Kevin C Smith

The maniacal Black Tarantula has catapulted the entirety of the West Indies into utmost panic and pandemonium.. Far more demon than mortal, this pirate rogue delights in the torture, persecution and outright slaughter of countless innocents both on land as well at sea. Landlubbers and sailors alike are fraught with harrowing dread and unmitigated apprehension at the mere mention of the degenerate demon's name. Despite the daunting peril of this undertaking, the heroic Captain William Bilge risks everything all in a showdown with the unconscionable lunatic.Captain William Bilge now faces the most daunting challenge of his entire lifetime. He is tasked with facing his most treacherous and deranged adversary, the Black Tarantula, in order to rescue his beloved fianc e from the demon's insidious clutches. To accomplish this formidable and perilous mission, he will need to rely on his well-trained crew, his proven cunning and every trick in his honed arsenal in order to claim victory.Chocked full of captivating and jaunty sailor's yarns and enthralling adventures, the unique and imaginative Bilge Rat Pirate Adventurer series is a must read for every pirate aficionado.Welcome to the Golden Age of Piracy This exceedingly brief but profoundly memorable time span spawned copious well-known reprobates such as Blackbeard, Calico Jack and Black Bart to name but a few. In the majority of instances, these nautical plunderers have been portrayed in both literature and film as noble and gallant adventurers and paladins. These honorable and virtuous representations could not be further from the truth. In reality, pirates were notorious criminals and despicable cowards preying on the weak and helpless as they perpetuated countless acts of savagery and barbarity.

Welcome to the Golden Age of Piracy The Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series paints a vastly different recreation of the raucous and brutal world of pirates. Expunged are the heroic swashbuckling duels amongst rivals, the fictitious histrionics of rescuing damsels in distress and the silver screen's fantasy of marching captured prisoners to their everlasting doom by walking the plank. In absolute contrast, this intriguing and action-packed series furnishes a far more realistic chronicle of pirate lifestyles and behavior.The nautical hero of this series, Echo, is an exceptional lad in all respects. He, with the assistance of three adopted elderly aunts, is further schooled in many valuable arts and skills. Included in this education is crucial knowledge of natural healing, including the use of lethal and dangerous substances such as Belladonna. He utilizes this special knowledge to solve a series of dilemmas and predicaments as they arise. Additionally, when it comes to naval warfare, our hero is schooled by wily sea dogs on the fine art of nautical combat including the essential mastery of ship cannons.At the same time, a vicious and bloodthirsty new pirate threat arises in the form of the dreaded Black Tarantula, whose nefarious reputation and stories of abject cruelty and horror begin to spread throughout the region. Meanwhile, Echo is engaged in a battle of wits with the ship's bullying First Mate. Only his superior intelligence and utmost cleverness will allow him daily survival as he prepares for the battle of his life against this nefarious foe.Catastrophically, our hero's vessel is eventually seized by a cutthroat band of pirates and Echo and crew are forced to "go on the account" or perish. Having little choice, he and his crewmates experience the life of a pirate first-hand. As he becomes accustomed to his new career, the pirate captain ever jealous and suspicious of any potential rival, targets Echo for elimination. Given this perilous situation, our hero must labor mightily to outwit and defeat this new adversary. With the assistance of potent natural substances, Echo manages to outwit the pirate villain. Given a void in leadership, the pirate crew vote Echo their new captain. With this elevation in status, he renames himself Captain William Bilge. Our hero then proceeds to reshape and retrain his new crew in the fine art of naval warfare including the development of novel and devastating weaponry.While dealing with this training, Captain Bilge receives word that the Black Tarantula has invaded Saint Domingue and has taken a strong fancy to his true love, Rue. Failing to capture the lass, she eludes the odious reprobate. Aware of her dire predicament, Captain Bilge is forced to devise an immediate and imperative strategy to locate and save his endangered lover.Written in a unique first-hand point-of-view, the Bilge Rat Pirate Adventurer series provides readers with a candid and realistic glimpse of piratical life and times. Chocked full of captivating and jaunty sailor's yarns and enthralling adventures, this unique and imaginative series is a must read for every pirate aficionado

