Have you ever wondered what the story is behind the strange sports superstitions you hear about? Gay's collection of superstitions in sports runs the gamut from fishing to football, from amateur players to professionals, from individuals to teams, and from ancient times to the present.

Since their spectacular rise in the 1990s, Russian gangs have remained entrenched in many parts of the country. Some gang members have perished in gang wars or ended up behind prison bars, while others have made spectacular careers off the streets and joined the Russian elite. But the rank and file of gangs remain substantially incorporated into their communities and society as a whole, with bonds and identities that bridge the worlds of illegal enterprise and legal respectability. In Gangs of Russia, Svetlana Stephenson explores the secretive world of the gangs. Using in-depth interviews with gang members, law enforcers, and residents in the city of Kazan, together with analyses of historical and sociological accounts from across Russia, she presents the history of gangs both before and after the arrival of market capitalism. Contrary to predominant notions of gangs as collections of maladjusted delinquents or illegal enterprises, Stephenson argues, Russian gangs should be seen as traditional, close-knit male groups with deep links to their communities. Stephenson shows that gangs have long been intricately involved with the police and other state structures in configurations that are both personal and economic. She also explains how the cultural orientations typical of gangs—emphasis on loyalty to one’s own, showing toughness to outsiders, exacting revenge for perceived affronts and challenges—are not only found on the streets but are also present in the top echelons of today’s Russian state.

Socks are portable, fun to knit, and quick to complete and they make great gifts. This step-by-step guide walks you through all the techniques used to knit beautiful socks from buying yarn to working on double-pointed needles, from turning a heel to grafting a toe. It covers knitting socks top-down, toe-up, and flat, explains how to create various heels and toes, and gives you a dozen original patterns for everything from baby booties to knee socks. Whether you're new to knitting or just new to socks, you'll learn the skills needed for a lifetime of creative sock knitting.

Essays exploring the universal themes in the greatest young adult series ever, from a literary scholar and devoted fan. The books will always be a part of you. Now, revisit old Hogwarts haunts. Reconnect with favorite characters. And learn far more than the correct pronunciation of “Wingardium Leviosa.” With Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me, you’ll discover how the universal themes and lessons of the series apply to your Muggle life, including: • Drawing strength from friends • Learning from mentors and heroes • Challenging conventional ideas • Overcoming obstacles and setbacks • Trusting yourself when others don’t Using a combination of literary criticism and personal essays, this book explore issues that everyone faces—from courage and fear to the importance of girl power and the complexity of relationships.

Finally, a book that presents the facts, dispels the myths, and shows you how to be green without having to compromise yourself and your home. The first book of its kind, this is a book just about the ins and outs of laundry. Carin began to research a greener way of life, not for profit or for business gain but to incorporate it with her most prized job, being a mother, grandmother, and wife. She explores the meaning of green, the fads and the facts, so that anyone can easily make their own decisions about what to do. This book is filled with tips and stories that will give you and your family a new perspective on that never-ending chore called laundry. Her biggest fear is that traditional washing and drying will become obsolete, replaced by overpriced appliances and thoughtless damaging laundry products. She has added laundry to the American Experience, with an alcove of rich stories about generations of laundry and love that she has collected on her journey to reconnect with Mother Nature. Love laundry or hate laundry, this collection of short stories will present you with endless reasons to make laundry a part of your life...and how!

When working in the field of mental illness, the best evidence is people's lived experience. The third edition of Working with Serious Mental Illness maintains its focus on research data, but this is framed by clients' personal perspectives to provide clear, practical advice for practitioners. Aimed at nurses and healthcare practitioners working with mental illnesses such as severe depression, bi-polar disorder and psychosis, this book provides solutions for engaging and working with clients and their families. It vividly presents lived experience and the recommendations of clients, then proceeds through developing and implementing effective interventions and how to reflect on client relationships to ensure sustained success. Easy to read and packed full of practical tips and strategies, this is the ideal book for all healthcare practitioners working with patients with serious mental illness, their families and their carers. It will also be valuable reading for staff working in acute and community mental care settings who lack specialist training in serious mental health disorders, for nursing students, mental health nurses and general nurses working in mental health, primary care and community settings. - Focuses on the lived experiences, observations and recommendations for practitioners of people who use mental health services - Combines theory and practice in a skills and intervention-based approach - Presents down-to-earth intervention ideas designed for practitioners working at the front line - Practical advice is provided in a user-friendly, clearly accessible way - Contributions from experts and editors who are leaders in their field - All content fully revised and updated to reflect changes in mental health service provision - New chapters on Parity of Esteem, Working with the Principles of Trauma Informed Care and Looking After Ourselves - All-new colour design and format

Creating Circles and Ceremonies is the accumulation of decades of circles, ceremonies, rituals, Mystery plays, initiations, rites of passage, and other magickal workings co-created by the Zell-Ravenhearts, today's foremost Wizard/Witch couple. For more than 30 years, Oberon and Morning Glory have traveled widely throughout the worldwide magickal community--participating in gatherings, conducting workshops, and creating rituals for groups large and small. They have met and made Magick with the leaders of many traditions: Celtic Shamanism, British Dianic, Italian Strega, Welsh Witchcraft, Faerie Trad, Ceremonial Magick, Ozark Druidry, the New Reformed Order of the Golden Dawn (NROOGD), Hinduism, Native American tribes, Greek and Egyptian mythology, and the futuristic Church of All Worlds. Here, in one easy-to-read volume, is their collection of chants, invocations, circle-castings, quarter-callings, spells, and ceremonies. It is also a "kit" to use to assemble your own rituals, for any season or reason: Book I presents a basic ritual outline. Each element is followed by numerous examples which may be "plugged in" to customize your own ceremony. Book II gives numerous examples of actual ceremonies: Esbats (full Moons) and special occasions; Rites of Passage; Mysteries and Initiations; spells and consecrations. These can be adapted and modified as needed for any size group--from small family gatherings in your living room, to huge outdoor celebrations involving thousands of people. Book III provides an assortment of full rituals and ritual elements for celebrations of the eight great seasonal festivals called the Wheel of the Year. Versions of these have been commemorated for millennia in most traditional cultures of the Northern Hemisphere; and today are universal throughout the worldwide Pagan community.