American Splendor

• Actors: Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Harvey Pekar, Chris Ambrose, Joey Krajcar.
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC.
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Subtitles: English, Spanish, French.
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
• Rated: R. Run Time: 101 minutes.

The inspiration for the award-winning movie
from HBO Films and Fine Line Features

AMERICAN SPLENDOR
The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar

Two classic comic anthologies in one volume

Stories by Harvey Pekar

Introduction by R. Crumb

Art by Kevin Brown, Gregory Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, R. Crumb, Gary Dumm, Val Mayerik, and Gerry Shamray

The classic collection of the comics that inspired the movie American Splendor, winner of the Gr! and Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival

American Splendor is the world’s first literary comic book. Cleveland native Harvey Pekar is a true American original. A V.A. hospital file clerk and comic book writer, Harvey chronicles the ordinary and mundane in stories both funny and touching. His dead-on eye for the frustrations and minutiae of the workaday world mix in a delicate balance with his insight into personal relationships. Pekar has been compared to Dreiser, Dostoevsky, and Lenny Bruce. But he is truly more than all of themâ€"he is himself.

“Mr. Pekar has . . . proven that comics can address the ambiguities of daily living, that like the finest fiction, they can hold a mirror up to life.”
â€"The New York Times

“[Pekar] has a vision that makes daily city lifeâ€"a ride on the bus, a run-in with a boss, or simply buying breadâ€"dramatic.”
â€"Chicago Sun-Times

“Simply stated, American S! plendor is the most superb literary endeavor to come off t! he stree ts of Cleveland in decades.”
â€"The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“Mr. Pekar lets all of life flood into his panels: the humdrum and the heroic, the gritty and the grand.”
â€"The New York Times Book Review
Based on the life and work of underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar- a prickly poet of the mundane who knows that all the strategizing in the world can't save a guy from picking the wrong supermarket checkout line.One of the most acclaimed films of 2003, American Splendor is also one of the most audaciously creative biographical movies ever made. Blending fact, fiction, and personal perspective from the comic books that inspired it, this marvelous portrait of Harvey Pekar--scowling curmudgeon, brow-beaten everyman, insightful chronicler of his own life, and frustrated file clerk at a Cleveland V.A. hospital--is an inspired amalgam of the media (comic books, TV, and film) that lifted Pekar from obscurity to the status of a pop! -cultural icon. As played by Paul Giamatti in a master-stroke of casting, we see Pekar and his understanding wife (played by Hope Davis) as underdogs in a world full of obstacles, yet also infused with subtle hope and (gasp!) heartwarming perseverance. We also see the real Pekar, and this multifaceted commingling of "reel" and "real" turns American Splendor into a uniquely cinematic celebration of Pekar's life and, by extension, the tenacity of an unlikely American hero. --Jeff Shannon

Eden Organic Black Beans, No Salt Added, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12)

• Pack of 12, 15-ounce unit
• No salt added
• Low fat; Nature's perfect food
• 100% USA family farm organically grown

Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She’s seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn’t just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve’s reality. In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been there for her, but is seven years her senior. The technology wants to spread and it won’t stop u! ntil there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen.Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She’s seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn’t just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve’s reality.

In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive ! but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been the! re for h er, but is seven years her senior.

The technology wants to spread and it won’t stop until there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen.Eve knew the stories of the Fall, of a time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. She’s seen the aftermath of the technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter, able to grow new organs and limbs, how it evolved out of control. The machine took over and the soul vanished. A world quickly losing its humanity isn’t just a story to her though. At eighteen, this world is Eve’s reality.

In their Fallen world, love feels like a selfish luxury, but not! understanding what it is makes it difficult to choose between West, who makes her feel alive but keeps too many secrets, and Avian, who has always been there for her, but is seven years her senior.

The technology wants to spread and it won’t stop until there is no new flesh to assimilate. With only two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. While fighting to keep Eden alive, Eve will discover that being human is about what you will do for those you love, not what your insides may be made of. And even if it gets you killed, love is always what separates them from the Fallen.Life's been many things for twenty year old Bryn Dawson, but one thing it's never been is easy. And it's only about to get harder.

As the gossip of Bryn being Betrothed to her true love's little brother, Patrick, becomes more reality than rumor, Bryn does her best to think positive thoughts, ignore Patrick's odd behavior, avoid Paul's relentless ! advances, and attempts to conjure William back from his latest! oversea s mission. She fails on all fronts.

The night an army of Inheritors set out with an agenda to deliver vengeance on any Guardian surrounding Bryn, the Betrothal Ball becomes the least of her worries. Instead of worrying about who she'll be marching down the aisle towards, she has to accept she might not be making the journey down the aisle ever.



