title: Fisher information

text: When there are "N" parameters, so that "θ" is an vector formula_43 then the Fisher information takes the form of an matrix. This matrix is called the Fisher information matrix (FIM) and has typical element


title: Fisher information

text: The FIM is a positive semidefinite matrix. If it is positive definite, then it defines a Riemannian metric on the "N"-dimensional parameter space. The topic information geometry uses this to connect Fisher information to differential geometry, and in that context, this metric is known as the Fisher information metric.


title: Fisher information

text: We say that two parameters "θ" and "θ" are orthogonal if the element of the "i"th row and "j"th column of the Fisher information matrix is zero. Orthogonal parameters are easy to deal with in the sense that their maximum likelihood estimates are independent and can be calculated separately. When dealing with research problems, it is very common for the researcher to invest some time searching for an orthogonal parametrization of the densities involved in the problem.


title: Fisher information

text: If the Fisher information matrix is positive definite for all , then the corresponding statistical model is said to be "regular"; otherwise, the statistical model is said to be "singular". Examples of singular statistical models include the following: normal mixtures, binomial mixtures, multinomial mixtures, Bayesian networks, neural networks, radial basis functions, hidden Markov models, stochastic context-free grammars, reduced rank regressions, Boltzmann machines.


title: Fisher information

text: In machine learning, if a statistical model is devised so that it extracts hidden structure from a random phenomenon, then it naturally becomes singular.


title: Fisher information

text: The FIM for a "N"-variate multivariate normal distribution, formula_46 has a special form. Let the "K"-dimensional vector of parameters be formula_47 and the vector of random normal variables be formula_48. Assume that the mean values of these random variables are formula_49, and let formula_50 be the covariance matrix. Then, for formula_51, the ("m", "n") entry of the FIM is:


title: Fisher information

text: where formula_53 denotes the transpose of a vector, formula_54 denotes the trace of a square matrix, and:


title: Fisher information

text: In this case the Fisher information matrix may be identified with the coefficient matrix of the normal equations of least squares estimation theory.


title: Fisher information

text: Another special case occurs when the mean and covariance depend on two different vector parameters, say, "β" and "θ". This is especially popular in the analysis of spatial data, which often uses a linear model with correlated residuals. In this case,


title: Fisher information

text: Similar to the entropy or mutual information, the Fisher information also possesses a chain rule decomposition. In particular, if "X" and "Y" are jointly distributed random variables, it follows that:


title: Fisher information

text: where formula_61 and formula_62 is the Fisher information of "Y" relative to formula_2 calculated with respect to the conditional density of "Y" given a specific value "X" = "x".


title: Fisher information

text: As a special case, if the two random variables are independent, the information yielded by the two random variables is the sum of the information from each random variable separately:


title: Fisher information

text: Consequently, the information in a random sample of "n" independent and identically distributed observations is "n" times the information in a sample of size 1.


title: Fisher information

text: Given a convex function formula_65 that formula_66 is finite for all formula_67, formula_68, and formula_69, (which could be infinite), it defines an f-divergence formula_70. Then if formula_9 is strictly convex at formula_72, then locally at formula_73, the Fisher information matrix is a metric, in the sense thatformula_74where formula_75 is the distribution parametrized by formula_2. That is, it's the distribution with pdf formula_77.


title: Fisher information

text: In this form, it is clear that the Fisher information matrix is a Riemannian metric, and varies correctly under a change of variables. (see section on Reparametrization)


title: Fisher information

text: The information provided by a sufficient statistic is the same as that of the sample "X". This may be seen by using Neyman's factorization criterion for a sufficient statistic. If "T"("X") is sufficient for "θ", then


title: Fisher information

text: and the equality of information then follows from the definition of Fisher information. More generally, if is a statistic, then


title: Fisher information

text: The Fisher information depends on the parametrization of the problem. If "θ" and "η" are two scalar parametrizations of an estimation problem, and "θ" is a continuously differentiable function of "η", then


title: Fisher information

text: In the vector case, suppose formula_84 and formula_85 are "k"-vectors which parametrize an estimation problem, and suppose that formula_84 is a continuously differentiable function of formula_85, then,


title: Fisher information

text: In information geometry, this is seen as a change of coordinates on a Riemannian manifold, and the intrinsic properties of curvature are unchanged under different parametrizations. In general, the Fisher information matrix provides a Riemannian metric (more precisely, the Fisher–Rao metric) for the manifold of thermodynamic states, and can be used as an information-geometric complexity measure for a classification of phase transitions, e.g., the scalar curvature of the thermodynamic metric tensor diverges at (and only at) a phase transition point.


title: Fisher information

text: In the thermodynamic context, the Fisher information matrix is directly related to the rate of change in the corresponding order parameters. In particular, such relations identify second-order phase transitions via divergences of individual elements of the Fisher information matrix.


title: Fisher information

text: The Fisher information matrix plays a role in an inequality like the isoperimetric inequality. Of all probability distributions with a given entropy, the one whose Fisher information matrix has the smallest trace is the Gaussian distribution. This is like how, of all bounded sets with a given volume, the sphere has the smallest surface area.


title: Fisher information

text: The proof involves taking a multivariate random variable formula_1 with density function formula_9 and adding a location parameter to form a family of densities formula_95. Then, by analogy with the Minkowski–Steiner formula, the "surface area" of formula_1 is defined to be


title: Fisher information

text: where formula_98 is a Gaussian variable with covariance matrix formula_99. The name "surface area" is apt because the entropy power formula_100 is the volume of the "effective support set," so formula_101 is the "derivative" of the volume of the effective support set, much like the Minkowski-Steiner formula. The remainder of the proof uses the entropy power inequality, which is like the Brunn–Minkowski inequality. The trace of the Fisher information matrix is found to be a factor of formula_101.


title: Fisher information

text: Fisher information is widely used in optimal experimental design. Because of the reciprocity of estimator-variance and Fisher information, "minimizing" the "variance" corresponds to "maximizing" the "information".


title: Fisher information

text: When the linear (or linearized) statistical model has several parameters, the mean of the parameter estimator is a vector and its variance is a matrix. The inverse of the variance matrix is called the "information matrix". Because the variance of the estimator of a parameter vector is a matrix, the problem of "minimizing the variance" is complicated. Using statistical theory, statisticians compress the information-matrix using real-valued summary statistics; being real-valued functions, these "information criteria" can be maximized.


title: Fisher information

text: Traditionally, statisticians have evaluated estimators and designs by considering some summary statistic of the covariance matrix (of an unbiased estimator), usually with positive real values (like the determinant or matrix trace). Working with positive real numbers brings several advantages: If the estimator of a single parameter has a positive variance, then the variance and the Fisher information are both positive real numbers; hence they are members of the convex cone of nonnegative real numbers (whose nonzero members have reciprocals in this same cone).


title: Fisher information

text: For several parameters, the covariance matrices and information matrices are elements of the convex cone of nonnegative-definite symmetric matrices in a partially ordered vector space, under the Loewner (Löwner) order. This cone is closed under matrix addition and inversion, as well as under the multiplication of positive real numbers and matrices. An exposition of matrix theory and Loewner order appears in Pukelsheim.


title: Fisher information

text: The traditional optimality criteria are the information matrix's invariants, in the sense of invariant theory; algebraically, the traditional optimality criteria are functionals of the eigenvalues of the (Fisher) information matrix (see optimal design).


title: Fisher information

text: In Bayesian statistics, the Fisher information is used to calculate the Jeffreys prior, which is a standard, non-informative prior for continuous distribution parameters.


title: Fisher information

text: The Fisher information has been used to find bounds on the accuracy of neural codes. In that case, "X" is typically the joint responses of many neurons representing a low dimensional variable "θ" (such as a stimulus parameter). In particular the role of correlations in the noise of the neural responses has been studied.


title: Fisher information

text: Fisher information plays a central role in a controversial principle put forward by Frieden as the basis of physical laws, a claim that has been disputed.


title: Fisher information

text: The Fisher information is used in machine learning techniques such as elastic weight consolidation, which reduces catastrophic forgetting in artificial neural networks.


title: Fisher information

text: Fisher information can be used as an alternative to the Hessian of the loss function in second-order gradient descent network training.


title: Fisher information

text: Fisher information is related to relative entropy. The relative entropy, or Kullback–Leibler divergence, between two distributions formula_103 and formula_104 can be written as


title: Fisher information

text: Now, consider a family of probability distributions formula_77 parametrized by formula_107. Then the Kullback–Leibler divergence, between two distributions in the family can be written as


title: Fisher information

text: If formula_2 is fixed, then the relative entropy between two distributions of the same family is minimized at formula_110. For formula_111 close to formula_2, one may expand the previous expression in a series up to second order:


title: Fisher information

text: Thus the Fisher information represents the curvature of the relative entropy of a conditional distribution with respect to its parameters.


title: Fisher information

text: The Fisher information was discussed by several early statisticians, notably F. Y. Edgeworth. For example, Savage says: "In it [Fisher information], he [Fisher] was to some extent anticipated (Edgeworth 1908–9 esp. 502, 507–8, 662, 677–8, 82–5 and references he [Edgeworth] cites including Pearson and Filon 1898 [. . .])." There are a number of early historical sources and a number of reviews of this early work.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PlayStation 4 technical specifications describe the various hardware components of the PlayStation 4 home video game console group. Multiple versions of this console have been released since the initial launch of the PlayStation 4, including the PlayStation 4 Slim and the PlayStation 4 Pro. Subsequent versions include changes to the technical specifications of the console.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The original released 420 GB HDD PS4s had manufacturer serial numbers of the form CUH-10"XX"A; a minor modification with a different form of Wi-Fi Microstrip antenna was registered in mid 2014 as part numbers CUH-11"XX"A.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: In 2015, the CUH-12 series as variants CUH-1215A and CUH-1215B (with 500GB and 1TB storage respectively) were certified in the US by the FCC. Differences between the CUH-11 and CUH-12 series included a reduction in rated power from 250W to 230W, a reduction in weight from 2.8 to 2.5 kg, and physical buttons. The CUH-12xx series are also referred to as the "C chassis" variant of the PS4.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The CUH-1200 series was officially announced in June 2015, releasing first in Japan, then worldwide. Changes to the design included a matte black HDD cover replacing the original gloss black version. Other minor changes to the design included mechanical buttons replacing electrostatic touch sensitive ones, and a shorter but brighter LED indicator on the top surface of the console. Internally the CUH-12 series included a number of minor changes, including the change to 8 memory modules of 1 GB (from a previous 16 modules of 512 MB).


