Puzzles & Spiele

The Emmy-nominated host of Netflix's Queer Eye follows up his New York Times-bestselling memoir, Over The Top, with this collection of thought-provoking essays on grief and healing, cannabis reform, LGBTQIA+ rights, imposter syndrome, personal style, the HIV safety net, and of, course, how to make your hairdresser love you.In his New York Times-bestselling memoir Over the Top, Jonathan van Ness showed readers how the incredibly difficult moments from his life (surviving sexual abuse and addiction, being diagnosed with HIV) have existed alongside great joy and positivity (landing a breakout role on Netflix's Queer Eye, becoming an amateur figure skater and professional standup comedian, doting on his five cats).If Jonathan learned anything from the painful life experiences, it's that in order to thrive, he needed to push past the shame and fear of being his true self, which meant getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. In this candid and curious essay collection, he takes a thoughtful, in-depth look at today's hot-button issues, viewed through the lens of his personal experience. From the evolution of his signature style to an investigative report on the queer history of his hometown, Jonathan reflects on his life and how he has learned to embrace change?doing the work to challenge internalized beliefs, finding compassion and confidence, and learning more about what makes us all so messy and gorgeous.Balancing the dark and the light, the serious and the madcap, these essays allow us to examine our individual assumptions, expand our horizons, and give ourselves permission to be the flawed and fabulous humans we are.

As an adult, I have always collected Jamaican proverbs from as far back as I can remember, and I thought it was time to issue a book of my collection but with a twist. My book is titled, A Collection of Animal-Inspired Jamaican Proverbs and Social Commentary, Infused with Songs and Artists. Of course, the twist is that it requires readers to fill in the animal blanks while enjoying a trip down memory lane with Jamaican songs related to the proverbs along with the name of the artist. The trip down memory lane for me was less challenging than it could have been because of my love for listening to old reggae music and I have a spouse in the reggae musical fraternity. Herma: I have a fascination with any utterance or literary device that requires some "working out" to get the full understanding or deeper meaning in the message being conveyed. Metaphors, fables, and apologies fall into this category, but proverbs are a favorite because they are shorter and often more striking in its effect. A proverb can sum up a situation so succinctly and so effectively, that no lengthy explanations or discourse is necessary. It is no wonder then that proverbs have been used in popular songs in Jamaica and other islands in the Caribbean. If however you also know your Jamaican songs from mento days to ska, rocksteady, and now reggae and all its many forms, you will do not just ok, but great. Let me not stop here. If you know the artists who recorded the songs, you will be in the best position to excel at this game! You might be curious as to why we focused the book on animal proverbs only. My interest grew out of working on my 20-plus children's book series Also, we as a collaborative always had an interest in proverbs as evidenced by two proverb-inspired social commentary books honoring the Pioneers' Reggae Group for dedicating 50 years to the Jamaican musical fraternity. The books are entitled: First Book of Proverbs and Social Commentary in and of the Songs and Second Book of Proverbs and Social Commentary in and of the Songs. In these two publications, not only did we expound on the Pioneers' songs embedded with proverbs; but we also added related proverbs based on the context of the songs. You can see readers, we managed to combine the two efforts, proverbs and music, into this one activity to confound your mind and get you going crazy in figuring out these puzzles. Enough of the chatter! Let's get this ball rolling and start those blanks-a-filling.

Zwischen Cremetöpfchen und Fettnäpfchen  Die wirklich ganze Wahrheit über die lustigste Frau Sachsens  Katrin Weber ist einer der hellsten Sterne am sächsischen Kabaretthimmel. Zusammen mit Bestsellerautor Stefan Schwarz plaudert sie aus ihrem Leben zwischen den Gipfeln und Abgründen des Bühnenlebens - größtenteils ehrlich und umwerfend komisch. Sie werden lachen. Garantiert.  »Katrin Weber ist auf der Bühne eine Diva, die blitzschnell in die Komik kippen kann. Eben ist sie noch eine Frau, die sich total daneben benimmt, und schon glänzt sie als Grande Dame. Ich habe noch nie mit jemandem so viel gelacht wie mit ihr.« Bernd-Lutz Lange  »Herrlich komisch und höchst spannend.« Das Magazin

Gemeinsam mit seinem langjährigen Trainer Matthias Krallmann schildert GM Matthias Blübaum seinen Weg von der frühen Jugendzeit bis zum Europameistertitel. Dabei hat er laut eigener Aussage besonders von der ,Prinzengruppe' des Deutschen Schachbunds profitiert, die 2008 von Bundesnachswuchstrainer IM Bernd Vökler ins Leben gerufen wurde. Bei dieser eigentlich gar nicht so langen Reise eines herausragenden jungen Talents zum deutschen Spitzenspieler wird der Leser nicht nur mitgenommen, sondern er kann ,unterwegs' auch vieles für seine eigene Praxis lernen und bekommt allerlei didaktische Tipps und Kniffe geboten.Zu alldem heißt es im Vorwort von IM Bernd Vökler:"... ein besonderer Clou gelungen. Der Endspiel-Guru, Dr. Karsten Müller, seziert die Endspiele von Matthias Blübaum. Ein doppelter Genuss für den Leser! - Im nächsten Abschnitt wird dann Einblick in die Schatzkammer eines jeden Großmeisters gewährt - nämlich in sein Eröffnungs-Repertoire. Matthias Krallmann merkt an, dass selbst Exweltmeister Khalifman das komplette und in sich geschlossene Repertoire von Matthias Blübaum einst ausdrücklich gelobt hat. - Es folgen kommentierte Partien gegen die Topstars der Szene: Das Kapitel ist zum Zunge schnalzen! - Und zum guten Schluss muss der Leser selbst ran. Der große Taktiktest lädt zum Knobeln und Rechnen ein.Matthias Krallmann und Matthias Blübaum liefern keine leichte Kost! Typisch ostwestfälisch, arbeitsintensiv, anstrengend, ehrlich und gerade - das Portrait des Schacharbeiters, des Schachgroßmeisters, des Schachpraktikers Matthias Blübaum. Der Weg zur Nummer eins in Deutschland ist kein Sprint, sondern ein Marathon!"

