Zap

“High-school theater departments willing to experiment with something new might try this as an alternative to the same old reruns of Grease and Romeo and Juliet.” —Kirkus Reviews Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman has considered the advice of performers and producers in this newly refreshed and thoroughly updated edition of a high-school tour de force. When high school drama departments are not dusting off the old classics—over and over—they are constantly in search of new material. But what play could possibly suit the sound bite attention span of kids who flit from text messages to social networks throughout their day? Cue the lights for Zap, a nonstop farce that juxtaposes seven different plays—performed simultaneously—with comic genius. An extensive author’s note provides information and insight on the plays and playwrights spoofed in Zap.

We're all in favour of free speech — except when we're not! Often it's a case of 'free speech for me, but not for thee’. The regulation of speech is a matter that is typically dealt with arbitrarily without there being any obvious principled basis for the decisions that are made. Is hate speech, so-called, a form of free speech? What of blasphemy, in either its ancient or contemporary forms? Should certain forms of speech be mandatory? As with free speech, we’re all in favour of tolerance — except when we're not! Tolerance is increasingly coming to seem, well, intolerable and new and improved forms of intolerance are everywhere on the rise, not least as embodied in the currently fashionable doctrines of diversity, inclusion and equality. In ZAP, Gerard Casey presents a critical and unified approach to both free speech and tolerance based on the Zero Aggression Principle, keeping the critical discussion topical and grounded by reference to current events.

Eleven-year-olds Luis and Maura investigate the cause of a long-term, city-wide power outage in Hampton, New Jersey. Includes facts about electric power and instructions for assembling an emergency kit.

Eric Trotter wasn't expecting to disappear. One look at his face on the security footage was proof of that. Was this a one-time event, or are we next? If Eric can disappear into nowhere, so could anyone else. How did this happen--and why?Terra Tyler-Padgett wasn't expecting a mystery. She was just going to spend the summer on her dad's farm. But when Eric stops returning his calls, a lot of people start getting nervous.

The Zap gives... and the Zap takes away. Because of the very nature of the Zap -- the big thermonuclear bomb that had scrambled and rearranged the neurons of everyone's brains -- there was no way of telling what it had taken from them all. The past was a jumbled mass of tantalizing glimpses and agonizing blanks. But the Zap's gifts were many and varied. The "Readers" got the rare and often dangerous ability to make sense of the writings of the past... The "Memors" got perfect recall -- of everything they'd heard since the Zap... The "Bush Punks" got a chance to live free and easy -- and die the same way... The "God Weirders" got religion -- if you could call it that... The "Blimpers" got a purpose -- a purpose that could save them, or destroy them all. Now Holmes, a "Reader, " was in the perfect position to tip the scales for or against survival -- if only he could figure out which side was which.

The final, previously-only-available-in-a limited/collector's-edition issue of the the most important comic book series of all time! This blowout issue not only includes work by all eight Zap artists (plus a collaboration with cartoonist Aline Kominsky), but also three double-page jams by the group. Plus:Zap’s first-and-only color section, featuring comics by R. Crumb and Gilbert Shelton (his final Zap Wonder Wart-hog episode, no less). Paul Mavrides provides an alternately embellished version of Gilbert Shelton’s and his Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers episode, “Phineas Becomes a Suicide Bomber” (originally inked in the Complete Zap by Shelton).

Mike Gaddis swore to be painfully selective in choosing the puppy that would accompany him on the horseback pointing dog trials he so badly wanted to participate in. He knew the smallest female born sixth in the litter of twelve English setters was special, but he didn't understand the power of her potential until he let her loose in the field. Her lightning speed earned her the name Zip Zap, and she grew to be the best bird dog Gaddis ever owned. In this memoir, Gaddis celebrates the dog's indomitable spirit and tells the story of training and developing superior pointers, from their first unrefined runs in the amateur puppy stakes to winning major championships.

A collection of engaging essays that discusses odd and unusual topics in optics