The corner of Truth Avenue and Pain Street is Valley City's butt crack part of town. Eight teenagers, the Gangsters & Retards, live there: Moon, a blind and deaf girl who practices aikido; Carlos, a Mexican-American rapper in a lowrider wheelchair; Bryan, a basketball loving boy with Down syndrome; Mad Girl, a pregnant fourteen-year-old Latina with major anger issues; Pho, a humongous Vietnamese skateboarder/tagger; Janice, a Jewish-American princess with leg braces and crutches; Dutch, a less than smart white boy wigger; and Learoy, a totally hot sixteen-year-old African-American girl. In this episode, convinced his failed attempts at breaking into the hip hop music scene are due to his Hispanic ethnicity, Carlos pretends he's black to catch a music label's attention. But when a record exec appears with a contract, Carlos obviously doesn't have the right skin color, and in the wink of an eye his falsified identity slips away from him. The absurd world of Valley City serves as the backdrop as Carlos plays a cat and mouse game to regain both his persona and the seven friends swept into the mess he creates. Cartoon realism misadventures ensue as this humorous novel of love, lies, power, corruption, and everyday existence makes you laugh and cry while possibly offending your sensibilities.

Originally published in 1961 by the founder of Rodale Inc., The Synonym Finder continues to be a practical reference tool for every home and office. This thesaurus contains more than 1 million synonyms, arranged alphabetically, with separate subdivisions for the different parts of speech and meanings of the same word.

This book considers the basic ideas of quantum mechanics, treating the concept of amplitude and discusses relativity and the idea of anti-particles and explains quantum electrodynamics. It provides experienced researchers with an invaluable introduction to fundamental processes.

Bones Kendall's Mikka Mi Amor is both great poetry in its own right, and it's also a great tool for English language learners (ESL, EFL, ENL). The poems are accessible, entertaining, provocative, and bursting with life. In addition, the book contains a glossary of all the words used in the poems, the only known book of poetry to do so. Bones Kendall goes the extra mile for you.

The fads, fashions, and media in popular consumer culture frequently make recreational and ideological "fun" of poverty and lower class living. In this book, Halnon delineates how incarceration, segregation, stigmatization, cultural and social consecration, and carnivalization work in the production and consumption of inequality.

Experiencing Jazz, Second Edition, is an integrated textbook with online resources for jazz appreciation and history courses. Through readings, illustrations, timelines, listening guides, and a streaming audio library, it immerses the reader in a journey through the history of jazz, while placing the music within a larger cultural and historical context. Designed to introduce the novice to jazz, Experiencing Jazz describes the elements of music, and the characteristics and roles of different instruments. Prominent artists and styles from the roots of jazz to present day are relayed in a story-telling prose. This new edition features expanded coverage of women in jazz, the rise of jazz as a world music, the influence of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz, and streaming audio. Features: Important musical trends are placed within a broad cultural, social, political, and economic context Music fundamentals are treated as integral to the understanding of jazz, and concepts are explained easily with graphic representations and audio examples Comprehensive treatment chronicles the roots of jazz in African music to present day Commonly overlooked styles, such as orchestral jazz, Cubop, and third-stream jazz are included Expanded and up-to-date coverage of women in jazz The media-rich companion website presents a comprehensive streaming audio library of key jazz recordings by leading artists integrated with interactive listening guides. Illustrated musical concepts with web-based tutorials and audio interviews of prominent musicians acquaint new listeners to the sounds, styles, and figures of jazz. Course components The complete course comprises the textbook and Online Access to Music token, which are available to purchase separately. The textbook and Online Access to Music Token can also be purchased together in the Experiencing Jazz Book and Online Access to Music Pack. Book and Online Access to Music Pack: 978-0-415-65935-2 (Paperback and Online Access to Music) Book Only: 978-0-415-69960-0 (please note this does not include the Online Access to Music) Online Access to Music Token: 978-0-415-83735-4 (please note this does not include the textbook) eBook and Online Access to Music Pack: 978-0-203-37981-3 (available from the Taylor & Francis eBookstore) ebook: 978-0-203-37985-1 (please note this does not include the audio and is available from the Taylor & Francis eBookstore)