The process of making decisions is integral to life. We make decisions every day, from what to have for breakfast to critical issues of life and business. When two or more people are involved in making those decisions, the process often involves "compromise" and can be complicated by the basic give-and-take and trade-offs that are associated with this approach. Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language defines compromise in this way: A settlement in which each side gives up some demands or makes concessions An adjustment of opposing principles, systems, etc., in which part of each is given up The result of such an adjustment or settlement Something midway between different things A laying open to danger, suspicion, or disrepute, as a compromise of one's good name, or; to surrender or give up (one's interest, principles, etc.) Compromise necessarily, then, leads to a result that has the great risk of being suboptimal because the concessions made can easily preclude consideration of alternatives and important viewpoints. One of the factors that those who promote compromise as a means of making decisions use as justification is that each side gives up something they want, and thus each side can "live with" the result. In reality, neither side will give up something critically important to them while expecting the other to do just that. The end result is often that either no decision or agreement can be reached or one or both of the parties is unhappy with the result. Too frequently, the ultimate result is failure because one or both parties do not fully support the agreement, which becomes more likely if one party feels it gave more than the other or had to give up something related to its principles or best interest. In an increasingly complex world, compromise is not the best way to reach decisions. An approach that fully and objectively examines all points of view and ideas is needed to arrive at workable solutions to problems and issues as diverse as those we see in the world today. Anyone who has worked inside any company, large or small, knows that it is often very challenging to make decisions. Different personalities, diverse interactions, company politics, and even social, political, and economic philosophies present barriers to agreement. Add to that the basic competitive nature of human beings and the result can be a bubbling stewpot of rancor, foxhole-digging, foot-dragging, backbiting, criticism, individual conflict, and an attitude of an "I win, you lose" zero-sum game that leads to, at best, nonoptimal decisions and at worst, paralysis and no decisions at all. This description applies to virtually any type of organization, not just the corporate setting. It can be seen in organizations, nonprofits, politics, families, churches, schools, and any other setting in which a group of people, whether it be two or many, must meet and make decisions on any topic. All of us have seen the results of committee deliberations aimed at making decisions in a number of these seemingly different settings. Quite often, when we watch the process, we understand the saying that "A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled." The three authors have worked in a variety of different companies and noncorporate settings, including small local companies (fewer than 10 employees) to very large multinational corporations; they have been a part of boards of directors and trustees of nonprofits, school and church groups, neighborhood organizations, and others. They have all had the (mis)fortune of serving on committees charged with making decisions ranging from purchasing equipment to basic corporate strategy for international product development.

Devo may have become synonymous with the crass commercialism of 80s new wave, but many of their inspirations and guiding principles are firmly rooted in the idealism of the 60s. They took a willfully non-traditional approach to the surprisingly conservative world of rock music, seeking inspiration instead from Dada and Pop art, comic books and homemade electronics, and in the process becoming a sort of musical Zelig, crossing paths with everything from late 60s psychedelia to punk, krautrock to new wave. Their idiosyncratic philosophy may not always have been consistent, but it served as a deep well of inspiration, and led to them working with such legendary characters as art-rock pioneer Brian Eno and Beatles/Bowie engineer Ken Scott. Published to coincide with the group's 40th anniversary in 2013, "Recombo DNA" is the first book to evaluate in the proper context the innovations and accomplishments of this truly groundbreaking band. Beginning in 1970, with the transformative effects of the Kent State University shootings - which the band-members witness firsthand - and ending a decade later with Devo on the cusp of superstardom (with "Whip It"), it traces the sounds and ideas that the group absorbed and in turn brought to prominence as unlikely rock stars. For anyone who has ever wondered where 'the band who fell to earth' came from, here it the answer.