Popular Fads and Crazes through American History [2 volumes]

Popular Fads and Crazes through American History [2 volumes]

Author: Nancy Hendricks

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2018-08-17

Total Pages: 897

ISBN-13: 1440851832

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This informative two-volume set provides readers with an understanding of the fads and crazes that have taken America by storm from colonial times to the present. Entries cover a range of topics, including food, entertainment, fashion, music, and language. Why could hula hoops and TV westerns only have been found in every household in the 1950s? What murdered Russian princess can be seen in one of the first documented selfies, taken in 1914? This book answers those questions and more in its documentation of all of the most captivating trends that have defined American popular culture since before the country began. Entries are well-researched and alphabetized by decade. At the start of every section is an insightful historical overview of the decade, and the set uniquely illustrates what today's readers have in common with the past. It also contains a Glossary of Slang for each decade as well as a bibliography, plus suggestions for further reading for each entry. Students and readers interested in history will enjoy discovering trends through the years in such areas as fashion, movies, music, and sports.


Human Resource Management in Construction Projects

Human Resource Management in Construction Projects

Author: Martin Loosemore

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2003-12-08

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 113450683X

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Although construction is one of the most labour-intensive industries, people management issues are given inadequate attention. Furthermore, the focus of attention with regards to HR has been on the strategic aspects of HRM function - yet most problems and operational issues arise on projects. To help redress these problems, this book takes a broad view of HRM, examining the strategic and operational aspects of managing people within the construction sector. The book is aimed at project managers and students of project management who, until now, have been handed the responsibility for human resource management without adequate knowledge or training. The issues addressed in this book are internationally relevant, and are of fundamental concern to both students and practitioners involved in the management of construction projects. The text draws on the authors' experience of working with a range of large construction companies in improving their HRM operational activities at both strategic and operational levels, and is well illustrated with case studies of projects and organizations.


Media and Nostalgia

Media and Nostalgia

Author: K. Niemeyer

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-05-20

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1137375884

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Media and Nostalgia is an interdisciplinary and international exploration of media and their relation to nostalgia. Each chapter demonstrates how nostalgia has always been a media-related matter, studying also the recent nostalgia boom by analysing, among others, digital photography, television series and home videos.