Other books in the Eden Trilogy:

ETERNAL EDEN (released March 2011): Kindle YA Bestseller
FALLEN EDEN (released July 2011): Kindle YA Bestseller





Life's been many things for twenty year old Bryn Dawson, but one thing it's never been is easy. And it's only about to get harder.

As the gossip of Bryn being Betrothed to her true love's little brother, Patrick, becomes more reality than rumor, Bryn does her best to think positive thoughts, ignore Patrick's odd behavior, avoid Paul's relentless advances, and attempts to conjure William back from his! latest overseas mission. She fails on all fronts.

The night an army of Inheritors set out with an agenda to deliver vengeance on any Guardian surrounding Bryn, the Betrothal Ball becomes the least of her worries. Instead of worrying about who she'll be marching down the aisle towards, she has to accept she might not be making the journey down the aisle ever.



Other books in the Eden Trilogy:

ETERNAL EDEN (released March 2011): Kindle YA Bestseller
FALLEN EDEN (released July 2011): Kindle YA Bestseller





College sophomore Bryn Dawson is a self-proclaimed poster child for normal. However, the day William Hayward enters her life, normalcy is the last thing Bryn will be able to count on if she wants to be with him. Too mysterious and appealing to be good for a girl, Bryn feels drawn to him in a way that seems out of her controlâ€"as if fate is orchestrating it.

Despite every red flag and warning siren going off ! in her head telling her not to, Bryn falls hard for William, k! nowing h e’s categorically different from anyone she’s ever met. She never imagined how right she was. When William takes her deeper into the rabbit hole of his world, Bryn must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to be with him, knowing no matter what, fate always finds a way to have the last laugh.

Spinning a new twist on star-crossed lovers, Eternal Eden will put Bryn through a gauntlet of turmoil, challenging her to find the power within herself to become the heroine in her own story.


Newly edited version released on 8/26/11. If you purchased a version that contains incorrect grammar or missing words, please call 1-866-216-1072 to request the updated version free of charge. Or for the UK call 1-206-266-2992.College sophomore Bryn Dawson is a self-proclaimed poster child for normal. However, the day William Hayward enters her life, normalcy is the last thing Bryn will be able to count on if she wants to be with him. Too mysterious and ! appealing to be good for a girl, Bryn feels drawn to him in a way that seems out of her controlâ€"as if fate is orchestrating it.

Despite every red flag and warning siren going off in her head telling her not to, Bryn falls hard for William, knowing he’s categorically different from anyone she’s ever met. She never imagined how right she was. When William takes her deeper into the rabbit hole of his world, Bryn must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to be with him, knowing no matter what, fate always finds a way to have the last laugh.

Spinning a new twist on star-crossed lovers, Eternal Eden will put Bryn through a gauntlet of turmoil, challenging her to find the power within herself to become the heroine in her own story.


Newly edited version released on 8/26/11. If you purchased a version that contains incorrect grammar or missing words, please call 1-866-216-1072 to request the updated version free of charge. Or for the UK c! all 1-206-266-2992.If happily ever after were a place, twenty-! year-old Bryn Dawson would be on the farthest planet from it.

Reduced to stolen glances and secret meetings as they await a Betrothal the Council is bent on stalling, William and Bryn have to settle for happily right now, but with a man like William Hayward at her side, Bryn’s hardly settling.

The day John Townsend sends an army of Immortal mercenaries intent on destroying everyone Bryn loves, she must make the decision generations of star-crossed lovers before her haveâ€"live alone or die together. William’s made his decision, Bryn’s the one fate’s waiting on.

But fate will only wait so long until it makes the decision for her.


Other books in the EDEN Trilogy:

ETERNAL EDEN (released March 2011): Kindle young adult best-seller
UNITED EDEN, the third and final installment coming in November 2011If happily ever after were a place, twenty-year-old Bryn Dawson would be on the farthest planet from it.

Red! uced to stolen glances and secret meetings as they await a Betrothal the Council is bent on stalling, William and Bryn have to settle for happily right now, but with a man like William Hayward at her side, Bryn’s hardly settling.

The day John Townsend sends an army of Immortal mercenaries intent on destroying everyone Bryn loves, she must make the decision generations of star-crossed lovers before her haveâ€"live alone or die together. William’s made his decision, Bryn’s the one fate’s waiting on.

But fate will only wait so long until it makes the decision for her.


Other books in the EDEN Trilogy:

ETERNAL EDEN (released March 2011): Kindle young adult best-seller
UNITED EDEN, the third and final installment coming in November 2011A terrifying vision of the zombie apocalypse from Gallery Books / indie horror sensation Permuted Press!No salt added. Low fat. Nature's perfect food. 100% USA family farm organically grown. Eden Organic ! Black Turtle Beans add elegant flair to many dishes. Combine c! an for c an with diced tomatoes w/green chilies (drained), and diced onion for chunky bean salsa.

