title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: The shot depicting Walt's reaction to Hank's death was, according to Beckett, Johnson's invention. To emphasize the physical impact, he requested that puzzle pieces be placed on the ground, covered in dirt; the pieces were controlled by a trigger and disassembled upon the moment Walt landed, thus emulating the effect of "shattering the earth". The ground shots of Hank and Jesse required a special crane rig and "periscope lens". For the following shot of Walt rolling the barrel, Johnson wanted to emulate the stature of a dung beetle. To do so he got the "longest possible lens" they could afford and sent "the B-camera crew out in a truck way the hell out". Jesse's torture was left off-screen due to the script excluding it and Johnson feeling that it would be unfair to the audience to manipulate their emotional investment in Jesse's character.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Betsy Brandt said that during production she avoided reading Hank's death, as she found it too emotional. Brandt noted that seven years after airing, she had not seen the episode. Co-executive producer Melissa Bernstein described reading the script as an "intense experience". Anna Gunn recalled that during the scene of Holly's kidnapping there were what "seemed like" a hundred onlookers. This coupled with the shooting running late and the erratic weather of the day led to her feeling under pressure and seeking support from Johnson. In 2014, she named it the hardest scene she filmed but also one of the "richest".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Walley-Beckett said that Walt's preceding confrontation was "extremely complicated" to write due to the character's differing objectives, the scene's "operatic" nature, and the multiple "crescendos and decrescendos". Johnson—who had it all "mapped out"—saw the scene as the hardest to film, noting that the line "I tried to save him" underwent multiple takes until Cranston commented that Walt should be, instead of bumbling, exasperated. Cranston and Gunn both performed the stunts themselves, barring two shots. The scene in which Walt is changing Holly's diaper had no lines for Holly in the script, but as Johnson explains: "[t]hat baby's mom was just off camera" which caused the baby to say "mama". Cranston stayed in character and went along with it, and it ended up in the episode.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: The University of Colorado Boulder's Amanda Knopf noted that the shootout aligns with the conventional Western trope of improbable success in a gunfight and is an example of Walt's moral code and belief that dying in this manner would restore his masculinity and heroism. Walt is throughout the episode emasculated, in various ways. She also notes that, within the series, the desert is visually unique in that despite the destruction and loss taking place it remains "unchanged".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: The lyrics to "Take My True Love by the Hand" by The Limeliters references and foreshadows Walt's isolation from his family, emphasized by Holly's first words being "Mama".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: The episode title refers to the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which recounts the crumbling legacy of a once-proud king. Bryan Cranston recited the entire poem in a 2013 trailer for the series. Walley-Beckett had wanted to use the poem for a long time and thus introduced it to showrunner Vince Gilligan.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Although the episode makes no explicit references to the poem, Austin Gill of Xavier University felt that by this episode's point in Walt's progression he had embodied the "tyrannical aspirations of invincibility and arrogance" of the poem's king, whose downfall is paralleled in Walt's. Douglas Eric Rasmussen of the University of Saskatchewan said that Walt's reaction to Hank's death indicates that he has become the “colossal wreck” of the poem—the empire of Ramesses II, which Shelley alluded to.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Further parallels are seen in both the episode and poem concluding with their protagonists left with little to show for their actions and how the "concept of hubris and being punished for grandiose projects that serve an individual's egotism are central aspects of each work". Walt's pant-less appearance in the flashback echoes the line "Two vast and trunk-less legs of stone". By evoking the poem, Rasmussen said, the show is critiquing Walt's empire and his "empty desires"—which he sees Walt embodying. Gill said that the episode—and by extension, the show—uses the poem to "underscore and warn of the ramifications of vanity" and "sustain cultural life and power".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Donna Bowman of "The A.V. Club" said the episode portrayed "Walt at his most human [and] most deluded... Hank [is] transformed by his pursuit of Heisenberg into the lawman he always wanted to be". She concluded that Holly's kidnapping was the final straw for his humanity. Alberto Nahum García Martínez and colleagues provided a reading which said that Walt's actions before and, particularly, after "Ozymandias" indicate moral redemption with the intention of the audience once again supporting Walt; in a review for "Slate", published the same day as the episode, Matthew Yglesias speculated this to be the writers' goal.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: When asked if the writers were trying to get the audience to support Walt, Walley-Beckett responded opaquely, noting that "moral ambiguity is a cornerstone of the series" and that they always "tried to legitimately confound expectations and put people in the moral position of rooting for somebody who's become a cancer to himself and everyone around [him]". Cranston said that the episode "[twisted] the allegiance, testing the audience" and that many people told him, following Walt disclosing his involvement in Jane's death, that they lost faith in Walt.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: The most analyzed and immediately discussed aspect of the episode was the phone call between Walt and Skyler—some viewers felt Walter's rage was false in an attempt to aid Skyler in avoiding prosecution; others saw his anger as genuine. Walley-Beckett "personally [felt] like it wasn't open to interpretation" and hoped that audiences would view it as a ploy and thus sympathize with Skyler, who Johnson framed in a deliberately intimate manner. She did see some of Walt's words as true. In an article for "IndieWire," one week after the episode's airing, Sam Adams said that "most everyone agrees that Walt's call to Skyler was...[him] trying to exonerate her".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: The University of British Columbia's Brandon Taylor said that the episode's critique of Walt is, by proxy, a critique of the audience for having, beforehand, derived pleasure from witnessing his actions. Drusilla Moorhouse, an online contributor to "The Today Show"s website, viewed the call as selfless and said it "rewrote the history of [Skyler's] complicity".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Matt Zoller Seitz of "Vulture" said that "The controversy over Walter's phone call is really about the relationship between viewers and television...It's about the discomfort that ensues when an episode or scene or moment forces us to take a hard look at why we watch a show, what we truly get out of it, and what that says about us". "The New Yorker"'s Emily Nussbaum said that the episode "trolled" her—"the Prissy Progressive Fan"—and the "bad fans"—those who watch the show for a power fantasy. According to Nussbaum, the episode sought to critique the respective fans' views of Skyler as either "pure victim" or "bitch".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: "Ozymandias" received "universal critical acclaim" and is not only widely considered the show's best episode, but one of the best episodes in the history of television. Multiple publications named it the best episode of 2013; of the decade, by some. "TV Guide" picked "Ozymandias" as the best television episode of the 21st century. "Ozymandias" frequently tops polls of the best "Breaking Bad" episodes. The episode, watched by 6.4 million viewers—the then-most for the show—is revered among fans, achieving a perfect 10.0 out of 10 rating on IMDb with almost 200,000 votes, the only television episode to do so.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Tom Mendelsohn of "The Independent" praised how the episode paid off the season's build-up. Seth Amitin of "IGN" echoed similar sentiments. The "Los Angeles Times"' Emily St. James described it as "rich" and gave particular praise to how it made Skyler's arc as a victim to willing accomplice "worth it", which she felt had previously been a fault of the season. "IndieWire"'s Kevin Jagernauth complimented how the episode delivered on each member of the White family's arcs. Maureen Ryan of "The Huffington Post" commended how it actualized the consequences of Walt's actions, in what she saw as a visceral manner. Tyler Hersko, in an article for IndieWire, applauded how it was a "culmination" of the show to that point.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Some reviewers found it hard to watch. Ryan, although calling the episode "perfectly realized," said it left her feeling sick and made her cry. Tim Surette of TV.com called the episode "terrific and awful to watch; a powerful piece of television that transcended fiction". Linda Holmes, in a positive review of the episode, expressed relief that the show was ending, as she began to find "the show's honesty about greed and violence...unbearable".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Walley-Beckett's script and Johnson's direction were described by St. James as "beautiful" and "exquisite", respectively. Regular contributor to "Paste," Ross Bonaime found Johnson's direction immersive, a sentiment echoed by Bowman. Jagernauth was grateful that Johnson "[served] the script by keeping the stylization at a minimum and letting the emotional scenes carry through with the power that was clearly on the page". Dustin Rowles called Johnson, in a 2014 article for "Uproxx," the best working director in television directly because of his work on "Ozymandias".


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: Alex Berenson of "Esquire" provided limited criticism regarding Todd's request to spare Walt and his delay—noting the latter to be "heavy-handed and unsubtle" but acknowledging that it did work within the story. St. James called Jesse's survival "improbable". Yglesias found Walt revealing his entire fortune and his eventual new life to be out-of-character decisions; the gang's imprisonment of Jesse to continue selling meth and lack of in-fighting also perplexed him.


title: Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)

text: At the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Moira Walley-Beckett received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for writing this episode. Bryan Cranston and Anna Gunn both submitted this episode for consideration after being nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, with each winning their categories. Additionally, Tarra D. Day and Corey Welk were nominated for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic).


