Imagine the River Tiber as an alimentary tract. Picture a hungry saint. Think of erotic Renaissance fruit paintings transubstantiation & a tiramisu cafe where magic is surely on the menu... This highly original interpretation of Romes history culture art & religion takes the form of a book about food thats not really about food at all. In Al Dente Winner takes us on a stroll through the city as he muses on all things comestible & much else besides. We learn about Rome as metropolis & necropolis about tasty vineyard snails & the food-&-sex scandal that sent Saint Jerome packing. The cinematic greats such as Argento Fellini & Ferreri are discussed alongside historical political satire where grocery orgies were art & the penis was the subject of hagiographies. There are the bloodthirsty antics of an eighteenth-century executioner who worked for the pope stories of immolation architecture & artichokes & a telephone interview with a nun who makes Eucharistic wafers. Winner is a master of wit with a seemingly insatiable appetite for peculiar detail & Al Dente provides an intriguing new portrait of a remarkable city
- a veritable trifle of Roman bedrock & apogee cosmos & counterculture to be devoured with gusto. Buon appetito...
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Broken Britain may be staring into the bottom of an empty pint glass but don't lose hope Al Murray The Pub Landlord is back to fill it up again with a brand new st&-up show of epic proportions. Britain's most irrepressible Innkeeper will be serving up his premier brew of ale-inspired acumen & bar-room buffoonery on this latest live DVD recorded as part of his 2012 THE ONLY WAY IS EPIC TOUR. This monumental new show from the multi-award-winning comedian directly follows the nationwide success of the Guv's twice extended Barrel of Fun tour. Get your orders in now! ...

Not only is Al Pacino known as 'one of the greatest actors in all of film history' he is also considered 'one of Hollywood's most notorious bachelors' (imdb.com) as well as being one of the most enigmatic & private celebrities in the world. For the first time AL PACINO offers a deeply personal & revealing window into everything from his growing up in the South Bronx where he shared three rooms with nine people to his fabled studies with Charles Laughton & Lee Strasberg his father's absence his mother's early death & how he bounced through a series of odd jobs until his first paid role at the age of 26. He reveals his childhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player describes his first drink at 13 & admits his once ate Valium like popcorn at the Academy Awards. Though he has been involved with women like Diane Keaton & Beverly D' Angelo the mother of his three children he has never married & here reveals why & how his feelings have changed. Through it all he has delivered some of the most seminal performances in film & theatre history & worked with most of its biggest stars. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards before winning Best Actor Oscar for Scent of a Woman. AL PACINO is an intensely personal look at a creative genius at the peak of his powers who after all these years still longs to learn more about his art. & for now it's a close to a memoir as we are likely to get. ...

The spiritual life in Islam begins with 'riyadat al-nafs' the inner warfare against the ego. Distracted & polluted by worldliness the lower self has a tendency to drag the human creature down into arrogance & vice. Only by a powerful effort of will can the sincere worshipper achieve the purity of soul which enables him to attain God's proximity. This translation of two chapters from The Revival of the Religious Sciences" (" Ihya' ' Ulum al-Din") details the sophisticated spiritual techniques adopted by classical Islam. In the first step " On Disciplining the Soul " which cites copious anecdotes from the Islamic scriptures & biographies of the saints Ghazali explains how to acquire good character traits & goes on to describe how the sickness of the heart may be cured. In the second part " Breaking the Two Desires " he focusses on the question of gluttony & sexual desire concluding in the words of the Prophet that 'the best of all matters is the middle way'. The translator has added an introduction & notes which explore Ghazali's ability to make use of Greek as well as Islamic ethics. The work will prove of special interest to those interested in Sufi mysticism comparative ethics & the question of sexuality in Islam." ...

As the first complete translation of a classic Arabic text written in the 11th century this work is an eloquent introduction to mystical love in Islam. Considered one of the most important chapters in al-Ghazalis magnum opus The Revival of the Religious Sciences " it consists of arguments that form the basis of Sufi theory & the practice of mystical love. Providing the books historical & spiritual context this account also offers insight into the poetry of such greats as Rumi & Hafiz." ...

In this work here presented in a complete English edition for the first time the problem of knowing God is confronted in an original & stimulating way. Taking up the Prophets teaching that Ninety-nine Beautiful Names are truly predicated of God the author explores the meaning & resonance of each of these divine names & reveals the functions they perform both in the cosmos & in the soul of the spiritual adept. Although some of the book is rigorously analytical the author never fails to attract the reader with his profound mystical & ethical insights which conveyed in his sincere & straightforward idiom have made from this book one of the perennial classics of Muslim thought popular among Muslims to this day. ...

