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The Byronic Hero in Film, Fiction, and Television
Atara Stein
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0809325861 |
Book Description
Tracing the influence of Lord Byron’s Manfred as outcast hero on a pantheon of his contemporary progenies—including characters from Pale Rider, Unforgiven, The Terminator, Aliens, The Crow, Sandman, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Angel—Atara Stein tempers her academic acumen with the insights of a devoted aficionado in this first comprehensive study of the Romantic hero type and his modern kindred.
The Byronic Hero in Film, Fiction, and Television bridges nineteenth- and twentieth-century studies in pursuit of an ambitious, antisocial, arrogant, and aggressively individualistic mode of hero from his inception in Byron’s Manfred, Childe Harold, and Cain, through his incarnations as the protagonists of Westerns, action flicks, space odysseys, vampire novels, neo-Gothic comics, and sci-fi television. Such a hero exhibits supernatural abilities, adherence to a personal moral code, ineptitude at human interaction (muddled even further by self-absorbed egotism), and an ingrained defiance of oppressive authority. He is typically an outlaw, most certainly an outcast or outsider, and more often than not, he is a he. Given his superhuman status, this hero offers no potential for sympathetic identification from his audience. At best, he provides an outlet for vicarious expressions of power and independence. While audiences may not seek to emulate the Byronic hero, Stein notes that he desires to emulate them; recent texts plot to “rehumanize” the hero or to voice through him approbation and admiration of ordinary human values and experiences.
Providing thoughtful analyses of her examples, Stein places her Byronic heroes into two camps: the leader-hero who pursues justice outside the law through explosive violence, illustrated in a trio of Clint Eastwood Westerns, the Crow films, and the Terminator films; and the angst-ridden loner hero who views his power as a burden and pines for human existence, represented in Anne Rice’s vampire novels and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels. She also provides a detailed examination of one manifestation of the Byronic hero who embodies traits of both leader-hero and gloomy egotist: Q, the omnipotent alien from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The Byronic heroine is not wholly absent from our culture, as Stein proves by her inclusion of Terminator’s Sarah Connor and Alien’s Ellen Ripley. Both assume Byronic traits as they war against oppressive institutional authority while also actively seeking liberation from socially imposed constraints of gender. Stein concludes her innovative study with an engaging discussion of pop culture’s most current and complete version of the Byronic hero: the brooding vampiric champion of Angel.
Typified by a fiery autonomy, empowered inhumanity, and flamboyant self-realization, the Byronic hero with his many sullen faces has asserted his popular appeal with audiences for over two centuries. Complemented by nine illustrations, Stein’s perceptive reading of his nature and nuances demonstrates that his immortality will not soon wane.
Book Description
The classic guide. Now, the very best step-by-step course, created by the world’s best-selling photographer, is revised, updated, and even better than ever.
“An excellent way of teaching the technical aspects of photography through hands-on exercises. A first-rate addition to all collections.”—Library Journal
“Hedgecoe has revolutionized photo books....Highly recommended.”—Popular Photography
The new and updated edition of John Hedgecoe’s perennial bestseller offers more than ever before. It features over 70 projects, all lavishly illustrated in color, that provide both beginners and experienced photographers with a steadily growing command of skills. The technical sections cover everything from choosing equipment to working with advanced technology. And, for the first time, Hedgecoe provides a full rundown of the most up-to-date digital gear, from file format and printing to adjusting exposure and securing the right digital manipulation package. Photographers will find this easy to use, illuminating, and the key to becoming better at their craft—whether they’re shooting portraits, figures in movement, landscapes, still lifes, or any subject at all.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Survey of Techniques.......2006-02-26
Each chapter is just 2 pages, with just one concept to grab. Great to have bite-size concepts, like form vs. shape, taking pictures of children, bright colors, etc.
Excellent Survey of Techniques.......2006-02-26
Each chapter is just 2 pages, with just one concept to grab. Great to have bite-size concepts, like form vs. shape, taking pictures of children, bright colors, etc.
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as the originals, better than some other sequels.......2002-11-14
I realize a lot of people are griping about the art, and it *would* look 1000 times better in full color.
However, the art's better, and truer to the Pini style, than I have seen in almost any other Elfquest sequel, and I could figure out what was going on in the story despite having not read many of the intervening books. If you're feeling Elfquest-deprived but don't feel like purchasing a lot of inferior art and lame plotlines in order to understand what's going on, this is the book for you.
