All posts tagged: Kingdom

The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike

The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike

Published by skeptic

Signe Pike’s The Forgotten Kingdom is the second book in The Lost Queen trilogy, following the journey started in The Lost Queen and preceding The Shadowed Land. This historical fiction and fantasy series intertwines mythology, early medieval history, and the lore of Scotland, delivering a vividly imagined world that bridges ancient traditions with transformative societal shifts. Set in 6th-century Scotland, The Forgotten Kingdom continues the story of Languoreth, her twin brother Lailoken, and her daughter Angharad. Their intertwined fates unfold against the backdrop of political upheaval, war, and the growing tension between the Old Way of wisdom and the encroaching rise of Christianity. Plot Overview and Analysis At its heart, The Forgotten Kingdom picks up where The Lost Queen left off, plunging readers into the turmoil of AD 573, marked by war and seismic cultural shifts. Languoreth is imprisoned, awaiting news of a violent battle where her husband, Rhydderch, and her son, Rhys, clash with her brother, Lailoken, a Wisdom Keeper. Amid this chaos, Angharad is lost, her fate unfolding in parallel with Lailoken’s descent …

Did Climate Change Cause the Collapse of Egypt’s New Kingdom?

Did Climate Change Cause the Collapse of Egypt’s New Kingdom?

Published by skeptic

The Workmen’s City of Deir el-Medina. Source: University of Leiden.   Considered Egypt’s Golden Age, the New Kingdom was a period of economic success, expansion, and advancements in technology, art, and architecture. Some of ancient Egypt’s most spectacular monuments date from this era. Unfortunately, this mighty empire fell into decline, like many civilizations did during the Late Bronze Age. Several factors contributed to the decline of the Egyptian New Kingdom, but researchers now believe that a long period of drought caused by climate change was a major catalyst.   Life in New Kingdom Egypt Ipuy and his wife receive offerings from the children, c. 1279-1213 BCE. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   Dating from about 1550-1070 BCE, Egypt’s New Kingdom is the most well-documented era in ancient Egyptian history. Some of the most famous pharaohs ruled during this period, including Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses the Great. These rulers of the Golden Age oversaw nearly 500 years of political stability, economic prosperity, and imperial expansion.   Much of the Mediterranean saw major advances during …

Why did Jesus compare the Kingdom of God to an invasive weed? – OpentheWord.org

Why did Jesus compare the Kingdom of God to an invasive weed? – OpentheWord.org

Published by skeptic

Mustard fieldCredit: Nafiur Rahman, Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 124 | Why did Jesus compare the Kingdom of God to an invasive weed? FOLLOW OUR PODCAST ON (search opentheword): PODCAST NOTES: ESPAÑOL: ¿Por qué Jesús comparó el Reino de Dios con una mala hierba invasora? Every spring as the snow melts away in our backyard, I see the brown dead grass emerging along with the annoying green leaves of dandelions that have already sprung to life and started to grow. In my perpetual battle with the dandelion, my dreaded foe already has the advantage and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to completely eliminate them. Hi, my name is Dean Smith and in this podcast, I want to discuss the time that Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to one of the Middle East’s most dreaded weeds. Yes, I said a weed. But before I discuss why Jesus did this, let’s look at the curious statement that Pliny the Younger made about Christians in his letter to the Roman Emperor Trajan around 112 AD. …

Are revival winds stirring in the United Kingdom? – OpentheWord.org

Are revival winds stirring in the United Kingdom? – OpentheWord.org

Published by skeptic

London, EnglandCredit: Lucas Davies, unsplash.com Over this past year, there have been several reports indicating that a spiritual revival may be stirring in the United Kingdom. While there has been a noticeable turn towards secularism in the UK in recent years, three reports suggest a spiritual shift is taking place in the island nation. From ‘The Spectator’ in April 2024 Back in April, podcaster Justin Brierley, author of The Surprising Rebirth of Belief, stated in a column for The Spectator that he believes a revival is stirring in the UK. He cited multiple instances of high-profile UK figures publicly announcing they have become Christians, including Russell Brand, author and poet Paul Kingsnorth, former atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and tech pioneer Jordan Hall. Brierley also discussed a conversation he had with historian Tom Holland, about his recent move towards the Christian faith after he was divinely healed of cancer. This led Brierley to attend a midnight service with Holland at the very church where he was healed after praying at a midnight mass. Brierley was surprised …

Sashya Subono Halse: Indonesian animator who helped bring Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes to life

Sashya Subono Halse: Indonesian animator who helped bring Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes to life

Published by Sam

Planning to catch Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes in cinemas this weekend? Don’t forget to pay close attention to how realistic the ape characters are.  Indonesian animator Sashya Subono Halse literally had a hand in that – as well as plenty of other movies and TV shows you’re probably very familiar with. The 36-year-old Subono is an animator at Weta FX, a digital visual effects and animation company based in Wellington, New Zealand.  In her four years with Weta FX, she has worked her animation magic on the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Hawkeye and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, and Disney movies Avatar: The Way Of Water and Kingdom of the Planet Of The Apes.  Her expertise includes matchmoving, which involves making computer-generated elements appear as if they were recorded in the real world, and facial motion animation, which brings a character’s face to life by recording the movements and expressions of a human face and transferring them to a digital character. Subono told CNA Women that for as long as she can remember, she has …