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: At a PlayStation official event in New York (USA) in September 2016 Sony officially announced a new redesigned PS4, the CUH-2000 series, (known colloquially as the "PS4 slim") for sale from 15 Sep at $299, €299, £259, or 29,980 Yen for the base 500GB model. According to a Sony press release the new model (CUH-2000) was 16% lighter and used 28% less energy than the CUH-1200 series. A 1TB model at 34,980 Yen was also announced. At the same event a more powerful variant, named the "PS4 Pro" was also announced, designed for 4K and HDR displays. Earlier PS4 models received HDR support with System Software 4.00.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The upgraded PS4 Pro (originally codenamed 'Neo', product code CUH-7000) uses a more powerful APU built with a 16 nm FinFET process from TSMC. While the number of logical processor cores (8) remains the same, CPU clock speed is increased from 1.6 GHz to 2.13 GHz (a 33.1% improvement in CPU core clockrate), but with the underlying architecture unchanged. The number of graphics Compute Units on the APU is doubled to 36 Graphics Core Next (GCN) Compute Units (from 18), with a clock speed increase to 911 MHz (from 800 MHz), resulting in a theoretical single precision floating point performance metric of 4.19 TeraFLOPs. Compared to the original PS4 GPU, this is a 2.27× increase in single precision FLOPs. Improvements in GPU 16-bit variable float calculations derived from the newer AMD Vega architecture result in the PS4 Pro having a theoretical half precision floating point performance of 8.39 TeraFLOPs.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: Overall unified system memory architecture is improved, with the addition of another 1 GB segment of DDR3 DRAM. The PS4 Pro can use this increase in memory to swap out non-gaming applications that run in the background, like Netflix and Spotify. As a side benefit to this, an additional 512 MB of GDDR5 is available for developers to use for games adding up to 5.5 GB, as opposed to the 5 GB available on base PS4 hardware. GDDR5 memory speed was increased from 5.5 Gbit/s (or 4× 1.375 GHz) to 6.8 Gbit/s (or 4× 1.7 GHz), increasing total memory bandwidth to 217.6 GB/s which correlates to a 23.8% improvement.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: Some elements added to the design are derived from AMD's newer Polaris and newer architectures; such new features of the processor include a HEVC video codec supporting up to 4k resolution. Other specification changes include HDMI output being upgraded to HDMI 2.0b standard, with HDCP 2.2 compliance. Wireless networking includes 5 GHz band support using the IEEE 802.11ac standard, and Bluetooth support is upgraded to version 4.0; wired LAN is as the original PS4. The rated power of the original PS4 Pro is 310 W. The decision not to upgrade was predicated primarily on cost.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: A limited translucent-case version of the PS4 Pro was released in August 2018, which includes minor hardware updates. This new system, model number CUH-7100, besides offering a larger hard drive, uses a quieter fan that helps to reduce the noise levels. It also draws power at a consistent rate compared to the CUH-7000, though it becomes slightly hotter than the launch system.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: A second minor hardware refresh, with model number CUH-7200, was first released in bundles with "Red Dead Redemption 2" in November 2018. The newer version, otherwise functionally equivalent to the CUH-7000, has a different power connector, and uses a quieter fan, which, according to Digital Foundry, makes a "night and day" difference in the noise level, similar to the improvements in the CUH-7100. It further draws power consistently at 170 W, whereas the 7000, while rated at 170 W, has brief spikes up to 177 W. However, the newer console fan runs slightly slower and becomes slightly hotter than the 7000 model to gain this improvement. It should be noted, however, that CUH-7000 model can achieve a similar noise level to CUH-7200 model when its CPU's thermal paste is replaced and its heatsink and fan are cleaned. When it is done carefully and correctly, it is relatively a safe procedure with low to medium risk and takes between fifteen minutes and two hours depending on one's skill and familiarity with the console.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PlayStation 4 uses a semi-custom Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) developed by AMD in cooperation with Sony and is manufactured by TSMC on a 28 nm process node. Its APU is a single-chip that combines a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU), as well as other components such as a memory controller and video decoder/encoder. The console also includes secondary custom chips that handle tasks associated with downloading, uploading, and social gameplay. These tasks can be handled seamlessly in the background during gameplay or while the system is in rest mode.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: Though not much is publicly known of the PS4's audio capabilities, the console also contains a dedicated hardware audio module, which can support in-game chat with minimal external resources as well as "a very large number" of MP3 streams for use in in-game audio.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The main APU (2013 release) has a die size of , with GPUs, CPUs and memory controllers on the same die. The 2013 release version APUs contained 20 GCN compute units on die, two of which are thought to be present to provide redundancy to improve manufacturing yield. CPUs plus CPU caches make up approximately 15% of the chip area, and the GPU compute units take up approximately 33% of the die area.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The central processing unit (CPU) consists of two x86-64 quad-core modules for a total of eight cores, which are based on the Jaguar CPU architecture from AMD. Each core has 32 kB L1 instruction and data caches, with one shared 2 MB L2 cache per four-core module. The CPU's base clock speed is said to be 1.6 GHz. That produces a theoretical peak performance of 102.4 SP GFLOPS.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The graphics processing unit (GPU) is AMD's GPGPU-capable Radeon GCN architecture, consisting of 18 compute units (CUs) for a total of 1,152 cores (64 cores per CU), that produces a theoretical peak performance of 1.84 TFLOPS. This processing power can be used for graphics, physics simulation, or a combination of the two, or any other tasks suited for general purpose computing. The GPU is mostly based on the Bonaire architecture using GCN 1.1 technology. The PS4 GPU does not have any VRAM, because it uses system RAM for graphics operations.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: Though based on AMD's GCN architecture, there are several known differentiating factors between the PS4's GPU and current-gen PC graphics cards featuring first-gen GCN architecture:


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: Sharing the die with the rest of the components of the APU is a Digital signal processing SIP block that is either identical to AMD TrueAudio or shares a certain amount of similarity with it.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The rest of the microchip consists of the on-die memory controller, which is shared by the CPU and the GPU and some additional logic concerned with memory access. With AMD being a founding member of and Sony a contributor to the HSA Foundation, the uncore of the PlayStation 4 supports several of the features promoted by the Heterogeneous System Architecture like e.g. hUMA (heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access). This means the system memory is not partitioned, so that a portion of it is exclusively available to the GPU, but unified, hence enabling hardware zero-copy.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PS4 contains a total of 8 GB (16 × 0.5 GB (512 MiB) for CUH10XX/CUH11XX models or 8 x 1 GB (1024 MiB) for CUH12XX models memory chips) of GDDR5 unified system memory, and is capable of running at a maximum clock frequency of 2.75 GHz (5500 MT/s) with a maximum bandwidth of 176 GB/s. This is 16 times the amount of total RAM found in the PS3 and was expected to give the console considerable longevity. The unified memory architecture allows the CPU and GPU to access a consolidated memory, removing the need for separate, dedicated memory pools.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PS4 includes a secondary ARM processor (with separate 256 MiB of RAM) to assist with background functions and OS features.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The read-only optical drive reads Blu-ray discs at 6× constant angular velocity for a maximum read speed of 27 MB/s a significant upgrade from the PS3's 2× speeds that were capped at 9 MB/s. To further enhance optical drive performance, the PS4 features a hardware on-the-fly zlib decompression module (a special piece of hardware used to quickly decompress the data on the Blu-ray disc, which has been compressed to save space and bandwidth), allowing for greater effective bandwidth, whilst at the same time, the console continuously caches data onto its hard disk, even buffering unread data when a game is not actively accessing the optical drive, forming part of Sony's PlayGo strategy.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: An additional 256 MB chip (using a 2 Gbit DDR3 SDRAM chip in the 2013 release) is fitted, thought to be used by the auxiliary processor. An additional 32 MB (256 Mbit) flash memory chip is also fitted.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: System Software 4.50, which was introduced on March 9, 2017, enabled the use of external USB hard drives up to 8 TB for additional storage.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PlayStation 4 features 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T), Bluetooth 2.1, and two USB 3.0 ports. An auxiliary port is also included for connection to the PlayStation Camera, a motion detection digital camera device. A mono headset, which can be plugged into the DualShock 4, comes bundled with the system. Audio/video output options include HDMI and optical S/PDIF. The PlayStation 4 does not have an analog audio/video output (if the user does not count the DualShock 4's 3.5 mm audio jack). The PS4 Slim (CUH-2000 series) features IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0 and a USB 3.1 port × 2 while the PS4 PRO (CUH-7000 series) features a USB 3.1 port × 3, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 (LE).


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PS4 is powered via an internal wide voltage range (110–240 V AC 50 Hz/60 Hz) switched-mode power supply. The originally released version had a maximum power rating of 250 W. According to tests by Eurogamer, initial consoles drew approximately 80 W when operational in menu mode, rising to around 110–120 W in gameplay, with peaks of 140 W with both gameplay and menus active, tests by the Natural Resources Defense Council showed similar power consumption figures with 137 W gameplay peaks (with PS4 Camera connected); power consumption in (internet-connected) standby mode was measured at 8.8 W under the same conditions, with a lower power "off" state drawing 0.5 W.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The PS4 cooling system uses a single centrifugal fan, which draws air in from both sides of the console, split into flows above and below the main PCB, before entering the fan from top and bottom; the fan exhaust then cools the main APU via a heat pipe-connected heatsink, with the exhaust passing over the main power supply before being emitted from the rear of the console.


