Search results for ""chance""

A family day at the beach. There's a song, an argument, a dash across the white sand and into the high rolling waves. We're in Cape Town and David Lan is ten years old. Cut to 1969 and, visiting London fresh out of high school, he interviews theatre luminaries Sybil Thorndike, Tom Stoppard, Trevor Nunn, Paul Schofield before heading home to join the South African army. Now it's 1999. We're at the Young Vic where David is interviewed to be artistic director, a job he'd do for eighteen years, ensuring its flowering into a great world theatre. There's a redesign to be imagined, money to be raised, shows to be staged. And when the doors reopen in 2006 we meet the extraordinary artists he draws in: Ivo Van Hove, Jude Law, Richard Jones, Gillian Anderson, Patrice Chereau, Katie Mitchell, Stephen Daldry, the Isango Ensemble, Yerma, The Jungle, The Inheritance. We travel to Peter Brook's Paris, to Iceland in pursuit of a circus Romeo and Juliet,

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Humans, however much we would care to think otherwise, do not represent the fated pinnacle of ape evolution. The diversity of life, from single-celled organisms to multicellular animals and plants, is the result of a long, complex, and highly chancy history. But how profoundly has chance shaped life on earth? And what, precisely, do we mean by chance? Bringing together biologists, philosophers of science, and historians of science, Chance in Evolution is the first book to untangle the far-reaching effects of chance, contingency, and randomness on the evolution of life. The book begins by placing chance in historical context, starting with the ancients and moving through Darwin and his contemporaries, documenting how the understanding of chance changed as Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection developed into the Modern Synthesis, and how the acceptance of chance in Darwinian theory affected theological resistance to it. Subsequent chapters detail the role of chance in contemporary evolutionary theory in particular, in connection with the concepts of genetic drift, mutation, and parallel evolution as well as recent empirical work in the experimental evolution of microbes and in paleobiology. By engaging in collaboration across biology, history, philosophy, and theology, this book offers a comprehensive and synthetic overview both of the history of chance in evolution and of our current, best understanding of the impact of chance on life on earth.

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Harry Stone, chancer and property developer, sets his sights on buying Marine House, a Regency mansion on Brighton seafront. Converted into flats it will make him money. But he is finding it difficult to scrape together £2.5m, not least because he owes it big time to a crime lord. The vendor, Lady Ruth Jackson, won’t sell to him; she has heard of his dubious past But Stone is not going to let the chance go. Shady stock market deals, diamonds traded from the Caribbean, and dropping sweeteners to Lady Ruth’s children, come easily to him as part of his twisted scheming and plotting. With a growing health problem, Stone tries to entice Claire, his onetime PA, back to help him chase his dream. But Claire is battling growing insecurity in her relationship with her wealthy partner, and when she finds a sneaky moneymaking scam Stone is running right under her nose, what retribution will she extract? Stone watches helpless as his last chance to get Marine House vanishes. Until one day there is a knock on his front door…

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Alex is a sheriff's daughter with a less-than-pristine reputation. When she's caught drinking at a party by her dad’s deputy, she’s in deep trouble. With an already incriminating incident in her past, Alex’s parents ship her off to her aunt’s summer camp to work as a counselor—lest she spend her senior year at boarding school. What's worse than spending your summer deep in the mosquito-infested woods of Texas? Being paired with an obnoxious co-counselor who wants nothing to do with you. Alex is determined to make the best of her summer, even if it means putting up with Grant, who has secrets of his own that he's determined to protect. Can Alex and Grant put their egos to the side and find the bright side of a summer that neither of them signed up for?

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By Chance or Providence collects Becky Cloonan's award-winning trilogy: Wolves, The Mire and Demeter, with lush colors by Lee Loughridge and a sketchbook/illustration section. These stories cast a spell of hypnotic melancholy, weaving their way through medieval landscapes of ancient curses and terrible truths that will haunt you long after you've set them down.

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Harry Potter meets Robin Stevens in this thrilling magical murder mystery! 'This mystery is a worthy prizewinner ... a jolly, atmospheric mystery.' THE TIMES 'Thornton, like [Agatha] Christie, can turn murder into a thoroughly comforting bedtime read.' THE TELEGRAPH 'All kinds of fun' THE OBSERVER 'Featuring magical antics, a talking cat and a locked-room murder mystery, Seth's story reads like an old-school whodunnit with added wizards and spells and echoes of ancient sorcery.' BOOKTRUST Seth is the downtrodden kitchen boy at the remote Last Chance Hotel, owned by the nasty Bunn family. His only friend is his black cat, Nightshade. But when a strange gathering of magicians arrives for dinner, kindly Dr Thallomius is poisoned by Seth's special dessert. A locked-room murder investigation ensues – and Seth is the main suspect. The funny thing is, he's innocent ... can he solve the mystery and clear his name, especially when magic's afoot? A magical locked-room murder mystery: Agatha Christie meets Harry Potter! Readers aged 9+ will love guessing whodunnit with the novel’s fantastic ensemble cast The Seth Seppi Mysteries continue in book 2, The Bad Luck Lighthouse, and book 3, The Cut-Throat Café Nightshade the cat becomes the star of her very own adventure in the first book Nicki Thornton's new series, The Howling Hag Mystery! MORE PRAISE FOR THE LAST CHANCE HOTEL: 'Wonderfully atmospheric' DAILY EXPRESS 'A magical blend of murder and mystery for super-sleuthing fans everywhere.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'There are plenty of surprises and some shocks in store as this intriguing story develops, drawing the reader in and stirring their detective juices' PRIMARY TIMES 'If you like whodunnits, you’ll enjoy this mystery, inspired by Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton, but set in a magical world. Entertaining and inventive' THE WEEK JUNIOR

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Should you move on if life gives you a second chance? Aditya Arora spent the last years of high school watching his first love, Neela, die of cancer. College, he hopes, will be a fresh start. But when the past comes back to haunt him in the form of his late girlfriend's father, Professor Krishnan, the year soon turns out to be harder than his worst nightmare. However, Aditya is not so far gone that he can't make friends. With the help of Kaveri, Justin and Mausammi, he slowly begins building resistance to Krishnan's spitefulness and anger. As relationships change and academic pressures reach inhuman levels, Aditya learns some important lessons in trust, acceptance and, of course, moving on. Hopefully, he won't be the only one learning them!

