Michael Boyd grew up in 1960s New Jersey-an overweight, shy kid who couldn't seem to find his place. He wasn't interested in the same things as the other kids in the neighborhood. He had a hard time making friends, and he was considered unpopular at best. He felt different because he was different. It just took a long time to figure it out. Forever the Fat Kid is not a harrowing journey from fat to fantastic. It is the difficult story of a black youth wrestling with his sexual identity, while struggling to develop in the turbulent American 1960s. Boyd's story takes him from Jersey to the Broadway stage, to major European cities, and even into the depths of depression ...but in the end, he finds hope. He finds who he was meant to be. It took years for Michael Boyd to find his way from fat to thin, shy to outgoing, and unpopular to admired. But he did eventually find his way, with the help of his art. It would be hard to picture the fat kid of the 1960s ruling the stage at the Apollo Theater years later, but it did happen. Through these experiences, Boyd discovered that coming of age, coming out, and coming to terms with one's life is a never-ending process.

From artworks and chairs to architecture, landscaping and interior design, Michael Boyd's devotion to the principles of modernism is comprehensive. An artist and musician, he acquired his expertise as a collector, surrounding himself with rare and beautiful finds. His immersion in the philosophy and creativity of the masters inspired him to restore a succession of classic modern houses, curate exhibitions, create a versatile range of furniture and rugs, and design sculptural gardens. Millennium Modern: Living in Design details his work across the first two decades of the new millennium and reflects his belief that the tenets of modernism - honesty and simplicity - developed more than a century ago, are equally relevant to our pluralistic age. In contrast to the pioneers who wanted to do away with the past, his creations are deeply rooted in the history of design. Essays by Boyd and architectural writer Michael Webb, along with comments from collaborators and critics, explore each facet of his residential design. This beautifully illustrated volume reveals Boyd's holistic design practice from his discovery of design classics in flea markets, to his own furniture designs, which feature in residential interiors, hotels and museums, through to his sensitive restoration of the houses by Paul Rudolph and Oscar Niemeyer, Richard Neutra and Craig Ellwood, and the sculptural landscapes he designed to enhance these residences, as well as masterpieces by John Lautner.

The origins of religion and ritual in humans have been the focus of centuries of thought in archaeology, anthropology, theology, evolutionary psychology and more. Play and ritual have many aspects in common, and ritual is a key component of the early cult practices that underlie the religious systems of the first complex societies in all parts of the world. This book examines the formative cults and the roots of religious practice from the earliest times until the development of early religion in the Near East, in China, in Peru, in Mesoamerica and beyond. Here, leading prehistorians and other specialists bring a fresh approach to the early practices that underlie the faiths and religions of the world. They demonstrate the profound role of play ritual and belief systems and offer powerful new insights into the emergence of early civilization.

The origins of religion and ritual in humans have been the focus of centuries of thought in archaeology, anthropology, theology, evolutionary psychology and more. Play and ritual have many aspects in common, and ritual is a key component of the early cult practices that underlie the religious systems of the first complex societies in all parts of the world. This book examines the formative cults and the roots of religious practice from the earliest times until the development of early religion in the Near East, in China, in Peru, in Mesoamerica and beyond. Here, leading prehistorians and other specialists bring a fresh approach to the early practices that underlie the faiths and religions of the world. They demonstrate the profound role of play ritual and belief systems and offer powerful new insights into the emergence of early civilization.

Encountering Ensemble, is a text for students, teachers, researchers and practitioners who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the history, conceptual foundations and practicalities of the world of ensemble theatre. It is the first book to draw together definitions and practitioner examples, making it a cutting edge work on the subject. Encountering Ensemble combines historical and contemporary case studies with a wide range of approaches and perspectives. It is written collaboratively with practitioners and members from the academic community and is divided into three sections: 1. Introduction and an approach to training ensembles 2. Practitioner case studies and analysis of specific practical approaches to training ensembles (or individuals in an ensemble context) 3. Succinct perspectives from practitioners reflecting on a range of questions including: What is an ensemble?; the place of ensemble in the contemporary theatre landscape; and training issues.

Homer's masterpiece is the story of the last year of the cataclysmic war. Michael Hone's TROY is an adventure whose odyssey spans from the genesis of the catastrophe to the eventual return of the survivors, a tale recounted by Zeus to his favorite son, Hermes. ''Was there ever a time when men and gods were the same, Father?'' ''No, but there was a time when the lives of men and gods mingled so closely that I suppose you could say they were the same." ''When was this, Father?'' "Ago, Son." "Was that the Time of the Heroes, Father? Of Agamemnon and Achilles, Paris and the Fair Helen? Priam and Calchas?'' "Oh, Calchas could hardly be counted among the heroes." Zeus placed his hand on his son's shoulder. The sapling would become an oak, he knew. The moment would come when Hermes would have to be told the truths that weighed on Zeus' heart, the knowledge of which would mark the end of his boyhood. He would have to he told of acts of dishonor, in hopes that he would grow above committing such acts himself. Perhaps the telling would lighten Father's burden, and dissipate the bloodguilt of his bungling the lives of Cassandra and Hecabe and little Troilus, guilt he would never admit to another being, be he alive or dead, Mortal or Immortal. ''But yes, that was the Time." ''And not Since, Father?'' ''No. They and we came to the conclusion that it was best for us to go our own separate ways, and respect what Destiny decided to be our mutual lots.'' ''Would you speak of that time, Father?'' asked Hermes, his open face shining and intelligent. Zeus had a multitude of sons, sons without number, but a boy has only one father from whom he learns the ways of men, which are the ways of the survival of the species. This Zeus knew, and although his head was heavy with memories best forgotten, he nonetheless nodded his assent. "I'm going to know about Man Hurrah " cried out Hermes, and his eyes filled with tears. Zeus took his son to his den, struck a large fire and ordered the heavens to bring forth snow, enough to prevent the gods from returning to his palace, enough to whiten the Earth and through its nacreous purity bring beauty and peace. Father and Son sat before the fireplace, Wisdom on his throne, Youth at his feet; and it was thus that Father Zeus told his beloved son Hermes the story of the Great War for the city of Troy.

