Many people are stuck, or think they are. They feel frozen. Marooned. Trapped on treadmills. They say they're stuck in the wrong relationships, the wrong careers, the wrong places at the wrong times. They're stuck in bad habits and can't quit. They're stuck the past and can't let go. They're stuck in the present and can't plan for the future. And in many cases, they're looking for someone or something to blame. How did we get here? Consumer culture certainly has a hand in it, training us from infancy onward to seek instant gratification via various forms of brand loyalty: doing the same things with the same products in the same ways over and over again. But other factors play other key roles, notably fear of change. Stuck is a work of social commentary that delivers a long-awaited diagnosis for our day and age. For some, there's a light at the end of the tunnel; this book includes stories of people who managed to become unstuck and of others who, after much reflection, decided that they're already exactly where they're meant to be. Chapter 1 - ONCE UPON A TIME: Stuck in the Past Chapter 2 - SEMIAUTOMATIC: Stuck in the Present Chapter 3 - OOPS! I DID IT AGAIN: Stuck on Habits Chapter 4 - THE HORROR, THE HORROR: Stuck on Trauma Chapter 5 - PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE: Stuck on Others Chapter 6 - TAKE THIS JOB AND....: Stuck on Work

The Buddha. Rene Descartes. Emily Dickinson. Greta Garbo. Bobby Fischer. J. D. Salinger: Loners, all-along with as many as 25 percent of the world's population. Loners keep to themselves, and like it that way. Yet in the press, in films, in folklore, and nearly everywhere one looks, loners are tagged as losers and psychopaths, perverts and pity cases, ogres and mad bombers, elitists and wicked witches. Too often, loners buy into those messages and strive to change, making themselves miserable in the process by hiding their true nature-and hiding from it. Loners as a group deserve to be reassessed-to claim their rightful place, rather than be perceived as damaged goods that need to be "fixed." In Party of One Anneli Rufus -- a prize-winning, critically acclaimed writer with talent to burn -- has crafted a morally urgent, historically compelling tour de force-a long-overdue argument in defense of the loner, then and now. Marshalling a polymath's easy erudition to make her case, assembling evidence from every conceivable arena of culture as well as interviews with experts and loners worldwide and her own acutely calibrated analysis, Rufus rebuts the prevailing notion that aloneness is indistinguishable from loneliness, the fallacy that all of those who are alone don't want to be, and wouldn't be, if only they knew how.

"The brilliant mind behind "Party of One" examines the striking social trend: people are stuck and they want to change, but..." ("San Francisco Chronicle")
In this book, Anneli Rufus identifies an intriguing aspect of our culture: Many of us are stuck. Be it in the wrong relationship, career, or town, or just with bad habits we can't seem to quit, we even say we want to make a change, but . . . Merging interviews, personal anecdotes, and cultural criticism, "Stuck" is a wise and passionate exploration of the dreams we hold dearest for ourselves-and the road to actually achieving them.
When faced with the possibility of change, our minds can play tricks on us. We tell ourselves: "I can't make it." Or, "It's not worth the effort." How is it that in a time of unprecedented freedom and opportunity, so many of us feel utterly powerless and unsure? In this book, Rufus exposes a complex network of causes for our immobilization- from fear and denial to powerful messages in popular culture or mass media that conspire to convince us that we're helpless in the face of our cravings. But there can be a light at the end of the tunnel: Rufus also tells the stories of people who have managed to become unstuck and of others who, after much reflection, have decided that where they are is best. After all, she writes, "what looks to you like a rut, others might say is true absorption in a topic, a relation-ship, a career, a pursuit, a place. What looks to you like bore-dom, others call commitment. And even contentment."
A brilliant glimpse into what truly motivates-or doesn't motivate-us, Stuck will inspire you to take a look at yourself in an entirely new light.

Destined to become the bible for a bold new subculture of eco-minded people who are creating a lifestyle out of recycling, reusing, and repurposing rather than buying new.
An exciting new movement is afoot that brings together environmentalists, anticonsumerists, do-it-yourselfers, bargain-hunters, and treasure-seekers of all stripes. You can see it in the enormous popularity of many websites: millions of Americans are breaking free from the want-get-discard cycle by which we are currently producing approximately 245 million tons of waste every day (that's 4.5 pounds per person, per day ).
In "The Scavengers' Manifesto," Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson invite readers to discover one of the most gratifying (and inexpensive) ways there is to go green. Whether it's refurbishing a discarded wooden door into a dining-room table; finding a bicycle on freecycle.org; or giving a neighbor who just had a baby that cute never-used teddy bear your child didn't bond with, in this book Rufus and Lawson chart the history of scavenging and the world-changing environmental and spiritual implications of "Scavenomics," and offer readers a framework for adopting scavenging as a philosophy and a way of life.

California: the whole world knows it as the mother lode of scandal and celebrity, mayhem and miracles, a place where nearly anything can happen - and does. Giving the lowdown on the most notorious locations across the state, California Babylon redefines tourism for the 21st century by guiding you to the places you actually want to see, whether you'll admit to it or not.

Packed with photographs and with easy-to-follow directions to each site, California Babylon unveils the real-life filming locations; scenes of rock-'n'-roll debauchery; homes and hotspots where the stars lived, dined, made love and died - and where they still do today. With this detailed, up-to-date guide, you can revisit some of the most shocking, puzzling, glamorous and tragic moments the world has ever known.

Spend the night in the very hotel rooms where Janis Joplin, John Belushi, or Hawaii's King Kamehameha died. See the site where People's Temple leader Jim Jones whipped hundreds of followers into a frenzy. Visit the orphanage where little Norma Jeane Baker dreamed of stardom. Follow in the footsteps of serial killers. Recreate the camera angles for dozens of your favorite films, from Vertigo to Pee Wee's Big Adventure. With California Babylon's help, you can also see:

*infamous crime scenes
*the homes of screen legends
*graves of the rich and famous
*assassination sites
*abandoned utopias
*restaurants and bars frequented by celebrities

Forget the endless malls and beaches! Wouldn't you rather see JFK's secret love-nest, the stage where Michael Jackson's hair burst into flames, or the alley that was the epicenter of prostitution in gold-rush era San Francisco? These are the guilty pleasures you'll actually write home about, and they're what make California the wacky, world-famous, and truly unbelievable place it is today.