When Chet Monroe is offered a job as a law professor at a university near his hometown of Mission Springs, Mississippi, he jumps at the chance to get away from the bustle of New York City and start a new life. The small town is happy to welcome home a successful native son.

Chet doesn't come home alone, however. He brings with him his longtime lover, Drew Weatherly, who takes a job at the local bank. The men know that the town may not be accustomed to an openly gay couple, but their plan is to slowly gain acceptance, easing the neighborhood into an understanding of their relationship.

Everything seems to be going well until the local Baptist minister, Brother Gene, begins to suspect that the two men are more than just friends, and he's squarely against allowing them to work their way into the community on their own terms.

As tensions begin to rise, Chet is accused of the unthinkable: raping a local boy he befriended. Now, winning over the community is no longer a choice but a necessity if he's to keep his freedom in "Without One Plea."

With the advent of advanced hand-held technology and the widespread nature of the Internet, the world of animated filmmaking is more exciting and accessible than ever. Due to this cultural and technological development, the success of independent animated film makers is on the rise. Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films, Second Edition showcases some of the greatest, most innovative giants in the field and helps guide readers through the artistic process and production techniques. Story development, casting, color theory, distribution and the intimidating aspects of production are elucidated using various examples of acclaimed, viral and award-winning animated films from all over the world. Readers will also explore the changing nature of audiences, festivals and distributors’ relationships with animation and be granted first-hand guidance in navigating the diverse fields of animated filmmaking. Key Features: Covers the entire process of creating an independent animated film from story development and casting to editing and distribution Presents a comprehensive array of classic and contemporary case studies covering all manner of production methods from traditional pipelines to avant-garde, auteur and experimental approaches Features input and exclusive insight into the working processes of some of the industry’s most noteworthy indie animation talents, including Signe Baumane, Adam Elliot, Don Hertzfeldt, Kirsten Lepore, Robert Morgan, David OReilly, PES, Bill Plympton, Rosto, Chris Shepherd and dozens more Additional resources and interviews are available through a special section of Skwigly Online Animation Magazine.

With the advent of advanced hand-held technology and the widespread nature of the Internet, the world of animated filmmaking is more exciting and accessible than ever. Due to this cultural and technological development, the success of independent animated film makers is on the rise. Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films, Second Edition showcases some of the greatest, most innovative giants in the field and helps guide readers through the artistic process and production techniques. Story development, casting, color theory, distribution and the intimidating aspects of production are elucidated using various examples of acclaimed, viral and award-winning animated films from all over the world. Readers will also explore the changing nature of audiences, festivals and distributors’ relationships with animation and be granted first-hand guidance in navigating the diverse fields of animated filmmaking. Key Features: Covers the entire process of creating an independent animated film from story development and casting to editing and distribution Presents a comprehensive array of classic and contemporary case studies covering all manner of production methods from traditional pipelines to avant-garde, auteur and experimental approaches Features input and exclusive insight into the working processes of some of the industry’s most noteworthy indie animation talents, including Signe Baumane, Adam Elliot, Don Hertzfeldt, Kirsten Lepore, Robert Morgan, David OReilly, PES, Bill Plympton, Rosto, Chris Shepherd and dozens more Additional resources and interviews are available through a special section of Skwigly Online Animation Magazine.

In the past several decades biotechnologies have provided patients with a multitude of means to address illness and disability. Some biotechnologies, such as reproductive technologies and genetic enhancements, have created significant questions about the appropriateness of medical progress, and carry ethical and social implications for society. Should biotechnology move full steam ahead? Or should we show some degree of restraint? Amid the clamoring of conflicting claims is a profound absence of the answer to a fundamental question: the ultimate goal of biotechnology. What guidelines are available? How should we assess advances in clinical medicine? For those with Christian commitments, how does one reconcile such concepts as human dignity with biotechnical progress? Is the manipulation of embryos, for instance, really progress?This book, an interdisciplinary effort by several scholars writing with one voice, a voice deeply influenced by Christian theology, reviews recent developments in genetics, nanontechnology, cybernetics, neuroscience and pharmacology that not only may lead to new tools for healing, but that can also be used to enhance or augment normal human function. The authors also look at how competing worldviews--philosophical and religious--assess such developments. After laying out a Christian anthropology, or understanding of human nature, they conclude with a discussion of the proper use of biotechnology to pursue human flourishing. While fully supportive of medical progress to combat disease, which might include research on human subjects, they are suspicious of medical attempts to "improve" human nature.