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Kuru is a rare, incurable, and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that was formerly common among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea. Kuru is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) caused by the transmission of abnormally folded proteins (prions), which leads to symptoms such as tremors and loss of coordination from neurodegeneration.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The term kuru derives from the Fore word "kuria" or "guria" ("to shake"), due to the body tremors that are a classic symptom of the disease. "Kúru" itself means "trembling". It is also known as the "laughing sickness" due to the pathologic bursts of laughter which are a symptom of the disease. It is now widely accepted that kuru was transmitted among members of the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea via funerary cannibalism. Deceased family members were traditionally cooked and eaten, which was thought to help free the spirit of the dead. Women and children usually consumed the brain, the organ in which infectious prions were most concentrated, thus allowing for transmission of kuru. The disease was therefore more prevalent among women and children.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The epidemic likely started when a villager developed sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and died. When villagers ate the brain, they contracted the disease and then spread it to other villagers who ate their infected brains.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: While the Fore people stopped consuming human meat in the early 1960s, when it was first speculated to be transmitted via endocannibalism, the disease lingered due to kuru's long incubation period of anywhere from 10 to over 50 years. The epidemic finally declined sharply after half a century, from 200 deaths per year in 1957 to no deaths from at least 2010 onwards, with sources disagreeing on whether the last known kuru victim died in 2005 or 2009.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Kuru, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, is a disease of the nervous system that causes physiological and neurological effects which ultimately lead to death. It is characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia, or loss of coordination and control over muscle movements.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The preclinical or asymptomatic phase, also called the incubation period, averages 10–13 years, but can be as short as five and has been estimated to last as long as 50 years or more after initial exposure.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The clinical stage, which begins at the first onset of symptoms, lasts an average of 12 months. The clinical progression of kuru is divided into three specific stages: the ambulant, sedentary and terminal stages. While there is some variation in these stages between individuals, they are highly conserved among the affected population. Before the onset of clinical symptoms, an individual can also present with prodromal symptoms including headache and joint pain in the legs.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: In the first (ambulant) stage, the infected individual may exhibit unsteady stance and gait, decreased muscle control, tremors, difficulty pronouncing words (dysarthria), and tremors titubation. This stage is named the ambulant because the individual is still able to walk around despite symptoms.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: In the second (sedentary) stage, the infected individual is incapable of walking without support and experiences ataxia and severe tremors. Furthermore, the individual shows signs of emotional instability and depression, yet exhibits uncontrolled and sporadic laughter. Despite the other neurological symptoms, tendon reflexes are still intact at this stage of the disease.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: In the third and final (terminal) stage, the infected individual's existing symptoms, like ataxia, progress to the point where it is no longer possible to sit up without support. New symptoms also emerge: the individual develops dysphagia, which can lead to severe malnutrition, and may also become incontinent, lose the ability or will to speak, and become unresponsive to their surroundings despite maintaining consciousness. Towards the end of the terminal stage, patients often develop chronic ulcerated wounds that can be easily infected. An infected person usually dies within three months to two years after the first terminal stage symptoms, often because of pneumonia or other secondary infections.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Kuru is largely localized to the Fore people and people with whom they intermarried. The Fore people ritualistically cooked and consumed body parts of their family members following their death to incorporate "the body of the dead person into the bodies of living relatives, thus helping to free the spirit of the dead". Because the brain is the organ enriched in the infectious prion, women and children, who consumed brain, had a much higher likelihood of being infected than men, who preferentially consumed muscles.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The infectious agent is a misfolded form of a host-encoded protein called prion (PrP). Prion proteins are encoded by the Prion Protein Gene (PRNP). The two forms of prion are designated as PrP, which is a normally folded protein, and PrP, a misfolded form which gives rise to the disease. The two forms do not differ in their amino acid sequence; however, the pathogenic PrP isoform differs from the normal PrP form in its secondary and tertiary structure. The PrP isoform is more enriched in beta sheets, while the normal PrP form is enriched in alpha helices. The differences in conformation allow PrP to aggregate and be extremely resistant to protein degradation by enzymes or by other chemical and physical means. The normal form, on the other hand, is susceptible to complete proteolysis and soluble in non-denaturing detergents.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: It has been suggested that pre-existing or acquired PrP can promote the conversion of PrP into PrP, which goes on to convert other PrP. This initiates a chain reaction that allows for its rapid propagation, resulting in the pathogenesis of prion diseases.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: In 1961, Australian medical researcher Michael Alpers conducted extensive field studies among the Fore accompanied by anthropologist Shirley Lindenbaum. Their historical research suggested the epidemic may have originated around 1900 from a single individual who lived on the edge of Fore territory and who is thought to have spontaneously developed some form of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Alpers and Lindenbaum's research conclusively demonstrated that kuru spread easily and rapidly in the Fore people due to their endocannibalistic funeral practices, in which relatives consumed the bodies of the dead to return the person's "life force" to the hamlet, a Fore societal subunit. Corpses of family members were often buried for days, then exhumed once the corpses were colonized by insect larvae, at which point the corpse would be dismembered and served with the larvae as a side dish.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The demographic distribution evident in the infection rates – kuru was eight to nine times more prevalent in women and children than in men at its peak – is because Fore men considered consuming human flesh to weaken them in times of conflict or battle, while the women and children were more likely to eat the bodies of the deceased, including the brain, where the prion particles were particularly concentrated. Also, the strong possibility exists that it was passed on to women and children more easily because they took on the task of cleaning relatives after death and might have had open sores and cuts on their hands.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Although ingestion of the prion particles can lead to the disease, a high degree of transmission occurred if the prion particles could reach the subcutaneous tissue. With elimination of cannibalism because of Australian colonial law enforcement and the local Christian missionaries' efforts, Alpers' research showed that kuru was already declining among the Fore by the mid‑1960s. However, the mean incubation period of the disease is 14 years, and 7 cases were reported with latencies of 40 years or more for those who were most genetically resilient, continuing to appear for several more decades. Sources disagree on whether the last person with kuru died in 2005 or 2009.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: In 2009, researchers at the Medical Research Council discovered a naturally occurring variant of a prion protein in a population from Papua New Guinea that confers strong resistance to kuru. In the study, which began in 1996, researchers assessed over 3,000 people from the affected and surrounding Eastern Highland populations, and identified a variation in the prion protein G127. G127 polymorphism is the result of a missense mutation, and is highly geographically restricted to regions where the kuru epidemic was the most widespread. Researchers believe that the PrnP variant occurred very recently, estimating that the most recent common ancestor lived 10 generations ago.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: The findings of the study could help researchers better understand and develop treatments for other related prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and Alzheimer's disease.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Kuru was first described in official reports by Australian officers patrolling the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea in the early 1950s. Some unofficial accounts place kuru in the region as early as 1910. In 1951, Arthur Carey was the first to use the term "kuru" in a report to describe a new disease afflicting the Fore tribes of Papua New Guinea (PNG). In his report, Carey noted that kuru mostly affected Fore women, eventually killing them. Kuru was noted in the Fore, Yate and Usurufa people in 1952-1953 by anthropologists Ronald Berndt and Catherine Berndt. In 1953, kuru was observed by patrol officer John McArthur, who provided a description of the disease in his report. McArthur believed that kuru was merely a psychosomatic episode resulting from the sorcery practices of the tribal people in the region. After the disease had progressed into a larger epidemic, the tribal people asked Charles Pfarr, a Lutheran medical officer, to come to the area to report the disease to Australian authorities.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Initially, the Fore people believed the causes of kuru to be sorcery or witchcraft. They also thought that the magic causing kuru was contagious. It was also called negi-nagi, which meant foolish person as the victims laughed at spontaneous intervals. This disease, the Fore people believed, was caused by ghosts, because of the shaking and strange behaviour that comes with kuru. Attempting to cure this, they would feed victims casuarina bark.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: When kuru disease had become an epidemic, Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, a virologist, and Vincent Zigas, a medical doctor, started research on the disease. In 1957, Zigas and Gajdusek published a report in the "Medical Journal of Australia" that suggested that kuru had a genetic origin, and that "any ethnic-environmental variables that are operating in kuru pathogenesis have not yet been determined."


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Cannibalism was suspected as a possible cause from the very beginning but was not formally put forth as a hypothesis until 1967 by Glasse and more formally in 1968 by Mathews, Glasse, and Lindenbaum.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Even before anthropophagy had been linked to kuru, cannibalism was banned by the Australian administration of Papua New Guinea, and the practice was nearly eliminated by 1960. While the number of cases of kuru was decreasing, medical researchers were finally able to properly investigate kuru, which eventually led to the modern understanding of prions as its cause.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: In an effort to understand the pathology of kuru disease, Gajdusek established the first experimental tests on chimpanzees for kuru at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Michael Alpers, an Australian doctor, collaborated with Gajdusek by providing samples of brain tissues he had taken from an 11-year-old Fore girl who had died of kuru. In his work, Gajdusek was also the first to compile a bibliography of kuru disease. Joe Gibbs joined Gajdusek to monitor and record the behavior of the apes at the NIH and conduct their autopsies. Within two years, one of the chimps, Daisy, had developed kuru, demonstrating that an unknown disease factor was transmitted through infected biomaterial and that it was capable of crossing the species barrier to other primates. After Elisabeth Beck confirmed that this experiment had brought about the first experimental transmission of kuru, the finding was deemed a very important advance in human medicine, leading to the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Gajdusek in 1976.


title: Kuru (disease)

text: Subsequently, E. J. Field spent large parts of the late 1960s and early 1970s in New Guinea investigating the disease, connecting it to scrapie and multiple sclerosis. He noted the disease's interactions with glial cells, including the critical observation that the infectious process may depend on the structural rearrangement of the host's molecules. This was an early observation of what was to later become the prion hypothesis.


title: Reggaeton

text: Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico.


title: Reggaeton

text: It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include rapping and singing, typically in Spanish.


title: Reggaeton

text: Reggaeton is regarded as one of the most popular music genres in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, and Venezuela. Over the 2010s, the genre has seen increased popularity across Latin America, as well as acceptance within mainstream Western music.


title: Reggaeton

text: The word "reggaeton" (formed from the word "reggae" plus the augmentative suffix ) was first used in 1988 when El General's representative Michael Ellis gave it that name to describe it as ""reggae grande"" (big reggae). The spellings "reggaeton" and "reggaetón" are common, although prescriptivist sources such as the Fundéu BBVA and the "Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española" recommend the spelling "reguetón", as it conforms more closely with traditional Spanish spelling rules.


title: Reggaeton

text: Often mistaken for reggae or "reggae en Español", reggaeton is a younger genre that originated in the late-1980s in Panama and since then hasfrom become popularized by Puerto Rican artists. It had its origins in what was known as Rap y reggae "underground" music, due to its circulation through informal networks and performances at unofficial venues. DJ Playero and DJ Nelson were inspired by hip hop and Dancehall to produce "riddims", the first reggaeton tracks. As Caribbean and African-American music gained momentum in Puerto Rico, reggae rap in Spanish marked the beginning of the Boricua underground and was a creative outlet for many young people. This created an inconspicuous-yet-prominent underground youth culture which sought to express itself. As a youth culture existing on the fringes of society and the law, it has often been criticized. The Puerto Rican police launched a campaign against underground music by confiscating cassette tapes from music stores under penal obscenity codes, levying fines and demonizing rappers in the media. Bootleg recordings and word of mouth became the primary means of distribution for this music until 1998, when it coalesced into modern reggaeton. The genre's popularity increased when it was discovered by international audiences during the early 2000s.


