Commander E.K.O. recovers from his battle on Kragladon, only to discover that the devious witch Warty Morda, aims to betray him. Commander E.K.O. must now construct an elaborate plan to hunt down Dizzy Doom and force him to unlock the dark portal, allowing Commander E.K.O. to escape the video game universe and return to his mysterious home world. Get ready for an action-packed adventure filled with twists, laughs, and thrilling characters you will have to see to believe!
Join the Digital Lizards of Doom on an unforgettable action adventure through the cosmos! When a magical trickster secretly traps an entire universe inside a video game world, a young warrior named Dizzy Doom must search for answers to unravel the mystery. But as villains from another galaxy come to attack his kingdom, Dizzy is forced to make an unlikely alliance with a mysterious ninja and cyborg cat pirate. Dizzy’s ideology will be tested as he comes to realize everything is not always as it seems.
Commander E.K.O. has suffered a great loss after his attemptto gain control of the planet Kragladon was thwarted by two young wizards namedDizzy Doom and Khlugus. While E.K.O. must contend with the realities of timerunning out for his plan to rule the galaxy, Dizzy's quest is derailed when hediscovers that his previous mentor, Mr. Emperor Guy, doesn't always keep hisword.
According to Roger Caillois, play is an occasion of pure waste. In spite of this - or because of it - play constitutes an essential element of human social and spiritual development. In this study, the author defines play as a free and voluntary activity that occurs in a pure space, isolated and protected from the rest of life.
The acclaimed investigative reporter and author of Confronting Collapse examines the global forces that led to 9/11 in this provocative exposé. The attacks of September 11, 2001 were accomplished through an amazing orchestration of logistics and personnel. Crossing the Rubicon examines how such a conspiracy was possible through an interdisciplinary analysis of petroleum, geopolitics, narco-traffic, intelligence and militarism—without which 9/11 cannot be understood. In reality, 9/11 and the resulting "War on Terror" are parts of a massive authoritarian response to an emerging economic crisis of unprecedented scale. Peak Oil—the beginning of the end for our industrial civilization—is driving the elites of American power to implement unthinkably draconian measures of repression, warfare and population control. Crossing the Rubicon is more than a story of corruption and greed. It is a map of the perilous terrain through which we are all now making our way.
"In May 2000 I was fired from my job as a reporter on a finance newsletter because of an obsession with a video game. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.” So begins this story of personal redemption through the unlikely medium of electronic games. Quake, World of Warcraft, Eve Online, and other online games not only offered author Jim Rossignol an excellent escape from the tedium of office life. They also provided him with a diverse global community and a job—as a games journalist. Part personal history, part travel narrative, part philosophical reflection on the meaning of play, This Gaming Life describes Rossignol’s encounters in three cities: London, Seoul, and Reykjavik. From his days as a Quake genius in London’s increasingly corporate gaming culture; to Korea, where gaming is a high-stakes televised national sport; to Iceland, the home of his ultimate obsession, the idiosyncratic and beguiling Eve Online, Rossignol introduces us to a vivid and largely undocumented world of gaming lives. Torn between unabashed optimism about the future of games and lingering doubts about whether they are just a waste of time, This Gaming Life also raises important questions about this new and vital cultural form. Should we celebrate the “serious” educational, social, and cultural value of games, as academics and journalists are beginning to do? Or do these high-minded justifications simply perpetuate the stereotype of games as a lesser form of fun? In this beautifully written, richly detailed, and inspiring book, Rossignol brings these abstract questions to life, immersing us in a vibrant landscape of gaming experiences. “We need more writers like Jim Rossignol, writers who are intimately familiar with gaming, conversant in the latest research surrounding games, and able to write cogently and interestingly about the experience of playing as well as the deeper significance of games.” —Chris Baker, Wired “This Gaming Life is a fascinating and eye-opening look into the real human impact of gaming culture. Traveling the globe and drawing anecdotes from many walks of life, Rossignol takes us beyond the media hype and into the lives of real people whose lives have been changed by gaming. The results may surprise you.” —Raph Koster, game designer and author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design “Is obsessive video gaming a character flaw? In This Gaming Life, Jim Rossignol answers with an emphatic ‘no,’ and offers a passionate and engaging defense of what is too often considered a ‘bad habit’ or ‘guilty pleasure.’” —Joshua Davis, author of The Underdog “This is a wonderfully literate look at gaming cultures, which you don't have to be a gamer to enjoy. The Korea section blew my mind.” —John Seabrook, New Yorker staff writer and author of Flash of Genius and Other True Stories of Invention digitalculturebooks is an imprint of the University of Michigan Press and the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library dedicated to publishing innovative and accessible work exploring new media and their impact on society, culture, and scholarly communication. Visit the website at www.digitalculture.org.
Winner of the International Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction Animal tracks, word magic, the speech of stones, the power of letters, and the taste of the wind all figure prominently in this intellectual tour de force that returns us to our senses and to the sensuous terrain that sustains us. This major work of ecological philosophy startles the senses out of habitual ways of perception. For a thousand generations, human beings viewed themselves as part of the wider community of nature, and they carried on active relationships not only with other people with other animals, plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds, and weather patters) that we have only lately come to think of as "inanimate." How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient reciprocity with the natural world? What will it take for us to recover a sustaining relation with the breathing earth? In The Spell of the Sensuous David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand of magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with a passion, a precision, and an intellectual daring that recall such writers as Loren Eisleley, Annie Dillard, and Barry Lopez.
From legendary Judge Dredd scribe John Wagner and fan favourite artist Colin MacNeil comes an action-packed Dredd tale of robots and revolution! John Wagner's action packed adventure has wide-spread consequences for Dredd's universe and fan favourite character Judge Hershey. Viva los humanos! A deathbed request sends Judge Dredd on a diplomatic mission to Guatemala, a dictatorship ruled by the despotic robot El Presidente. Under the military rule of robots, humans are enslaved, trafficked and farmed for parts. El Presidente seeks to expand its repressive regime – and if Mega-City One doesn’t give into its demands, its nuclear arsenal will blow the city off the map! From legendary Judge Dredd scribe John Wagner and fan favourite artist Colin MacNeil comes an action-packed Dredd tale of robots and revolution! Also featuring bonus Dredd stories with art by Carlos Ezquerra and Henry Flint!
The report presents the latest assessment of global trends in wildlife crime. It includes discussions on illicit rosewood, ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, live reptiles, tigers and other big cats, and European eel. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has highlighted that wildlife crime is a threat not only to the environment and biodiversity, but also to human health, economic development and security. Zoonotic diseases - those caused by pathogens that spread from animals to humans - represent up to 75% of all emerging infectious diseases. Trafficked wild species and the resulting products offered for human consumption, by definition, escape any hygiene or sanitary control, and therefore pose even greater risks of infection.
