A critical examination of how pleasure and pain are constructed, represented, and contested within American public culture.Mainstream news and social media often highlight presentations of pain that invite a voyeuristic, pleasurable experience, whether the result of war, disasters, crime, accidents, or other catastrophes. This collection of essays explores pleasurable pains and painful pleasures, showing how they pervade contemporary western public culture...

This is about how a simple change in jobs changed my whole life forever. I thought I had it made, but unbeknownst to me, my life was about to change and my journey had only just begun. Oh, there were plenty of ups and downs in my life, but I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did in a place I thought I would never have gone. Funny how things work out--after all, a love story has its beginnings, a middle, and an end. You just never know where life will take you.

Who are the monsters? As a giant struggles to raise his young family, he comes into contact with ultra-religious pioneers dreaming to establish their own utopia. Go into the giant's cave and discover how he lives, how he and his kind have kept themselves hidden for centuries, how they propagate and exist in a shrinking world. Unfortunately, when a conflict between man and giant becomes unavoidable, the outcome is fairly easy to predict.In this Dark Fable, elements of environmentali...

“I want to tell you a strange story.  I, Esa Salmi, as barber-surgeon to the House of Taivas, ruling family of Valea, the City of Light, am privy to many remarkable, amusing, disturbing, and, at times, horrific secrets…” Thus begins `The Rise and Fall Of the Faerie King’, a tale of two curses, a demon changeling, two Queens, three Kings, a deformed Monk, an old hag, a horny fawn and a simpleton named Mika.  As these unlikely characters whisper their ill-wi...

The King broods upon a throne he does not want, ruling over a shattered Empire that he despises. Astride a dragon he conquered great cities, following a river of iron that flowed from his mountain stronghold. His followers are fanatics, murderers and cannibals, yet he feels more akin to these freed slaves than he does to their former masters. `Eat the rich!' was screamed through the city streets as his deranged minions tore down the gates.All to kill one man.But on...

Many people assume that good communicators possess an intrinsic talent for speaking and listening to others, a gift that can’t be learned or improved. The reality is that communication skills are developed with deliberate effort and practice, and learning to understand others and communicate your ideas more clearly will improve every facet of your life.Messages has already helped thousands of people build communication skills and cultivate better relationships with friends...