Natalie had to live most of her life under her mothers controlling and influence, except for a brief term at the University which was full of new experiences. She now lives through a tepid marriage with her husband Pet in an upscale suburban neighborhood on a round, boring street. All that comes to an end when Victoria moves in to the neighborhood. Victoria is a beautiful, sophisticated and a wealthy mother of two who is now in a relationship with a jealous and protective man, once her best friend. Victoria’s presence starts shaking up Natalie’s suburban flat-linings and really stirs up foreign feelings in side her. Gradually her fleeting crush develops into something much deeper and more profound, which leads the two women to abandon everything they have come to know and accept for a love and passion so strong that it will change them both to the core.

Reproduction of the original.

To what extent can music be employed to shape one culture's understanding of another? In the American imagination, Japan has represented the "most alien" nation for over 150 years. This perceived difference has inspired fantasies--of both desire and repulsion--through which Japanese culture has profoundly impacted the arts and industry of the U.S. While the influence of Japan on American and European painting, architecture, design, theater, and literature has been celebrated in numerous books and exhibitions, the role of music has been virtually ignored until now. W. Anthony Sheppard's Extreme Exoticism offers a detailed documentation and wide-ranging investigation of music's role in shaping American perceptions of the Japanese, the influence of Japanese music on American composers, and the place of Japanese Americans in American musical life. Presenting numerous American encounters with and representations of Japanese music and Japan, this book reveals how music functions in exotic representation across a variety of genres and media, and how Japanese music has at various times served as a sign of modernist experimentation, a sounding board for defining American music, and a tool for reshaping conceptions of race and gender. From the Tin Pan Alley songs of the Russo-Japanese war period to Weezer's Pinkerton album, music has continued to inscribe Japan as the land of extreme exoticism.

Apotheosis of My Butterfly embraces death and renewal, leavened with humorous and insightful repartee about art, nature, and creativity. As Edouard and Melissa develop their butterfly garden they fight to maintain their marriage against internal doubt and external forces. Physical needs and medical treatment of amputees, sexuality, grief, and death, are described frankly. Managed care malfeasance foreshadows a dramatic medical malpractice settlement. Indictment of the medical and legal professions is pointed, and serves as both caution and support to readers undergoing similar struggles. Poignantly Apotheosis of My Butterfly portrays marriage and life celebration through work, determination, art and love.

This inspiring and compelling narrative weaves together stories of sixty successful women from all walks of life and throughout the world. The author spent several years in eight countries interviewing dynamic female role models: businesswomen, CEOs, a Congresswoman, a governor, an ex-Prime Minister, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a winemaker, artists, doctors, nurses, and many others. The author calls these women "Iron Butterflies" because they meld a will of iron with the gentle, nurturing touch of a butterfly. With disarming candor, these women talk about their struggles, their fallibilities, and their strengths in the journey to the top of their professions. Forging their leadership from an amalgam of masculine and feminine skills, all of these Iron Butterflies have transformed themselves and in doing so they are contributing to a larger social transformation. A key to this personal and social transformation rests in their ability to address vulnerability in themselves and those around them, and transform it into a crucible of healing, growth, and innovation. Knowing how to deal with vulnerability, in ourselves and with others, evokes feminine skills and values and is a key to the societal change so many are seeking. Critiquing the command-and-control style of leadership, derived from the gladiator concept of male invulnerability, the author convincingly demonstrates how traditional feminine skills and values—such as inclusion, empathy, a holistic perspective, relational skills, and emotional strength—can be applied to empower more people than ever before. Like the sixty Iron Butterflies profiled, leaders in the 21st century will paradoxically embrace vulnerability and durability, creating better working and living relationships for us all.

"A Journey to Self Love" is a memoir to a path from self-hatred to a path of self love. Readers will experience with Armetria a journey through their hardships that they don't have to be endowed with guilt and shame or burdened by their past experiences but utilize these experiences as stepping stones to a path towards a life of love and affirmation. By showing the readers how she picked up the pieces in her own life, Armetria shares how to use the broken pieces to create a beautiful masterpiece.

Lyricism A Butterlfy's Bluze is poetic prose that encompasses the blossoming spirit of a woman in her early thirties experiencing variating experiences in love, life and personal growth.