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Author: Heather Parker Lewis
Publisher:
Published: 2010-01-01
Total Pages: 162
ISBN-13: 9781920103118
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe number Gangs in South Africa's prisons are living legends and unique when compared with other prison gangs across the globe.
Author: Avron Boretz
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2010-10-31
Total Pages: 289
ISBN-13: 0824860713
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDemon warrior puppets, sword-wielding Taoist priests, spirit mediums lacerating their bodies with spikes and blades—these are among the most dramatic images in Chinese religion. Usually linked to the propitiation of plague gods and the worship of popular military deities, such ritual practices have an obvious but previously unexamined kinship with the traditional Chinese martial arts. The long and durable history of martial arts iconography and ritual in Chinese religion suggests something far deeper than mere historical coincidence. Avron Boretz argues that martial arts gestures and movements are so deeply embedded in the ritual repertoire in part because they iconify masculine qualities of violence, aggressivity, and physical prowess, the implicit core of Chinese patriliny and patriarchy. At the same time, for actors and audience alike, martial arts gestures evoke the mythos of the jianghu, a shadowy, often violent realm of vagabonds, outlaws, and masters of martial and magic arts. Through the direct bodily practice of martial arts movement and creative rendering of jianghu narratives, martial ritual practitioners are able to identify and represent themselves, however briefly and incompletely, as men of prowess, a reward otherwise denied those confined to the lower limits of this deeply patriarchal society. Based on fieldwork in China and Taiwan spanning nearly two decades, Gods, Ghosts, and Gangsters offers a thorough and original account of violent ritual and ritual violence in Chinese religion and society. Close-up, sensitive portrayals and the voices of ritual actors themselves—mostly working-class men, many of them members of sworn brotherhoods and gangs—convincingly link martial ritual practice to the lives and desires of men on the margins of Chinese society. This work is a significant contribution to the study of Chinese ritual and religion, the history and sociology of Chinese underworld, the history and anthropology of the martial arts, and the anthropology of masculinity.
Author: George Anastasia
Publisher: Running Press Adult
Published: 2011-09-27
Total Pages: 354
ISBN-13: 0762443707
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe gangster movie is one of the most popular genres in film. From the Italian, Irish, and Russian "families" in America to similarly sinister groups in Europe, Japan, and beyond, the cinema has never shied away from portraying the evil exploits of these brutal outfits. In this highly entertaining and informative book, two accomplished and apropos authors put the genre in perspective like no other author or documentarian has done before. The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies provides extensive reviews of the Top 100 gangster films of all time, including sidebars like "Reality Check," "Hit and Miss," "I Know That Guy," "Body Count," and other fun and informative features. Also included are over a dozen stand-alone chapters such as Sleeper "Hits," "Fugazi" Flops, Guilty Pleasures, Lost Treasures, Q&A Interviews with top actors and directors (including Chazz Palinteri, Michael Madsen, Joe Mantagna, and more), plus over 50 compelling photographs. Foreword by Joe Pistone, the FBI agent and mob infiltrator who wrote the bestselling book and acclaimed movie, Donnie Brasco.
