Bøger af Rick Smith

Hard Landing is the second volume of poetry by Rick Smith, published by Lummox Press. In a sense, it is the story of life as told by the Wren, but not necessarily wren as a small defenseless bird, but more as wren as metaphor. As you read these poems, you may begin to see yourself or someone you know in them.

Rick Smith's two previous books dealt with the diminutive Wren...wren as metaphor, wren as symbol for our own frailties and neuroses. Wren was a delicate bird that must be handled with care. But now, it's a new game and Smith comes out swinging! The gloves are off and he takes on the human condition in a "no-holds-barred" re-match that has been years in the making. In "Whispering in a Mad Dog's Ear", Smith shows that he isn't just a one trick pony. He writes about things that are near and dear, about harmonica players and having the blues, about drug addiction, about old lovers and adventures, about psych wards, about madness and redemption, about love and loss; in short, he writes eloquently about the wonders and horrors of life. Take for example, the poem entitled SWANS: Sure, there are swans, silver swans, coupling swans, swans so ominous they remind us of something pre-natal when we were tiny and subject to the counter-clockwise thrill of conception and likewise to the troubling possibilities of gravity. Swans on Silver Lake near where a body was found floating, a hollow swan on our bureau, once filled with cuff links, rings and small change. A pond near the house on the cape where one swan bedazzles herself in early Spring three years running. We watch from distance, counting the times reflection has failed us. There is a haunting beauty here, a suggestibility that doesn't need to go into detail because we already know instinctively what's going on. Such is the poetry of Rick Smith.

Growing up in a town run by organized crime, with a father involved in organized crime, "the life" was all Sal ever knew. Well, that, plus what he learned watching '80s sitcoms and movies. But sometimes life throws changes at you that force you to reexamine who you really are and what you want out of life. Can Sal adjust to a new life hiding out in the suburbs, wearing polo shirts, discussing 401Ks, and fighting battles against suburban moms and neighborhood kids? Or will he go back to his old criminal ways, inflicting pain and blowing his cover?

"Beyond Promises" is a memoir of sorts by Ron Corbett, who became the youngest speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives and who now is finishing up his eighth year as mayor of Iowa's second largest city, Cedar Rapids. In the late 1990s, Corbett was considered a possible Republican candidate for Congress or governor. Then he surprised many and resigned from the Legislature so he wouldn't have to spend so much time away from home and his growing family. He headed the local Chamber of Commerce for six years, a period in which he led a community campaign to rebuild schools, another to redevelop the Cedar Rapids riverfront and a third that brought professional management to Cedar Rapids city government. Corbett's tenure as Cedar Rapids mayor coincided with the city's recovery from a devastating flood in 2008, the costliest natural disaster in Iowa history. Can someone who was a leading Republican voice in much of Iowa reclaim statewide prominence and be elected governor? In 2017, that's the elephant in the room-the unstated question lingering in the backdrop of "Beyond Promises." This book is Corbett's first-person account of where he came from and what shaped him, as well as a chronicle of doing, not simply promising.

ONE MORE WOULDN'T HURTBy Rick SmithA Novel of Booze, Birds and Getting Banged upTommy Bradman is on the downward spiral of alcoholism. In his mid-twenties, he is treacherously good looking, a compulsive womaniser and a criminal. The one constant in his life is Val, his long suffering girlfriend, who loves him with a passion, but knows she must eventually leave him. One More Wouldn't Hurt is a story of their struggle, and of those close to them. It is a hard hitting, rollicking novel of life in the raw. ExtractEastchurch, hut number two, Sunderland wing. It was an aerodrome during the war years: part of coastal command, according to Mr Newman: an amiable screw with a badly pock-marked face whose nickname was maggot. Like lots of small airfields constructed in desperate times it had gone downhill. Been forgotten. Fallen into disrepair, until some bright spark in Whitehall decided it would make an ideal open prison being miles from anywhere on the bleak, flat, Isle of Sheppey.Tommy had been there before in Seventy-Five, doing half a stretch: six months, for burglary.The place was a doddle in the summer, a right f****ng holiday camp, and he got the tan of his life during that never forgotten heat wave.However, it wasn't that clever in the winter: especially in the never ending Seventy-Nine winter. Talk about Arctic exploration. To stick your head under a tap of freezing water. Have a piss, or clean your teeth in a windowless, windswept, washroom-come-s**thouse, you had to cover a hundred yards of ice and slush in worn, rubber soled shoes.Not much fun at half seven in the morning, with a force eight gale blowing of the North Sea...

Every year Cloud Kingdom Games puts up a series of riddles at the GenCon game convention to taunt, tease and challenge attendees - and to test riddles for future riddle and puzzle books. Those who solve a riddle earn the right to wear the coveted RiddleMaster tag on their badge. This book contains the 30 riddles from the 2008 convention together with hints, answers and explanations. Even if you couldn't make it to the convention, you too can see if you would have been a RiddleMaster.

