This modern allegory inspires taking joyful steps to end hatred and violence. In the playful style of twelfth-century Japanese picture scrolls, Mayumi Oda's art depicts humans as animals who lose their way when their leaders become confused and drawn to violence. It is up to each individual—the frog who plants a garden, the cat who supports an elderly neighbor—to create a better world through simple acts of kindness. This timeless parable for readers of all ages expands upon the idea that we can all become agents of goodness and beauty. Winner of the 2016 Independent Publishers Gold Medal.
Welcome to the social and environmental devastation that is Britain in 1996. Welcome to interchangeable political parties and their chattering media jesters pulling together to make Johnny Rotten's dream come true: no future. But despite their best efforts, fear, cynicism and the National Lottery aren't the whole story. Protest hasn't disappeared during the last twenty years, and nor have solidarity and imagination. They have simply taken new forms; they have moved out and moved on. More and more people, young people especially, are making a virtue of necessity and living outside Britain's rotting institutional fabric. Travellers, tribes, ravers or squatters, direct-action protesters of every kind, DIYers. This book is the first attempt to write their history, to explore and celebrate their endlessly creative senselessness. George McKay looks back at the hippies of the sixties and punks of the seventies, and shows hot their legacies have been transformed into what he calls cultures of resistance. His journey through the undergrounds of the last two decades takes us from the Windsor Free Festival of 1972 to the Castlemorton Free Rave Megaparty exactly twenty years later, from the anarchopunk band Crass via Teepee Valley and Glastonbury to today's ever-intensifying anti-road protests, and to the widespread opposition to the Criminal Justice Act. Drawing on fanzines and free papers, record lyrics, interviews and diaries, Senseless Acts of Beauty gives a vivid, insider account of countercultures, networks and movements that until now have remained largely unrecorded. At the same time, George McKay analyses their effects, and gives his own answers to the questions they pose: what are their politics, their aspirations, their consequences? One thing is certain, he argues: if there is resistance anywhere in Britain today, then it is here, in the beat-up buses, beleaguered squats and tree-top barricades, that we should start to look for it.
Activists, analysts, and practitioners describe innovative strategies that promote healthy neighborhoods, fair housing, and accessible transportation throughout America's cities and suburbs.
As if her parents' heavy drinking and her father's abuse--which nearly killed her half-brother, Iggy--were not enough, fifteen-year-old Mara is caught kissing her girlfriend, Xylia, by the preacher's son and becomes terrified that her own life is at risk.
The daily lives of ordinary people are replete with objects, common things used in commonplace settings. These objects are our constant companions in life. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - the aesthetic result of wholeheartedly fulfilling utilitarian needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple, humble craftsmen Yanagi encountered during his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, they are an earnest defence of modest, honest, handcrafted things - from traditional teacups to jars to cloth and paper. Objects like these exemplify the enduring appeal of simplicity and function: the beauty of everyday things.
A new novel of women's friendship from the beloved author of Random Acts of Kindness that will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah, Luanne Rice, and Karen White. A towel with a faded camp logo is the only clue that fourteen-year-old Sadie Tischler has to the identity of her birth mother. With her family life in upheaval, the reckless teenager runs away to the Adirondack camp, determined to find her mother and force her to take responsibility for the child she'd so callously given up. Tess Hendrick has a secret. For years, she has been following the life of the daughter she gave up for adoption, firmly believing that Sadie has a better home than she could have ever provided. Now, with Sadie on the run, Tess has no choice but to rush back to the hometown she swore never to set foot in again. But Tess's unexpected return has stirred up old memories, probing questions, and a dangerous investigation. The only way Tess can protect her daughter is to hide the ugly truth about the past-and deny, at all costs, that Sadie is hers. In this deeply moving new novel from Lisa Verge Higgins, the unbreakable bonds of family unknowingly guide two strangers in making difficult choices, adapting to momentous changes, and finally finding their way home again.
Winner, John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize, Association of American Geographers, 1997 Shadowed Ground explores how and why Americans have memorialized—or not—the sites of tragic and violent events spanning three centuries of history and every region of the country. For this revised edition, Kenneth Foote has written a new concluding chapter that looks at the evolving responses to recent acts of violence and terror, including the destruction of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School massacre, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Julia Sumnicht was an ambitious 21-year- old junior at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse when her lofty dreams and life would end abruptly on March 15, 2010. Julia's mysterious death during her spring break in Miami Beach, Florida, left unanswered questions and her family devastated. The Sumnicht family would suffer further disappointment when the justice system crushed their hopes of bringing closure to Julia's death. In 2014, a nationally recognized investigator would confirm important information about Julia's death but would leave further disillusionment. Investigative findings would point circumstantial evidence to two suspects who were with Julia in her last hours. Faced with one challenge after another, Julia's mother, Marie Sumnicht, would not be deterred in her search for resolution. A soul-searching journey would lead Marie through the depths of despair and toward a place of healing she never thought possible. Beyond Broken Mission * To empower bereaved parents and provide a roadmap of life truths.* To guide families through sudden loss from senseless acts of injustice, and give them hope and peace. * To passionately advocate date rape drug prevention and to provide steps for young people to avoid senseless deaths such as Julia's.
From a simple smile to a soft wave hello, tiny acts of kindness can fly to faraway places . . . then flutter right back into your arms. In Tiny Acts of Kindness, author-illustrator Thuy Ha weaves a heartwarming rhythmic tale about the magical powers of kindness.
Total Shambles follows the journey of an idealistic writer as he tries to thrive and survive in the contentious world of squatting. After slipping through the cracks of modern life and into the amoral underground beyond workaday society, George F. finds himself at the heart of London's political frontline, where anarchy, alcohol and addiction stalk the streets of a different city to the one you know. From life on the street to the occupation of derelict buildings to inevitable evictions and confrontation with law and order, this is a daring and illuminating book.