The awesome story saves this book from the horrible artwork........2001-09-10
I am a big fan of Elfquest and I have read a lot of it and I would have to say that storywise this is probably one my favorite stories in all of Elfquest. The reason is because it has something that I have been wanting to see for a long time. A human that is on the same level as the elves are. He is a hunter who goes by the name of Lehrigan that knows the way of the elves and has been ordered to capture a healer from them. Besides him, Ember is the main character of this one and she will have to deal with many problems as Lehrigan tries to capture Mender the healer. In my opinion, Lehrigan is probably one of the coolest characters that has ever appeared in Elfquest.
My only real complaint about this book is the fact that most of the artwork is horrible. So horrible, that it almost kept me from reading this book until I got into it. The human characters look decent and Lehrigan does actually look pretty cool. But the elves look just awful. Sometimes I would be confused at what character was what. If it wasn't for the bad artwork this probably would've gotten 5 stars instead of 3.
I am fortunate enough that I happen to have a library around my house that gets in a lot of elfquest books so I don't have to spend money on them. If you are doubtful about reading this one from the previous reviews, then I suggest that you try to find out if your local library has Elfquest books so if you don't like it you wont feel that you were gipped.
The sound of dogs howling..........2001-07-10
I am afraid I no longer care at all for EQ and this book is one of the poorer examples of the series. Honestly, the early work was good, but the later work should be avoided. It simply isn't quality work.
Oh my god . . .do they really publish this stuff?.......2001-04-11
That's it, I jsut can't believe it. First of all, this can't even be professional work for chrissakes! This is just terribile - artwise, storyline, etc. The truth is, EQ has simply gone downhill ever since the creators decided they were weary of doing the comics and farmed it out to abysmal talents. For example, go take a look at the "Bedtime Stordies" to see what I mean. ...No, they actually hired someone else to do it for them. My advice is, read it at your own risk. You may never read another EQ book again . . .
Gripping, Thought-Provoking Addition to the Elfquest Saga!!.......2001-01-22
For the true Elfquest fan, Shadowstalker is a definite don't-dare-miss. Joellyn Auklandus has taken followers of the series to a new and wonderful level. The story of Ember's struggle to save her tribe from their greatest threat yet is a page-turning wonder, cerebral and emotional on so many levels it's almost impossible to put down. Lehrigan, the mysterious human tracker, is one of the most complex adversaries the elves have ever faced. The final confrontation scene between he and Ember is one Cutter would be proud of. Unlike many other "bad guys" we have seen in the World of Two Moons, Lehrigan is not a cut-and-dried villain -- if indeed he is a villain at all. Love the elves though I do, I cannot help but admire the courage, audacity, cleverness, and intellectual complexity of this silent, no-nonsense tracker. Yet I was caught completely off-guard and carried away by the wonder of the lovely scene where one of Ember's tribe-folk sits in a tree playing elfin music -- only to have Lehrigan take out a similar small flute and play along, a kind of mystical "jam session" that proves what we later discover: the Silent One has spent so long getting to know the elves in order to track them, he is walking the fine edge of perhaps knowing them too well for the human world in which he must live. It is a haunting scene that sticks with one for days afterwards. Other wonderful scenes include the strife between Ember and Scouter, and the gut-wrenching decision of Teir as to where his heart must go. The climactic battle scenes are equally skilfully crafted, with a particularly neat twist in how one of the younger elves comes to be saved from certain death. The art is acceptable, though who could ever outdo Wendy Pini? Auklandus has shown herself to be a superlative crafter of storylines; from panel to panel there is so much to see, to ponder. Buy this book and devour it, then go back and read it over and over again!!
Book Description
You're invited to join in the seriously playful adventure of "digging the cosmic ordinary"-exploring our own cultural backyard to discover the profound enlightenment teachings hidden there in plain sight. In thirty-three illustrated mini-chapters, meditation teacher Dean Sluyter reveals the startling, sometimes hilarious connections between the highest revelations and the lowliest jingles, jokes, and cliches: *"Knock-Knock, Who's There?" teaches the same process of radical self-inquiry advocated by Hindu masters;
*"Mary Had a Little Lamb" expounds the way of love and devotion as eloquently as the Gospels;
*"Home on the Range" celebrates the anarchic freedom of enlightenment; and
*"Easy Does It," a principle as precise as E=mc2, describes both the workings of the universe and the mechanics of meditation. The author shows us that Christ and Buddha bring the same good news of cosmic liberation-and so do B. B. King, Mother Goose, Mick Jagger, and Alfred E. Neuman. And he shares spiritual exercises (some traditional, some home-brewed) that are powerfully transformative.