You can practically hear the twang of steel guitars and fiddle strings as the Lunkleys risk everything to build Charlie's Landing. Along the way the boys endure alligator attacks; jealous husbands; real estate developers who look like Adolf Hitler; Eminent Domain; has-been Nashville divas; bloody bar fights; tornadoes; schoolyard bullies; and each other. Anyone who has ever dreamed bigger than the pot they have to piss in will love this story. "Life ain't always what you want, but it is always what you get." - Connie Lunkley

The landmark book about the toxicity of everyday life, updated, revised and re-issued for its 10th anniversary, along with the experiments from Smith and Lourie's second book, Toxin Toxout.It's amazing how little can change in a decade. In 2009, a book transformed the way we see our frying pans, thermometers and tuna sandwiches. Daily life was bathing us in countless toxins that accumulated in our tissues, were passed on to our children and damaged our health. To expose the extent of this toxification, environmentalists Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie offered themselves to science and undertook a series of over a dozen experiments to briefly raise their personal levels of mercury, BPA, Teflon and other pollutants. The ease with which ordinary activities caused dangerous levels to build in their bodies was a wake-up call, and readers all over the world responded. But did government regulators and corporations? Ten years later, there is good news. But not much. Concise, shocking, practical and hopeful, this new combined edition of one of the most important books ever published about green living will put the nasty stuff back where it belongs: on the national agenda and out of our bodies.

Award-Winning Fun! This great gift idea is filled goodies galore. Brain boosting puzzles. Interesting information. Inspiring quotes and profound philosophy. Enjoy soul satisfying, mind stretching, heart warming play!The Tao of Sudoku Invites You to Play! Both a profound philosophy and fun puzzle book, The Tao of Sudoku is yoga for the brain that stretches your mind, nourishes your soul and touches your heart.Want continued whole brain health? Enjoy a wonderful way to increase mental skills and boost creativity! Spiritually inclined? Dive in to a delightful personal growth opportunity! Math phobia? Fix it now! Love Sudoku already? Find entertainment and magic here! The Tao of Sudoku dishes up fascinating facts, enlightening insights and some surprising benefits of this popular puzzle, providing tasty food for thought. The 100 easy to intermediate puzzles come with an inspiring quote, making every page both a challenge to be solved and a meditation for self-realization. This book can help you: Stay sharp with a more flexible brain Exercise Dharana, a yoga of the mind that enhances concentration Reduce the risk of early onset dementia and Alzheimer's disease Have fun with a purpose!Complete the 100 puzzles inside. In the process, discover that you have also solved more of the puzzle that is YOU

A great gift idea! Fun puzzles. Brain boosting playfulness. Secret messages to decode. Profound philosophy. Mystical, magical mindfulness meditations. Goodies galore for the reader to enjoy.The Word Search Sage Invites You to Play! Featuring Ingrid Coffin's soul satisfying Meta-Thought(R) messages, these 60 easy to advanced puzzles make every page both a challenge to be solved and a meditation for self-realization. It gets even better. Once all words are found, a hidden message is revealed; a powerful truth to affirm the reading. Plus, find fascinating facts and enlightening insights inside, providing tasty food for thought. Who would have thought that practicing mental yoga, boosting creativity and empowering personal mastery could be so much fun? This book can help you: Stay sharp with a more flexible brain Master the magical and mystical elements of life Reduce the risk of early onset dementia and Alzheimer's disease Have fun with a purpose! Complete the 60 puzzles inside! In the process, discover that you have also solved more of the puzzle that is YOU!

A great gift idea filled with goodies galore for the reader to enjoy! Excellent puzzles. Secret messages. Brain boosting fun. Interesting information. Meaningful mindfulness mini meditations. The award-winning Word Search Oracle invites you to play! Both a profound philosophy and fun puzzle book, The Word Search Oracle is yoga for the brain(TM) that stretches your mind, nourishes your soul and touches your heart. Featuring Darity Wesley's inspirational Oracle messages, these 60 easy to advanced puzzles make every page both a challenge to be solved and a meditation for self-realization. It gets even better. Once all words are found, a hidden message is revealed; a powerful mantra to affirm the Oracle reading. Plus, find fascinating facts and enlightening insights inside, providing tasty food for thought. Who would have thought that practicing mental yoga, boosting creativity and empowering personal mastery could be so much fun? This book can help you: Stay sharp with a more flexible brain Make your life better now through the power of positive affirmation Reduce the risk of early onset dementia and Alzheimer's disease Have fun with a purpose! Complete the 60 puzzles inside. In the process, discover that you have also solved more of the puzzle that is YOU!

Get Real with Rick from Rock Bottom Outreach is a very direct and transparent look into God's Word and how it applies daily to your life. This sixty-day devotional lets you journal your thoughts and your emotions on a daily basis, and then you can monitor your spiritual growth as you begin to go back through the sixty-day devotional at a later time. Rick breaks down each day in a way that speaks to all levels of growth. Rick is a former coach, and he speaks to the readers in such a manner that will get anyone pumped and excited for Jesus!