I upgraded to this program assuming that the new roof tools and better wall angles would allow me to design the simple modern concrete home with loft that I was interested in creating. NOT SO, especially in terms of the roof option. Try designing a simple A-frame like structure and the roof wizard continually creates a roof with 4 surfaces instead of two..And where did all the furniture and ability to create fences and patio's with a click go? They were in the earlier version. This one is actually stripped down for more money!

About the only thing that is better is the ability to scan in a floor plan....but why do that when the program keeps adding the same boring roof line. There is also no way to design a round room, something I really wanted and I shudder to think what the program would do with the roof if you could.

This is just another themed deck that adds nothing special to the Rider Waite family of imagery. Yes the pictures have an Eastern flaire...the insights pretty much stop there.

When I got it home I expected great things. Yes the romance was touching in some ways but as another reader said, it was hard to follow. I think it was more than just the subtitles. You may have to be Japanesse to really understand this one.

This DVD claims to be a 10th anniversary edition. I was really excited to hear what Tim Burton and Danny Elfman had to say in their interviews...problem??? Press either and you are wisked back to the openning menu. In other words "they don't work". I tried to view them on a Sony progressive scan DVD that is no more than a year old and then on my Dell computer. Both could play the movie, which is a real gem, but not the interviews. If the movie weren't so good I'd probably send it back as this is annoying...But hey, its a really cool film.

Edward should be required viewing for children, it says so much about how quickly people can adobpt a gang mentality and stop thinking for themselves and it does it in a humorous way. Great movie for anyone whose ever been the "odd man, woman, boy or girl out."

Some readers seem concerned with the gramatical errors in this book. Frankly, if you need to hear the words it has to say, you probably won't notice a typo or two and it is far from unreadable! As to the author's Narcissism, I have read several books, "Trapped in the Mirror" is one, written by authors who were obviously too close to the subject to do more than talk endlessly about THEIR issues. This isn't that kind of book.

I just sent my copy to my sister who called saying how ashamed she felt to be relieved that my elderly parent's visit to her home had come to an end. When they walked out the door she was suddenly able to feel "real" again. What she felt was the overwhelming sense of fatigue, anger and hurt that had been bottled up for days during their visit. She wanted to know why they had to be so horrible and felt that there must be a way to "change" their behavior.

This book doesn't help you to change your parent's behavior. It does help you to understand the complex mechanisms that make them to do what they do. More importantly it addresses their affect on you and how you can work to change the feelings and dysfunctional life strategies their have caused you to adopt.

Please excuse the typos. I don't have an editor either!

I listned to this disk at a local record store and was becoming mesmerized by the beautiful voice until the word "God" made me realize what I was about to buy. Just what we need, another beautiful songwriter who turns her talents away from the very real lives and feelings of living, breathing, people.

Eichelmann was on an island off the Spanish coast when he began work on this deck and the brilliant colors and folk art approach speak well of fantasy islands and the bold spirit of Spain. As an American I found the images reminded me instantly of the art and literature of Mexico. Like some Magic Realist version of the mystic realm they unfold with playful images dancing before tapestries of richly patterned fabric.

Physically the deck is roughly 3X4 inches, making it easy to hold even for small hands but large enough to show detail. The coating on the cards is adequate though not as smooth and resilient as some. Perhaps this owes to the fact that the deck is printed in China. I have found that decks printed in Belgium are often superior, but there is a trend toward lighter cards with cheaper coatings almost everywhere. Decks put out by a variety of companies lack their former durability. While this doesn't affect their usefulness to the casual reader it is a consideration for the collector or professional reader.

Reading with the cards is sheer delight if you respond intuitively to rich color. The minor cards display the suit on a hanging tapestry while traditional Rider imagery is shown as if it were a small stage play taking place at the base. The scenes remind me of the traveling miracle plays that roamed Europe in the middle ages.

In addition to this theatrical feeling, the minors are often visted by a variety of brilliant icons that express the energy of the cards and give them a feeling of movement. I especially liked the red birds on the five which is a card that can indicate stagnation. They seem to take you with them as they fly in unified formation. Something is lost to the hooded figure, but already he is directing his energy toward a solution.

Like the birds, water and vegetative symbols run through the cards, reinforcing the feeling that we are looking at a form of Folk Art still attached to the natural world. Even when the symbols act out the basic meaing of the Rider symbolism, vibrant colors and additonal icons take them to a new level. This is evident in the Seven of Wands, a card that usually shows a man on a hill actively and easily fending off anyone who challenges him. In the New Century, tiger-like monsters replace the imagined foes which aren't shown in the Rider. The vibrant red tapestry shares its color with the monsters and we can feel the "heat" of the interchange even though it commands much less space on the cards than the Rider image consumes.