After the Sunset (Widescreen New Line Platinum Series)

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC

Pierce Brosnan plays a master thief who, after an incredibly successful heist, moves to the Bahamas with his beautiful partner in crime. But the cat and mouse games begins again when an FBI agent, his old nemesis, returns convinced he is going for the biggest score of all, the famous Napoleon diamond.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features:Content- Script to Screen
Documentaries:"Before, During and After the Sunset" & "Interview with a Jewel Thief"
Gag Reel:Blooper Reel
Music Video:
Other:Deleted/Alternate Scenes

After the Sunset may not be the greatest jewel-heist caper comedy ever made, but it sure is easy on the eyes. Shifting back into his crowd-pleasing Rush Hour mode, director Brett Ratner kicks off th! e action with a rousing chase scene that pretty much describes the entire film: utter nonsense, but adequately enjoyable. Things get very sunny thereafter, when FBI agent Woody Harrelson lands in the Bahamas to track down ace diamond thief Pierce Brosnan and his lovely accomplice Salma Hayek, whom he suspects of planning their next big heist on a cruise ship. A Bahamian gangster (Don Cheadle) wants in on the action, and the whole thing's about as fluffy as an Elmo doll and just as harmless, especially when you consider Hayek's revealing wardrobe (which, thankfully, distracts from Brosnan's less-than-Bond-like physique). There's an abundance of witty banter between everyone, and the tropical locations make After the Sunset a balmy, vicarious vacation. Critics weren't exactly kind to this breezy dose of popcorn entertainment, but it's an agreeable time-killer and an instant cure for seasonal affective disorder, even if the comedic chemistry leaves something to be desir! ed. --Jeff Shannon

BagHead

• EACH COPY IS SIGNED AND DATED by Author/Illustrator
• Independently Published
• For ages 3-8

From the author of Good Night, Monkey Boy, the hilarious tale of a haircut gone awry!
One day Josh had a big, brown bag idea: to wear a paper bag over his head. He thought it was a good idea. His mother did not. Neither did his bus driver, his teacher, or his soccer coach. What could Josh possibly be hiding?
A surprise ending will keep kids gigglingâ€"and from taking haircuts into their own hands!


From the Hardcover edition.While the Duplass Brothers were shooting their last feature film The Puffy Chair, a crew member raised the question "what's the scariest thing you can think of?" Someone immediately said "a guy with a bag on his head staring into your window." Some agreed, but some thought it was downright ridiculous and, if anything, funny (but d! efinitely not scary). Thus, Baghead was born, an attempt to take the absurdly low-concept idea of a "guy with a bag on his head" and make a funny, truthful, endearing film that, maybe, just maybe, was a little bit scary, too.

In their indie sensation The Puffy Chair, writer/directors Mark and Jay Duplass used the retrieval of a piece of furniture to explore the relationship between a close-knit trio. Their studio follow-up represents something both fresh and familiar. Not to be confused with the children's book of the same name, Baghead retains their emphasis on character over plot mechanics, but this time they infuse their humorous approach with horror overtones. Matt (Ross Partridge), Chad (Steve Zissis), Catherine (Elise Muller), and Michelle (Greta Gerwig, who appears with Mark Duplass in Hannah Takes the Stairs) work as extras in Los Angeles. Matt convinces them to accompany him to his family cabin to write a script in which they a! ll get to star. As they collaborate, it becomes apparent that ! Chad has eyes for Michelle and that Matt and Catherine have been an on-and-off thing for years. The screenplay becomes an excuse to organize their personal and professional lives, until Michelle spots a man with a brown paper bag on his head skulking in the woods. Is he a manifestation of the emotions roiling between the quartet, a psychotic killer, or a friend playing a cruel trick? Baghead turns into a frisky take on The Blair Witch Project, except the Duplass Brothers have more than thrills in mind, since it takes a spooky dude to remind these self-absorbed actors about the importance of friendship. The concept may be slight and the execution rudimentary, but the makers of Baghead have devised an unexpectedly poignant romp. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Amazon.com
What does one make of a movie whose plot revolves around second-rate actors who scare each other by wearing bags on their heads? This conundrum and more are exploited to stro! ng effect by young directing team Mark and Jay Duplass, in their low-budget, grade Z cult comedy, Baghead. This follow up to their debut effort, The Puffy Chair, stars two couples who head to their parents’ cabin in an attempt to make their own horror film free from the constraints of the film industry. Brothers, Matt (Ross Partridge) and Chad (Steve Zissis), host bimbos Michelle (Greta Gerwig) and Catherine (Elise Muller) on a weekend adventure that is less than intellectually stimulating. As sexual tensions increase, brown paper bags are busted out and the characters seek revenge upon each other by pretending to be masked peeping toms. This meta-narrative of a movie about the making of the movie is further confused when the bunch suspects that there is an extra baghead on the scene, a really psychotic one. A few actually scary moments add gusto to this film that mostly feels like a po’ man’s rendition of Blair Witch Project, with its hand-held c! amera stylings. Highlights throughout involve Chad, the nerdie! r, uglie r brother who manages many funny lines and boosts the humor bigtime. That Baghead is a fairly terrible film, with slow, moronic dialogue and long scenes in which little or nothing happens, may well be intentional. It’s impossible to judge. Baghead is so ripe with irony that it bags the idea that it’s cool to strive towards making a fine film, and the story gives up on trying to be good before it even tries. The characters start washed-up and stay washed-up, as does the movie. But this strange resignation that makes Baghead awful is also what makes it conceptually unique; the Duplass brothers did, after all, complete the film and release it. One wonders why directors bother making a movie that presumes itself worthy of wearing a baghead? This is Baghead’s virtueâ€"it left me feeling as if I had a bag over my head, dumb for missing some bit of subversive genius. --Trinie Dalton

