3 comments about Build Your Home Theater In a Weekend.

1. I picked up this book knowing there was no way I could really build a home theater in one weekend. I'm not sure what the authors were thinking naming it this. However, just flipping through it there was such great material I kept wanting to read more. Anyway, the short of it is that it took me about a month to really research my home theater and do it right, but this book was an excellent guide along the way. The authors do a great job giving you advice on how to build a home theater which can scale. Something you can enjoy now, but upgrade later without replacing the entire system. I'm not sure if my wife likes that idea too much, but she realizes that my toys make me happy. However, to her credit, after I put this set together and put on Armageddon, she was completely blown away by the sound and visual effects. Best thing, the authors tell you how to hide the speakers/components if other parties don't like watching the awesome lights dance.



2. This book is for the begginer. It may be overly simplistic for some people. I found I had to skim over a lot of material but it did answer those areas I was a little vague on. He is very wordy when it comes to how to connect components describing in detail every possible combination. Simple diagrams would have saved reading through a lot of pages. Over all the book delivered on what it promised but I still feel I need to look for something more advanced but for someone just starting this is a good book to start with.



3. Try more like a month! This book overpromises and is written in too confusing a manner to follow. I would have gotten further just reading my electronics manual.

3 comments about Theo Kalomirakis' Private Theaters.

1. In this magnificient book Theo Kalomirakis, the front figure of extravagant home theater gives you an inside view to some of the finest home theaters in the world. The background of mr. Kalomirakis is shortly but concisely explained, as is his enthusiasm for movies and the history of the movie palaces of the golden era. His talent of bringing the dreams of his clients alive in perfect home theaters is delightfully revealed through the glorious pictures and thoughtful descriptions of the individual theatres in the book. Every chapter of the book gives you enough information satisfy your curiosity, but still leaves some details for your imagination. It seems like this book is as carefully crafted symbiose of technology and art as are mr. Kalomirakis' home theaters.

   I recommend this book highly for everyone that is aspiring to achieve the highest level of home entertainment, because the book gives you a lot of ideas. However, this book is not for technology oriented people, because the equipment used for these theatres are not in the forefront, the outlook and the atmosphere of these theatres take the leading roles.




2. I purchased this book to get ideas for our own home theater and of course the ideas in this book are way out of my price range, but the enjoyment of looking at the pictures and the editorial information was great. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to provide enjoyable reading items for visitors or guest. I definitely think this is a coffee table book that many people will enjoy. I personally have had 4 people ask me where they could get a copy of this book.



3. Great book. Lots of ideas. Many could be translated to lower costing projects. How would one get in touch with some of the different designer aspects used, such as the soft scuplter of Lisa Leintfelds (sic)? Have tried everything I could think of. Keep up the wonderful work.

No comments about Home Theater, September 2008 Issue.

5 comments about Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Theater Systems.

1. This book gives a good overview of what it takes to put together a small to medium sized home theater system (big screen TV, A/V receiver, speakers, DVD, HIFI VCR, etc..). The book was published this year so it is pretty up to date on all the latest technologies (HDTV, progressive scan DVD,..) which is important in this rapidly changing field. I think the book goes into just the right level of detail in explaining the different technologies available. If you haven't started looking at getting a system yet you will be astounded by the many brands, systems, options, and devices you have to choose from. This book will help you make the choices intelligently. If you don't read this book and think the salesperson at your local electornics store is going to sell you the system that is right for you then you will probably be disappointed with your purchase. Get this book and be an informed consumer.



2. What an awful guide! Reads like the author was being paid by the word -- it takes him forever to say not much! The basics covered here could be (and are!) communicated better in a 20-page FAQ; just search the web for home theater. And if you were looking for more detailed info than that, you'll be very disappointed in this book. This is one of those books that's going to sell a lot better online, because no one can flip through it and realize it's just too much of not enough!



3. Having decided to plunge anew in the world of TV (now no longer just TV it seems but home cinema), I found the amount of new jargon and abbreviations overwhelming coming from a salesperson. I found this an excellent guide to understanding the basics and getting a firmer idea of what I really needed.



4. It's difficult to up to date on such a fast hanging market, but this book does a very good job.



5. I went out and got Home Theater for Everyone (Harley), Build Your Home Theater in a Weekend (Bruyn/Karabian), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Theater Systems (Miller), Use Your PC to Build An Incredible Home Theater System (Farkas and Govier), and Home Theater for Dummies (Briere and Hurley). (I've posted this review in each of the books).

