As Long As It S Fun

In As Long as It’s Fun, the biography of Lin and Larry Pardey, Herb McCormick recounts their remarkable sailing career—from their early days in Southern California to their two circumnavigations to their current life in a quiet cove in New Zealand. Through interviews with their families, friends, and critics, McCormick delves deeply into the couple’s often-controversial opinions, sometimes-tenuous marriage, and amazing list of accomplishments. As Long as It’s Fun is as much a love story as it is a sea yarn, and, like all such stories, it’s not without complications . . . which makes it not only a sailing tale but also a human one.

The Technic is Fun series offers piano students a series of graded studies for the development of technic, style, and musicianship. These studies reinforce the technical requirements found in method books and in standard piano repertory. The etudes found in this series not only build technic and musicality but have been carefully selected to provide refreshing recital repertoire as well as to develop a strong musical and technical foundation.

Drawing on the tools of game design to fix democracy. Anyone who has ever been to a public hearing or community meeting would agree that participatory democracy can be boring. Hours of repetitive presentations, alternatingly alarmist or complacent, for or against, accompanied by constant heckling, often with no clear outcome or decision. Is this the best democracy can offer? In Making Democracy Fun, Josh Lerner offers a novel solution for the sad state of our deliberative democracy: the power of good game design. What if public meetings featured competition and collaboration (such as team challenges), clear rules (presented and modeled in multiple ways), measurable progress (such as scores and levels), and engaging sounds and visuals? These game mechanics would make meetings more effective and more enjoyable—even fun. Lerner reports that institutions as diverse as the United Nations, the U.S. Army, and grassroots community groups are already using games and game-like processes to encourage participation. Drawing on more than a decade of practical experience and extensive research, he explains how games have been integrated into a variety of public programs in North and South America. He offers rich stories of game techniques in action, in children's councils, social service programs, and participatory budgeting and planning. With these real-world examples in mind, Lerner describes five kinds of games and twenty-six game mechanics that are especially relevant for democracy. He finds that when governments and organizations use games and design their programs to be more like games, public participation becomes more attractive, effective, and transparent. Game design can make democracy fun—and make it work.

HOW DO YOU IMPROVE YOUR OWN LIFE? You find a way to deal with the challenges life throws your way... which is always easier said than done. A favorite quote of mine, by George Bernard Shaw, explains a lot of why I feel we struggle in life: "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." Which is why I wanted to write this book. To share how incorporating more FUN into our lives will ultimately allow us to deal with any challenging moments that come our way. Take a moment right now and think about someone you know who is consistently upbeat, optimistic, and appears to be troubled by nothing. On the surface, they look like they enjoy life and have a lot of FUN. Ever wished you could be more like them? Wished you could approach life the same way, letting things just roll off your back like water off a duck's back? YOU CAN! By reading Fundamism: Connecting to Life Through F.U.N. you're one step closer to feeling more joy and fulfilment in your life. You're one step closer to feeling good and looking like the person you recalled above. We all desire happiness and minimal stress but life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. Throughout this book, you'll learn how to improve self-esteem, deal with life challenges, overcome fear... ultimately, this book will help you to change your life. Using 10 FUNdamentals, you'll quickly learn how easy it is to add more fun to your life and those around you. What are you waiting for? It's time to jump on the F.U.N. train (all aboard!) and smile, laugh and have more fun... all you have to do is buy Fundamism: Connecting to Life Through F.U.N. to get started!

Pete the Cat helps kids learn to read with phonics! Who knew reading could be so groovy? This set of 12 simple and fun Pete the Cat storybooks is an excellent choice to share with your beginning reader. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children ages 3 to 6. Enter into the world of reading with My First I Can Read! Reviewed by a phonics expert, these 12 short full-color books feature repeated examples of short and long vowel sounds and common sight words. Each of the simple stories in this box set is designed to teach kids how to master reading while rocking out with Pete the Cat. Phonics teaches children the relationship between letters and the sounds they make. A child who has mastered these relationships has an excellent foundation for learning to read and spell. According to the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, a child who has learned phonics has a method to recognize familiar words and “decode” unfamiliar ones.