title: Reggaeton

text: The new genre, simply called "underground" and later ""perreo"", had explicit lyrics about drugs, violence, poverty, friendship, love and sex. These themes, depicting the troubles of inner-city life, can still be found in reggaeton. "Underground" music was recorded in "marquesinas" (or carports) by creators using second-hand recording equipment, mostly. The cassettes were then sold or distributed on the streets from the trunk of a car. Many of the recordings were made in small "marquesinas" and at public "housing complexes such as Villa Kennedy, and Jurutungo". Despite that, the quality of the cassettes was good enough to help increase their popularity among Puerto Rican youth. The availability and quality of the cassettes led to reggaeton's popularity, which crossed socioeconomic barriers in the Puerto Rican music scene. The most popular cassettes in the early 1990s were DJ Negro's "The Noise I" and "II" and DJ Playero's 37 and 38. Gerardo Cruet, who created the recordings, spread the genre from the marginalized residential areas into other sectors of society, particularly private schools.


title: Reggaeton

text: By the mid-1990s, "underground" cassettes were being sold in music stores. The genre caught on with middle-class youth, then found its way into the media. By this time, Puerto Rico had several clubs dedicated to the underground scene; Club Rappers in Carolina and PlayMakers in Puerto Nuevo were the most notable. Bobby "Digital" Dixon's "Dem Bow" production was played in clubs. Underground music was not originally intended to be club music. In South Florida, DJ Laz and Hugo Diaz of the Diaz Brothers were popularizing the genre from Palm Beach to Miami.


title: Reggaeton

text: Underground music in Puerto Rico was harshly criticized. In February 1995, there was a government-sponsored campaign against underground music and its cultural influence. Puerto Rican police raided six record stores in San Juan, hundreds of cassettes were confiscated and fines imposed in accordance with Laws 112 and 117 against obscenity. The Department of Education banned baggy clothing and underground music from schools. For months after the raids local media demonized rappers, calling them "irresponsible corrupters of the public order."


title: Reggaeton

text: In 1995, DJ Negro released "The Noise 3" with a mockup label reading, "Non-explicit lyrics". The album had no cursing until the last song. It was a hit, and underground music continued to seep into the mainstream. Senator Velda González of the Popular Democratic Party and the media continued to view the movement as a social nuisance.


title: Reggaeton

text: During the mid-1990s, the Puerto Rican police and National Guard confiscated reggaeton tapes and CDs to get "obscene" lyrics out of the hands of consumers. Schools banned hip hop clothing and music to quell reggaeton's influence. In 2002, Senator González led public hearings to regulate the sexual "slackness" of reggaeton lyrics. Although the effort did not seem to negatively affect public opinion about reggaeton, it reflected the unease of the government and the upper social classes with what the music represented. Because of its often sexually-charged content and its roots in poor, urban communities, many middle- and upper-class Puerto Ricans found reggaeton threatening, "immoral, as well as artistically deficient, a threat to the social order, apolitical".


title: Reggaeton

text: Despite the controversy, reggaeton slowly gained acceptance as part of Puerto Rican culture — helped, in part, by politicians including González who began to use reggaeton in election campaigns to appeal to younger voters in 2003. Puerto Rican mainstream acceptance of reggaeton has grown and the genre has become part of popular culture, including a 2006 Pepsi commercial with Daddy Yankee and PepsiCo's choice of Ivy Queen as musical spokesperson for Mountain Dew. Other examples of greater acceptance in Puerto Rico are religiously- and educationally-influenced lyrics; "Reggae School" is a rap album produced to teach math skills to children, similar to "School House Rock". Reggaeton expanded when other producers, such as DJ Nelson and DJ Eric, followed DJ Playero. During the 1990s, Ivy Queen's 1996 album "En Mi Imperio", DJ Playero's "Playero 37" (introducing Daddy Yankee) and "The Noise: Underground", "The Noise 5" and "The Noise 6" were popular in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Don Chezina, Tempo, Eddie Dee, Baby Rasta & Gringo and Lito & Polaco were also popular.


title: Reggaeton

text: The name "reggaeton" became prominent during the early 2000s, characterized by the dembow beat. It was coined in Puerto Rico to describe a unique fusion of Puerto Rican music. Reggaeton is currently popular throughout Latin America. It increased in popularity with Latino youth in the United States when DJ Joe and DJ Blass worked with Plan B and Sir Speedy on "Reggaeton Sex", "Sandunguero" and "Fatal Fantasy".


title: Reggaeton

text: In 2004, reggaeton became popular throughout the United States and Europe. Tego Calderón was receiving airplay in the U.S., and the music was popular among youth. Daddy Yankee's "El Cangri.com" became popular that year in the country, as did Héctor & Tito. Luny Tunes and Noriega's "Mas Flow", Yaga & Mackie's "Sonando Diferente", Tego Calderón's "El Abayarde", Ivy Queen's "Diva", Zion & Lennox's "Motivando a la Yal" and the "Desafío" compilation were also well-received. Rapper N.O.R.E. released a hit single, "Oye Mi Canto". Daddy Yankee released "Barrio Fino" and a hit single, "Gasolina", opening the door for reggaeton globally. Tego Calderón recorded the singles "Pa' Que Retozen" and "Guasa Guasa". Don Omar was popular, particularly in Europe, with "Pobre Diabla" and "Dale Don Dale". Other popular reggaeton artists include Tony Dize, Angel & Khriz, Nina Sky, Dyland & Lenny, RKM & Ken-Y, Julio Voltio, Calle 13, Héctor Delgado, Wisin & Yandel and Tito El Bambino. In late 2004 and early 2005, inspired by the success of "Gasolina", Shakira collaborated with Alejandro Sanz to record "La Tortura" and "La Tortura – Shaketon Remix" for her album, "Fijación Oral Vol. 1", further popularizing reggaeton. Four reggaeton songs were sung at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards: by Don Omar ("Dile"), Tego Calderón, Daddy Yankee, and Shakira with Sanz – the first time any reggaeton song was performed on that stage.


title: Reggaeton

text: Musicians began to incorporate bachata into reggaeton, with Ivy Queen releasing singles ("Te He Querido, Te He Llorado" and "La Mala") featuring bachata's signature guitar sound, slower, romantic rhythms and emotive singing style. Daddy Yankee's "Lo Que Paso, Paso" and Don Omar's "Dile" are also bachata-influenced. In 2005 producers began to remix existing reggaeton music with bachata, marketing it as "bachaton": "bachata, Puerto Rican style".


title: Reggaeton

text: In May 2006, Don Omar's "King of Kings" was the highest-ranking reggaeton LP to date on the U.S. charts, debuting atop the Top Latin Albums chart and peaking at number seven on the "Billboard" 200 chart. Omar's single, "Angelito", topped the "Billboard" Latin Rhythm Radio Chart. He broke Britney Spears' in-store-appearance sales record at Downtown Disney's Virgin music store.


title: Reggaeton

text: In June 2007, Daddy Yankee's "" set a first-week sales record for a reggaeton album, with 88,000 copies sold. It topped the Top Latin Albums and Top Rap Albums charts, the first reggaeton album to do so on the latter. The album peaked at number nine on the "Billboard" 200, the second-highest reggaeton album on the mainstream chart.


title: Reggaeton

text: The third-highest-ranking reggaeton album was Wisin & Yandel's "", which debuted at number 14 on the "Billboard" 200 and number one on the Top Latin Albums chart later in 2007. In 2008 Daddy Yankee soundtrack to his film, "Talento de Barrio", debuted at number 13 on the "Billboard" 200 chart. It peaked at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, number three on "Billboard's" Top Soundtracks and number six on the Top Rap Albums chart. In 2009, Wisin & Yandel's "La Revolución" debuted at number seven on the "Billboard" 200, number one on the Top Latin Albums and number three on the Top Rap Albums charts.


title: Reggaeton

text: By 2008, Reggaeton was the "biggest-selling genre of Latin music" and one of its artists, Tego Calderon, was using it to describe and encourage black pride.


title: Reggaeton

text: In 2017, the music video for "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee reached one billion views in less than three months. From January 2018 to November 2020, the music video was the most viewed YouTube video of all-time. With its 3.3 million certified sales plus track-equivalent streams, "Despacito" became one of the best-selling Latin singles in the United States. The success of the song and its remix version led Daddy Yankee to become the most listened-to artist worldwide on the streaming service Spotify on 9 July 2017, being the first Latin artist to do so. He later became the fifth most listened-to male artist and the sixth overall of 2017 on Spotify. In June 2017, "Despacito" was cited by "Billboard"s Leila Cobo as the song that renewed interest in the Latin music market from recording labels in the United States. Julyssa Lopez of "The Washington Post" stated that the successes of "Despacito" and J Balvin's "Mi Gente" is "the beginning of a new Latin crossover era." Stephanie Ho of Genius website wrote that "the successes of 'Despacito' and 'Mi Gente' could point to the beginning of a successful wave for Spanish-language music in the US." Ho also stated that "as 'Despacito' proves, fans don't need to understand the language in order to enjoy the music", referring to the worldwide success of the song, including various non-Spanish-speaking countries.


title: Reggaeton

text: In April 2018, "Te Boté" was released by Nio Garcia, Casper Magico, Darell, Ozuna, Bad Bunny and Nicky Jam. It reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs chart. It currently has over 1.8 billion views on YouTube. Many artists began to mark strong commercial trends in a market dominated by mixing Latin trap and reggaeton followed by a new minimalist dembow rhythm. For example, songs such as "Adictiva" by Daddy Yankee and Anuel AA, "Asesina" by Brytiago and Darell, "Cuando Te Besé" by Becky G and Paulo Londra, "No Te Veo" by Casper Magico and many other songs have been made in this style.