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The CUH-1200 model update (2015) power supply rating was reduced from 250W to 230W, with gameplay and standby download power usages reduced to around 82% of the previous version's values (148.6 to 122 W running ", 70 to 58 W in standby download mode).


title: PlayStation 4 technical specifications

text: The "PS4 slim" (official CUH-2000 series) released in September 2016 reduced the rating of the power supply to 165 W; according to Tweaktown the reduction in power requirements was due to the main APU being made at a 16 nm scale, down from 28 nm. Sony claimed power use reductions of 28% compared to the CUH-1200 series, and 34% compared to the original CUH-1000 series.


title: Hindu mythology

text: Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", the Puranas, and regional literature like the Tamil "Periya Puranam" and "Divya Prabandham", and the "Mangal Kavya" of Bengal. Hindu myths are also found in widely translated popular texts such as the fables of the "Panchatantra" and the "Hitopadesha", as well as in Southeast Asian texts.


title: Hindu mythology

text: According to Joseph Campbell, the Indus Valley (2600-1900 BCE) may have left traces in the beliefs and traditions of Hinduism. Artefacts have revealed motifs that are also employed and revered by Hindus today, such as primary male deities worshipped by a ruling elite, mother goddesses, nature spirits, snake worship, as well as the reverence of other theriomorphic (animal-shaped) beings. These themes would be maintained by the Dravidian folk religion even after the decline of its parent civilisation around 1800 BCE.


title: Hindu mythology

text: A major factor in the development of Hinduism was the Vedic religion. The Indo-Aryan migration brought their distinct beliefs to the Indian subcontinent, where the Vedas were composed around 1500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans Vedic pantheon of deities included the chief god Indra, the sun deity Surya, Ushas, as well as Agni.


title: Hindu mythology

text: According to Williams, from 900 - 600 BCE, the protests of the populace against sacrifices made towards the Vedic gods and rebellions against the Brahmin class led to the embrace of reform by the latter and the composition of the fourth Veda and the Vedanta texts. About half of the Upanishads were mystical and unitive, speaking of experiencing the divine as the one (ekam), while the other half promoted devotion to one or more deities. New gods and goddesses were celebrated, and devotional practices began to be introduced.


title: Hindu mythology

text: Elements such as those emerging from Buddhism and Jainism made their “heteroprax” contributions to later Hindu mythology, such as temples, indoor shrines, and rituals modeled after service to a divine king. Renunciate traditions contributed elements that questioned sacrifices and the killing of animals, and promoted asceticism and vegetarianism. All of these themes would be incorporated by the Brahmin classes into the later Hindu synthesis, which developed in response to the sramanic movements between ca. 500-300 BCE and 500 CE, and also found their way into Hindu mythology.


title: Hindu mythology

text: The era from 400 BCE to 400 CE was the period of the compilation of India’s great epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana. These were central manifestations of the newly developing Hindu synthesis, contributing to a specific Hindu mythology, emphasising divine action on earth in Vishnu's incarnations and other divine manifestations. The lore of the devas and the asuras expanded. Epic mythology foreshadowed the rich polytheism of the next two periods. The Mahabharata contained two appendices that were extremely important sources for later mythological development, the Bhagavad Gîta and the Harivamsa.


title: Hindu mythology

text: According to Williams, the mythology of the Puranas can be broken into three periods (300–500; 500–1000; 1000–1800), or the whole period may simply be referred to as the Hindu middle ages. This age saw the composition of the major Puranic texts of the faith, along with the rise of sectarianism, with followers amassing around the cults of Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi. The three denominations within this period help locate in time historical developments within the sectarian communities, the rise and decline of Tantrism and its influence on mainstream mythology, the tendencies in Puranic mythologising of subordinating Vedic gods and past heroes to ever-increasing moral weaknesses, going on to be identified as a period of exuberant polytheism. However, this was also accompanied with the belief in monotheism, the idea that all paths lead to the Ultimate Reality, Brahman.


title: Hindu mythology

text: According to Williams, during the Tantric period from 900 - 1600 CE, the mythology of Tantra and Shaktism revived and enriched blood sacrifice and the pursuit of pleasure as central themes. Tantra’s stories differed radically in meaning from those of epic mythology, which favored devotion, asceticism, and duty. There was either a revival or emphasis that was placed on the shakti or the cosmic energy of goddesses, a concept that had emerged during the Indus Valley Civilisation.


title: Hindu mythology

text: In the contemporary era, the mythologies of the dominant traditions of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism prevail. Several myths were found or invented to make tribals or former “outcastes” Hindus and bring them within the cultural whole of a reconstructed Hindu mythological community.


title: Hindu mythology

text: Academic studies of mythology often define mythology as deeply valued stories that explain a society's existence and world order: those narratives of a society's creation, the society's origins and foundations, their god(s), their original heroes, mankind's connection to the "divine", and their narratives of eschatology (what happens in the "after-life"). This is a very general outline of some of the basic sacred stories with those themes. In its broadest academic sense, the word "myth" simply means a traditional story. However, many scholars restrict the term "myth" to sacred stories. Folklorists often go further, defining myths as "tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters".


title: Hindu mythology

text: In classical Greek, "muthos", from which the English word "myth" derives, meant "story, narrative." Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure. The same myth typically appears in various versions, and can be represented differently across different regional and socio-religious traditions. Many of these legends evolve across these texts, where the character names change or the story is embellished with greater details. According to Suthren Hirst, these myths have been given a complex range of interpretations. While according to Doniger O'Flaherty, the central message and moral values remain the same. They have been modified by various philosophical schools over time, and are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning.


title: Ali Abdelaziz

text: Abdelaziz is the founder and president of Dominance MMA Management. Through his company, Abdelaziz manages several former UFC champions, such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo, among others. He also manages the PFL's former lightweight champion Kayla Harrison and former featherweight champion Lance Palmer.


title: Ali Abdelaziz

text: Abdelaziz was recruited by the New York Police Department to work undercover within a Virginia-based arm of a group called Muslims of America. The NYPD shared Abdelaziz with the FBI, but the federal agency eventually began to suspect he was operating as a double agent, particularly after he was reportedly administered a polygraph examination. This information was popularized in the book "Enemies Within", written by American Journalists Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo, and was used by Conor McGregor in an attempt to antagonise Abdelaziz at the UFC 229 press conference.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and an alumnus of Dominguez High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Pepperdine University.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: A prototypical late bloomer, Johnson overcame early struggles and had a successful NBA playing career. Drafted 29th overall in 1976 by the Seattle SuperSonics, Johnson began his professional career as a shooting guard. He eventually led the Sonics to their only NBA championship in 1979 winning the Finals MVP Award. After three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, he became the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics, with whom he won two more championships. Johnson was voted into five All-Star Teams, one All-NBA First and one Second Team, and nine consecutive All-Defensive First and Second Teams. Apart from his reputation as a defensive stopper, Johnson was known as a clutch player who made several decisive plays in NBA playoffs history.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: The Celtics retired Johnson's No. 3 jersey which hangs from the rafters of the TD Garden, the home arena of the team. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially inducted Johnson to the Hall posthumously in 2010. He is considered by several sports journalists to be one of the most underrated players of all time.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Dennis Wayne Johnson was born the eighth of sixteen children, to a social worker and a bricklayer who lived in Compton, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Originally a baseball fan and a Little Leaguer, Johnson learned basketball from his father, but seemed to have neither the size nor the talent to compete with his peers: as a teenager at Dominguez High School, Johnson measured just 5'9" and played only "a minute or two each game". After high school, he worked several odd jobs, including a $2.75-per-hour job as a forklift driver, and played with his brothers in summer league games after work. During this period, Johnson grew to a height of 6'3", and developed what some later described as "rocket launcher legs", which enabled him to jump high to grab rebounds against taller opponents.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Jim White, the coach at Los Angeles Harbor College had watched Johnson play street basketball and felt that Johnson excelled in defense, White asked him to enroll. Johnson gave up his jobs and developed into a promising young guard, averaging 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and leading Harbor to a college junior state title. However, the young guard lacked discipline, often clashed with White and was thrown off the team three times in two years.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: At the end of his junior college career, two universities offered Johnson scholarships: Azusa Pacific University and Pepperdine University. Johnson chose the latter, and in his only year there, he averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and developed a reputation for tough defense. After that year, Johnson made himself eligible for the 1976 NBA draft, but was skeptical that any team would take him. NBA teams were wary of drafting a player with character issues, and Johnson was known to be a troublemaker.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: The Seattle SuperSonics took Johnson in the second round of the 1976 draft with the 29th pick and gave him a four-year contract; he earned a salary of $45,000 in the first year and $90,000 in the last. In his rookie year, the 1976–77 NBA season, Johnson, playing backup to the experienced Sonics backcourt tandem of Slick Watts and Fred Brown, averaged 9.2 points and 1.5 assists per game. The Sonics finished with a 40–42 record and missed the 1977 NBA Playoffs, leading head coach Bill Russell to resign. In the following season, the team lost 17 of the first 22 games under Russell's replacement Bob Hopkins, who was replaced by Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens, who gave Johnson a starting spot and paired him with Gus Williams. Johnson revelled in this new role, improving his averages to 12.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. During this period Johnson played shooting guard and was known for his aggressive slam dunking, in contrast to the more cerebral roles he played later in his career. It was at this time that Johnson's nickname "DJ" was coined by play-by-play announcer Bob Blackburn, to help distinguish him from teammates, John Johnson and Vinnie Johnson (whom Blackburn referred to as "JJ" and "VJ", respectively).


