World Travelers II

Book: Scenic Spots and Historical SItes in Xi'an

From Wikipedia: Xi'an (Chinese: 西安; pinyin: Xī'ān)^[1][2] is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty.^[1] Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history,^[3] including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang.^[3] Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.

Happy Halloween

Ghoulish Good Read

Book: The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time (P.S.)

From Amazon Review:

A book chronicling one of the worst human disasters in recorded history really has no business being entertaining. But John Kelly's The Great Mortality is a page-turner despite its grim subject matter and graphic detail. Credit Kelly's animated prose and uncanny ability to drop his reader smack in the middle of the 14th century, as a heretofore unknown menace stalks Eurasia from "from the China Sea to the sleepy fishing villages of coastal Portugal [producing] suffering and death on a scale that, even after two world wars and twenty-seven million AIDS deaths worldwide, remains astonishing."

Sibling Rivalry

Nothing says "love" like a good, stiff headlock. 

Your Papers, Please

Item: 1968 Alien Address Report

 

Book: A Guide to Keynes by Alvin H. Hansen

Review from wikipedia:

A Guide to Keynes is a non-fiction work by Alvin Hansen, about the life of John Maynard Keynes. It was first published in 1953 . Hansen’s guide, 237 pages long, seeks to explain Keynes’s General Theory chapter by chapter in a fashion more accessible to the beginner. Alvin Hansen was once referred to as "the American Keynes", brought the 1930s Keynesian economics revolution to the United States.

Lord John Maynard Keynes: the man, the myth, the legend.

Dear John

Item: A Reevaluation of Emotions

Take a letter, maria...

Book: Herzog (Penguin Classics) by Saul Bellow

Description:

A novel complex, compelling, absurd and realistic, Herzog became a classic almost as soon as it was published in 1964. In it Saul Bellow tells the tale of Moses E. Herzog, a tragically confused intellectual who suffers from the breakup of his second marriage, the general failure of his life and the specter of growing up Jewish in the middle part of the 20th century. He responds to his personal crisis by sending out a series of letters to all kinds of people. The letters in total constitute a thoughtful examination of his own life and that which has occurred around him. What emerges is not always pretty, but serves as gritty foundation for this absorbing novel.

Interesting Book of the Day

Book: Deerskins Into Buckskins: How To Tan With Natural Materials - A Field Guide for Hunters and Gatherers

Description:

Over 165 photos and illustrations bring you step by step from raw skin to velvety soft buckskin and then show you how to create beautiful garments and useful goods. You will also learn how to make rawhide and hide glue, tan in a wilderness setting and the best way to skin. History, humor and science make Deerskins into Buckskins not only practical, but fun!

Designed to be easily understood by the beginner yet rich with details for the experienced, this book teaches tanning as a natural process. No chemicals are needed! All the tools and materials are waiting around your home and land. While the tools are simple, having a great method is the key. This book has that method (see the following reviews).

Buckskin is durable, soft, washable and warm. A hand-made garment for people all over the world for millennia, it breathes and stretches with your body, cuts the wind and won't tear on briars. It is excellent to wear hiking, hunting or around the house. Plus you don't need to hunt. Deerskins that would otherwise go to waste are available every fall from neighbors, locals and butcher shops.

This photo highlights just a taste of what's in store for the novice buckskinner
who cracks open this book:

Buckskinner

Is it just me or does this guy bear a striking resemblance to Chris Pontius of MTV's Jackass fame, as seen below:

Chris Pontius

Full House

Item: Diet advice

Cabbage Juice
3-4 times a day
(2T - 1/2c) empty stomach
5-10 minutes before meal
Relieves stomach inflammation

Book: Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness by Candace Cameron

Candace Cameron Bure first became known to millions as a co-star on the hit ABC television series Full House. Today, like her brother Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains, Fireproof), she is the rare Hollywood actor who is outspoken about her Christian faith and how it helps overcome certain obstacles.

More than a testimony, here is a motivational tool that will put readers on the right track and keep them there. In addition to practical advice, Candace offers a biblical perspective on appetite and self control that provides encouragement to women, guiding them toward freedom.

Bonus Full House video: DJ's Eating Disorder

Happy Easter

Item:  Photograph

Book: Unknown

Wanted: Copy Editor

...will pay in beads.

Item: Flyer

Your Invited

Book: 9 Inner Jewels by Kellyna Kaleolani Campbell

Description:

9 Inner Jewels offers a unique and powerful approach to finding peace in a world of uncertainty and change. It teaches the reader how to use color and light to connect self and soul. This book walks the reader through ways of creating daily meditations that are customized for each day. It shows people how everything that happens to them during the day can support their inner peace, personal growth, and spiritual integration. 9 Inner Jewels suggests ways for people to find inner peace, attain healthy relationships, and live in prosperity through the practice of meditation.