---

Filmmakers Mark a! nd Jay Duplass have written a celebrity blog for us to promote their new film, Baghead.

Why the hell are we trying to make a horror film about a guy with a paper bag on his head? This, even more than “to be or not to be” was the question for myself and my brother Jay going into shooting Baghead. We had just come off of our first micro-budget feature The Puffy Chair, a sensitive, funny, quirky relationship movie that wowed Sundance, sold big, played incredibly well in theaters, DVD, and TV, and gained us favor in the indie world the world over. So, again, why would we be so stupid as to make a horror movie based around a guy with a bag on his head?

I’m still not quite sure. When I look back, what we shoul! d have done is clear… we should have made another relationsh! ip movie to cash in on Puffy’s success. But, we were compelled to make Baghead, so we did it. And then something really interesting happened. We discovered that we are hopelessly and helplessly ourselves on set. For example, even if something terrifying was happening in the horror plot, we couldn’t help training the camera on all of the little personal dynamics happening among the 4 lead characters, just like we did on The Puffy Chair. No matter how eerie or cool-looking our lighting got, we were infinitely more obsessed with the chubby guy whose advances were being rejected by the hottie girl.

About a week into filming, we realized we had something VERY different on our hands. We had a horror movie shell… “guy with bag on head comes to get 4 people in a cabin in the woods.” We all know this set-up, right? Not too original. But, we were making a highly sensitive relationship dramedy inside of this horror film because, in the end, that! ’s what Jay and I know how to do best and that’s what we love showing.

So, basically, we started panicking. How do you make a movie work that’s scary, funny, and (ultimately) endearing and touching as we understand the nature of our desperate, sweet, tragically flawed lead characters? The answer was… I hope we don’t @&*# it up.

On week 2, we happened to catch a glimpse of the film Saw on TV, and it became clearer to us how Baghead could be a really interesting film for this time frame in cinema. Saw is great in its own right, but it’s mean, it’s gory, and it’s not really scary. Somehow, the crazy sound design, gore, and effects, took the film further and further away from being actually scary. Whereas, with Baghead, we somehow stumbled into something genuinely frightening, with our $50,000 budget, no sound f/x, no score, no make-up… just a ridiculous paper bag and the question of “who the hell i! s under that bag?” So, we started to feel smart. Confident. ! Inspired in new ways. We even waxed philosophical about how brilliant we were to “come up with his concept” (that we totally lucked into, btw)…

On week 3, we finished the shoot and all looked at each other a little shell shocked. What did we just do? Is this movie even gonna work? Cut to a year later. We’re opening the film at the Sundance Film Festival and every buyer is calling us, making insanely inflated offers, asking us how we came up with such a brilliant, genre-smashing concept.

I guess it kinda comes down to the old adage our dad used to tell us… “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

--Mark & Jay Duplass

PUFFY CHAIR - DVD MovieA little boy learns that wearing a bag on his head when he gets nervous doesn't solve the problem.

Dear Lemon Lima - Movie Poster - 11 x 17 Inch (28cm x 44cm)

• This poster may have a border as the image contained may not be 11 x 17 inches.
• This poster measures approx. 11 x 17 inches from corner to corner.
• Rolled and shipped in a sturdy tube.
• This poster is from Dear Lemon Lima (2009)

Vanessa gets a dose of reality when Philip, her one true love, ends their relationship, again. The quirky teen enrolls in his school to win him back, but ends up making matters worse. Downgraded to social outcast, Vanessa struggles to reclaim Philip's affection. When Vanessa is declared a captain for the school s survival competition, she assembles a team of like-minded misfits to prove they deserve to compete, and win her love s heart again

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG-13
•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 87 minutes
MovieGoods has Amazon's largest selection of movie and TV show memorabilia, including po! sters, film cells and more: tens of thousands of items to choose from. We also offer a full selection of framed and laminated posters. Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from MovieGoods on Amazon.