Das 1 x 1 ist die Grundlage der Rechenkunst. Nun muss man ja auch im Schach rechnen und dies besonders im Endspiel.Erwarten Sie jedoch nicht von diesem höchst vergnüglichen Buch einen "Stein der Weisen" den es im Schach schon gar nicht geben kann.Die klug getroffene Auswahl der zahlreichen Beispiele, deren Vergleich mit bestimmten Endspielregeln, Analogien in Hülle und Fülle gestalten das Buch ungemein anregend und lehrreich."...Aus solchen Darstellungen lernt der Schachschüler mehr als aus ermüdenden Variantenanhäufungen. Ein Erfahrungssatz, den ich Zeit meines Lebens in eigenen Büchern befolgt habe, deswegen das vorliegende Buch auch von mir geschrieben sein könnte, was es aber leider nicht ist! Wer dieses Buch mit Anteilnahme studiert, der ist im 1 x 1 des Endspiels ein gutes Stück voran gekommen!..." (Kurt Richter)

Chris Bray is the backgammon columnist for The Independent newspaper in London and has been playing and studying the game for over thirty years. In this anthology of his most recent Independent articles he traces the further development of many aspects of the game.Backgammon is changing rapidly and much of it is now played on-line which requires some different skills. In tournament backgammon clocks are becoming the norm which means that a premium is now placed on the ability to analyse accurately at speed. Computers continue to get faster and backgammon-playing programs continue to improve which can only help the average player to improve his game as well.The timeless characters who make up Chris's menagerie continue to paint a vibrant picture of life in the high stakes chouette - the very lifeblood of backgammon. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are also on hand to lend instruction.

The game of backgammon has developed significantly over the last four to five years. It is no coincidence that this development has happened in parallel with the arrival of sophisticated computers. Chris Bray is the backgammon columnist for "The Independent" newspaper in the UK. In this anthology of his Independent articles of the last four years the arrival and influence of the silicon players can be clearly traced. The material covers not only the development of backgammon theory but also looks at the history of the game such as the advent of the doubling cube and some of the more colourful players who have played the game. A menagerie of players such as Barry Bigplay, Nigel Natural and Quentin Quickcube help to paint a graphic picture of life in the high stakes chouette - the very lifeblood of backgammon. Chris's articles are targeted at a broad range of players and everyone from the casual player to the expert will improve their game by studying the couple of hundred positions in this book.

Chris Bray is the backgammon columnist for The Independent and has been playing and studying the game for over thirty years. In this anthology of his most recent Independent articles he traces the further development of many aspects of the game. The game continues to evolve and the last twenty years have seen a period of rapid development in the game. This is largely because of the advent of backgammon computer programs JellyFish, Snowie and, most recently, eXtreme Gammon. Consequently the modern expert player is light years ahead of his 1990s counterpart. The material in this book covers not only the development of backgammon theory but also looks at the history of the game including some of its more famous and colourful players. The timeless characters that make up Chris's menagerie continue to paint a vibrant picture of life in the high stakes chouette. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are also on hand to lend instruction and for this book Jeeves and Wooster have joined the party as well.

Backgammon is the ultimate board game - an action-packed race to the finish with an addictive mix of luck and skill. It is easy to pick up the basics, but this is a game that continually surprises - there's always something new to learn, and the Internet has opened up a whole new world of gaming opportunities.In Backgammon to Win, Chris Bray, backgammon columnist for The Times, reveals tips and tricks needed to help you play the game like a professional, whether you want to make serious money in online tournaments or just play for fun with friends.The 2022 edition has new diagrams, a new font and has corrected some errors in the previous two versions. A couple of chapters have been updated to reflect the changes in the game since the original edition in 2012.

Chris Bray is the backgammon columnist for The Independent newspaper in London. In this anthology he traces the development of on-line play and looks at many other aspects of the game.In the five years since the publication of Chris's last book "What Colour is the Wind?" the spread of broadband connectivity has driven unprecedented growth in backgammon on the Internet. Backgammon playing computer programs, such as Snowie and gnubg, are helping players of all strengths to develop their game.The material in this book covers not only the development of backgammon theory but also looks at the history of the game.Several new players, including the Dowager Duchess, have joined his menagerie to help to paint a graphic picture of life in the high stakes chouette - the very lifeblood of backgammon.Chris's articles are targeted at a broad range of players and everyone from the casual player to the expert will improve their game by studying the diverse positions in this book.