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A heartfelt middle-grade novel about a theater-loving girl who uses a wheelchair for mobility and her quest to defy expectations—and gravity—from Tony award–winning actress Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz Thirteen-year-old Nat Beacon loves a lot of things: her dog Warbucks, her best friend Chloe, and competing on her wheelchair racing team, the Zoomers, to name a few. But there’s one thing she’s absolutely OBSESSED with: MUSICALS! From Hamilton to Les Mis, there’s not a cast album she hasn’t memorized and belted along to. She’s never actually been in a musical though, or even seen an actor who uses a wheelchair for mobility on stage. Would someone like Nat ever get cast? But when Nat’s family moves from California to New Jersey, Nat stumbles upon auditions for a kids’ production of Wicked, one of her favorite musicals ever! And she gets into the ensemble! The other cast members are super cool and inclusive (well, most of them)— especially Malik, the male lead and cutest boy Nat’s ever seen. But when things go awry a week before opening night, will Nat be able to cast her fears and insecurities aside and “Defy Gravity” in every sense of the song title?

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With danger drawing ever closer, their only hope of saving their futures lies in each other. As a midwife, Catherine Remington is successful in bringing new life into the world, but she's failed one too many times in finding true love. When she's accused of a murder she didn't commit, she's forced to flee to Colorado to honor a patient's dying wish by delivering a newborn infant to his father. The repentant prodigal Dylan McQuaid is finally back in Fairplay. As sheriff, he's doing his best to prove to the town he's a changed man and worthy of their trust. When a woman shows up with an infant son he didn't know he had, Dylan is left with only complicated choices on what to do next. Having grown attached to Dylan's son, Catherine doesn't want to part ways with the infant, but what she doesn't bargain for is how easily she'll fall for the charming sheriff, or how quickly the past will catch up with her and put their love and lives in danger.

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“America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) presents an all-new collection of crime stories drawn from her private files and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences. The inspiration behind the upcoming Lifetime movie event Desperate Hours. Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But appearances can be deceiving—and, for the doctor’s wife, very nearly deadly. Now, the motivations of the classic sociopath are plumbed with chilling accuracy by Ann Rule. Along with other shocking true cases, this worldwide headline-making case will have you turning pages in disbelief that a trusted medical professional could sink to the depths of greed, manipulation, and self-aggrandizement where even slow, deliberate murder is not seen for what it truly is: pure evil.

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The London 2012 Olympic medalist on his stunning comeback.Mark Todd's eventing career is the stuff of legends and encompasses one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time.When he 'retired' from competing in eventing in 2000, he had already been named 'Rider of the Century' for his natural empathy with a horse and his extraordinary success, which included back-to-back Olympic gold medals, five Burghley wins and three Badminton victories. He has also show jumped to Olympic level and trained winners on the racecourse. Considered a legendary horseman by his peers, he seemed to have done it all.He returned to train racehorses in his native New Zealand but, eight years later, the idea of a comeback took root, part dare, part personal challenge to see if he could still cut it in a changed sport. Within eight months, he was riding at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and in 2011 he hit the headlines by becoming the oldest rider to win Badminton. This was soon eclipsed by his stunning win at the London 2012 Olympics, however. The story of his progress from dairy farmer to world renown, is told with typically laid-back humour, but it reveals the fierce determination, discipline and personal sacrifice which lies behind the relaxed outlook.

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Einleitung.- Sinn und Fähigkeiten bis zum letzten Arbeitstag erleben.- Wissen mit Freude weitergeben und nicht aufhören zu lernen.- Loslassen und Abschied nehmen.- Die Lebensphase Ruhestand vorbereiten Eine demografische Notwendigkeit.- Die besondere erste Zeit im Ruhestand.- Neu gefordert: Die richtige Nahrung für Kopf und Körper finden.- Die Werte der Arbeit auch im Ruhestand?.- Soziale Kontakte und Begegnungen gestalten.- Einschränkungen und Verluste als Teil des Lebens begreifen.- Schluss: Den Ruhestand als Chance begreifen und gestalten.

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Mathematics of Chance utilizes simple, real-world problems-some of which have only recently been solved-to explain fundamental probability theorems, methods, and statistical reasoning. Jiri Andel begins with a basic introduction to probability theory and its important points before moving on to more specific sections on vital aspects of probability, using both classic and modern problems. Each chapter begins with easy, realistic examples before covering the general formulations and mathematical treatments used. The reader will find ample use for a chapter devoted to matrix games and problem sets concerning waiting, probability calculations, expectation calculations, and statistical methods. A special chapter utilizes problems that relate to areas of mathematics outside of statistics and considers certain mathematical concepts from a probabilistic point of view. Sections and problems cover topics including: * Random walks * Principle of reflection * Probabilistic aspects of records * Geometric distribution * Optimization * The LAD method, and more Knowledge of the basic elements of calculus will be sufficient in understanding most of the material presented here, and little knowledge of pure statistics is required. Jiri Andel has produced a compact reference for applied statisticians working in industry and the social and technical sciences, and a book that suits the needs of students seeking a fundamental understanding of probability theory.

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