Imaginext DC Super Friends Catwoman Figure with Motorcycle

• Catwoman Figure with Motorcycle

Favorite DC Super FriendsTM heroes and villains are back and ready for a showdown. This time, it's Catwoman -- and she'll be even trickier to trap because her cycle can transform into chase mode with the push of a button! Will BatmanTM and RobinTM trap this cat? Just imagine ... a whole new adventure every time kids play! Includes figure and motorcycle.

Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization

• ISBN13: 9781583227305
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Greece isn't the only country drowning in debt. The Debt Supercycleâ€"when the easily managed, decades-long growth of debt results in a massive sovereign debt and credit crisisâ€"is affecting developed countries around the world, including the United States. For these countries, there are only two options, and neither is goodâ€"restructure the debt or reduce it through austerity measures. Endgame details the Debt Supercycle and the sovereign debt crisis, and shows that, while there are no good choices, the worst choice would be to ignore the deleveraging resulting from the credit crisis. The book:

• Reveals why the world economy is in for an extended period of sluggis! h growth, high unemployment, and volatile markets punctuated by persistent recessions
• Reviews global markets, trends in population, government policies, and currencies

Around the world, countries are faced with difficult choices. Endgame provides a framework for making those choices.

Q&A with Authors John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper

Author John Mauldin

What is the debt supercycle?
Over a period of about sixty years, debt levels grew faster than incomes. This increase in debt became particularly pronounced in the 1980s, 90s a! nd finally went parabolic after the Federal Reserve lowere! d intere st rates to 1% after the Nasdaq crash. The increase in debt was not just a US phenomenon. As interest rates fell structurally with the fall in inflation from 1982 onwards, people took on more debt because it became more manageable. However, by 2008 the burden of debt became too much to bear and the debt supercycle came to an end. People started deleveraging and banks started collapsing due to low levels of capital and large losses from loans people couldn't pay back.

How does the sovereign debt crisis play into this?
The rapid contraction in debt levels due to default and deleveraging lead to a fall in economic activity as people started saving and cutting spending. Governments immediately stepped in and backed bank debt with explicit guarantees. Governments also started borrowing and spending to transfer money to the private sector, for example via unemployment insurance. So in a very real sense, private borrowing was replaced wit! h public borrowing. Debt was added onto more debt. Rather than free itself of debt, the system now has more debt. The sovereign debt crisis is the recognition that most of this debt will not be paid back, and governments are making promises to pay debt and other obligations, for example general spending and pensions, that they simply lack the ability to fulfill.

What is the impact of the end of the debt supercycle?

Author Jonathan Tepper

The end of the debt supercycle and the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis present problems and challenges for investors and governments. Governments will need to either 1) inflate, 2) default or 3) d! evalue, which is similar to inflate. That is the way governme! nts have historically dealt with too much debt. Some countries will experience deflation and others inflation, depending on what choices governments make. Currently governments have only bad and worse choices. Let's hope they can choose wisely.

What do you predict for the next ten years?
Central banks globally have shown a predisposition to print money to solve problems. We forsee rising inflation in many parts of the world, reductions in real income as people lose purchasing power due to higher food and fuel prices and more macroeconomic volatility. Some countries that do not control their own money supply or are running pegs may experience deflation as they are forced to delever and cannot increase the money supply to counteract the weight of deleveraging.

You cite the events in Greece as an example of a country continuing to run massive deficits. Is there an example of a country making a better choice?
The UK is making some of the right steps to control spending, but even the UK could be more draconian. In nominal and real terms, government spending in aggregate will not be cut in the UK. Also, Iceland has made positive steps by defaulting on its debt effectively. Default is a good way to cure too much debt.
Endgame is acclaimed biographer Frank Brady’s decades-in-the-making tracing of the meteoric ascentâ€"and confounding descentâ€"of enigmatic genius Bobby Fischer.  Only Brady, who met Fischer when the prodigy was only 10 and shared with him some of his most dramatic triumphs, could have written this book, which has much to say about the nature of American celebrity and the distorting effects of fame.  Drawing from Fischer family archives, recently released FBI files, and Bobby’s own emails, this account is unique in that it limns Fischer’s entire lifeâ€"an odyssey that took the Brooklyn-raised chess champion from a! n impoverished childhood to the covers of Time, Life an! d New sweek to recognition as “the most famous man in the world” to notorious recluse.
 
At first all one noticed was how gifted Fischer was.  Possessing a 181 I.Q. and remarkable powers of concentration, Bobby memorized hundreds of chess books in several languages, and he was only 13 when he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history.   But his strange behavior started early.  In 1972, at the historic Cold War showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he faced Soviet champion Boris Spassky, Fischer made headlines with hundreds of petty demands that nearly ended the competition.
 