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Finishing strongly, the Sonics ended the regular season with a 47–35 record and made the 1978 NBA Playoffs. After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers, and the Denver Nuggets, they almost defeated the Washington Bullets by taking a 3–2 lead in the 1978 NBA Finals. In a 93–92 Game 3 victory, Johnson blocked seven shots—the most blocks in NBA Finals history for a guard. The Sonics lost in seven games, however, partly because of Johnson's Game 7 scoring drought, in which the second-year guard missed all of his 14 field goal attempts. Johnson later acknowledged that he simply "choked"; he vowed never to repeat this again and credited this game as an important lesson to become a better player.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Johnson and the Sonics got their revenge in the 1978–79 season. After clinching the Pacific Division with a 52–30 record, the team met the Bullets again in the 1979 NBA Finals. After losing Game 1, the Sonics won the next four games to take the finals series, helped by Johnson who averaged almost 23 points along with six rebounds and assists per game. He scored 32 points in a Game 4 overtime victory, and was named NBA Finals MVP. It was during this season that Johnson established himself as one of the best guards in the league; he averaged 15.9 points and 3.5 assists per game, and made his first All-Defensive First Team and All-Star Game appearance.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: During the following season, Johnson averaged 19.0 points and 4.1 assists, appeared in his second All-Star Game and was named to the All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Second Team. The Sonics, however, lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers, who had Hall of Famers Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Because of the abundance of talent on the Sonics team, Johnson later called this loss one of the worst disappointments of his professional career.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Coach Wilkens grew tired of Johnson, who often clashed with him and was perceived as a growing liability to the team. At the end of the season, Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Paul Westphal and draft picks. The Sonics' record was 22 games worse the next season despite the addition of Westphal.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Johnson further established himself as a quality player in Phoenix. In his three years as a Sun, Johnson averaged 14–20 points a game and provided tough defense. He played in two All-Star Games, was voted into three consecutive All-Defensive First Teams and earned his only All-NBA First Team appearance. In this period Johnson, like in Seattle, played shooting guard and became the main scorer on the team, as opposed to being the second or third option as a Sonic.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: In the first two years of Johnson's stint, the Suns were fairly successful, reaching the Western Conference Semifinals both seasons. The Suns bowed out in the first round in Johnson's last year. Johnson's situation deteriorated towards the end of his career at Phoenix. Like in Seattle, he often clashed with his coach, John MacLeod, and finally was traded by general manager, Jerry Colangelo, to the Boston Celtics for Rick Robey and draft picks. Like Seattle after Johnson's departure, the Suns finished 12 games worse in the next season despite the addition of Robey.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Between the 1979–80 season and the 1981–82 season, the Celtics had lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals two out of three times, mainly because physical Sixers guard Andrew Toney routinely caused problems for their defensively fragile backcourt. After subsequently getting swept by the Bucks in the 1982–83 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Celtics general manager Red Auerbach added the perennial All-Defensive Team member Johnson to his squad, hoping that Johnson would help the Celtics fare better in the Eastern Conference playoffs (particularly against the 76ers). Johnson joined a squad that included Hall of Fame forwards Larry Bird and Kevin McHale and Hall of Fame center Robert Parish, a trio that has been described as the best NBA frontcourt of all time. Johnson described joining the Celtics as a "dream come true" and enjoyed the tutelage of highly successful general manager Auerbach, who was "living history" according to Johnson.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: With the Celtics Johnson changed his playing style for the third time in his career: after being known as a slam dunking shooting guard with the Sonics, and an all-around scorer with the Suns, he now established himself as a point guard who was defined more by playmaking than scoring. In his first year as a Celtic, he averaged 13.2 points and 4.2 assists and was elected to the All-Defensive Second Team. The Celtics reached the 1984 NBA Finals, where they met the Los Angeles Lakers, their intense rivals since the 1960s. The Celtics won 4–3, and Johnson took credit for playing smothering defense on Hall of Fame Lakers playmaker Earvin Johnson, limiting him to a sub-average 17 points in the last four games, and being at least partly responsible for several of the Laker point guard's game-deciding errors in Games 2, 4 and 7. As a result, Magic Johnson was taunted as "Tragic Johnson" whenever the Lakers and Celtics played against each other.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: In the 1984–85 season, Johnson continued playing smothering defense, earning his next All-Defensive Second Team call-up while averaging 16.9 points and 7.3 assists per game. The Celtics met the Lakers in the 1985 NBA Finals again. Johnson's big moment came in Game 4: when the score was tied at 105, teammate Larry Bird had the ball in the last seconds. Being double-teamed by Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, Bird passed to the open Johnson, and the guard sank a 19-ft buzzer beater to win the game. The Lakers, however, took their revenge this time, winning the series in six games, powered by venerable 38-year-old Finals MVP Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson described this loss as one of the toughest in his career, because the Celtics were "close [to winning the series]", but "could not get the job done".


title: Dennis Johnson

text: In the following season the Celtics made the playoffs, helped by the performance of Johnson, who made the All-Defensive Second Team again while tallying 17.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. After defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics reached the 1986 NBA Finals against the up-and-coming Houston Rockets, led by the "Twin Towers" of centers Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Led by Finals MVP Larry Bird, the Celtics beat the Rockets 4–2, and Johnson won his third title.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: The Celtics were unable to repeat their title in 1987 despite several dramatic playoff victories. Johnson played strong defense again, earning yet another appearance on the All-Defensive First Team, and the Celtics embarked on a nail-biting playoff campaign. In the 1987 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Celtics split the first six games against the Milwaukee Bucks. In the deciding Game 7, which the Celtics won, Johnson had a spectacular play with 1:30 left in the game: a Celtics ball threatened to fly out of bounds, but Johnson dived for it and whipped it backward in mid-air against Bucks center and former Sonics teammate Jack Sikma. The ball bounced off Sikma before going out of bounds, and the Celtics maintained possession.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: In the next round the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics faced the Detroit Pistons. The series was described as a grudge match between two intense rivals, featuring a great level of personal animosity, sharp rhetoric, and several physical altercations. The center of this feud was Pistons pivot Bill Laimbeer, who brawled with Celtics players Bird and Parish. In Game 5 Johnson was involved in a crucial play: down 107-106, Larry Bird stole the in-bounds pass by Pistons point guard Isiah Thomas with 5 seconds left and passed it to a sprinting Johnson, who converted a difficult layup with 1 second left in the game. This play caused Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most to shout out one of his most famous calls:


title: Dennis Johnson

text: According to Johnson this was his favorite play of all time. Games 6 and 7 also featured a feud, this time between Pistons forward Dennis Rodman and Johnson. In Game 6, which the Pistons won, Rodman taunted Johnson in the closing seconds by waving his right hand over his head. When the Celtics took Game 7, Johnson went back at Rodman in the last moments of the game and mimicked his taunting gesture. In the 1987 NBA Finals, however, the Celtics succumbed to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 as Lakers playmaker and Finals MVP Magic Johnson put up a great performance, averaging 26 points and 13 assists throughout the series.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: The next three seasons were disappointing for the aging Celtics. In the 1987–88 season, Johnson averaged 12.6 points and 7.8 assists, but in the 1988 Playoffs, the Celtics were unable to beat the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the next season, Johnson (who statistically declined to 10.0 points and 6.6 assists per game) and his team made the 1989 NBA Playoffs on a meager 42–40 record (largely due to the absence of star forward Larry Bird for almost the entire season), but were immediately eliminated in the first round (again, largely due to the absence of the injured Larry Bird). The following 1989–90 NBA season was Johnson's last. The now 35-year-old playmaker relinquished his starting point guard role to younger John Bagley, but when Bagley dislocated his shoulder, Johnson returned with a high level of performance and was lovingly called "our glue man" by coach Jimmy Rodgers. In that season, Johnson started in 65 of his 75 games, averaging 7.1 points and 6.5 assists, but the Celtics failed to get past the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Johnson retired after the Celtics did not offer him a new contract at the beginning of the 1991 season. During his retirement ceremony, his perennial Los Angeles Lakers opponent Magic Johnson telegraphed him lauding him as "the best backcourt defender of all-time". In addition Celtics colleague and triple NBA Most Valuable Player award winner Larry Bird called Johnson the best teammate he ever had.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: After retiring as a player, Johnson worked as a scout for the Celtics. In 1993, he became an assistant coach for the Celtics, a position he held until 1997. After spending several years outside the limelight, he returned as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2000 and spent four seasons there. Johnson served as interim head coach after the departure of Alvin Gentry for 24 games near the end of the 2002–03 season . Johnson later worked as a scout for the Portland Trail Blazers, and in 2004 he was named head coach of the NBA Development League's Florida Flame. He became head coach of the NBA Development League's Austin Toros the following season holding the position until his death two years later.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: In 1,100 games, Johnson scored 15,535 points, grabbed 4,249 rebounds and gave 5,499 assists, translating to career averages of 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Known as a defensive stalwart, he was elected into nine straight All-Defensive First or Second Teams. NBA legend George Gervin said in a podcast with journalist Bill Simmons that Johnson was the hardest defender he ever played against. Johnson is also acknowledged by the NBA as a "money player" who was clutch in decisive moments, such as scoring 32 points for his team in a Game 4 overtime victory in the 1979 NBA Finals, playing smothering defense on Magic Johnson in the 1984 NBA Finals, and converting a last-second layup in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals after a Larry Bird steal.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Furthermore, Johnson is lauded by the NBA as a versatile all-around weapon who played with "contagious competitiveness" and was known for his durability: in 14 NBA seasons, he played in 1,100 of a possible 1,148 games and participated in 180 playoff games, the latter figure the 11th highest number of all time. At his retirement, Johnson was only the 11th NBA player to amass more than 15,000 points and 5,000 assists.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: On December 13, 1991, the Celtics franchise retired his number 3 jersey. Johnson said he would always be a Boston Celtic, and remarked that seeing his number in the rafters gave him a "special feeling". However, Johnson did not live to see an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a fact that has been a considerable point of debate with sports journalists. Bill Simmons of ESPN called his Hall of Fame snub an "ongoing injustice", stating that according to him, Joe Dumars – a Hall of Famer known for strong defense rather than spectacular scoring, like Johnson – was no better [a basketball player] than him. Colleague Ken Shouler called Johnson "one of the first guys I'd give a Hall [of Fame] pass". Contemporary Boston Celtics Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird gave Johnson ultimate praise, calling him the best teammate he ever had in his autobiography "Drive", which is especially significant considering Bird's teammates included Hall of Famers Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, and Tiny Archibald. On April 3, 2010, ESPN Boston reported that Johnson was posthumously elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. This was officially confirmed two days later when the Hall released the list of 2010 inductees.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: On October 26, 2007, a learning center was dedicated in Johnson's name in the Central Branch of the YMCA of Greater Boston. The center was made possible by the donations and effort of Larry Bird and M.L. Carr. Johnson's family, Danny Ainge, Carr, and members of the YMCA and local community were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Donna Johnson said on behalf of her husband, "If Dennis were alive he would really appreciate the thought and love the idea of the Learning Center."


