The Curse of the Buttons

The Curse of the Buttons
Author: Anne Ylvisaker
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2014-11-11
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763666939

Fans of the hapless Button family will thrill to this Civil War prequel, featuring the inimitable “Granddaddy Ike” as a boy. “Eleven is not too young for war,” Ike said to Barfoot, who swished his tail agreeably, then lumbered to the yard table and stuck his nose in an unattended pie. When a steamboat arrives heralding the news that Iowa has been called up to represent the Union of the United States of America, Ike is beside himself with excitement. For months, the promise of war has enveloped small-town Keokuk like a grand game that everyone’s in on — everyone but Ike, his swaybacked pony, and his best friend and checkers partner, Albirdie. Left behind with Mother and the aunts and girl cousins while the Button men march forth toward glory, Ike’s fate is sealed. Unless he can call on the ingenuity of his fabled (some say cursed) ancestor — the adventuresome Uncle Palmer — seek passage to Missouri disguised as a drummer boy, and meet up with the Iowa First. But some opportunities are meant to be missed. And some arrive when you least expect them.

Panic Button

Panic Button
Author: Kylie Logan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2012
Genre: Blessing and cursing
ISBN: 9781322792613

Pandora's Curse

Pandora's Curse
Author: Jack Du Brul
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2001
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780451409638

A deadly fifty-year-old secret from World War II, hidden away at a top-secret Nazi submarine base, could spell disaster for the modern world when a ruthless corporate mercenary plans to hold the entire world hostage, unless geologist Philip Mercer and his colleague, Anika Klein, can stop him. Original.

"You Are Not Expected to Understand This"

Author: Torie Bosch
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2022-11-15
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0691208484

Leading technologists, historians, and journalists reveal the stories behind the computer coding that touches all aspects of life—for better or worse Few of us give much thought to computer code or how it comes to be. The very word “code” makes it sound immutable or even inevitable. “You Are Not Expected to Understand This” demonstrates that, far from being preordained, computer code is the result of very human decisions, ones we all live with when we use social media, take photos, drive our cars, and engage in a host of other activities. Everything from law enforcement to space exploration relies on code written by people who, at the time, made choices and assumptions that would have long-lasting, profound implications for society. Torie Bosch brings together many of today’s leading technology experts to provide new perspectives on the code that shapes our lives. Contributors discuss a host of topics, such as how university databases were programmed long ago to accept only two genders, what the person who programmed the very first pop-up ad was thinking at the time, the first computer worm, the Bitcoin white paper, and perhaps the most famous seven words in Unix history: “You are not expected to understand this.” This compelling book tells the human stories behind programming, enabling those of us who don’t think much about code to recognize its importance, and those who work with it every day to better understand the long-term effects of the decisions they make. With an introduction by Ellen Ullman and contributions by Mahsa Alimardani, Elena Botella, Meredith Broussard, David Cassel, Arthur Daemmrich, Charles Duan, Quinn DuPont, Claire L. Evans, Hany Farid, James Grimmelmann, Katie Hafner, Susan C. Herring, Syeda Gulshan Ferdous Jana, Lowen Liu, John MacCormick, Brian McCullough, Charlton McIlwain, Lily Hay Newman, Margaret O’Mara, Will Oremus, Nick Partridge, Benjamin Pope, Joy Lisi Rankin, Afsaneh Rigot, Ellen R. Stofan, Lee Vinsel, Josephine Wolff, and Ethan Zuckerman.

Last Stage to El Paso

Last Stage to El Paso
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2021-12-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786048964

Guarding five foolhardy passengers on the Gray Ghost stagecoach, which is rumored to be haunted, cursed or just plain unlucky, Red Ryan, with Apaches and a killer on his trail, finds his journey becoming something straight out of his worst nightmare.