It was merely a prelude to what was to come.
 
Arriving back in the United States to a hero’s welcome, Bobby was mobbed wherever he wentâ€"a figure as exotic and improbable as any American pop culture had yet produced.  No player of a mere “board game” had ever ascended to such heights.  Commercial sponsorship offers poured in, ultimately topping $10 mil! lionâ€"but Bobby demurred.  Instead, he began tithing his limited money to an apocalyptic religion and devouring anti-Semitic literature. 
 
After years of poverty and a stint living on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, Bobby remerged in 1992 to play Spassky in a multi-million dollar rematchâ€"but the experience only deepened a paranoia that had formed years earlier when he came to believe that the Soviets wanted him dead for taking away “their” title.  When the dust settled, Bobby was a wanted manâ€"transformed into an international fugitive because of his decision to play in Montenegro despite U.S. sanctions.  Fearing for his life, traveling with bodyguards, and wearing a long leather coat to ward off knife attacks, Bobby lived the life of a celebrity fugitive â€" one drawn increasingly to the bizarre.  Mafiosi, Nazis, odd attempts to breed an heir who could perpetuate his chess-genius DNAâ€"all are woven into his late-life tapestry.
 
And yet, as B! rady shows, the most notable irony of Bobby Fischer’s strang! e descen t â€" which had reached full plummet by 2005 when he turned down yet another multi-million dollar paydayâ€"is that despite his incomprehensible behavior, there were many who remained fiercely loyal to him.  Why that was so is at least partly the subject of this bookâ€"one that at last answers the question: “Who was Bobby Fischer?”Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2011: There may be no one more qualified than Frank Brady to write the definitive biography of Bobby Fischer. Brady's Profile of a Prodigy (originally published in 1969) chronicled the chess icon's early years, a selection of 90 games, and (in later editions) his 1972 World Championship match with Boris Spassky. With Endgame, published two years after Fischer's death, Brady's on-and-off proximity to Fischer lends new depth to the latter's full and twisted life story. Though Fischer's pinnacle artistry on the chessboard may often be discussed in the same br! eath with his eventual paranoia and outspoken anti-Semitism, the particular turns and travels of his post-World Championship years (half his life) lend his story most of its vexing oddity: the niggling insistence on seemingly arbitrary conditions for his matches, the years on the lam after flagrantly disregarding U.S. economic sanctions, his incarceration in Japan, his eventual citizenship and quiet demise in Iceland. All told, Fischer's life was like none other, and told through the lens of Brady's personal familiarity and access to new source material, results in an utterly engaging read. --Jason Kirk

Guest Reviewer: Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett is the host of ! “The Dick Cavett Show”---which aired on ABC from 1968 to 1! 975 and on public television from 1977 to 1982---Dick Cavett is the author, most recently, of Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets. The co-author of Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), he has also appeared on Broadway in Otherwise Engaged and Into the Woods, and as narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, and has made guest appearances in movies and on TV shows including Forrest Gump and The Simpsons. His column appears in the Opinionator blog on The New York Times website. Mr. Cavett lives in New York City and Montauk, N.Y.

Even if you don’t give a damn about chess, or Bobby Fischer, you’ll find yourself engrossed by Frank Brady‘s book about Fischer, which reads like a novel.

The facts of Bobby’s life (I knew him from several memorable appearances on “The Dick Cavett Show” on both sides of the Big Tournament) are presented in page-turne! r fashion. Poor Bobby was blessed and cursed by his genius, and his story has the arc of a Greek tragedy---with a grim touch of mad King Lear at the end.

The brain power and concentrated days and nights Bobby spent studying the game left much of him undeveloped, unable to join conversations on other subjects. Later in his life, unhappy with his limited knowledge of things beyond the chess board, he compensated with massive study---applying that same hard-butt dedication to other fields: politics, classics, religion, philosophy and more. He found a hide-away nook in a Reykjavic bookstore---barred from his homeland, Iceland had welcomed him back---where he read in marathon sessions. (After he was recognized, he never went back to his cozy cul de sac.)

In Brady’s telling the high drama of the Spassky match quickens the pulse; the contest that made America a chess-crazed land was seen by more people than the Superbowl. People skipped school and played sick ! in vast numbers, glued to watching Shelby Lyman explain what w! as happe ning. The fanaticism was worldwide. The match was seen as a Cold War event, with the time out of mind chess-ruling Russian bear vanquished.

Arguably the best known man on the planet at his triumphant peak, Bobby is later seen in this account riding buses in Los Angeles, able to pay his rent in a dump of an apartment only because his mother sent him her social-security checks. The details of all this are stranger than fiction, as is nearly everything in the life of this much-rewarded, much-tortured genius.

