Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Chris Van Allsburg
Recipes and Activities to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Polar Express
(Click on Images for the Recipe or Activity [PDF])
 Candy Cane Sugar Cookies |  Polar Chocolate Nougat Caramel Squares |  Christmas Snowball Co! okies |  Hot Chocolate |
 A Polar Express Word Search |  A Polar Express Crossword |  A Polar Express Maze | !  A Polar Express Drawing Sheet |
Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer.
Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.
DO YOU HAVE 20 MINUTES TO MAKE A GREAT MEAL?In Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express, “America’s foremost home cook†(New York Observer) presents more than 400 incredibly fast and easy recipes tailored to each season and presented in a simple, straightforward style. Bittman’s recipe sketches are the ideal mix of inspiration and instr! uction: everything a home cook needs to prepare a delicious, healthful, and cost-conscious repertoire of meals for any season and any time of day. And since they’re written with an eye for speed and flexibility, you can be cooking on a moment’s noticeâ€"just check the pantry or fridge and away you go. With Bittman’s trusted voice leading you, you’ll be in and out of your kitchen in 20 minutes or less. Bittman also includes a guide to the foods you’ll want on hand to cook the Kitchen Express way as well as suggestions for seasonal menus and lists of recipes for specific uses, like brown-bag lunches or the best dishes for reheating. You may never order takeout again!Indonesian Ferry Sinks. Peruvian Bus Plunges Off Cliff. African Train Attacked by Mobs. Whenever he picked up the newspaper, Carl Hoffman noticed those short news bulletins, which seemed about as far from the idea of tourism, travel as the pursuit of pleasure, as it was possible to get. So off he! went, spending six months circumnavigating the globe on the w! orld's w orst conveyances: the statistically most dangerous airlines, the most crowded and dangerous ferries, the slowest buses, and the most rickety trains. The Lunatic Express takes us into the heart of the world, to some its most teeming cities and remotest places: from Havana to Bogotá on the perilous Cuban Airways. Lima to the Amazon on crowded night buses where the road is a washed-out track. Across Indonesia and Bangladesh by overcrowded ferries that kill 1,000 passengers a year. On commuter trains in Mumbai so crowded that dozens perish daily, across Afghanistan as the Taliban closes in, and, scariest of all, Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., by Greyhound.
The Lunatic Express is the story of traveling with seatmates and deckmates who have left home without American Express cards on conveyances that don't take Visa, and seldom take you anywhere you'd want to go.  But it's also the story of traveling as it used to be -- a sometimes harrowing trial, of finding ! adventure in a modern, rapidly urbanizing world and the generosity of poor strangers, from ear cleaners to urban bus drivers to itinerant roughnecks, who make up most of the world's population. More than just an adventure story, The Lunatic Express is a funny, harrowing and insightful look at the world as it is, a planet full of hundreds of millions of people, mostly poor, on the move and seeking their fortunes.
From the Hardcover edition.The Eden Express describes from the inside Mark Vonnegut’s experience in the late ’60s and early ’70sâ€"a recent college grad; in love; living communally on a farm, with a famous and doting father, cherished dog, and prized jalopyâ€"and then the nervous breakdowns in all their slow-motion intimacy, the taste of mortality and opportunity for humor they provided, and the grim despair they afforded as well. That he emerged to write this funny and true book and then moved on to find the meaningful life that for a whil! e had seemed beyond reach is what ultimately happens in The Ed! en Expre ss. But the real story here is that throughout his harrowing experience his sense of humor let him see the humanity of what he was going through, and his gift of language let him describe it in such a moving way that others could begin to imagine both its utter ordinariness as well as the madness we all share.Completely revised and updated for Logic Pro 9 and Logic Express 9, this Apple-certified guide shows you how to record, produce, and polish music files with Apple’s professional audio software. Veteran music producer David Nahmani’s step-by-step, instructions teach you everything from basic music creation to advanced production techniques using Logic’s software synthesizers, samplers, and digital signal processors. Using the book’s DVD files and either Logic Pro 9 or Logic Express 9, you’ll begin making music in the first lesson. Whether you’re looking to use your computer as a digital recording studio, create musical compositions, or transfer that song in y! our head into music you can share, this comprehensive book/DVD combo will show you how.
Many people love the philosophy behind and benefits of eating raw, but often the recipes take hours or even a period of several days to prepare. Everyday Raw Express offers delicious soups and smoothies, pastas and wraps, entrees and desserts all prepared in 30 minutes or less.
Matthew Kenney is a chef, restaurat! eur, caterer, and food writer. He has appeared on the Today Sh! ow, the Food Network, and numerous morning and talk shows. Matthew splits his time between New York and Maine.
Raw food in 30 minutes or less!
One of Agatha Christie’s most famous mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express was inspired by two real-life crimes and the author’s own experience being stranded on the Orient Express during Christmas of 1931. While traveling to Paris, a wealthy American is stabbed to death in his cabin on the Orient Express. With the train stuck in a snowdrift, there is no easy escape for the killer. Fortunately, detective Hercule Poirot is aboard and launches a clever investigation into the curious assortment of passengers, of whom each seems to have a motive.
Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan from the American Pie series) is looking for love in ALL the wrong movies, until she snags the man of her dreams! But now, a devious ex, a farting feline and eccentric in-laws threaten her perfect Hollywood wedding!Bring home the UNRATED DVD that lets you go all the way on the first date! With outrageous extras and footage not shown in theaters, here's the ruder, cruder version of the no-holds-barred comedy from two of the twisted minds behind Scary Movie.
Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan from the American Pie series) is looking for love in ALL the wrong movies, until she snags the man of her dreams! But now, a devious ex, a farting feline and eccentric in-laws threaten her perfect Hollywood wedding!Steve Carell and Tina Fey are “a match made in comedy heaven†(Ben Lyons, E!) in this uproarious adventure about an ordinary couple in the right place...on the wrong ! night. Phil and Claire Foster are a sensible, suburban husband! and wif e slogging through their daily lives and marriage. But a case of mistaken identity sets off a n outrageous chain of events involving small-time thieves, big-city mobsters, corrupt cops and a crazed cabbie, as the Fosters’ “date night†turns into a wild ride they’ll never forget! Tina Fey and Steve Carell are two of the most charming performers in entertainment today. Their goofy attractiveness makes them a perfect couple in Date Night: an unremarkable husband and wife from New Jersey, they get mistaken for crooks in Manhattan, sending them on a wild night replete with snooty wait staff, crooked cops, glitter-specked strippers, a shirtless superspy (Mark Wahlberg, as buff as ever), and a preposterous car chase. The movie makes no effort to be remotely plausible and the last third really goes off the rails, and it would probably be better served by less familiar faces in minor roles (bit parts are played by Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, Common, James Franco, Mila ! Kunis, William Fichtner, and Ray Liotta). It's disappointing that the dialogue doesn't crackle the way it does on 30 Rock or The Office. But Fey and Carell carry the movie along through sheer nerdy pluck. Rarely does a couple in a movie seem genuinely devoted to each other, not out of wild passion, but for all the things that a real marriage is built on: patience, shared humor, a willingness to deal with day-to-day annoyances, and simple affection. Fey and Carell seem like a couple you'd actually enjoy going out to dinner with. In today's world, that's more romantic than sunsets and bouquets of roses. --Bret FetzerA worthwhile date movie, according to Halpern, meets three criteria: it appeals to women and men, it contains a plausible romance, and it leaves the audience with a romantic feeling. Reel Romance provides detailed information on 100 such films, focusing on movies from the last 25 years but including some classics from Hollywood's golden era (c! ould any book on romantic films leave out Casablanca?) Organiz! ing the movies according to ten themes, Halpern adds some surprises to the mix: along with expected comedies and love stories, the list includes fantasy films (Ladyhawke, Dreamscape), detective movies (Fletch), animated pictures (Shrek), and even a little kung-fu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Each film description includes a rating on the "makeout meter," suggestions for further viewing, and the "do try this at home" tips for couples eager to add a little movie magic to their own romances. Halpern also advises viewers on which films go best with different periods in the relationship, ranging from first date to comfortably married. With Americans spending more of their movie-watching time at home, and couples forever wandering through the video stores looking for something that they'll both enjoy, Reel Romance arrives at the perfect time.Debra Messing (TV's Will & Grace) shines in this hilarious romantic comedy about the surprising road to finding true love. Kat Ellis (Messing) ! is determined to attend her younger sister's wedding with a date. Rather than face the ridicule of her family and in order to show up her ex-fiance, she resorts to the Yellow Pages to find a last-minute escort, Nick (Dermot Mulroney, My Best Friend's Wedding). His dashing good looks and quick-witted charm may win over her family. But will they win over Kat? Filled with unexpected twists and endless laughs, The Wedding Date is the one date that you'll want to keep!If you're a fan of the frazzled comic rhythms Debra Messing plies on Will & Grace, or if you're pre-sold on the concept of Dermot Mulroney as the world's most dashing heartthrob--an idea given ample evidence here--this escapist romance may provide just enough distraction. The Wedding Date's Pretty Woman-in-reverse plot finds Kat Kat Ellis (Messing) hiring expensive male escort Nick Mercer (Mulroney) to fly to London and pose as her dashing new boyfriend at her sister's wedding so she can fa! ce the best man, an ex-fiancé who broke her heart. Non-fans o! f the st ars or romantic comedies in general beware: there's no real chemistry or conflict, and you should alert the media if you can determine exactly when and why Kat and Nick fall in love. Mulroney has nothing to do but be sensitively suave--the film's entire running time is spent waiting for Kat to realize that Nick, hooker or no, is the best thing that ever happened to her (her father may be cinema's first dad to ever encourage his daughter to snare a gigolo while she still can). This is a relatively painless but forgettable first Date; you probably won't need a second assignation.--Steve WieckingLogitech Revue with Google TV turns any TV into a smart TV. It brings together TV, the full web, apps, movies and more and puts control of it all at your fingertips.
12:28 PM
Blog Fasion
