Plucked from a humble nomad family to become the leader of one of Tibet’s oldest Buddhist lineages, the young Seventeenth Karmapa draws on timeless values to create an urgent ethic for today’s global community. We have always been, and will always be, interconnected—through family, community, and shared humanity. As our planet changes and our world grows smaller, it is vital we not only recognize our connections to one another and to the earth but also begin actively working together as interdependent individuals to create a truly global society. The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is uniquely positioned to guide us in this process. Drawing on years of intensive Buddhist training and a passionate commitment to social issues, he teaches how we can move from a merely intellectual understanding to a fully lived experience of connection. By first seeing, then feeling, and finally living these connections, we can become more effective agents of social and ethical change. The Karmapa shows us how gaining emotional awareness of our connectedness can fundamentally reshape the human race. He then guides us to action, showing step by step how we can change the way we use the earth’s resources and can continue to better our society. In clear language, the Karmapa draws connections between such seemingly far-flung issues as consumer culture, loneliness, animal protection, and self-reliance. In the process, he helps us move beyond theory to practical and positive social and ethical change.

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a sci-fi film directed by the Canadian filmmaker siblings Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The film follows the story of a Chinese-American woman named Billi (played by Awkwafina), who discovers that she has the power to communicate with her ancestors from multiple dimensions and time periods. The film’s storyline involves the concept of ‘Elder’, a supreme being that created the universe, and how Billi must find a way to stop Elder from destroying all of existence. The movie features a diverse cast of actors, including Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Daniel Dae Kim. The film’s trailer promises a wild ride through quantum physics, philosophy, and emotion. The movie deals with themes of identity, belonging, and the interconnectedness of life, making it both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant. From the stunning visuals to the intricate plot to the powerful performances, Everything Everywhere All at Once aims to deliver an experience unlike any other sci-fi film.

Imaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwise Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear. Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger's Syndrome, but most just say he's "on the spectrum." None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can't protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy. When Mrs. Patterson does the unthinkable and kidnaps Max, it is up to Budo and a team of imaginary friends to save him—and Budo must ultimately decide which is more important: Max's happiness or Budo's very existence. Narrated by Budo, a character with a unique ability to have a foot in many worlds—imaginary, real, child, and adult— Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend touches on the truths of life, love, and friendship as it races to a heartwarming . . . and heartbreaking conclusion.

Niall Horan is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who gained fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Born on September 13, 1993, in Mullingar, Ireland, Horan started learning the guitar at a young age. In 2010, he auditioned for the seventh series of The X Factor UK as a solo performer but was eliminated early on. However, along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, he was put together to form One Direction, which finished third in the competition. The group became an international sensation and released five albums together before taking a hiatus in 2016. After One Direction, Horan launched a successful solo career that saw him release his debut album, Flicker, in 2017. He has since released two more albums, Heartbreak Weather (2020) and his latest, titled Better, which was released on September 17, 2021. Horan's style is a mix of pop, folk, and rock, and he cites Ed Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac, and Bob Dylan as his primary influences. His solo music explores themes of love, heartbreak, and self-growth. He has collaborated with numerous artists, including Julia Michaels, Ashe, and Anne-Marie, among others. Horan also has a passion for golf and has participated in various celebrity tournaments. He is active on social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram, and is known for his philanthropic work supporting numerous charities and causes.

We analyze the determinants of IMF lending since the early nineties, a period during which the roles of financial cycles and interconnectedness as amplifiers and transmitters of economic crises have gained prominence. First, we show that the global financial cycle is an important driver of IMF lending cycles. Second, using a panel of 91 advanced, emerging, and frontier economies over 1992-2014, we show that global factors and interconnectedness, as proxied by a countries’ potential exposure to economic spillovers from trade partners, together with more traditional idiosyncratic factors, have a significant impact on the probability that a member country obtains financial assistance from the IMF. Our results are robust to various robustness checks. The approach presented in this paper can be used to assess future demand for IMF financial assistance.

Li and Reuveny use an interdisciplinary social-scientific approach to investigate today's key political, economic, and environmental issues.

English description: What did the early Greek philosophers think about animals and their lives? How did they view plants? And, ultimately, what type of relationship did they envisage between all sorts of living beings? On these topics there is evidence of a prolonged investigation by several Presocratics. However, scholarship has paid little attention to these issues and to the surprisingly 'modern' development they received in Presocratics' doctrines. This book fills this lacuna through a detailed (and largely unprecedented) analysis of the extant evidence. The volume also includes the first extensive collection of the ancient sources pertaining to living beings and life in early Greek philosophy, organized chronologically and thematically. German description: Was dachten die fruhen Griechischen Philosophen uber das Leben der Tiere? Welches Bild machten sie sich von Pflanzen? Und schliesslich, welche Vorstellung hatten sie davon, wie alles Leben untereinander zusammenhangt? Es lassen sich hierzu viele Nachweise in Traktaten der Prasokratiker finden, jedoch haben bisherige wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen diesem Thema wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Diese Lucke wird vom vorliegenden Band mit detaillierten, textnahen Analysen der mannigfaltigen Nachweise gefullt. Zusatzlich wartet das Werk mit einer beispiellosen Sammlung der prasokratischen Quellen auf, welche sich mit der Philosophie des Lebens und der Lebewesen auseinandersetzen, sowohl chronologisch als auch thematisch gruppiert.