I liked him immensely, knowing only the tall, broad-shouldered, athletically strong and handsome six-foot-something articulate and yes, witty, youth that Bobby was before the evil times set in, with deranged anti-Semitic outbursts and other mental strangeness preceding his too early end at age 64.

I can’t ever forget the moment on the show when in amiable conversation I asked him what, in chess, corresponded to the thrill in another sort of event;! like, say, hitting a homer in baseball. He said it was the moment when you “break the other guy’s ego.” There was a shocked murmur from the audience and the quote went around the world.

Frank Brady’s Endgame is one of those books that makes you want your dinner guests to go the hell home so you can get back to it.

The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's immensely popular and highly acclaimed works A Language Older Than Words and The Culture of Make Believe. Accepting the increasingly widespread belief that industrialized culture inevitably erodes the natural world, Endgame sets out to explore how this relationship impels us towards a revolutionary and as-yet undiscovered shift in strategy. Building on a series of simple but increasingly provocative premises, Jensen leaves us hoping for what may be inevitable: a return to agrarian communal life via the disintegration of civilization itself.

Snapdragon

• Actors: Steven Bauer, Chelsea Field, Pamela Anderson, Matt McCoy, Kenneth Tigar.
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC.
• Language: English.
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
• Rated R. Run Time: 98 minutes.

BARB WIRE - DVD MovieRemember the old days, when Pamela Anderson Lee was still just a Playboy Playmate turned Baywatch babe? You know--back before the bootleg release of her infamous home video with then-husband and ne'er-do-well rocker Tommy Lee, at which time the whole world got to compare Pam's barely adequate acting chops with her formidable skill at fellatio? Yes, those were the days (1996, to be exact), when a movie like Barb Wire represented dubious progress for the busty blonde, who was determined to make as big a splash on the big-screen as she did in the world's most popular syndicated TV series. Set in the year 2017 when the! Second Civil War is in full force, this sci-fi action thriller stars Pam in the title role--a leather-clad biker babe ("don't call me babe," she warns) who runs a nightclub in the last free city in America. The rest of country is controlled by the "Congressional Directorate," a dictatorial superpower which suspects Barb of trafficking in black-market contraband. That gets her into plenty of trouble (and a lot of cleavage-revealing costumes), and ... well, if any of this sounds even vaguely familiar, it's because this comic book-inspired movie is really just a shamelessly breast-enhanced variation on Casablanca, with Pam Anderson in the Bogart role. Taken for what it is, it's a brazen folly with action to spare, and as guilty pleasures go it's surprisingly enjoyable. What--you were expecting Oscar material? --Jeff Shannon Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/08/2011 Run time: 99 minutes Rating: RRemember the old days, when Pamela Anderson Lee was s! till just a Playboy Playmate turned Baywatch babe? You ! know--ba ck before the bootleg release of her infamous home video with then-husband and ne'er-do-well rocker Tommy Lee, at which time the whole world got to compare Pam's barely adequate acting chops with her formidable skill at fellatio? Yes, those were the days (1996, to be exact), when a movie like Barb Wire represented dubious progress for the busty blonde, who was determined to make as big a splash on the big-screen as she did in the world's most popular syndicated TV series. Set in the year 2017 when the Second Civil War is in full force, this sci-fi action thriller stars Pam in the title role--a leather-clad biker babe ("don't call me babe," she warns) who runs a nightclub in the last free city in America. The rest of country is controlled by the "Congressional Directorate," a dictatorial superpower which suspects Barb of trafficking in black-market contraband. That gets her into plenty of trouble (and a lot of cleavage-revealing costumes), and ... well, if any of this ! sounds even vaguely familiar, it's because this comic book-inspired movie is really just a shamelessly breast-enhanced variation on Casablanca, with Pam Anderson in the Bogart role. Taken for what it is, it's a brazen folly with action to spare, and as guilty pleasures go it's surprisingly enjoyable. What--you were expecting Oscar material? --Jeff Shannon Remember the old days, when Pamela Anderson Lee was still just a Playboy Playmate turned Baywatch babe? You know--back before the bootleg release of her infamous home video with then-husband and ne'er-do-well rocker Tommy Lee, at which time the whole world got to compare Pam's barely adequate acting chops with her formidable skill at fellatio? Yes, those were the days (1996, to be exact), when a movie like Barb Wire represented dubious progress for the busty blonde, who was determined to make as big a splash on the big-screen as she did in the world's most popular syndicated TV series. Set in th! e year 2017 when the Second Civil War is in full force, this s! ci-fi ac tion thriller stars Pam in the title role--a leather-clad biker babe ("don't call me babe," she warns) who runs a nightclub in the last free city in America. The rest of country is controlled by the "Congressional Directorate," a dictatorial superpower which suspects Barb of trafficking in black-market contraband. That gets her into plenty of trouble (and a lot of cleavage-revealing costumes), and ... well, if any of this sounds even vaguely familiar, it's because this comic book-inspired movie is really just a shamelessly breast-enhanced variation on Casablanca, with Pam Anderson in the Bogart role. Taken for what it is, it's a brazen folly with action to spare, and as guilty pleasures go it's surprisingly enjoyable. What--you were expecting Oscar material? --Jeff Shannon The comics series that inspired the movie, Barb Wire is over-the-top, bad-girl action that opened doors for the plethora of today's tough-girl characters. Steel Harbor is a hell of a town, wi! th the emphasis on hell, an urban wasteland of shuttered factories, decaying neighborhoods, and broken dreams. Crime and street violence are the soup of the day every day, but if you're a bounty hunter, every day in "Metal City" can be Christmas - assuming you survive, since the worst of the Harbor's most wanted can fly, summon up tornadoes, or tear cars in half with their bare hands. But, a skip's a skip, and manhunter Barb Wire is the best tracker in the business, and no super-gangster is too tough-as long as there's a fat price on his, her, or its head. Beautiful as she is lethal, Barb Wire really puts the "drop dead" in drop-dead gorgeous! Her boots may be made for walking, but they kick butt real pretty!Remember the old days, when Pamela Anderson Lee was still just a Playboy Playmate turned Baywatch babe? You know--back before the bootleg release of her infamous home video with then-husband and ne'er-do-well rocker Tommy Lee, at which time the whole world got to! compare Pam's barely adequate acting chops with her formidabl! e skill at fellatio? Yes, those were the days (1996, to be exact), when a movie like Barb Wire represented dubious progress for the busty blonde, who was determined to make as big a splash on the big-screen as she did in the world's most popular syndicated TV series. Set in the year 2017 when the Second Civil War is in full force, this sci-fi action thriller stars Pam in the title role--a leather-clad biker babe ("don't call me babe," she warns) who runs a nightclub in the last free city in America. The rest of country is controlled by the "Congressional Directorate," a dictatorial superpower which suspects Barb of trafficking in black-market contraband. That gets her into plenty of trouble (and a lot of cleavage-revealing costumes), and ... well, if any of this sounds even vaguely familiar, it's because this comic book-inspired movie is really just a shamelessly breast-enhanced variation on Casablanca, with Pam Anderson in the Bogart role. Taken for what it is, it's a! brazen folly with action to spare, and as guilty pleasures go it's surprisingly enjoyable. What--you were expecting Oscar material? --Jeff Shannon SNAPDRAGON - DVD Movie