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review – future simians swing through cinematic jungle | Film

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review – future simians swing through cinematic jungle | Film

Published by skeptic

After four ambitious and successful pictures, the reboot-prequel Planet of the Apes franchise now comes to what could well be the end, approaching the moment at which Charlton Heston and his crew crash landed, in 3978, in the original movie. It’s where, in 1968, we came in. Of course, if this one is a big hit, yet another prequel-episode could theoretically be squeezed in. But I hope not. It’s not that this movie is running low on energy or panache – it isn’t – but the story is tangled and contrived and weirdly anticlimactic because that original film is starting to loom over everything like the Statue of Liberty’s shadow. All that happens has to match up with what we know is coming. There have to be “good” apes we can root for, but also “bad” apes to make sense of the original’s imminent ape tyranny. There have to be “good” humans for the “good” apes to have a relatable relationship with – but they have to exhibit “bad” or anti-ape tendencies to align with …

10 UK stays that take tranquillity to the next level | United Kingdom holidays

10 UK stays that take tranquillity to the next level | United Kingdom holidays

Published by skeptic

The Tawny, Staffordshire Bordering the Consall Nature Park, a nature reserve featuring 740 acres of woodland, heath and moor, is The Tawny, a “deconstructed hotel”. This means that instead of a single house with rooms there are a collection of boathouses, huts and treehouses scattered around the woodlands and lakes. At the top of the hill is a modern glass building, the Plumicorn restaurant, and a heated outdoor pool looking out over the gardens. Stargazing sessions and night-time meditation are on offer, while spa treatments can be booked in the thatched cottage onsite. Huts from £240 B&B; thetawny.co.uk Sharpham House, Devon Photograph: Vicki Couchman A Grade I-listed Georgian mansion surrounded by a parkland designed originally by Capability Brown and overlooking the River Dart, Sharpham House is the place to go if you’re ready to take your quest for tranquillity seriously. There are silent retreats, mindfulness for beginners and “burnout” retreats, too – and all guests are fed delicious vegetarian and vegan food, much of it grown organically in their walled garden. From £375 for a …

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: latest film looks to a future adventure in the sci-fi franchise

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: latest film looks to a future adventure in the sci-fi franchise

Published by Sam

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the latest instalment in the sci-fi franchise, is both a sequel and a prequel, its director, Wes Ball, said. The action-adventure is the 10th Planet of the Apes movie and follows the reboot trilogy, which debuted in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and includes the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. “It’s certainly big shoes to fill,” Ball, known for the Maze Runner movies, said at the new film’s London launch on Thursday (Apr 25). “We had to really decide if we had something good here. And I think we do. We have a reason to exist, we’re not just a part four, we’re kind of our own thing. We try to honour what came before with the previous trilogy, but also the original 1968 movie,” he said. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set several generations after the events of the 2017 film and centres on a young and …

‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ Initial Prototypes Were ‘Chaos’

‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ Initial Prototypes Were ‘Chaos’

Published by skeptic

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s developers had a problem: the land of Hyrule kept falling apart. Anyone who has played Tears of the Kingdom might be able to guess why. Some of the game’s big advances—Link’s Ultrahand and Fuse abilities, which allow players to create any tool they’re clever enough to stick together—required a lot of new and intricate development. Nintendo wanted to build something bigger and better with their Breath of the Wild sequel, but, as the team worked on the game, the tools that would allow players to make all those shield skateboards and log bridges broke it. A lot. It was, programmer Takahiro Takayama says, “chaos.” During development, Takayama said he’d often hear devs exclaim “it broke!” or “it went flying,” Takayama said Wednesday at the Game Developers Conference. “And I would respond, ‘I know. We’ll deal with it later.’” The problem was the physics of it all. “We realized removing all non-physics-driven objects and making everything physics-driven will lead us to the solution we were looking at,” Takayama …

The Unification of England & the Death of the Kingdom of Mercia

The Unification of England & the Death of the Kingdom of Mercia

Published by skeptic

  The unification of England is often seen as a solely West Saxon venture, leaving out the role of the Kingdom of Mercia. However, Mercia played a vital role as Wessex’s ally and partner in the fight against Viking invaders and in establishing a unified English kingdom. This article will show how Mercia was irreversibly changed from a mighty kingdom to an Earldom subject to the West Saxon Kings as a result of this process of unification.   The Kingdom of Mercia and the Great Heathen Army Map of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms in England, by Earle Wilbur Dow, 1907, Source: Englishhistory.net   Ninth-century England comprised four kingdoms: East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex. Despite a history of war, violence, and rivalry, the 840s-850s saw relatively peaceful relations between these kingdoms. This was likely motivated by a collective belief that Viking raiders were the real enemy.   By the mid-ninth century, these Scandinavian pirates had devastated several coastal regions of England. In response, Mercia began to work closely with its southern neighbor, Wessex. In the 850s, …