title: Dennis Johnson

text: Dennis Johnson was married to Donna, his wife of 31 years, and had three children named Dwayne, Denise, and Daniel. Johnson was also known for his appearance: he had freckles and red-tinged hair. Dennis's brother, Joey, is a former Arizona State Sun Devils basketball star. Johnson's nephews are Nick, who appeared in 37 games with the 2014–15 Houston Rockets after being drafted by them in the 2nd Round of the 2014 NBA draft, and Chris, who appeared briefly in four games with the 2013–14 Arizona Wildcats college basketball team.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: On October 20, 1997, Johnson was arrested and detained overnight for allegedly holding a knife to his wife's throat and threatening his 17-year-old son. Johnson was later charged with aggravated assault and was ordered to stay away from his family. The prosecutors dropped the case several months later after his wife declined to press charges. Johnson reportedly went to counseling to repair his marriage.


title: Dennis Johnson

text: On February 22, 2007, at the Austin Convention Center, Johnson had a heart attack and collapsed at the end of the Austin Toros' practice. After being rushed to a nearby hospital, he could not be revived and was later pronounced dead. Johnson was survived by his wife and his children. Johnson's death was met with shock throughout the NBA. Among others, contemporary Celtics colleague Danny Ainge called him one of "the most underrated players of all time [...] and one of the greatest Celtics acquisitions," and one-time rival Bill Laimbeer called him "a great player on a great ballclub."


title: Deus vult

text: Deus vult (Ecclesiastical Latin: 'God wills it') is a Christian motto relating to Divine providence. It was first chanted by Catholics during the First Crusade in 1096 as a rallying cry, most likely under the form Deus le veult or Deus lo vult, as reported by the "Gesta Francorum" (ca. 1100) and the "Historia Belli Sacri" (ca. 1130).


title: Deus vult

text: In modern times, the Latin motto has different meanings depending on the context. It has been used as a metaphor referring to "God's will", by Christians throughout history, such as the Puritans, or as a motto by chivalric orders such as the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.


title: Deus vult

text: The phrase appears in another form in the Vulgate translation of 2 Samuel 14:14 from the Bible: "nec vult Deus perire animam" ("God does not want any soul to perish").


title: Deus vult

text: The variants "Deus le volt" and "Deus lo vult", incorrect in Classical Latin, are forms influenced by Romance languages. According to Heinrich Hagenmeyer, the personal pronoun 'le' (or 'lo') was very likely part of the original motto as shouted during the First Crusade at Amalfi, since both the authors of the "Gesta Francorum" and the "Historia Belli Sacri" report it"." Later variants include the Old French "Dieux el volt" and the Classical Latin "Deus id vult" ("God wills it") or "Deus hoc vult" ("God wills this").


title: Deus vult

text: The battle cry of the First Crusade is first reported in the "Gesta Francorum", a chronicle written ca. 1100 by an anonymous author associated with Bohemond I of Antioch shortly after the successful campaign. According to this account, while the Princes' Crusade were gathered in Amalfi in the late summer of 1096, a large number of armed crusaders bearing the sign of the cross on their right shoulders or on their backs cried in unison "Deus le volt, Deus le volt, Deus le volt". Medieval historian Guibert de Nogent mentions that "Deus le volt" has been retained by the pilgrims to the detriment of other cries.


title: Deus vult

text: The "Historia belli sacri", written later around 1131, also cites the battle cry. It is again mentioned in the context of the capture of Antioch on 3 June 1098. The anonymous author of the "Gesta" was himself among the soldiers capturing the wall towers, and recounts that "seeing that they were already in the towers, they began to shout "Deus le volt" with glad voices; so indeed did we shout".


title: Deus vult

text: Robert the Monk, who re-wrote the "Gesta Francorum" ca. 1120, added an account of the speech of Urban II at the Council of Clermont, of which he was an eyewitness. The speech climaxes in Urban's call for orthodoxy, reform, and submission to the Church. Robert records that the pope asked western Christians, poor and rich, to come to the aid of the Greeks in the east:


title: Deus vult

text: When Pope Urban had said these and very many similar things in his urbane discourse, he so influenced to one purpose the desires of all who were present, that they cried out, 'It is the will of God! It is the will of God!' When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, with eyes uplifted to heaven he gave thanks to God and, with his hand commanding silence, said: Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them." Unless the Lord God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered the same cry. For, although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore I say to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let this then be your war-cry in combats, because this word is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: It is the will of God! It is the will of God!


title: Deus vult

text: Robert also reports that the cry of "Deus lo vult" was at first shouted in jest by the soldiers of Bohemond during their combat exercises, and later turned into an actual battle cry, which Bohemond interpreted as a divine sign.


title: Deus vult

text: Tyerman, writing in 2006, suggests that the cheering at Urban's speech was "probably led by a papal claque".


title: Deus vult

text: "Deus lo vult" is the motto of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Roman Catholic order of chivalry (restored 1824).


title: Deus vult

text: Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840–1914), a Protestant Episcopalian, used the expression for his argument of the dominion of Christ as "essentially imperial" and that Christianity and warfare had a great deal in common: Deus vult!' say I. It was the cry of the Crusaders and of the Puritans and I doubt if man ever uttered a nobler [one]."


title: Deus vult

text: The 1st CCNN Division "Dio lo Vuole" ("God wills it") was one of the three Italian Blackshirts Divisions sent to Spain in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War to make up the "Corpo Truppe Volontarie" (Corps of Volunteer Troops), or CTV.


title: Deus vult

text: In 1947, Canadian prelate George Flahiff used the expression "Deus Non Vult" as the title of an examination of the gradual loss of enthusiasm for the crusades at the end of the 12th century, specifically of the early criticism of the crusades by Ralph Niger, writing in 1189.


title: Deus vult

text: Disseminated in the form of hashtags and internet memes, "Deus vult" has enjoyed popularity with members of the Christian right, as well as the alt-right, because of its perceived representation of the clash of civilizations between the Christian West and the Islamic world. Crusader memes, such as an image of a Knight Templar accompanied by the caption "I'll see your jihad and raise you one crusade", are popular on far-right internet pages"." The motto is also used by Christian nationalist groups in Europe and was portrayed on large banners during marches celebrating the Polish National Independence Day in 2017.


title: Pax Britannica

text: Pax Britannica (Latin for "British Peace", modelled after "Pax Romana") was the period of relative peace between the great powers during which the British Empire became the global hegemonic power and adopted the role of a "global policeman".


title: Pax Britannica

text: Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century", around of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleonic France left the British without any serious international rival, other than perhaps Russia in Central Asia. When Russia tried expanding its influence in the Balkans, the British and French defeated them in the Crimean War (1853–1856), thereby protecting the Ottoman Empire.


title: Pax Britannica

text: Britain's Royal Navy controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power. Alongside the formal control exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled access to many regions, such as Asia, North America, Oceania, and Africa. The British also, much to the dismay of other colonial empires, helped the United States uphold the Monroe Doctrine which upheld its economic dominance in the Americas. British merchants, shippers and bankers had such an overwhelming advantage over those of other empires that in addition to its colonies it had an informal empire.


title: Pax Britannica

text: After losing the Thirteen Colonies, a significant part of British America, in the American Revolution, Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the Second British Empire (1783–1815). The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the late 1700s and new ideas emerged about free markets, such as Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" (1776). Free trade became a central principle that Britain practiced by the 1840s. It played a key role in Britain's economic growth and .


title: Pax Britannica

text: From the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 until World War I in 1914, the United Kingdom played the role of global hegemon (most powerful actor). Imposition of a "British Peace" on key maritime trade routes began in 1815 with the annexation of British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Under the British Residency of the Persian Gulf, local Arab rulers agreed to a number of treaties that formalised Britain's protection of the region. Britain imposed an anti-piracy treaty, known as the General Maritime Treaty of 1820, on all Arab rulers in the region. By signing the Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853, Arab rulers gave up their right to wage war at sea in return for British protection against external threats. The global superiority of British military and commerce was aided by a divided and relatively weak continental Europe, and the presence of the Royal Navy on all of the world's oceans and seas. Even outside its formal empire, Britain controlled trade with many countries such as China, Siam, and Argentina. Following the Congress of Vienna, the British Empire's economic strength continued to develop through naval dominance and diplomatic efforts to maintain a balance of power in continental Europe.


