Heroes Without Halos

Heroes Without Halos is an ongoing record of sessions channeled since 2002 by a gifted reflexologist. Elijah, the lead speaker, was a teacher/commander in both the Marines and NYPD. He, fellow officers, and others tell of 9/11/2001 events, how they crossed and how things really work on the Other Side. They come now to enlighten, awaken, and prepare souls on Earth for the accelerated natural disasters now occurring and the cataclysmic events to precede the Thousand Years of Peace. Those who choose to cross over must prepare for the soul cleansing process and those who choose to remain must prepare for physical and spiritual survival. Angelo, a retired FDNY chief, tells in graphic detail of his cleansing and how there is no hell except that of your own making in the treatment of others while on Earth. You, during soul cleansing, feel all the pain you inflicted on others and the duration of this depends upon many factors. Angelo seeks forgiveness from those he hurt. He hopes to help his family and others clear their misdeeds before they cross so they will not feel what he felt.

Similar in form to the well-known, more serious haiku, the satirical—and often humorous—poems known as senryu have received little scholarly attention because most were written by anonymous amateur poets and were therefore considered popular literature unworthy of serious study. Senryu are interesting, however, precisely because they reflect the thoughts and feelings of ordinary townspeople in a way that other more orthodox types of Japanese literature do not. In his introduction on the nature and historical background of the form, Makoto Ueda explores the elements of humor and satire contained in senryu, highlighting the mores that lie behind the laughter the poems evince. Collecting 400 eighteenth- and nineteenth-century poems—with the romanized Japanese verse presented at the bottom of each page—Light Verse from the Floating World is divided into thematic sections, each preceded by a short introduction: satirical senryu, aimed at people of the ruling warrior class and civilians of various professions; senryu on human relationships—between young lovers, husband and wife, parent and child, or family members of different generations; poems on townspeople enjoying themselves in the "amusement" district; ridicule of well-known historical figures; and poems on the poets' general outlook on life. Replete with keen observations on the human world rather than the natural one, this first comprehensive anthology in English translation of this major genre of Japanese literature will appeal to scholars and students of Japanese culture, as well as general readers of poetry.

Harness "Code Halos" to gain competitive advantage in the digital era Amazon beating Borders, Netflix beating Blockbuster, Apple beating Kodak, and the rise of companies like Google, LinkedIn, and Pandora are not isolated or random events. Today's outliers in revenue growth and value creation are winning with a new set of rules. They are dominating by managing the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes, and products—what authors Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig, and Ben Pring call Code Halos. This is far beyond “Big Data” and analytics. Code Halos spark new commercial models that can dramatically flip market dominance from industry stalwarts to challengers. In this new book, the authors show leaders how digital innovators and traditional companies can build Code Halo solutions to drive success. The book: Examines the explosion of digital information that now surrounds us and describes the profound impact this is having on individuals, corporations, and societies; Shows how the Crossroads Model can help anticipate and navigate this market shift; Provides examples of traditional firms already harnessing the power of Code Halos including GE's "Brilliant Machines," Disney's theme park "Magic Band," and Allstate's mobile devices and analytics that transform auto insurance. With reasoned insight, new data, real-world cases, and practical guidance, Code Halos shows seasoned executives, entrepreneurs, students, line-of-business owners, and technology leaders how to master the new rules of the Code Halo economy.

"The best picture I know of my religion is Ludgate Hill as one sees it going down the foot of Fleet Street. It would seem to many perhaps like a rather strange half-heathen altar, but it has in it the three things with which I worship most my Maker in this present world—the three things which it would be the breath of religion to me to offer to a God together—Cathedrals, Crowds, and Machines." Gerald Stanley Lee was an American Congregational clergyman and the author of numerous books and essays. Lee was a frequent contributor of reviews to the Critic and other periodicals and wrote books on religion, modern culture, and physical fitness. Lee was opposed to U.S. entry into World War I, writing essays and editorials characterizing the war as a clumsy effort of the nations involved to communicate their desires and one that could be settled without any U.S. intervention.

Halo Effect is an unauthorized collection of essays on the bestselling video game Halo. Examining the Halo phenomenon from every angle—from profiling the greatest Halo player who ever lived to providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the wildly popular, virtual-reality Halo movies—this guide is the ultimate companion for anyone who wants to truly understand this amazingly successful video game. With discussions on the role of religion and science in the game, this collection of essays also looks into the creation of and community reaction to the launch of the Halo series.

Since the Doom series, First Person Shooter (FPS) videogames have ricocheted through the gaming community, often reaching outside that community to the wider public. While critics primarily lampoon FPSs for their aggressiveness and on-screen violence, gamers see something else. Halo is one of the greatest, most successful FPSs ever to grace the world of gaming. Although Halo is a FPS, it has a science-fiction storyline that draws from previous award-winning science fiction literature. It employs a game mechanic that limits the amount of weapons a player can carry to two, and a multiplayer element that has spawned websites like Red vs. Blue and games within the game created by players themselves. Halo’s unique and extraordinary features raise serious questions. Are campers really doing anything wrong? Does Halo’s music match the experience of the gamer? Would Plato have used Halo to train citizens to live an ethical life? What sort of Artificial Intelligence exists in Halo and how is it used? Can the player’s experience of war tell us anything about actual war? Is there meaning to Master Chief’s rough existence? How does it affect the player’s ego if she identifies too strongly with an aggressive character like Master Chief? Is Halo really science fiction? Can Halo be used for enlightenment-oriented thinking in the Buddhist sense? Does Halo's weapon limitation actually contribute to the depth of the gameplay? When we willingly play Halo only to die again and again, are we engaging in some sort of self-injurious behavior? What is expansive gameplay and how can it be informed by the philosophy of Michel Foucault? In what way does Halo’s post-apocalyptic paradigm force gamers to see themselves as agents of divine deliverance? What can Red vs. Blue teach us about personal identity? These questions are tackled by writers who are both Halo cognoscenti and active philosophers, with a foreword by renowned Halo fiction author Fred Van Lente and an afterword by leading games scholar and artist Roger Ngim.

An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! It has been six years since the end of the Covenant War...and yet on the planet Carrow, a world on the edge of the Joint Occupation Zone, a decisive new battle suddenly erupts. Human colonists and the alien Sangheili have already been living a tension-filled co-existence in this place, with Unified Earth Government envoy Melody Azikiwe attempting to broker a lasting peace between their two species. But as civil war now engulfs the Sangheili settlers, Melody must act on an additional covert assignment courtesy of the Office of Naval Intelligence: find a way to free the SPARTAN-IIs known as Gray Team, held in stasis since the end of the war by a cunning Elite fleetmaster consumed with vengeance. And none can anticipate the ongoing violence leading to the discovery of an even greater, unstoppable threat—one hidden for eons below the surface of the planet....