   There's a clear difference among these books, and approaches. In order, I would get these books:

   1. (tie) Home Theater for Everyone; Home Theater for Dummies. This surprised me. I've heard a lot about Harley's book and it is great. It's getting dated though, and some stuff was simply way over my head for what I'm going to do with my home theater. But it's one of those books you have to read even if you don't understand a lot of it (and mind you, I've got seven computers in my house, a 100Meg LAN, multiple wireless systems, etc...I'm not scared of technical stuff.) It's not so much not understanding it, as much as it is that a lot of it while important to a magazine editor such as Harley, it's not something that you're going to use in putting in your home theater.

   Home Theater for Dummies surprised me. I must say, I found it incredibly well researched, practical, and more homey and less academic than Harley's book. I think the title would keep a lot of the HT mags from reviewing it, thinking it beneath them. And the authors clearly know how to have fun (they have sections on how to create your own drive-in and another on bathroom theater.) They cover home theater PCs and Windows XP Media Center PCs, as well as wireless projectors -- so this is truly up to day at publication time because these are relatively new things. (Harley's book does not even mention HTPCs and gives relatively small coverage to personal video recorders (PVRs) which HT for Dummies covers well. I'd say just get this book, but no one would believe me.

   3. User Your PC To Build An Incredible Home Theater System. This is a niche book for the techies that like to build their own PCs. Sort of like me :-) I found it knowledgeable and fun, but like I said, you would not buy this book to build a home theater.

   4. The Complete Idiots Guide to Home Theater Systems. I liked this book's coverage of budgets and little facts in the book. However there was nothing on HTPCs, the pricing is already dated, and there was nothing in it not covered in Home Theater for Dummies. So if I have to choose between being a Dummy or an Idiot, I'd say I'm a Dummy.

   5. Build Your Home Theater In A Weekend. This was basically a waste of money. It was a nice effort, but outclassed by the competition above. It's not worth a longer review.

   If you are looking to put a home theater in your home, I'd recommend Harley and Briere/Hurley. Briere/Hurley also wrote Smart Homes for Dummies which they referenced in the HT book -- I'm getting that now, because it basically tells me how to extend my home theater all over the house. Since I spent a lot of money on my home theater, I'm betting, based on HT4Dummies, that their book is worth the price.

   My two cents.

3 comments about Dick Smith's Do It Yourself Monster Make-Up.

1. Dick Smith's book is an excellent primer for amateur, aspiring f/x make-up artists and a handy guide for those who are experienced. His techniques are simple, inexpensive and timeless yet with the knowledge Mr. Smith provides you can achieve excellent results. This book really needs to come back into print! From simple highlighting and shading to making your own stage blood, this is a must-have guide to keep with your f/x makeup case. I would recommend anyone interested in learning f/x makeup to try to locate a copy of this excellent manual.



2. The VHS tape and book I bought 18 years ago and my life changed forever. I moved away from makeup fx soon after, but if it weren't for this and Tom Savini's excellent Grande Illusions book and VHS tape, I wouldn't be a filmmaker today. If you want to learn how to do affordable makeup FX, this is the book for you!



3. Just got this book and have been pouring over it; the make up techniques are simple, yet very effective, anyone from a mother who wants her child to be the head Halloween ghoul, to Jr. film makers will find something inside.
   
   Not only are the instructions easy to follow, but, they encourage you to come up with your own twists to the illustrations inside. You will slap yourself numerous times thinking "So easy! Why did I not think of that!" I will echo others in saying this book ought to be back in print again, and on every monster maker's book shelf.

4 comments about The Savvy Guide To Home Theater.

1. The star is for the title, which remains the best thing about the book.
   
   From cornball to overblown hype, the information is far from savvy. This is a rip-off of previously published and more helpful guides.



2. I had been considering setting up my own home theater over the last year, and with HDTV, Plasma Screens, Dolby Digital Surround sound, and a slew of other items I didn't really understand, I was prepared to listen to the salesguys sell me 'Exactly what you need'.
   
   Luckily for me, my wife picked up this book. It's an easy read, but has all the content necessary to make good decisions about what to buy, where to put components, and what sort of items are really right for the room I was using.
   
   This book saved me several hundred dollars in oversold components I didn't need, and our friends all agree, it looks GREAT!
   
   If you're looking to build your own theater, or even upgrade the theater you already have, and don't want to pay an expert to do it for you, this book is for you.



3. Easy to read, simple to understand, very helpful. This book was exactly what we needed as we update our home equipment. Provided very good direction on choosing new components. Useful diagrams in planning and setting up our new equipment, too.