title: Reggaeton

text: The dembow riddim was created by Jamaican dancehall producers during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Dembow consists of a kick drum, kickdown drum, palito, snare drum, timbal, timballroll and (sometimes) a high-hat cymbal. Dembow's percussion pattern was influenced by dancehall and other West Indian music (soca, calypso and cadence); this gives dembow a pan-Caribbean flavor. Steely & Clevie, creators of the Poco Man Jam riddim, are usually credited with the creation of dembow. At its heart is the 3+3+2 (tresillo) rhythm, complemented by a bass drum in 4/4 time.


title: Reggaeton

text: The riddim was first highlighted by Shabba Ranks in "Dem Bow", from his 1991 album "Just Reality". To this day, elements of the song's accompaniment track are found in over 80% of all reggaeton productions. During the mid-1980s, dancehall music was revolutionized by the electronic keyboard and drum machine; subsequently, many dancehall producers used them to create different dancehall riddims. Dembow's role in reggaeton is a basic building block, a skeletal sketch in percussion.


title: Reggaeton

text: In Reggaeton 'dembow' also incorporates identical Jamaican riddims such as Bam Bam, Hot This Year, Poco Man Jam, Fever Pitch, Red Alert, Trailer Reloaded and Big Up riddims, and several samples are often used. Some reggaeton hits incorporate a lighter, electrified version of the riddim. Examples are "Pa' Que la Pases Bien" and "Quiero Bailar", which uses the Liquid riddim.


title: Reggaeton

text: Since 2018 a new variation of the Dembow rhythm has emerged; Starting with Te Bote, a sharper minimalist Dembow has become a stable of Reggaeton production which has allowed for more syncopated rhythmic experiments.


title: Reggaeton

text: Reggaeton lyrical structure resembles that of hip hop. Although most reggaeton artists recite their lyrics rapping (or resembling rapping) rather than singing, many alternate rapping and singing. Reggaeton uses traditional verse-chorus-bridge hip hop structure. Like hip hop, reggaeton songs have a hook which is repeated throughout the song. Latino ethnic identity is a common musical, lyrical and visual theme.


title: Reggaeton

text: Unlike hip-hop CDs, reggaeton discs generally do not have parental advisories. An exception is Daddy Yankee's "Barrio Fino en Directo" ("Barrio Fino Live"), whose live material (and with Snoop Dogg in "Gangsta Zone") were labeled explicit. Snoop Dogg and Daddy Yankee filmed the video for "Gangsta Zone" in Torres Sabana housing projects in Carolina, Puerto Rico on January 27, 2006. Shot in grayscale, Daddy Yankee said the video depicts "the real way we live on the island".


title: Reggaeton

text: Artists such as Alexis & Fido circumvent radio and television censorship by sexual innuendo and lyrics with double meanings. Some songs have raised concerns about their depiction of women. Although reggaeton began as a mostly-male genre, the number of women artists has been a slowly increasing and include the "Queen of Reggaeton", Ivy Queen, Mey Vidal, K-Narias, Adassa, La Sista and Glory.


title: Reggaeton

text: "Sandungueo", or "perreo", is a dance associated with reggaeton which emerged during the early 1990s in Puerto Rico. It focuses on grinding, with one partner facing the back of the other (usually male behind female). Another way of describing this dance is "back-to-front", where the woman presses her rear into the pelvis of her partner to create sexual stimulation. Since traditional couple dancing is face-to-face (such as square dancing and the waltz), reggaeton dancing initially shocked observers with its sensuality but was featured in several music videos. It is also known as daggering, grinding or juking in the English-speaking areas of the U.S.


title: Reggaeton

text: Over the past decade, reggaeton has received mainstream recognition in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, where the genre originated from, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Venezuela, where it is now regarded as one of the most popular music genres. Reggaeton has also seen increased popularity in the wider Latin America region, including in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru.


title: Reggaeton

text: In Cuba, reggaeton came to incorporate elements of traditional Cuban music, leading to the hybrid Cubaton. Two bands credited with popularizing Cubaton are Máxima Alerta (founded in 1999) and Cubanito 20.02. The former is notable for fusing Cubaton with other genres, such as son Cubano, conga, cumbia, salsa, merengue, and Cuban rumba, as well as styles and forms such as rap and ballads, whereas the latter's music is influenced more by Jamaican music. The government of Cuba imposed restrictions on reggaeton in public places in 2012. In March 2019, the government went a step further; they banned the "aggressive, sexually explicit and obscene messages of reggaeton" from radio and television, as well as performances by street musicians.


title: Reggaeton

text: The first name of reggaeton in Brazil was the Señores Cafetões group, who became known in 2007 with the track "Piriguete" - which at the time was mistakenly mistaken by Brazilians for hip hop and Brazilian funk because reggaeton was still a genre almost unknown in the country. In Brazil, this musical genre only reached a reasonable popularity around the middle of the decade of 2010. The first great success of the genre in the country was the song "Yes or no" by Anitta with Maluma. One of the explanations for reggaeton has not reached the same level of popularity that exists in other Latin American countries is due to the fact that Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country, which has historically led it to become more isolationist than other Latin American countries in the musical scene. The musical rhythm only became popular in the country when it reached other markets, like the American. The genre is now overcoming the obstacle of language. Some of the biggest names in the Brazilian music market have partnered with artists from other Latin American countries and explored the rhythm.


title: Reggaeton

text: The New York-based rapper N.O.R.E., also known as Noreaga, produced Nina Sky's 2004 hit "Oye Mi Canto", which featured Tego Calderón and Daddy Yankee, and reggaeton became popular in the U.S. Daddy Yankee then caught the attention of many hip-hop artists with his song "Gasolina", and that year XM Radio introduced its reggaeton channel, Fuego (XM). Although XM Radio removed the channel in December 2007 from home and car receivers, it can still be streamed from the XM Satellite Radio website. Reggaeton is the foundation of a Latin-American commercial-radio term, hurban, a combination of "Hispanic" and "urban" used to evoke the musical influences of hip hop and Latin American music. Reggaeton, which evolved from dancehall and reggae, and with influences from hip hop has helped Latin-Americans contribute to urban American culture and keep many aspects of their Hispanic heritage. The music relates to American socioeconomic issues, including gender and race, in common with hip hop.


title: Reggaeton

text: Although reggaeton is less popular in Europe than it is in Latin America, it appeals to Latin American immigrants, especially in Spain. A Spanish media custom, ""La Canción del Verano"" ("The Song of the Summer"), in which one or two songs define the season's mood, was the basis of the popularity of reggaeton songs such as "Baila Morena" by Héctor & Tito and Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" in 2005.


title: Reggaeton

text: In the Philippines, reggaeton artists primarily use the Filipino language instead of Spanish or English. One example of a popular local reggaeton act is Zamboangueño duo Dos Fuertes, who had a dance hit in 2007 with "Tarat Tat", and who primarily uses the Chavacano language in their songs.


title: Reggaeton

text: In 2020, Malaysian rapper Namewee released the single and music video "China Reggaeton" featuring Anthony Wong. It is the first time reggaeton was sung in the Chinese languagea of Mandarin and Hakka and accompanied by traditional Chinese instruments like the erhu, pipa and guzheng, creating a fusion of reggaeton and traditional Chinese musical styles.


title: Reggaeton

text: Despite the great popularity of the genre as a whole, reggaeton has also attracted criticism due to its constant references to sexual and violent themes. Mexican singer-songwriter Aleks Syntek made a public post on social media complaining that such music was played on Mexico City's airport in the morning with children present. By 2019, other singers who expressed dismay over the genre included vallenato singer Carlos Vives and Heroes Del Silencio singer Enrique Bunbury. That same year, some activists stated that reggaeton music gives way to misogynistic and sadistic messages.


title: Reggaeton

text: Some reggaeton singers have decided to counteract such accusations. One notable example is singer Flex, who in 2009 committed himself to singing songs with romance messages, a sub genre he dubbed “romantic style”.


title: Asus

text: ASUSTek Computer Inc. (, , , ; ; stylised as ASUSTeK or ASUS) is a Taiwanese multinational computer and phone hardware and electronics company headquartered in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its products include desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, networking equipment, monitors, wi-fi routers, projectors, motherboards, graphics cards, optical storage, multimedia products, peripherals, wearables, servers, workstations, and tablet PCs. The company is also an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).


title: Asus

text: Asus is the world's 5th-largest PC vendor by unit sales as of January 2021. Asus appears in "BusinessWeek" "InfoTech 100" and "Asia's Top 10 IT Companies" rankings, and it ranked first in the IT Hardware category of the 2008 Taiwan Top 10 Global Brands survey with a total brand value of $1.3 billion.


title: Asus

text: Asus has a primary listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under the ticker code "2357" and formerly had a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker code "ASKD".


title: Asus

text: The company is usually referred to as ASUS or Huáshuò in Chinese (, literally "Eminence by the Chinese"). According to the company website, the name "Asus" originates from Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology. Only the last four letters of the word were used in order to give the name a high position in alphabetical listings.


title: Asus

text: As its marketing taglines, Asus has used "Rock Solid. Heart Touching" (2003–2009) and subsequently "Inspiring Innovation Persistent Perfection" (2009–2013). Since 2013, the company's tagline has been "In Search of Incredible."


