This book describes my life and experiences as a Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) worker in the oil and gas industry, from trainee to fifteen-year veteran. My career - so far - has included stints on four offshore facilities and one major onshore LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project. I currently work on the World's largest floating object which I helped build in South Korea over a three year period. These experiences have been unique in many ways, but are conveyed in a very human way; I was not interested in writing a technical book, a history of the industry, or an environmental tome of monumental importance. This is just a story of my life as a FIFO worker during one of the busiest and most interesting times in the industry, particularly Australia. For example, my current facility was the first floating LNG plant ever designed, and is a game changer for the industry, but the process is described in laymen's terms, easy to understand. We have also seen major upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; border restrictions, enforced separation and isolation, falls in oil prices and increased Unionism. In short, this is a description of a unique way of working and living. It involves a cast of hundreds of characters, places and events, most of them amusing, some of them sad or possibly even exciting, a lot of them are things that are small in their own way but have never been presented in a book, with the possible exception of "Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse ". It is what we do on a day-to-day basis when we are at work, and I believe that a large amount of "normal" people are very interested in this lifestyle, apart from the 150,000 plus FIFO workers based in Australia, Canada and elsewhere. It also openly and honestly describes my descent into depression, sometimes so bad I wanted to suicide. FIFO can be hard. FIFO is a different life altogether, it comes with its own issues and problems, from distances travelled, the method of getting there, fatigue, dangerous conditions, depression, anxiety, separation from family and The World, huge relationship hurdles, as well as the concept of being trapped by the lifestyle and the large salaries, the Golden Handcuffs as we call it. In fact, this book is a study of Australian working culture in many ways with all its blemishes. The lifestyle is not for everyone, especially offshore, and many people have crashed and burned in the time I have been in the job. We do a minimum of 12 hour days, 7 days a week, up to 28 days straight, sometimes longer when storms hit or choppers fail. At the same time a lot of us get paid well and we get decent breaks where we spend that money we earn. And we work with some of the best people on the planet, even if the Companies and their management structures leave a lot to be desired. I hope you enjoy it and find it interesting.

Many fans and insiders alike have never heard of Bill Hume, Bailin' Wire Bill, Abe Martin, AWOL Wally, the Texas History Movies, or the Weatherbird at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. And many insiders do not know why we call comic books “comics” even though lots of them are not at all funny. Robert C. Harvey, cartoonist and a veteran comics critic, author of several histories of comics and biographies of cartoonists, tells forgotten stories of a dozen now obscure but once famous cartoonists and their creations. He also includes accounts of the cartooning careers of a groundbreaking African American and a woman who broke into an industry once dominated by white men. Many of the better-known stories in some of the book's fourteen chapters are wrapped around fugitive scraps of information that are almost unknown. Which of Bill Mauldin's famous duo is Willie? Which is Joe? What was the big secret about E. Simms Campbell? Who was Funnyman? And why? And some of the pictures are rare, too. Hugh Hefner's cartoons, Kin Hubbard's illustrations for Short Furrows, Betty Swords’s pictures for the Male Chauvinist Pig Calendar of 1974, the Far East pin-up cartoon character Babysan, illustrations for Popo and Fifina, and Red Ryder's last bow.

Certified sleep consultant Natalie Willes, known also as The Baby Sleep Trainer, shares her effective and efficient sleep training method in her new book, Getting Your Baby to Sleep the Baby Sleep Trainer Way. Thousands of families throughout the world have used the Baby Sleep Trainer method to help their infants and toddlers learn to sleep through the night and take healthy naps, all with the fewest tears possible. Backed by thorough scientific data and years of professional experience, the Baby Sleep Trainer Method offers parents a tried and true solution for children aged 16 weeks through 3.5 years. Step-by-step, comprehensive contents include: The science of baby sleep habits How to prepare your child's room for optimal sleep Discussions on cortisol and crying in babies Creating healthy sleep habits with newborns Exactly when and how to start sleep training for nighttime sleep and naps Tips and tricks for multiples Troubleshooting common sleep training issues and pitfalls Detailed eat-wake-sleep schedules for children on 3, 2, and 1 nap Sleep training toddlers and children in beds Praise for the Baby Sleep Trainer method: "My 5 month old was waking up every 2-3 hours at night and I was seriously sleep deprived. My sleep deprivation was affecting every aspect of my life. I read several books on sleep training, as well as blogs and websites. I was at my wits end. After following the program for two weeks, my child was consistently sleeping 11-12 hours a night and was on a consistent schedule during the day! This program has literally given me my life back." - McKel Neilsen "Two months ago I was at the end of my sleep rope with our 6-month-old, boy/girl twins. Exhausted doesn't begin to explain it, I felt desperate. After using the Baby Sleep Trainer Method we feel like we have our lives back. The babies are happy and well rested, and so are we! We have our evenings back to cook dinner, spend time with our 4-year-old daughter, hang out together, and actually do things we enjoy. The process took commitment but has been absolutely worth every bit of it." - Beth Oller, MD "Using the Baby Sleep Trainer Method, my daughter quickly went to a routine nap schedule during the day and sleeping through the night from 6:30pm to 6:30am! Also, rather than the exhausting and often unsuccessful rocking or soothing or feeding to sleep, we were able to put her down awake in her crib and she would fall asleep on her own in just a few minutes. It was just incredible." - Online Review

Boredom and melancholy in the experience of reading Contemporary graphic novels show an interesting shift from the extraordinary to the ordinary in slice-of-life stories in which nothing happens. Present-day graphic accounts are inhabited by melancholic characters whining about the lack of meaning in life. This book examines this intriguing transition and brings a historical, aesthetical and narratological approach to comics in which boredom is not only a topic, but also awakens a deliberate affective response in the very experience of reading. This volume brings together close readings of work by Lewis Trondheim, Chris Ware and Adrian Tomine. With a foreword by Raphäel Baroni (University of Lausanne).

Professional animator Howard Beckerman has drawn them all: Popeye, Heckle & Jeckle, even Mickey Mouse. In Animation, he offers a road map to the complex art of making an animated feature. Vivid sketches, screen shots, and step-by-step illustrations show how to make a drawing come to life, create storyboards, use form and color, develop a soundtrack, edit, and more. This new edition is also thoroughly updated to reflect the latest trends surrounding digital technology. Animation provides artists and aspiring filmmakers with everything they need to carve their niche in today’s quickly evolving animation industry.