The court Cards are well done though less inspired than the Major and Minor cards. Here much of the traditional symbolism is missing and there is little added to make up for it. This is a common issue with many decks. It seems to stem from the fact that the court cards often come to be associated with people we know and are void of circumstance. I find that some artists feel a strong attraction to the characters in the court while others tend to be constrained by these archetypes. That often results in less "original" interpretations. My favorite of the court is the Page of Swords who comes across as rather vain, leaning casually on his sword as we watches the world through a deceptive mask.The artist is obviously someone who has firsthand knowledge of how nasty this little character can be!!

The real artistry in this deck lies in the Majors. Every one is vibrantly beautiful. Here the natural world comes alive as if dancing a sacred jig before the Lords of the Universe. The faces on most of the cards are small, while their huge flowing garments play out the energy of the concept. Elementals of every description accompany this high court with the Hermit being dogged by a small red dragon in much the same way that the Fool is nipped at by his dog. Though no meaning is given for the "visitor" he invites the intuition to name him and wonder what worldly temptation the Hermit is trying to rid himself of. Each card has a season suggested by a row of distant trees that change foliage from card to card and each, like the minors, acts upon a "stage". But the majors are sole performers and their size, complexity and backdrops of numerous tapestries set them apart. While I hope card makers rethink their cost cutting measures in producing these decks, I would not hesitate to recommend this one, especially to anyone who enjoys the art and colors of the Latin world.

I saw this book in hardback and thought it looked good so I waited for the paperback edition with high hopes. BOY WAS I DISAPPOINTED. This is the WORST book I have ever read. It doesn't even get vaguely exciting until around page 660 and its 780 pages long. What was this writer thinking? The book talks a lot about how time can be expanded or collapsed, well the characters in this novel sure do know how to expand it, ad nausuem.

The main character is supposed to be a psychologist who works in a hospital, however, she never really works. Her idea of work is dashing around from patient to patient asking the same questions over and over again, and finding out very little of interest for literally hundreds of pages. If that isn't bad enough, she is pursued by a one dimensional character called Mr. Mandrake who as an author of New Age books has been given free reign to endlessly page the staff and harrass the patients for information. To make matters worse, the Doctor runs from this man for the whole story, literally hiding and changing her plans continually in order to avoid....what???? telling him off? Aren't psychologists supposed to have superior confrontational skills? She doesn't even have a working knowledge of Alzheimers and seems to know way more about brain physiology than psychology.

Not one relationship in this book is beleivable or satisfying. Characters interact ONLY through their need to give or get information. They announce their concern for each other rather than showing it and then there are the endless trite comments about capturing a cute doctor...That forms the core of the psychologists relationship with her best friend...Give me a break!

The decisions characters make and the actions they take are equally mysterious and inexplicable. Apparently this author didn't have time for foreshadowing. As I said...time is greatly expanded but not by character development or even significant plot advancement. You live in the main character's head and are treated to literally every event in her day....no matter how boring. One dimensional patients abound and their monologs become so predictable that you turn the page the minute you see their tag line.

If that isn't bad enough there are endless descriptions of how maze-like the hospital is, page after page of hallways, wet paint, catwalks, short cuts and elevators.

The worst part of the experience is getting to the end and going...HUH?

I got this book to go along with a Tibetan Astrology computer program sold by Matrix Astrology Software. The software doesn't have a manual but from what I can tell produces accurate computations. The book has some bugs in computation. Put the two of them together for the best of both worlds

While the author's background sounds impressive and an illustrated book is provided, the information provided in this set lacks both depth and usefullness as an oracle.

Ever go into the kids department and look at one of those picture books on a country??? They have pictures of mummies and pyramids and lots of surface level info on belief systems...That is what you get in this "oracle".

The book has lots of pictures and short insubstantial bits of information on everything BUT how to use the oracle. It jumps from one topic to the next without ever dealing with this. There is a page with a few words on magic, a brief paragraph or two with pictures describing the Gods and some other various and sundry pages on healing, the Rosetta Stone, Hermes, Ankhs and general info on Eqyptian culture and beliefs. But where is the "oracle" that tells the future? Nowhere to be found.

As best I can figure (there are no clear instructions), you are supposed to carry around or somehow make use of the picture cards of the Gods to produce the results ruled by them in your life. They are like props for your own version of Egyptian magic. The other cards which give short, not very usefull pronouncements such as "don't leave home," are even more of a mystery. They seem to have something to do with the small...double sided calendar, but exactly what is not clear...And does the Egyptian calendar which has been transposed to ours even account for the shift in the stars over the last 2000 years?? We aren't told. The equinox points are noted but then any wiccan calendar will give you that and much more.

Aside from that the Ankh included is ... almost weightless and not anything you would want to wear. The box however is very substantial. Nice heavy box...