title: Asus

text: Asus was founded in Taipei in 1989 by T.H. Tung, Ted Hsu, Wayne Hsieh and M.T. Liao, all four having previously worked at Acer as hardware engineers. At this time, Taiwan had yet to establish a leading position in the computer-hardware business. Intel Corporation would supply any new processors to more established companies like IBM first, and Taiwanese companies would have to wait for approximately six months after IBM received their engineering prototypes. According to company history, Asus created a motherboard prototype for using an Intel 486, but it had to do so without access to the actual processor. When Asus approached Intel to request a processor to test it, Intel itself had a problem with its own 486 motherboard. Asus solved Intel's problem and it turned out that Asus' own motherboard worked correctly without the need for further modification. Since then, Asus was receiving Intel engineering samples ahead of its competitors.


title: Asus

text: In September 2005, Asus released the first PhysX accelerator card. In December 2005, Asus entered the LCD TV market with the TLW32001 model. In January 2006, Asus announced that it would cooperate with Lamborghini to develop the VX laptop series.


title: Asus

text: On 9 March 2006, Asus was confirmed as one of the manufacturers of the first Microsoft Origami models, together with Samsung and Founder Technology. On 8 August 2006, Asus announced a joint venture with Gigabyte Technology. On 5 June 2007, Asus announced the launch of the Eee PC at COMPUTEX Taipei. On 9 September 2007, Asus indicated support for Blu-ray, announcing the release of a BD-ROM/DVD writer PC drive, BC-1205PT. ASUS subsequently released several Blu-ray based notebooks.


title: Asus

text: In January 2008, Asus began a major restructuring of its operations, splitting into three independent companies: Asus (focused on applied first-party branded computers and electronics); Pegatron (focused on OEM manufacturing of motherboards and components); and Unihan Corporation (focused on non-PC manufacturing such as cases and molding). In the process of the restructuring, a highly criticized pension-plan restructuring effectively zeroed out the existing pension balances. The company paid out all contributions previously made by employees.


title: Asus

text: On 9 December 2008, the Open Handset Alliance announced that Asus had become one of 14 new members of the organization. These "new members will either deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices."


title: Asus

text: In October 2010, Asus and Garmin announced that they would be ending their smartphone partnership as a result of Garmin deciding to exit the product category. The two companies had produced six Garmin-ASUS branded smartphones over the prior two years.


title: Asus

text: In December 2010, Asus launched the world's thinnest notebook, the Asus U36, with Intel processor voltage standard (not low voltage) Intel Core i3 or i5 with a thickness of only 19 mm.


title: Asus

text: In January 2013, Asus officially ended production of its Eee PC series due to declining sales caused by consumers increasingly switching to tablets and Ultrabooks.


title: Asus

text: , Asus had manufacturing facilities in Taiwan (Taipei, Luzhu, Nangang, Guishan), mainland China (Suzhou, Chongqing), Mexico (Ciudad Juárez) and the Czech Republic (Ostrava). The Asus Hi-Tech Park, located in Suzhou, covers .


title: Asus

text: Asus operates around 50 service sites across 32 countries and has over 400 service partners worldwide.


title: Asus

text: Asus' products include 2-in-1s, laptops, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), servers, computer monitors, motherboards, graphics cards, sound cards, DVD disc drives, computer networking devices, computer cases, computer components and computer cooling systems.


title: Asus

text: One of Asus main lineup is the Vivo lineup consisting of laptops (VivoBooks), All-in-Ones (Vivo AiO), desktops (VivoPC), Stick PCs (VivoStick), Mini PCs (VivoMini), smartwatches (VivoWatch), computer mouse (VivoMouse) and tablets (VivoTab).


title: Asus

text: Asus also launched many Android-based smartphones, predominantly with Intel rather than ARM processors and often with two sim slots. Asus is currently very influential in big mobile markets like India, China, and other Asian countries. It is known as the ZenFone series. Prior to the ZenFone line, Asus has released feature phones such as the Asus v70 and smartphones running on Windows Mobile during the mid-2000s.


title: Asus

text: Additionally, Asus also produced some hybrid devices with smartphones that can be docked in a tablet screen, known as Padfone series. The product lineup are:


title: Asus

text: Most of Asus' smartphones are powered by Intel Atom processors with the exceptions of few Padfone series and some ZenFone 2 models that use Qualcomm Snapdragon, though later phones in the series now either use Qualcomm Snapdragon or Mediatek systems on-chip.


title: Asus

text: Discontinued series previously offered by Asus includes the EeeBook Series, K Series, X Series, E Series, Q Series, B Series, V Series, P Series, F Series, A Series and G Series.


title: Asus

text: Two generations of the Nexus 7, manufactured for and branded as Google, were announced on 27 June 2012 for release in July 2012. On 24 July 2013, Asus announced a successor to the Google Nexus 7. Two days later, it was released. Asus has also been working with Microsoft in developing Windows 8 convertible tablets. In 2013, Asus revealed an Android-based tablet computer that, when attached to a keyboard, becomes a Windows 8 device, which it called the Transformer Book Trio. The keyboard can be attached to a third party monitor, creating a desktop-like experience. Asus is also known for the following tablet computer lines:


title: Asus

text: From its launch in October 2007 and until the line was discontinued in January 2013, the Eee PC netbook garnered numerous awards, including Forbes Asia's Product of the Year, Stuff Magazine's Gadget of the Year and Computer of the Year, NBC.com's Best Travel Gadget, Computer Shopper's Best Netbook of 2008, PC Pro's Hardware of the Year, PC World's Best Netbook, and DIME magazine's 2008 Trend Award Winner.


title: Asus

text: On 6 March 2009, Asus debuted its Eee Box B202, which PCMag saw as "the desktop equivalent of the ASUS EeePC", (the "Asus Eee Box" computer line was later renamed in 2010 to "ASUS EeeBox PC").


title: Asus

text: Essentio is a line of desktop PCs. the line consisted of the CG Series (designed for gaming), the CM series (for entertainment and home use) and the CS and CP slimline series.


title: Asus

text: "Republic of Gamers" is a brand used by Asus since 2006, encompassing a range of computer hardware, personal computers, peripherals, and accessories oriented primarily toward PC gaming. The line includes both desktops and high-spec laptops such as the Asus ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z Motherboard or the Asus ROG Strix G G731GT AU059T Laptop.


title: Asus

text: AMD graphics cards were marketed under the "Arez" brand due to the Nvidia GeForce Partner Program. However, when the GeForce Partner Program was cancelled, the AMD cards were renamed back to the ROG branding.


title: Asus

text: In 2013 ASUS launched the RAIDR Express, a PCI express based RAID 0 SSD subsystem with two SSDs on one PCB.


title: Asus

text: At Computex 2018, Asus unveiled and announced ROG-branded gaming smartphone to compete against ZTE's nubia Red Magic, Xiaomi's Black Shark, and the Razer Phone. The ROG Phone will have a special version of the Snapdragon 845 CPU that can be overclocked, vapor cooling, an external heatsink fan with the USB-C and headphone connectors on its bottom, three different docks, and will be released in Q3 2018.


title: Asus

text: In March 2021 Asus Launched the ASUS ROG PHONE 5 Series based on Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm), Octa-core processor.


title: Asus

text: In January 2022, Asus announced the ROG Flow Z13 during the ROG's CES 2022 launch event. Equipped with the high-performance Intel's Core i9 processor and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphic performance, making the biggest innovation breakthroughs on tablet markets. It is the world's first RTX 30 series computer in tablet form factor.


title: Asus

text: "The Ultimate Force" is a brand used by Asus since about 2010. The TUF Gaming brand is for Asus affordable, mid-range gaming products.


title: Asus

text: Asus released its first sound card, the Xonar DX, in February 2008. The Xonar DX was able to emulate the EAX 5.0 effects through the ASUS GX software while also supporting Open AL and DTS-connect. In July 2008 ASUS launched the Xonar D1, which offered largely similar features to the Xonar DX but connected to the motherboard through the PCI interface instead of the PCI-E ×1 connection of the Xonar DX. ASUS then released the Xonar HDAV 1.3, which was the first solution enabling loss-less HD audio bit streaming to AV receivers.


title: Asus

text: In May 2009, Asus launched the Essence ST sound card, targeted at high-end audiophiles, and featuring 124dB SNR rating and precision audio clock tuning. In the same month, Asus refreshed the HDAV family by releasing the HDAV 1.3 slim, a card targeted for HTPC users offering similar functionality to HDAV 1.3 but in a smaller form. During Computex 2010, ASUS introduced its Xonar Xense, an audio bundle composed of the Xense sound card and a special edition of the Sennheiser PC350 headset. In August 2010, ASUS released the Xonar DG sound card targeted at budget buyers and offering 5.1 surround sound support, 105dB SNR rating, support for Dolby headphone and GX 2.5 support for emulating EAX 5.0 technology.


title: Asus

text: Asus entered the box-PC market with the Vivo PC line in November 2013. ASUS VivoPCs come without a pre-installed Windows operating system.


title: Asus

text: On 23 October 2013 ASUS launched two models of VivoPCs in India. VivoPC was initially announced with Intel Celeron processor equipped VM40B model. But in India, the company released VivoPC along with a new model called VC60 which is equipped by Intel Core series processors.


title: Asus

text: In 2013, Asus released the MB168B, a USB 3.0-powered, portable external monitor. The base model shipped with a resolution of , while the MB168B+ had a resolution of . At the time of its release, the MB168B+ was the only 1080p portable monitor. According to Asus, it is the "world's slimmest and lightest USB monitor".


title: Asus

text: Asus motherboards sometimes include a Q-Connector which sits in between the motherboard front panel connectors and the front panel cables. The Q-Connector is marked with bigger text than the front panel connectors on the motherboard, as well as protruding from the motherboard, limiting obstruction from heatsinks and other connectors.


title: Asus

text: The Q-connector allows the many front-panel connections to be removed as a single unit for maintenance. This greatly reduces the risk of incorrect connections when reassembling.


title: Asus

text: Asus ROG has been an active advocate for esports, having established some of their very own professional gaming teams.


title: Asus

text: In January 2021, ROG announced the establishment of a new esports academy in India, with plans to scout and train up professional gamers for the PC game. The initiative will provide shortlisted gamers with coaching, gaming equipment, and stipends to prepare them for competitive esports tournaments on both the national and international levels.