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Widescreen Edition)

• Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Ev! en as the decisive showdown looms, romance blossoms for Harry, Ron, Hermione and their classmates. Love is in the air, but danger lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same. The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series begins right where The Order of the Phoenix left off. The wizarding world is rocked by the news that "He Who Must Not Be Named" has truly returned, and the audience finally knows that Harry is "the Chosen One"--the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort in the end. Dark forces loom around every corner, and now regularly attempt to penetrate the protected walls of Hogwarts School. This is no longer the fun and fascinating world of magic from the first few booksâ€"it's dark, dangerous, and scary.

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be a new Death Eater recruit on a special mission for the Dark Lord. In the meantime, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) seems to have finally removed the shroud of secrec! y from Harry about the dark path that lies ahead, and instead ! provides private lessons to get him prepared. It's in these intriguing scenes that the dark past of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) is finally revealed. The actors cast as the different young versions of Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane) do an eerily fantastic job of portraying the villain as a child. While the previous movies' many new characters could be slightly overwhelming, only one new key character is introduced this time: Professor Horace Slughorn (with a spot-on performance by Jim Broadbent). Within his mind he holds a key secret in the battle to defeat the Dark Lord, and Harry is tasked by Dumbledore to uncover a memory about Voldemort's darkest weapon--the Horcrux. Despite the long list of distractions, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) still try to focus on being teenagers, and audiences will enjoy the budding awkward romances. All of the actors have developed nicely, giving their most convincing performances to date.

More dramatic an! d significant things go down in this movie than any of its predecessors, and the stakes are higher than ever. The creators have been tasked with a practically impossible challenge, as fans of the beloved J.K. Rowling book series desperately want the movies to capture the magic of the books as closely as possible. Alas, the point at which one accepts that these two mediums are very different is the point at which one can truly enjoy these brilliant adaptations. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is no exception: it may be the best film yet. For those who have not read the book, nail-biting entertainment is guaranteed. For those who have, the movie does it justice. The key dramatic scenes, including the cave and the shocking twist in the final chapter, are executed very well. It does a perfect job of setting up the two-part grand finale that is to follow. --Jordan Thompson