Author: Todd H. Speidell
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 1999-03-18
Total Pages: 125
ISBN-13: 1579102344
DOWNLOAD EBOOKConfessions of a Lapsed Skeptic is therapeutic in the best sense: it rehabilitates bad theological vision! Dr. Speidell's little text takes a major step in helping us overcome the narcissism that burdens contemporary religious life and theology. I plan to give this book to seminarians beginning their education and to church leaders engaged in educating laity. Both groups will greatly benefit from Speidell's wisdom. Willie James Jennings, Academic Dean Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina Exploring literature, film, case study material, and philosophical and religious texts, Confessions of a Lapsed Skeptic makes the fundamental questions of humanity's relationship to God accessible to skeptics and believers alike. Todd Speidell's approach is refreshing and authentic, challenging both the heart and the intellect to probe beyond simple answers to the mystery of faith. Confessions is a rich source of stimulating ideas, perfectly suited for both the seminar and the nightstand. Keith A. Evans, Head of School Collegiate School, Richmond, Virginia Confessions Of a Lapsed Skeptic provides thought-provoking reading, even for a confessed skeptic like myself, about the human struggle for an understanding of the nature of God. By using case studies from wide-ranging sources, such as Woody Allen and C. S. Lewis, Todd Speidell manages to make this difficult and potentially abstract topic very concrete and relevant. You cannot read this book without all the time feeling wonderfully engaged in virtual discussions with the author about the wisdom that can be deduced from the case studies. Confessions deserves to be read and discussed by everybody trying to understand their position on the Big Questions in life. Soren P. Sorensen, Professor and Head Department of Physics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee Using a Kierkegaardian scalpel to expose the passion of the faith that underlies skepticism and Woody Allen's perceptive humor to reveal the irony of belief in an underachieving God, Todd Speidell depicts the plausibility of a faith that, although unprovable, remains compellingly true. 'The human heart can go the lengths of God, ' writes the English playwright Christopher Fry. 'Affairs are now soul-size. The enterprise is exploration into God.' This little book is 'soul-size.' It sketches the contours of the human quest for God by using the artist's palette of philosophy, literature and theology with creative insight and lucid prose. Ray S. Anderson, Prof. of Theology and Ministry Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Californi
Author: Gabriel Said Reynolds
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Published: 2023
Total Pages: 262
ISBN-13: 1506473881
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"Now in an updated, second edition, Gabriel Said Reynolds tells the story of Islam in this brief illustrated survey, beginning with Muhammad's early life and rise to power, then tracing the origins and development of the Quran juxtaposed with biblical literature, and concluding with an overview of modern and fundamentalist narratives of the origin of Islam. Reynolds offers a fascinating look at the structure and meaning of the Qur'an, revealing the ways in which biblical language is used to advance the Qur'an's religious meaning. Reynolds' analysis identifies the motives that shaped each narrative Islamic, Jewish, and Christian. The book's conclusion yields a rich understanding of diverse interpretations of Islam's emergence, suggesting that its emergence is itself ever-developing"--Publisher description.
Author: Houlin Li
Publisher: Springer Nature
Published: 2023-11-05
Total Pages: 341
ISBN-13: 2384761226
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is an open access book. 2023 2nd International Conference on Sport Science, Education and Social Development (SSESD 2023) was held from July 28–30 in Qingdao China. The objective of SSESD is to promote scientific information interchange by creating a platform to students, researchers, practitioners, and academicians to present their ongoing researches on diverse themes ranging from Sport Science, Education and Social Development. SSESD aims to provide the opportunity for Engineers Academicians, Scientists, Researchers and students to share ideas and knowledge and to network with an international crowd and deliberate the practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in respective domains worldwide. Thus, organizing committee invites all industry professional, delegates and students representing worldwide institutions, government agencies, and other organizations, to take part in the International Conference on Sport Science, Education and Social Development. Prospective authors are kindly encouraged to contribute to and help shape the conference through submissions of their research abstracts, papers and posters. Also, high quality research contributions describing original and unpublished results of conceptual, constructive, empirical, experimental, or theoretical work in all areas of Acoustics and Applications are cordially invited for presentation at the conference. The conference solicits contributions of abstracts, papers and e-posters that address themes and topics of the conference.
Author: Ronnie Fletcher
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Published: 2017-08-14
Total Pages: 131
ISBN-13: 1543443850
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is a collection of spiritual poems from testimonies and several sermons of different peoples experiences as they feel Gods hands.
Author: Amie Kaufman
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2013-12-10
Total Pages: 440
ISBN-13: 1423187784
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"One of the most intense, thrilling, and achingly beautiful stories I've ever read."--Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy The first in the New York Times bestselling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds. It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen are the only survivors. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help. Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other's arms. Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won't be the same people who landed on it.
Author: Verma Shalini & Anand Reetesh
Publisher: S. Chand Publishing
Published:
Total Pages: 472
ISBN-13: 9385676210
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe revision comes 10 years after the first edition and completely overhauls the text not only in terms of look and feel but also content which is now contemporary while also being timeless. A large number of words are explained with the help of examples and their lineage which helps the reader understand their individual usage and the ways to use them on the correct occasion.
Author: Heather Parker Lewis
Publisher:
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 214
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"The book ... consists of faction and fiction, biography and autobiography. It is cobbled together ... out of essays and short stories, nostalgic childhood memories, letters, emails, family trees, work-points, dreams and diary fragments. ... The Interloper is an interactive novel.The author experiments with devices that allow her to engage directly with the reader as she discusses her writing process."--P. [2].