title: Asus

text: In 2000, Asus launched Green ASUS, a company-wide sustainable computing initiative overseen by a steering committee led by Jonney Shih, the Chairman of Asus. According to the company, Asus pursues green policies in "Design, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Marketing."


title: Asus

text: In 2006, Asus obtained IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System for Electronic Components) HSPM (Hazardous Substance Process Management) certification for its headquarters and for all of its manufacturing sites.


title: Asus

text: In 2007, Oekom Research, an independent research institute specialising in corporate responsibility assessment, recognized Asus as a "highly environmental friendly company" in the "Computers, Peripherals and Office Electronics Industry".


title: Asus

text: In October 2008, Asus received 11 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold Awards for its products, including four of its N-Series notebooks, namely the N10, N20, N50, and N80. In the following month, it received EU Flower certification for the same N-Series notebooks at an award ceremony held in Prague. In December 2008, Det Norske Veritas conferred the world's first EuP (Energy-using Product) certification for portable notebooks on these machines.


title: Asus

text: program in collaboration with Intel and with Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co. The program collected more than 1,200 desktop computers, notebooks and CRT/LCD monitors, refurbished them and donated them to 122 elementary and junior high schools, five aboriginal communities and the Tzu Chi Stem Cell Center.


title: Asus

text: In September 2008, "PC Pro" discovered through a reader that Asus had accidentally shipped laptops that contained cracked and unlicensed software. Both physical machines and recovery CDs contained confidential documents from Microsoft and other organizations, internal Asus documents, and sensitive personal information including CVs. At the time, an Asus spokesperson promised an investigation at "quite a high level", but declined to comment on how the files got on the machines and recovery media. It was demonstrated that an unattended installation of Windows Vista could accidentally copy material from a flash drive with a parameter in the "unattend.xml" file on the personal flash drive being used to script the installation.


title: Asus

text: In February 2014, a security vulnerability in the AiCloud functions on a number of Asus routers was compromised to distribute a text file warning of a vulnerability, disclosed in June 2013, allowing the ability to "traverse to any external storage plugged in through the USB ports on the back of the router" via the open internet. Before making the vulnerability public, the researcher was told by Asus that the behavior was "not an issue", but the vulnerability was reportedly patched shortly prior to the breach. The IP addresses of 12,937 routers, and 3,131 AiCloud accounts were also leaked by the hackers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued a complaint about the breach for the company's "failure to employ reasonable security practices has subjected consumers to substantial injury", alleging that Asus had also failed to perform basic penetration tests, allowed users to maintain a default admin password for the AiDisk feature and failed to notify users of security updates in a timely fashion. As a result, it was also deemed that Asus had misled consumers over the security and protection that its routers provided. In February 2016, Asus settled the complaint, agreeing to implement a "comprehensive security program", including independent audits every two years for the next 20 years.


title: Asus

text: In March 2019, Kaspersky Lab researchers disclosed a supply chain attack that affected the Asus Live Update software bundled on its laptops, dubbed ShadowHammer. Kaspersky stated that between June and November 2018, Asus servers had been compromised to distribute a modified version of Live Update, signed with an Asus signature, that contained a backdoor. It deployed a further payload if the device's network adapter matched an entry on an internal target list of around 600 MAC addresses. In response to ShadowHammer, Asus released a patched version of Live Update with improved security measures. Kaspersky and Symantec estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million devices were infected with the backdoor, although Asus attempted to downplay the severity of the breach by noting the extremely targeted nature of the attack. The breach did not affect the similar, identically named software associated with its motherboards.


title: Asus

text: In April 2019, ESET disclosed that a group known as BlackTech had performed targeted attacks with malware known as Plead, distributed via the updater for the Asus WebStorage service. ESET stated that the group was likely using a man-in-the-middle attack via a vulnerability in routers, in combination with the updater using an unencrypted HTTP connection.


title: Asus

text: In January 2022, Asus recalled some of its Z690 Maximus Hero motherboards due to a manufacturing flaw, where a RAM capacitor was installed backwards—causing them to burn out associated MOSFETs and prevent the motherboard from detecting memory.


title: Asus

text: During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ASUS initially refused to join the international community and withdraw from the Russian market. In mid-March the company did announce its halting its operations in Russia, following a social media boycott and government pressure.


title: Hanukkah

text: Hanukkah (; ) is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.


title: Hanukkah

text: Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the "shammash" (, "attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the "shammash" until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival. Other Hanukkah festivities include singing Hanukkah songs, playing the game of dreidel and eating oil-based foods, such as latkes and sufganiyot, and dairy foods. Since the 1970s, the worldwide Chabad Hasidic movement has initiated public menorah lightings in open public places in many countries.


title: Hanukkah

text: Originally instituted as a feast "in the manner of Sukkot (Booths)", it does not come with the corresponding obligations, and is therefore a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially among secular Jews, due to often occurring around the same time as Christmas during the holiday season.


title: Hanukkah

text: The name "Hanukkah" derives from the Hebrew verb "", meaning "to dedicate". On Hanukkah, the Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.


title: Hanukkah

text: In Hebrew, the word Hanukkah is written or (). It is most commonly transliterated to English as "Hanukkah" or "". The spelling "Hanukkah", which is based on using characters of the English alphabet as symbols to re-create the word's correct spelling in Hebrew, is the most common and the preferred choice of Merriam–Webster, "Collins English Dictionary", the "Oxford Style Manual", and the style guides of "The New York Times" and "The Guardian". The sound represented by "Ch" (, similar to the Scottish pronunciation of "loch") is not native to the English language, although it is native to the Welsh language. Furthermore, the letter "ḥeth" (), which is the first letter in the Hebrew spelling, is pronounced differently in modern Hebrew (voiceless uvular fricative) from in classical Hebrew (voiceless pharyngeal fricative ), and neither of those sounds is unambiguously representable in English spelling. However, its original sound is closer to the English "H" than to the Scottish "Ch", and "Hanukkah" more accurately represents the spelling in the Hebrew alphabet. Moreover, the 'kaf' consonant is geminate in classical (but not modern) Hebrew. Adapting the classical Hebrew pronunciation with the geminate and pharyngeal can lead to the spelling "Hanukkah", while adapting the modern Hebrew pronunciation with no gemination and uvular leads to the spelling .


title: Hanukkah

text: In Modern Hebrew, Hanukkah may also be called the Festival of Lights (, ), based on a comment by Josephus in "Antiquities of the Jews", καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρο τὴν ἑορτὴν ἄγομεν καλοῦντες αὐτὴν φῶτα "And from then on we celebrate this festival, and we call it Lights". The first Hebrew translation of "Antiquities" (1864) used חג המאורות "Festival of Lamps" but the translation "Festival of Lights" appeared by the end of the nineteenth century.


title: Hanukkah

text: The story of Hanukkah is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees, which describe in detail the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah. These books, however, are not a part of the canonized Masoretic Text version of the Tanakh (Hebrew and Aramaic language Jewish Bible) used and accepted by normative Rabbinical Judaism and therefore modern Jews (as copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries of the Common Era). However, the books of Maccabees were included among the deuterocanonical books added to the Septuagint, a Jewish scholarly Greek-language translation of the Hebrew Bible originally compiled in the mid-3rd century BCE. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches consider the books of Maccabees as a canonical part of the Old Testament.


title: Hanukkah

text: The eight-day rededication of the temple is described in 1 Maccabees, though the miracle of the oil does not appear here. A story similar in character, and older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees according to which the relighting of the altar fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the 25th of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabee. The above account in 1 Maccabees, as well as 2 Maccabees portrays the feast as a delayed observation of the eight-day Feast of Booths (Sukkot); similarly 2 Maccabees explains the length of the feast as "in the manner of the Feast of Booths".


title: Hanukkah

text: Megillat Taanit (1st century) contains a list of festive days on which fasting or eulogizing is forbidden. It specifies, "On the 25th of [Kislev] is Hanukkah of eight days, and one is not to eulogize" and then references the story of the rededication of the Temple.


title: Hanukkah

text: The Mishna (late 2nd century) mentions Hanukkah in several places, but never describes its laws in detail and never mentions any aspect of the history behind it. To explain the Mishna's lack of a systematic discussion of Hanukkah, Rav Nissim Gaon postulated that information on the holiday was so commonplace that the Mishna felt no need to explain it. Modern scholar Reuvein Margolies suggests that as the Mishnah was redacted after the Bar Kochba revolt, its editors were reluctant to include explicit discussion of a holiday celebrating another relatively recent revolt against a foreign ruler, for fear of antagonizing the Romans.


title: Hanukkah

text: The miracle of the one-day supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days is described in the Talmud, committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees. The Talmud says that after the forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all of the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found only a single container that was still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for a single day. They used this, yet it burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready).


title: Hanukkah

text: Except in times of danger, the lights were to be placed outside one's door, on the opposite side of the mezuza, or in the window closest to the street. Rashi, in a note to "Shabbat 21b," says their purpose is to publicize the miracle. The blessings for Hanukkah lights are discussed in tractate "Succah," p. 46a.


title: Hanukkah

text: The Al HaNissim prayer is recited on Hanukkah as an addition to the Amidah prayer, which was formalized in the late 1st century. "Al HaNissim" describes the history of the holiday as follows:


title: Hanukkah

text: The Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus narrates in his book, Jewish Antiquities XII, how the victorious Judas Maccabeus ordered lavish yearly eight-day festivities after rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem that had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Josephus does not say the festival was called Hanukkah but rather the "Festival of Lights":


title: Hanukkah

text: In the New Testament, John 10:22–23 says, "Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade" (NIV). The Greek noun used appears in the neuter plural as "the renewals" or "the consecrations" (; ). The same root appears in 2 Esdras 6:16 in the Septuagint to refer specifically to Hanukkah. This Greek word was chosen because the Hebrew word for 'consecration' or 'dedication' is "Hanukkah" (). The Aramaic New Testament uses the Aramaic word (a close synonym), which literally means 'renewal' or 'to make new'.


