In Frankenstein Was a Vegetarian: Essays on Food Choice, Identity, and Symbolism, Michael Owen Jones tackles topics often overlooked in foodways. At the outset he notes it was Victor Frankenstein's "daemon" in Mary Shelley's novel that advocated vegetarianism, not the scientist whose name has long been attributed to his creature. Jones explains how we communicate through what we eat, the connection between food choice and who we are or want to appear to be, the ways that many of us self-medicate moods with foods, and the nature of disgust. He presents fascinating case studies of religious bigotry and political machinations triggered by rumored bans on pork, the last meal requests of prisoners about to be executed, and the Utopian vision of Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of England's greatest poets, that was based on a vegetable diet like the creature's meals in Frankenstein. Jones also scrutinizes how food is used and abused on the campaign trail, how gender issues arise when food meets politics, and how eating preferences reflect the personalities and values of politicians, one of whom was elected president and then impeached twice. Throughout the book, Jones deals with food as symbol as well as analyzes the link between food choice and multiple identities. Aesthetics, morality, and politics likewise loom large in his inquiries. In the final two chapters, Jones applies these concepts to overhauling penal policies and practices that make food part of the pains of imprisonment, and looks at transforming the counseling of diabetes patients, who number in the millions.

Does God Allow tornadoes? Or does He PLAN them? What about cancer?

If God is in control, why pray? Does prayer really change things?

Did you know tithing money is NOT taught in the Bible?

Does your church consider the three "E's" to be worship?

What is oprah's greatest aha moment?

What does that have to do with a book like this?

Struggling to know god's will? Maybe it's none of our business

How can God be sovereign in all things and man have "free will" at the same time?

Is Hell a place of final destruction or a place of unending torture? (For most-this is a great relief to learn )

Did you know that the concept of man having an eternal soul comes from Greek philosophers and NOT the Bible? (Eternal life is a gift from God-not our default setting)

Have you ever realized the difference between edifying others and witnessing? One leads to fear and frustration, the other gives Glory to God

are your answers bible based?(or what you've heard all your life?)

If Jesus has won your heart--has He won your mind?

This comprehensive exploration of language and literacy in the multi-lingual environment of Roman Palestine (c. 63 B.C.E. to 136 C.E.) is based on Michael Wise's extensive study of 145 Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean contracts and letters preserved among the Bar Kokhba texts, a valuable cache of ancient Middle Eastern artifacts. His investigation of Judean documentary and epistolary culture derives for the first time numerical data concerning literacy rates, language choices, and writing fluency during the two-century span between Pompey's conquest and Hadrian's rule. He explores questions of who could read in these ancient times of Jesus and Hillel, what they read, and how language worked in this complex multi-tongued milieu. Included also is an analysis of the ways these documents were written and the interplay among authors, secretaries, and scribes. Additional analysis provides readers with a detailed picture of the people, families, and lives behind the texts.

Comfort Food explores this concept with examples taken from Atlantic Canadians, Indonesians, the English in Britain, and various ethnic, regional, and religious populations as well as rural and urban residents in the United States. This volume includes studies of particular edibles and the ways in which they comfort or in someinstances cause discomfort. The contributors focus on items ranging from bologna to chocolate, including sweet and savory puddings, fried bread with an egg in the center, dairy products, fried rice, cafeteria fare, sugary fried dough, soul food, and others. Several essays consider comfort food in the context of cookbooks,films, blogs, literature, marketing, and tourism. Of course what heartens one person might put off another, so the collection also includes takes on victuals that prove problematic. All this fare is then related to identity, family, community, nationality, ethnicity, class, sense of place, tradition, stress, health, discomfort, guilt, betrayal, and loss, contributing to and deepening our understanding of comfort food. This book offers a foundation for further appreciation of comfort food. As a subject of study, the comfort food is relevant to a number of disciplines, most obviously food studies, folkloristics, and anthropology, but also American studies, cultural studies, global and international studies, tourism, marketing, and public health. With contributions by: Barbara Banks, Sheila Bock, Susan Eleuterio, Jillian Gould, Phillis Humphries, Michael Owen Jones, Alicia Kristen, William G. Lockwood, Yvonne R. Lockwood, Lucy M. Long, LuAnne Roth, Rachelle H. Saltzman, Charlene Smith, Annie Tucker, and Diane Tye.

IS THE 27 CLUB JUST A MYTH? (No). Is it a curse? (No). But The 27 Club is not what you think. It s more than the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse and others. Using the teachings of the Moon Cycles and C. G. Jung s notion of the puer (the creative person who is always young beyond his years and often dies an early death, physical or emotional) Michael Owen explains what happens to all of us in our mid- to late-twenties. Not a book on astrology, THE 27 CLUB: WHY AGE 27 IS IMPORTANT gives new insights into the timing of crises and opportunities during our twenties and how events and decisions around age 27 can set the trajectory of our lives for the next 27 years. It explains the natural rhythm by which the psyche grows and matures, and looks at what happens when we under- or over-reach ourselves. The book sheds light on other questions: Why does life often take a turn for better or worse around age 27? Why were so many of The 27 Club from the sixties? What does science say about The 27 Club? Is The 27 Club just dead rock stars? What is the psychology of The 27 Club? What do our teens and early 20s have to do with age 27? And read about the other Clubs from 24 to 30. THE 27 CLUB: WHY AGE 27 IS IMPORTANT also explores the wider meanings of the Moon Cycles, a measure of time based on the length of human pregnancy, and the importance of the 9 month, 3 year (Little Moon) and 27 year (Big Moon) cycles. This calendar is applicable to all important events (the birth, growth and death of anything a life, a business, a relationship) and the ripples in time that it sends out. And read about the fascinating link between the 27 year cycle and 9/11. Michael Owen is a clinical psychologist in private practice and author of Jung and the Native American Moon Cycles and The Maya Book of Life: Understanding the Xultun Tarot. He lives in Aotearoa/New Zealand. www.kahurangi-press.com www.27-club.net www.xultun.com

In Frankenstein Was a Vegetarian: Essays on Food Choice, Identity, and Symbolism, Michael Owen Jones tackles topics often overlooked in foodways. At the outset he notes it was Victor Frankenstein's "daemon" in Mary Shelley's novel that advocated vegetarianism, not the scientist whose name has long been attributed to his creature. Jones explains how we communicate through what we eat, the connection between food choice and who we are or want to appear to be, the ways that many of us self-medicate moods with foods, and the nature of disgust. He presents fascinating case studies of religious bigotry and political machinations triggered by rumored bans on pork, the last meal requests of prisoners about to be executed, and the Utopian vision of Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of England's greatest poets, that was based on a vegetable diet like the creature's meals in Frankenstein. Jones also scrutinizes how food is used and abused on the campaign trail, how gender issues arise when food meets politics, and how eating preferences reflect the personalities and values of politicians, one of whom was elected president and then impeached twice. Throughout the book, Jones deals with food as symbol as well as analyzes the link between food choice and multiple identities. Aesthetics, morality, and politics likewise loom large in his inquiries. In the final two chapters, Jones applies these concepts to overhauling penal policies and practices that make food part of the pains of imprisonment, and looks at transforming the counseling of diabetes patients, who number in the millions.