A Quiet, Little Town

A Quiet, Little Town
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2021-02-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786044381

Stagecoach guard Red Ryan has managed to survive every dirty, danger-filled trail in Texas. But this time, the journey is hell on four wheels. And the next stop could be his last... BIG TROUBLE IN A SMALL TOWN It starts with an unusual request: "On this trip there will be no cussing, no drinking, no gambling, and no loose women." No problem. Or so Red Ryan thinks-until he meets the passengers. They include four holy and silent monks, one beautiful lady tutor, and a drunken, washed-up gunfighter. Even worse, they're crossing the wild Texas hill country where bloodthirsty Apaches are on the loose and a mad-dog killer is on the prowl. But that can't compare to what's waiting for them at Fredericksburg. In this quiet little town, every man, woman, and monk will reveal their true colors. Green for greed. Yellow for cowardice. Black for pure unadulterated evil. Which leaves Red-gunning for his life... Live Free. Read Hard.

Da Curse of the Billy Goat

Da Curse of the Billy Goat
Author: Steve Gatto
Publisher: Protar House, LLC
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2004
Genre: World Series (Baseball)
ISBN: 9780972091046

History and discussion of the legendary Curse of the Billy Goat, the Chicago Cubs' pennant races and World Series games, and baseball's curses.

Dionysus Resurrected

Dionysus Resurrected
Author: Erika Fischer-Lichte
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2014-01-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1405175788

Dionysus Resurrected analyzes the global resurgence since the late 1960s of Euripides’ The Bacchae. By analyzing and contextualizing these modern day performances, the author reveals striking parallels between transformational events taking place during the era of the play’s revival and events within the play itself. Puts forward a lively discussion of the parallels between transformational eventsduring the era of the play’s revival and events within the play itself The first comparative study to analyse and contextualize performances of The Bacchae that took place between 1968 and 2009 from the United States, Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia Argues that presentations of the play not only represent liminal states but also transfer the spectators into such states Contends that the play’s reflection on various stages of globalization render the tragedy a contemporary play Establishes the importance of The Bacchae within Euripides’ work as the only extant tragedy in which the god Dionysus himself appears, not just as a character but as the protagonist

Slavic Witchcraft

Slavic Witchcraft
Author: Natasha Helvin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2019-08-06
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1620558432

A practical guide to the ancient magical tradition of Russian sorcery and Eastern Slavic magical rites • Offers step-by-step instructions for more than 300 spells, incantations, charms, amulets, and practical rituals for love, career success, protection, healing, divination, communicating with spirits and ancestors, and other challenges and situations • Reveals specific places of magical power in the natural world as well as the profound power of graveyards and churches for casting spells • Explores the folk history of this ancient magical tradition, including how the pagan gods gained new life as Eastern Orthodox saints, and shares folktales of magical beings, including sorceresses shapeshifting into animals and household objects Passed down through generations, the Slavic practice of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery is still alive and well in Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus, as well as the Balkans and the Baltic states. There are still witches who whisper upon tied knots to curse or heal, sorceresses who shapeshift into animals or household objects, magicians who cast spells for love or good fortune, and common folk who seek their aid for daily problems big and small. Sharing the extensive knowledge she inherited from her mother and grandmother, including spells of the “Old Believers” previously unknown to outsiders, Natasha Helvin explores in detail the folk history and practice of Russian sorcery and Eastern Slavic magical rites, offering a rich compendium of more than 300 spells, incantations, charms, and practical rituals for love, relationships, career success, protection, healing, divination, averting the evil eye, communicating with spirits and ancestors, and a host of other life challenges and daily situations, with complete step-by-step instructions to ensure your magical goals are realized. She explains how this tradition has only a thin Christian veneer over its pagan origins and how the Slavic pagan gods and goddesses acquired new lives as the saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church. She details how the magical energy for these spells and rituals is drawn from the forces of nature, revealing specific places of power in the natural world as well as the profound power of graveyards and churches for casting spells. She explores the creation of amulets and talismans, the importance of icons, and the proper recital of magical language and actions during spells, as well as how one becomes a witch or sorceress. Offering a close examination of these two-thousand-year-old occult practices, Helvin also includes Slavic folk advice, adapted for the modern era. Revealing what it means to be a Slavic witch or sorceress, and how this vocation pervades all aspects of life, she shows that each of us has magic within that we can use to take control of our own destiny.

Bone Button Borscht

Bone Button Borscht
Author: Aubrey Davis
Publisher: Turtleback
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2002-10-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780613991032

When a beggar gets no help from anybody, even at the synagogue, he offers to use the buttons on his coat to make bone button borscht for everyone in the village, in a retelling of an old folktale reset in a small Jewish village.