title: Hanukkah

text: After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Judea became part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt until 200 BCE, when King Antiochus III the Great of Syria defeated King Ptolemy V Epiphanes of Egypt at the Battle of Panium. Judea then became part of the Seleucid Empire of Syria. King Antiochus III the Great, wanting to conciliate his new Jewish subjects, guaranteed their right to "live according to their ancestral customs" and to continue to practice their religion in the Temple of Jerusalem. However, in 175 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus III, invaded Judea, at the request of the sons of Tobias. The Tobiads, who led the Hellenizing Jewish faction in Jerusalem, were expelled to Syria around 170 BCE when the high priest Onias and his pro-Egyptian faction wrested control from them. The exiled Tobiads lobbied Antiochus IV Epiphanes to recapture Jerusalem. As Flavius Josephus relates:


title: Hanukkah

text: When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BCE, Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He banned brit milah (circumcision) and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple.


title: Hanukkah

text: Antiochus's actions provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattathias (Mattityahu), a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan, Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. It started with Mattathias killing first a Jew who wanted to comply with Antiochus's order to sacrifice to Zeus, and then a Greek official who was to enforce the government's behest (1 Mac. 2, 24–25). Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi ("Judah the Hammer"). By 166 BCE, Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 164 BCE, the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event. Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud,"For when the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of the kohen gadol (high priest), but which contained sufficient [oil] for one day's lighting only; yet a miracle was wrought therein, and they lit [the lamp] therewith for eight days. The following year these [days] were appointed a Festival with [the recital of] Hallel and thanksgiving."


title: Hanukkah

text: The 12th century scholar Maimonides, known for correcting certain of Aristotle's errors by reference to the Hebrew bible, and subsequently introducing Aristotelianism to both the Jewish world and to the Christian scholastics, described Hanukkah thus in the Mishneh Torah, his authoritative 14 volume compendium on Jewish law:


title: Hanukkah

text: When, on the twenty-fifth of Kislev, the Jews had emerged victorious over their foes and destroyed them, they re-entered the Temple where they found only one jar of pure oil, enough to be lit for only a single day; yet they used it for lighting the required set of lamps for eight days, until they managed to press olives and produce pure oil. Because of this, the sages of that generation ruled that the eight days beginning with the twenty-fifth of Kislev should be observed as days of rejoicing and praising the Lord. Lamps are lit in the evening over the doors of the homes, on each of the eight nights, so as to display the miracle. These days are called Hanukkah, when it is forbidden to lament or to fast, just as it is on the days of Purim. Lighting the lamps during the eight days of Hanukkah is a religious duty imposed by the sages.


title: Hanukkah

text: Some modern scholars, following the account in 2 Maccabees, observe that the king was intervening in an internal civil war between the Maccabean Jews and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem. These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias contesting with Hellenizing High Priests with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus. In particular, Jason's Hellenistic reforms would prove to be a decisive factor leading to eventual conflict within the ranks of Judaism. Other authors point to possible socioeconomic reasons in addition to the religious reasons behind the civil war.


title: Hanukkah

text: What began in many respects as a civil war escalated when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria sided with the Hellenizing Jews in their conflict with the traditionalists. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned a traditional religion.


title: Hanukkah

text: The miracle of the oil is widely regarded as a legend and its authenticity has been questioned since the Middle Ages. However, given the famous question Rabbi Yosef Karo posed concerning why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days when the miracle was only for seven days (since there was enough oil for one day), it was clear that he believed it was a historical event. This belief has been adopted by most of Orthodox Judaism, in as much as Rabbi Karo's "Shulchan Aruch" is a main Code of Jewish Law. The menorah first began to be used as a symbol of Judaism in the Hasmonean period – appearing on coins issued by Hasmonean king Mattathias Antigonus between 40 and 37 BCE – indicating that the tradition of an oil miracle was known then.


title: Hanukkah

text: Hanukkah is celebrated with a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the eight-day holiday, some are family-based and others communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals.


title: Hanukkah

text: Hanukkah is not a "Sabbath-like" holiday, and there is no obligation to refrain from activities that are forbidden on the Sabbath, as specified in the "Shulkhan Arukh". Adherents go to work as usual but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. There is no religious reason for schools to be closed, although in Israel schools close from the second day for the whole week of Hanukkah. Many families exchange gifts each night, such as books or games, and "Hanukkah Gelt" is often given to children. Fried foods (such as latkes (potato pancakes), jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot), and Sephardic bimuelos) are eaten to commemorate the importance of oil during the celebration of Hanukkah. Some also have a custom of eating dairy products to remember Judith and how she overcame Holofernes by feeding him cheese, which made him thirsty, and giving him wine to drink. When Holofernes became very drunk, Judith cut off his head.


title: Hanukkah

text: Each night throughout the eight-day holiday, a candle or oil-based light is lit. As a universally practiced "beautification" (hiddur mitzvah) of the mitzvah, the number of lights lit is increased by one each night. An extra light called a "shammash", meaning "attendant" or "sexton," is also lit each night, and is given a distinct location, usually higher, lower, or to the side of the others.


title: Hanukkah

text: Among Ashkenazim the tendency is for every male member of the household (and in many families, girls as well) to light a full set of lights each night, while among Sephardim the prevalent custom is to have one set of lights for the entire household.


title: Hanukkah

text: The purpose of the "shammash" is to adhere to the prohibition, specified in the Talmud, against using the Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing and meditating on the Hanukkah miracle. This differs from Sabbath candles which are meant to be used for illumination and lighting. Hence, if one were to need extra illumination on Hanukkah, the "shammash" candle would be available, and one would avoid using the prohibited lights. Some, especially Ashkenazim, light the "shammash" candle first and then use it to light the others. So altogether, including the "shammash", two lights are lit on the first night, three on the second and so on, ending with nine on the last night, for a total of 44 (36, excluding the "shammash"). It is Sephardic custom not to light the shammash first and use it to light the rest. Instead, the shammash candle is the last to be lit, and a different candle or a match is used to light all the candles. Some Hasidic Jews follow this Sephardic custom as well.


title: Hanukkah

text: The lights can be candles or oil lamps. Electric lights are sometimes used and are acceptable in places where open flame is not permitted, such as a hospital room, or for the very elderly and infirm; however, those who permit reciting a blessing over electric lamps only allow it if it is incandescent and battery operated (an incandescent flashlight would be acceptable for this purpose), while a blessing may not be recited over a plug-in menorah or lamp. Most Jewish homes have a special candelabrum referred to as either a "Chanukiah" (the modern Israeli term) or a "menorah" (the traditional name, simply Hebrew for 'lamp'). Many families use an oil lamp (traditionally filled with olive oil) for Hanukkah. Like the candle Chanukiah, it has eight wicks to light plus the additional "shammash" light.


title: Hanukkah

text: In the United States, Hanukkah became a more visible festival in the public sphere from the 1970s when Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson called for public awareness and observance of the festival and encouraged the lighting of public menorahs. Diane Ashton attributed the increased visibility and reinvention of Hanukkah by some of the American Jewish community as a way to adapt to American life, re-inventing the festival in "the language of individualism and personal conscience derived from both Protestantism and the Enlightenment".


title: Hanukkah

text: The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passersby should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle (i.e. that the sole cruse of pure oil found which held enough oil to burn for one night actually burned for eight nights). Accordingly, lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street. It is customary amongst some Ashkenazi Jews to have a separate menorah for each family member (customs vary), whereas most Sephardi Jews light one for the whole household. Only when there was danger of antisemitic persecution were lamps supposed to be hidden from public view, as was the case in Persia under the rule of the Zoroastrians, or in parts of Europe before and during World War II. However, most Hasidic groups light lamps near an inside doorway, not necessarily in public view. According to this tradition, the lamps are placed on the opposite side from the "mezuzah", so people passing through the door are surrounded by the holiness of "mitzvot" (the commandments).


title: Hanukkah

text: Generally, women are exempt in Jewish law from time-bound positive commandments, although the Talmud requires that women engage in the mitzvah of lighting Hanukkah candles "for they too were involved in the miracle."


title: Hanukkah

text: Hanukkah lights should usually burn for at least half an hour after it gets dark. Many light at sundown and those who do so should be careful to have enough oil or wax to last until half an hour after dark. Most Hasidim and many other communities light later, generally around nightfall. Many Hasidic Rebbes light much later to fulfill the obligation of publicizing the miracle by the presence of their Hasidim when they kindle the lights.


title: Hanukkah

text: Inexpensive small wax candles sold for Hanukkah burn for approximately half an hour so should be lit no earlier than nightfall. Friday night presents a problem, however. Since candles may not be lit on Shabbat itself, the candles must be lit before sunset. However, they must remain lit through the lighting of the Shabbat candles. Therefore, the Hanukkah menorah is lit first with larger candles than usual, followed by the Shabbat candles. At the end of the Shabbat, there are those who light the Hanukkah lights before Havdalah and those who make Havdalah before the lighting Hanukkah lights.


title: Hanukkah

text: If for whatever reason one didn't light at sunset or nightfall, the lights should be kindled later, as long as there are people in the streets. Later than that, the lights should still be kindled, but the blessings should be recited only if there is at least somebody else awake in the house and present at the lighting of the Hannukah lights.


title: Hanukkah

text: Typically two blessings ("brachot"; singular: "brachah") are recited during this eight-day festival when lighting the candles. On the first night only, the shehecheyanu blessing is added, making a total of three blessings.


title: Hanukkah

text: The first blessing is recited before the candles are lit, and while most recited the other blessing(s) beforehand as well, some have the custom to recite them after. On the first night of Hanukkah one light (candle or oil) is lit on the right side of the menorah, on the following night a second light is placed to the left of the first but it is lit first, and so on, proceeding from placing candles right to left but lighting them from left to right over the eight nights.


