Una storia avventurosa a base di hobbit, nani, troll e battute discutibili. L'epopea di un cretinetti qualsiasi che non sa bene perché o per come.

Una scatenata parodia che è anche e soprattutto un affettuoso omaggio ad uno dei libri più amati del XX secolo. Grazie ad una galleria di personaggi stralunati e memorabili vengono ribaltate le convenzioni e i miti del fantasy: i mostri si umanizzano e gli uomini si mostrificano; draghi e nani, elfi e stregoni scendono dal piedistallo e vengono resi comicamente familiari. Benvenuti nella Terra di Un Quarto, dove l'unica speranza di evitare la tirannia di Ser Pent è affidata ad una creaturina dai piedi pelosi in possesso del terribile Unico Anellide, lombrico da compagnia dagli oscuri poteri magici.....

In an increasingly global market, the Hollywood film industry is evolving rapidly. Once a stand-alone entity, the Hollywood blockbuster is now integrated more closely than ever with the internet, computer games and news media. This growing synergy has given rise to a new phenomenon: the event film. As a work that transcends the boundaries and expectations of conventional film, Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy The Lord of the Rings makes a perfect case study for this emerging phenomenon. In a carefully-structured collection of essays, the authors cover every aspect of the event film from its inception through to marketing of the finished product. The financial implications of planning and producing an event film are examined, with clear analyses of tax breaks and marketing strategies. Consideration is also given to the philosophical and social impact of event films, including effects on national identity and tourism in an age of globalization. The twenty-five contributors to this volume come from an eclectic range of backgrounds, but share a perspective grounded in Aotearoa, New Zealand, the land of Middle-earth. Their expertise in fields as diverse as business, communications, geography, music, film and media studies combines to provide a clear understanding of how ‘creative industries’ will figure in future economics. Studying the event film offers a unique entry point for studying twenty-first century media, and is essential reading for fans of The Lord of the Rings and for anyone interested in contemporary Hollywood as a global industrial and cultural phenomenon.

Una novella quasi poliziesca che si svolge nel Giappone moderno, con tradizioni e storie che affondano le loro radici nella psiche e nella storia millenaria del paese. Il protagonista ha lo stesso nome di un famoso artista italiano e chi l'aiuta nel lavoro e nella scoperta di strani retroscena e un'intelligente Madoka Mai che...

Dagli anni '90 fino ad oggi il panorama del progressive rock si è espanso a dismisura. Questi anni sono stati testimoni della nascita di moltissime band, alcune durate lo spazio di un solo album, altre in attività tutt'ora. Questa guida prende in esame con un approccio critico le discografie e la storia di molti gruppi sorti a partire dal 1990. Non tralasciando né sottogeneri (come progressive metal, post rock e alternative), né i fondamentali apporti delle scene scandinave ed europee che hanno scardinato la centralità dei paesi anglofoni. Perchè mai come in questi anni il progressive è diventato globale. (II Edz. aggiornata al 2009). Lorenzo Barbagli è musicista e musicologo. Laureato al DAMS di Bologna scrive per la rivista musicale Wonderous Stories ed è l'autore del saggio "The Lamb - Il percorso del "lamb" di Peter Gabriel" (2007) pubblicato da Edizioni Segno.

In the globalized, postmodern world, the production of encounters and crashes between dissimilar cultures, ways of life, and systems of values has drastically increased in number. More and more frequently, they originate harsh conflicts, exhibiting the existence of alternative and apparently incompatible ways of living and thinking – culturally, religiously, economically and politically speaking. In this context, words as tolerance and intolerance have been put at the heart of the political debate. However, what is the real meaning of these political concepts? Why did they originate and how did the developed over time? Do they still represent a valid resource for comprehending our current societies and dealing with them? Through the different voices of several scholars in the humanities, this book traces the history of tolerance since the wars of religion to the contemporary age, combining the historical reconstruction with a theoretical and critical analysis of the idea and practice of tolerance in different epochs and places. The obstacle course depicted here reveals the constitutive fragility of this concept that, however, cannot be totally dismissed from our political vocabulary.

"In The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook Alan Lee reveals in pictures and in words how he created the watercolor paintings for the special centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings. These images would prove so powerful and evocative that they would eventually define the look of Peter Jackson's movie trilogy and earn him a coveted Academy Award." "The book is filled with more than 150 of his sketches and early conceptual pieces showing how the project progressed from idea to finished art. It also contains a selection of full-page paintings reproduced in full color, together with numerous examples of previously unseen conceptual art produced for the films and many new works drawn specially for this book." "The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook provides an insight into the imagination of the man who painted Tolkien's vision, first on the page and then in three dimensions on the movie screen. It will also be of interest to many of the thousands of people who have bought the illustrated Lord of the Rings as well as to budding artists who want to unlock the secrets of book illustration."--BOOK JACKET.