Michael Mejia

A novel in three parts, linked by a single narrative of disaster, loss, and longing. TOKYO is an incisive, shape-shifting tour de force, a genre-bending mix of lyric prose, science fiction, horror, and visual collage exploring the erotic undercurrents of American perceptions of Japanese culture and identity. By turns noir, surreal, and clinical in its language and style, TOKYO employs metaphors of consumption, disease, theater, gender fluidity, monstrousness, and ecological disaster in intertwined accounts touching on matters of cultural appropriation, fiction's powerful capacity to produce immersive realities, and the culturally corrupting late capitalist excesses that entangle both the United States and Japan. The novel opens with a fantastic, slyly comic report written by a Japanese executive, describing the anomalous bluefin tuna his company purchased at Tokyo’s iconic fish market, as well as the dissolution of the executive’s marriage to his Japanese-American, or Sansei, wife. But when an American writer—whose own Sansei wife was previously married to a Japanese executive—begins investigating the report’s author and his claims, assisted by a mysterious Japanese correspondent the American suspects may once have been his wife’s lover, identities begin to scramble until it’s uncertain who is imagining who, and who is and isn’t Japanese. Meanwhile, a secret plot to establish pure Japaneseness through the global distribution of genetically engineered bluefin tuna seems to be rushing toward its conclusion like a great wave.

First published in 2006, The Men's Health Gym Bible is the ultimate resource for the total gym experience, backed by the authority of Men's Health. Authors Michael Mejia, M. S., C. S. C. S. and Myatt Murphy teach readers how to use various types of gym equipment for optimal strength and cardiovascular fitness. The book includes hundreds of exercises for strength and cardio equipment like free weights, stability balls, treadmills, stationary bikes and more. The new edition of the Men's Health backlist title is revised with 30 percent new material including exercises and expert fitness advice for up-to-date equipment like TRX suspension training and kettle bells. It will also feature approximately 75 all-new black-and-white photographs (in addition to the more than 600 photos in the first edition) to demonstrate proper form and technique for every new exercise. How-to information on gym memberships, contracts and fitness classes will help any novice step into the gym for the first time. This book will appeal to anyone trying to get the most out of their fitness goals.

The first part of Forgetfulness is a fictional monograph on the life of the Austrian modernist composer Anton von Webern (1883-1945). The collage-work monograph unfolds in a Webernian sequence of events and silences combining quotes from Webern, his friends and associates, and various historical and literary figures with short scenes, monologues, dialogues, newspaper articles, and theater and film scripts. The result is a lyrical panorama of early twentieth century Vienna. The second part of the book takes place in Vienna on May 1st, 1986, shortly before the election of Kurt Waldheim as President of the Austrian Republic and shortly after the Chernobyl disaster. The three simultaneous, intertwining monologues of an archivist, a retired opera singer, and the author of the monograph, revisit the themes and events of the first part, commenting on postwar conceptions, analyses, and revisions of the period during which Webern lived, while continuously haunted by the specters of Waldheim and Chernobyl, the persistence of crimes that are immanent, unpaid for, or only dimly, disingenuously recalled.

A state-of-the-art weight-lifting and nutritional blueprint for "skinny" guys who want to pack on muscleLet's face it, naturally skinny guys are at a distinct genetic disadvantage when it comes to building muscle mass. But with the proper advice, these "hardgainers" definitely can realize their fitness goals. In Scrawny to Brawny, the authors draw on their years of practical experience as private strength and nutrition coaches to provide hardgainers with: o A progressive, state-of-the-art program that optimizes results with shorter, less frequent workouts that maximize compound exerciseso A unique, action-based perspective on nutrition that shows how to prepare quick muscle-building meals and snacks-and how to take advantage of several critical times in the day when muscle growth can be stimulated by food intakeo Vital information on how to identify and fix any weak links in their physiques that may be precursors to injuryDesigned not only for frustrated adult hardgainers but also-with its strong anti-steroid message-a terrific book for the large teen market, Scrawny to Brawny - by Michael Mejia and John Berardi - fills a significant gap in the weight-lifting arsenal.

Exploding the Low-Fat-Diet Myth Question: After years of trying to enjoy all those unappetizing low-fat foods that were supposed to be our salvation, why are we men fatter than ever before? For that matter, after decades of joint-pounding aerobic exercise, why do so many of us look so sloppy and out of shape? The authors of this book wondered too. They set out to explore all of the so-called truths about weight loss and fitness, seeking to understand how those conventional wisdoms applied to men specifically. They resolved to base their findings on only the most accurate, up-to-the-minute research. You are holding the result of that effort. This remarkable, groundbreaking book debunks perceived truths about good health, scientifically showing how men have been shortchanged by fitness programs that fail to consider their unique needs. Until recently, the weight-loss and muscle-building roles of hormones in general and testosterone in particular have been largely overlooked; testosterone has actually been stigmatized. Not so here. This book celebrates "T" and explains why you should too. The natural benefits of testosterone are explored more fully than ever before. In The Testosterone Advantage Plan(tm): You'll understand why the food-pyramid concept, though well-intentioned, is riddled with so many errors and inconsistencies that it's functionally worthless as a tool for guiding a man's dietary choices. We'll offer in its place something we call the Men's Health--a healthy way of eating that will support your efforts to lose fat and build muscle. You'll discover which foods enhance testosterone and which foods inhibit it, thus gaining an unprecedented degree of control over the hormone that governs your very being as a man. You'll find it's no accident that you crave higher-fat foods: They are nothing less than the foods nature intended for your body to have. You'll learn how to achieve metabolic weight control so that your body will continue to lean itself out even while you sleep. No, this is not another one of those snake-oil claims you see on infomercials at 2:00 a.m. This is the real deal. You'll be exposed to new ways of exercising. Do you have any idea how many guys go about weight training in a way that almost guarantees they'll get little or nothing out of it? We'll walk you through the do's and don'ts. We'll also show you how strength training can give you the benefits once identified solely with aerobics. Finally, you'll meet the men who participated in a landmark pilot program developed from all this new research. You'll see their physical transformations--and hear how the program has also changed their lives. The Testosterone Advantage Plan(tm) is a must-read for every guy who wants to get the most out of his maleness. Put it to work for you.