Funny Book of the Day



Sometimes you *can* judge a book by its cover

Book: Winning Table Tennis: Skills, Drills, and Strategies 

Description:

Five-time U.S. singles and 11-time doubles champion Dan Seemiller, possibly the best American table tennis player ever, shares his secrets for top-level play in Winning Table Tennis: Skills, Drills, and Strategies.

Readers will learn the best table tennis techniques, strategies, and conditioning methods for success. The authors provide beginning through advanced players with practical tips that make a difference.

The book features 29 drills for developing better shot-making skills. Seemiller's creative shot and grip innovations will give players an edge. The 124 photos and illustrations make it easy for players to learn the proper techniques and sharpen skills. Plus, the book offers drill variations designed to hone the skills of advanced players and professionals.

Highlights include - various service techniques:

Underspin hook serve, part 1



Underspin hook serve, part 2


And strength training tips:

Parallel squat, part 1

Parallel squat, part 2

Stiff-legged deadlift

Not now chief, I'm in the zone:



MUSCLE MILK!!!

Stream of Consciousness

Item: Note

Obverse

Reverse

Book: Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition by Steve Krug

Description:

Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first published, it's hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who hasn't read Steve Krug's "instant classic" on Web usability, but people are still discovering it every day. In this second edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the same style as the original: wry and entertaining, yet loaded with insights and practical advice for novice and veteran alike. Don't be surprised if it completely changes the way you think about Web design.

So Money

Item: Currency

This is all the money I have ever found in books, excluding one single US dollar.

India

Brazil

Saudi Arabia

Mexico

Books: Various

Funny Book of the Day

Book: The Official Preppy Handbook by Lisa Birnbach

Amazon Review:

This book was a spot-on parody when it came out in 1980, but also a quite accurate and even useful "field guide" to the North American prepster. Almost 25 years later, it still holds up as humor, and also as a great guide to the prep look and lifestyle. And best of all, it may even be timely once again: An article in the New York Times a few days ago suggested that teen fashion trends are turning away from overexposure and punk and back toward plaid, chinos, polo shirts (with turned up collars, natch), even repp ties! Everything comes around a second time, so Lisa Birnbach call your office. It may be time for an updated edition for today's rising BMOCs.

Party Time

Item: Recipe

2oz Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum
Splash each:
Pom juice
Simple syrup
Champagne

Book: I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (movie tie-in): with 16 page photo insert by Tucker Max

From Wikipedia:

Tucker Max is an American blogger and writer. He chronicles his drunken and sexual encounters in the form of short stories on his website TuckerMax.com, which has received millions of visitors since Max launched it for a bet in 2002, making him an Internet celebrity.
Max's book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell became a New York Times #1 bestseller and has made the Best Seller List each year from 2006 to 2011.

The Survivalist

Item: Handwritten note/Manifesto/Bug-out plans

Obverse:


Full Document



"3 Sphere Model"

"3 Sphere Model"

- Sphere of Consensus

- Sphere of Discourse

- Sphere (?) of Denial



"Issues of Contention"

"Issues of Contention"

- How effective is gov't?

- Who profits from illegal drugs

- Are disasters profitable?  Planned?

- "Lone gunmen" or vast criminal conspiracy?

- Die off?

- Economic crisis: near the bottom, prolonged depression, social breakdown?



Threat Level Color Scheme

Threat Level
- green = ok, do nothing
- yellow = get mom & PJ, back Mtn only
- red = hell, get mom & PJ, ∅ leave prop.
- at&t text e-mail
- ∅ b/4 church stay home
- ∅ by noon-code red
- handgun 45
- Ruger 22 LR

Reverse:

Book: Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse: A Novel of the Turbulent Near Future (Expanded and Updated 33 Chapter Edition) by James Wesley Rawles

From the Back Cover:

America faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse in the near future. The stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city

As hordes of refugees and looters pour out of the cities, a small group of friends living in the Midwest desperately tries to make their way to a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho. The journey requires all their skill and training since communication, commerce, transportation and law enforcement have all disappeared. Once at the ranch, the group fends off vicious attacks from outsiders and then looks to join other groups that are trying to restore true Constitutional law to the country.

Patriots is a thrilling narrative depicting fictional characters using authentic survivalist techniques to endure the collapse of the American civilization. Reading this compelling, fast-paced novel could one day mean the difference between life and death.