FULL COLOR EDITION. Lyman Durwood is concerned. He's been having trouble swallowing. He's plagued by recurring nightmares. His priorities are in dire need of reshuffling. He also has a bit more cancer than he'd like... The second volume of "Throat" sees Lyman acclimating to cancer treatment whilst carrying on a not-so-romantic entanglement with Gym Girl, a troubled woman whose own personal demons gradually make themselves known.

FULL COLOR EDITION. Lyman Durwood is concerned. He's been having trouble swallowing. He's plagued by recurring nightmares. His priorities are in dire need of reshuffling. He also has a bit more cancer than he'd like... From award-winning animator Ben Mitchell comes the first volume of "Throat," a brutally honest and darkly humorous trilogy of life, death and learning exactly who we aren't in this world.

Lyman Durwood is concerned. He's been having trouble swallowing. He's plagued by recurring nightmares. His priorities are in dire need of reshuffling. He also has a bit more cancer than he'd like... The second volume of "Throat" sees Lyman acclimating to cancer treatment whilst carrying on a not-so-romantic entanglement with Gym Girl, a troubled woman whose own personal demons gradually make themselves known.

Lyman Durwood is concerned.

He's been having trouble swallowing.

He's plagued by recurring nightmares.

His priorities are in dire need of reshuffling.

He also has a bit more cancer than he'd like...

From award-winning animator Ben Mitchell comes the first volume of "Throat," a brutally honest and darkly humorous trilogy of life, death and learning exactly who we aren't in this world.

Cristobal Araus Lobos directs this romantic comedy drama set in Auckland, New Zealand. Cultures clash with comical results when Indian engineering student Siddarth (Sid) emigrates with his family to Auckland from New Delhi. Taking a part-time job in the local Indian restaurant without telling his parents, he soon finds himself becoming more enthused about cooking than engineering, and starts spending more and more time in the restaurant with his new friends - especially a pretty local girl called Mary (Alison Titulaer).

When Chet Monroe is offered a job as a law professor at a university near his hometown of Mission Springs, Mississippi, he jumps at the chance to get away from the bustle of New York City and start a new life. The small town is happy to welcome home a successful native son.

Chet doesn't come home alone, however. He brings with him his longtime lover, Drew Weatherly, who takes a job at the local bank. The men know that the town may not be accustomed to an openly gay couple, but their plan is to slowly gain acceptance, easing the neighborhood into an understanding of their relationship.

Everything seems to be going well until the local Baptist minister, Brother Gene, begins to suspect that the two men are more than just friends, and he's squarely against allowing them to work their way into the community on their own terms.

As tensions begin to rise, Chet is accused of the unthinkable: raping a local boy he befriended. Now, winning over the community is no longer a choice but a necessity if he's to keep his freedom in "Without One Plea."

Aging is a fact of life, and issues surrounding it are hot. There are currently 35 million Americans over the age of sixty-five - more than ever. This demographic shift is noteworthy not only because the ranks of the elderly will continue to swell in coming years but also because it is taking place in what the editors of this book call an "ageist society," one that increasingly loathes every facet of aging. Indeed, the ethical issues associated with aging are among the thorniest in medicine and public policy today. Aging, Death, and the Quest for Immortality is a timely volume by physicians, health-care professionals, pastors, and ethicists who explore the experiences, dilemmas, and possibilities associated with aging. The book opens by offering three distinct perspectives on aging; this section includes practical suggestions for dealing with retirement, disability, healing, and death. Several contributors then analyze controversial ethical issues raised by aging and health care, including medical decision-making, the moral standing of patients with dementia, health-care rationing, and assisted suicide. A third group of essays applies a theology of care to ministry to and through older adults, the counseling of seniors, and the application of palliative care. The book closes by discussing some of the emerging technologies and interest groups aimed at achieving immortality, also asking, appropriately, what insights the Christian faith brings to the discussion. Reflecting much wisdom and sensitivity, this book will give welcome help to care providers and to those who are themselves in the later stages of life.