title: Pax Britannica

text: In this era, the Royal Navy provided services around the world that benefited other nations, such as the suppression of piracy and blocking the slave trade. The Slave Trade Act 1807 had banned the trade across the British Empire, after which the Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron and the government negotiated international treaties under which they could enforce the ban. Sea power, however, did not project on land. Land wars fought between the major powers include the Crimean War, the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War, as well as numerous conflicts between lesser powers. The Royal Navy prosecuted the First Opium War (18391842) and Second Opium War (18561860) against Imperial China. The Royal Navy was superior to any other two navies in the world, combined. Between 1815 and the passage of the German naval laws of 1890 and 1898, only France was a potential naval threat.


title: Pax Britannica

text: The most decisive event emerged from the Anglo-Egyptian War, which resulted in the British occupation of Egypt for seven decades, even though the Ottoman Empire retained nominal ownership until 1914. Historian A.J.P. Taylor says that this "was a great event; indeed, the only real event in international relations between the Battle of Sedan and the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war". Taylor emphasizes the long-term impact:


title: Pax Britannica

text: Britain traded goods and capital extensively with countries around the world, adopting a free trade policy after 1840. The growth of British imperial strength was further underpinned by the steamship and the telegraph, new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, allowing it to control and defend the empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, the so-called All Red Line.


title: Pax Britannica

text: The "Pax Britannica" was weakened by the breakdown of the continental order which had been established by the Congress of Vienna. Relations between the Great Powers of Europe were strained to breaking point by issues such as the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which led to the Crimean War, and later the emergence of new nation states in the form of Italy and Germany after the Franco-Prussian War. Both of these wars involved Europe's largest states and armies. The industrialisation of Germany, the Empire of Japan, and the United States contributed to the relative decline of British industrial supremacy in the late 19th century. The start of World War I in 1914 marked the end of the "Pax Britannica". However, the British Empire remained the biggest colonial empire until the start of decolonization after World War II ended in 1945, and Britain remained one of the leading powers until the Suez Canal crisis in 1956, during which British and French troops were forced to withdraw from Egypt under pressure from the United States and (to a lesser extent) the Soviet Union.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: H.R. Pufnstuf is a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-sized-puppet program (not including their previous work with the Hanna-Barbera program "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour"). The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast Saturday mornings from September 6, 1969, to December 27, 1969. The broadcasts were successful enough that NBC kept it on the schedule until August 1972. The show was shot at Paramount Studios and its opening was shot at Big Bear Lake, California. Reruns of the show aired on ABC Saturday morning from September 2, 1972, to September 8, 1973, and on Sunday mornings in some markets from September 16, 1973, to September 8, 1974. It was syndicated by itself from September 1974 to June 1978 and in a package with six other Krofft series under the banner "Krofft Superstars" from 1978 to 1985. Reruns of the show were featured on TV Land in 1999 as part of its Super Retrovision Saturdaze Saturday morning-related overnight prime programming block and in the summer of 2004 as part of its TV Land Kitschen weekend late-night prime programming block, and it was later shown on MeTV from 2014 until 2016.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: In 2004 and 2007, "H.R. Pufnstuf" was ranked #22 and #27 respectively on "TV Guide"s Top Cult Shows Ever.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: Fast food chain McDonald's later plagiarized the series' concept for its long-running advertising campaign McDonaldland, and the company was successfully sued by the Krofft brothers for the copyright infringement.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: The Kroffts created the H.R. Pufnstuf character for the HemisFair '68 World's Fair, where they produced a show called "Kaleidoscope" for the Coca-Cola pavilion. The character's name was Luther, and he became a mascot for the fair.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: "H.R. Pufnstuf" introduced the Kroffts' most-used plot scenario of a fairy tale of good versus evil, as well as their second plot scenario of the stranger in a strange land. The show centered on a shipwrecked boy named Jimmy, played by teenage actor Jack Wild. He is 11 years old when he arrives on the island and turns 12 in the episode called "The Birthday Party". Jimmy and a talking flute named Freddy take a ride on a mysterious boat, but the boat was actually owned by a wicked witch named Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo (played by Billie Hayes) who rode on a broomstick-vehicle called the Vroom Broom. She used the boat to lure Jimmy and Freddy to her castle on Living Island, where she was going to take Jimmy prisoner and steal Freddy for her own purposes.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: The Mayor of Living Island was a friendly and helpful anthropomorphic dragon named H.R. Pufnstuf, performed by Roberto Gamonet and voiced by the show's writer Lennie Weinrib, who also voiced many of the other characters. The dragon rescued Jimmy and protected him from Witchiepoo, as his cave was the only place where her magic had no effect.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: All of the characters on Living Island were realized by large cumbersome costumes or puppetry of anthropomorphic animals and objects. Everything was alive on the island, including houses, boats, clocks, candles, and so forth; virtually any part of the Living Island sets could become a character, usually voiced in a parody of a famous film star such as Mae West, Edward G. Robinson, or John Wayne.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: After creating costumes for characters in the live-action portion of "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour", Sid and Marty Krofft were asked to develop their own Saturday morning children's series for NBC. The plot was recycled from "Kaleidoscope", a live puppet show the Kroffts had staged in the Coca-Cola pavilion of the HemisFair '68 World's Fair. It included several key characters from this show, such as Luther the dragon and a silly witch. Other ideas were cultivated from Sid's life. As a child, he had charged friends buttons, not pennies, to view puppet shows in his back yard; buttons were standard currency on Living Island. Sid and Marty had toured with their puppets as the opening act for Judy Garland, and they based Judy the Frog on her. Ludicrous Lion bears more than a passing resemblance to Irving, the eponymous lion in a pilot they had made in 1957 called "Here's Irving".


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: Sid's friend Lionel Bart asked him to view a rough cut of the movie adaptation of "Oliver!" Sid took notice of young actor Jack Wild and immediately decided that he was the kid whom he wanted to play the lead in his television series. Only two actresses auditioned to play Witchiepoo. The first was then-unknown Penny Marshall, but it was believed that she was not right for the part. Stage veteran Billie Hayes came in next, set into a maniacal cackle and hopped up on a desk. She was given the part on the spot.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: For Marty Krofft, the production was a particular headache. Marty accepted guardianship of Jack Wild while the teenage boy was in the United States filming the show. He later described bringing Wild into his home as a mistake, considering that he already had his hands full with two young daughters.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: Like most children's television shows of the era, "H.R. Pufnstuf" contained a laugh track, the inclusion of which the Kroffts were initially against. Sid Krofft commented "We were sort of against that, but Si Rose — being in sitcoms — he felt that when the show was put together that the children would not know when to laugh." Marty Krofft added "the bottom line — it's sad — you gotta tell them when it's funny. And the laugh track, (Si) was right. It was necessary, as much as we were always looking to have a "real" laugh track, "a real" audience. In comedies, if you don't have them (laugh track), you're in big trouble, because if you don't hear a laugh track, it's not funny. And that's the way the audience (at home) was programmed to view these shows."


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: H.R. Pufnstuf appeared in a segment of "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters", and along with Witchiepoo in the "Lidsville" episode "Have I Got a Girl For Hoo Doo", where Hoo Doo conjures Pufnstuf as Witchiepoo's date for a witches' dance. "The Krofft Superstar Hour" also involved characters in two segments "The Lost Island" (which H.R. Pufnstuf was in) and "Horror Hotel" (in which Witchiepoo, Orson Vulture, Seymour Spider, and Stupid Bat are featured with Hoodoo). The Kroffts also loaned out the character, with Hayes reprising her role, for "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special", in which she appears as the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West (portrayed by Margaret Hamilton).


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: The show's theme song, titled "H.R. Pufnstuf", was written by Les Szarvas but is also credited to Paul Simon. Simon's credit was added when he successfully sued The Kroffts, claiming that the theme too closely mimicked his song "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)". He is credited as the song's co-writer in TeeVee Tunes's "Television's Greatest Hits Volume 5: In Living Color".


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: A cover of the show's theme song, performed by The Murmurs, is included on the 1995 tribute album "", produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: "All episodes were directed by Hollingsworth Morse and written by Lennie Weinrib and Paul Harrison. (Robert Ridolphi also co-wrote Episode 1 "The Magic Path".) "


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: While the television series was still in production, the Kroffts were approached to do a film adaptation. A joint venture between Universal Pictures and the show's sponsor Kellogg's Cereal, the 1970 film retained most of the cast and crew from the series and featured guest appearances by Cass Elliot as Witch Hazel and Martha Raye as Boss Witch. The movie was finally released on VHS in 2001 by Universal Home Video as part of its Universal Treasures Collection and on DVD on May 19, 2009. The film also included Googy Gopher, Orville Pelican, and Boss Witch's chauffeur Heinrich Rat, who were exclusive to the movie. A difference in the film is that the characters that had been voiced by Lennie Weinrib were each voiced by Allan Melvin and Don Messick.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: The Kroffts have long had plans for a new "H.R. Pufnstuf" film. Sony first attempted a remake in 2000, but dropped the project. Eight years later, Sony again announced development on the project, but there has been no news since.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: A number of USA stage show tours were run starring the same characters from the show. The most prominent of these was "H.R. Pufnstuf & The Brady Kids Live at the Hollywood Bowl", which was performed and recorded in 1973. This performance was released on VHS in 1997.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: An elaborate H.R. Pufnstuf puppet show was featured at The Sid and Marty Krofft Puppet Theater at Six Flags Over Mid-Missouri in 1971. H.R. Pufnstuf and his pals Cling and Clang also made life-size appearances at the park. A section of the 1971 Six Flags Over Mid-Missouri map shows the location of the theater near entrance to the park's Sky-Way Ride.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: In 2004, Rhino Entertainment/Rhino Retrovision released "H.R. Pufnstuf: The Complete Series", featuring all 17 episodes on three discs, remastered and uncut, accompanied by interviews with Sid & Marty Krofft, Billie Hayes, and Jack Wild. "Pufnstuf", a major motion picture released in 1970, was also released on May 19, 2009, by Universal Studios. SMK and Vivendi Entertainment has obtained the home video rights to the series and released the complete series on January 11, 2011. Two versions of the release exist; one is a traditional complete series set, while the other is a collector's set, featuring a bobble-head of H.R. Pufnstuf. The series is also available in Digital media format at iTunes Store.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: In the United Kingdom, during 1986, Channel 5 Video released the opening three episodes of the television series on VHS.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: The show was the subject of a successful lawsuit brought by the Kroffts against the fast food restaurant McDonald's, whose McDonaldland characters were found to have infringed the show's copyright. The case, "Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp.", 562 F.2d 1157, was decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1977.