Customer Reviews:
why i love this book..........2005-09-06
i have already read dean sluyter's zen commandments and thought it was wonderful. but this book why the chicken crossed the road was even better. it was very funny, eyeopening and enlightening. it made me see things i never saw or thought about before. it showed how caught up we get in details of our beliefs.. this book was not about beliefs. it was about living them.. i would recommend this book to anyone. i wish it was still in print. i would send it to many of my friends.. i will be re reading as well. it has so much to it.. a blessing of a book...
Thank You Mother Dean.......2005-03-11
Dean Sluyter has an uncanny ability to make the mundane mystical. He takes phrases and songs, slows down time, and holds the words up to the sun turning them over in his hand and inside your mind to extract a much deeper meaning. His deconstruction of Row Row Row Your Boat is worth the price of admission alone. I am as college educated as the next guy and I was giggling like a monkey by the time I had completed the book. Then I gave it to a repairman, a friend of mine, mechanically a genius but completly unread, and he retured it the next morning at 7am because he 'just had to talk to somebody about it, about life, about meaning" and we had a conversation like philosophers over a cup of my horrible coffee. So I say again, Thank you Dean Sluyter. If you are ever in Newport Oregon please stop by. You seem like the coolest guy in America.
A little bit of wisdom in a confusing universe............2003-10-19
My father bought this book for me when I was going through spiritual difficulties in High-School. I still read it when life gets tough.
A masterpiece of European post-war prose!.......2002-05-02
If you like chickens, you'll love a "A Tale of Two Cities!"
Funky, funny, practical.......2001-03-09
This may be the smartest, funniest, and most practical guide to the spiritual path I have ever read. By using funky American pop culture (knock-knock jokes, "Doggie in the Window," etc.) as his jumping-off point, Sluyter manages to present enlightenment in a way that anyone can connect with. He writes with a wonderful openness that embraces Zen, Jesus, rock 'n' roll and Mad magazine in one big hug - yet he never goes New Age sloppy, but lays out the What's What of spiritual development with precision. A must!
Book Description
Much analysis of gangster movies has been based upon a study of the gangster as a malign figuration of the American Dream, originally set in the era of the Depression. This text extends previous analysis of the genre by examining the evolution of gangster movies from the 1930s to the contemporary period and by placing them in the context of cultural and cinematic issues such as masculinity, consumerism, and technology. With a close examination of many films from Scarface an Public Enemy to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, this book provides a fascinating insight into a topical and popular subject.
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From Sibelius to Sallinen: Finnish Nationalism and the Music of Finland (Contributions to the Study of Music and Dance)
Lisa De Gorog
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Sibelius, Jean
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ASIN: 0313267405 |
Book Description
This comprehensive study of the evolution of Finnish art music from continental predecessors and native folk music traces the development of Sibelius's musical language from his first major work, Kullervo, the first genuine Finnish recitative, to the last tone poem, Tapiola. De Gorog asserts the importance of En Saga, Sibelius's first major, purely orchestral work, as a composition that affirms the composer's belief in both rhythm and in the variation method (the germ motif technique). The impact of folk music on the germ motif technique as well as on melody, phrase construction, and harmony are also analyzed. Although Sibelius's use of rhythm was more restrained than that of Bartok, Stravinsky, or Prokofiev, similarities in basic trends and folk music influences are noted by de Gorog. From Sibelius to Sallinen emphasizes the importance of various aspects of Finnish culture, the historical events that shaped that culture, and Finnish nationalism in the evolution of Finnish music in general. It also delineates the major sources of inspiration for Sibelius's unique musical idiom. The volume clarifies Sibelius's position as founder of Finnish art music and considers the evolution of trends established by him in the works of younger Finnish composers. The first three chapters provide an historical prism through which to view Finnish culture and music, discuss Finnish music prior to Sibelius, and relate Finnish nationalism to the composer's philosophy and music. Chapters 4 through 7 focus on Sibelius, his compositions, and their lasting impact. Two final chapters address instrumental music after Sibelius and stage and vocal music in Finland. A discography provides ready access and full information on the works and completes the volume as an informative resource for students, teachers, researchers, musicologists, and performers as well as a valuable addition to university music libraries and conservatories.