4. It used to be that home entertainment was so simple. You went to the store and bought a TV set, where the only choices had to do with how big a tube and how fancy a cabinet. Not any more.
   
   This book is intended to make sense out of the techno-babble that the salesman is going to give you about modern day equipment. Even the words are changing. HDTV, aspect ratio, LCD and many such terms are thrown about by the salesmen, who may have only a slight hint as to what they mean but whom will try to make you look stupid by throwing them out.
   
   This book covers the current and soon to be technologies to tell you what is important and what is not when you are putting out your hard earned money. It covers the technology in a very general way, explaining what is possible, not the gritty details of how everything works. The book is generally speaking not brand specific. It talks about the general capabilities, not specific brands and models, most of which would be discontinued before you could find one.
   
   This is a very helpful little book.

5 comments about The Shakespeare Stealer.

1. 
   This novel for young teens and its sequels follow the adventures in theatre and language of a boy named Widge. Those readers with an interest in theater, history, weaponry, England or linguistics will find this especially interesting. The names of streets and buildings will be familiar to those who have read other novels of London. Though some events are harsh, I found this quite appropriate for my son to read. Those who enjoyed reading this story of a boy in theatre might also like reading the similar adventures of a girl in choir in the historical novel A Murder for Her Majesty by Alice Hilgartner. The Shakespeare Stealer is recommended.
   
   This is the first of a series that includes Shakespeare's Scribe and Shakespeare's Spy. All three are in the single-volume hardcover The Shakespeare Stealer Series. The series should be read in order. The Shakespeare Stealer is a complete novel and does not leave you hanging while you scramble to find the sequel.



2. This novel is a terrific example of historical fiction. The author blends true and fictional elements in a stirring and adventure filled story. The author ingeniously uses the spelling and language usage of the time to lend credibility to the characters and the setting. The characters presented are round and dynamic. The protagonist, Widge, undergoes the maturation of a typical adolescent attempting to form his or her identity. Other characters develop in their own way, each with their own distinct personality and desires. The author places authentic historical characters as well, Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth. These characters are also historically accurate. The queen's white make up and Shakespeare's personal tragedies are described precisely. The main conflict is an internal one, Widge must decide if he should steal the play or remain among his new friends. His predicament mirrors Hamlet's `to be or not to be' dilemma. This struggle is universal and relevant to modern day readers. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in the time period, Shakespeare, theater or an exciting, well-told story. Another high point of this book is the use of humor, both lowbrow slapstick and highbrow allusions and word play. The themes of choosing right from wrong, finding your identity, racism and gender issues are all explored throughout this rich novel. A teacher may use this book as an introduction for the life and times of Shakespeare as well as any of his plays. The Shakespeare Stealer is a highly entertaining and rich look into the past.



3. "The Shakespeare Stealer" is basically a Shakespeare based historical fiction young adult novel. It's light, exciting, and fun.
   
   The story is about an orphan boy who learns to write in a fast, secret code. He is taken from his master to a man and is told that he is to work for this new man with his talent. Widge is told to attend a play by Shakespeare and record every word heard, then return it to his new master, who will in turn sell the rights to the play, earning money that should go to Shakespeare.
   
   Widge encounters difficulties, and ultimately joins forces with the actors. From then on, the story becomes a bit more complicated, but still maintains the simple, fun feel throughout.
   
   There's some action in this book, some excitement, and some interesting historic facts. But on the whole, it's simply a story. The characters aren't nearly as engaging as one would hope, and on the whole the story has its aspects of disbelief and improbability.
   
   An interesting, fun read, but not particularly amazing. Good.



4. My students read this for their literature club at school. It was definitely one of their favorites. Several told me they read the book in one afternoon!



5. To me, the true mark of good juvenile or young-adult fiction is if it can appeal to adult readers as well, and Gary Blackwood's The Shakespeare Stealer most definitely succeeds on that account. The basic plot is familiar enough: poor orphan boy is thrown into circumstances where he has a chance at truly having something of his own for the first time, but not without risks and having to make difficult decisions. But Blackwood does a superb job of giving his characters real depth, which makes the reader genuinely care about them and about what happens to them. The story is told from the point of view of Widge, the orphan boy who ends up by a combination of luck and mishap working with Shakespeare's theatrical company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It is there that he finds both a calling and, for the first time in his young life, friends and a sense of belonging. But he must also deal with the reason he is there: he has been sent to steal Shakespeare's newest play, Hamlet, by a mysterious rival whose hold on Widge is reinforced by threats of what he'll do if Widge should fail.
   