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: The Krofft brothers have responded in several interviews to popular beliefs that subtle recreational drug references exist in the show. For example, the title character's name "Pufnstuf" has been interpreted as a reference to smoking hand-rolled (H.R.) marijuana (puffin' stuff); Marty Krofft has said the initials "H.R." actually stand for "Royal Highness" backwards. The show's theme song lyric "he can't do a little, 'cause he can't do enough" has been read as referring to the addictive nature of drugs. Pufnstuf has quotes like "Whoa, dude!" and other "hippie" slang words. Lennie Weinrib, the show's head writer and the voice of Pufnstuf, has said, "I think fans gave it a kind of mysterious code-like meaning, like ‘Ah, was Pufnstuf puffing stuff? Like grass?’ Was it psychedelic? Was it drug oriented? Not to us, it wasn't." In a 2000 interview, Marty Krofft answered the question by saying, "The Krofft look has a lot of color, but there were no drug connotations in the show." He addressed the topic at length in an interview with the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" in 2004, in response to the question, "OK, let's get this right out in the open. Is "H.R. Pufnstuf" just one giant drug reference?":


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: Authors of books on the show and its contemporaries, however, have not always accepted the Kroffts' alternative explanations for apparent references to drugs. David Martindale, author of "Pufnstuf & Other Stuff", maintains that the Kroffts' desire to attract an audience who are now parents of impressionable children pushes them to downplay the double entendres: "But to deny it, the shows lose some of their mystique. The Kroffts prefer to remain playfully vague." Martindale said in another interview that he fully believes Marty Krofft's insistence that he did not use drugs, especially given that Marty's focus was that of a businessman, but Martindale describes Sid Krofft as "a big kid" and "a hippy", saying, "His comment when I told him we were going to do this book was—and I quote—'Oh, far out.' He says these shows didn't come from smoking just a little pot, and you could say, 'Oh, yeah. It comes from smoking a lot of pot.' But I think he was very deliberately doing double meanings so the show could amuse people on different levels."


title: H.R. Pufnstuf

text: Kevin Burke, co-author of "Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up with Cartoon Culture", argues that the "consistency of thought" in the rumors of drug references has a basis, although his co-author and brother Timothy Burke, a history professor at Swarthmore College, insists "human beings are capable of achieving hallucinatory heights without chemical assistance." Contradicting his own position, Marty Krofft has neither admitted nor hinted in occasional interviews that the references were made knowingly; in one case, a writer reported that when pressed as to the connotation of "lids" in the title "Lidsville", "Well, maybe we just had a good sense of humor", Krofft said, laughing. His comments to another interviewer were more direct; in a "Times Union" profile whose author observed, "Watching the shows today, it's hard to imagine a show with more wink-and-nod allusions to pot culture, short of something featuring characters named Spliffy and Bong-O", Krofft conceded that the show's title had been an intentional marijuana reference, as had "Lidsville", but "that was just a prank to see if they could get them past clueless NBC executives".


title: 1776 in the United States

text: Events from the year 1776 in the United States. This year is celebrated in the United States as the official beginning of the nation, with the Declaration of Independence issued on July 4.


title: Rap God

text: "Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, as the third single from Eminem's eighth studio album, "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" (2013). It contains references to previous conflicts in Eminem's career, as well as to other rappers' conduct.


title: Rap God

text: The song entered the "Guinness World Records" as the hit single that contains the most words; it has 1,560 words. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, but lost to Kendrick Lamar's "i".


title: Rap God

text: The hip hop song references a line from the first "Marshall Mathers LP", on the song "I'm Back", where he talks about the Columbine High School massacre, rapping "Seven kids from Columbine; Put 'em all in a line, add an AK-47, a revolver, and a nine." The verse was censored when originally released, and is included in "Rap God" to test public reaction. Eminem references the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal in order to demonstrate his longevity as a dominant force in the rap industry, thus establishing himself as an "immortal god".


title: Rap God

text: Additional references include a conflict between Fabolous and Ray J, Heavy D & the Boyz, planking, "The Walking Dead," J. J. Fad's 1988 song "Supersonic", Tupac Shakur, Run-DMC, Pharaohe Monch, Rakim, N.W.A, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Busta Rhymes, Lakim Shabazz and the 2008 Hotstylz song "Lookin Boy".


title: Rap God

text: In the verse that begins at 4:26, Eminem raps 97 words in 15 seconds—an average of 6.5 words per second—which he describes as "supersonic speed":


title: Rap God

text: The song's production was handled by American hip hop producer Bigram Zayas, professionally known as Develop or DVLP; he has produced songs for rappers such as the Diplomats, Rick Ross and most notably Lil Wayne. The song was co-produced with Matthew "Filthy" Delgiorno. The song's recording session took place at Effigy Studios in Michigan, with brothers Mike and Joe Strange working with Eminem on mixing and engineering the song. Joe Strange also contributed additional keyboarding and programming. On October 14, 2013, DVLP tweeted that the beat was two years old, made in November 2011, and that Eminem recorded the song in 2012. The song entered the 2015 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records in which Eminem is commended for the most words in a hit single, "Rap God", totalling 1,560 words in 6 minutes, 3 seconds.


title: Rap God

text: In the second verse of the song, Eminem raps about his success allowing him to speak at the induction of Run DMC into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and says "...the only hall of fame I'll be inducted in is the alcohol of fame, on the wall of shame." In 2022, he was named as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2022 induction class. He would perform the song at his performance at the induction ceremony, including the full "summa lumma dooma lumma" fast rapping portion of the third verse of the song.


title: Rap God

text: On November 21, 2013, Eminem tweeted the trailer for the music video, directed by Rich Lee, and announced it would be released on November 27, 2013. On November 27, 2013, as scheduled, the music video was released on Vevo at 12:00pm ET. Eminem parodied Max Headroom in the music video. There are also references to "The Matrix", "The Walking Dead", "Hellraiser" and the video games "Pong", "Portal" and "Super Mario Bros." in the video. The video received three nominations at MTV Video Music Awards 2014 in the categories "Best Art Direction", "Best Editing", "Best Visual Effects". On February 15, 2020, the video reached 1 billion views, making it his third video to reach this milestone. The official video also has received over 16 million likes, making it the 25th most liked video on the site.


title: Rap God

text: "Consequence of Sound" stated that the song is "anything but godly", the lyricism "falls victim to dated references [...] and the tired technique of using other rappers' monikers to complete rhymes." They also noted that the beat is "pedestrian at best", and that altogether the song "[lacks] the commercial appeal" of "Berzerk". Lijas of "Time" gave the song a positive review, stating that "the world can expect an immortal recording" based on "Rap God" and the album's lead single, "Berzerk". Jim Farber of the "Daily News" compared the song to "The Marshall Mathers LP", stating that the song "revives the super-sick humor of that era, which comes as a relief after all the internalizations and ruminating of Em’s more recent work". Kory Grow of "Rolling Stone" also gave the song a positive review, praising that instead of "giving his chorus to an R&B crooner like Rihanna or the New Royales' Liz Rodrigues", "he instead delivers a straight rap refrain about feeling like a rap deity. His verses recall hip-hop history ... as much as his own history". Nick Hill of Contact Music praised the song's rhyming and lyrical content. He exclaimed that the verse beginning at 4:20 best displays Eminem's rapping abilities.


title: Rap God

text: "Complex" ranked the song number 14 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2013. They commented saying, "'Rap God' is another entry in the "Oh My God, This Guy Raps Better Than Anyone On The Planet" category. Eminem has been adding chapters in that book for over a decade now, so it's easy to sit back with your arms crossed and look unimpressed." "Rolling Stone" positioned the song at number 15 on their list of the 100 best songs of 2013. They elaborated saying, "Eminem rolls out a six-minute argument for his immortal hip-hop genius, and it's pretty convincing. [...] For pure word-scrambling, syllable-stringing pyrotechnics, no one can touch him." "Complex" also named Eminem's third verse the third-best rap verse of 2013. They said, "Within the seemingly never-ending verbal waterfall, Em touches on just about anything he could, should or would: his underground origins, the criticisms of his lyrics, the positive power his words have had for so many, and pop culture references. It's all done with impeccable technical tact, including a brief section of triple time mayhem. In other words, this verse captures exactly why the man's become a Rap God."


title: Rap God

text: The song debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart and at number one on the UK R&B Chart, despite its late release. It replaced "Berzerk", his first single from the album at that position. In the United States, it debuted at number seven on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. With the R&B component removed it debuted at number one on the Rap Songs chart. It also debuted at number one on the Digital Songs chart, with over 270,000 downloads sold. "Rap God" was Eminem's seventh top 10 start on the Hot 100, pushing him past Lil Wayne (six) for the most among men in the chart's 55-year history. Since its release, the song has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA. and has sold 1,896,000 copies in United States as of September 2017.