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The Spirit Moves Handbook of Dance and Prayer
Manufacturer: Sharing
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0941500381 |
Book Description
Misaligned companies, like cars out of alignment, can develop serious problems if not corrected quickly. They are hard to steer and don't respond well to changes in direction. This groundbreaking book shows you how to get -and keep -all the vital elements of your organization aligned and headed in the same direction at the same time.
Managers must now keep their people centered in the midst of change, deemphasize hierarchy, and distribute leadership by distributing authority, information, knowledge, and customer data throughout their organization. Alignment is a response to the new business reality where customer requirements are in flux, where competitive forces are turbulent, and where the bond of loyalty between an organization and its people has been weakened. The old linear approach to management has given way to one of simultaneity -to alignment.
As pioneers of the alignment concept, the authors have developed this unique approach based on their work with leading companies throughout the world. The Power of Alignment is packed with war stories and the firsthand perspectives of industry leaders. You'll learn how world-class organizations, including Federal Express, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Columbia/HCA Healthcare, Citizens Utilities, AirTouch, and UNUM achieved extraordinary business results. Now, through the authors' expertise, you'll see how alignment can work for your organization.
In essence, alignment links the five key elements of an organization -people, process, customers, business strategies, and, of course, leadership -to obtain breakthrough results, chief among them, sustained growth and profit, loyal customers, and a high-performing work force. The Power of Alignment:
* Offers a clear framework for aligning and linking the crucial elements that build and sustain a company's success
* Provides self-assessment tools as well as benchmarking measures for evaluating an organization's critical competencies
* Enables managers to create a work force where each employee can relate his or her activities to the goals and strategic objectives of the company
* Helps a company determine when and where it is out of alignment, and gives descriptions of such common company pathologies as "The Phantom Limb Syndrome," "Strategy Interruptus," and "Dead Man Walking"
* Prescribes specific steps for getting an organization back on track toward a single, shared vision of its goals
Essential reading for all managers and executives, The Power of Alignment offers a new way to reestablish focus and sustained energy, and is a dynamic approach for staying balanced and achieving extraordinary levels of performance.
"This book is savvy, detailed, timely, and clearly written. I highly recommend it for any leader facing the challenges posed by global business today." - Dana Mead Chairman and CEO, Tenneco Former Chairman National Association of Manufacturers
"It's not only the stars that have to be in alignment to reach your destination, it's all the internal processes, rewards, and drivers. Read The Power of Alignment, and while you may not unlock the secrets of the universe, you will overcome the barriers to corporate success." - William L. Boyan President and COO John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.
"This important book goes beyond TQM and reengineering by creating a new approach called Alignment. The authors show that great companies manage to link strategy and people and integrate customer needs with continuous improvement processes." - Peter Augustsson President and Group Chief Executive AB SKF.
"The Power of Alignment gets to the heart of a critical element of organizational leadership, namely focus. Every leader who reads it will undoubtedly do some serious soul-searching about the consistency of corporate vision, goals, management systems, and incentive mechanisms." - Louis E. Lataif Dean Boston University School of Management.
Customer Reviews:
As significant today as it was when first published.......2007-08-26
After reviewing several books on Strategic Execution, I was continuously left with the feeling that the authors had ommitted a key ingredient. This book has convinced me that that key ingredient was "Alignment".
This book was published 10 years ago (OK, I am embarrassed that I have only just got around to reading it) but it is as significant today as it was when it was first published. Probably more so considering the rapid state of change that most companies are faced with today.
It is a simple read, and the concepts are easy to follow. What I enjoyed most about the book is that the suggestions are practical and you can take them and implement them immediately within an organization.
I noticed that one of the readers who has reviewed the book said that the book was required reading for his MBA course. 10 years on, I still think it should be required reading for any business executive.
This Is a Great Resource!.......2007-07-10
I'm always looking for visual ways of understanding critical elements of strategy. The Power of Alignment offers a very helpful way of thinking about four important ingredients in keeping the main thing, the main thing. Vertical alignment, the relationship between your strategy and the people on your team, "energizes...provides direction, and offers opportunity for involvement." Horizontal alignment refers to the connection between your processes and customers. Taken together the two measures provide some great insight into the development of genuine alignment.