title: Hanukkah

text: Translation: "Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light[s]."


title: Hanukkah

text: Translation: "Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time..."


title: Hanukkah

text: After the lights are kindled the hymn "Hanerot Halalu" is recited. There are several different versions; the version presented here is recited in many Ashkenazic communities:


title: Hanukkah

text: In the Ashkenazi tradition, each night after the lighting of the candles, the hymn Ma'oz Tzur is sung. The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation, and the middle four deal with events of persecution in Jewish history, praising God for survival despite these tragedies (the exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, the miracle of the holiday of Purim, the Hasmonean victory) and expressing a longing for the days when Judea will finally triumph over Rome.


title: Hanukkah

text: The song was composed in the thirteenth century by a poet only known through the acrostic found in the first letters of the original five stanzas of the song: Mordechai. The familiar tune is most probably a derivation of a German Protestant church hymn or a popular folk song.


title: Hanukkah

text: After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. Some Hasidic and Sephardi Jews recite Psalms, such as Psalm 30, Psalm 67, and Psalm 91. In North America and in Israel it is common to exchange presents or give children presents at this time. In addition, many families encourage their children to give tzedakah (charity) in lieu of presents for themselves.


title: Hanukkah

text: An addition is made to the ""hoda'ah"" (thanksgiving) benediction in the Amidah (thrice-daily prayers), called "Al HaNissim" ("On/about the Miracles"). This addition refers to the victory achieved over the Syrians by the Hasmonean Mattathias and his sons.


title: Hanukkah

text: The same prayer is added to the grace after meals. In addition, the "Hallel" (praise) Psalms are sung during each morning service and the "Tachanun" penitential prayers are omitted.


title: Hanukkah

text: The Torah is read every day in the shacharit morning services in synagogue, on the first day beginning from Numbers 6:22 (according to some customs, Numbers 7:1), and the last day ending with Numbers 8:4. Since Hanukkah lasts eight days it includes at least one, and sometimes two, Jewish Sabbaths (Saturdays). The weekly Torah portion for the first Sabbath is almost always "Miketz", telling of Joseph's dream and his enslavement in Egypt. The "Haftarah" reading for the first Sabbath Hanukkah is Zechariah 2:14 – Zechariah 4:7. When there is a second Sabbath on Hanukkah, the "Haftarah" reading is from 1 Kings 7:40–50.


title: Hanukkah

text: The Hanukkah "menorah" is also kindled daily in the synagogue, at night with the blessings and in the morning without the blessings.


title: Hanukkah

text: The menorah is not lit during Shabbat, but rather prior to the beginning of Shabbat as described above and not at all during the day.


title: Hanukkah

text: During the Middle Ages "Megillat Antiochus" was read in the Italian synagogues on Hanukkah just as the Book of Esther is read on Purim. It still forms part of the liturgy of the Yemenite Jews.


title: Hanukkah

text: The last day of Hanukkah is known by some as "Zot Hanukkah" and by others as "Chanukat HaMizbeach", from the verse read on this day in the synagogue Numbers 7:84, "Zot Hanukkat Hamizbe'ach": "This was the dedication of the altar". According to the teachings of Kabbalah and Hasidism, this day is the final "seal" of the High Holiday season of Yom Kippur and is considered a time to repent out of love for God. In this spirit, many Hasidic Jews wish each other "Gmar chatimah tovah" ("may you be sealed totally for good"), a traditional greeting for the Yom Kippur season. It is taught in Hasidic and Kabbalistic literature that this day is particularly auspicious for the fulfillment of prayers.


title: Hanukkah

text: It is customary for women not to work for at least the first half-hour of the candles' burning, and some have the custom not to work for the entire time of burning. It is also forbidden to fast or to eulogize during Hanukkah.


title: Hanukkah

text: Some Hasidic scholars teach that the Hanukkah is in fact the final conclusion of God's judgement extending High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana when humanity is judged and Yom Kippur when the judgment is sealed:


title: Hanukkah

text: A large number of songs have been written on Hanukkah themes, perhaps more so than for any other Jewish holiday. Some of the best known are ""Ma'oz Tzur"" (Rock of Ages), ""Latke'le Latke'le"" (Yiddish song about cooking Latkes), ""Hanukkiah Li Yesh"" ("I Have a Hanukkah Menorah"), ""Ocho Kandelikas"" ("Eight Little Candles"), ""Kad Katan"" ("A Small Jug"), ""S'vivon Sov Sov Sov"" ("Dreidel, Spin and Spin"), ""Haneirot Halolu"" ("These Candles which we light"), ""Mi Yimalel"" ("Who can Retell") and ""Ner Li, Ner Li"" ("I have a Candle"). Among the most well known songs in English-speaking countries are "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Oh Chanukah".


title: Hanukkah

text: Among the Rebbes of the Nadvorna Hasidic dynasty, it is customary for the Rebbes to play violin after the menorah is lit.


title: Hanukkah

text: Penina Moise's Hannukah Hymn published in the 1842 "Hymns Written for the Use of Hebrew Congregations" was instrumental in the beginning of Americanization of Hanukkah.


title: Hanukkah

text: There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil (preferably olive oil) to commemorate the miracle of a small flask of oil keeping the Second Temple's Menorah alight for eight days. Traditional foods include latkes, a fried potato fritter, especially among Ashkenazi families. Sephardi, Polish, and Israeli families eat jam-filled doughnuts called sufganiyot, which were ( "pontshkes") by Ashkenazi Jews living in Eastern and Central Europe prior to the Holocaust, bimuelos (spherical doughnuts) and sufganiyot which are deep-fried in oil. Italkim and Hungarian Jews traditionally eat cheese pancakes known as "cassola" or "cheese latkes".


title: Hanukkah

text: Latkes are not popular in Israel, as they are more commonly made at home and are an Ashkenazi Jewish dish. The Sephardi Jews eat fritas de prasa, a similar fried dish made with mashed potato and leek. As the majority of the population in Israel is of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish descent, and these groups have their own Hanukkah dishes such as fritas de prasa, sfinj, cassola, and shamlias, among others. Latkes have also been largely replaced by sufganiyot due to local economic factors, convenience and the influence of trade unions. Bakeries in Israel have popularized many new types of fillings for "sufganiyot" besides the traditional strawberry jelly filling, including chocolate cream, vanilla cream, caramel, cappuccino and others. In recent years, downsized, "mini" sufganiyot containing half the calories of the regular, 400-to-600-calorie version, have become popular.


title: Hanukkah

text: Rabbinic literature also records a tradition of eating cheese and other dairy products during Hanukkah. This custom, as mentioned above, commemorates the heroism of Judith during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews and reminds us that women also played an important role in the events of Hanukkah. The deuterocanonical book of Judith (Yehudit or Yehudis in Hebrew), which is not part of the Tanakh, records that Holofernes, an Assyrian general, had surrounded the village of Bethulia as part of his campaign to conquer Judea. After intense fighting, the water supply of the Jews was cut off and the situation became desperate. Judith, a pious widow, told the city leaders that she had a plan to save the city. Judith went to the Assyrian camps and pretended to surrender. She met Holofernes, who was smitten by her beauty. She went back to his tent with him, where she plied him with cheese and wine. When he fell into a drunken sleep, Judith beheaded him and escaped from the camp, taking the severed head with her (the beheading of Holofernes by Judith has historically been a popular theme in art). When Holofernes' soldiers found his corpse, they were overcome with fear; the Jews, on the other hand, were emboldened and launched a successful counterattack. The town was saved, and the Assyrians defeated.


title: Hanukkah

text: Roast goose has historically been a traditional Hanukkah food among Eastern European and American Jews, although the custom has declined in recent decades.


title: Hanukkah

text: Indian Jews traditionally consume gulab jamun, fried dough balls soaked in a sweet syrup, similar to teiglach or bimuelos, as part of their Hanukkah celebrations. Italian Jews eat fried chicken, cassola (a ricotta cheese latke almost similar to a cheesecake), and Fritelle de riso par Hanukkah (a fried sweet rice pancake). Romanian Jews eat pasta latkes as a traditional Hanukkah dish, and Syrian Jews consume Kibbet Yatkeen, a dish made with pumpkin and bulgur wheat similar to latkes, as well as their own version of keftes de prasa spiced with allspice and cinnamon.


title: Hanukkah

text: After lighting the candles, it is customary to play (or spin) the dreidel. The dreidel, or "sevivon" in Hebrew, is a four-sided spinning top that children play with during Hanukkah. Each side is imprinted with a Hebrew letter which is an abbreviation for the Hebrew words (, "A great miracle happened there"), referring to the miracle of the oil that took place in the Beit Hamikdash. The fourth side of some dreidels sold in Israel are inscribed with the letter "(Pe)", rendering the acronym (, "A great miracle happened here"), referring to the fact that the miracle occurred in the land of Israel, although this is a relatively recent innovation. Stores in Haredi neighborhoods sell the traditional "Shin" dreidels as well, because they understand "there" to refer to the Temple and not the entire Land of Israel, and because the Hasidic Masters ascribe significance to the traditional letters.


title: Hanukkah

text: Chanukkah gelt (Yiddish for "Chanukkah money") known in Israel by the Hebrew translation "dmei Hanukkah", is often distributed to children during the festival of Hanukkah. The giving of Hanukkah gelt also adds to the holiday excitement. The amount is usually in small coins, although grandparents or relatives may give larger sums. The tradition of giving Chanukah "gelt" dates back to a long-standing East European custom of children presenting their teachers with a small sum of money at this time of year as a token of gratitude. One minhag favors the fifth night of Hanukkah for giving Hanukkah gelt. Unlike the other nights of Hanukkah, the fifth does not ever fall on the Shabbat, hence never conflicting with the Halachic injunction against handling money on the Shabbat.