Death Of A Jester

The police cannot decide if the clown sightings reported around Grambling pose a threat or are just a hoax. That is, until a young homeless boy is lured away from his parents in the dead of night. Malachi has been dreaming of the little boy he could not save in Afghanistan. He is pulled between the deep need to drink and drown his past and his desire to try and help save the little boy who was snatched from Tent City, under his nose. Then a man dressed in a clown's outfit is found bludgeoned to death. Brangian reports and watches in horror as the crime is connected to her property and members of her own family are once again suspects. Can Branigan and Malachi help to bring the truth to light before the little boy is harmed, and before the wrong person is convicted of murder...

The most comprehensive sourcebook of Shakespeare's monologues ever available in one volume. A detailed guide to approaching Shakespearean text, Speak the Speech! contains everything an actor needs to select and prepare a Shakespeare monologue for classwork, auditions, or performance. Included herein are over 150 monologues. Each one is placed in context with a brief introduction, is carefully punctuated in the manner that best illustrates its meaning, and is painstakingly and thoroughly annotated. Each is also accompanied by commentary that will spark the actor's imagination by exploring how the interrelationship of meter and the choice of words and sounds yields clues to character and performance. And throughout the book sidebars relate historical, topical, technical, and other useful and entertaining information relevant to the text. In addition, the authors include an overview of poetic and rhetorical elements, brief synopses of all the plays, and a comprehensive index along with other guidelines that will help readers locate the perfect monologue for their needs. More than just an actor's toolkit, Speak the Speech! is also an entertaining resource that will help demystify Shakespeare's language for the student and theater lover alike.

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a superhero? Being the one to swoop in and save the day. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Right up until you grow up, the world kicks you in the gut. My name is Cal, and I was one of those kids growing up. With the real world came real problems like anxiety, depression, and a sense of apathy toward people in general. But life happens fast, and things can change in an instant, I should know. I went to bed one night, ready to die, and wake up built like a freak of nature with the demeanor to match. Now I walk around with a smile on my face and the need to punish evil flooding through my veins. Life is funny like that. Now life is nothing but a deadly joke, and I'm the jester running the court.

The violent, dark, and twisted journey of an emotionless, hate-filled, obsessive teen who becomes a clinical and prolific serial killer. Herman isn’t like other teens his age. He isn’t like the academic elite, the geeky students who get all the grades and are adored by their teachers. He isn’t like the extroverts, the socially adept and popular kids who never want for anything and always have a shoulder to cry on. And he isn’t like the bullies, the ones who taunt and beat him on a daily basis. Herman isn’t like any of his peers, or indeed anyone he knows. The person Herman identifies with the most, the person he idolizes and yearns to be, is The Butcher, a brutal and prolific serial killer. Following yet another beating by the kids he despises at a school he hates, Herman returns home to his inconspicuous existence with his solitary, silent, and coldhearted father. But life for Herman is about to change. The shackles that have held him to mediocrity and anonymity are about to be broken. Not only does Herman discover his father has died, but on further examination, he also discovers his dad was The Butcher, the very man whom everyone had feared and whom he had worshipped. Life had been cruel to his father and death had been cruel to his legend, but Herman decides that he will carry on his father’s work. He may not have his father’s experience, but with a little practice, Herman knows he can become the man in the shadows, the thing that everyone fears. Now, if only Homicide Detective Lester Keats would just leave him alone . . .

In this lively work, Beatrice K. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history—the court jester. Though not always clad in cap and bells, these witty, quirky characters crop up everywhere, from the courts of ancient China and the Mogul emperors of India to those of medieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. With a wealth of anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations (including flip art), Otto brings to light little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on people with power and position and placing otherwise remote historical figures in a more idiosyncratic, intimate light. Most of the work on the court jester has concentrated on Europe; Otto draws on previously untranslated classical Chinese writings and other sources to correct this bias and also looks at jesters in literature, mythology, and drama. Written with wit and humor, Fools Are Everywhere is the most comprehensive look at these roguish characters who risked their necks not only to mock and entertain but also to fulfill a deep and widespread human and social need.