One of the most interesting elements of the book is a 16 question diagnostic tool that is designed to provide a graphic view of your organization's alignment. Very helpful!
Make Sure That Everything You Do Points To Success !.......2006-05-03
Great book! The basic premise is that once a business has a raison d'etre, or a 'main thing', that profits are maximized by the alignment of four key business areas: Strategy, Processes, People, and Customers. Built on this premise are actionalbe ways to build a self-aligning organization. I got the sense of discovering truth while I read this book. Leadership isn't really about power, it is about responsibility. This book shows a manager at any level how to align his area to the overall strategy of the company and to the end products of the company. It shows how processes should be designed and what factors should be used to reward, recognize and evaluate employees. Great food for thought and realistic to implement.
Five Stars
Powerful Organizational Focus.......2003-05-28
Quite simply, this book was one of the best business management and leadership books I have ever read. It was well-written and expertly balanced management and leadership concepts with real-world examples of effectively aligned organizations, such as Federal Express and Southwest Airlines. This book should be read and discussed by leaders and managers at all levels, especially by mid- to senior-level executives.
In brief, alignment deals with the relationships among the people, processes, strategy, and customers of an organization relative to that organization's purpose, or what the authors called "the main thing." Alignment is both a noun, a state of being, and a verb, a set of actions. Vertical alignment connects organizational strategy with the people responsible for transforming that strategy into meaningful work. Horizontal alignment deals with understanding your customers' wants and then creating processes to deliver what your customers want, when and how they want it. Effective leadership nurtures the organizational culture that is built around and upon "the main thing," and it is this culture and leadership combination that drives and sustains self-aligning organizations in turbulent times.
The authors' analogy of landing a plane helped me to visualize the dynamics involved with organizational alignment. To land a plane, a pilot must adjust and react to multiple simultaneous factors and conditions (i.e. air speed, altitude, angle of approach, wind speed and direction, etc.) and then understand how a change in one will affect the others. Likewise, to align an organization, a leader must adjust and react to feedback about his people, processes, strategy, and customers, and then understand how a change in one will affect the others.
The authors clearly and thoroughly explained the alignment factors and conditions throughout the book. They followed their explanations with incisive questions for readers to ask about themselves and their organizations to assess their degree of alignment. Those questions were definitely a highlight of the book for they really helped to stimulate my thinking and should help inspire organizational progress to alignment. Another highlight was the appendices that contained examples of actual tools and products used and created by some of the aligned organizations studied by the authors.
The inside back cover jacket sums up why I give the book my highest recommendation: "Essential reading for all managers and executives, "The Power of Alignment" offers a new way to reestablish focus and sustained energy, and is a dynamic approach for staying balanced and achieving extraordinary levels of performance."
Alignment is Key Essential Usually Overlooked.......2001-07-13
I found this book easy reading, concise, and presented it's basic premise well with specific examples and good suggestions for creation and implementation.
Working as a Director in Managed Care for several pharmaceutical companies, it creates a focus for any organization and a roadmap for the future(physician, health plan, pharmaceutical company) to avoid many of the mistakes and pitfalls that have already been experienced in an attempt to align with the ever changing healthcare landscape.
For those who do account management, it provides a construct and roadmap to use to optimize alignment with internal customers and maximize resources to create value and return with the external customers (....and their customers.) As the authors point, alignment is a continuing process, not a single event in time. Many companies become quickly aligned with the past, and misaligned with the present & future, and can not sustain the competitive edge because they forget this basic premise that the authors reinforce.
The concepts are basic and fundamental, but usually overlooked and forgotten in the day to day business of rapidly growing companies and changing environments.
Books:
- The Cloisters Cross Its Art and Meaning
- The Collage Handbook
- The Dancer Defects: The Struggle for Cultural Supremacy during the Cold War
- The Drawings of Stuart Davis: The Amazing Continuity
- The Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook
- The human form in action and repose: A photographic handbook for artists
- The M.C. Escher Jigsaw Puzzle Book
- The Mask of Art: Breaking the Aesthetic Contract--Film and Literature
- The Pennsylvania-German Decorated Chest
- The Quilt Maker: A Story Collection
Books Index
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