Direk

Direk, a collection of essays on Filipino filmmakers, presents an accessible and provocative introduction to Philippine cinema. Notable Filipino critics write on the canonical Filipino film directors: Ronald Baytan on Ishmael Bernal; Patrick F Campos on Kidlat Tahimik; Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr. on Manuel Silos, Eddie Romero, and Lamberto Avellana; Vicente Garcia Groyon on Peque Gallaga; Shirley O. Lua on Fernando Poe, Jr; Gil Quito on Marilou Diaz-Abaya and Lav Diaz; Anne Frances N Sangil on Mike de Leon; Agustin Sotto on Gerardo de Leon; Nicanor G Tiongson on Manuel Conde; Rolando B Tolentino on Lino Brocka; Noel Vera on Mario OHara; and Lito B Zulueta on Brillante Ma Mendoza. A compelling work, the first of its kind, it is filled with insight and critical provocation. The work is essential reading for all who are interested in film making in all its multiple aspects, and provides hitherto unavailable information on Philippine filmmakers and cinema.

From Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sulak Sivaraksa comes this look at Buddhism's innate ability to help change life on the global scale. Conflict, Culture, Change explores the cultural and environmental impacts of consumerism, nonviolence, and compassion, giving special attention to the integration of mindfulness and social activism, the use of Buddhist ethics to confront structural violence, and globalization's threat to traditional identity.

Lino Brocka (1939–1991) was one of Asia and the Global South’s most celebrated filmmakers. A versatile talent, he was at once a bankable director of genre movies, an internationally acclaimed auteur of social films, a pioneer of queer cinema, and an outspoken critic of Ferdinand Marcos’s autocratic regime. José B. Capino examines the figuration of politics in the Filipino director’s movies, illuminating their historical contexts, allegorical tropes, and social critiques. Combining eye-opening archival research with fresh interpretations of over fifteen of Brocka’s major and minor works, Martial Law Melodrama does more than reveal the breadth of his political vision. It also offers a timely lesson about popular cinema’s vital role in the struggle for democracy.

"The Promised Land" tells of a warrior angel, anointed by God to punish those who have turned to evil and save those who suffer but whose faith never falter. Vengeance will rain down on those who do the bidding of the evil one. The land that God created has lost its purity and splendor due to the plague of filth and corruption brought by man. God is deeply hurt and disappointed by what Satan has done to God's most precious creations and by these creations' choice to embrace evil and turn their backs against the Lord. To stop evil from shrouding the world in its gloomy veil, God summons his warrior named Zorra. Armed with his faith and the power given to him by God, Zorra enters the world of mortals to destroy the evil that threatens to bring mankind apart. Zorra's entry to the world leads him to Hampshire, England. He immediately notices the suffering of the Jews and the cruelty of the rich and powerful with King Richard, the ruler of England, as the worst of them all. Zorra knows King Richard's demise is the key to restore peace in the kingdom. But God does not want King Richard to die; the former still wants to give the latter a chance to repent and change his ways. King Richard might resist, but Zorra is determined to end the king's cruelty to the Jews and save God's chosen people from the ruler's cruel hands. To do this, Zorra must return the Jews to Jerusalem, The Promised Land.

Focusing on the period between 1932 and 1968, this comprehensive study bridges the gap between recent political studies and available historiography, which generally conclude with the 1932 revolution. Dr. Brailey discusses the 1942 Japanese capture of Singapore that dragged a reluctant Thailand into World War II—a war Thai leaders believed was irrelevant to their national interests. He argues that this country, which had launched one of the East's earliest nationalist revolutions, had its political development reversed for a quarter century by the arrival of Japanese troops. Ironically, the Japanese presence in the region enabled most of Thailand's neighbors to promote their own development through decolonization. Dr. Brailey demonstrates that Thailand, once freed from post-war trauma, achieved a level of political freedom unsurpassed in Asia without seriously compromising its stability.

The eastern frontier of the Roman Empire extended from northern Syria to the western Caucasus, across a remote and desolate region 800 miles from the Aegean. It followed the great Euphrates valley to penetrate the harsh mountains of Armenia Minor and south of the Black Sea, along the Pontic coast to the finally reach the foothills of the Caucasus. Though vast, this terrain has long remained one of the great gaps in our knowledge of the ancient world, barely visited and effectively unknown -- until now. Here, Timothy Bruce Mitford offers an account of half a century of research and exploration over sensitive territory, in challenging conditions, to discover the material remains of Rome's last unexplored frontier. The geographical framework introduces frontier installations as they occur: fortresses and forts, roads, bridges, signalling stations, and navigation of the Euphrates. The journey is enriched with observations of consuls and travellers, memories of Turkish and Kurdish villagers, and notes and photographs of a way of life little changed since antiquity. The process of discovery was mainly on foot; staying in villages with local guides, following ancient tracks, and conversing with great numbers of people - provincial and district governors, village elders and teachers, police and jandarma, farmers and shepherds, and everyone in between. This came with its perils and pleasures; encounters with treasure hunters and apparent bandits, tales of saints and caravans, arrests and death threats, bears and wild boars, rafts and fishing, earthquakes, all amid the tumultuous events of the second half of the twentieth century. Richly illustrated with large-scale maps, photographs, and sketches, this is an account of travel and discovery, set against a background of a disappearing world encountered in the long process of academic exploration.

From the moment Carrie Cairncross enters Port Vernon's strange August fog, she wonders whether curious events are merely coincidences or indications of a deeper mystery. When Carrie and her friends Booj and Greg discover a magical shadow that takes them wherever they wish to be, they anticipate a week full of adventurous fun. However, they are totally unprepared to find themselves in the middle of a plot to steal the earth's animals, unpredictable journeys to past and future worlds, time and space warps emanating from their town, a ruthless search for eternal youth, and sinister forces that threaten to destroy the fabric of time. Help has been sent from the distant future in the form of a powerful horned man who can alter time as well as his appearance. Only Direk's incapacitating sensitivity prevents him from setting foot outside to resolve the increasingly bizarre situation. When Carrie brings Booj, Greg, Direk and herself face to face with the mystery's terrible source, she learns whether her newly found courage is real or only another fleeting effect of the time and space warps. And she realizes that her own actions can make a world-or two worlds-of difference.

Recent discussions in the philosophy of religion, ethics, and personal political philosophy have been deeply marked by the influence of two philosophers who are often thought to be in opposition to each other, SÃ ̧ren Kierkegaard and Emmanuel Levinas. Devoted expressly to the relationship between Levinas and Kierkegaard, this volume sets forth a more rigorous comparison and sustained engagement between them. Established and newer scholars representing varied philosophical traditions bring these two thinkers into dialogue in 12 sparkling essays. They consider similarities and differences in how each elaborated a unique philosophy of religion, and they present themes such as time, obligation, love, politics, God, transcendence, and subjectivity. This conversation between neighbors is certain to inspire further inquiry and ignite philosophical debate.