   What Blackwood excels at, though, is showing us, through Widge's eyes, the life of the theatre in Elizabethan England. Blackwood makes it truly come alive, from the moment Widge first passes through the entrance of the Globe Theatre to when he gets unexpectedly involved in the theatrical company itself, learning everything that goes into the production of a play. Blackwood does an excellent job into revealing what goes on behind the scenes, where boys work their way up the ladder from "young hopeful" to "apprentice" to "hired-man", where boys must play the female roles because women are not allowed to be actors, where they are trained in everything from projecting to be heard over the noisy crowds to giving convincing performances in sword-play and death scenes, and the lengths to which theatrical companies went to keep their work from being stolen by competitors. You can see and feel what it was all like and what it means to Widge as he is torn by the choices he is called upon to make.
   
   About the only reason I didn't give the book a full five stars was that while Blackwood's descriptions of theatre life were quite vivid and detailed, he didn't do quite as good a job with details outside of that sphere, particularly when it came to what some of the characters look like and to giving visual detail to how things were in Elizabethan era life in general. I found the beginning a bit slow, but once Widge enters the world of the theatre, the story really does come rapidly into full flower.
   
   Blackwood also does a good job in showing how differently people talked even within Shakespeare's England, with words and phrases marking the speaker as from the city or the country, or from one part of the country or the other. He also does an excellent job at showing how word-play and puns were very much a part of Elizabethan culture, a verbal form of the literal sword-play that was also very much an aspect of the life of the period.
   
   All in all, I found this book a very enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in a good historical or theatrical read that can appeal to readers of any age.

No comments about Drama Activities With Older Adults.

4 comments about Build Your Own Home Theater (Second Edition).

1. Disappointed that there was only 1-2 pages on Front projector Theaters and 1-2 pages on rear projection theaters.



2. This book is very basic and is well outdated by at least 3-4 years. no mention of dvd or dts!! according to the author thx is the breaking revolution??? I purchased the book in hopes of finding a few tips on the design and building of an actual home theater ($15,000 - $25,000). what i got was a boring explanation of dolby pro logic and stereo sound. if you are designing a $1500 system with a $300 dolby surround sound receiver this is the book for you!!!!

   if not keep looking!!!!!!!!!!!




3. The book is well written and the material covered logically organized. However, advances in technology makes this more of a history text than the current "how-to" book that I was looking for. You would never buy this book in a store because you would flip through a few pages and find out that Wolenik talks about DVD in the "future tense". I would buy an updated version -- even for a rank beginner this one is not worth much. OK pictures!



4. This book is all about the systems and equipment, how they work or not together. It does not go into decor of said equipment. No themes or anything like that, just the tecnical mumbo jumbo. It seems to focus on higher end equipment as well and does not give each manufacturer of stereo/audio equipment equal reviews or ratings. Some are just brushed over, barely mentioned. It is a good starter book, but definetly does not cover all aspects of a home theater design.

4 comments about Home Theater Master Guide: From Start to Finish.

1. First of all... let me say that spending $30 on a 80 page book... i expected a little more insight and information that i can't already find by searching the internet... the author builds himself up as an expert in home theater design... and he may very well be... but it doesn't show in this book... the only informative section in the entire book is on room acoustics and speaker placement... which spans about 5 pages... it felt like i was reading a "101" type book and suddenly when i got to speaker placement it turned into a 5 page master's course... i wish the rest of the book could have been written with such detail... my final complaint on this book is the lack of editing if there was any at all other than spell check on microsoft word... There are plenty of grammatical errors throughout the book that could have been spotted by a high school freshman... In conclusion, I am very disapointed with this purchase... paying so much for so little and being annoyed by unedited writing is not worth your time...



2. Anyone can bill themselves as being "an expert" without much proof to back up the claim. This book could have been written by anyone who has ever bought a HTIB or hung out at a Best Buy store. Lacking in detail, references, new to market technologies, sources for each level of equipment, pricing averages, etc. etc. etc. It appears as though this is a self-published book with very little meat. NOT a good or even decent source.



3. Having been involved with home theaters for many years, I must say that the author obviously has a lot of experience based on his discussions of acoustics and room design. While other reviewers appear to be looking for more, I feel that this text covers it all - from room design to programming remotes to speakers placement and troubleshooting electronic "gremlins" in your system. I very good book for anyone looking to take their home theater to the next level of performance.



4. I purchased this from Barnes & Noble sight unseen. After receiving it I was very disappointed.