Al-Kitaab Part One is the second book in the Al-Kitaab Arabic Language Program & is now available in an extensively revised & reorganized third edition. This book with its companon website develops skills in formal & colloquial Arabic including reading listening speaking writing & cultural knowledge integrating materials in colloquial & formal/written Arabic. It provides a comprehensive program for students in the early stages of learning Arabic.

Features: Four-color design throughout the book with over 100 illustrations & photographs; Color-coded words & phrases throughout to easily follow the variety or varieties of Arabic you want to activate
- Egyptian Levantine and/or formal Arabic; Introduces over 400 vocabulary words in all three forms of Arabic side by side; Presents the story of Maha & Khalid in Egyptian & now Nasreen & Tariq in Levantine in addition to Maha & Khalid in formal Arabic; Expanded grammar explanations & activation drills including discussions about colloquial & formal similarities & differences; New video dialogues from everyday life in both Egyptian & Levantine to reinforce vocabulary in culturally-rich contexts; Develops reading comprehension skills with new authentic texts; Reinforces learning through extensive classroom activities & homework exercises that provide constant review;

Includes:: Arabic-English & English-Arabic glossaries reference charts & a grammar index; Reduced from 20 chapters to 13 chapters the course now more closely corresponds to two semesters of college study with an average of 4-5 contact hours per week; Textbook

Includes:: a convenient DVD with the basic audio & video materials (no interactive exercises) for offline study that will play in i Tunes & compatible MP3 players; New companion website
- alkitaabtextbook.com
- features fully integrated interactive self-correcting exercises all the audio & video materials & additional online course management & grading options for teachers Al-Kitaab Part One Third Edition provides 125 contact (classroom) hours with Approx. 250 homework hours. Students who complete Part One should reach an intermediate-mid level of proficiency.








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Al-Kitaab: Part One" develops skills in standard Arabic while providing additional material in both colloquial & classical Arabic. With new video material & revised & updated text & exercises the bound-in & revised DVDs supersede both the former CD audio set & video DVD previously available only as separate items
- making this singular volume a comprehensive whole for those immersed in the early & intermediate stages of learning Arabic. Providing Approx. 150 contact hours of college-level instruction parts of this revised edition are updated with contemporary selections for reading comprehension. The organization of the chapters has been adapted to reflect the most current pedagogical developments. Audio tracks for vocabulary sections now allow students to hear a new word followed by a sentence using it in context with previously acquired vocabulary & grammatical structures enabling students to build new vocabulary skills while reviewing old material. The basic texts have been refilmed with a new cast of actors. The DVDs also contain substantially more material that exposes the learner to Egyptian Arabic: students have the options of seeing & hearing the video of each lesson in both Modern standard Arabic & Egyptian colloquial Arabic. In addition a short dialogue in Egyptian colloquial Arabic appears at the end of each lesson. New video materials also feature interviews with Egyptians (subtitled in English) about various aspects of Arab culture such as gender issues fasting in the Muslim & Christian traditions social clubs & their significance & more. This title develops all language-related skills including reading listening speaking writing & cultural knowledge; immediately incorporates extensive use of authentic materials for reading listening & grammatical practice thus relating abstract grammatical concepts to practical skills; presents narrative-based content through audio & video media rather than written text to develop meaning-focused language processing skills utilizing two main characters & their extended families; develops reading skills through the use of composed texts derived from the main narrative & authentic texts from newspapers & journals; & introduces grammar using spiraling & inference challenging students to discover the grammar of the language by means of analogy problem solving & educated guessing. It reinforces grammar & vocabulary through extensive classroom & homework exercises that provide constant review & expand to challenge students as their skills develop; introduces students to Egyptian colloquial through scenes based on the main narrative to promote the use of shared vocabulary & structure of the two registers to increase listening comprehension skills; & contains Arabic-English & English-Arabic glossaries & reference charts as well as a new grammar index."
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This second edition

Includes:: three DVDs bound into the book that feature contextualized vocabulary cultural

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Alabama Studio Sewing + Design is a follow up to Alabama Stitch book & Alabama Studio Style by Natalie Chanin. In this invaluable reference Chanin presents all of the stenciling & h&-stitching techniques her company uses to create an award-winning Alabama Chanin line of organic cotton clothing plus variations that lead to infinite design possibilities. Crafters are provided with patterns & instructions for dresses skirts tops a wrap a poncho a bolero fingerless gloves & a hat. Each piece is featured in both its basic un-embellished form & with varying combinations of embellishments. By mixing & matching the pieces & embellishments a stunning unique & versatile wardrobe can be built. ...