Lucky Strikes

Author of the widely acclaimed "Reflections" column in Spectrum magazine, Lucky provides ten-years-worth of his own humorous and nostalgic refections on typical situations engineers encounter during their careers. Spiced with some new anecdotes and personal experiences, Lucky Strikes...Again takes good-natured gibes at corporate bureaucrats.

This second edition of Lucky Strikes and a Three Martini Lunch: Thinking About Television’s Mad Men explores the attributes of the AMC series that allow it to be such a popular and vital contribution to contemporary cultural discourse. Set in the 1960s in New York, the Emmy and Peabody-winning series follows the competitive, seductive, and oftentimes ruthless lives of the men and women of Madison Avenue’s advertising agencies. Many alluring and captivating qualities constitute the Mad Men experience: the way it evokes nostalgia, even from those who did not live in the era being portrayed; its interrogations of identities, and how these explorations of the past illuminate viewers’ concepts of the present; the compelling (and often heartbreaking) relationships between characters trying to make their way in an ever-changing and increasingly complex world; and the titillation of the characters’ discovery of the power of mass-mediated communication and its abilities to allow learning, information sharing, manipulation, and connection, not to mention how their journeys reflect our own in contemporary society. The essays collected in this volume speak to both fans of the show who may not typically embrace theory and criticism, as well as those who do. Additionally, this version was designed with educators in mind. It still includes engaging essays that critically analyze the show from a multitude of perspectives, but now they are organized in way to facilitate easy use in the classroom. This structure allows educators to simply construct and conduct a course using this book as a primary textbook and organize the course according to the way it is laid out. Each chapter provides any type of reader with the opportunity to think about and enjoy the show even after it is no longer on the air.

Set in Depression-era Virginia, Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard is the story of orphaned Amelia and her struggle to keep her siblings together. With her mama recently dead and her pa sight unseen since birth, fourteen-year-old Amelia is suddenly in charge of her younger brother and sister, and of the family gas station. Harley Blevins, local king and emperor of Standard Oil, is in hot pursuit to clinch his fuel monopoly. To keep him at bay and her family out of foster care, Melia must come up with a father, and fast. And so when a hobo rolls out of a passing truck, Melia grabs opportunity by its beard. Can she hold off the hounds till she comes of age? "This is a darn good yarn with plenty of room for rooting and more than a few laughs." —Booklist, starred review "The story hurtles to a surprising, honest conclusion . . . A grand adventure." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A rich, southern voice tells the unforgettable story of two vulnerable outsiders, the lightning strike that turns their world upside down and the true meaning of lucky. Nate Harlow would love to be lucky, just once!He'd like to win a prize, get picked first, call a coin toss right, even! But his best friend, Genesis Beam (aka Gen), believes in science and logic, and she doesn't think for one second that there's such a thing as luck, good or bad. She doesn't care what names the other kids call them. She cares about being right, about saving the turtles of Paradise Beach, and she cares about Nate.Then, on his birthday, at the Goofy Golf mini-golf course, Nate is struck by lightning -- and survives! Suddenly baseballs are drawn to his bat-popular kids want HIM on their side. It seems the whole town of Paradise Beach thinks Nate has the magic touch. But is there room for Gen in Nate's lucky new world?Lucky Strike tells the unforgettable story of two vulnerable outsiders and what luck is really all about.

Spanning western Europe from 1875 to 1917 and presenting a gothic historical Paris that subverts our old assumptions regarding the City of Light, M. Allen Cunningham’s new novel brings a brooding atmosphere and human complexity to an intimate and imaginative portrait of one of the most uniquely sensitive artists of his time, a poet whose odd childhood and difficult early life will both fascinate and perhaps help explain his determination to stay true to his artistic vision at almost any cost. Here is Rainer Maria Rilke in the grip of his greatest artistic struggle: life itself. Rilke’s gripping emotional drama as child, lover, husband, father, protégé, misfit soldier, and wanderer is framed by a haunted young figure, a researcher who, a century later, feels compelled to trace Rilke’s itinerant footsteps and those of Rilke’s fictional alter ego, the bewitched poet Malte Laurids Brigge. The result is an exploration of the forever imperfect loyalties we face in work and life, the seemingly immeasurable distances that can separate life and art, and the generational tensions between masters and admirers.

This stimulating little chapbook would work very well as a basis for classroom debate on speculative fiction, history, or the notion of free will. - Publishers Weekly The foremost writer of literary utopias.' - Time magazine Its no coincidence that one of our most visionary science fiction writers is also a profoundly good nature writer.' ...

Lucky Strike is a light-hearted laugh-out-loud mystery with a cast of characters who epitomize life Down East. Eric Spratt, a conservative accountant from Toronto, is forced to flee to the remote Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and there, become Charles Trenchant, reclusive writer. He knows that anonymity and discretion are the only weapons he has to protect himself from the retribution of the Mafia dons whom he helped to send to jail. Surely, fifty years of a quiet, unassuming existence would prepare him for the life that he must now lead. However, the steamroller hospitality of the rambunctious locals overwhelms any hope that Charles has to keep his profile lower than low. Within days he is embroiled in their nefarious doings and wild antics. The resident rector, Father Donald Peasgood, and his redoubtable sister drag a reluctant Charles into the fold, while his disreputable next-door neighbor involves him in a scheme to burn down the house for the insurance money. Despite his best intentions to remain aloof, Charles lurches from crisis to crisis as this rollicking tale hurtles like a runaway train to its inevitable disastrous climax. When one very unpleasant lady ends up dead, and Charles is the prime suspect, it looks like the only way he can save himself is to flee the humble sanctuary and the open-hearted people he has come to love on the Eastern Shore. Lucky Strike is as full of fun as a Cape Breton kitchen party and as refreshing as a dip in the Atlantic Ocean.

With her mama recently dead and her pa sight unseen since birth, fourteen-year-old Amelia is suddenly in charge of her younger brother and sister--and of the family gas station. Harley Blevins, local king and emperor of Standard Oil, is in hot pursuit to clinch his fuel monopoly. To keep him at bay and keep her family out of foster care, Melia must come up with a father--and fast. And so when a hobo rolls out of a passing truck, Melia grabs opportunity by its beard. Can she hold off the hounds till she comes of age?