The moving story of Hadrian and Antinous has spanned the ages not only as the bond of two men's love, but equally as an eternal mystery as to why a youth forfeited his life to perpetuate that of his lover. The book is an historical work, as historically correct as I could make it. Naturally most of the book concerns Hadrian because we known far more about his life than we do about the Bithynian Greek youth. There is also a heavy emphasis on the times in which they lived and the times that preceded them, as they played indelible roles in the two men's lives: indeed, they molded them. Hadrian wanted to live forever and felt he possessed the intellectual and financial means to achieve that goal-perhaps he even sacrificed the boy he loved to attain that goal. In Hadrian and Antinous we'll investigate the difference between man-to-man relations in Rome and pederasty in Athens, and we'll learn why Antinous drowned and why he become, for the first time in history, the first boyfriend ever to be deified. Women are essential to our story but the ancient world was a man's world, as is ours, and Hadrian and Antinous is, at its base, the story of men and boys who prefer the world of other men and boys.

Michael Boyd grew up in 1960s New Jersey-an overweight, shy kid who couldn't seem to find his place. He wasn't interested in the same things as the other kids in the neighborhood. He had a hard time making friends, and he was considered unpopular at best. He felt different because he was different. It just took a long time to figure it out. Forever the Fat Kid is not a harrowing journey from fat to fantastic. It is the difficult story of a black youth wrestling with his sexual identity, while struggling to develop in the turbulent American 1960s. Boyd's story takes him from Jersey to the Broadway stage, to major European cities, and even into the depths of depression ...but in the end, he finds hope. He finds who he was meant to be. It took years for Michael Boyd to find his way from fat to thin, shy to outgoing, and unpopular to admired. But he did eventually find his way, with the help of his art. It would be hard to picture the fat kid of the 1960s ruling the stage at the Apollo Theater years later, but it did happen. Through these experiences, Boyd discovered that coming of age, coming out, and coming to terms with one's life is a never-ending process.

Best friends Libby Bays and Norma Singer are victims of Emmet Bays's abuse. Norma allows Libby to lure her into her father's black Chevrolet sedan, and after dropping his daughter off at their Main Street home, he drives Norma to an abandoned salvage yard and rapes her. Best friends suddenly become enemies. Norma, trusting no one, including her parents, to support and understand what happened to her, privately blames Libby. She seeks to avenge her role in the rape before she seeks to bring Emmet Bays to justice. To protect himself from any rape accusation, he seeds a rumor in Libby that one of Clarence Singer's Mexican workers raped Norma, and to get his daughter to help him spread it, Emmet promises Libby that he will stop molesting her. Libby believes her father's lie. Norma wants revenge. Only that friendship that Emmet Bays destroys can save these teenagers from him.

One of the most influential professional groups on the 21st Century world of work has been the Electrical Engineering Occupation. This book deals with aspects of power, knowledge, status and technology as they are found in the American electrical engineering profession and occupation as it has evolved from the early 1880s through the 1990s. The primary foci of this discussion are the professionalizing of the American Electrical Engineering occupation, its quest for status and power, its creation and stewardship of knowledge, its control of technology, and its marriage with capitalism and industry. It addresses three questions of sociological importance: Is the American electrical engineering group an occupation or a profession; what has been the influence of technology on the group; and how has the elite leadership of the group influenced it ?

"The West End may be starved of new work, but real drama flourishes at the Bush."-Michael Billington

"I tell my writers that their plays will be better produced at the Bush than any theatre in Britain."-Peggy Ramsay

This special volume of frontline drama, edited by Mike Bradwell, celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of London's Bush Theatre, one of Britain's most vibrant fringe theatres and internationally celebrated as a home for new writing. Since 1972, the Bush has premiered plays by over 200 new writers and maintains a unique record in discovering and nurturing the leading playwrights of the future.

Included are two new plays, Mackerel Sky by Hilary Fannin and Caravan by Helen Blakeman, produced as part of the Bush's anniversary season, and contributions by Bush writers, actors, and directors, including Snoo Wilson, Robert Holman, Alan Plater, Conor McPherson, Kevin Elyot, Dominic Dromgoole, Catherine Johnson, Simon Callow, Victoria Wood, Jonathan Harvey, David Edgar, Philip Ridley, and many more which together form a living history of a vital period of contemporary British drama.