title: Rap God

text: The lyrics of "Rap God" were criticized as homophobic, due to lyrics such as "you fags think it's all a game" and "Little gay-looking boy / So gay I can barely say it with a straight face-looking boy." In a "Rolling Stone" interview, Eminem defended his usage of "faggot" and "us[ing] 'gay-looking' as an insult" by saying he "never really equated those words to actually mean 'homosexual.


title: Rap God

text: In January 2015, TMZ reported that Chicago-based hip hop trio Hotstylz were suing Eminem and Shady Records for the amount of $8 million, for using a 25-second sample mid-track from their song "Lookin' Boy", without their permission. In February 2016, the lawsuit between Raymond Jones of Hot Stylz and Eminem was dismissed by the judge following an agreement made by the parties.


title: Rap God

text: In September 2015, a 15-year-old boy in Fresno, California was arrested for making terrorist threats by sharing on Instagram the Columbine-related lyrics to Eminem's "I'm Back". The police thought that he had taken the lyrics to "Rap God" and added his own material on the end, as the latter interpolates some lyrics of the former, before later realizing that the threats were much closer to "I'm Back".


title: Ford Excursion

text: The Ford Excursion is a heavy duty (Class 2), full-sized SUV that was produced by Ford. The longest and heaviest SUV ever to enter mass production, the Excursion was marketed as a direct competitor of the 2500-series (-ton) Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL. Introduced on September 30, 1999 for the 2000 model year, a single generation was produced through the 2005 model year (a short 2006 model year was marketed for Mexico).


title: Ford Excursion

text: Derived from the F-250 Super Duty pickup truck, the Ford Excursion was almost exclusively sold in Canada and the United States; a limited number were sold for export. Following the discontinuation of the Excursion, Ford introduced the extended-length Ford Expedition EL/MAX; while matching the Chevrolet Suburban in terms of size, the Expedition EL/MAX shifted its chassis commonality from the Super Duty to the F-150.


title: Ford Excursion

text: Throughout its production run the Ford Excursion was assembled at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville alongside Ford's Super Duty pickup trucks; the final example was produced on September 30, 2005.


title: Ford Excursion

text: For the 1973 model year, General Motors redesigned its Suburban utility wagon (sold by both Chevrolet and GMC). As a central part of the redesign, GM added a fourth passenger door to the model line for the first time; larger than the Jeep Wagoneer, the Suburban was able to compete directly against the similar-size International Harvester Travelall wagon for the first time. Following the 1975 discontinuation of the Travelall, the Suburban became the largest wagon-style full-size SUV (a distinction it would hold for the next 25 years).


title: Ford Excursion

text: For 1978, Ford introduced the second-generation Ford Bronco. To compete directly against the Chevrolet K5 Blazer/GMC Jimmy and Dodge Ramcharger, the Bronco became a full-size SUV, adopting the chassis and powertrain of the F-100 pickup truck (in line with its GM and Chrysler counterparts). Ford introduced the Bronco strictly as a three-door wagon with a lift-off hardtop (continuing the most popular design of its predecessor); in contrast, GM offered the Suburban alongside the Blazer/Jimmy, derived from crew-cab pickup truck bodywork. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Ford would market four-door Broncos built as license-built conversions (mating a Bronco body with F-Series crew cabs).


title: Ford Excursion

text: For 1991, Ford would produce its first wagon-style SUV, as it replaced the compact Bronco II with the Ford Explorer, introducing a five-door SUV alongside the previous three-door; both the Explorer and Bronco II were derived from the Ford Ranger compact pickup truck.


title: Ford Excursion

text: For 1997, Ford redesigned its F-150 SUV variant. To accommodate changing segment demands, the three-door (with lift-off hardtop) Bronco was replaced by the five-door Ford Expedition. While sized between the Chevrolet Tahoe and the Suburban, the Expedition was fitted with three-row seating (offered by the larger Suburban).


title: Ford Excursion

text: For 1999, Ford expanded the F-Series model range, with the F-250 and F-350 becoming the Super Duty series. Intended for work usage and towing, Super Duty F-Series trucks received a heavier-duty chassis and suspension along with a distinct body design. To compete against the 2500-series Suburban, Ford began the development of a heavy-duty SUV derived from the -ton F-250 Super Duty pickup truck.


title: Ford Excursion

text: The Ford Excursion was produced sharing the platform architecture of the F-250 Super Duty pickup truck. Alongside a shared 137-inch wheelbase (from the Super Cab, short bed), the Excursion shared common body and chassis assemblies with its F-250 counterpart. To allow for a common front and rear track width, the front suspension and most of the rear suspension were common components (the Excursion was fitted with its own leaf springs and front spring hanger bracket). The Excursion was fitted with a distinct frame (differing from the front sway bar mounts rearward), leaving the model taller and wider than its pickup truck counterpart.


title: Ford Excursion

text: The rear axle for all Excursions was a Sterling 10.5 axle. The four wheel drive models were equipped with a NV273 transfer case and Dana 50 front axle. Gear ratios of 3:73 and 4:30 were offered.


title: Ford Excursion

text: During the development of the chassis, Ford learned that its initial design caused smaller vehicles (such as a Ford Taurus) to become severely overridden in a head-on collision. In the test, the tire of the Excursion drove up to the windshield of the Taurus (reducing the chance of survival for its driver). As a response, Ford modified the chassis to include an under-bumper "blocker beam"; the device was initially tested by the French transportation ministry in 1971. For the rear of the chassis, Ford chose to include a trailer hitch as standard equipment in production to reduce underriding in rear-end collisions by smaller vehicles.


title: Ford Excursion

text: During its entire production, the Excursion was offered with both gasoline and diesel engines. The standard gasoline engine was a 5.4 L Triton V8; a 6.8 L Triton V10 was offered as an option. At its launch, the optional diesel engine was the Navistar-produced 7.3 L Powerstroke V8; during 2003 production, a Navistar-produced 6.0 L V8 was introduced, again using the Powerstroke name.


title: Ford Excursion

text: All four engines were paired with an automatic transmission. The 4-speed 4R100 automatic was fitted to the 5.4, 6.8, and 7.3 L engines, with a 5-speed 5R110W automatic fitted to the 6.0 L engine.


title: Ford Excursion

text: Though using the -ton chassis of the F-250, the Excursion was rated with a GVWR of when equipped with gasoline engines and with equipped with diesel engines. As its GVWR was above , the Excursion was exempt from EPA fuel economy ratings; reviewers cited fuel economy in the range of 12-15 Lmpg with the V10 gasoline engine.


title: Ford Excursion

text: While its GVWR exempted it from emissions standards applied to light-duty vehicles, Ford designed the powertrains of the Excursion to meet (LEV) status.


title: Ford Excursion

text: While the smaller Ford Expedition shared design elements with the popular Ford Explorer, the Excursion adopted a high degree of commonality from its F-250 counterpart. With the exception of its egg-crate grille (styled similar to the Expedition and the third-generation Explorer), the Excursion shares its front bodywork forward of the B-pillars with its pickup-truck counterpart; the rear doors are specific to the model line (more curved rear edge than crew cab F-Series doors).


title: Ford Excursion

text: Styled similar to the 1980-1996 Bronco (with flush-mounted glass), the rear wagon body of the Excursion is fitted with a third-row seat. As with the Bronco, the spare tire was vertically-mounted in the cargo area. In place of a conventional liftgate, the rear cargo door was configured with a 3-way layout, pairing the upper lifting window (with rear wiper) with two lower dutch doors (a design similar to the 1992-2005 Chevrolet Astro). Larger taillamps were sourced from the Ford E-Series van.


title: Ford Excursion

text: During its production, the Excursion saw few major changes to its interior or exterior. For 2002, the instrument panel was updated, receiving a digital odometer and a transmission temperature gauge. For 2005, the egg-crate grille was replaced by the three-bar grille used on Super Duty trucks.


title: Ford Excursion

text: Coinciding with its design commonality with the Ford Super Duty crew cab, the Excursion was a mass-produced SUVs with four full-length passenger doors (along with the Ford Expedition MAX and Lincoln Navigator L, the Chevrolet Suburban and its GMC and Cadillac counterparts, the International Travelall, and the Jeep Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L.


title: Ford Excursion

text: The Excursion adopted the trim nomenclature adopted across Ford light trucks in North America. The base trim was XL (marketed nearly exclusively for fleet sales), XLT (standard trim in retail markets), and Limited (highest trim line). Following its use across many Ford light trucks, an Eddie Bauer trim package was introduced for the Excursion for 2003 (differing from the Limited primarily in appearance).


title: Ford Excursion

text: XLT: Included three rows of seating, leather-wrapped steering wheel with speed control, a security system, keyless entry, chrome steel rims or optional alloy rims, trailer towing, and an AM/FM radio with cassette and single-disc CD player with six premium speakers, and air conditioning.


title: Ford Excursion

text: Limited: Included same features as XLT, but adds a power driver's seat, rear audio controls, illuminated running boards, alloy rims, front-speed sensitive windshield wipers, five power points, ten cupholders, heated front seats, leather seats, and an optional rear entertainment system with DVD player.


title: Ford Excursion

text: Being launched on September 30, 1999, the 2000 Ford Excursion was described by Popular Science as the "biggest sport utility on the planet." This would be the most successful model year for the Excursion, with nearly 69,000 examples sold. After largely meeting sales projections at its launch, demand for the model line was affected by the energy crisis of the 2000s. While able to produce 70,000 examples yearly, sales from 2001 onward struggled to reach half of that capacity, becoming the lowest-selling SUV sold by Ford or Lincoln-Mercury.


title: Ford Excursion

text: The large size of the Excursion led to it being dubbed the "Ford Valdez" by the Sierra Club in 1999 (in reference to the "Exxon Valdez" supertanker). In 2007, "Time" selected it as one of the "Fifty Worst Cars of All Time".